Chapter 11
Chapter 11
The wind on the way to school is stuffy and hot, while the wind after class is cheerful.
Jiang Mingyue walked quickly home, ate dinner with Liang Shuanglan, cleared the table and dishes, wiped her hands clean, took out her textbooks from her backpack and placed them by the bed, then handed the interview notice to Liang Shuanglan: "Hey, Mom, look, good news—I got an interview notice!"
Before Liang Shuanglan even read the contents, a smile had already spread across her face.
She quickly took out her reading glasses and carefully examined the two pieces of paper several times.
But soon, Liang Shuanglan's relaxed brows furrowed again. "What if I'm not prepared enough for the interview in such a short time?"
Jiang Mingyue put her hand on Liang Shuanglan's shoulder: "Mom, this is just a small role with only a few scenes, they won't have too high expectations."
She smiled and leaned close to her mother's ear, as if sharing a secret, and whispered, "Mom, this role was originally meant for Qi Ya, but I just got lucky."
Qi Ya has only been in the industry for a year. Although she has not yet shown outstanding acting skills, she quickly gained popularity and attracted a large number of fans because of her likable role, excellent appearance, and beautiful crying scenes in a popular ancient costume drama.
However, Jiang Mingyue, who returned from fifteen years later, knew that beneath Qi Ya's sweet appearance lay a wild heart.
— A few years later, Qi Ya became a top actress capable of starring in popular TV dramas. However, just before the release of a TV series that reportedly cost over 100 million yuan, she was exposed for multiple tax evasions and was subsequently blacklisted.
According to the official announcement, Qi Ya had been warned for tax evasion since her very first role.
The idea that Qi Ya was originally cast was just Jiang Mingyue's wild guess, but she felt that her guess was very close to the truth.
The actor originally cast as the silly fox was likely targeted by the authorities due to his involvement in this tax evasion issue. Therefore, in order to ensure the smooth broadcast of the TV series, the production team replaced him with a newcomer with a good reputation from social news.
Jiang Mingyue's self-sacrificing image perfectly matches the final brilliant part of this silly fox character. Even if she lacks acting skills, the director was able to let her deliver the performance by relying on her genuine feelings from recalling her past.
Even a stray opportunity is still an opportunity.
Liang Shuanglan was quite happy and picked up her crossbody bag: "Then don't come with me to the hospital this afternoon. Pack your things and prepare more for yourself."
The "tidying up" here doesn't mean doing housework, but rather having Mingyue put on light makeup and fix her hair.
Jiang Mingyue followed Liang Shuanglan out the door: "Mom, the audition is on the way to the hospital, so I'll go with you. It'll be better if I don't wear makeup so people can see what I look like."
But she did change into a pair of form-fitting dance pants, which fully showcased her beautiful figure.
After taking her mother to the hospital and running the paperwork for her, Jiang Mingyue headed towards the audition location.
Jiang Mingyue arrived at the audition address provided by the production team in front of a somewhat old office building.
Outside the office building, the automatic sensor doors were tightly shut, blocking Jiang Mingyue's way. Inside the office building lobby, there stood many girls who looked older than Jiang Mingyue. They were dressed exactly like her, but their hair was all tied up in buns at the back of their heads, clearly indicating that they were there to apply as dancers. Jiang Mingyue, with her long hair flowing freely, looked very different.
An elderly man wearing a white vest sat in the gatehouse, holding a newspaper in his hand and wearing black-rimmed reading glasses on his nose.
On a sweltering day, an old electric fan was running in the gatehouse, and the old man kept fanning himself with a plastic fan because of the heat.
Seeing Jiang Mingyue standing outside, he gave her a "you're late" look and opened the door to let her in before she could even hold up her interview notice.
The old man said to her through the open window, "Are you here to audition for a group dance? Wait in the lobby for a while, someone will come to take you to the audition soon."
Jiang Mingyue handed the unused interview notice to the old man: "Grandpa, I'm here for the interview for the third female lead, Hu Lili. Where should I go?"
The old man looked Jiang Mingyue up and down a few times, pushed up his reading glasses, and pointed to the stairs with a smile, saying, "Go to the second floor, turn left, and the room with the open door is where you will be interviewed."
The old man raised his hand and looked at his watch: "It's not time yet, it starts at two o'clock."
"Thank you, sir," Jiang Mingyue said with a smile.
Her rosy lips curled upwards, revealing eight pearly white teeth. Her full under-eye bags curved into soft arcs as she smiled, and her eyes seemed to shimmer with moisture, making her smile exceptionally bright.
She bypassed the girls waiting on the first floor and disappeared down the stairs.
The old man stared at Jiang Mingyue's back, rubbed his chin, and nodded in approval: "She is indeed very beautiful, with a charming and cheerful demeanor. The person recommended by Xiao Zhang has good looks."
He stood up, stretched, put his shirt back on, buttoned it up, took off his reading glasses and put them in the case, then stuffed them into his trouser pocket. He took a sip of the green tea brewed with hot water from his teacup, then picked up the newspaper he had finished reading, put his hands behind his back, and strolled out slowly and leisurely.
*
The large conference room for the auditions had been cleared out; the door was open, but the room was empty.
A burly man with a walkie-talkie clipped to his chest sat by the door. When he saw Jiang Mingyue approaching, he only said, "The audition hasn't started yet," before continuing to play on his phone.
Jiang Mingyue glanced at her watch; there were still nearly five minutes before the interview started, so she stood to the side of the burly man.
Leaning against the wall, she once again immersed her thoughts in the fox segment of "Animal World".
A few minutes later, two other young girls, who looked rather pitiful, arrived. They glanced at Jiang Mingyue a few times, then stood by the other side of the wall, glancing at Jiang Mingyue's face every now and then.
Suddenly, one of them let out a long "Ah!" and leaned close to the other's ear with a look of sudden realization, whispering, "The one that's on the social news."
Another person also looked over, their gaze sweeping over Jiang Mingyue's entire body before they whispered in response, "She's dressed so shabbily, could it be to create a media frenzy?"
The two young girls laughed at the same time, their laughter extremely grating, clearly meant for Jiang Mingyue to hear.
Using words to provoke opponents is a common tactic employed by third-rate actors. If someone takes the harsh words to heart, their emotions will be affected, leading to emotional errors during the performance.
Unfortunately, these two girls really chose the wrong person this time.
Even if we don't mention that Jiang Mingyue is long past the age where a few trivial words can affect her mood, her attention is no longer in the real world—Jiang Mingyue's mind is focused on watching the fluffy foxes playing and frolicking in the "three-bedroom, one-living-room" home theater.
As the last minute approached, a middle-aged man and woman walked out of the other side of the corridor, followed by a chubby old man appearing on the stairs.
The old man smiled and pointed to the conference room: "Go in, everyone."
This statement clearly shows that he was the one in charge on the spot; no one took action before he entered the room.
The "three bedrooms and one living room" gently pushed Jiang Mingyue's thoughts out of the space. She looked in the direction of the light and, unsurprisingly, discovered that the old man guarding the door was the hidden boss behind the scenes.
She was actually quite familiar with this person; he was director Liu Changhe, who specialized in making period dramas.
In her past life, this old man gave Jiang Mingyue many opportunities to play supporting roles. Unexpectedly, in this life, she met Director Liu at her first audition.
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