Audition
Su Jing stayed in the hospital for three whole months, and Chu Yiran never visited him again.
After filming wrapped up for the medical drama "Emergency Physician", Chu Yiran took a two-week break. He first spent a week traveling with Zheng Shuyi, and then spent the rest of the time sleeping in his room.
Ancient wars were difficult to fight, and modern life as a beast of burden is not easy either.
In the year or so since he transmigrated, Chu Yiran has been working in the entertainment industry, busy every day. When he finally gets a break, he is only mentally exhausted and tired.
He hadn't even been lying at home for two days when Li Kaili and Sun Xiaoxiao came to his door and dragged him out.
The two said they were taking Chu Yiran to meet a business partner, and quickly pushed him out the door. However, when they arrived at the private room, they unexpectedly saw a familiar face.
In the center of the private room sat a middle-aged man, with Chen Chen sitting next to him, pouring him drinks with a fawning expression, while Chen Chen's assistant and agent chimed in enthusiastically.
The room fell silent as soon as they entered.
Li Kaili's eyes sharpened as he looked at the middle-aged man in the center and smiled, "Producer Wang, you have guests?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Kai quickly stood up and pulled Li Kaili to sit down next to him, smiling as he tried to smooth things over: "I ran into Chen Chen's team as soon as I entered the restaurant. They were also interested in the role of the second male lead in 'Autumn Wind', so we chatted for a bit. They're all young people; competition is a good thing..."
Li Kaili snorted and took out Chu Yiran's audition information from her bag, handing it to Wang Kai: "Brother Wang, we've already discussed this beforehand, and Su Jing has already said that the second male lead must be our Aran."
"There's no contract yet, so what's yours and mine?" Chen Chen's agent laughed. "It's fair competition."
Chen Chen raised an eyebrow and replied, "Yeah, I heard that Xiao Ran isn't interested in this role."
Chen Chen's use of the nickname "Xiao Ran" made Chu Yiran feel uneasy. He curled the corners of his mouth and walked straight to Li Kaili to sit down: "I really wasn't interested before entering this room, but seeing Teacher Chen here... I suddenly became interested."
"You—" Chen Chen's expression changed, and he said coldly, "Chu Yiran, you have resources now, isn't it all because of climbing the social ladder? First Lin Wanxing, and now you've climbed up to Su Jing, you're really something."
The moment Chen Chen said that, the atmosphere became awkward. Just as Li Kaili was about to speak up to defend his artist, Chu Yiran said leisurely, "Then you're right, I did climb up to Su Jing, so what?"
Just then, the door to the private room was pushed open, and Chu Yiran looked up, only to be met with a pair of cold eyes.
Su Jing pushed open the door and walked in. He was wearing a black trench coat and had a tall and straight posture, but his right arm was slightly bent, obviously not fully recovered.
"Oh! Xiao Jing is here too!" Wang Kai quickly stood up and greeted her warmly. "I thought you couldn't make it. Please have a seat!"
Su Jing naturally walked over and sat down next to Chu Yiran. For some reason, Chu Yiran vaguely saw a smile in his eyes. Then Zhao Wei followed closely behind Su Jing and sat down.
"I heard someone's not satisfied with my choice of partner?" Su Jing tapped the table with his left hand, his eyes sweeping over Chen Chen across from him. "Then how about a fair competition? Since you're both here today, Brother Wang, why don't you arrange an on-site audition?"
“Of course,” Wang Kai said happily. “I just happened to bring the script with me today.”
As he spoke, he took out a script from his bag, flipped out a scene between the second male lead and the male lead, and handed it to Su Jing. Su Jing stroked the script, without looking up, and said, "Then I'll act in a scene for you two too."
The two of them, working together, dragged Chu Yiran and Chen Chen into this situation. Chen Chen naturally couldn't back down. If it came down to acting skills, Chen Chen was still interested in surpassing Chu Yiran. After all, he had witnessed Chu Yiran's 'frowning and glaring' acting style when they were on the set of "Ambiguous Game".
Chen Chen glanced at Chu Yiran, stood up and volunteered, "Then I'll go first."
This scene depicts the emperor, the male lead, defying public opinion to launch a war, while the second male lead, a minister, risks his life to remonstrate. It showcases both the monarch's autocracy and the minister's loyalty and helplessness, making it one of the most emotionally intense scenes in the entire series.
Having been in the industry for so many years, Chen Chen memorized most of his lines after only glancing at the script for a short while. He took a deep breath, suddenly raised his head, looked directly at Su Jing opposite him, and raised his voice sharply: "Your Majesty! Absolutely not! The national treasury is empty and the people are displaced. How can we start another war? This will discourage the people of the world!"
His tone was filled with only one emotion—anger, as if he were arguing with someone. Every word was laced with fire, yet there was not a trace of the reverence a subject would show to a monarch. He took two steps forward, reaching out to slam his hand on the table, but then remembered that Su Jing was still sitting opposite him. His movements froze, and in the end, he could only clench his fist and repeat, "You can't do this! Absolutely not!"
Su Jing, playing the emperor, sat upright in his chair, his left hand resting on the edge of the table, his fingertips lightly tapping the surface. He didn't look at Chen Chen; his gaze was fixed on the distant wall, his eyes as calm as a deep pool, utterly undisturbed. Only after hearing Chen Chen finish his last sentence did he slowly speak, his voice carrying the majesty of a monarch: "Insolence. When did it become your place to interfere in my decisions?"
Su Jing's lines weren't from the original script; without the transitional dialogue, Chen Chen was left speechless. He opened his mouth, stammering, "Your Majesty, I—"
"Alright, Xiao Chen, let's stop here for now..." Wang Kai coughed lightly, interrupting, "A Ran, why don't you give it a try?"
As Chu Yiran looked at the script, a past he didn't want to recall surged into his mind. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again a few seconds later, his eyes were filled with heavy worry.
Holding the script in both hands, he slowly walked up to Su Jing, leaned forward slightly, and said, "Your Majesty, I risk my life to offer this advice, and I hope Your Majesty will reconsider."
Su Jing looked up at him, his eyes sharp as knives: "Think it over? I've been thinking about it for three months. The northern barbarians are invading our borders repeatedly. If we don't take the initiative to strike, are we going to wait for them to march all the way to the capital?"
Chu Yiran's shoulders trembled almost imperceptibly. He raised his head, looking directly at Su Jing, his eyes filled with worry: "Your Majesty, although there is war in the northern border, our country needs stability even more. The floods have just passed, and the people have had no harvest. The national treasury is only enough to support daily expenses. If we conscript soldiers for war again, I'm afraid it will trigger a popular uprising!"
His tone was urgent, but without a trace of anger; every word seemed to come from the bottom of his heart, filled with concern for the common people. Su Jing sneered: "A popular uprising? I have a million soldiers, why would I be afraid of a few rebels? If you don't dare to lead the troops, then go back to your fiefdom and don't hinder my great cause here!"
These words were like a knife, piercing the minister played by Chu Yiran. His face instantly turned pale, his lips pressed into a straight line, and his hands gripped the script tightly, his fingertips crumpling the edges of the paper. But he did not back down; instead, he straightened his back, his eyes filled with a hint of coldness and disappointment: "Your Majesty, it is not that I am afraid of fighting, but that I am afraid of fighting in the wrong direction."
His voice trembled slightly, not from fear, but from heartache—heartache for the king who had forgotten his original intentions, heartache for his own powerlessness to reverse the situation.
Chu Yiran did not retreat, but instead took another step forward, his tone firm and resolute, carrying the unyielding integrity of a loyal minister: "If Your Majesty insists on sending troops, I am willing to remonstrate with my death—" He paused, a resolute glint in his eyes, "I beg Your Majesty to rescind your order, otherwise, I will die in this hall today to atone for the fate of the people!"
After saying this, he closed his eyes, slowly knelt down, his back still straight. The entire box was silent; everyone was drawn into the scene by his performance, as if they were truly witnessing a loyal minister who was willing to die for his country and its people.
Su Jing looked at Chu Yiran kneeling on the ground, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.
"Great! That's fantastic!" Wang Kai was the first to applaud, his voice filled with excitement. "Aran, your performance just now was exactly how I envisioned the second male lead! This role is perfect for you."
Chen Chen sat beside him, his face turning red and white in turns, his hands clenched into fists, but he couldn't say a word.
Li Kaili then chimed in, "Brother Wang, how about we sign the contract today?"
Wang Kai immediately replied, "Of course, no problem! I'll have someone draft the contract right now!"
Chu Yiran slowly pulled himself out of character, a thin layer of sweat already beading on his forehead. He looked at Su Jing and found that Su Jing was still looking at him, his eyes filled with a deep meaning that Chu Yiran couldn't understand.
The moment Chu Yiran knelt on the ground, Su Jing seemed to see a scene from long ago—the figure who spoke frankly in the main hall gradually merged with the person in front of him.
Chu Yiran walked up to Su Jing, stared at him, and said, word by word, "Su Jing, how did your injury heal so quickly?"
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