Chapter 48

Rong Rong was eagerly preparing for the interview. Meanwhile, Li Gu had just hung up the phone when Lin Zeyang, who had been engrossed in the script for a long time, suddenly looked up and asked, "Rong Rong?"

"Yes, Zhao Qin introduced her. Do you know her?" Li Gu asked curiously. "She's a newcomer who just signed with Fanxing."

"To be able to invite Zhao Qin to be her teacher and to have Zhao Qin act as a go-between for her, it seems that she has a powerful background."

Li Gu didn't care; such things were common in the industry. He was just saying it casually and quickly continued the previous topic without waiting for Lin Zeyang's reply.

Today, Li Gu specially gathered all the main creative team members together for the first round of script reading.

As for those roles for which suitable actors have not yet been found, they have been temporarily left vacant. The third female lead that Yu Qiu will play and the role that Rong Rong wants, Nongying, are among them.

Compared to Li Yun, the third female lead, it is more difficult to find a suitable candidate for Nongying.

This role requires the actor to not only be proficient in Kunqu Opera, but also to have excellent appearance and figure, and to have solid acting skills, so that they can amaze everyone as soon as they appear on screen.

Previously, Li Gu had interviewed many people for this role and even went to the opera academy to look for one, but unfortunately, none of them were to his liking.

Whether it was the school beauty or the Kunqu Opera actresses who were already famous throughout the country, they all seemed a bit lacking to him. He really didn't know where else he could find someone who could satisfy him.

If we can't find one, we'll just choose Mei Ling from the Jiang City Theater. We can always put more effort into the set design and lighting.

Li Gu silently made up his mind. As for Rong Rong, whom he was about to interview? Li Gu had no hope at all.

He had heard that this person had only been learning Kunqu Opera for less than two months, and that sending someone over was just to give Zhao Qin face. If he wanted to invite Zhao Qin over to give Mei Ling some guidance later, it would be much easier to arrange.

Zhao Qin is the pinnacle of Kunqu Opera; with his participation, his role is bound to be halfway to success.

Li Gu listened to everyone reciting their lines while carefully pondering them in his mind.

Lin Zeyang was also somewhat absent-minded. He was all too familiar with the name Rong Rong; it was a nightmare for him.

As if he had thought of something, Lin Zeyang quietly picked up his phone and sent a message to his assistant, Xiao Niu.

[Lin Zeyang: I remember you said that Fanxing signed a new artist a while ago?]

[Little Cow: Yes, it's still the eldest daughter of the Rong family in City B. The young lady is back in the entertainment industry.]

It really was her! Lin Zeyang's eyes darkened. His talkative assistant, who hadn't received a message from him yet, sent another message.

[Little Cow: What's wrong, Yang-ge? Did you see her? What does she look like? Does she have potential? Is she pretty?]

Pretty? Lin Zeyang scoffed, a dirty face with smoky makeup instantly flashing into his mind. If this counts as pretty, Lin Zeyang curled his lips in disdain.

As for knowing him, how could he not know him? That person had brought him the darkest time during his high school years, humiliating him, mocking him with his followers, trampling on his dignity, and breaking his backbone.

At that time, his mother was seriously ill and his family was in dire need of money. In order to supplement the family income, he worked part-time day and night. Unfortunately, he was caught by the young lady.

What did the young lady do? She blocked him at his doorstep and threw cash at his face.

"Be my lover, and all of this will be yours. If you don't want to, you can forget about your part-time job!"

The weather was fine that day, but Lin Zeyang's world was shrouded in dark clouds. White cash was scattered all over the ground. Miss Rong and her followers all looked down at him with mocking smiles, watching him pick up the money bit by bit, watching him lower his head and become utterly humble.

He was kept by a rich girl, and the news quickly spread throughout the campus. After that, all he saw every day was ridicule, mockery, and contempt, until the rich girl finally lost interest in him and he was reborn.

Memories were like two hands, tightly gripping Lin Zeyang's throat, making it difficult for him to breathe for a moment.

His unusual behavior immediately caught Li Gu's attention.

"Zeyang? What happened?" Li Gu asked with concern. Lin Zeyang was a rare new-generation actor who possessed both popularity and acting skills, and he greatly admired him.

"Unreachable" is a film with two male leads, and Lin Zeyang is one of them. Li Gu also hopes that Lin Zeyang's fans will help boost the box office of the film.

Remembering that Lin Zeyang had just said he had something to do tomorrow and couldn't come, Li Gu became even more anxious. His precious male lead absolutely couldn't get into trouble!

Lin Zeyang suddenly came to his senses, the darkness in his eyes dissipated, and he gasped for breath.

"Is he sick?" Li Gu asked worriedly. The assistant director quickly got up and went to Lin Zeyang's side to check on him.

Lin Zeyang quickly straightened his expression, loosened his collar, and smiled, "It's nothing, just a little hot."

"Why didn't you say so earlier? Turn the air conditioning down a bit!" Li Gu shouted, then added with concern, "If you're not feeling well, take a few days off."

"No need, thank you very much, Director Li." Lin Zeyang nodded politely. "By the way, I'll come again tomorrow. That's all."

"Isn't someone going to interview Nongying tomorrow? I'll come and take a look too, since I have quite a few scenes with her."

As he spoke, Lin Zeyang grinned broadly, his sunny and handsome demeanor instantly winning people's favor.

“No problem.” Li Gu nodded, and the study session continued.

However, Lin Zeyang's agent, Sister Zhang, received a message from Lin Zeyang that he wanted to postpone tomorrow's magazine cover shoot.

"Unreachable" is a period drama set in the Republican era. The role of Nongying, which Rongrong is auditioning for, is a famous young actress who was once a household name across the country. As an actress in a chaotic world, she was not in control of her own destiny. Her life was full of ups and downs, like the brightest shooting star that streaked across the dark history, stunning the world and also passing through the life of the male protagonist who drowned.

Rong Rong pondered the script. She had fallen in love with acting now, and it was no longer just about completing a task. She had become much more serious about what she did.

Not knowing which scene to audition for tomorrow, Rongrong decided to practice all the scenes several times since Nongying's role wasn't large.

The next day, Rong Rong got up very early. She was so excited that she hadn't slept well the night before, but this didn't affect her energy at all.

To help Rong Rong succeed in her interview, Zhao Qin personally selected clothes and did her makeup.

Although Rong Rong was already stunningly beautiful without makeup, Zhao Qin wanted her to be even better.

As a result, she only applied light makeup. Zhao Qin simply couldn't bring herself to do it, feeling that any touch would be superfluous and would detract from Rong Rong's beauty.

After Zhao Qin finished fixing Rong Rong's hair, she looked at Rong Rong with satisfaction and kindness, "Teacher wishes you all the best!"

"Thank you, teacher!" Rong Rong smiled sweetly, behaving unusually well-behaved. After saying that, she was about to leave with the people arranged by Zhao Qin.

"Wait!" Zhao Qin called out urgently. Rong Rong turned her head, and Zhao Qin put the hat and mask back on Rong Rong. "Take them off before the interview. It will save you a lot of trouble. Be careful. If you need anything, come to me or your senior brother."

The gentle instructions sounded like an old mother caring for her daughter as she went out. Rong Rong's nose suddenly stung with tears, as if she were seeing her own mother, only her mother would never let her go out, which she understood.

"I understand, thank you, teacher." Rong Rong thanked her earnestly. Zhao Qin smiled and patted Rong Rong's head.