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Chapter 22
All the people who received the number badge pinned it to their right chest as required.
The audition would take place in a day so the schedule was tight. Everyone was only given five minutes. The staff responsible for maintaining order at the scene sent printed tips with precautions written on it.
1. Artists who are participating in the audition, please introduce yourself and inform the crew of the role you are auditioning for. The director might make you do various expressions including smiling, laughing, crying, collapse or other emotions. Please cooperate with the director’s request and choose one or two acts from the audition script to perform. The director might interrupt you at any time. If you can’t bear the psychological shock then you can leave early.
2. After hearing the staff call your number, enter from the front door and exit from the back door to keep the scene quiet. If there is no response after three calls, it is regarded as automatically giving up.
3. The results of the audition will be announced within three days.
These tips should be made by the people of the publicity department. There was no extra nonsense. It was simple and neat.
Zhou Yan called her four artists to an empty office. “Don’t think too much. Go in and introduce yourself first. Then follow the director’s instructions. Director Liu might have strict requirements for acting and he is serious, but President Pei is present. He will give some face to Tianxuan’s artists. Even if you don’t perform well, he won’t embarrass you in public.”
Cheng Xia immediately grasped the key point. “President Pei is also here today?”
Zhou Yan glanced at him and nodded. “President Pei is the producer and head of the drama.”
Cheng Xia suddenly felt at ease. President Pei was personally supervising the production then there would be no problem with this drama!
Qi Xiaotian couldn’t help asking, “Since President Pei is personally participating, shouldn’t us Tianxuan artists have a higher chance of being selected?”
Zhou Yan frowned slightly. “Theoretically, this is true. However, it isn’t necessarily the case. After all, the original author and the director are there. President Pei has talked about a fair competition and it is impossible to force an artist on Director Liu. I heard from the staff that a few famous celebrities came here today. In particular, the competition for the roles of Qin Nian and Lu Fengyang is extremely fierce.”
She hadn’t expected these small famous stars to come and make things lively. Did they think that Tianxuan’s production could definitely become popular so they watched to catch the heat? No matter the reason, the competition was fierce beyond everyone’s expectations.
Zhou Yan was very nervous but on the surface, she showed the calmness of an agent. She glanced at Cheng Xia and Qi Xiaotian. “Have you heard of Ye Mingqian?”
Cheng Xia searched the name in his memories and soon remembered. “Is he the omega who acted in the literary movie ‘Flowing Light’ that was very popular in the first half of the year?”
Zhou Yan nodded. “Yes, he is 20 years old and one of the fastest growing omega actors in China. He is also auditioning today and the role he wants to compete for is the main character Qin Nian.”
Cheng Xia’s heart trembled slightly. He hadn’t expected such a strong competitor.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Initially, President Pei said this drama was an investment of Group C and it was best to let newcomers from Tianxuan play it. However, it wasn’t an internal drama after all. The moment news of the audition was released, he couldn’t stop others from coming.
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Qi Xiaotian didn’t have such confidence and scratched his head with a smile. “The role of Qin Nian is so competitive? Then should I choose the character of Qin Nian’s close childhood friend?”
Zhou Yan thought about it and nodded. “Now it isn’t too late to change roles. Newcomers don’t have to play the leading role. There is still a chance to show your face. It is good to play a supporting role and hone your acting skills.” She looked at Cheng Xia. “Cheng Xia, what about you?”
Cheng Xia looked firm. “I will still try Qin Nian. I have been preparing with his script.”
***
At 9 o’clock, the audition officially began.
Everyone who walked into the audition scene was taken aback. In addition to leaving a wide open space for the actors’ performance, the other side contained five people sitting—producer Pei Shaoze, director Liu Xueyi, screenwriter Xu Moran, original author Lemongrass and assistant and live host, Zhang Fan.
In addition to these five people, there were several people to the side including the lightning engineer, photographer, sound person and field recorder. The camera was actually equipped with dual tracks and there were two cameras to shoot at the same time. There was also a monitoring screen in front of the director and President Pei!
Was this an audition? Wasn’t it the actual shooting scene?
Most of the auditions in the circle were like company interviews with artists performing some scenes on the spot. It was rare to turn on the camera directly like this and even lighting and sound were prepared.
Some newcomers who had never seen such a big scene were shocked by such a formal audition, In addition, there was Pei Shaoze sitting in the first position. He was serious and cold-eyed and many newcomers couldn’t help trembling when they saw him. They didn’t know how to act. Liu Xueyi was also very serious and kicked some people out in disgust after only one minute of acting.
The artists waiting outside became more nervous after seeing those who were kicked out only tens of seconds after entering. The entire audition scene was shrouded in a depressed atmosphere. The faces of those coming out of the audition room became uglier and some people couldn’t help complaining, “This is just a damn online drama. Why so serious…?”
Cheng Xia closed his eyes and recited the script in his head.
He was also a bit nervous but once he heard that the audition scene was so formal, he felt that President Pei attached great importance to this drama. He wanted to perform well in front of President Pei and tension gradually turned to motivation. Cheng Xia clenched his fists and recited the lines of the audition script several times without missing a word.
Soon, it was the number 10 Zhou Jiawen’s turn. He was trying out for the alpha protagonist, Lu Fengyang. After all, he had acted in several online dramas and had a lot more control than most newcomers. Zhou Yan personally took him in and wanted to stay to see his performance but Pei Shaoze indifferently told her, “Agent, please go out. Artist, remain at the scene.”
Zhou Yan was forced to go out.
After a while, Zhou Jiawen came out. Zhou Yan hurried up to him and asked, “How was it?”
Zhou Jiawen frowned. “I don’t know. They had me go back and wait for the notice.”
Cheng Xia, “……”
Wait for the notice. These three words were really torture.
Qi Xiaotian came over and asked, “What did President Pei say?”
Zhou Jiawen smiled bitterly. “He sat there like a statue, extremely serious. He was cold from beginning to end and I didn’t dare look into his eyes. Once I finished acting, he told me to go back and wait for the notice.”
Cheng Xia, “……”
Wait for the notice. It felt like a person being taken to the execution ground and waiting for the executioner’s knife to fall on his neck. Cheng Xia could imagine how strong President Pei’s aura was.
Xue Ling soon went in. She came out with a very cold face and the result was the same. “He had me go back and wait for the notice.”
Zhou Yan helplessly held her forehead.
The morning auditions soon ended. Cheng Xia saw many handsome alphas competing for the role of Lu Fengyang. In the afternoon, the scene’s style changed suddenly. Many beautiful, lovely and sunny omegas appeared in the corridor. It was because the characters being auditioned in the afternoon, Qin Nian and the funny character Zhang Xiaoheng were both omegas.
Of course, there were some betas trying to compete. There were no rules in the industry that only omegas could play omegas. As long as the appearance was suitable and the performance similar, no one would scold an omega playing an alpha. Instead, they thought actors who could reverse the gender were very powerful.
Cheng Xia sat in the corridor and waited. A long time passed before the female assistant called out, “Number 97.”
A young man in a light blue sweater came over from the corner.
He was nearly 1.8 meters tall and had a thin and well-proportioned figure. He wore a pair of sunglasses that covered half his face. After hearing the call, he took off his sunglasses and walked to the audition room. Cheng Xia recognized him as the very hot omega star this year, Ye Mingqian.
On closer examination, he really was beautiful. His skin was a dazzling white and his peach blossom eyes were gentle. People couldn’t help wanting to get close to him and protect him, even if they were both omegas. Cheng Xia thought he had an excellent temperament.
As if perceiving the gaze on him, Ye Mingqian turned his head slightly to meet a pair of clear eyes.
Cheng Xia smiled politely at him.
The other person might be a huge threat to him but Cheng Xia felt the audition was a new competition to be won by skill. He was a newcomer and Ye Mingqian had been in the industry for many years. If he really couldn’t compete then it was because he wasn’t as skilled as others. He couldn’t blame them for grabbing this role, right?
Ye Mingqian also smiled at Cheng Xia.
Perhaps it was because they were omegas but the fighting spirit wasn’t as strong as the alphas in the morning. Still, this smile was just on the surface. There could be only one person who got the role of Qin Nian. Everyone naturally had to do their best to fight for it.
***
Inside the room, Liu Xueyi had watched a whole day of demons dancing like mad and couldn’t help complaining, “The person just now faced his butt to the camera and his lines weren’t good. He forgot his words and made a wronged expression. I couldn’t bear to scold him. I’m afraid he might cry if I scold him.”
Then Zhang Fan told him, “The next number 97 is Ye Mingqian. The role he will try is also Qin Nian.”
Liu Xueyi’s eyes lit up. “Ye Mingqian? This person’s acting skills aren’t bad. President Pei, do you know him? He is the protagonist of the literary movie ‘Flowing Light’ that was popular in the first half of the year. However, his temperament is partial to the literary and artistic style. It doesn’t fit with Qin Nian’s image in the novel, right?”
Pei Shaoze answered casually, “I know him. A good actor won’t let his image be stereotyped. He probably came to audition for the role of Qin Nian because he wants to expand his acting path and change the audience’s inherent impression of him. He wants to challenge his acting skills.”
Liu Xueyi nodded. “Okay, let’s take a good look.”
Pei Shaoze turned to Zhang Fan. “Who is after him?”
Zhang Fan whispered, “Number 98, Cheng Xia.”
Pei Shaoze, “……”
Cheng Xia, what stinking luck was this? He was one of the last ones in the afternoon and also encountered the strongest opponent, Ye Mingqian? Where was his main character aura?
Pei Shaoze gently pressed a hand against his temple. He wasn’t worried that he was nervous but if Ye Mingqian’s performance was too good, Cheng Xia would be instantly compared even if he was good. After all, Cheng Xia was a newcomer with no acting experience. If his acting wasn’t good, it would be hard to impress Liu Xueyi, a demanding director.
Fortunately, the author was present. Pei Shaoze felt that Qin Nian in the author’s mind should be closer to Cheng Xia’s understanding of Qin Nian. After all, Cheng Xia had read the original book many times during this period while Ye Mingqian definitely didn’t have a lot of time to figure out Qin Nian’s role.
Opportunity was only given to those who were prepared.
Pei Shaoze sat up straight and glanced at the front door.