Chapter 50: Audition

“Why are you looking at that? You’re supposed to be reading the script properly now.” Song Jia snatched the phone from her hand before he said, “I didn’t give you the role of a fan of a popular celebrity.”

They were doing an audition for “Flower Falls in Chang’an”. Since they had already chosen the female lead in the morning, they were doing an audition in the afternoon for the female supporting character.

The actresses who were selected were all influential people who were quite well-known. Some of them were famous, others less so. However, they all thought that An Wen was at the wrong place when they saw her here.

All of them recognized An Wen because she was a newcomer who was currently extremely popular on the online forums. It was rumored that she came from an influential background as well. Perhaps the role of the female side character had already been given to her unofficially, but she was only here at the audition because it was part of the process.

However, the other actresses threw this thought out of the window when they remembered that Tang Zhiming was directing this drama.

Nonetheless, they could not stop themselves from looking at An Wen with a hostile gaze.

When An Wen looked at a few of them, she realized that this group was rather talented as well. Two actresses had already managed to make the audience so emotional that they cried. The atmosphere here was now extremely depressing and melancholic.

For their audition, many actresses chose the scene where Lin Wanting was crying near the city wall because this was the best scene to showcase their projecting and acting skills.

When An Wen’s name was called, she walked toward the center while her seniors put an immense amount of pressure on her.

Her pink lips were faintly curled while her beautiful and youthful eyes gazed forward. There was a gentle smile on her face when she quietly and innocently said, “Cousin, spring has just arrived, but the flower buds on the peach tree have already appeared. Since you said that you’d return soon, does that mean that I can see you when the peach blossoms bloom?”

An Wen was conveying a sense of anxiousness, but troubled emotions suddenly surged through her. Her eyes were filled with tears when she emotionally said, “The battlefield is violent and dangerous. Must you really go there? When you’re on the battlefield, what if you…” An Wen’s voice abruptly trailed off before tears trickled out of her eyes, like raindrops during the storm.

“Will you promise me that you’ll return when the flowers bloom?”

An Wen lowered her eyes, as though she was sadly waiting for her cousin to answer, but she seemed like a completely different person when she opened her eyes. Her beautiful, tear-filled eyes were now filled with a cold look that made her resemble a threatening queen who was on the brink of rage. Nobody dared to meet her gaze. At that moment, An Wen was no longer Cousin Lin as she had turned into Lady Shu instead.

Lady Shu was the love of the Emperor’s life, and the apple of his eye.

An Wen’s every move was elegant and graceful. Once she shed her inexperienced and innocent persona, she looked in front and said, “You managed to escape from the jaws of death while you were on the frontlines, but you were imprisoned and sentenced to die when you returned. While we were living comfortably inside the palace, we only had to defeat foreign enemies, but now we have to kill you too. You’re simply a thorn in my eye, and the Heavens are truly unfair…”

There was a hint of a smile at the corners of her lips when she said, “Now that the peach blossoms have finally bloomed, it’s time for you to return.”

A resentful look flashed in her eyes as she said, “Once you’re dead, I’ll burn your corpse into ashes. I’ll sprinkle your remains beneath the peach tree and bury you with the peach blossoms.”

It seemed she was imagining that scene. A hurt look suddenly appeared in her eyes, but her smile still remained on her lips. However, it was actually a cruel smirk.

She was clearly supposed to be happy when she turned around, but tears trickled down from her eyes instead before she silently wept.

These tears were more impactful than her previous tears when she was trying to project her emotions.

The people around her who saw everything were wiping the tears from their eyes after An Wen’s performance. Meanwhile, there was a look of admiration in Tang Zhiming’s gaze when he looked at her.

“You can go home and wait for the news now,” Tang Zhiming said.

“Thank you, Director Tang.” An Wen dried her tears and left.

Soon after that, it was time for “My Desired Prince” to be broadcasted. Many people immediately started commenting on the forums when the official page made an announcement about An Wen online.

The clip of An Wen washing her face became one of the trending searches because it was part of the interesting highlights that was shown beforehand. When they saw this part, the fans who worshipped her beauty rushed over and plastered themselves to their screens.

[She’s a true beauty!]

[She’s a gorgeous young lady who looks better in videos than photos.]

[What a gentle and adorable personality.]