Ever since the day he agreed to Xu Qichen's request to consider an audition, Xia Xiqing had nightmares every night. All he dreamed about were things that happened in his childhood. He thought that after so many years, he had forgotten them all.
But the moment he opened his eyes in a cold sweat, Xia Xiqing realized that he had never forgotten. These dark memories were lurking in a secret corner of his heart, waiting for the opportunity to surface and hurt his nerves.
Xia Xiqing hated being in such a mess, and hated himself even more for not daring to face himself even in such a mess.
I woke up and couldn't fall asleep again. I opened my phone at 3am and refreshed my Moments. What a coincidence, the latest Moments post was from Zhou Ziheng at 2:45am.
There was only one photo, which was a mosaic of his script and various notes, and a cup of coffee.
Really hardworking.
Xia Xiqing clicked "like" and received a message from Zhou Ziheng the next second.
[Moral Model: Why haven’t you slept yet?]
[Terrorist: Following your lead.]
Holding the phone, Xia Xiqing looked at the ceiling and thought of the information he saw at the bay window of Zhou Ziheng's bedroom last time. It seemed that he really wanted to perform well in this play, so he put so much effort into it.
I don't know why, but a picture suddenly popped up in my mind. Zhou Ziheng, dressed in a suit, was standing on the stage to receive the award, and I, also dressed in a proper manner, was sitting in the audience applauding him.
Xia Xiqing felt that he must be sick.
What if one of the main creators congratulating him in the audience was someone else
[Terrorist: Which newcomers have you chosen? Send them to me so I can take a look.]
It was originally a joke, but who would have thought that Zhou Ziheng actually sent him a few photos.
[Moral role models: The director went to the film academy to find these three. I think these three are pretty good. They are good-looking, and they all graduated from professional schools. Their professional abilities are also OK.]
In fact, Zhou Ziheng's words were quite pertinent. "Not bad," "pretty," and "okay" were not praiseworthy in any way, but could only be considered above the passing line. But Xia Xiqing felt uncomfortable after reading it. He was used to finding excuses, so he attributed this abnormal emotion to his old habit of overestimating himself.
But he himself didn't understand why he should be compared with the three newcomers mentioned by Zhou Ziheng.
Perhaps because Xia Xiqing hadn't replied for too long, Zhou Ziheng sent another message.
[Moral Model: What's wrong? Why are you asking this all of a sudden?]
[Terrorist: Just asking, which newcomer is so lucky to have the first scene with handsome Zhou.]
He clicked on the first picture, which showed a boy who looked about 10 years old, with delicate features, fair skin, and a very innocent look. The second picture was of a similar style, but with longer hair.
The boy in the last picture is a little special. He has light-colored eyes, round eyes, a small face, and brown hair. He is the type that girls nowadays would like, cute and pure.
[Terrorist: The third kid is cute and seems to be a good match for you.]
When it was time to send it, Xia Xiqing deleted the second half of the sentence, leaving only the first half of the compliment.
Originally, Zhou Ziheng was editing the reply to Xia Xiqing's previous WeChat message. He hesitated whether to tell Xia Xiqing that he just wanted to act in this drama with him. It was just a matter of a few words. He deleted and revised it, but then he saw a new message sent by the other party.
The three words "little friend" almost touched his sore spot instantly, not to mention the sentence "very cute" followed by it. He deleted all the text he had edited before in one breath.
[Moral Standard: What, to your liking?]
Seeing this, Xia Xiqing couldn't help but laugh out loud. How come this guy still can't figure out what his taste is? If he doesn't know, why not just look in the mirror
He looked at the photo again. The boy in the photo was smiling brightly, and the shape of his eyes was very beautiful when he smiled.
Like a little angel.
[Terrorist: This kind of innocent look is not your taste? I wonder if he is consistent in his appearance.]
Don't be like me.
Zhou Ziheng was already angry, and he got even angrier after hearing this sentence. It turned out that Xia Xiqing had always thought that she was fooling around with him just because of his innocent face. He knew who Xia Xiqing was from the beginning, and he was not fooled by his face at all. Not sure if he was angry or what, Zhou Ziheng typed a few words and turned off his phone.
[Moral Model: Yes, that’s my taste.]
As soon as Xia Xiqing saw this WeChat message, he sat up from the bed.
Xia Xiqing had always been able to summon and dismiss others at will. There were countless people waiting in line for him to have sex. Zhou Ziheng actually dared to say in front of him that other men were his taste. He really gave him face these days.
The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he felt. He felt more and more helpless, so he sat up and smoked a cigarette. He didn't dare to take Xu Qichen's book, and now he was outdone by this immature yellow-haired kid.
Your taste? I won't let you act with your taste.
With this not-so-positive attitude, Xia Xiqing finally agreed to Xu Qichen's audition two days later. Xu Qichen on the phone was very surprised, "I thought you were just trying to fool me when you said you would consider it, but I didn't expect you to really come."
In fact, it was indeed a trick, if it wasn't because he was angry with Zhou Ziheng.
"Well, please send me the time and place."
"Hmm? Didn't Ziheng tell you? It's tonight."
"Tonight?" Xia Xiqing couldn't hold it in, and he regretted it after he said it. He hadn't spoken to Zhou Ziheng since that night. Even though they lived next door to each other, they didn't keep in touch. He didn't even know that the audition for the second male lead was scheduled for tonight.
"Well, tonight at 7:30. I'll send you the address. If you want to come, don't drive. Just take a taxi. I'll wait for you downstairs. There are a lot of reporters around here."
Xia Xiqing hummed, and after hanging up the phone, he realized that it was already seven o'clock. He was too lazy to pack up, so he went out wearing the black overalls he wore for painting at home. While sitting in the taxi, Xia Xiqing saw himself in the rearview mirror. His hair was a little messy, so he tied the ends of his hair at the back of his head with a hair band.
Right after the injection, he was stunned for a moment. Why was he so eager to do this? It seemed as if he really wanted to act with him.
No, I just didn't want him to succeed. Thinking of what happened in the early morning of that day, Xia Xiqing was filled with anger.
The taxi driver sitting in the front glanced at him several times and hesitated for a long time before speaking, "Are you that celebrity?"
When meeting a stranger, Xia Xiqing habitually uses the fake smile that he has used for 25 years, "You must have made a mistake."
"No, my sister's phone screensaver is you." The driver looked to be in his twenties or thirties. "It's you and that actor, that... Zhou Ziheng, yes, a photo of the two of you." He glanced at it again. "I can't mistake you. You have long hair and a mole on your nose. My sister likes you very much."
For some reason, Xia Xiqing felt a little proud.
When getting off the car, the driver held his cell phone out of the window and wanted to take a picture of him. Xia Xiqing saw it but didn't stop him, because his sister was a self-study girl.
Xia Xiqing suddenly discovered that the pleasure brought by pampering fans is actually a two-way thing.
As soon as he got off the car, he saw Xu Qichen at the hotel entrance. He was wearing a pair of glasses today and looked more student-like than usual. Xia Xiqing trotted over to his side.
"Have you been waiting for a long time?"
"No." Xu Qichen pushed his glasses and said to him with a smile, "You looked pretty handsome when you ran those two steps just now."
"I just realized how handsome your brother Xiqing is." Xia Xiqing twisted his lips in a scoundrelly manner, and his hand unconsciously rested on Xu Qichen's shoulder, "Why don't you just ignore Xia Zhixu and me, your brother?"
Xu Qichen said nothing, just smiled, and the two of them went upstairs. While sitting in the elevator, he briefly told Xia Xiqing about the audition and handed him the script in his hand. The folded page was the part he needed to prepare.
"How many people came today?"
"With you, that makes four."
Xia Xiqing said "oh", thinking of the photos Zhou Ziheng had sent him before, and guessed that they were the three newcomers, "Are there no other actors coming?"
Xu Qichen shook his head. "We have already interviewed the others. Director Kun was not particularly satisfied. Besides," Xu Qichen lowered his voice a little, "this play is not a big production, and there is no aura of a famous director. Many popular young actors are unwilling to act in it."
That's true. In fact, Xia Xiqing had always felt that Director Kun wanted him to act in the film. On the one hand, he must have felt that he and Jiang Tong were very similar, but he also did not rule out the possibility that the combination of him and Zhou Ziheng would bring popularity. After all, for a director who has always made niche films, it is also very important for more people to see his works.
It's like an artist who claims to be unique, but who doesn't want their work to be widely known? No matter how valuable something is, it won't shine if it's not discovered.
"We have already auditioned two actors." Xu Qichen pushed open the door of the audition room. "Everyone is taking a break and discussing now. You can take a look at the script. You will be the next one after the audition."
Xia Xiqing nodded.
Xu Qichen tugged at his baggy overalls, which were stained with paint from painting. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "You're dressed very casually today."
Glancing down, Xia Xiqing smiled indifferently, "Aren't you going to play an autistic young man? Autistic young people don't dress up." They entered through the back door. The room was quite large, with an empty space in the front, which was illuminated by the camera. A short man wearing a baseball cap was sitting in the front, talking to a man in a suit next to him. Xia Xiqing guessed that the man in simple clothes was the Director Kun they were talking about.
What he found strange was that there was a little girl sitting next to him. Whose child was she? She was a little actress.
Just then, the two of them finished their conversation. Director Kun looked back and saw Xia Xiqing at once, with a somewhat surprised expression on his face.
Xia Xiqing smiled at him politely.
"I'll go to the front first." Xu Qichen patted his shoulder and walked to sit next to the director.
Xia Xiqing nodded, then sat in the corner and flipped through the script in his hand. The folded part was a small explosion scene. Jiang Tong came home from the hospital and saw a family abusing a little girl in the corridor. This family had lived downstairs from his house for two years, and it was common for them to beat the child when they were not satisfied.
But today, Jiang Tong just came back from the hospital, feeling cold all over. He heard the girl's hoarse cry from his hearing aid, and thought of himself in the past, so he knocked on the door, and then banged on it until the little girl's father opened the door. He went forward to hug the child who was being abused, and let the other party beat him, but he just didn't let go, and even his hearing aid was knocked off.
It was not until later when Gao Kun came back and passed by that he saved him.
Xia Xiqing found it a bit difficult to perform such a high-intensity climax scene right at the start. Fortunately, Jiang Tong was hearing-impaired and had almost no lines, so there was no additional task of memorizing lines.
For some reason, Xia Xiqing felt a little breathless just by looking at the simplest description in the script. He tried to calm himself down and try to be more calm.
One benefit of drawing since childhood is that it allows him to construct concrete scenes in his mind all the time, so it is not difficult to recreate the situations in the script.
The difficulty lies in whether he can let go, or whether he dares to let go.
"Xu Zixi."
He looked up and saw a young man sitting nearby who responded and walked to the front.
"Hello everyone, I'm Xu Zixi, a third-year undergraduate student at xx Film Academy."
Junior? He is actually the same age as Zhou Ziheng. They were a little far away, so Xia Xiqing squinted his eyes and took a closer look. Wasn't this the boy that Zhou Ziheng said was "to his taste"? He looked better in person than in the photo, well-behaved and delicate, not particularly tall, and his voice was quite tender.
Xia Xiqing watched Xu Zixi walk out of the room, and it seemed that he was going to start by knocking on the door.
"Are you ready?" Director Kun asked.
"Okay." Xu Zixi responded at the door. Half a minute later, the sound of him knocking on the door was heard. It was weak at first, with no strength and the sound was not loud. After knocking for a while and no one answered, his movements became stronger and stronger, and the knocking sound became louder and louder, mixed with a few shouts of "Ah", acting like a deaf-mute.
He began to bang on the door, the sound getting louder and louder, and he became more and more anxious. At this time, an actor who was acting with him walked forward quickly and opened the door. Xu Zixi's horrified expression appeared outside the door, and he slowly put down his raised hand.
The actor acting opposite her was not responsible for speaking the lines. At this time, the little girl was already standing in front of the camera. Acting was tiring for the little actor, so she just stood there and did not need to cry or shout to help the auditioning actor. This made Xia Xiqing feel even more pressured.
As soon as Xu Zixi came in, he staggered to the little girl and knelt down to hug her. He raised his arms high and kept shouting. His lines were simple, almost repeating the words "Don't... hit...", but he said it with great difficulty, really like a disabled person who had been beaten.
Xia Xiqing had to admit that he acted really well.
At this time, another person walked in quickly from the door and pulled up Xu Zixi, who was half-kneeling on the ground.
It’s Zhou Ziheng.
It turns out he was there, and he was also responsible for the acting.
Zhou Ziheng pulled him to the other side. As soon as he let go, Xu Zixi squatted down holding the young actor. His tears fell almost instantly. While crying, he struggled to shout "Don't be afraid". His hands were shaking as he held the young actor. The scene was silent, and no one spoke.
Xia Xiqing felt pressured just by this crying scene. It seems that being trained in a professional way really makes a difference. He can burst into tears immediately after being told to cry.
"Okay. That's fine."
Hearing the director speak, Xu Zixi quickly came out of his role. He wiped his face and smiled shyly, holding the little actor's hand, and said in a gentle voice, "Did I scare you just now?"
The director didn't say much, but the man in a suit sitting next to him had a satisfied smile on his face. Xu Zixi turned around and bowed to Zhou Ziheng, who smiled at him very politely and praised him, "Your crying scenes are great."
If it were someone else, they would have withdrawn long ago after seeing such an audition. They are not professional actors to begin with, and with such a great performance before them, it would be embarrassing for them to stay here.
But Xia Xiqing happened to be a smart and competitive person, especially when he heard Zhou Ziheng's praise.
If it were any other role, he wouldn't be so sure.
But the actor was Jiang Tong.
Zhou Ziheng turned around and happened to see Xia Xiqing, who was wearing a black work suit in the corner. The two met eyes again after many days.
Seeing Zhou Ziheng's eyes filled with surprise, Xia Xiqing curled the corners of his mouth and raised the end of his eyebrows.
No, not Jiang Tong.
He is playing himself, so how could he lose