Shortly after New Year's Day, after attending classes for another half month, Beijing University began preparing for the final exams. Beijing University's winter break is quite long, lasting about a month in total.
The exams lasted four or five days, after which the school went on holiday. As for the final grades, students don't need to wait on campus; the grades will be uploaded directly to the official website once they are released, and everyone can check them themselves using their student ID number.
Shi Jing had already asked Miao Chen to buy plane tickets in advance, and she would go to Dingdu with Miao Chen after Qi Shuang's audition. She had arranged an audition for Qi Shuang with a director. Qi Shuang was currently studying alone in another city, and her parents were not around, so she planned to accompany her to the audition. Coincidentally, the director's team was in Beijing recently, so she also arranged a dinner with the director and his team.
The audition wasn't as formal as a public one. Shi Jing arranged to meet the director and screenwriter, and the audition was completed during a meal.
Since the Beijing Film Academy's New Year's Eve party, Qi Shuang has been preparing for auditions in addition to attending classes, so she is well-prepared and not nervous.
As the host, Shi Jing and Qi Shuang arrived at the restaurant half an hour early.
This restaurant is a long-established and very popular restaurant in Beijing. Shi Jing had booked it several days in advance specifically for this audition. As soon as the car was parked in the parking space outside, she and Qi Shuang hadn't even fully reached the entrance when they cleverly pushed open the glass door.
Welcome!
A waiter in the lobby greeted them warmly: "Ladies, do you have a reservation?"
Yes, his surname is Shi.
"Okay, please follow me, both of you."
Led by a waiter, the two walked through the lobby and headed towards the backyard.
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps were heard, and soon voices could be heard from the lobby: "Young Master Zhao, Young Master Jiang, what brings you two here?"
"Stop talking nonsense, where is that bastard surnamed Qin?" a male voice asked angrily.
Shi Jing found the voice somewhat familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.
The waiter on the other end quickly replied, "Young Master Qin is already waiting at Tinglan Pavilion. I'll take you two there right away."
"No need, we know the way, we'll go ourselves."
As soon as he finished speaking, footsteps sounded again.
Looking in the direction of the sound, Shi Jing saw two young men walking quickly, one after the other. Upon closer inspection, she realized why the voice sounded familiar—it was Zhao Xunkan, the youngest son of the richest family in the capital!
A few months ago, she had helped the elders of the other family on the roadside, so the two had met once.
The two passed each other by, and Shi Jing made no move to greet him. She quickly looked away and followed the waiter inside.
Zhao Xunkan, who had already walked past, subconsciously glanced back. Before he could take a closer look, Jiang Qingyue beside him asked, "What's wrong? What are you looking at?"
"It's nothing." Zhao Xunkan looked away. "Let's go, don't let that guy surnamed Qin get away."
Shi Jing and the others didn't walk very fast, but the courtyard she booked wasn't far, and they arrived quickly.
"Gentlemen, we've arrived at Anzhixuan." The waiter helped open the door and let them in.
This is a courtyard with antique-style decor, planted with many flowers, trees and shrubs. The private rooms are all quite far apart, offering excellent privacy.
Shi Jing first ordered a specialty tea snack from the restaurant, and then ordered several specialty dishes to be served when the guests arrived.
A short while later, the screenwriter arrived first. She was a woman in her thirties, wearing black-rimmed glasses, and exuded a strong scholarly air. She didn't seem to talk much; after greeting the two women upon entering, she sat down to drink tea, occasionally glancing at Qi Shuang.
Ningyuan Film and Television usually collaborates with familiar faces, and this time was no exception. Shi Jing had met this screenwriter on other film and television projects and knew her personality somewhat, so he wasn't surprised.
Qi Shuang possesses a natural talent for the entertainment industry; she doesn't feel embarrassed being stared at like that. She even occasionally refills the other person's tea, without appearing overly deliberate.
The director arrived right on time, accompanied by an assistant. Unlike the screenwriter, the director was a very warm and friendly person.
Upon entering, the director greeted Shi Jing with a broad smile: "Ms. Shi, it's been a long time."
"Long time no see." Shi Jing smiled and shook hands with the person. "Thank you for making this special trip, Director Liu."
"You're too kind, it's my pleasure." The director said, turning his gaze to Qi Shuang, "Hello, Ms. Qi, I've heard so much about you. Your image is indeed outstanding."
"Thank you for the compliment, Director Liu."
After exchanging pleasantries, the group took their seats, and Qi Shuang diligently refilled everyone's tea.
Director Liu took a sip of tea and was very satisfied with Qi Shuang's appearance.
Director Liu wasn't surprised by the investors' attempts to push people onto the project. Having been in the entertainment industry for so many years, he'd seen this all the time. While he was demanding of his craft, he wasn't inflexible.
That's the good thing about Ningyuan Film and Television: investors can put in people, but their acting skills must be sufficient, otherwise the director can refuse.
Before coming, he had watched some clips of Qi Shuang's performance, and those clips seemed pretty good. He just didn't know if her actual acting skills were as good. After all, sometimes character design and editing can affect acting skills.
He noticed that although Qi Shuang was brought by an investor, she was very humble, which made a good first impression on him, and he was happy to chat with her more.
The two talked about all sorts of things, one moment discussing plays, the next possibly jumping to a course at the Beijing Film Academy. The screenwriter, though not very talkative, could still chime in with a few words.
Seeing that they were having a good chat, Shi Jing went out to find a waiter to refill their tea, and then checked the menu again before ordering two more dishes.
She doesn't drink alcohol and didn't know if the director and the others liked it, so she simply ordered two bottles of the restaurant's specialty drinks. The waiter explained that these were brewed in-house and available in limited quantities daily. Shi Jing herself doesn't drink alcohol, so she also ordered some fruit juice.
I had just finished talking to the waiter when I heard a loud shout: "Stop fucking kidding me, do you think I'm an ATM?!"
Shi Jing paused for a moment, looking in the direction the sound came from. The private rooms in this courtyard were all quite far apart; how loud was that voice?
The waiter was clearly not expecting this, and looked at the area with some apprehension. He quickly took out his communicator to contact the person in charge of the courtyard.
Where is that place?
The waiter hesitated for a moment before answering, "Sir, that's Tinglan Pavilion over there."
What a coincidence! Shi Jing couldn't help but glance in that direction again. When she met Zhao Xunkan in the lobby earlier, the courtyard they mentioned was Tinglan Pavilion, wasn't it?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com