Seeing the producer nod, a few more smiles appeared on Ling Xiaosu's face, and a few more on the director's as well.
"In that case, let's begin," the director said.
The cameraman nearby set up the camera, while the screenwriter handed out the scripts.
"You have 15 minutes," the director said. "We'll officially start after 15 minutes."
Ling Xiaosu flipped through the script, a look of surprise crossing his face.
This script had been revised quite a bit according to his suggestions.
It was already vastly different from the initial version.
It was clear the production team was showing him a great deal of sincerity, but unfortunately, he really didn't have much interest in this drama.
Serving as a supporting platform for two women—he hadn't been subjected to that kind of treatment since the start of his career.
Qi Hui read the script seriously, trying to understand the character while memorizing his lines as best as he could.
*Huh? The character of Hong Shixian doesn't seem quite right...* Qi Hui thought to himself.
Looking at Hong Shixian from the perspective of the script, he felt a bit different from the Hong Shixian in his memories of the past life.
As for Zhang Ruoyun... he was somewhat absent-minded even while reading the script.
He was just here to make up the numbers.
"Alright, time's up," the director said, tapping the table. "Three of you, please introduce yourselves first."
"Tell us about your specialties or your past work."
He didn't know much about these three actors.
"Director, I suppose I don't need an introduction, do I?" Ling Xiaosu said with a cheeky grin.
The director looked slightly helpless and turned to Zhang Ruoyun.
"Zhang Ruoyun, student from the Class of 2007 Acting Department at the Beijing Film Academy," Little Zhang stood up and said solemnly.
"No special skills, and no past work."
The director frowned, nodded slowly, and remained silent.
"Qi Hui, student from the Class of 2005 Acting Department at the Beijing Film Academy," Qi Hui stood up with a slight smile on his face. "I know Korean, and I have no past work."
"Huh? Korean?" The producer, the screenwriter, and the female lead Qiu Chixuan, all of whom had been indifferent just a moment ago, raised their heads almost simultaneously and looked at Qi Hui in surprise.
Ling Xiaosu and Zhang Ruoyun beside him looked at Qi Hui with equal astonishment.
"You even know Korean?" the director asked, somewhat shocked.
Someone who knew Korean was a rare and valuable talent.
The Korean Wave was running rampant these days.
Korean dramas like *Jewel in the Palace*, *Autumn in My Heart*, and *Miss Mermaid* were immensely popular for a time.
People in the year 2024 would find it hard to imagine just how explosive the popularity of Korean dramas was back then.
To put it simply, *Drawing Sword*, which swept across the country and became a classic, only just barely had the qualifications to compete with *Autumn in My Heart* at that time.
Korean groups like TVXQ and Super Junior were overwhelmingly popular, and appearance fees for just a few minutes could reach several million.
Korean music, Korean stars, and other elements of the Korean Wave were wildly popular on the mainland.
Eventually, a certain host even publicly knelt down to his Korean idol.
The aggressive Korean Wave forced Jay Chou to shout out at an evening gala: [Don't let the Korean Wave get more and more arrogant; Chinese pop culture is the best.]
Qi Hui smiled and nodded—he had just "unlocked" it.
Nearby, Qiu Chixuan raised her hand and asked timidly: "너정말한국말알아? (Do you really know Korean?)"
She wasn't a mega-star like TVXQ; on the contrary, she was just a small-time actress, unable to come and go as she pleased like them.
She had to stick with the crew and act very earnestly, enduring every bit of hardship along the way.
Moreover, her Chinese wasn't very good either.
Working and striving in a foreign land, she sometimes deeply longed for her hometown accent.
Anyone working away from home felt this way; hearing a familiar accent brought an inexplicable sense of warmth.
It wasn't just Qiu Chixuan; Wu Jing was the same way.
While striving in Hong Kong, Wu Jing carried cassette tapes of Guo Degang's crosstalk collections along with a radio, all so he could listen to crosstalk and tune into northern broadcasts to ease his homesickness.
After all, this wasn't the year 2024, where smartphones, the internet, and high-speed rail were exceptionally advanced.
Qi Hui smiled and said: "그럼요, 한국어는 어렵지 않아요. (Of course, learning Korean isn't difficult.)"
The flawlessly fluent dialogue, the rising and falling intonation, and syllables they couldn't understand made it clear to everyone present that Qi Hui truly knew Korean.
At this, even the indifferent producer sat up straight.
"Not bad, not bad." The director looked at Qi Hui with a bit more satisfaction in his eyes.
"Go on, tell us your understanding of the character Hong Shixian."
"A playboy who is fickle and can't keep himself in check," Zhang Ruoyun said. "I think the purpose of this character is to be a vase and a platform, existing simply to support the two female leads."
Hearing this, the director and screenwriter frowned at the same time.
The character of Hong Shixian was nowhere near that simple.
"Teacher Ling, tell us your thoughts." The director and screenwriter looked at Ling Xiaosu, as he had encountered the script the earliest and had the deepest understanding of Hong Shixian.
"A cowardly and spineless young master," Ling Xiaosu replied.
"Although the character of Hong Shixian wavers between two women and is a total scumbag—"
"—essentially, he is a cowardly and timid person. He doesn't dare defy his father, nor does he dare directly reject Ally, and he lacks the courage to confess everything to Pinru and beg for forgiveness to get his life back on track."
Hearing this, the director and screenwriter's slightly furrowed brows relaxed.
There was some deviation, but it was acceptable.
If they really chose him, training him after joining the crew would be much easier.
"Qi Hui, how do you view the character Hong Shixian?" The director looked at Qi Hui and asked.
Qi Hui pondered for a moment and slowly said, "This is someone with a personality flaw caused by a dysfunctional family of origin."
"Oh?" The director and screenwriter exchanged glances, both somewhat surprised.
Qi Hui continued, "First of all, his identity is the son of a real estate company chairman. His father has an aggressive personality and a violent temper; when he found out his wife was gambling, instead of counseling her, he pulled out a knife and hacked at her hand."
"Secondly, Hong Shixian is terrified of his father, constantly claiming his father will kill him or that he's dead meat, and his father actually hits him."
"To a certain extent, this caused Hong Shixian's cowardice and lack of courage."
As he spoke, Qi Hui flipped through the script, finding a few lines of dialogue to display, along with two scenes where he gets beaten.
"Additionally, he has a mother who dotes on him excessively," Qi Hui continued. "This leads Hong Shixian to be self-centered, demanding too much without knowing how to be grateful."
"His mother's indulgence couldn't make him psychologically sound; on the contrary, it distorted him further, because his mother had no principles, gambled, and held low status in the family. Such indulgence was inherently harmful to him."
"Hong Shixian grew up in a family that was extremely abundant materially yet utterly distorted spiritually."
"His father brought him inferiority and cowardice, while his mother made him arrogant, vain, and ungrateful."
"Strictly speaking, this person Hong Shixian suffers from psychological illness."
"Ally, who boarded at the Lin family home, is just like Hong Shixian—she suffers from psychological illness as well. They are fellow patients."
"Meanwhile, Lin Pinru, whose family and personality are sound, is Hong Shixian's salvation. Unfortunately, Hong Shixian threw his salvation away."
At this point, Qi Hui paused and said solemnly, "The theme of *The Temptation to Go Home* isn't temptation and desire; it's family."
The director slapped his thigh and shouted, "Well said!"
What he wanted to film wasn't some story about cheating and extramarital affairs at all.
What he wanted to film was the family!
"Brilliant!" The screenwriter slapped his thigh as well, looking at Qi Hui with sheer satisfaction.
Beside Qi Hui, Zhang Ruoyun scratched his head. *Does this playboy really have this much depth to mine?*
*Why didn't I see any of that?*
"So that's how it is..." Ling Xiaosu suddenly understood.
He had seen Hong Shixian's cowardice, but he had only just learned *why* Hong Shixian was so cowardly.
This junior brother really knew his stuff!
The producer, however, frowned and silently unscrewed his water bottle for a tactical sip of water.
Things were starting to look a bit troublesome...