After a day of development, the incident, which was initially triggered by a feud between the two fan groups, came to an end with Shuya issuing an apology statement.
The fact that the director liked that anonymous comment already made some people suspicious. Later, with Liang Mengshi's confirmation, Shuya's carefully cultivated title of "national first love" and her carefully crafted girl-next-door persona were completely ruined.
Initially, there were one or two die-hard fans who unconditionally believed in and supported her no matter what. However, as more and more people exposed her for being arrogant, having terrible acting skills, and using a body double, among other scandals, the once-popular Shu Ya eventually fell to the point where everyone hated her.
According to inside information brought by Liu Zhen, Shu Ya has been sidelined by their company, which made Luo Jiu sigh.
"I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"
The originally aloof and capable Liu Zhen started joking around after leaving the company and spending more time with Luo Jiu.
Luo Jiu sighed and looked down, but under Liu Zhen's gaze, she still honestly said, "Good news."
"Director Luo Zhe is planning to make a movie. The script is already written, and he is currently preparing for auditions. You have been invited."
Before Luo Jiu could even react to who Luo Zhe was, Li Li, standing beside her, shouted out and explained to Luo Jiu like an encyclopedia.
"Director Luo Zhe achieved fame at a young age, winning the Best Newcomer Award for his debut film. He's a rising star in the film industry. It's worth mentioning that the film that won my idol the Best Actor award was directed by Luo Zhe!!!"
Luo Jiu was silent for a moment, then nodded, "So..."
"So if Sister Luo gets selected, you might be the next Best Actress!!"
Chestnut was overjoyed and shook Luo Jiu's shoulders vigorously, as if she had gone mad.
"Don't be too happy too soon."
Liu Zhen poured cold water on the idea—or rather, offered a calm analysis: "It's said that he spent three years creating this script and valued it highly. Back then, not only A-list actresses but even award-winning actresses might audition for it; it was quite difficult."
"Ah, this..."
Lili suddenly deflated. Although she had high hopes for Luo Jiu's acting skills, compared to the Best Actress, it seemed that her chances of winning were not very high.
The living room fell silent.
Luo Jiu didn't speak, her fingers constantly kneading and twisting.
A moment later, Luo Jiu suddenly raised her head, smiled faintly at Liu Zhen, and extended a hand, "I want to see the script."
"Luo Zhe treasures his script and hasn't revealed much. I've only heard that it's a suspense drama, with the male lead being the head of a criminal investigation team and the female lead being a suspect in one of his cases."
"A suspenseful crime drama?"
Luo Jiu's interest was suddenly piqued. "When is the audition?"
Next Monday.
"Then there are only three days left?"
Lili sighed. "Only three days, and we don't even know the script or anything. It looks so risky."
For the next few days, Luo Jiu locked herself in her small room, watching similar movies and TV shows day and night, and practicing in front of the mirror.
Every day when I'm called out for lunch, I look like a programmer who's been glued to the computer all night, unkempt and without makeup—a far cry from my former radiant goddess self.
Even Lili couldn't help but complain: "My goodness, you've put in so much effort. If you don't get selected, it must be because the director has no taste."
Luo Jiu ignored him, still immersed in her previous role, and mechanically ate.
Her usual philosophy is Buddhist-like, accepting whatever comes her way and yearning for a carefree, leisurely life. This is the first time she's so eager to get this role, the first time she wants to prove that she can do it too.
Just then, the doorbell rang. Chestnut winked at her, hinting:
"Go open the door quickly."
Shen Jinchen was frightened by Luo Jiu's appearance.
She was wearing a loose bathrobe, with large, heavy round-framed glasses on her face. She looked listless, as if she hadn't slept for days, and was still chewing the rice she had just eaten.
"Hiccup, what brings you here?"
Seeing the shock in Shen Jinchen's eyes, Luo Jiu finally came back to reality. She ran her hands through her greasy hair, which hadn't been washed for two or three days, and her face flushed involuntarily.
It's incredibly embarrassing to have your boyfriend see you in such a humiliating moment.
Shen Jinchen's surprise was only momentary; quickly, he calmly ruffled Luo Jiu's hair.
"How did it get like this?"
Luo Jiu awkwardly avoided it.
Just kidding, it's one thing for my hair to be oily, but I don't want my boyfriend to have oil all over his hands. I still need to maintain a certain image.
"Oh well."
Chen Jinchen didn't get the fluffy feel he had imagined, and withdrew his hand somewhat disappointedly.
"I heard from Lili that you've been preparing for auditions these past few days, and you seem a little anxious?"
Luo Jiu nodded blankly.
"Come down after you finish eating, I have something to give you."
Shen Jinchen's words piqued her curiosity. She quickly finished her meal, washed her hair, and made sure she didn't have any strange smells before leaving the house.
It's late autumn now. You don't feel it during the day, but it starts to get chilly at night.
Luo Jiu hadn't left the house for several days, and she came down in a bit of a hurry, wearing only a thin long robe.
There was a large locust tree downstairs, and Luo Jiu looked around but couldn't find any trace of Chen Jinchen.
"That's strange, didn't you say you'd wait for me downstairs?"
Luo Jiu was feeling confused when a dog barked from afar, sounding exceptionally clear in the dark and silent night.
She turned around and saw a large yellow dog running towards her, barking excitedly.
Luo Jiu: "???" If I'm not mistaken, it seems quite enthusiastic.
The dog is large, covered in long yellow fur, and looks fluffy and adorable.
As if afraid of frightening Luo Jiu, the big dog braked suddenly when it was about a meter away from her, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Its big, round eyes stared unblinkingly at Luo Jiu, its tail held high, circling behind it as if trying to attract Luo Jiu's attention.
Luo Jiu was amused by its appearance, slowly walked over, squatted down, and couldn't help but stroke its fluffy head. It felt surprisingly good, so she stroked it again.
"Whose puppy are you? Did you get separated from your family?"
To Luo Jiu's surprise, the big dog couldn't help but rub its head against hers when it saw her approaching.
With its tongue lolling out and drool dripping from its mouth, it tried to stick out its tongue to lick Luo Jiu when she wasn't paying attention, to show its affection for her.
"Furry, you can't lick Mommy."
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