Chapter 422. How Did You Lose to Tangning？

"I heard the female lead has been decided...Did you guys hear about it?"

"That's impossible! Half the candidates haven't auditioned yet."

"It's true. I have a relative in the production crew. According to my relative, the female lead has been set..."

"Who was chosen? It must be Gu Heng, right?"

The remaining candidates slowly heard of the news. As for the people called in for auditions, they were all notified by Wei An's assistant that they were only auditioning for the supporting role. But, even if it was just a supporting role, they still competed fiercely. After all, even an extra in Wei An's films had a chance of making a breakthrough.

Everyone assumed Gu Heng had been chosen as the female lead, including Gu Heng herself. After all, fighter roles were practically made for her. Looking at all the candidates, her chances were definitely the highest.

However, to her surprise, that very night her manager was notified by the production crew that Tanging had secured the role of female lead and asked if Gu Heng would like to play the role of her older sister.

"How many benefits did Hai Rui bribe Wei An with?" Gu Heng stood under a crystal light as she crossed her arms and questioned her manager.

"From what I heard, Wei An has already sent Tangning her contract. Heng Jie, I suggest we take the role, even if it is just a supporting character. Firstly, this is a rare opportunity, and secondly, you can prove that you are a thousand times better than Tangning."

"Of course I'll take the role," Gu Heng closed her eyes and took a deep breath. If not for anything else, she had to at least do it for the male lead of the film. Because the male lead was her boyfriend, Bai Qiusheng, a famous martial arts actor in China.

They had made a promise to each other that they'd try their best for the roles of male and female lead. But, while Bai Qiusheng's role was secured, her role had been snatched from right under her nose!

"Heng Jie, don't be upset. The most important thing is being able to act in one of Wei An's films..." her manager comforted.

"What's the point of saying all this? Who told your PR methods to not be as good as Hai Rui's?" Gu Heng turned around and clenched the back of the sofa she was sitting on frustratedly. "Forget it. You can't be completely to blame. After all, we are up against Mo Ting. It would be a surprise if you actually beat him!"

Deep down, Gu Heng assumed that Tangning had secured the role purely because of Hai Rui's effective PR and Mo Ting's influence. She did not consider for a moment that Tangning actually had the skills.

After all, who would want to admit defeat in front of a newcomer?

...

Tangning secured the role as she hoped, but Mo Ting was completely heartbroken. As soon as she returned home, he applied every single ointment prescribed by the doctor onto her body.

Tangning was sitting on the sofa at the time. Seeing that Mo Ting was quiet, she tried to comfort him, "It's a little difficult at the beginning, but after I get over this hurdle, things will be a lot easier. These are just small injuries anyway."

In reality, Tangning's every move today was taught by Mo Ting. So, he was well aware of how badly she was hurt.

"When I was going through your contract with Wei An this afternoon, we came to an agreement that you'd return directly home after filming every day," Mo Ting said as he lifted his head, "At night, I'll help you rehearse and teach you your fight scenes. I don't trust in anyone else."

"OK," Tangning nodded. With Mo Ting around, there seemed to be a solution for everything.

"On another note, I heard that Gu Heng accepted the role of your older sister," Mo Ting put down the tube of ointment and sat down beside Tangning. "You will have some scenes together and a few of them will be fight scenes. Give me a call when you are filming those scenes, I want to be present on set."

"Are you afraid she'll take the opportunity to seek revenge on me?" Tangning guessed.

"She is one of the top three national women boxers. If she wants to hurt you during a fight, no one would know it's deliberate."

"OK, I'll give you a call," Tangning reached out her arms and hooked them around Mo Ting's neck. This man had considered every possibility for her. What was there left for her to worry about?

However, there was indeed one thing for them to worry аbout: the secret relationship between Gu Heng and her male lead boyfriend...

And of course, there was also the guest appearance of a weird old man!

To the public, regardless of who got the lead role, the result wouldn't be much of a surprise. Whether it was Gu Heng or Tangning, they were well aware that one had skills and the other had background. Of course, fans were bound to argue a little, but this wouldn't affect the big picture. So, it didn't take long before the production crew for 'The Lost Relative' officially announced that Tangning was the female lead and Gu Heng was merely a supporting character.

"Tangning's acting is not bad, but when it comes to fight scenes, I am more convinced by Gu Heng."

"The commenter above, don't speak too soon. According to Tangning's history, she will definitely give you a huge faceslap. That's why I've decided not to side with anybody and am just waiting patiently for the film instead."

"Tangning always exceeds expectations. So, I wasn't surprised to find out that she got the role of female lead. After all, when she's serious, I think she scares even herself."

"Hmmph, our Gu Heng is an icon for this genre of film. Is the director crazy?"

"As a fan of Gu Heng's, I just want to point out one thing: Who could possibly beat Tangning's background? Is there anything her husband can't do?"

"To the commenter above, I'm sorry but our Tangning got to where she is by taking one step at a time. She's not much different to your Gu Heng, OK?"

All in all, netizens opinions towards the selection for female lead was quite varied. After all, Tangning had given out so many faceslaps in the past that no one dared to casually come to a conclusion.

Whenever someone said she couldn't do something, she would always prove them wrong.

There was nothing they could do about it.

Meanwhile, as soon as the male lead, Bai Qiusheng, found out who had secured the female lead, he immediately gave Gu Heng a phone call, "What happened? How did you lose to Tangning?"

"You shouldn't be asking me, you should be asking Hai Rui," Gu Heng whined, "Did you think I didn't give the audition my all? You should know how important this film is to me. However, our background isn't as strong as 'somebody's'. So, what can I do about it?"

The man on the other side of the phone remained silent for a while before he finally replied, "Let me think of something."

"What can you possibly do?"

"There are plenty of fight scenes in this film. What do you think?" Bai Qiusheng threw the question back at her. To Tangning, this film was merely an opportunity. But, to him and Gu Heng this was an essential step towards winning a Fei Tian Award. The couple had hidden their relationship for many years and was hoping that if they stabilized their respective statuses with an award, if one day their relationship was to be revealed, the impact would be reduced to a minimum.

But, Tangning had suddenly come out of nowhere...

"Qiusheng, are you planning to..."

"I want to force her to withdraw," Bai Qiusheng replied. "Stay out of this matter. You're suspicion will be the highest because you are the benefactor."

"But...if someone finds out..."

"No one will find out. A dangerous film like this is filled with danger around every corner," Bai Qiusheng replied in confidence. "Gu Heng, Hai Rui can't blame us for doing this. Tangning was the one that snatched your role to begin with."

Gu Heng contemplated for quite some time. She was already 32 this year and her time was running out, so she definitely had to hold on to this opportunity.