Xiao Cheng coaxed him gently. "You're the best-looking."
Only then was Jiang Chiyan satisfied.
The next day, Jiang Chiyan went to the audition with Xiao Cheng.
Before the car had even come to a complete stop, Jiang Chiyan spotted a familiar figure from behind.
Yu Ci.
His assistant stood beside him, holding an umbrella over him and smiling ingratiatingly. "Yu Ci, come on. We've got plenty of projects available to us. Maybe... we shouldn't compete with Xiao Cheng for this role? This Lawyer Storm is just a minor adaptation with a two-hundred-million budget. There's no need."
"Heh..." Yu Ci sneered. "So what if I compete with him? If I want something, Xiao Cheng has to get on his knees and hand it to me!"
Xiao Cheng had gotten lucky last night!
But next time, Xiao Cheng couldn't possibly keep being so lucky.
What Yu Ci didn't know was that several police cars were already speeding over to arrest him, sirens blaring.
He strutted into the audition venue.
Yu Ci found Liao Xian, the chief director of Lawyer Storm, bowed respectfully, and greeted him. "Hello, Director Liao. I'm Yu Ci."
Liao Xian was a renowned director in the industry, and every production he made was outstanding.
He looked Yu Ci up and down. A pretty young idol-young and flighty, with none of the bearing of Ji Zhanbei, the male lead of Lawyer Storm.
That was Liao Xian's first impression.
"Hello." Liao Xian shook Yu Ci's hand.
To his surprise, a card was slipped into his palm during the handshake.
He frowned, then heard Yu Ci say, "Director Liao, there's two million on that card. Do you think... I'm suited to the role of Ji Zhanbei?"
Liao Xian's expression turned cold. Rather than answer, he said, "I'd like to offer you a piece of advice."
"I'm all ears."
Liao Xian didn't mince words. "Learn integrity before you learn your craft."
His expression only softened a little when Xiao Cheng came in.
But before Xiao Cheng could speak, Yu Ci cut in with a snide remark. "Director Liao, I think... there's really no need for our senior colleague Xiao Cheng to audition, is there? Two variety shows are about to sign him. He probably won't have the energy or the time."
"Oh?" Liao Xian didn't even glance at Yu Ci, looking straight at Xiao Cheng instead.
Neither servile nor arrogant, Xiao Cheng took the audition script from his bag. "Director Liao, there were a few legal errors in the script. I consulted a friend in the legal profession and made some corrections. Please take a look."
Liao Xian took the script, its corners yellowed, and opened it to find densely packed annotations inside.
His impression of Xiao Cheng immediately improved further.
Yu Ci's heart sank. "Director Liao, I've read the original novel carefully and thoroughly studied the character of Ji Zhanbei."
"In that case..." Liao Xian glanced at Yu Ci, then at Xiao Cheng, and gave an inscrutable smile. "How about this? The audition scene happens to be a confrontation between the male lead and the main villain. Perform it together and show me what you've got."
In this scene, the main villain was an elegant university professor named Zheng Shen.
Handsome and gentlemanly, Zheng Shen spoke with a distinctly scholarly air. All the female students considered him their dream man.
But behind closed doors, Zheng Shen sexually assaulted the female graduate students he supervised.
If a student was beautiful, she wasn't allowed to graduate unless she went to bed with him.
One young woman who had caught Zheng Shen's eye had already had her graduation delayed by two years. He kept her firmly under his control, and she had lost both her job and her boyfriend.
With nowhere left to turn, the young woman jumped from the rooftop.
The scene being auditioned today was the one where Ji Zhanbei dragged Zheng Shen up to the rooftop and beat him savagely.
Seeing that Xiao Cheng and Yu Ci were in character, Liao Xian gestured and called, "Action!"
The instant Liao Xian finished speaking, Xiao Cheng seized Yu Ci by the collar.
His gaze changed in an instant.
At that moment, Xiao Cheng had become Ji Zhanbei, the lawyer who embodied unwavering integrity.
Xiao Cheng wasn't acting. He had made himself into the character.
Startled by Xiao Cheng's gaze, Yu Ci shuddered. As he tried to recall his line, his expression slipped out of character.
Yu Ci looked up into Xiao Cheng's dark eyes and felt intimidated.
Xiao Cheng's gaze was cool, but beneath that detachment burned a fervent faith in the law.
Beside them, Jiang Chiyan's eyes lit up.
In Xiao Cheng's gaze, he saw his former self.
A powerful sense of recognition stirred in his chest, making his heart tremble.
Liao Xian slapped his thigh and excitedly mouthed to Jiang Chiyan, "That's exactly right."
"You..." Yu Ci was so frightened that he forgot his line. When he finally remembered it, he stumbled over the words. "What did you bring me up to the rooftop for?"
Liao Xian scoffed contemptuously and rolled his eyes.
Yu Ci had, after all, received formal acting training and always touted himself as an actor of substance.
How could he deliver a line as though he were reading a school textbook aloud?
Voice, line delivery, movement, expression-he had none of them. All he had was a pretty face.
Liao Xian was curious to see how Xiao Cheng would respond.
"What for?" Xiao Cheng's voice was hoarse, each word distinct. "A woman in her twenties-you drove her to slit her wrists three times and overdose on sleeping pills twice. Take a good look at the suffering you've caused and the crimes you've committed!"
Xiao Cheng flung Yu Ci aside and pointed. "This is where that young woman jumped. Do you remember?"
A performance without props rarely felt convincing, yet Liao Xian felt as though a young woman really had jumped from the window Xiao Cheng was pointing toward.
Goosebumps rose on Liao Xian's skin, and a chill ran down his spine.
"No. We're all adults. Jumping off a building just because we slept together-isn't that a bit melodramatic?" As Yu Ci delivered his line, he didn't dare meet Xiao Cheng's eyes.
Yu Ci completely failed to convey the villain Zheng Shen's air of a refined scumbag in gold-rimmed glasses.
His portrayal of Zheng Shen was nothing more than a bit player, utterly overshadowed by Xiao Cheng.
Xiao Cheng looked at him coldly. "I've accepted the deceased's family's commission. As the victim's legal representative, I will personally... send you to prison."
Xiao Cheng's presence dominated the entire room. Overwhelmed by his performance, Yu Ci fell apart completely. "I..."
"Cut!" Liao Xian stopped them and excitedly patted Xiao Cheng on the shoulder. "Xiao Cheng, you're the very embodiment of the Ji Zhanbei I've been looking for."
Unused to being so close to other people, Xiao Cheng grew a little bashful.
Curious, Liao Xian asked Xiao Cheng how he had managed to portray a lawyer so convincingly.
Xiao Cheng's ears reddened. Glancing at Jiang Chiyan, he explained, "I watched recordings of his cases on the public court-hearing website."
Sitting beside Xiao Cheng, Jiang Chiyan became interested. "Which case?"
A little embarrassed, Xiao Cheng leaned close to his ear and spoke softly enough that only Jiang Chiyan could hear. "Every case."
Seven hundred and forty cases. Every single one.
Suddenly, Jiang Chiyan felt as though something had jabbed him in the heart. It hurt a little.