\nSheng Xing Ze hung up the call with Yu Bai and sat quietly on the sofa for some time, then he picked up the script Tao Yi Ning gave him.
"Twins" is a story of a famous prostitute Xue Qing and his younger brother Yue Bai helping an unfavored prince, Chu Tian Yi, regain the throne.
Sheng Xing Ze's current script has the beginning of the story.
The parents of Xue Qing and his twin brother Yue Bai died when they were young, leaving behind a pair of brothers to depend on each other. Unlike ordinary people, Xue Qing and Yue Bai have had telepathic connections since they were young, and they can understand each other's thoughts and feelings.
Knowing that Yue Bai wanted to study and make a name for the family, Xue Qing was very supportive of his younger brother's dream. In order to raise money, he chose to be a male escort in the Nan Feng Pavilion. Xue Qing was so beautiful that he quickly established his reputation in the capital and became the top oiran of the Nan Feng Pavilion.
It was during this time that he got acquainted with the prince Chu Tian Yi, who was extremely unpopular at the time. In order to prevent his father and brother from being suspicious of him, Chu Tian Yi came to the Nan Feng Pavilion every day, and every time he would name Xue Qing.
Every time Chu Tian Yi came to the Nan Feng Pavilion, he could sit all night with a pot of wine. Although Xue Qing is a prostitute, he has read a lot of books with his younger brother. The two have become confidants one after another, and gradually become in love with each other.
Because the characters are identical twins, Director Ye would like to use the same actor for these two characters, meaning the roles of Yue Bai and Xue Qing will be performed by one actor.
This scene was not difficult for him. It is nothing more than to find the extravagant and pure feeling of Xue Qing, while his younger brother Yue Bai has a completely different temperament from his older brother. He is more like a well protected child by his family, the little hot-headed boy who knows nothing about the cruel world.
Sheng Xing Ze felt that the most difficult thing to grasp in this scene was Xue Qing's attitude towards Chu Tian Yi, which was vague but clear. There was a thin line between them, and they knew each other's feelings, but neither of them took the lead to cross it.
This feeling is like looking back at Yu Bai's previous actions from an outsider's view, every action carries hints, their feelings for each other are already known to the onlookers.
Thinking of Yu Bai, the laziness in Sheng Xing Ze suddenly disappeared. Only by performing this play well, he would be one step closer to the trophy of the best actor. Otherwise, he could not be worthy of Yu Bai's contribution to him.
Three days soon arrived. It was rare for Sheng Xing Ze to get up early, usually Father Sheng had to come in to wake him up. He consciously turned off the alarm clock and got up from the bed.
Knowing that Sheng Xing Ze had an important audition today, Sheng Xing Ze's father used his housekeeping skill to make a hearty breakfast for his beloved son. Seeing Tao Yi Ning and Mi He Qiu were waiting for their son downstairs, he warmly invited them to come in.Β
It was not the first time Tao Yi Ning has seen Father Sheng. She had met Father Sheng at some dinner parties, but Yu Bai had never had any business relation with Father Sheng at that time; therefore, she would not want to take the initiative to start a conversation with this newly upstart man.
Although Father Sheng is a local tyrant, Mother Sheng has a very good sense of fashion. Every time Father Sheng attends any party, Mother Sheng personally mixes and matches their clothes; so that every time they appear, they are always in couple clothes. Soon, they become a well-known model couple.
Tao Yi Ning looked at Father Sheng who was wearing a pink apron in front of her, and it was difficult for her to relate him with his usual suit and leather appearance.
Tao Yi Ning and Mi He Qiu felt a little awkward, so they just quietly waited for breakfast after they sat down at the table.
"Xing Xing, what do you think of my outfit?" Sheng Xing Ze was stopped by Mother Sheng, who was wearing a red cheongsam, as soon as he walked out of the room.
For every piece of Mother Sheng's clothes, Sheng Xing Ze always commented these words: "They look good!"
Mother Sheng tapped her son's forehead, "Don't learn from your dad, you won't find a girlfriend if you just do perfunctory things."
Sheng Xing Ze touched his nose, thinking that he could not find a girlfriend, but he already had a boyfriend.
"This is a good start. Don't you know this is called 'success in a single move'?" Mother Sheng explained her outfit.
"I'm not taking a college entrance examination. Mom, you're too exaggerated." Sheng Xing Ze circled around Mother Sheng.
"Xiao Yu told me that your audition is very important this time." Mother Sheng patted Sheng Xing Ze's face affectionately, "Of course, it's very important to me."
Sheng Xing Ze only caught the keyword "Xiao Yu" in Mother Sheng's mouth, "why are you still secretly contacting Film Emperor Yu?"
Mother Sheng raised her eyebrows threateningly, "What's the matter? If Xiao Yu hasn't been reporting to me every day, how would I know about your career development?"
Sheng Xing Ze heard that Yu Bai talked with Mother Sheng every day, and he was not sure what to feel about this.
He is different from Yu Bai. The older man came out with his family a long time ago. However, in the eyes of the Sheng Family's parents, Sheng Xing Ze did not show any tendency to like men. Yu Bai did this to make Sheng Xing Ze come out more smoothly in the future.
It had been three days since he was with Yu Bai, and Sheng Xing Ze felt that he missed the other man even more.
After breakfast, Mi He Qiu drove Tao Yi Ning and Sheng Xing Ze towards the audition site.
"Xing Ze, take a deep breath, don't panic. I don't think it's a big problem as long as you keep your cool and perform this well like usual." Tao Yi Ning sat beside Sheng Xing Ze, her voice trembling because of the tension.
In contrast with Tao Yi Ning's nervousness, Sheng Xing Ze, the protagonist, seemed to be very calm. He put the script on his lap and silently recited the lines in his heart.
Hearing Tao Yi Ning's nagging by his ears, he could not help but comfort her: "Sister Tao, why are you more nervous than me."
Tao Yi Ning also realized that she had said too much. No matter what she did now, she could not change what would happen in the future. She simply held back her emotions and did not disturb Sheng Xing Ze.
Mi He Qiu quickly parked the car at the door of the audition site.
"Brother Sheng, Sister Tao, we are here."
Sheng Xing Ze opened his eyes as soon as the car stopped. He knocked on the back of Mi He Qiu's chair, "Will you go up with me? Sister Tao seems to be too nervous."
Tao Tao was amused by his words, "I'm being this nervous because of whom? This little kid has learned to tease your Sister Tao."
Director Ye's assistant Pei Man stood at the door to greet him, "Hello, I'm Director Ye's assistant, Pei Man."
He shook their hands and greeted the three people one by one, with a professional smile on his lips.
"Director Yu asked Director Zhang Chao for a clip of "Xing Lan" and was very satisfied with Brother Sheng's acting skill, so today I only arranged an audition for you alone." Pei Man quietly revealed to Sheng Xing Ze in the elevator.
"Thank you for telling me," Sheng Xing Ze smiled gratefully at him. He was bound to win today's audition.
Pei Man took Sheng Xing Ze to the audition room. He apologized to Tao Yi Ning and Mi He Qiu in a low voice, and stopped them outside the door, only letting Sheng Xing Ze in.
Sheng Xing Ze gave Tao Yi Ning an assurance look before entering the door, but Tao Yi Ning still looked anxious while waiting by the door.
Although Sheng Xing Ze was the only one participate in the audition, this audition did not mean to despise him.
Except for Ye Shuang Yang, several associate directors, editors and producers are all present in the room. This is their last hope. They can continue to drag on this movie production, but the other actors participating in this movie cannot always keep their schedule open for them. If no suitable actor is found today, the shooting of "Twins" will be delayed indefinitely.
For this reason, they placed great hopes on the newcomer, who is highly recommended by Mr. Hui Hong Sheng.
"Hello, Director Ye." Sheng Xing Ze greeted everyone present one by one as soon as he entered the door. Tao Yi Ning had done his homework for him ahead of time, and he could accurately call out the names of the people in the room.
Ye Shuang Yang raised his head, looked up and down sharply, and nodded at Sheng Xing Ze, "Go to the back to change clothes."
Hearing Ye Shuang Yang's words, Sheng Xing Ze knew that his appearance is qualified. Pei Man told him that previously there were many actors who had come to the audition, Ye Shuang Yang just glanced at them, then he directly disapproved of them even before they could put on the costume.
Sheng Xing Ze responded and followed Pei Man to the props room to change clothes. After he left, several people in the room whispered in low tone.
"This appearance is the best among all the people who auditioned so far." The screenwriter sat beside him and nodded satisfiedly, "what do you think, Director Ye?"
"Let's take a look first," Ye Shuang Yang gave an ambiguous answer, and the others slowly quiet down after saying a few words.
When Sheng Xing Ze changed into the costume and walked into the room, the others exchanged glances and they all saw the excitement in each other's eyes.
In particular, the screenwriter looked at Sheng Xing Ze with the hottest gaze. If there were not a row of higher ups in front of her, she would not hesitate to rush forward and hand the contract to Sheng Xing Ze directly.
Looking sideways at Ye Shuang Yang's face, the screenwriter kept praying that Sheng Xing Ze's acting skill meets Director Ye's expectations. After seeing Sheng Xing Ze's version of Xue Qing, she did not want to have anyone else taking this role.