Chapter 20: Just Exaggerate A Bit

Chapter 20: Just Exaggerate A Bit

But Jiang Qi’s audition this time didn’t go too smoothly.

Wang Zhaoqiu should have informed Qiu Heng in advance. When Shen Lei and Jiang Qi arrived at the audition set for “Jiao Si”, it was Qiu Heng’s assistant, Huang Haofan, who personally came out to greet them.

Qiu Heng was a director from Hong Kong, and so was his assistant. Before they even approached, Huang Haofan smiled and said, “Mr. Shen.”

...Normally, Shen Lei should have responded with “Mr. Huang,” but he felt awkward saying it that way, so he just said, “Assistant Huang.”

“Director Qiu is waiting inside.” After Huang Haofan greeted Shen Lei, he glanced up and down at Jiang Qi. During this time, who hadn’t heard of Jiang Qi’s name dominating the headlines? Who wasn’t curious? Huang Haofan was naturally no exception, his gaze filled with interest as he smiled slightly. “Let me take you over.”

The three of them went to the audition set together. Qiu Heng was a man in his late thirties, unmarried, tall and slender. He wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his sharply defined face, and even in the noisy set, he wore a suit as if he were attending a formal dinner.

Most Hong Kong men were good at taking care of themselves, and Qiu Heng looked like he was in his early thirties at most. He exuded a delicate, rigorous, and meticulous feeling.

He stood up and shook hands with Shen Lei, but only nodded at Jiang Qi. In the entertainment industry, there was a clear distinction between seniors and juniors, as well as between superiors and subordinates. Qiu Heng clearly understood this principle well. He exuded an imposing aura in front of his juniors.

In the industry, Shen Lei and Qiu Heng’s positions were actually quite similar. Qiu Heng had won more awards, but Shen Lei had stronger box office performance. But compared to Qiu Heng, Shen Lei was much more affable.

“Old Shen.” Qiu Heng lightly pushed his glasses with his long fingers and glanced at Jiang Qi with his narrow eyes behind the lenses, smiling slightly. “Is this the young man you’ve discovered?”

“Yes.” Shen Lei also smiled and patted Jiang Qi’s shoulder. He didn’t hesitate to mention the most frequently discussed word in the industry recently. “Purple Microstar.”

“Wang didn’t say that. He just recommended this young man to you.” Qiu Heng’s words were polite, but he didn’t agree with Shen Lei’s praise.

He turned to Jiang Qi, his tone gentle as he asked, “Young man, do you like the role of Chen Si?”

Jiang Qi didn’t mind being called a “young man” by Qiu Heng and shook his head. “I don’t like it.”

Qiu Heng was momentarily surprised. Jiang Qi hadn’t yet adapted to the concept that flattery often found in the entertainment industry, so his straightforwardness could be somewhat choking. But sometimes, after getting used to the antics of those in the industry, one might find this kind of “innocence without pretense” quite interesting. Qiu Heng raised an eyebrow. “You don’t like it? Then why bother auditioning?”

This time, Jiang Qi replied confidently, “Because I can play it.”

Sometimes, auditioning for a role wasn’t about whether you liked it or not, but whether you could portray it.

Interesting, truly interesting.

Qiu Heng couldn’t help but smile, gesturing for Huang Haofan to come over and hand the script to Jiang Qi. Shen Lei breathed a sigh of relief on the side—this meant that Jiang Qi could audition.

But as Jiang Qi watched, his clear and elegant brows slightly furrowed. Actually, the selected audition segment wasn’t particularly difficult. It depicted Chen Si in the movie, who, after entering high school, still didn’t like to play with boys, dressed very “femininely,” and hung out with girls.

At first, the girls felt awkward and uncomfortable, but in the end, they found it refreshing.

It was during this time that Chen Si met the “female lead” in the movie, Meng Li. There was no romantic storyline between her and the male lead. She was also an “anomaly” among ordinary people, a homosexual, but she didn’t dare to be as bold as Chen Si in expressing it.

In the movie, Meng Li was more like another side of Chen Si. After she discovered Chen Si’s uniqueness, she immersed herself in “dressing him up” only.Fịndd new updates on n(o)v/e/lbin(.)com

In the girl’s clothes, the girl’s makeup, Chen Si was present in the gentle demeanor. He lay on Meng Li’s lace bed, basking in the sunlight, caressing himself, completely immersed in his imagination of “gentle lady.” Then, he had to portray the girl’s smiling and naive demeanor, even though he didn’t understand much about the world.

The selected audition was this segment.

...

Poor him, a renowned director, was now doing the job of a talent manager. It was time to find Jiang Qi a truly suitable talent manager.

“Okay.” After checking his watch, Qiu Heng nodded. “Let’s reconvene at 1:30.”

With that, Qiu Heng dismissed the crew and instructed everyone to go eat.

Jiang Qi didn’t want to embarrass Shen Lei, so he kept silent until everyone had left before furrowing his brows and saying, “I really can’t do it.”

“Just give it one more try, and then we’ll see.” Shen Lei insisted before ushering Jiang Qi to the restaurant upstairs in the studio building.

As the tall, slender figure of the young man walked away, Shen Lei stood there, contemplating for a moment. A vague idea that had been forming in his mind suddenly grew like wild grass. He called Qiu Mi over and whispered a few words to him. As a result, Qiu Mi’s expression became increasingly surprised, and his mouth involuntarily opened wide.

“Okay, go take care of this matter. Make sure to bring the person before 1:30,” Shen Lei said, smiling at him. There was a hint of threat in the whirlpool at the corner of his lips. “Understand?”

Qiu Mi couldn’t help but shiver, hastily nodding. “I’ll go right away!”

Sometimes, he really felt like Shen Lei was a god. He could come up with ideas like this.

Qiu Mi bought a sandwich on the way and drove to the entrance of Lin Lan University. After presenting his ID at the gate, Qiu Mi, inquired around the vast campus and finally headed straight to the female dormitory building. After informing the dormitory auntie and waiting for a while, Qiu Mi finally saw the true face of “Zhi Qi” for the first time.

The girl in the emerald green spaghetti strap dress descended from the steps, her slender figure gracefully moving, emitting an overall radiance. Her chestnut-colored hair was loosely tied up, with a few strands falling onto her distinct collarbones. She wore a pair of linen-colored strapped sandals on her petite feet.

Zhi Qi’s ivory face was untouched by makeup, exhibiting a pure and innocent appearance with a hint of confusion. This appearance was even more beautiful than most of the female celebrities Qiu Mi had seen before, leaving the assistant momentarily stunned.

It wasn’t until the girl approached and softly asked the dormitory auntie who was looking for her that Qiu Mi snapped out of his daze. He finally understood why his usually calm and indifferent brother, Jiang Qi, would become disoriented with just a few pieces of information about this girl named Zhi Qi.

“It’s me, it’s me,” Qiu Mi realized the urgency of the matter and quickly walked over. “Miss, are you Zhi Qi?”

“I am...” Zhi Qi looked at the unfamiliar young man in front of her with some surprise. “Who are you?”

“I’m Jiang Qi’s assistant.”

After saying this, he clearly saw a hint of surprise flash through the beautiful black pupils of the girl in front of him. Qiu Mi remembered Shen Lei’s instructions to use “exaggerated language” and to do whatever it took to bring her over...

So he suppressed his guilt and gritted his teeth. “Um, can you come with me? There’s something wrong with Brother Qi.”

Qiu Mi didn’t want to lie like this, but he remembered Shen Lei’s exact words—

“Jiang Qi must take on this role, otherwise he won’t be able to survive in the industry.”

“So we must find a way to make him laugh, by any means necessary.”

“Only that girl named Zhi Qi can make him laugh, make him gentler. Go and bring her.”

“Well, just exaggerate a bit to trick her into thinking something’s wrong with Jiang Qi.”