Two days passed in a flash. Xia Yitong had read the script so many times that she had torn it apart. She weighed every line carefully, making revisions and annotations based on her different experiences each time, thinking about where to be sad, where to be indifferent, and how the emotional transitions should be made naturally.
The audition was scheduled in the morning. She immersed herself in the script. On the third morning, before leaving, she asked Su Han, who had come to her room early to wait for her, "Sister Su Han, do you know who is participating in the audition this time?"
"No matter who it is, you're going to the audition soon. Why are you asking this? Relax." Su Han didn't want to disturb her mind by saying this.
"I just want to hear how many competitors I have. Pressure brings motivation." Xia Yitong said with a smile.
"There's Cen Siying, who won the Best Actress Award at the Academy Awards two years ago, Du Ruohan, who won the Best Supporting Actress Award at the Golden Horse Awards last year, and Li Yu..." Su Han read out more than a dozen names in succession. Each one of them was a talented actor, and many of them were big screen actors who had already released representative works. Xia Yitong listened quietly with a faint smile on her face.
In a long list of auditions, Xia Yitong was the only one who had never won an award and did not even have any big screen experience.
For a moment, she even felt that her ability to squeeze into this group of people was an insult to others.
Since the matter was settled, Su Han comforted him, "There are so many seniors here. It's not your problem even if you can't get this opportunity. Just finish filming this drama and the company will arrange a new job for you."
Xia Yitong curled her lips and smiled back at her: "Let's go."
There were already more than a dozen female artists outside the studio's lounge, all dressed in their own unique styles, attracting the attention of everyone on the set. Xia Yitong, accompanied by Su Han, also arrived, and most of them had a cold look on their faces. They were now in a competitive relationship, so they didn't have the time to be polite.
She greeted those she knew, nodded to those she didn't know, and then found a seat to sit down.
The audition was by lottery, and Xia Yitong was ranked low. She fished out the three-page script from her bag, the original version of which was barely legible except for herself, and recited it silently. She had memorized the lines so well that she could recite them fluently.
The door of the lounge was closed tightly, like an unknown, enclosed, mysterious fortress.
The first person went in.
Xia Yitong glanced in the direction of the door, lowered her eyes, and kept stroking the script with her fingers. Su Han wanted to say something encouraging to her, but seeing her expression, he didn't say anything. She was very open when acting, but she was actually a very quiet person who didn't talk much. Before every audition, she was the quietest. No matter how popular she was, she was almost a guarantee of TV ratings, so much so that some investors could decide to let her play the leading female role as soon as they heard her name, but she never failed to give her all in every audition.
She is afraid of failure and afraid of missing any opportunity to make her more famous. She is always working hard, 365 days a year, and is always on call as long as there is work.
As an agent, Su Han really likes her personality, but apart from this identity, she has always had a big confusion in her heart. Not for fame or profit, what is the purpose of her trying so hard to become famous
Su Han was thoughtful.
The first person came out.
All the people who were going to audition looked over there. There was a slight commotion and some people stood up.
The actress' face was a little red and she was sweating, as if she was under a lot of pressure. A female star who was close to her came over and asked, "What's going on in there? Who's there?"
The actress didn't have much experience and was still a little nervous. She said, "Director Qin, assistant director, supervisor, producer..." She paused and took a breath, "and Lu Yinbing."
Su Han carefully observed that Xia Yitong's fingers on his legs moved suddenly, and he closed his eyes at the same time.
"Mr. Lu was sitting on the judges' panel. I didn't expect her to come, and she had a mysterious smile on her face the whole time. When I saw her, I was so nervous that I almost couldn't speak. I even forgot one of my lines." The actress was still talking, but she couldn't tell whether it was true or false.
Xia Yitong appears calm on the outside, but her mind is a mess.
She is coming, she is coming, she is really coming!
Xia Yitong was nervous and excited, but more than that, she was afraid. She was afraid that she would not perform well, and she was even more afraid that if she performed well, she would be nothing but a mess in her eyes, and that she had worked so hard to get this opportunity but ended up making things worse.
She was always nervous about meeting her.
Xia Yitong took a deep breath and stood up, handing the script to Su Han: "Sister Su Han, I'm going to the bathroom."
Su Han: "Pay attention to the time."
Xia Yitong: "I will."
Xia Yitong's whole body was shaking slightly. She leaned her hands on the sink and looked at the person in the mirror. The person in the mirror was also looking at her. Her cheeks were hot, and the blush was particularly eye-catching on her fair face.
what to do
Xia Yitong thought anxiously, eager to splash water on her face to calm down, but she was afraid of ruining her carefully painted makeup. Laiying, who had read the entire script, revealed to her: "You look too pure and cute. In the traditional sense, you are not particularly suitable for the role of a dancer, but we are not without options..."
The first method is the magical makeup technique.
But no matter how well she put on makeup, she couldn't go for the audition because her face was as red as a monkey's butt!
Ten minutes later, Xia Yitong sat back in her original position. Su Han looked at her face and said with concern, "It's too hot, isn't it? Fang Hui, bring Teacher Xia a bottle of water."
The assistant responded.
"No thanks." Xia Yitong quickly waved her hands to refuse. She was just blushing now. If she drank more water, she would probably get so nervous that she would wet her pants on the spot. It would be embarrassing to go straight to the audition.
"Number 12, Xia Yitong."
"Coming." Xia Yitong raised her head and suppressed her emotions secretly, so that she did not rush in.
The air conditioning in the lounge was turned on very low, and it was a bit cold when she first entered. Xia Yiting felt the temperature on her face drop instantly, and the noise outside was also excluded, allowing her to calm down.
But after calming down, when he saw who was sitting on the judges' panel, his heart started beating heavily again.
Lu Yinbing was sitting next to the Smiling Buddha Qin Hanlin, half-turning, with a jacket draped over his body. He looked lazy, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, like a leopard crouching on the African savannah, hunting.
Seeing Xia Yitong come in, her lips opened and closed silently, her smile became even more intense, and her face looked teasing.
Xia Yitong blushed again and moved her feet closer together.
Qin Hanlin's eyes lit up, and contrary to his usual behavior, he did not immediately shout "start", but looked at her carefully. In the script, the dancer Chen Qing was 18 years old when she first appeared on stage. She had both the immaturity of a girl and amazing feminine charm. Xia Yitong was only 23 years old, and her appearance had not completely gotten rid of her immaturity, but her eyes were naturally upturned, and the tail of her eyes seemed to be swept with a bright peach color, which was attractive even without a smile.
He liked this face.
Lu Yinbing leaned forward, stroked his forehead with one hand, and looked at Qin Hanlin with a smile: "Director Qin, can we start?"
Qin Hanlin retracted his gaze and said with a smile: "Let's start."
The lights on the judges' seats dimmed, and the lights on the stage where Xia Yitong was standing lit up, and the light board made her cheeks feel a little hot. In order to better see the shooting effect, Qin Hanlin set up a camera in the lounge and looked through the viewfinder in his hand.
With the help of Chen Qing, the Sixth Prince Jing Xiu slowly seized the real power of Da Chu. Jing Xiu's suspicion of Chen Qing gradually disappeared as they spent time together, and he followed her instructions step by step and became the opposite of his father, the King of Chu. Just when Jing Xiu was full of ambition and thought he could take everything, Da Chu was broken, and all the former royal nobles became prisoners.
Jing Xiu went crazy to find Chen Qing, put aside all his dignity and pride, and asked the guards for news about Chen Qing. One month and two months passed, and when Jing Xiu, who was in shackles and almost in despair, he accidentally saw Chen Qing, who was dressed in luxurious clothes, in the enemy camp.
Xia Yitong is going to play Chen Qing at this time.
Xia Yitong closed her eyes again, and when she opened them again, her eyes were calm. Her posture also changed along with her eyes. She tilted her ears slightly, then frowned slightly and asked, "What's the noise over there?"
Then she squinted her eyes, as if she saw who it was, and then she raised her hand towards the distance and ordered condescendingly: "Bring it here."
She looked ahead, from far to near, without the slightest fluctuation in her eyes. She stared at the air beneath her feet, as if someone was kneeling in front of her. She lazily stroked the fox fur at her collar, smiled, and slowly spoke: "Why are you calling me so anxiously? Is there something wrong?"
Less than half a second after she finished saying this, she suddenly jumped back two steps, with a hint of obvious disgust in her eyes, as if the dirty, grimy-faced, smelly Jing Xiu was really rushing towards her.
"Hurry up and stop him!" Xia Yitong continued to retreat, showing the attitude of being protected, and then slightly poked his head out and shouted, "You can't even hold down a prisoner, what are you doing?"
"Don't come over here, just talk to me right there."
"You said you are the Sixth Prince? Let me see..." Xia Yitong sneered contemptuously, "It really is."
Lu Yinbing half-closed his eyes and was about to doze off while listening. He was expecting her to show him some earth-shattering acting skills, but who knew she would be so conventional and boring.
At the end of the play, Xia Yitong took off his cloak, ordered someone to press Jing Xiu's head to the ground, and then with a smile on his face, he covered the other person with the cloak from head to toe, as if covering a dead person.
She stood there, silent. The air was deathly silent. The floor gradually faded. The cold wind from the air conditioner turned the stage golden. The yellow sand of the enemy camp was also sadly silent.
This is a blank period in the script, the last three seconds of free play.
It was finally over. Lu Yinbing said coldly in her heart: It was not outstanding at all. She looked at the stage without any hope, waiting for Director Qin to call "next".
At this point in the script, Xia Yitong had already made up her mind about her performance. She had no chance; her level was limited. She could not be as captivating as Lu Yinbing, whose every move and expression was so gripping that people could not help but follow her.
She slowly squatted down and lifted the cloak covering Jing Xiu's head.
Close your eyes, the audition is over, everything is over.
Her heart suddenly tightened, and she almost felt the pain piercing her bones. She really didn't want to lose her, even though she had never had her.
It was too far, should she give up? In the past, she thought that she and her were on the same road, just a little distance apart. No matter how far the road was, as long as she worked hard and never stopped, she would catch up with her sooner or later.
But she didn't expect that there was a natural chasm between them. She could run, but she had no wings and could not fly.
In the viewfinder, Xia Yitong's back, squatting alone, looked thin and fragile, as if she had lost all her barriers in an instant, her pride, her disguise, and her self-deception.
What does that feel like
She closed her eyes, there were no tears in her eyes, but everyone present felt the same way, an indescribable sadness that was slowly seeping into their bones.
The cynical expression disappeared from Lu Yinbing's face at some point. She put down the fingers that were supporting her forehead and slowly sat up straight.