"You're such a good boy," Chen Tianming said, ruffling Wen Yan'an's hair. "An'an, can you go play on the side? Uncle needs to do other things with Mom."
"Mhm."
Wen Yan'an nodded obediently, took Fang Miaomiao's phone, and went to find a spot to sit down quietly.
Ten minutes later, the producer, supervisor, screenwriter Guo Yuan, and special guest Zhou Jiaxin were all seated.
"When Chen Tianming mentioned that one of the lead actresses was confirmed, I was wondering who it could be. He wouldn't tell me no matter how I asked. I didn't expect it to be someone I know."
"Senior Zhou, please don't tease me. It's the director's favor."
"That's what you say. I think your image is quite suited for the villain. As long as you listen carefully to Chen Tianming's explanations of the scenes, you'll gain quite a few fans."
"Alright, then I'll take Senior Zhou's good wishes to heart."
"This child," Zhou Jiaxin said with a playful chuckle, then joined everyone in watching the actors' auditions.
"You'll play Scene 5 in Episode 3."
"Scene 1 in Episode 1."
"Scene 4."
...
An hour later, not only the producer and screenwriter, but even Chen Tianming was rubbing his temples.
"Director Chen, if we stick to your requirements, we'll never be able to choose a lead actress in a lifetime," the producer said with a frown. "Perhaps we could lower our standards a bit?"
After speaking, the producer cast a subtle glance at Fang Miaomiao.
"I fear that even if I lower the standards, none of these people will meet the target."
He had clearly asked Deputy Director Yang to send the first half of the script to the actresses who wanted to audition, yet they all acted like this. Their eyes were vacant, their emotions were not in place, and some couldn't even remember their lines.
"Old Chen, you know as well as I do that this is the time for quick money. How many of the younger generation are willing to settle down and hone their acting skills now?"
Chen Tianming sighed faintly, sat up straighter, and flipped through the actor profiles. "Next, let's continue."
The next to enter was the popular young actress, Fei Qingqing.
When Fei Qingqing saw Fang Miaomiao sitting there, a flicker of surprise crossed her eyes. However, she quickly regained her composure and bowed politely to introduce herself.
"Scene 4 in Episode 3."
Fei Qingqing remembered this was the scene where the female lead saves the villain during a zombie horde and leads them away.
She nodded slightly, paused for a moment, and then got into character.
Holding a long bow, she shot forcefully at a spot.
"Hello, my name is Ruo Lan. Come with me."
Delicate hands, coupled with a gentle smile.
Chen Tianming's brow furrowed, but he remained silent.
"I remember you. Your image is quite close to that of the female lead."
Fei Qingqing smiled and thanked the screenwriter for the compliment, then said shyly, "Actually, compared to the female lead, I'd prefer to try the villain role."
Chen Tianming's brow furrowed slightly. "We've already cast the villain. Moreover, your current image is very different from the villain character."
"I believe I can overcome this with my acting skills."
Guo Yuan smiled and said, "Why don't we let her try the villain?"
To be honest, Guo Yuan was quite displeased that Chen Tianming had cast Fang Miaomiao as the villain without her consent. More than the female lead, her focus was on the villain.
The villain was meek and well-behaved in the early stages. With Chen Tianming's guidance, Fang Miaomiao might be able to portray that innocence, but in the later stages, the villain Chen Yao, despite her innocent appearance, was vicious and did whatever she pleased. She could play the innocent lamb and kill people. Her emotions were so complex, yet she had to portray them with restraint. Could Fang Miaomiao truly pull it off?
Guo Yuan didn't want her hard work to be ruined by Fang Miaomiao.
Chen Tianming glanced at Fang Miaomiao and then nodded. "Then let's have her try Scene 4, the one where Chen Yao kills someone and then encounters the female lead Ruo Lan in panic."
Fei Qingqing nodded and got into character.
After the scene was performed,
It could only be said that she acted it through. There were no highlights.
Seeing that no one was speaking, Fei Qingqing said softly, as if she had made a mistake, "Did I not act well?"
Guo Yuan immediately shook her head. "We're not saying you acted badly. It's just that, compared to Chen Yao, I currently think you're more suited for the role of Ruo Lan."
"But, but I really like the character of Chen Yao, and, and my agent said..."
Chen Tianming looked coldly at Fei Qingqing. "Miaomiao, you perform this scene."
Fang Miaomiao's eyebrows shot up, and she stood up from her seat.
"Director, which scene?"
"The same one."
Fang Miaomiao pondered for a moment, then finally squatted on the ground.
Her movements were as if she were tearing at something.
Suddenly.
She thought of something.
She looked at the empty space with panic, then instinctively took a few steps back, mumbling to herself.
"Who's there?" she looked in a direction with icy eyes, clenching her fists. "Get out."
There was no sound.
She tiptoed over.
Then, as if she had seen something terrifying, she took a step back and wiped her mouth. "I, I just ate a rabbit. I was just too hungry."
What did the other person say? She tilted her head, her lips curling up. "Okay, I won't do it again."
After speaking, she reached out and pulled the other person out.
"This... how is this possible?" Fei Qingqing stared at Fang Miaomiao in shock.
There were few movements, but her eyes seemed to say, believe her, she did nothing, she was innocent, even with the drying bloodstains on the corner of her mouth.
There were no images, yet it felt like all the scenes had appeared in her mind.
As the words fell, Guo Yuan was the first to stand up and clap. "Well done, Fang Miaomiao. That scene just now was excellent."
Her villain was an innate evil seed, devoid of emotion, good, or evil.
Even under the suppression and guidance of the female lead, she could not change.
"How did your acting suddenly get so good?" Fei Qingqing blurted out.
"One should look at people with new eyes after three days," Fang Miaomiao said with a smile to Fei Qingqing.
She remembered this person. In the novel, this person was like her in reality – a good actress with a tragic background, who sold herself into the entertainment industry and struggled her way to become a popular young star.
A very inspirational person, unfortunately, she had a feud with the original host.
It was a very melodramatic story. The original host's first drama was a scene opposite Fei Qingqing. The original host, with her poor acting, blamed Fei Qingqing, causing Fei Qingqing to lose a role that was very important to her.
Later, although the original host felt guilty and knew she was wrong, she stubbornly refused to admit it. While giving her remaining hundred thousand to Fei Qingqing's grandmother for medical treatment, she continued to verbally attack Fei Qingqing.
The subsequent plot involved the female lead, Fang Yan Huan, who had opened her own studio, spotting Fei Qingqing's talent. She signed Fei Qingqing and directly propelled her to the position of a film empress. And it happened that on the day Fei Qingqing became a film empress, the news reported that Fang Miaomiao had died abroad.