Ding!
[Host has encountered actor Feng Enhe, earning one lucky draw chance. Would you like to draw now?]
[Host has encountered director Wu Gang, earning one lucky draw chance. Would you like to draw now?]
Qi Hui's brow twitched slightly. After a brief thought, he decided to draw immediately.
[Congratulations to the host for acquiring the skill: Fishing Mastery]
[Congratulations to the host for acquiring the skill: Professional Dubbing]
Qi Hui: "..."
What kind of skills are these? Why is there even a fisherman's skill?
Glancing at the system panel, Qi Hui pulled his focus back.
Facing the puzzled looks of the others, Qi Hui shrugged and said, "A Soviet joke."
"Oh?" Feng Enhe, Wu Gang, and Director Jiang Wei were instantly intrigued.
When they were in school, the Soviet Union still existed.
Not only did it exist, but the pressure it brought was also quite substantial.
Ling Xiaosu and Zhang Ruoyun exchanged glances, looking somewhat baffled.
The internet was not well-developed at the time, and they hadn't deliberately paid attention to such matters, so they had no clear concept of Soviet jokes.
Seeing this, Qi Hui smiled and said, "It's said that one day, Brezhnev was going to visit Poland, so Polish high officials asked a painter to create a painting for propaganda and praise."
"The painter was disgusted by this act of flattery, but had no choice."
"Before long, the official came for an inspection, only to find the painting depicted a man and a woman entwined in bed, with the Kremlin visible outside the window."
"The official was furious and asked who the woman was."
"The painter replied: Brezhnev's woman. The official asked: Then who is the man?"
"The painter replied: Brezhnev's secretary. The official asked: Then where is Brezhnev?"
"The painter replied: Comrade Brezhnev is in Poland."
With that, Qi Hui pointed toward the set and said, "Comrade Ma Kui is also in Poland."
The group looked at the secretary and the wife on the set, and then thought of Ma Kui, who had already been written off, and their expressions turned strangely complex.
You don't say, but come to think of it...
"Hahahahaha." Director Jiang Wei and Feng Enhe slapped their thighs in amusement as loud laughter burst out.
Wu Gang was also chuckling nonstop: "Good thing Lao Fan wrapped up his scenes, otherwise things would get really interesting."
Ma Kui's actor, Fan Yulin, wasn't very famous, but he was a very good actor.
He used to be Zhao Buffett's first love boyfriend, and later... later the two of them ended up in court.
On the set, the three women who heard the laughter stopped in utter confusion, wondering why everyone was laughing.
Are we acting in a comedy?
"Cut... Ahem, let's take a break." Director Jiang Wei realized he had gotten too carried away with laughing and neglected the scene currently being filmed.
Seeing this, Yao Chen walked over to Ling Xiaosu, glancing at Qi Hui and Zhang Ruoyun.
"Let me introduce you." Ling Xiaosu wrapped an arm around Yao Chen's waist: "My wife, Yao Chen, she's also your senior from the Class of '99."
"Hello, Senior." Qi Hui and Zhang Ruoyun greeted her together.
"Class of '05 junior Qi Hui, Class of '07 junior Zhang Ruoyun—I've mentioned them to you," Ling Xiaosu introduced with a chuckle.
Yao Chen looked the two over and nodded: "Hello."
"I'm not playing the role of Xie Ruolin anymore; let Qi Hui do it," Ling Xiaosu said.
Yao Chen nodded. That role indeed had too few scenes—only about 30—and could be finished in half a month.
Besides, in post-production editing, who knew how many scenes might get cut anyway.
Yet Director Jiang Wei not far away widened his eyes: "What? You're really not playing it?"
Ling Xiaosu pointed at Qi Hui and said, "Didn't I just help you find someone? I recommend Qi Hui."
Hearing this, Director Jiang Wei looked somewhat disappointed. He glanced at Qi Hui, then at Zhang Ruoyun, and asked in surprise:
"Wait? Isn't this little Zhang from old Zhang's family?"
He was also a veteran director, so of course he knew Zhang Jian.
That terrifying drama *Don't Talk to Strangers* was directed by him.
The one that made Feng Yuanzheng the poster boy for domestic violence.
"Haha..." Zhang Ruoyun gave an awkward smile: "Uncle Jiang, hello."
Jiang Wei nodded: "Your dad just called me earlier, saying he was recommending an actor to me, also surnamed Qi apparently, but before he could finish explaining, the call dropped... Huh?"
As he spoke, he looked at Qi Hui in astonishment: "It couldn't be you, right?"
"Director Jiang, this is the person I recommended," Ling Xiaosu said with a trace of dissatisfaction.
Jiang Wei laughed heartily: "Right, right, you recommended him."
Anyway, old Zhang's call had cut off mid-sentence without a conclusion, so it didn't count.
After a brief interlude, Director Jiang Wei turned his attention back to Qi Hui.
The Zhongtong generally recruited its power base from students, and Xie Ruolin, as a Zhongtong case officer, was young, handsome, stylish, wealthy, and extremely mercenary.
From appearance alone, Qi Hui was a great fit for the role of Xie Ruolin.
It was just a question of whether he was slick and mercenary enough.
Jiang Wei prepared to test Qi Hui's acting skills.
Just then, Deputy Director Li, whom they had seen earlier, walked over: "Director, the scene where Li Ya interrogates Sheng Xiang is ready."
"Alright, go ahead and shoot it," Jiang Wei said, then called over the executive director to continue filming the scene where the women catch an adulterous affair.
"Come on, Qi Hui, let's go try out for the role," Jiang Wei said. "I want to see your acting."
With that, he got up and walked toward a room, followed closely by the casting director not far away.
"Lao Ling, and little Zhang, want to come along and see?"
Hearing this, Ling Xiaosu and Zhang Ruoyun followed as well.
...
Inside the room, Director Jiang Wei and his casting director sat in the main seats, while Ling Xiaosu and Zhang Ruoyun sat by the wall.
Qi Hui stood in the center of the room, taking in everyone's gaze.
Jiang Wei looked at Qi Hui: "Beijing Film Academy, Class of '05, in the same class as Yang Mi, right?"
Feeling a bit helpless inside, Qi Hui nodded slowly.
"Let's begin." The director flipped through the script in his hand, took out two sheets of paper, and handed one to Qi Hui: "Try this scene in ten minutes."
"Lao Ling, how about you act opposite him?" The director handed the other sheet of paper to Ling Xiaosu.
Since Ling Xiaosu had recommended him, the self-introduction step could be skipped.
"Sure," Ling Xiaosu smiled, rubbing his hands together, looking eager to try.
His poor performance during the last audition was mainly due to the Korean language issue, but this time he wanted to see if Qi Hui could keep up with his acting.
In the corner, Zhang Ruoyun rubbed his nose; he had nothing to do again.
Not that it was a big deal—he had just come along for the ride anyway.
...
Inside the room, it was dead silent. Both Qi Hui and Ling Xiaosu were earnestly memorizing their lines.
Ten minutes passed in a flash.
Soon, the director called out: "Let's start."
Ling Xiaosu pulled a chair over and sat next to Qi Hui. The scene to be tested was the one where Yu Zecheng comes to Xie Ruolin's home to eat dumplings, the two talk business, and Xie Ruolin seeks a partnership.
Ling Xiaosu took a deep breath, then said with a hint of shock in his voice: "According to you, this telegram is also very valuable?"
"Of course~" Qi Hui drew out the tone, half smug and half flaunting: "Brother, this is a civil war we're talking about! How could that information not be valuable?"
Not far away, Director Jiang Wei and the casting director exchanged glances, both looking somewhat surprised.
This voice... very good!
Low notes were resonant, mid-tones were powerful, and it was clear yet penetrating, unforgettable once heard.
The voice is a person's second face, and a pleasant voice undoubtedly makes people subconsciously develop a favorable impression.
Jiang Wei was no exception, and his evaluation of Qi Hui in his heart rose by a notch.
However, an actor is not a voice actor; what's needed is more than just a voice.
Ling Xiaosu was slightly startled by Qi Hui's suddenly altered voice, but as a seasoned veteran of playing leading roles, he didn't trip up.
"Brother, according to you..." Ling Xiaosu said in a low voice, looking left and right, lowering his volume slightly: "This is a way to make a fortune."
Seeing [Yu Zecheng] take the bait, the smugness and showing off on Qi Hui's face shifted into five parts fawning, three parts delight, and two parts the bliss of a successful business deal:
"So that's why, brother, I know you have some intelligence files on hand. Why don't you bring them out... hmm?"
"Everything else is fake; gold and silver... those are the real deal!"
The moment the last word was uttered, the slickness, vulgarity, and mercenary nature of a businessman instantly washed over them.
Back when he worked in engineering in his past life, Qi Hui had accompanied countless clients for drinks and banquets—what was a little thing like this?
If he needed to turn up the slick vulgarity even more, he could pull it off effortlessly.
The director slapped his thigh: "Not bad!"
This was the Xie Ruolin he wanted!
Such a good actor was recommended to me... Oh my, has old Zhang gone blind in his old age, or does he simply not know quality when he sees it?