CH 17

March 10, 2021kaychandra

Chapter 17: Audition for the National Station

Translated & edited by KChandra

Originally, the National Station had no intention to invite Gongxi Qiao, but an old man who often liked to play on Weibo, unintentionally swiped a Weibo post from the Imperial University, which mentioned that Gongxi Qiao was an outstanding student of their school, representing the school in many competitions and winning excellent results. When the old man saw this name, he felt some familiarity. Upon closer examination, wasn’t this the young entertainer often mentioned on his granddaughter’s Weibo?

After seeing Gongxi Qiao’s photo, the old man found that he had some resemblance to his grandfather’s appearance when he was young, so he had some ideas. He also went to the Imperial University to learn more about him, and then he saw the picture of Gongxi Qiao and his contribution to the university posted on the exhibition board about outstanding graduates of Imperial University.

The photo showed Gongxi Qiao wearing a white shirt and a fresh haircut. Anyone who looked at it would have felt that he was a handsome and spirited young man. The old man carefully examined it for a few minutes, and listened to Gongxi Qiao’s teachers’ heap praises upon him free of charge, and finally made up his mind. He went back to discuss the matter with the relevant people at the National Station for a few days before the National Station solemnly sent the invitation letter to Senhe.　

After Senhe received the invitation letter, the whole top management was shocked. They couldn’t be blamed for not being calm, because this opportunity was too rare. It wasn’t too rare to be in a production that was screened on the National Station, but it was a rare opportunity to be in a production that the National Station had invested in itself.

The National Station was different from the other local TV stations. As long as a person was popular, they could be on the local TV station, but the National Station was different. If they felt that you weren’t good enough in any way, even if you were popular, you would not be able to step through the door.

So this time when they received this offer, it was a pleasant surprise. Even if Gongxi Qiao couldn’t play the role in the end, at least it meant that the authorities had a good positive impression of Gongxi Qiao, which would be more beneficial for Gongxi Qiao’s future development.

After Chen Ke received this news, he was so happy that he didn’t sleep all night and drove to Gongxi Qiao’s house the next day.

As it turned out, Gongxi Xiong and Qiao Lanfen, the parents, were equally excited. In their perception, the National Station was the representative of the high and mighty. If he could really participate in the film, it would certainly be a great thing.

Under the gaze of several pairs of glittering eyes, Gongxi Qiao took the invitation letter in Chen Ke’s hand.

This invitation letter was very official and showed the importance that the National Station attached to this film. It stated the time and place, but didn’t give any hints about the script.

Was this to test the auditioning artist’s ability to act on the spot?

The opportunity was rare, and the audition was in two days. As a student of history, Gongxi Qiao had great respect for Admiral Zheng Xueguo. So he attached great importance to this invitation, and immediately looked for a lot of Zheng Xueguo’s literature and video material to see.

From the point of view of personal interests, Zheng Xueguo would have had more room for development and a better life abroad, but he chose another more difficult road. In the end, it was the road full of thorns that created a bright road out.

Everyone respected heroes, and so did Gongxi Qiao. Zheng Xueguo was a worthy national hero.

In order to make his temperament more like this Admiral Zheng, he also deliberately gave himself a pair of gold wire glasses with no prescription to wear, which was one style of glasses commonly used by Admiral Zheng.

This was the first time he took the role he was auditioning for so seriously. It wasn’t because he was eager for the role, but because only this serious attitude wouldn’t be considered blasphemous to this hero.

In the audition room of the National Station, there were 13 audition examiners sitting inside. It wasn’t that they deliberately made things difficult for the artists who came to audition, but the role of Zheng Xueguo was too important for them to be sloppy.

This film was specially shot to celebrate the 100th year of the founding of the country. The entire directing team consisted of 13 people, including 3 directors and 10 assistant directors, and the investment was huge. For this crew, money and equipment weren’t a problem. The only thing that mattered was the right actors.

Years ago a director turned a good blockbuster film into a star-studded film, and as a result, after the film was released, not many viewers paid attention to the plot, because they all went to count the celebrities.

Flower Country people had a special affection for whole numbers[1]. Whenever they encountered a whole number, they would feel that it was a good sign of success, not to mention that this was the centennial gift of the founding of the country, so it had to be as grand as possible.

If you see this message this content has been stolen. Please read at KChandraTL [dot] wordpress [dot] com.

In order to prepare for this film, the National Channel had been preparing for two or three years. When all aspects of the personnel were in place, the strict screening of roles began. But now Zheng Xueguo’s role wasn’t set, and the expected filming date was coming up. How could they not be anxious?

“The actor yesterday was barely okay. His acting skills and looks were fine, but he lacked some of Admiral Zheng’s style, and he was a few years too old.” Continuous days of auditioning did not find the desired actor. Director Wang was also somewhat discouraged, holding a teacup and taking a sip of tea, “There’s about half a month to start shooting and the role isn’t determined.”

Whether it was the director or assistant director here, all the directors had a prominent position in the director’s circle. The more attention the authorities paid, the more pressure they were under. If the film was messed up, they would not only lose face, but also have a bad time with the authorities.

Director Li was the most senior director in the team, so the entire director team was also headed by him. He sighed and said, “I heard that the artist who came today was recommended by Old Qian?”

Old Qian was one of the historical advisors of this film, and he was also the grandson of Admiral Zheng, so the artist he recommended should be good.

“Yes,” Director Wang turned over the information in his hand, his expression was a little subtle, “he is a young actor who is popular now, called Gongxi Qiao.”

Director Li thought carefully and nodded, “That’s fine, let’s take a look first.” Although he didn’t know why Old Qian looked at a small actor, since Old Qian was willing to recommend him, it meant that this person had merit.

Soon, they met the actor named Gongxi Qiao.

White shirt, suit pants, shoes polished clean. The glasses on the bridge of his nose added a bit of bookishness to him. At first glance, they almost thought that the young Admiral Zheng was standing in front of them.

Director Li froze for a moment before he spoke, “Please start your performance.”

“It’s nice here, but after all, it’s not my home,” the young man flipped through a notebook in his hand that had curled at the edges, with fondness and determination in his eyes, “If I don’t go back, I’ll have a hard time with my conscience for the rest of my life.”

“No, you wouldn’t understand,” he shook his head with a faint smile and inclined his head to look out of the window, “She won’t always be poor. A thousand years ago, people came from all directions just to visit her. Now, she will surely straighten her backbone again.”

“I’m not the only one. I won’t be the only one who wants to return to her arms,” he removed his glasses to reveal his black and white eyes, eyes that carried so much, so much that one was almost infected by the emotion, “I’m sure many people are like me. Even though I haven’t seen it or heard it, I imagine it.”

“You ask me why I do this?”

The youth wiped his glasses and slowly put them back on, hiding his slightly red eyes.

“In my lifetime, I only look forward to seeing everything well with her, and the country prosperous and strong.”

“No, Catherine, it’s not a delusion, it’s the expectation held by all of us in Flower country.” He looked down at the notebook in his hand and clutched it as if it were a dream.

When the audition was over, the whole room was silent for a moment, and director Li coughed dryly to suppress the emotions that were welling up in him. “You performed very well, even I was infected by the emotions of your character.” He inclined his head to look at the other directors, waiting for their conclusions.

Director Wang nodded his head in silence, showing his affirmation to Gongxi Qiao. After watching this performance, he somewhat understood why Old Qian recommended this young man.

The other main director was also relieved after seeing Gongxi Qiao’s performance. If the actors who came to audition later did not perform better, then Gongxi Qiao was good enough for the role.

Having found the right person for the role, the entire director team felt less pressure on their hearts. Seeing that everyone was more than satisfied with Gongxi Qiao’s performance, director Li gave Gongxi Qiao a smile: “Thank you for participating in this audition, please keep your cell phone available in the next few days and we will notify you of the audition results as soon as possible.”

“Thank you directors, and thank you crew for giving me this audition opportunity,” Gongxi Qiao politely thanked before leaving the audition room. Seeing Chen Ke outside the door looking at him with a nervous look, he took off his glasses and smiled, “Director Li told me to wait for the notification.”

Chen Ke nodded understandingly. The role of this kind of production was really hard to get with Gongxi Qiao’s current status, and being able to come to the audition this time was a way for Xiao Qiao to show his face in front of all the famous directors.

When the audition was over, it wasn’t good for them to stay long, so as not to overstay their welcome, so the two of them went straight to the elevator.

When the elevator door opened, Gongxi Qiao found that there were other people in the elevator. He was slightly stunned and nodded towards the two people inside before walking in.

Xi Qing also didn’t expect to meet this somewhat excessively good-looking man again, and he dared to feel an inexplicable sense of helplessness when the other party nodded towards him.

The elevator stopped at the 8th floor, and he expressionlessly stretched out his hand to press the door closing button: “Just pressed the wrong floor number.”

Behind him, the corner of the assistant’s eyes twitched in a small arc, and then moved in a small arc to the next corner.

Gongxi Qiao had some impression of this person, so after he opened his mouth, he smiled politely again.

Then… The whole elevator fell silent.

T/N