Chapter 29 [VIP]

Chapter Summary: His thoughts could no longer be hidden.

Upon hearing Lü E's name, Mu Zhi was like, "What? What a small world!"

Director Wu Ce revealed in the phone call that he highly approves of Mu Zhi's performance, considering her the best among all the auditioning artists.

"It's very regrettable that the casting for the female lead in 'The Legend of the Flying Immortal' involved many factors..."

I could sense a sense of helplessness, like "the arm can't twist the thigh."

Mu Zhi knew that as a newcomer to the talent show who had never acted, had no star power, and no company or team behind her to support her, the only thing she could compete with other auditioning artists was her acting skills.

If the production team doesn't use the actress's suitability for the role or her acting skills as criteria for selecting the female lead, but instead places more emphasis on other factors...

I have no chance of winning.

What puzzled Mu Zhi was that Xinghe Culture's choice to promote Lin Xuan, the top female star, over her was understandable.

However, with both having companies backing them up, Lin Xuan should have the upper hand in their competition with Lü E, regardless of star power, popularity, or media attention...

How did Lü E end up getting the role?

Minmin immediately decided to cast Mu Zhi in "The Bell Ringer" without even having her audition audition.

As I left the coffee shop, I thought to myself: I really made the right choice in following this person!

Although I'm still a little worried about whether the reshoot will go smoothly, I'm genuinely happy that Mu Zhi, this gem, has gained the director's appreciation so quickly.

Upon hearing that Lü E had been cast in "The Legend of the Flying Fairy," she pursed her lips and asked with a hint of gossip, "Sister Zhizhi, do you know that Lü E has been acting for years, playing the second female lead for ages without making a splash, and even getting criticized for her acting? Why does she still keep getting second female lead roles?"

Mu Zhi shook her head.

The reason for this was a rumor that Minmin overheard while working as Mei Jie's temporary assistant on "Chasing the Light Girl": "Lu E's sister is the mistress of the boss of Shengyu Media..." She mouthed the two words, "mistress."

"Her sister is a producer on several self-produced dramas by Shengyu Media, which is quite impressive. A couple of days ago, when I was waiting outside for the audition, I got bored and 'researched' the production team of 'The Legend of the Flying Immortal' and found out that the producer and Lü E's sister are best friends and have worked together before."

I didn't say anything before because I was afraid it would affect Mu Zhi's morale, but now that the filming is going to be canceled anyway, I've brought it up.

He comforted Mu Zhi, telling her not to be discouraged by her failed audition, saying that someone had simply won unfairly.

When Mu Zhi heard Minmin's "revelation," she wasn't surprised that Lü E was a hidden resource-rich actress. Out of curiosity, she had previously searched for and watched some of Lü E's works. After watching clips of several dramas, her acting was extremely "consistent"—angry glaring eyes, pouting lips, and crying without tears.

Lin Xuan has Xinghe Culture, and Lü E has a good older sister; they are not bad at all.

Let's make a bold guess: Lin Xuan lost to Lü E because her audition performance was terrible?

Lanxing Media, General Manager's Office.

"Mr. He, all the information you requested is here."

Ji Binghe placed the documents in front of He Zhiyue and handed him the iPad, saying, "And this is the audition video that Mu Zhi submitted for 'The Legend of the Flying Immortal'."

He Zhiyue took the iPad, tapped the paused screen, and watched Mu Zhi's performance intently.

With a smile playing on his lips, he picked up the documents beside him and began to peruse them.

The boss appeared relaxed, showing no emotion and offering no comment.

Ji Binghe couldn't hold back and spoke first, "I've seen it. For a newcomer to have such amazing acting skills, she has a bright future as an actress. Mu Zhi could become the next Best Actress Liu Rui."

"Mr. He, have you taken a liking to this girl?"

The "look she's interested in" she's referring to is Lanxing's desire to sign Mu Zhi.

He Zhiyue put down the documents in her hand, looked up and asked Ji Binghe, "Director Ji, do you trust your intuition?"

"I have a feeling that this girl named Mu Zhi will become famous."

"As long as she has a powerful company to support her and provide her with a platform and opportunities, just like you said, she will soon become the second Best Actress Liu Rui, no, or even surpass her."

Ji Binghe highly approves of He Zhiyue's vision. He originally went overseas to investigate a boy group, but ended up bringing back Xia Xinyan. In just a few months, he successfully bet on her and created a girl group's center, a highly popular idol.

However, Mu Zhi has already signed with another company, so poaching her would be a bit troublesome.

He Zhiyue wasn't in a hurry at all to poach Mu Zhi from Lanxing Media.

"She's a newcomer who just entered the entertainment industry. Her agent is promoting someone else. We need to give her some time to see the difference between companies and let Lanxing see if she's worth it."

Starting from the second performance.

He noticed that this girl, who shone brightly on stage, possessed a strange magic that could restore his out-of-control aura caused by Xia Xinyan to normal and correct his exaggerated behavior (spending money in the live stream).

He Zhiyue had the idea of ​​signing Mu Zhi when Mu Zhi's first talent show performance, #Tears in a second#, came to mind.

He saw longing in Mu Zhi's eyes, a longing for performance. The #tearsininasecond# she displayed was her cautiously reaching out, wanting everyone to notice her talent in acting.

At that time, he expressed his thoughts.

Assistant Luke wore an awkward yet polite smile, feeling that He Zhiyue was overinterpreting things.

But He Zhiyue inexplicably believed in her own guess. Later, when she saw that Mu Zhi chose not to join the group, her first thought was not that she was limited by the company, but that this girl was ambitious.

So a few days ago, he asked Ji Binghe to investigate, and the results confirmed his suspicions once again.

Xinghe Culture strongly promoted its top female artist Lin Xuan to audition for the role in "The Legend of the Flying Immortal," while Mu Zhi recorded her own audition video and submitted it to director Wu Ce in order to compete for the role as well.

In the audition video, besides her amazing and mature performance, Mu Zhi's poised and generous self-introduction left a deep impression on He Zhiyue. He did not see a trace of distress about her current situation in Mu Zhi. She seemed to be full of hope for the future and firmly believed that what she wanted was just around the corner.

Only those with sufficient energy can maintain their inner conviction and strength even when they humble themselves.

Now that she failed her audition for "The Legend of the Flying Fairy", Mu Zhi was immediately spotted by director Xu Tao and invited to reshoot the female lead role in "The Bell Ringer"!

Not only him, but I believe that many more people will soon discover this treasure.

Ji Binghe heard her boss say "no rush," but in reality, he had her find all the project information for "The Bell Ringer's Record," and he couldn't hide his true intentions.

"Mr. He, are you really planning to invest in 'The Bell Ringer'?"

It's risky for Lanxing Media to invest in a fantasy web series that has absolutely nothing to do with the subject and carries a certain degree of risk.

"Yes, this investment from Lanxing Media is an opportunity to establish a cooperative relationship with the Green Apple platform."

I know what Ji Binghe is worried about.

He Zhiyue said confidently, "I had Luke do a risk assessment. The other actors in this play are quite safe. The play 'The Bell Ringer' has been in preparation for 3 years. Director Xu Tao always values ​​the script very much. He plans to restart the project as soon as possible. Everyone else is watching and doesn't dare to make a move. So I'll be the first sucker."

It might sound like someone is foolish and has too much money, but actually, entering the market at this time would undoubtedly yield the highest returns.

Ji Binghe nodded: "OK, I know Director Xu Tao. I'll ask him to come out for a meeting so we can all sit down and talk about our collaboration."

After reading the script of "The Bell Ringer" in one go, Mu Zhi was pleasantly surprised.

It's a better story than the novel "The Legend of the Flying Immortal".

The important thing is that she really likes the female lead's character design; it's much more appealing than the character of Ya Deng, who has a crush on the male lead for ten thousand years.

The next day, she immediately called Director Xu Tao and officially accepted the invitation to play the female lead in "The Bell Ringer" and cooperate with the crew for reshoots.

At the same time, I heard some good news.

"With the addition of new investors, the funding issue has been resolved, and we expect to start filming in a month."

Very good.

Mu Zhi was very pleased to hear this and praised the new investor for being willing to enter the game at this crucial moment, saying that he really had the courage.

With her first new drama secured, Mu Zhi realized she hadn't told Shang Jian about it yet. Although her agent was practically useless to her, she still had to ask him to free up his filming schedule.

Xinghe Culture arrived by taxi.

Unfortunately, I ran into Lin Xuan at the door of Shang Jian's office.

Upon meeting, the other party cast a cold glance at them, accompanied by a "cold snort".

"Some newcomers don't even look in the mirror. What are they? How dare they compete with me for resources?"

Mu Zhi remained silent.

I don't understand what kind of superiority Lin Xuan is showing off. I can't be bothered to pay attention.

He walked right past the other person, knocked on the door, and went inside.

Shang Jian received a call from his boss asking him to come to the office. Just as he reached the door, another important call came in from a brand. He didn't even have time to greet Mu Zhi and Lin Xuan when they came to see him.

He pointed to the sofa, indicating that they should sit for a while and talk to him when he returned.

The person then hurriedly walked out.

Only Mu Zhi and Lin Xuan remained in the office.

Mu Zhi was engrossed in her phone, ignoring the person sitting opposite her, but Lin Xuan insisted on bothering her.

Lin Xuan stretched out a hand in front of her, admiring the pink rhinestone nail art she had just done at noon, and proudly showed off, "I found out that your audition performance was amazing, but so what? The company will always choose to promote me over you."

"I lost out on the lead role, but I won't let a newcomer like you have your way."

It turns out that Lin Xuan was to blame for his failure to be selected; this is a classic case of "if you can't have it, destroy it"?

Mu Zhi didn't know how to evaluate Lin Xuan.

How can someone with high emotional intelligence praise someone for having "a strong sense of competition and being prepared for potential crises"?

This person has low emotional intelligence and wants to complain. "A mad dog bites indiscriminately." Their way of suppressing newcomers is so low-level. They don't even bother to pretend.

If any other scheming celebrity recorded Lin Xuan's words and posted them online, it would give Lin Xuan a good "publicity."

Mu Zhi's way of getting along with the artists in the company has always been "keeping to themselves," and she doesn't even want to give a clown like Lin Xuan a second glance.

Lin Xuan talked for a long time, but Mu Zhi didn't even look up. It was as if her punch had hit sand, only making her hand hurt.

It's so boring.

I can only tell you something interesting, something that will definitely surprise Mu Zhi.

"Although I am not the female lead in 'The Legend of the Flying Immortal,' I have been cast as the second female lead."

While speaking, he kept an eye on Mu Zhi's reaction. Sure enough, she was "stimulated" and raised her head. She was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed. "You debuted as the center of a group three years ago, and now you're going to be a supporting member of a girl group that debuted this year. What do you have to brag about to me?"

"Instead of having time, you might as well take a class and improve your acting skills."

"You, how dare you talk to me like that..." Lin Xuan was hit where it hurt, and she was so angry that she jumped up from the sofa and walked towards Mu Zhi, as if she was about to teach Mu Zhi a lesson.

What are you arguing about?

Shang Jian returned just in time, sternly reprimanded Lin Xuan, and stopped her in her tracks.

Lin Xuan wanted to complain to her agent, but Shang Jian didn't pay attention to her immediately. Instead, he turned to look at Mu Zhi.

With a slightly subtle look in his eyes, he asked, "Mu Zhi, I just heard some news from President Zhong. Director Xu Tao has invited you to play the female lead in 'The Bell Ringer'?"

Mu Zhi stood up: "Yes, I came to the company to report this matter to you, President Shang."

"What? How is that possible?"

Lin Xuan was furious when she heard the news.

The rumors about Tu Qingqing and Lan Cheng are common knowledge in the industry. Tu Qingqing's recently completed web series, "The Bell Ringer," will be affected and will not be able to be broadcast. Lin Xuan is of course aware of this web series as well.

Although it wasn't a great role, it shouldn't have been something a newcomer like Mu Zhi could get. She suddenly remembered that on the day of the audition, Director Wu Ce had introduced the person sitting next to him as Director Xu Tao, a name that sounded familiar.

Now that I think about it, isn't he the director of "The Bell Ringer"?

The company defied public opinion to secure the second female lead role for itself, but the newcomer who hadn't even debuted yet ended up playing the female lead in the next drama?