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He followed Song Shiwei's gaze, only to see Lin Xi's hand brush against that of the man standing beside the director, flirtatious yet coyly resistant. In the end, in a corner no one was paying attention to, the assistant director's hand had already unconsciously found its way onto Lin Xi's ass. And that look in his eyes-how should he put it? It positively oozed suggestiveness.

[Good lord, the assistant director, hmm... hard to say, but Lin Xi still has a toy up his ass?? Are they really being this blatant? No wonder I thought there was something weird about his posture.]

[The Night Light Production Crew. Sure enough, they're all working from glow-in-the-dark scripts. Lin Xi and the assistant director-wait, that's not right. Wasn't today's exposé supposed to be about the director and another actor?]

[What's going on?]

Song Shiwei huffed and puffed as she flipped through the script, completely unaware that Jiang Ye, his manager, and Jiang Zhuxin were all watching, dumbfounded, behind her.

Good lord. So that was what the "night light" in the Night Light Production Crew meant?

[Ah! Found it. This poor director really is unlucky. The assistant director arranged the hotel for the auditions, only for it to become the place where his name and reputation were utterly ruined.]

[The assistant director and Lin Xi were in cahoots. They drugged the director, dumped him together with several other actors who'd come to audition, then barged through the door with a huge crowd of reporters. They photographed the director's scandal and posted it online. The assistant director was then entrusted with taking over in the crisis and became the production's director, while Lin Xi naturally became the undisputed male lead.]

[Good lord, these two really are a wolf and a jackal hunting together. In the end, Lin Xi set up the assistant director too, successfully getting another director he was close to installed in his place. The whole production became Lin Xi's one-man show.]

[A spy within a spy within a spy. Lin Xi really is scheming from head to toe. This is so fucking wild. No wonder that dumb dog Jiang Ye couldn't beat him. If Jiang Ye had even half his cunning, his standing would probably go up another level.]

Jiang Ye: ...

Fine, he admitted that being too hasty really hadn't been very clever, but wasn't Lin Xi practically riddled with scheming little holes? Every last one, from head to toe, was devoted to plotting and intrigue.

Oh, no, wait. He really did have one hole somewhere, and it was probably plugged up now.

Jiang Ye nearly laughed out loud. He'd been wondering why Lin Xi was so arrogant. So that was why.

"Jiang Ye, are we still going in?" His manager had also feasted on this juicy gossip alongside him, and now stood trembling beside him as he looked at Jiang Ye.

Song Shiwei said anxiously in her heart, [Go! Why wouldn't you go! There's gossip to feast on. Besides, you're already here, so go in and go through the motions. Put a little pressure on Lin Xi, anyway. Make a feint and scare him to death.]

Jiang Zhuxin expressed her agreement from the sidelines. Jiang Ye and his manager exchanged a glance. "We're already here. Let's go in, fire off a shot, and run."

Besides, going in meant they could watch the show and catch this damned spectacle. How could they not hurry inside?

And so, they all hit it off immediately and swaggered straight in.

Actually, it was quite normal for this director to choose a hotel for the auditions. This was a spy drama set against the backdrop of the

Republican era

.

The audition scene happened to be one where the male and female leads were trapped in a luxurious hotel in Greater Shanghai, made by the Japanese to test each other to find out which of them was the undercover agent, staging a classic dog-eat-dog scene in the hotel room.

This was also a major scene in which the two leads confirmed that they were both undercover agents. It required the actors to have an extremely firm sense of conviction and exceptionally strong acting through their eyes. Much of the information was conveyed not just through dialogue, but even more through their gazes.

It was precisely this that allowed the two leads not only to avoid exposing their identities right under the Japanese's noses, but also to pass along information, pulling off a brilliant undercover operation.

When they went in, almost all the actors auditioning had arrived. Lin Xi was standing with the assistant director, while his manager stood to one side, unobtrusively blocking everyone's view.

Song Shiwei's eyes went wide, and the voice in her heart unconsciously grew louder too.

[My eyes! What are they doing!!]

[I'm just some lousy novel reader! I read a bit of smut now and then, but that doesn't mean I like watching it live! Aaaaaah! Give me back my eyes.]

[Wait, have they gone mad? In full public view, they're actually...]

Jiang Ye, Jiang Zhuxin, and his manager all looked toward that little corner at the same time.

A second later, they truly wanted to poke their own eyes out.

They saw the assistant director stealthily guiding Lin Xi's hand to touch his □□. Lin Xi seemed to have been stimulated by something, his body writhing just like a cat in heat.

Song Shiwei was having the time of her life feasting on the gossip in her heart.

[Good lord, the assistant director is holding the little toy's toy. No wonder I was wondering what he kept fiddling with just now. Lin Xi really has paid a steep price to get this role.]

The sight was downright eye-searing. In the blink of an eye, the two had already let go, but their eyes still carried a suggestive message.

Song Shiwei turned to look at the director, who was energetically auditioning actors, and clicked her tongue inwardly. [This poor sucker of a director is still grinning away as he picks his actors. You're about to be done for.]

[How tragic. One of the rare good directors in the domestic entertainment industry, and in the end, a trash assistant director ruins his name and reputation. He even gets inexplicably framed and thrown in prison.]

The director, who was currently concentrating intently on the audition: ?

What the hell? Trash assistant director? His name and reputation ruined?

[Director, open your eyes and look! The assistant director is about to hand you some water, and it's drugged. Whatever you do, don't drink it.]

It was rare for Song Shiwei to see such a serious, talented director, so she couldn't resist blathering a little in her heart.

At first, she'd also thought the director had been blinded by □□ and wanted to use the casting couch. She hadn't expected that, after all that, the director himself was the one getting the casting-couch treatment.

[What did he do wrong? All he did was trust the wrong person!]

[Where's the assistant director? Has that little punk gone off to prepare the spiked water?!]