Shi Wei turned around and elegantly pulled out a tissue to wipe his hands.
Unable to stand being ignored, Xu Xirui gave him a hard shove. "Shi Wei, show me some respect. All it takes is one word from me to blacklist you!"
Shi Wei was shoved against the wall, his arm hitting a decoration mounted on it. It dug into him painfully.
He remained expressionless and motionless.
Seeing his silence, Xu Xirui sneered. "Scared now? I told you ages ago not to cross me. You think you won just because the truth about me falling into the water came out? Let me be straight with you: I arranged for you to be here today."
Thinking about that made Xu Xirui feel unlucky.
He had already had someone delete the crucial surveillance footage, yet some busybody had somehow dug it up, letting Shi Wei steal all his trending spots!
Luckily, he had deliberately told people not to cyberbully Shi Wei to attract fans. Otherwise, that irrefutable evidence would have slapped him right in the face.
To appease the dumbass netizens who had turned around and started insulting him, he even had to pretend he was close to Shi Wei. It was disgusting.
Shi Wei slowly straightened up, his beautiful eyes brimming with amusement. "I've always wondered. You say it only takes one word to blacklist me, so why haven't you said it yet? Are you mute?"
"You!" Xu Xirui pointed at Shi Wei, momentarily too angry to speak.
"Oh." Shi Wei gave a mischievous smile. "A stutterer, then."
"You don't actually think you can act in Director Zhang's film, do you? Even getting to come here was a favor from me. Take a photo with me later, and then you can leave."
"With acting only slightly better than a robot's, don't embarrass the Xu family." Xu Xirui looked at Shi Wei with distaste, then gave a mocking laugh. "I forgot. You're no longer part of our Xu family."
Shi Wei replied with exaggerated sweetness, "That's right. Now you're the only one left to embarrass the Xu family, Cousin."
Xu Xirui dismissed his trash talk as useless bravado. "You're not even qualified to play a supporting role to me."
He snorted disdainfully, turned, and left.
Shi Wei smiled at his retreating back, his bright eyes lighting up.
So that's how it is...
This Xu Xirui was exactly as the original owner's memories had shown him: a green-tea white lotus, innocent outside and rotten inside.
Shi Wei returned to the waiting room, just in time for a staff member to call him into the conference room. A row of the creative team sat inside, including Xu Xirui.
The renowned director Zhang Zixiang, however, was absent.
Shi Wei introduced himself politely and humbly. At his name, everyone present looked a little odd.
Calming the Wind and Waves was a big-budget period production they had spent five years preparing. They wanted actors, not a scandal-ridden traffic star like him.
The assistant director told Shi Wei to choose something from a pile of period costumes, thinking he would just go through the motions with him.
Shi Wei chose a somewhat ornate costume and put it on. The moment the assistant director said, "Action," his expression changed.
Loose, sumptuous robes wrapped his slender figure, setting off Shi Wei's pale face and red lips. Yet his eyes were filled with madness, like wildly dancing flames, making him look both gorgeous and bewitching.
"General, you've finally fallen into my hands." He tipped his chin up slightly. The hint of feminine softness from earlier vanished completely, and the darkness suppressed in his heart slowly bared its fangs.
The assistant director froze. Only after the person beside him nudged him did he recover and read his line somewhat stiffly. "Liang Fang, by doing this, you're betraying the people of this land."
At those words, Shi Wei chuckled, then lost more and more control of himself and burst into laughter.
When his laughter ended, tears glistened at the corners of his eyes. He actually looked somewhat sorrowful as he gazed at the assistant director. "So what?"
A chill immediately ran down the assistant director's spine. Even Chen Feng, seated beside Xu Xirui, could not help perking up.
This is the Liang Fang we wanted!
Liang Fang did not have much screen time. It was a small but complex role, and they had auditioned many actors, only to find that either their looks were wrong or their acting was terrible. They had planned to cut the role outright if they still could not find an actor today. Though the story would lose some flavor, at least one subpar actor would not ruin the entire film.
But now there was no need. Their Liang Fang had arrived!
"Wait here. I need to make a call." Leaving those hurried words behind, the assistant director went out to call Zhang Zixiang.
Shi Wei: ???
Are you going to bring me a few oranges, too?
Puzzled, Xu Xirui tugged at Chen Feng beside him and whispered, "Feng, what does the assistant director mean?"
Chen Feng was a little excited. "Ruirui, thank you for recommending Shi Wei for the audition. We've found our Liang Fang."
Xu Xirui was incredulous. "...What?"
I fucking wanted you to humiliate Shi Wei, not actually cast him!
The look on Xu Xirui's face made Shi Wei want to laugh.
Hahaha, that backfired, didn't it, Xu Xirui? And I'm not done messing with you yet!
Go get Ji Hanchuan to beat me up if you've got the guts, dumbass!
Zhang Zixiang talked at length about his publicity and distribution plans, while Ji Hanchuan sat beside him, leafing through the script somewhat distractedly.
He was rarely this irritable. Having his divorce plans interrupted had truly made him lose his composure somewhat.
If being unfilial had been an option, he would not have married two years ago.
"Hanchuan, what do you think?"
Before Ji Hanchuan could answer, a phone suddenly rang. Zhang Zixiang answered it without avoiding his presence. "Hmm? What did you say? You've found Liang Fang?! You're not pulling my leg, are you?"
After hanging up, Zhang Zixiang looked at Ji Hanchuan. "Well? Want to come take a look? Remember the role of Liang Fang I talked to you about? Apparently, they've found someone suitable."
"Of course I remember." Ji Hanchuan nodded.
When he first read the script, he had found Liang Fang a very interesting character. Unfortunately, Director Zhang had never found a suitable actor, much to his regret, and had even planned to cut the role.
Ji Hanchuan was interested now, too. "Then I'll go take a look with you."
As the two approached the conference room, the assistant director hurried toward them. "We've found Liang Fang! He's a young actor named Shi Wei. Come take a look!"
Ji Hanchuan: ...
Surely it couldn't be that much of a coincidence?
"What's wrong?" Zhang Zixiang noticed that Ji Hanchuan's expression had turned cold.
Only then did he remember that Ji Hanchuan always kept a low profile. Before any official announcement, he probably did not want those young actors seeing him and then blabbing everywhere.
"It's fine. I wasn't planning to go in either. Let's go to the room next door. There's a monitor there where we can watch their auditions."
Ji Hanchuan accepted the arrangement. After all, he also wanted to see what Shi Wei was usually like.
Only Shi Wei appeared on the huge monitor screen. His small face was fair, his features handsome, and he stood straight as bamboo.
Zhang Zixiang could not help clicking his tongue twice. "His looks pass muster. Now we just need to see how his acting is."
Following Zhang Zixiang's instructions, the assistant director had Shi Wei try another scene.
Shi Wei once again captured Liang Fang's character precisely. Not only Zhang Zixiang but even Ji Hanchuan found himself staring intently at the screen.
This idiot could actually act?
"Good! He's the one!"
Just as Zhang Zixiang was about to finalize the decision, Shi Wei suddenly gave a wicked smile on-screen.
"Assistant Director, if possible, could I audition for the third male lead?"