"Oh~" Zhou Cheng nodded with a smile, still not letting go. Instead, he opened his palm, grabbed her neck, and tightened his grip slightly, just like she had done earlier.
Her skin was delicate; with just a little pressure, not only did the skin under her palm turn red, but the surrounding area also became lightly stained red.
Qiao Nansheng felt short of breath and quickly reached out to grab him: "What do you want to do? Big brother, I was just joking, don't do anything reckless."
She panicked.
She was afraid that Zhou Cheng would really strangle her.
Zhou Cheng smiled slightly and said, "Nothing, I was just joking."
As he said this, there was a hint of coldness in his eyes.
"..." Qiao Nansheng: Damn.
She should have known better than to hold him so tightly.
Qiao Nansheng "enjoyed" five seconds of the low-level suffocation before Zhou Cheng let go.
He didn't use much force, but her neck still turned red.
Qiao Nansheng scrambled away from his arms, touching her neck which was still slightly sore, breathing softly, and looking up at the man who was still smiling at her.
Thinking of the coldness in his eyes when he was joking earlier, Qiao Nansheng couldn't help but shiver.
She had no doubt that if she had said anything else that offended him, he would have strangled her without hesitation.
"Shall we rehearse?" Zhou Cheng asked, a faint smile on his face, as if he hadn't been the one pinching her just now.
Qiao Nansheng felt a chill run down her spine when she thought about the image of him choking her neck and the look in his eyes. She quickly shook her head and said, "No, no, no, that's not right. I don't feel anything anymore. Let's just audition tomorrow."
She's not worried about passing tomorrow's audition at all; she's worried that Zhou Cheng will strangle her.
Zhou Cheng: "Is it right? I can feel it now."
Qiao Nansheng was on the verge of tears: "But I..."
"Hmm?" He looked up at her, his expression calm, his smile unchanged, yet for some reason, a sense of fear rose within her. "Something's not right?"
"Yes! Yes, yes, yes!" Qiao Nansheng nodded with tears in her eyes.
Perhaps she was frightened, because when Qiao Nansheng rehearsed the scene again, she didn't make a single mistake and successfully passed the minimum standard set by Zhou Cheng for her. She mastered the emotions, tone, actions, and expressions very well.
In fact, to Zhou Cheng's surprise, it not only met his minimum standards but also exceeded them by at least two degrees.
Overall, as a newcomer, her acting skills are barely passable. If she were to be more serious, she could fool the audience. But if Zhou Cheng judged her according to his standards, she would fall far short.
However, since this is only her first film, we can't set our expectations too high; this level is sufficient.
Qiao Nansheng sat hesitantly opposite him, her hands clasped together nervously: "How is it?"
After the scene was over, he stopped talking and just stared at her. Qiao Nansheng felt uneasy, as if he was up to something.
"Not bad," Zhou Cheng praised.
She breathed a sigh of relief, a smile spreading across her face: "Then I'm sure I'll succeed in my audition tomorrow!"
If Zhou Cheng says it's good, then it must be good.
“No,” Zhou Cheng shook his head, “twenty percent.”
Qiao Nansheng's smile froze instantly. She gritted her teeth and said, "You just said it was pretty good!!"
"Yes." Zhou Cheng glanced at her and said, "Not bad, good, very good, excellent, you're on par with me. Where do you think you rank?"
"..." Qiao Nansheng had an urge to smash her head against a block of tofu and kill herself.
Why are his requirements so high?
As if seeing through her thoughts, Zhou Cheng said, "It's not that I have high standards, it's just that the audience's eyes are discerning. If you want to become popular and have fans, you definitely need to have acting skills. The passing standard I set for you is already very low. If you can't pass with me, you'll definitely fail with Director Ming tomorrow."
Don't be fooled by the fact that Director Ming selects roles based on photos; without acting skills, good looks are useless.
Perhaps Director Ming will give her some time to learn out of respect for him, but if her acting skills remain subpar and she doesn't gain Director Ming's approval, it will be useless.
"Okay, okay." Qiao Nansheng pouted. "Twenty it is, let's get up early tomorrow morning and do it again! We'll definitely pass when we go for the audition!"
Zhou Cheng chuckled: "Can you get up tomorrow morning? Why don't you practice a few more times now?"
Qiao Nansheng shook her head vigorously: "No, no, no, let's do it tomorrow morning."
Zhou Cheng looked at her, but smiled without saying a word.
Qiao Nansheng's shaking of her head gradually slowed down. She looked at Zhou Cheng, pursed her lips, then pursed them again, and reluctantly nodded: "Alright, let's practice..."
She was very unwilling, but under someone's threat, she had no choice but to agree.
While acting with him, Qiao Nansheng thought to herself: Anyway, Zhou Cheng will be going out of town for an event after tomorrow's audition and won't be back for at least a week, so she'll just have to bear with it and it'll be over tonight.
When it comes to his beloved career, Zhou Cheng is extremely serious and dedicated.
In the subsequent repeated practice sessions with Qiao Nansheng, he would be criticized if there was even the slightest mishap in his eyes. However, he dared not argue back or talk back, and could only hold it in.
The two of them went over that one scene until midnight before Zhou Cheng finally let her go: "Alright, go wash up and rest."
Whew, finally we're free!!
Qiao Nansheng cheered and jumped around like a fool, then went to the closet to get another set of pajamas and went to the bathroom to take a shower.
She ran back and forth no less than thirty times, and she was so hot that she almost died.
While soaking in the bathtub, Qiao Nansheng thought: Luckily, Zhou Cheng isn't the director. If he were, he would be so strict with every scene, which would be infuriating.
Because if even a slight misjudgment was made, Zhou Cheng would demand to start over.
Moreover, this body is even more pampered than when she was in the CEO drama, with incredibly delicate skin and tender flesh. Her feet were sore from running back and forth for so long.
Qiao Nansheng scrubbed her body, rubbed her feet, and gave her a massage. Before she knew it, more than half an hour had passed.
After getting dressed and washing her face, she went through her skincare routine. By the time she left, it was already one o'clock the next day.
While she was taking a shower, Zhou Cheng had already finished showering in another guest room and was lying on the bed.
Hearing the bathroom door open, he looked up in that direction and saw her walking slowly. He frowned slightly and asked, "Does your foot hurt?"
"Hmm." Qiao Nansheng nodded, slowly walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, then stretched out her legs as if complaining, and accused him, "Look for yourself, they're all red!"
The pain was so intense that it felt like I had walked all day outside; my feet were throbbing with pain.
Zhou Cheng glanced at her outstretched foot and frowned even more.
He put down his phone, grabbed her foot, and scoffed, "So delicate!"
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