CH 33.3

Do You Still Hate Her? 23 – Cross-dressing as a male and playing the female lead’s white moonlight

Soon, Shang Lu met the second male lead and the female lead of this film.

Coincidentally, the male second lead turned out to be Cheng Zhe from <Life’s Journey>, although he didn’t seem too fond of her, but that didn’t matter.

As for the female lead, she was Shen Xian, a popular traffic celebrity who was twenty-nine years old. She was the most successful example of a female idol group member transitioning into an actress in the country. After the group disbanded, she starred in several hit dramas consecutively, gaining significant popularity among both regular viewers and fans. She was known for boosting ratings, and this movie marked her attempt to transition into the film industry.

When Shen Xian greeted Shang Lu, her first words were, “I’m Shen Xian, Tang Qingqing’s cousin.”

Shang Lu was a bit confused and didn’t understand what the other party meant, but she still politely extended her hand to shake with her and said, “I am Shang Lu.”

Shen Xian smiled and said, “Don’t be nervous. I wanted to tell you proactively that your relationship with Tang Qingqing has nothing to do with me. Let’s work together, I’m looking forward to your performance.”

Shang Lu nodded and replied, “I will do my best.”

Soon, Yue Qi came in with his own screenwriter. Similar to Han Cheng, both of them had long-term collaborations with dedicated screenwriters. Yue Qi went straight to the point and said, “It’s not easy for everyone to take time out of their busy schedules to be here. Let’s get the audition done quickly. We sent the scripts for today’s audition to all of you yesterday. All three of you have a scene with Shang Lu. Once you finish your performance, you can leave directly without wasting time. Understood?”

Everyone nodded to indicate their understanding.

Today’s audition was naturally only for Shang Lu, while the others were just here to perform with her.

First on stage was Duan Anguo because he claimed to have limited time. He had a chess date with a friend at the park entrance an hour later.

Cheng Zhe said he needed to make a phone call and asked to be called when it was his turn.

Duan Anguo played the male lead, so the scene they needed to perform was the final confrontation scene where the truth is revealed, and it was very short.

Short scenes actually tested the actors’ skills more because it was quite challenging to engage the audience in such a short time without much setup.

In the script, one after another, the students died due to accidents, leaving only the male protagonist in the classroom, where he discovers the last survivor, Shangguan Yi.

The room was also transformed from a classroom, equipped with desks and chairs, and Shang Lu sat in the last row.

The audition officially began.

Duan Anguo is really a seasoned actor. When he ran in from outside, his expression was that of anxiety, fear and worry. When he saw Shang Lu, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and muttered, “Great, great, there’s still one survivor.”

There is one survivor, it meant that there was a chance to start over.

Shang Lu looked at Duan Anguo, and her eyes instantly turned red as she said, “Teacher, I’m so scared. Why did everyone have accidents one after another?”

As she finished speaking, she lowered her head, covering her face and sobbing.

Yue Qi started to feel satisfied because he knew Shang Lu was known for her excellent crying scenes, and today was no exception. Her tearful appearance was incredibly convincing, capturing everyone’s attention.

“It’s alright, come with Teacher. Teacher will protect you. As long as you survive today, everything can start anew!” Duan Anguo said, stepping quickly towards Shang Lu, eager to help her up.

However, while Shang Lu reached out to shake his hand, she didn’t move.

“What’s wrong?” As a teacher, Duan Anguo naturally wanted to comfort her. Unexpectedly, Shang Lu suddenly raised her head, tilted it slightly, and revealed a sinister smile, saying, “Teacher, do you think I’m still beautiful if my head fell off?”

Duan Anguo immediately realized the problem and let go of her hand, stepping back and asking, “What are you talking about?”

“Have you ever thought about why, in every loop, I am always the first one to die? And yet, this time, I survived until the end. I never expected you fools to be unable to do such a simple thing and ended up troubling yourselves to stay alive,” Shang Lu said, looking puzzled as she continued, “Why do their expressions when they die look so painful? It’s such a blissful thing.”

After saying that, Shang Lu put on an innocent smile, as if she was not the mastermind behind everyone’s deaths but a child inquiring about why candies are so sweet.

She didn’t understand the sorrow and pain of death; she was simply fixated on achieving the final outcome, completely ignoring everything else, and feeling no guilt, believing she did nothing wrong.

Shang Lu had understood the character too well, portraying an innocence so convincing that she seemed oblivious to her own evil with the belief that she was blameless.

Yue Qi felt like his heart had stopped. He hadn’t chosen the wrong person. That split-second feeling on the variety show was right.

Duan Anguo also gave Shang Lu a thumbs-up and said, “Well done.”

Next, it was Shang Lu’s scene with Shen Xian, and that went equally smoothly, making Yue Qi more and more satisfied.

Then the staff went outside to find Cheng Zhe. Cheng Zhe was surprised, as he thought Shang Lu would fail right away and his turn wouldn’t come.

Cheng Zhe never expected Shang Lu to be able to take this role. Just like on the set of <Life’s Journey>, this variety show celebrity was going to overshadow him again? He had some classic roles too, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt dissatisfied.

The scene they were going to perform was a daily interaction and playfulness between students on campus. It was the simplest scene of the day and didn’t really test their acting skills; it was more about the atmosphere between the actors.

However, after their performance, Yue Qi rested his hand on his chin, looking contemplative.

Cheng Zhe crossed his arms and glanced at Shang Lu, thinking about the one time he saw her performance in <Life’s Journey>, which wasn’t very impressive and even had NGs.

Sure enough, even today, despite performing with Shang Lu, he didn’t feel anything special, let alone being amazed as some people online claimed.

Seeing Yue Qi’s current reaction, Cheng Zhe felt even more convinced that Shang Lu probably couldn’t handle this role.

Yue Qi didn’t comment on their performance but looked at the screenwriter and said, “I feel like there’s something off about their scene.”

As expected, his thoughts were on the same wavelength as Cheng Zhe.

At this moment, Cheng Zhe decided to proactively ease Yue Qi’s worries and said, “We have a few female actresses in our company who are pretty good. If you need…”

But Yue Qi looked to the screenwriter, interrupted Cheng Zhe and simultaneously asked, “Is Cheng Zhe not quite suitable for this role?”

Cheng Zhe, who had been about to offer other female actresses, was confused, “?”

The problem was not with Shang Lu but with himself? How could that be possible? He couldn’t believe it!

Yue Qi’s words were a massive blow to Cheng Zhe. In the end, Yue Qi just asked Shang Lu to sign the contract tomorrow but said he needed to reconsider Cheng Zhe’s role and might require another separate audition.

Cheng Zhe : “?”

He hadn’t even signed the contract yet! If it weren’t for the fact that it was Yue Qi’s production, he wouldn’t have waited until now. How could he possibly be replaced just after he had a scene with Shang Lu?

Externally, Cheng Zhe naturally didn’t say anything. When he left with Shang Lu, his expression didn’t look good.

Though Shang Lu knew that the other party didn’t like her, she still reminded him, “There are some habits that students wouldn’t have.”

Cheng Zhe stopped and looked at Shang Lu.

“Students don’t hold their thermos bottles and blow on them for so long, and they don’t arch their waist slightly. You are not that old, but you seem to be paying a lot of attention to health.” Shang Lu left these words and then walked away.

Cheng Zhe : “!!!”

Shang Lu’s words were like a sudden awakening.

Recently, he was rehearsing a play as an old man and would observe elderly people by the roadside every day to pay attention to many details. As a result, some habits had become ingrained in him, and he hadn’t fully changed back yet.

After Shang Lu said that, he suddenly realized that not only did she point out the issue, but even his posture had tilted slightly forward. These small details might not be very noticeable on the surface, but they could create subconscious incongruence. Moreover, he was supposed to play a student with a vastly different image from that of an elderly person!

So Cheng Zhe quickly straightened his back, focused on looking ahead, and watched Shang Lu’s figure as she walked away. His emotions suddenly became complicated.

Was Shang Lu… guiding him?

That couldn’t be possible; after all, he was her senior.

Although he thought this way, Cheng Zhe hesitated for a moment but then turned back to the room and said, “Director Yue, may I see the recording of the performance?”