"Acting? You want me to audition tomorrow? I'm free tomorrow, so I'll give it a try. Send someone to pick me up? No need. I remember there's a car at home."
It was past nine that evening.
Chen Zheng received a call from the beautiful writer Qin Yi. She said that the cultivation transmigration drama was about to begin filming and invited him to audition tomorrow. After a little thought, he agreed.
A few minutes later, in the living room.
"Acting? Seriously? And it's an urban youth idol drama about someone returning from cultivation? You accepted a script that cliché? They aren't trying to use you as free labor, are they? Wait, why does this cliché script sound exactly like your own experience? Didn't you return from cultivation yourself?"
When An Jing heard that Chen Zheng was going to act tomorrow and listened to his account of the script, she thought it sounded terribly cliché. But on closer thought, wasn't the protagonist's experience exactly what Chen Zheng had gone through himself?
Wasn't that... a little too much of a coincidence?
"Could that beautiful writer Qin Yi be an old flame you knew before, who also transmigrated back? Is she deliberately using this to mend a broken mirror and get back together with you?"
An Jing's eyes darted as a possibility suddenly occurred to her.
"Sister An, aren't you overthinking this a little?"
Even Su Cheng couldn't help laughing.
"Which of you has a driver's license? Drive me to the set tomorrow."
Chen Zheng smiled as he asked.
"Me! I'm sticking to you from now on anyway. Tomorrow I'll go see how good your acting is!"
An Jing spoke up at once.
"..."
Su Cheng sighed inwardly. She actually wanted to see how Chen Zheng would act too, but since An Jing had already spoken, perhaps she wouldn't tag along.
"Su Cheng's coming tomorrow too! We need to keep a close eye on this guy. If he takes a fancy to an actress and runs off with her, you'll lose your personal bodyguard, Su Cheng! So we absolutely have to watch him!"
An Jing immediately put an arm around Su Cheng and stared at Chen Zheng.
Chen Zheng merely smiled faintly. Truthfully, ordinary women really didn't catch his eye.
The next day.
On set.
It was a fairly upscale residential complex in Nan City. The production had rented a luxuriously furnished home specifically to serve as the main set.
But when Chen Zheng appeared before the crew, many of them frowned.
"Sister Qin, this is the male lead you found?"
A young man with slicked hair and a powdered face glanced at Chen Zheng, a flash of contempt crossing his eyes. His gaze shifted, quickly sweeping over An Jing and Su Cheng, who had come with Chen Zheng, several times before he smiled. "Hello, beauties. I'm Lu Yun, a popular young star with a huge following. Let's exchange contact details. If you're interested in acting or becoming famous, you can contact me privately!"
An Jing's brow furrowed slightly.
Su Cheng simply ignored him.
"Lu Yun, I decide who plays the lead in this drama!"
Qin Yi's pretty face turned cold.
"Uh... fine! But Sister Qin, if you cast a complete newcomer without any experience as the lead and this goes wrong, you'll have no one else to blame."
The slick-haired, powdered-faced Lu Yun chuckled.
"Miss Qin, I don't think this young man you found is very reliable." The director spoke up as well, frowning as he studied Chen Zheng. "This newcomer is tall enough, and his looks are decent, but his bearing is too ordinary. He doesn't really resemble the protagonist you wrote. Besides, if you use a complete newcomer, the ratings might... Even with Yanran as the female lead, if the male lead isn't up to par..."
At those words, ninety percent of the crew looked at Chen Zheng with doubt in their eyes.
A complete newcomer?
And a complete newcomer who didn't seem particularly special at that. Would it really work for Qin Yi to promote someone like him by making him the lead?
"Director Xu, I have great confidence in Chen Zheng! I'm providing the largest share of this drama's funding, so I decide who plays the male lead. It's Chen Zheng!"
Qin Yi stated it outright.
"..."
Director Xu frowned, but could only shrug. After all, Qin Yi was the drama's principal investor. These days, it wasn't unusual for an investor to pick a male lead to promote.
Still, Director Xu was curious. This young man didn't seem to have anything unusual about him, so why had Qin Yi taken a fancy to him?
"I trust Sister Qin's judgment."
At that moment, Yanran, the female lead who had remained silent until now, spoke. She wore a simple T-shirt and denim hot pants, her legs fair and slender. As she spoke, she revealed a set of pearly white teeth, and her voice was as melodious and pleasing as an oriole's song.
"This woman... has something to her!"
An Jing looked at Yanran with a slight frown. The moment she had seen her, she had sensed that this woman was no ordinary person.
"Yanran... an A-list star... This drama doesn't seem so simple..."
Su Cheng felt much the same as An Jing. She had heard Yanran's name before.
"Then... let's begin." With no other choice, Director Xu signaled the crew to get moving. Once everything was ready, he thought it over and decided to explain personally to Chen Zheng how to act. "Chen Zheng, you should know the script by now, right? The first scene is very simple. The male lead transmigrates back from a world of immortals and martial heroes and appears out of thin air in the female lead's home. Although she's shocked, she isn't an ordinary person either. She's an inheritor of a Chinese Ancient Martial Arts sect. So she attacks, intending to subdue him. But since the male lead is a cultivator, he defeats her in an instant, then pins her against the wall! So... the male lead absolutely must have the bearing of an expert. All you need to do is portray that peerless expert's bearing!"
"Got it."
Chen Zheng smiled and nodded after listening.
"Got it? Good! Chen Zheng, don't let us down! Although Qin Yi personally invited you to play the male lead, if you botch it, all of our crew's work will have been for nothing. If I lose my temper, I start cursing."
Director Xu gave Chen Zheng a serious look, then signaled everyone to take their positions and prepare for the first scene.
"What a cliché setup! What a dog-blood plot!"
Hearing this, An Jing couldn't resist muttering a complaint.
"..."
Su Cheng didn't know what to say either. The first scene written by this beautiful writer Qin Yi actually bore a striking resemblance to her first meeting with Chen Zheng. Surely that was just a coincidence.
"Action!"
Director Xu raised his hand, and filming officially began on the first scene!
"You... who are you!"
Chen Zheng stood before the window, his back to the female lead. The female lead had just come out of the bedroom when she spotted a stranger in her home. Her expression chilled, and she questioned him coldly.
"Who am I..."
Chen Zheng turned around and gave Yanran an indifferent glance, standing there casually. At that moment, time and space throughout the room seemed to freeze! An indescribable aura emanated from him. Merely by standing there, he seemed to have everything under his control!
"..."
Yanran was dumbfounded!
"..."
Director Xu was dumbfounded!
The slick-haired, powdered-faced Lu Yun was dumbfounded too! The entire crew was stunned!
What... what kind of bearing was this? Why did it feel as though, the moment this fellow stood there, he became the absolute center, the absolute focus?
"Perfect! Absolutely perfect! That's the aura! That's exactly the aura of the male lead I wrote!"
Qin Yi snapped out of it and cried out, her face filled with delight.
"Director Xu, did I pass the audition?"
At that moment, Chen Zheng looked toward Director Xu.
"You... really are a complete newcomer?" Director Xu also came back to his senses. He had genuinely been so astonished that even after the first scene was over, he still hadn't recovered!
"This is my first time acting. I listened to your guidance about playing an expert, Director Xu. Emotional scenes might be difficult for me, but playing an expert is quite easy."
Chen Zheng smiled faintly at Director Xu.
"..."
For a moment, Director Xu didn't know what to say.
He had thought Chen Zheng was a complete newcomer who had merely caught Qin Yi's eye, so she was determined to promote him. He had held no hopes whatsoever for Chen Zheng's acting! He had expected the first scene to take at least a dozen attempts, yet all Chen Zheng had needed was a turn, a glance, and a casually spoken line to portray a mysterious, unfathomable bearing!
It certainly wouldn't be difficult for a veteran actor to play a peerless expert, but this fellow Chen Zheng was a complete newcomer. Could he be an acting genius?