Cao Baoping Got a Slap in the Face (Please Vote)

"Young people are like that. Director, give him a chance to try."

After several takes ended in NGs, Xu Yajun wanted a breather anyway.

Besides, he enjoyed watching the drama unfold.

"Come on, everyone, work with our... future movie star!"

Cao Baoping couldn't refuse Xu Yajun.

And as a literature professor at the Beijing Film Academy, he couldn't condemn someone without giving him a chance to learn.

There was nothing better than recognizing a mistake and correcting it.

If he was wrong, he could fix it!

What teachers hated most were students who dug in their heels after making a mistake.

Xu Yajun went off to drink some water, while Wu Gang, Niu Li, and Yang Tongshu actually joined Shen Qi for the scene.

"Xilun, Xilun!" Wu Gang jogged over, clapping as he called, "Come here, come here... You two ready?"

Wu Gang played the second male lead.

But his acting was actually better, even a little better than Xu Yajun's.

The four leads—with Shen Qi taking Xu Yajun's place—gathered together.

Running into your ex-girlfriend at a wedding. What a painfully awkward scene!

Shen Qi activated the Magic Book, and his expression instantly became a sight to behold.

"Hey, I don't need to introduce her, do I?"

Wu Gang pulled Yang Tongshu forward.

"No, no." Shen Qi recovered a sliver of composure from his shock. "Um... let me introduce you. This is Xiang Guo, my wife, and this is Yuan Qi..."

Fortunately, Wu Gang was opposite him. Otherwise, his scene partner might genuinely have been stunned speechless.

It wasn't that Wu Gang couldn't keep up.

Keeping up wasn't a problem.

He could handle Xu Yajun's acting with ease.

The uncanny part was that this young extra's expressions and smallest movements were identical to Xu Yajun's just now.

Identical!

The second female lead wasn't nearly as composed.

She stared blankly at Shen Qi, then couldn't help glancing back at Xu Yajun, who had been drinking water.

In fact, Xu Yajun had long since stopped drinking.

The plastic bottle slipped from his hand and hit the floor with a smack.

The water, jolted into a panic, rushed to gush out of the narrow opening.

Shen Qi had no time to notice any of that.

He was still acting opposite Wu Gang. Until the director called "Cut," he would keep going by the book even if the sky fell.

As for people discovering his secret...

What secret did he have?

Was being good at imitating someone really something to be ashamed of?

Xu Yajun let out a breath. He even felt a little sorry for Cao Baoping.

What a slap in the face!

A hell of a slap in the face.

This young extra had used his performance to give the director a resounding slap.

He picked it up that quickly!

That was an interesting way to put it.

"All right... ahem."

Only after Cao Baoping spoke did he realize his voice had gone a little hoarse.

"Thank you, Director!"

Shen Qi looked perfectly calm.

An awl in a bag would eventually show its point. Sooner or later, he had to show what made him different.

Even if word of this didn't spread far, it might bring him an opportunity.

Of course, the move carried risks.

If Cao Baoping was petty, he might lash out in embarrassment and accuse Shen Qi of coming to make trouble.

Shen Qi was betting that, with everyone watching, Cao Baoping cared about saving face.

And Cao Baoping... certainly did!

In fourteen years as a screenwriter and director, he had earned recognition through the Five-One Project Award, the Huabiao Award, the Flying Apsaras Award, and more.

More importantly... he was a teacher.

An associate professor in the Beijing Film Academy's literature department!

How could he not care about his reputation?

"With skills like yours, being an extra is a waste," Cao Baoping said, no longer angry. He asked with a cheerful smile, "Which school did you graduate from?"

"Beijing... Sport University!"

"..."

Cao Baoping had no idea how to respond.

He could have been from the Beijing Film Academy, the Central Academy of Drama, or the Shanghai Theatre Academy. He could even have been self-taught.

But Beijing Sport University? That was hard to know what to make of.

"Beijing Sport University's good too. An actor needs to be in shape."

Wu Gang smiled and stepped in to smooth things over.

"How long have you been in the business?"

Cao Baoping quickly came to terms with Shen Qi's background at Beijing Sport University.

In fact, if Shen Qi had shown that level of skill and had a degree from one of the three major acting schools, no one would have questioned him today.

No, he wouldn't even have had the chance to work as an extra.

A graduate that good would have no shortage of supporting roles.

"I started getting into it at the end of June and began working as an extra in July. I've played a few small roles too, but none of them have aired yet."

Shen Qi answered honestly.

To be fair, he wasn't progressing slowly. In just over a month, he had already played named characters like the Demon Dao Sage Lord and Ji Wuming. Even with little screen time, he was ahead of plenty of acting-school graduates.

"That's not bad..." Cao Baoping thought for a moment. "I'm starting a film in December. There's a minor villain role in it. Not much screen time, but the character's a real challenge. Interested?"

He was talking about The Wrath of the Honorable.

The "minor villain" was actually Bear Fourth, one of four tyrannical brothers.

Cao Baoping wouldn't normally cast a role so casually, and he had no shortage of suitable candidates.

Put simply, it was compensation—or perhaps an expression of his appreciation for Shen Qi.

He had misjudged Shen Qi.

So he decided to give him a small role.

"Absolutely! Thank you, Director. I'll do my best!"

Of course Shen Qi wouldn't refuse. He hadn't even worked as an extra in a theatrical film yet.

"You'll need to learn a bit of the Yunnan dialect. You don't have many lines, though, so you can pick it up when the time comes."

Cao Baoping didn't intend to keep chatting.

Shen Qi had been an unexpected interruption, and the kid had, in a sense, slapped him in the face.

But from a teacher's perspective, wasn't it also a pleasant surprise?

The next day, Shen Qi went to Zhang Jizhong Studio near Sanyuanqiao to audition for Yin Zhiping in The Return of the Condor Heroes. Only then did he realize he might end up juggling productions.

That meant an actor working on multiple productions at the same time, traveling between sets to make each shoot.

During the golden age of Hong Kong cinema, juggling productions had been seen as a sign that an actor was in demand.

If an actor could manage his schedule, it might not affect the productions much. But if he couldn't, he would hold up filming.

That was why many people in the industry disliked actors juggling productions.

Shen Qi had accepted Cao Baoping's film for December and was now auditioning for The Return of the Condor Heroes, whose start date he didn't know. There was certainly a chance the schedules would clash.

Still, Shen Qi wasn't too worried.

The bold got fed and the timid went hungry. He was only playing minor roles, so the odds of a clash were tiny.

And he wasn't indispensable to either production.

Zhang Jizhong Studio was fairly large and bustling with people coming and going.

After producing The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, The Legend of the Condor Heroes, and Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, Zhang Jizhong's standing in the entertainment industry had soared.

With more money came a bigger operation.

When Shen Qi arrived at the audition venue, he checked in first, then submitted his résumé, headshot, and portfolio.

Since none of his work had aired, the portfolio could only contain written descriptions.

Shen Qi also received a short script—the material he would audition with shortly.

The audition was being held in an activity room.

A row of simple stools stood outside the door for the auditionees to wait on.

When Shen Qi sat down, four other auditionees were reading their scripts.

Shit. Five people fighting over one Yin Zhiping role?

You're all willing to play such a depraved character?

Where's your sense of decency?

Where do you draw the line?

It was ridiculous. Shen Qi had been agonizing over whether to audition at all.

This world is too damn tough.

But he soon realized there was a celebrity among them.

He was fairly good-looking.

It seemed to be Zhao Hongfei, who had starred alongside Cao Ying in Phoenix in the Martial World.

Shit. What's the point of even trying?

If even Zhao Hongfei, who had played a male lead, had come to audition for Yin Zhiping, what chance did Shen Qi have?

Is the Dragon Knight really that appealing?

Shen Qi had hurriedly studied swordsmanship with Wen Jingrou for two and a half days. How could that compare to Zhao Hongfei's years of training as a martial-role performer in Peking opera?

Before Shen Qi could even strike up a conversation, Zhao Hongfei was called inside.

They weren't going in order of arrival.

With formal training and a leading role under his belt, Zhao Hongfei was hardly going to wait around like an ordinary newcomer.

Shen Qi could only hurry to read the script and memorize his lines.

The first audition lasted about half an hour before Zhao Hongfei came out.

He gave everyone a polite nod, then left.

The second auditionee went in and came back out in less than ten minutes.

His face looked awful.

Shen Qi's heart sank.

If the role had already gone to Zhao Hongfei, the rest of them were obviously just there to make up the numbers.