Chapter 91: Enemies Cross Paths
"Brother Jing, I heard all the spots were already taken, but you still managed to get one?"
Although Lin Yueyue was a little disappointed that she couldn't join the group directly, she still looked pleasantly surprised on the surface.
Shi Jingyan enjoyed the admiration in her eyes. He waved his hand casually and said with a smirk,
"Piece of cake, just one phone call."
Of course, that "phone call" was actually a threat.
Originally, Director Feng of “The Landscape is Like a Painting” initially didn't want to give Lin Yueyue a chance to audition. After seeing her photos, he felt she didn’t fit the role. She looked too innocent and delicate, more suited for a stupid and naive character in idol dramas rather than a historical drama.
But Shi Jingyan made things difficult for him.
"Director Feng, you know my family has connections in the General Administration Bureau. If we wanted to hold up your distribution permit, it wouldn't be hard at all."
In the end, Director Feng gritted his teeth and gave in. At the same time, Shi Jingyan's parents were simultaneously given a round of verbal abuse.
Meanwhile, Shen Xi was feeling the pressure from the popularity of her three songs online. Luckily, while the songs were famous, she herself wasn’t.
As long as she waited for her idol drama to air and got a chance to join a major production, everything would fall into place.
Thinking about the once highly admired and popular campus goddess, who had her boyfriend stolen and was now doing worse in her career, Lin Yueyue's smile grew even brighter.
On the other side, Shen Xi, who had been startled by recent events, had been staying at Keke’s house for a week. Everything was peaceful, she hadn't run into either of the main leads.
She wondered if the plot had decided to spare her and started thinking about her original plan to buy a house. But when she checked her wallet, it was completely empty.
Big companies saw her as a rookie and offered low prices for the rights to her songs like “Lone Warrior”.
Shen Xi wasn’t in a rush. She decided to wait. After all, good things come to those who wait.
While taking a taxi to her audition, she was on the phone with Zekai.
"Sister, I did what you said. I’ve gathered all the transaction records and chat logs proving that Susie took money from me."
Zekai’s voice sounded a bit down. After a pause, he added, "I haven’t broken up with her yet. I don’t want to alert her too soon."
"You did well, little brother. Now, we just need the right moment."
She knew Zekai had real feelings for Susie. After all, he had given so much for her.
"Take this as a lesson. You’re the only heir of the Shen family, focus on taking over the company."
Shen Xi sighed, then continued, "Who knows, maybe one day I’ll have to rely on your connections to survive."
After all, she wasn’t really a member of the Shen family. The original owner of this body had grown up in a household where she barely had enough to eat, and even her marriage had been treated like a business deal.
Shen Wanru would eventually get married later, and if not for her younger brother, she wouldn’t care at all if the Shen family disappeared.
At the hotel where the auditions were being held, the atmosphere was tense as actors lined up, waiting for their turn. The place was bustling with people.
The moment Shen Xi walked in, she immediately caught the attention of many other actors.
Her looks and aura were simply too outstanding, so much so that she even outshone the female lead of the drama. But that was precisely the problem. If she appeared on screen alongside the lead actress, the contrast would be too stark, stealing the spotlight from the main character.
Before her turn, the male lead of the drama was looking through her profile in the audition hall. He frowned slightly and turned to the director beside him.
"Director Feng, isn’t she a singer? The second female lead, ‘Mu Xue,’ has a lot of scenes with me. Can she really handle it?"
The male lead, Zhong Wei, was present today, along with producer Wu Liang and several other key members of the production team.
Zhong Wei had been a child actor and was now known for both his looks and acting skills. He was the key figure guaranteeing the show’s success.
"I think she’s great," producer Wu Liang commented after looking at Shen Xi’s photos, his eyes lighting up with interest.
Zhong Wei knew what kind of person Wu Liang was, so he simply smiled and stayed quiet.
The role Shen Xi was auditioning for, Mu Xue, was deeply intertwined with the male lead’s story. She had an emotional entanglement with him, appeared throughout most of the drama, and had a tragic yet powerful ending. Her character had both strong emotional depth and dramatic highlights.
Normally, a high-quality role like this wouldn’t even be offered to a rookie singer, she wouldn’t even get a chance to audition.
"But Sister Na said she really likes this girl," Director Feng said as he flipped through Shen Xi’s profile again.
"She said Shen Xi is beautiful, and her gaze carries the strength I need for this role."
"I also asked Director Chen from Su City TV. He told me she has talent and suggested I give her a shot."
Of course, what Director Chen didn’t mention was the real reason behind his recommendation. He had suffered from not knowing Shen Xi's background, and now, he wanted to see his old friend go through the same struggle, it was only fair.
Zhong Wei knew that Sister Na and Director Chen were both longtime friends of Director Feng. Since both of them had recommended Shen Xi, he figured it was better to wait and see how the audition went before making any further comments.
…………………………………
In the Waiting Area.
Shen Xi sat on a plastic stool, engrossed in the script that Sister Na had given her.
"Sister Xixi, you’re auditioning too?"
A surprised female voice came from above her, making her scalp tingle.
She looked up to see Shi Jingyan standing in front of her, his arm wrapped around Lin Yueyue’s waist, looking down at her with a smug expression.
"Go play somewhere else."
Shen Xi’s expression remained blank, her voice cold. Under her Weibo posts, there were tons of hateful comments, most of them from Lin Yueyue’s fans.
Did they really think she didn’t know they were secretly spreading rumors online, calling her a homewrecker?
Lin Yueyue’s eyes instantly filled with tears.
"I didn’t know my fans were attacking you! I even told them that you’re not that kind of person."
Shen Xi’s lips twitched at her dramatic display. Her acting was top-notch, so good, in fact, that Shen Xi started worrying about today’s audition.
"Get lost. Stop hovering around me. Just looking at you gives me a headache."
Shen Xi said impatiently, lowering her head to focus on the script again, completely uninterested in dealing with her.
Shi Jingyan, who had been silent until now, smirked. It had been a while since he experienced this kind of drama, and he found it amusing. In his mind, Shen Xi was acting this way because she was jealous.
"Shen Xi, Yueyue greeted you politely, and you just snapped at her? Apologize to her."
"Get lost. If anyone’s biting, it’s her," Shen Xi said without even looking up, still focused on her script.
After all, what was so special about that man, anyway? Not worth looking at.
Her words hit two targets at once. Shi Jingyan’s eyelid twitched, while Lin Yueyue’s face darkened.
"Next, Lin Yueyue, your turn for the audition!"
A staff member’s voice interrupted them. Without another word, Lin Yueyue and Shi Jingyan walked into the audition room.
Inside, Wu Liang and the other judges looked up as Lin Yueyue entered. They then glanced at her profile, comparing it to the polished, heavily edited idol drama photos attached.
Was this really the same person? Were idol dramas using beauty filters this aggressively now?
She still had delicate features, prettier than the average person, but nothing particularly striking.
Shi Jingyan, acting all high and mighty, simply nodded in greeting to Wu Liang, who barely acknowledged him with a glance.
Seeing Lin Yueyue, Wu Liang quickly lost interest. She was obviously just Shi Jingyan’s girlfriend, nothing more.
"Hello, teachers. I’m auditioning for the role of ‘Mu Xue’,"
A staff member handed her the audition script. The scene featured Mu Xue disguised as a man, attempting to assassinate a government official, only to be confronted by the male lead.
Lin Yueyue hesitated. The script included a major confrontation with the male lead, but she was the only one performing right now. That made her nervous.
"Um… could Teacher Zhong Wei act with me?"