The script fragment that An Qingyan received was about Shen Tinghan returning from an outing to find that all his relatives in the clan had been killed by a mysterious person. The once warm and lively manor was now deathly silent, and the air was filled with the smell of burning and blood.
His parents also lay in a pool of blood, lifeless.
This scene has very few lines, but it is very difficult to perform. The main difficulty lies in portraying Shen Tinghan's emotional changes, the extreme grief of having his clan and parents all killed overnight.
Before thirty minutes had passed, An Qingyan came out of the cubicle and said, "Teachers, I'm ready."
There were no props on set, only two staff members lying on the floor playing the roles of Shen Tinghan's deceased parents. When the director yelled "Action!", several cameras filmed An Qingyan from various angles.
In the early stages, Shen Tinghan was blind. Now, An Qingyan's eyes are not covered by a white veil, but he has experienced what it feels like to be blind, the helplessness of the whole world being plunged into darkness, as if it were about to devour him.
Shen Tinghan was walking in the unusually quiet mountain villa. Her beautiful peach blossom eyes were lifeless, and her clean and delicate face revealed an icy coldness.
He quickly sensed something was wrong. The stench of blood in the air made him stop in his tracks. A barely perceptible, strange emotion flickered across his usually cold and indifferent face, and he quickened his pace.
There was a chair right in front of her. Whether it was a staff member's mistake or not, An Qingyan bumped into the chair, staggered a bit, and continued walking forward.
The two corpses ahead once again blocked Shen Tinghan's path. He knelt down, his palms touching the cold temperature and thick blood; they had already stopped breathing.
His movements became somewhat flustered until he touched the old scar on his father's forehead and the hairpin his mother often wore, confirming their identities. At that moment, he abruptly stopped.
After a long silence, he knelt down and gently embraced his parents' bodies. Warm, hot tears silently welled up in his eyes, arced through the air, and slowly flowed down his fair cheeks.
The boy's thin lips were pressed tightly together, but the muscles in his cheeks trembled slightly uncontrollably. His thin shoulders were also shaking, and his well-defined hands were tightly holding his parents' bodies, so tightly that the veins on the back of his hands bulged.
Although he didn't say a word, everyone present could feel Shen Tinghan's extreme sadness and despair, and they also became saddened by it.
"Who is it...?"
"Who killed you all..."
"I want them to pay for their crimes in blood."
Her choked, trembling voice contained sorrow and endless, cold hatred. Even though everyone knew it was an act, it sent a chill down the spines of those present.
The director's gaze towards An Qingyan had long since changed, from initial indifference to seriousness, and now to excitement and admiration. This was the Shen Tinghan he had been looking for!
"Card!"
An Qingyan composed herself, casually wiped away the tears on her face, and stood up with lingering sadness in her eyes. She politely bowed to everyone.
The scene was eerily quiet until the director started clapping for him, at which point everyone else reacted. When the crisp, enthusiastic applause rang in An Qingyan's ears, he knew he had succeeded in the audition.
Everyone present was surprised and even shocked. A singing and dancing idol who came out of a talent show, without professional training or acting experience, no one had any expectations for him.
So when his performance far exceeded everyone's expectations, it shocked everyone even more.
"An Qingyan, you really have no acting experience?" The director carefully examined the clean-cut and handsome young man in front of him. His serious face now had a slight smile on his lips.
"I had it in my past life, but I definitely don't have it in this one." An Qingyan felt a little guilty, but her expression remained unchanged as she answered very frankly, "No."
The director's expression changed subtly. He looked at the boy as if he were looking at a treasure. To act like this in his first time was to be an exceptionally talented actor. He had found a treasure today.
With such extraordinary performing talent, why bother participating in talent shows to sing and dance? It's such a waste! A complete disservice to such talent!
The director was most satisfied with An Qingyan's attention to detail; he had someone deliberately place that chair there so that the other auditioning actors would simply avoid it.
Only when An Qingyan directly crashed into it did he become a blind person.
As for her parents' identities, An Qingyan only confirmed them by touching her father's scar and her mother's hairpin. The others rushed over and hugged them and cried before even confirming their identities, showing a lack of attention to detail.
"Why did you choose to cry like that just now?" the director asked again. The actors in front of him were crying so heartbrokenly that they couldn't stop, and they were certainly immersed in their roles, but he wasn't very satisfied.
"Shen Tinghan is an introverted and aloof person. No matter what happens, he can remain calm and his emotions are usually not shown on his face."
An Qingyan said, "Even after suffering such a severe blow and feeling extremely grief-stricken, he would not cry uncontrollably as if he had lost his mind." Sometimes, silent tears are the most touching.
After deciding to participate in the audition, he read the original novel several times and carefully studied the character traits of Shen Tinghan. He felt that Gu Fei's personality was somewhat similar to Shen Tinghan's.
The director seemed quite satisfied with his answer, and his tone softened a bit. "You're right, it seems you're very invested in this role."
An Qingyan couldn't help but smile. He was naturally happy to receive praise from the notoriously strict director, but he didn't get carried away.
He said, "I really like Shen Tinghan. If I have the opportunity, I would like to interpret this character in my own way and bring him to life."
Director: "I hope you get what you want."
——
Gao Feifei waited nervously in the car. She saw An Qingyan coming out from a distance, but she couldn't see his expression because he was too far away.
She was mentally preparing what to say to comfort her artist, but when she got closer, she could see the expression on the boy's face clearly. It was calm and unchanged from when he went in.
"Yan Yan, failure is the mother of success. If it doesn't work the first time, we'll try twice. If it doesn't work the second time, we'll try three times... If it really doesn't work, let's go back to singing and dancing and become a shining idol."
An Qingyan hadn't even settled in when she heard these words, and she couldn't help but chuckle. "I think my performance was pretty good. Maybe I just got lucky and was chosen."
Gao Feifei laughed along, "Yeah, who knows?"
But she didn't believe An Qingyan's words at all, thinking he was joking and that the boy had a good attitude.
In the audition room on the other side, the production team leaders were still discussing the selection of the male lead. The director's stance was firm: it had to be An Qingyan, and Shen Tinghan could only be him.
Originally, Duan Ci was passable, but then a better little gem appeared, whose appearance and acting skills were the perfect match. Looking back at Duan Ci's performance, he was really bad in every way, falling far short.
"Yes, An Qingyan performed very well, but..."
The assistant director was somewhat embarrassed. "Duan Ci's relationship with the producer is quite special. Although it hasn't been explicitly stated, Duan Ci has basically been cast as the male lead. Don't you know that?"
The producer is the financial backer of this show, and you absolutely cannot afford to offend them. If the investment is reduced or withdrawn, the consequences would be unbearable for anyone.
This is an unspoken rule in the industry: whoever has money and power is the boss.
The director gave a cold snort, "In any case, Shen Tinghan can only be played by An Qingyan. I will handle this matter. You just need to do your own jobs."
He had finally come across a promising talent and didn't want to miss out.
——
By the time An Qingyan returned to the Gu family home, it was already dark.
Gu Fei has also returned and is currently working in his study. He used to stay at the company to work overtime, but now that there is someone else at home, he has gotten into the habit of bringing the rest of his work home to handle.
The study was quiet, and the man was focused on the computer screen in front of him when suddenly the tightly closed door was opened a crack, and a small head peeked in from outside.
"Brother Fei, you're still busy."
Gu Fei immediately looked away from the screen and waved to the boy, "Yan Yan, come here."
An Qingyan obediently pushed open the door and went in. As soon as she got to the man's side, he wrapped her arms around her waist and pulled her onto his lap, like he was holding a child.
The child did not resist and sat obediently.
Because he was sitting on Gu Fei's lap, An Qingyan was in a higher position. Gu Fei rested his chin on An Qingyan's shoulder, turned his head and gently kissed An Qingyan's fair neck, and said softly, "How did the audition go?"
"I think..." Before he could finish speaking, the boy suddenly stopped because he smelled a familiar scent, which he could only detect when he got closer. It was coming from Gu Fei.
With a light, cool, woody cedar scent, this men's fragrance has a very unique aroma. An Qingyan only knows that one person has ever used it, and that is the man who took care of him in his past life, namely Gu Fei.
Two lifetimes later, he smelled that scent again, and long-buried memories resurfaced. The boy's eyes welled up with tears, and he couldn't control his emotions at all.
"Brother Fei, are you wearing perfume?"
Gu Fei nodded, "It was a gift from a business partner. I heard it was specially made for me." He noticed the unusual emotion in the person in his arms, whose eyes were already reddening, and his voice softened, "What? Does Yan Yan not like this smell?"
An Qingyan shook her head.
Gu Fei: "The audition didn't go well?"
An Qingyan shook her head again, "I think my performance was okay, but I don't know if I'll be selected..."
Gu Fei ruffled his hair. "You definitely can."
“Also, what I want to say is,” An Qingyan reached out and hugged the man’s waist, burying her face in his neck and breathing deeply, her tone very serious, “Brother Fei, I really like this smell.”
"Hmm." The man's fingertips gently caressed the back of the boy's neck, his magnetic voice gentle yet indulgent: "From now on, Brother Fei will use this perfume."
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