"Let's begin the auditions." The director gave a slight cough, reined in his emotions, and said, "I need to see how you perform in front of the camera."
He flipped through the script and said, "Let's do Scene 125."
"Chixuan, you'll partner with them and play Ally."
Have Pinru play Ally?
The producer and screenwriter were somewhat speechless.
However, she was the only actress present; they couldn't exactly have these men put on airs and pose, could they?
"Oh... um... no problem," Qiu Chixuan stammered out.
She understood Chinese, but fluent communication was beyond her.
Upon hearing this and looking at the contents of Scene 125, Qi Hui's expression turned rather peculiar.
This was the scene where Hong Shixian and Ally carried on an affair in the Hong family bedroom—which was actually Lin Pinru's bedroom—and were ultimately caught by Lin Pinru herself.
Zhang Ruoyun wore a solemn expression, studying the script intently. Having been steamrolled by his two senior fellow apprentices just moments ago, he was determined to salvage some dignity.
He couldn't let people look down on him like that.
Ling Xiaosu pondered the character and persona, figuring out how he wanted to play it.
As for Qi Hui... his mind wandered a bit; this scene felt rather strange.
A few minutes flew by, and Qiu Chixuan had already pulled a chair over and seated herself in front of the camera.
"Let's begin, in the previous order," the director instructed.
Little Zhang took a deep breath, stepped forward slowly, and approached Qiu Chixuan.
Qiu Chixuan sat in the chair and launched into a mime performance, touching the empty air as if applying makeup to her face.
"Why are you wearing Pinru's clothes?" Zhang Ruoyun asked, putting his hands on his hips with an overbearing look. "And using her things, too?"
He still hadn't forgotten Hong Shixian's playboy status.
"Uh... since we want to... you know, seek some thrill..." Qiu Chixuan stammered through her lines.
Before she could finish, Little Zhang cracked under the pressure and lost his composure.
"Cut!" the director called out immediately.
He had chosen this particular scene precisely because both the male and female leads had a single line of dialogue.
Yet he hadn't expected there to still be problems.
Little Zhang looked somewhat depressed; he hadn't even used his full strength yet.
"Teacher Ling, you're up," the director said.
"Um... should I use Mandarin or Korean?" Qiu Chixuan raised her hand to ask.
She bore some of the blame for the previous failed run.
"Korean," Ling Xiaosu said, patting his chest. "I'll catch your cues."
"Thank you," Qiu Chixuan said gratefully.
"Begin."
Qiu Chixuan turned, sat back down in the chair, and busied herself, repeatedly smearing empty air across her face.
Ling Xiaosu walked up from behind and tugged at her clothes. "Why are you wearing Pinru's clothes? And using her things, too?"
The director nodded slightly. He had about fifty percent of Hong Shixian's vibe down.
Qiu Chixuan stood up, a charming expression blooming on her face: "자극을추구해야되니까..."
"???" Ling Xiaosu blinked.
"Is it my turn?"
"...그럼끝까지지켜봐야죠."
The two of them spoke at the same time, and fell silent at the same time.
The scene carried a distinct trace of awkwardness.
A few seconds later, Qiu Chixuan broke first, tentatively asking, "Shall I... use Mandarin after all?"
"Cut!" The director called out, somewhat speechless. "Let's stop for a moment."
Qiu Chixuan stood on the spot, feeling rather awkward. She knew it was her fault that the audition had run into trouble.
"Miss Qiu, be more confident," Qi Hui said in Korean. "The Ally you're playing is a confident, proud character."
"The way you're doing it doesn't fit the role."
Qiu Chixuan froze for a moment, then took a deep breath. "All right, I understand."
The two conversed in Korean. The others present watched, clueless, but they could see that Qiu Chixuan had shaken off her previous awkwardness and lack of confidence.
She was starting to look a bit like Ally.
Watching the two of them, a thought struck the director, and he immediately said, "Qi Hui, the two of you start your audition now."
"Speak Korean," Qi Hui said to Qiu Chixuan in Korean.
Qiu Chixuan nodded slightly, turned, and sat in the chair just as before, pretending to apply makeup to her face with empty air.
Right now, she was Ally, wearing Lin Pinru's pajamas.
Putting on makeup at Lin Pinru's vanity.
Behind her, Qi Hui—playing Hong Shixian—walked out of the "bathroom," holding a hand towel.
Relaxed and natural, just as if he were in his own home.
The director nodded. This was what Hong Shixian looked like at home.
Seeing "Ally" sitting before the vanity in Pinru's clothes, "Hong Shixian" walked up to her with a puzzled look.
He gently tugged at the pajamas on "Ally" and asked with a puzzled expression in Mandarin, "Why are you wearing Pinru's clothes? And using her things, too?"
Not bad... The director nodded. This was the Hong Shixian he had envisioned.
Qiu Chixuan stood up, tossing her hair lightly to one side, a charming and seductive smile playing across her face.
"Since we want to seek a thrill, we have to carry it through to the end..."
As she spoke, she gave her clothes a light tug, showing them to Qi Hui, and then looked at him with a sparkling smile, her eyes infinitely alluring.
Qi Hui pursed his lips, barely able to keep the corners of his mouth from curling up, and blurted out, "You're so slutty..."
With that, he pulled Pinru-playing-Ally straight into his arms.
The director's eyes lit up. This line wasn't in the script, but it was quite interesting!
"Hahahaha..." Ling Xiaosu and Zhang Ruoyun burst into wild laughter on the sidelines.
That line was hilarious.
The producer, the screenwriter, and the others couldn't help laughing either.
"Haha... cough cough cough, cut!" Regaining his wits, the director immediately called a halt.
In front of the camera, Qi Hui slowly put Qiu Chixuan down from her lift.
"Oppa..." Qiu Chixuan's face was flushed, and she hadn't quite recovered yet.
His body was so hard, his strength was so great, and he smelled so good.
"Not bad," the director said with a straight face. "You guys head outside first. We'll notify you of the results."
"Don't go too far, stay near the hotel," the producer said. "The results will be out shortly."
Hearing this, Qi Hui and the other two exchanged glances, somewhat baffled.
Shouldn't they go back first and wait for the results?
...
Once Qi Hui and the others left and the door closed, the director tapped the table, gave two light coughs, and said to the producer:
"The auditions are over. I won't meddle in who gets cast as the male lead, but I'd like to share my thoughts."
The producer nodded, gesturing for him to continue.
"Ling Xiaosu's acting isn't bad; he performed very well just now," the director said. "Though the language barrier caused some trouble, it was still passable."
"However, Qi Hui is better. His acting is on par with Ling Xiaosu's, and he has no language barrier."
As for Zhang Ruoyun, he was ignored.
The producer nodded; he could see all of that himself.
Immediately after, the producer looked at the screenwriter.
"Don't look at me, I don't understand acting," the screenwriter said, spreading his hands. "However, from a writer's perspective, the one who understands the story and characters the deepest is naturally Qi Hui."
Zhang Ruoyun was ignored by him as well; Little Zhang was just here to pad the numbers.
The producer looked at Qiu Chixuan. She was the female lead, with plenty of scenes opposite the male lead.
Her opinion could serve as a reference to a certain extent.
"Miss Qiu, what do you think...?" the producer asked.
Then... then he saw Qiu Chixuan, flushed red and looking entirely lost in thought.
Beside Qiu Chixuan, her manager gave her thigh a vicious pinch. Such a disappointment.
"Huh... Ah? What?" Coming to her senses from the pain, Qiu Chixuan asked in a daze.
"Forget it, pretend I didn't say anything." The producer's face darkened. This woman was besotted with male beauty.
He didn't even need to ask to know whose side she was on.
After a long silence, the producer slowly shook his head.
"I understand everything you've said, but Qi Hui is just a newcomer with zero name recognition."
To cast a complete newcomer with no fame as the male lead carried far too much risk.
He wasn't targeting Qi Hui; he was just looking at the facts.
Before the auditions, nothing could have shaken his choice for the male lead.
After the auditions, the fact that he was wavering spoke volumes about Qi Hui's ability.
"Let me add one more thing," the director said.
"Even though Qi Hui has no fame, his salary requirement isn't high. He saves money."
"Huh?" Hearing this, the producer froze, his eyes lighting up slightly.
"Not only does he save money," the director continued, "but he knows Korean and has a very good grasp of the script."
"These two points will save us a lot of time during filming."
The producer fished out a pack of Double Happiness cigarettes and lit one up quietly.
Saving time... for a production crew, saving time meant saving money.
Amidst the swirling wisp of smoke, hesitation began to take root in the producer's mind once more.