Chapter 84 Audition.
Sheng Yi only saw the message from Zeng Shaoguang the next day at work. Since the matter was already over, she didn't pursue it further. Now, the online buzz has shifted to something completely different—
Wen Shili will attend the 40th anniversary celebration of Gedoo!
You should know that Wen Shili disappeared immediately after the concert, and he was nowhere to be seen at any year-end celebrations. I never expected that he would give "Gedu" face!
Just two days ago, people were mocking the increasingly lackluster performance of the attending guests, but now they've all put down their keyboards and started praising the magazine for quietly accomplishing big things and saving their big reveal for last.
Netizens only realized now that this anniversary celebration was taking a route that combined high-end image with massive online traffic. A few days ago, after announcing a wave of popular celebrities, there were already some voices online subtly suggesting that the established magazine was losing its reputation. However, a few days before the event, with the official announcement of each new guest, this negative sentiment was quickly reversed.
With the news of Wen Shili joining the event, no one had time to question the prestige of this grand ceremony anymore—come on! They even got Wen Shili!
Sheng Yi was genuinely surprised when she heard the news, but Wen Shili simply said that it was a job he had already agreed to. She looked at him suspiciously for a while, but wasn't so narcissistic as to think that he was doing it for her.
For the next week, her schedule was packed so tightly it was practically down to the second. Business shoots, auditions for new movies, year-end events—all sorts of big and small jobs were squeezed in at once. She could only squeeze in time to read scripts during her commute and before going to bed at night.
Wen Shili seems to have really found some free time. Whenever Shengyi Limited sees him, he stays at home. His work includes, but is not limited to, being a human pager, a nutritionist, and an online chat companion.
The filming location was a bit far away that day. Sheng Yi didn't get home until almost midnight the night before. She didn't get out of bed until her alarm rang twice in the morning. She quickly ate a couple of bites of breakfast, stuffed her things into her bag, and ran out. She was so fast that Wen Shili couldn't catch her.
Seeing the lunchbox in his hand, Sheng Yi was almost in tears. No matter how much she could eat, she couldn't keep up with being fed like this every day, even late-night snacks. She didn't want to repeat the same mistake.
Wen Shili withdrew his hand with a hint of regret, picked up the milk she hadn't finished on the table, and took a sip. When he finished eating and was about to leave, he realized that Sheng Yi had left her script on the entryway cabinet.
These days, whenever she gets home a little early, she has to read a few pages of that script before bed, and she even takes it with her on her commute. Thinking about how she just haphazardly stuffed it into her things, Wen Shili smiled and took a picture with his phone.
The script was still open, with a piece of paper sandwiched in the middle as a bookmark. He was about to send the picture to Sheng Yi when he opened the large image and immediately noticed a few lines of black text at the bottom of the photo. Someone had drawn several heavy lines under the text with a pencil, making it hard to ignore.
His fingers paused slightly, and after flipping through a few pages, he saw the familiar words again.
Clearly, this is a depiction of two intimate scenes. The expressions, movements, and lines are all precise and on point; one glance is enough to conjure up vivid images in one's mind.
Wen Shili lowered his eyes and restored the script to its original state.
Sheng Yi only realized the script wasn't in her bag after getting on the bus. She thought about it and was sure she had taken it back yesterday. Anyway, she didn't have much time during the day, so it didn't matter whether she brought it or not. She could just look for it when she got back.
Sure enough, when she got home that evening, she immediately saw her script lying on the entryway cabinet. She had forgotten it there. Sheng Yi picked it up and took it into the bedroom, placing it on her bedside table. After washing up, she came out to find Wen Shili sitting on the bedside table reading a book.
Sheng Yi glanced at the words on the cover and couldn't help but click her tongue inwardly. Wen Shili read a wide variety of books, not just music, art, and film; he dabbled in almost anything that interested him. Moreover, he read very quickly, and before she knew it, quite a few books had piled up near her. One day, she picked up one of the books he had left there, hoping to clear her head, but before she could even finish turning a single page, her eyes rolled back and she passed out—the hypnotic effect was comparable to sleeping pills.
When he suddenly appeared, Sheng Yi felt no surprise at all. Lately, this person didn't like staying in his own room and insisted on sharing a bed with her. Fortunately, the bed in the guest room was spacious. It was just that this person's temperament was completely out of place with the decor of her room. Strangely enough, after a while, she had actually gotten used to it.
After she finished dressing and climbed into bed, Wen Shili put the book on the bedside table, turned off the main light, and opened his arms to hug her.
Sheng Yi had gotten used to sleeping alone for many years and liked to roll around in bed, something Wen Shili had only recently discovered. At first, she vehemently denied it, until Wen Shili produced so-called evidence, which resulted in Sheng Yi giving her the cold shoulder for two days and forbidding her from entering the guest room.
People's habits change unconsciously, changing before they even realize it. Sheng Yi habitually nestled in his arms, glancing up at the person beside her. At such close range, even the slightest imperfection on his face was clearly visible. She couldn't resist reaching out and pinching his cheek; the touch was even better than that of a female celebrity like herself.
Sheng Yi pursed her lips, recalling how, after she returned from filming her last movie, Lao Qian clicked his tongue at her for a long time and then paid out of his own pocket to get her a membership card at a high-end beauty salon. It was said that many well-known female celebrities in the industry were members of their salon.
Her group's location was already remote, definitely not as comfortable as staying in S City. Moreover, most of the filming was done on location, exposed to the wind and sun, and after a few months, everyone got a bit tanned.
Old Qian shook his head at her rough skin. He not only spent a lot of money on it himself, but also gave a long speech on the theme of "the face is the first impression of a female celebrity". In the end, he concluded that she should pay more attention to decorating her face.
Looking at the ever-growing pile of bottles and jars on her dressing table, and then at the innocent-looking person in front of her, Sheng Yi thought to herself, "I really should let him be a female celebrity."
She stared at his face, lost in thought. Wen Shili took her hand and held it in his palm, the implication clear: "Don't you want to sleep?"
Upon hearing this tone, Sheng Yi cowered, obediently withdrawing her hand, closing her eyes, and even giving an exaggerated yawn, "I'm sleepy."
She really hadn't been getting much rest lately, and when she said that, she was just trying to appease him. Unexpectedly, she closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep. Wen Shili listened to the increasingly soft breathing of the person beside him and slightly tightened his grip on her arm.
After two more days of hectic work, the audition was soon approaching. Although she already knew the script by heart, Sheng Yi didn't arrange any activities the night before. She reviewed a few key points and then went to bed early.
Everyone's busy at the end of the year, and the more popular an artist is, the more things they have to deal with every day. Getting enough rest is crucial to maintaining their on-screen presence. Wen Shili hadn't bothered her much lately. She never expected that her hard-won early bedtime would end up like this, plunging her into his clutches.
Sheng Yi clearly remembers that she initially refused, saying, "I have to get up early tomorrow, I can't stay up too late."
Wen Shili was usually very easy to talk to at times like this, and his patience was much better than usual. He ran his fingers up her arm, sending a tingling sensation through her, and then deliberately asked in her favorite tone, "Just once, okay?"
That's practically cheating! Sheng Yi wanted to scream inside, but her pushing motion weakened. Wen Shili curled his lips, not giving her any more time to choose again.
In the dead of night, Sheng Yi stared at the ceiling, half-asleep, thinking that men's promises really can't be trusted.
When Wen Shili dragged her out of bed again, Sheng Yi wanted to slap him, but when she opened her eyes, she saw him standing by the bed with a clean face and a pleasant voice like a devil, "You have twenty-two minutes left."
Ugh, I have to get up again. Sheng Yi realized she was becoming increasingly lazy. She grabbed a pillow and covered her head, wishing she could go back to sleep for another two hours. But Wen Shili's voice was still relentlessly declaring, "Twenty."
Sheng Yi yanked off the pillow covering her face and started hitting him, yelling, "Twenty, twenty! You've been really tight-lipped for the last minute or two, but why didn't you stop when I told you to?"
Wen Shili paused, then touched his nose. "You're too late."
Look at her, she doesn't seem to have any remorse at all. Sheng Yi was even angrier after hearing this. Wen Shili grabbed the pillow that she threw at him again with one hand, and held up one finger with the other hand, indicating that she agreed.
Sheng Yi was truly exasperated. She had indeed agreed, but what kind of kind person would charge such a long time at once! Next time, she would have to use the meter for him too!
After all that commotion, Sheng Yi's drowsiness dissipated.
The two auditions today were scheduled at different times, and the two locations are not far apart, both in hotels in the same area.
For the first round, she drew a seat slightly towards the front of the middle. Several directors, screenwriters, and producers were present. As soon as Sheng Yi entered, she saw Zhang Meng sitting in the screenwriter's seat. Zhang Meng saw her, smiled at her, and Sheng Yi smiled and greeted her in return. The staff then said that they could begin.
Sheng Yi had heard rumors about this director before. It was said that he disliked being bound by rules and regulations. Sure enough, this interview was the same. The director did not even directly specify a scene. The interviewees all chose their own scenes and then performed them improvised.
Director, director, after directing for so long, you can't tell the depth of an actor's skills anymore. After Sheng Yi finished speaking, the director's expression was still the same as when she came in. Zhang Meng lowered her eyes and didn't look in her direction. Only another staff member came forward and told her in a businesslike manner to go back and wait for news.
As they came out from here, the roads were already busier. Sheng Yi checked the time and told the driver to drive slowly, "No rush."
Sure enough, just as we were getting close, the director sent a message saying that there were still a few people ahead of us in line.
Sheng Yi waited a short while before the actress in front of her finished her interview and came out. By then, the waiting area was empty. Hearing the noise, Sheng Yi stood up immediately—she was the last person to be interviewed for the lead role that day.
After so many interviews, the polite smiles on the staff's faces had become almost blank when they finally saw Sheng Yi. To be honest, they were genuinely a bit numb.
Although the actors each had their own acting styles, in essence, it was all the same explosive scene, repeating itself over and over again before my eyes. Those who were called in for the on-site audition couldn't be too bad, which meant that both good and bad performances were rare, and everyone was just average, neither outstanding nor mediocre.
After looking at it for a long time, it loses its initial sharpness.
The staff explained the content to Sheng Yi for the audition. After looking at it for a while, Sheng Yi put away the materials and said, "Director, I'm ready."
The moment she finished speaking, she immediately changed her expression.
This sudden change caused everyone to exchange glances without making a sound, and the director leaned forward slightly. Of course, Sheng Yi was completely oblivious to the expression on the person in front of her.
She spoke calmly, recounting her experiences as if they were merely a necessary process, and this calmness made the process all the more cruel.
The script called for an emotional outburst, but she took a different approach, choosing the calmest performance method. Even the most intense past events, described in less than two hundred words in the script, were expressed in just a few minutes.
Sheng Yi composed herself, clasped her hands in front of her, bowed to everyone, and said, "Thank you for watching. That concludes my performance."
Her performance ended, but everyone in the room was still immersed in the story and didn't come back to their senses for a long time.
All that remains is a deep sense of melancholy.
When Wen Shili asked Sheng Yi in the evening if the audition went well, Sheng Yi thought for a moment and then softly hummed in agreement.
According to Jingjing, a group of fans have started checking in every day, asking "Has Shengyi joined the crew today?" If all goes well, it should be before the end of the year.
That night, however, she was treated like a rib, being tossed and turned and gnawed on for a long time. It wasn't until she woke up the next morning and saw the script that had been accidentally knocked to the ground during their intense activity that Sheng Yi suddenly realized what had happened.
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