Chapter 88
Soon, director Zhou He and another casting director arrived at Yuanhong Building. Three well-known directors and screenwriters in the industry sat in a row in front of Lu Zixi across the desk, with notes they had written randomly placed on the desk.
To ensure complete randomness, the notes were written behind Lu Zixi's back and all were crumpled into balls of the same size. Lu Zixi picked one up at random, opened it, and saw two words written on it: Old Man.
Lu Zixi spread out his palms, and several people came over and looked at the words on the note with interest.
"It's very difficult." Zhou He said with a smile.
It is not easy for a young person to act old. In order to play the role vividly, the skills of the makeup artist are often needed. But now Lu Zixi does not have any additional costumes or makeup. He just wears a long black down jacket and stands obediently in front of the director and screenwriter. He looks so young that you can pinch water out of him, just like a student who just left school.
How he plays the role of an old man is both interesting and challenging in everyone's eyes.
But for Lu Zixi, using red envelopes to change his attitude in front of others is obviously not feasible. This on-the-spot test will test his ability to respond flexibly.
But he is not stage-frightened. His years of performance experience and talent make him fearless of any form of challenge.
Lu Zixi pondered for a while, thinking about it in his mind. When he felt that he was almost done, he raised his head, his eyes calm and confident: "I'm ready."
Zhou He raised his eyebrows and made a "please" gesture to him.
To everyone's surprise, Lu Zixi did not hunch over like the traditional image of an old man, nor did he cough tremblingly. He just put his hands behind his back, walked in a square step, frowned, and stretched his neck forward. With just a few small movements, he looked like an old man watching others play chess.
The three people watching on the side were almost instantly amused, and the tone of Lu Zixi's next words, that eccentric and stubborn old man, made them feel even more amused: "Oh, Lao Li, this won't work. You have to listen to me. This is how we should go——"
As he spoke, he started to refuse, his eyes wide open, his hands and feet pulling and tugging awkwardly, as if he was determined to argue with the person opposite him. This one-man show did not seem awkward at all. The three judges were all watching intently, leaning forward. The casting director, who had never seen Lu Zixi before, was even almost over the desk.
What surprised them even more was that just when they thought Lu Zixi's performance was about to end, he suddenly pulled over a chair and sat on it, acting as the old man who had just been pointed at. This old man was obviously not as energetic as the old man just now. He timidly grabbed the "chessboard" in front of him and stammered: "Hey, you, you, you, don't give me that, I don't need you to teach me how to play chess!"
Now even Zhou He, who had the most dealings with Lu Zixi, couldn't help but applaud and laugh out loud.
Without makeup, without a script, and relying entirely on improvisation, when faced with the topic of "old man", Lu Zixi was able to avoid the most common portrayal methods and find two "old men". This fully demonstrated his superb acting skills and careful observation of all kinds of people around him, and it also showed that he would not be immersed in the role just because he had just played a popular role. His acting range will only be wider than people imagined.
For the film production team who wanted to evaluate him, this was definitely an over-achievement. Therefore, when Lu Zixi put away his acting posture and stood up to bow to the director and screenwriter in front of him, the three of them also stood up at the same time and applauded his performance.
"Now I believe you. Old Wang wasn't fooled by you. You really are quite capable." The casting director clapped his hands, his eyes filled with the joy and admiration of having found a treasure. "I believe you have the ability to play Mr. X well. Yuanhong never disappoints me when it comes to judging people."
"Don't you see who this is?" Zhou He patted Lu Zixi's shoulder, feeling very proud of his own discerning eye. "Yuanhong's Newcomer of the Year this year, I guess you're the one?"
After Zhou He said this, Lu Zixi remembered that Yuanhong did have the habit of selecting the best newcomer every year. Every session was a fierce competition, but this time because of his appearance, the answer became no longer a foregone conclusion.
Lu Zixi himself felt a little embarrassed. He had won this award in his previous life, but he was a true rookie back then. Now, winning this award again made him feel like a max-level character returning to the novice village to bully noobs...
"When is Yuanhong's year-end dinner this year?" Lu Zixi was still pondering this question when the people around him started chatting. "Is it before the Lunar New Year?"
"Ah, yes, it's usually before the Chinese New Year." Lu Zixi came back to his senses, "It's coming soon."
Yuanhong's year-end dinner is different from other companies. It is not held at the end of the Gregorian calendar year, but at the end of the lunar calendar year. The advantage of this is that while summarizing the achievements of the previous year and awarding awards to the outstanding employees of the previous year, some investment plans and film and television information for the next year can also be announced. That's why Lu Zixi was so anxious about this audition - if he and Yan Yunzhen were to be cast in "Looking for Mr. X", it would definitely be mentioned in the promotion of the strategic cooperation at the year-end dinner.
It seems that the next variety show he is going to take on should also enter the negotiation stage, so that he can catch up with the year-end summary which is called the "melon-releasing conference" by people in the industry.
"Now that the lead role has been decided, we should focus on the next steps. We won't bother you any more." Zhou He clapped his hands, called the other two people over, and said to Lu Zixi, "Remember to come to the opening ceremony! We'll let Yuanhong know the time then."
Before Lu Zixi could answer, he heard a familiar, magnetic voice coming from outside the door: "I'll take him with me."
"Hey, Young Master Yan," Zhou He stretched out a hand and shook hands with Yan Yunzhen, "Then I'll trouble you when the time comes."
"No trouble." Yan Yunzhen chuckled. Lu Zixi looked up and saw his man standing at the half-open door, one hand on the door frame, and winked at him imperceptibly.
Then Lu Zixi received a prompt that was not surprising to him.
[Request from host, please check]
With the mentality of "I want to see what kind of trouble you are going to make next", Lu Zixi checked the barrage in his mind with a mixture of anger and amusement.
This time it was very brief, with only one sound effect, as if dubbing the action of the great actor Yan's telekinesis—
[biu]
Lu Zixi almost laughed out loud, so he quickly restrained his smile, tried to look serious, and looked straight ahead, but his slight and unnoticeable abnormality still made Yan Yunzhen squint his eyes.
After seeing Zhou and Wang Tengfei off, Yan Yunzhen began to settle accounts with Lu Zixi.
"You've been acting strangely lately," Yan Yunzhen said with an inquiring look. He held Lu Zixi in his arms and lowered his head to kiss his hair and ears. "Hmm? Tell me what's going on?"
"It's nothing, actually." Lu Zixi couldn't help but want to laugh when he thought about the cold-looking man thinking about these things every day. "It's just that these past few days, I suddenly realized that you love me very, very much, even more than I thought."
"Of course I love you." Yan Yunzhen whispered.
His eyes were focused and the corners of his lips were soft. Under his gaze and kiss, Lu Zixi felt his face burning from the ears and almost wanted to run away.
"So, I guess what you mean is that you can now see some of my innermost thoughts, right?" Yan Yunzhen didn't let him go so easily. He reached out and locked the door of the audition room, hugged him from behind, and sniffed his neck. "Even if they are... some rather absurd thoughts?"
"...Yes." Lu Zixi suddenly felt a little uneasy.
All along, the barrage in his mind told him about emotional issues. He didn't know whether the barrage would appear in some non-emotional events, and he didn't know... whether Yan Yunzhen really wanted him to know what he was thinking.
He was a man who carried more secrets than him. What if he... didn't want to be peeped into?
Unexpectedly, he heard Yan Yunzhen's smiling voice: "This is also good."
"I feel like I'm sometimes stuck in expressing myself. I can only express one tenth of my love for you. The rest is like an iceberg hidden beneath the sea. I can't say it, and you can't feel it either." Yan Yunzhen kissed his ear. "Isn't this just right?"
"Aren't you worried that I might find out...something else?" Lu Zixi thought for a long time, and finally spoke with some difficulty, "For example..."
"No examples." Yan Yunzhen leaned against Lu Zixi's back, his chest resonating with a soothing feeling. His firm tone made him feel reliable and at ease. "There's nothing about me that you can't know."
"Welcome to my inner world."
This sentence is so heartwarming, it shows a person's unreserved and sincere love.
Lu Zixi looked up and kissed Yan Yunzhen on the lips.
——
[Request from host, please check]
[Wow, your host doesn't want to be a human again!]
[Your host has requested to use the opportunity in the evening in advance!]
[Ah, your host has discovered the magic of the floor-length mirror and decided to have some fun with you in front of it.]
[Your host...]
[When you fell asleep, I kissed you quietly]
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