So he really did have a cheat system... Qi Hui felt a slight surge of joy and silently chanted in his mind:
"Draw a prize!"
[Congratulations to the host for acquiring the skill: Beginner Psychological Analysis]
"..."
Qi Hui was somewhat bewildered. Why did it have to pull psychology?
He could at least use some acting skills, vocal training, or something like that.
This system was a bit unreliable.
"Senior brother?" Zhang Ruoyun tilted his head, looking puzzled.
Why was his senior brother zoning out?
Could he be sick?
"...Come in." Qi Hui snapped back to reality and led his junior brother inside.
Zhang Ruoyun was a junior brother at school with whom he shared a very close relationship.
Class of 07, two years behind him, though in the vocational training program.
If he had been in the undergraduate program, he would have been a classmate of Shuangzi the walking unit of measurement.
Of course, the vocational training program also had its share of talented individuals, such as Tan Songyun.
"Make yourself at home, don't be formal," Qi Hui warmly hosted him. "I'll go pour you a glass of water."
"I should sit... where am I supposed to sit?" Zhang Ruoyun's face darkened; this apartment was so small that even stretching one's legs was an effort.
After looking around, he finally sat down on the bed.
Qi Hui walked over carrying a cup and a bowl. The bowl was for his own use, and the cup was for Little Zhang.
He had no money, so naturally, there were no spare water glasses.
"What brings you here?" Qi Hui asked, puzzled. "Why didn't you even call, just showing up out of the blue?"
"Heh, I was afraid you'd reject me over the phone again," Zhang Ruoyun said with a huff.
"This is the crew and role I found for you."
With that, he handed the documents in his hand to Qi Hui.
"Senior brother, you can't refuse this time. You helped me so much in the past, at least give me a chance to help you. Society isn't like school, and being an extra won't keep you fed..." Zhang Ruoyun rambled on and on.
He couldn't imagine how anyone could survive on a few thousand yuan a month.
Before he could finish speaking, Qi Hui had already taken the documents from his hand:
"Fine, as you say."
Zhang Ruoyun was momentarily stunned. Instead of feeling joy, a sour stinging sensation rose in the bridge of his nose.
Such a proud person his senior brother was, yet now he didn't even offer a polite refusal. One could only imagine to what extent life had forced him.
Damn this fucking society!
"...What wild thoughts are running through your head?" Qi Hui looked at his reddened eyes, unable to stop a row of black lines from forming on his forehead.
Could this kid possibly be feeling sorry for me?
At this thought, goosebumps broke out all over Qi Hui.
"What have you been up to lately?" Qi Hui began changing the subject.
"Not much, playing a third male lead," Zhang Ruoyun said with a cough.
Qi Hui: "..."
Truth be told, he was still somewhat envious.
Zhang Ruoyun realized something was amiss and quickly said, "Let's talk business, senior brother. This afternoon, we're going to meet the assistant director."
Qi Hui flipped through the documents in his hand and discovered it was a classic drama: The Temptation to Go Home.
Looking at the title of the show, Hong Shixian's evil charm smile surfaced in his mind.
However, the role assigned to him was the second male lead Gao Wenyen's... doctor friend.
It was the doctor who treated the female lead after she jumped into the sea and was rescued.
Although it was a role with very few scenes, it still counted as a minor supporting part.
"Who is the male lead of this show?"
"Not decided yet," Zhang Ruoyun said. "The originally scheduled male lead thought the role wasn't good enough and kept turning it down."
"Let's go." Qi Hui closed the folder.
"Where to?"
"Eat, and then change our outfits," Qi Hui said.
...
Clothing store.
After filling their stomachs, Zhang Ruoyun followed Qi Hui to rent some clothes.
Qi Hui didn't have much money and never considered buying; what if the audition didn't work out, how would he go on living?
Besides, you could even rent video discs nowadays, so renting clothes was perfectly normal, wasn't it?
In front of the fitting room, Zhang Ruoyun and the proprietress were waiting, while not far away a child was watching the cartoon Fruity Robo.
Before long, the door opened and Qi Hui walked out.
On his feet were a pair of black leather shoes, leading up to sleek white suit trousers.
Further up, beneath a white shirt, a sharply defined musculature was faintly discernible.
Little Zhang felt a twinge of envy; he wondered how many girls this physique could captivate.
The proprietress's eyes lit up as she strode over on her silk-clad legs.
"Sir, this outfit fits you wonderfully," the proprietress said with a beaming smile. "This is my first time seeing someone so handsome who suits a white suit this well."
As she spoke, the proprietress reached out directly, helping Qi Hui straighten his collar and smoothly tying his tie.
Unintentionally, her slender fingers brushed across Qi Hui's firm chest.
"Thank you... proprietress, your husband is still at the cash register," Qi Hui reminded her, feeling that the proprietress's hands were being a bit uninhibited, dancing across him like playing a piano.
"Pay no attention to him..." the proprietress smiled. "Has anyone ever told you that you look like Leon Lai, and that you're just as handsome as him?"
"You're the first."
"Haha, really?" The proprietress laughed so hard her shoulders shook:
"With talent like yours, you must be a young and accomplished business genius, right?"
"Pretty much," Qi Hui said. "I played one back when I was an extra."
"Oh... an extra, then." The proprietress stepped back two paces.
"Wrong, not an extra!" The child watching Fruity Robo raised his head and yelled with a cheeky grin:
"It's a damn~~ extra—!"
He was imitating the sneaky-eyed villain scolding Little Fruit slip.
On television, Fruity Robo was reaching its final showdown, and the super-villain Little Fruit slip had just made his entrance.
Zhang Ruoyun frowned, his face turning expressionless.
The proprietress pointed toward the front desk and said, "The rental period and price list are at the counter, go settle the bill yourselves. Remember to leave your phone number and a deposit."
Zhang Ruoyun raised a hand and said, "Never mind, we'll just buy—"
Before he could finish, Qi Hui grabbed him by the arm.
...
"Senior brother, why did you stop me just now?" Zhang Ruoyun asked, somewhat displeased.
"Why waste money?" Qi Hui retorted. "A suit costs several hundred yuan!"
Come to think of it, Little Zhang was treating him way too well... Qi Hui muttered inwardly, his eyes darting around.
Although Zhang Ruoyun came from a fairly well-off family, his parents had divorced when he was young, his mother had gone abroad, and his father paid no attention to him. He had been raised by his grandparents.
The absence of a nuclear family created a deep longing for paternal and maternal love; simply put, the kid was starved for affection.
And the relationship between him and Little Zhang back at school had, to a certain extent, played the role of both friend and father figure.
Therefore, it was hardly surprising that Little Zhang had been so eager to stand up for him just now.
"..." Realizing this, Qi Hui fell silent.
I treat you like a brother, and yet you want to play my son?
Huh?
Wait a minute... Qi Hui rubbed his nose. Why on earth did I figure all that out?
Could it be the psychological analysis skill?
"I... whatever." Zhang Ruoyun felt a bit depressed. He looked over Qi Hui's white suit and asked,
"Senior brother, this outfit of yours doesn't look like you're going after a supporting role."
"Then what does it look like?" Qi Hui brushed aside his distracting thoughts, pulled out a bottle of perfume, and gave himself a light spray.
Immediately, a faint, natural fragrance drifted into the air.
"It looks like you're going to play the lead role..." Zhang Ruoyun's face fell into a deadpan expression. "What grown man wears perfume? Senior brother, you're a bit secretly vain."
"What secretly vain?" Qi Hui's face similarly went blank.
"This is men's perfume, natural fresh scent. The top notes are citron and bergamot, the middle notes are lavender and hedione... whatever, forget it."
Zhang Ruoyun found the sight of him rather grating.
Little Zhang curled his lip. Knowing so much about perfume and you claim you aren't secretly vain?
Qi Hui shrugged. "Don't look at me like that, I'm just using perfume to mask the smell of my poverty."
...
Fire Phoenix Hotel. This was the place where The Temptation to Go Home crew was holding auditions and casting actors.
"Senior brother, are you really going to try out for the lead role?" Zhang Ruoyun asked uncertainly.
"It hasn't been cast yet anyway, trying won't hurt," Qi Hui said.
"What if they've already chosen someone?" Little Zhang hesitated. "It's just that our information is delayed and we don't know about it."
"Then we'll find an acquaintance to ask." Qi Hui thought that made sense, and immediately let his gaze wander, preparing to find someone to chat with.
"Where would there be an acquaintance here?" Zhang Ruoyun said speechlessly. "That assistant director hasn't even arrived yet."
"Then we'll just turn a stranger into an acquaintance." Qi Hui scanned the area, pointed at a young man ahead, and smiled:
"There's an acquaintance right there."
"Uh, that's an actor, we don't know him..." Zhang Ruoyun said.
Before his voice trailed off, Qi Hui had already strode out and called out in a loud voice:
"Senior brother!"
Ahead, Ling Xiaosu stopped upon hearing the shout and turned around with a blank look.
He saw an unusually handsome man in a white suit walking up with a broad smile.
The suit was very white, the man very handsome, and he looked somewhat flamboyant.
Yet Ling Xiaosu had a fairly good impression of him.
The natural fragrance approaching him, combined with looks rivaling Leon Lai, subconsciously stirred favorable feelings.
With a face like that, half of life's battle was already won.
"Senior brother, it's me." Qi Hui gave Ling Xiaosu's shoulder a light punch and said with utmost enthusiasm: "Don't you remember me? I'm Qi Hui from the 05 performance class."
"When you came back to the school for the charity performance, you even signed an autograph for me!"
Did I sign an autograph for him...? Ling Xiaosu was momentarily stunned, followed by a look of sudden realization:
"Oh~~~ I remember, little junior brother... Ah, long time no see, long time no see!"
Ling Xiaosu shook his hand warmly, patting Qi Hui's shoulder repeatedly.
A straightforward man from the Northwest, if he couldn't remember, he simply stopped trying.
Not far away, Zhang Ruoyun watched the two enthusiastically greeting each other with his jaw hanging open.
You can actually do that?!