Fei Qingqing looked at Fang Miaomiao with a complex expression and spoke after a long pause, "Your abilities are indeed quite good now."
"Thank you for the compliment."
Fei Qingqing took a breath and bowed to Chen Tianming and the others, "I apologize, that was my mistake just now."
Guo Yuan smiled and shook her head, "No, you are a good actress. You dare to challenge yourself and speak about your own problems. I like you very much."
Chen Tianming also nodded, "Your audition for today is over. We will inform your agent when there's a decision."
"Okay."
Fei Qingqing nodded politely and left.
After she left, Chen Tianming gave Fang Miaomiao a thumbs-up, "Not bad. You've really been diligently practicing your acting skills during this time."
"Thank you, Director, for the praise."
"However, don't get complacent. You performed well in this scene, but you need to continue to strive. Otherwise, you'll be embarrassing me."
Fang Miaomiao smiled and made an OK gesture, "Don't worry, Director. I'll try not to tarnish your reputation."
With that, she sat down next to Zhou Jiaxin with a smile, looking expectantly at Zhou Jiaxin, "Senior?"
Zhou Jiaxin couldn't help but smile wryly at her expression, "Miaomiao, you acted well just now, but the director is right. You need to keep working hard, understand?"
"Mmm-hmm." Fang Miaomiao nodded vigorously, indicating she would definitely put in the effort.
"Alright, next," Chen Tianming said, looking at the audition resumes, and a hint of distraction crossed his face.
He remembered that this person wasn't on the resume when he first looked at it.
Fang Miaomiao saw Chen Tianming's surprised look and before she could ask what was wrong, she caught sight of Fang Yan Huan walking in from the doorway, dressed in a designer white gauze dress.
Now she understood why Chen Tianming looked so conflicted.
"Hello Director Chen Tianming, Senior Zhou, everyone."
"Hello, hello, hello." The producer looked at Fang Yan Huan's well-behaved demeanor and nodded with satisfaction. "I've seen your photos online. You're a very beautiful girl."
"Thank you, Producer, for the compliment."
"Ahem," Chen Tianming coughed a few times. "Fang Yan Huan, is it? We'll start your audition now. Scene three of episode one."
Episode one, scene three, was the plot where the female lead Ruo Lan saved Chen Yao from the zombie's mouth.
Fang Yan Huan looked around and asked, "Is there no crossbow?"
Guo Yuan became interested, "You know how to use a crossbow?"
After all, actors usually only practiced with props after confirming their roles. Even Fei Qingqing, who had just auditioned, hadn't asked for a crossbow.
"I've practiced a bit," Fang Yan Huan replied with a nod.
"Excellent. Prop department, bring out the crossbow," Guo Yuan said with renewed spirit, gesturing for the prop team to bring it over.
The crossbow was handed over.
Fang Yan Huan fumbled with it for a moment, picked it up, and pointed at a spot. "You, move aside."
As she spoke, Fang Yan Huan activated the crossbow.
She had the presence, but the bolt immediately fell to the ground after being fired.
For a moment, the conference room fell into an awkward silence.
After a while,
The producer finally came to his senses and cleared his throat, "Good, you know how to use a crossbow, Yan Huan. You'll need to practice more after this."
"I'm very sorry. This crossbow is different from the one I practiced with. I wasn't accustomed to it for a moment and it slipped out of my hand."
Fang Yan Huan wanted to ask for another take, but Chen Tianming raised his hand, "No need. Your audition is over. We'll contact your agent for follow-up notifications."
"Okay," Fang Yan Huan nodded, puffed out her chest, and left with pride.
"That concludes today's interviews," the producer announced.
Chen Tianming frowned and turned to Fang Miaomiao and Zhou Jiaxin, "Thank you for your trouble today. You can head back early. We'll send you red envelopes later."
"Then thank you, Director Chen. I don't need any red envelopes. Just make our next variety show recording more comfortable."
"Alright, the next episode will definitely be enjoyable for Senior Zhou and the others," Chen Tianming said with a smile.
"Hahaha."
"Director, you continue your work. An'an and I are going out to play."
"Go ahead."
"Goodbye, Uncle Tianming."
As they left, the group tacitly closed the door, isolating themselves from the outside hustle and bustle. The producer's expression turned grim. "Chen Tianming, what did you mean by that just now?"
"What do you mean?"
"What do I mean? Don't you understand?" the producer said through gritted teeth, each word emphasized.
"I don't understand," Chen Tianming said, looking at the resume in his hand. "We agreed that all the main roles would be confirmed only after I approved them. What are you trying to do now?"
The producer scoffed, leaning back in his chair and idly twirling a pen. "You're supposed to agree, but only if we are satisfied. Back then, you signed Fang Miaomiao without my consent. Did you ask for our opinion?"
For this film, the higher-ups had already decided on Fang Yan Huan as the female lead, Fei Qingqing as the villain, and Wen Wenlan as the male lead. They even had a catchy title ready: "The Love Story of the Fang Family's Heiress and Actor Wen Lan." But Chen Tianming, on the other hand, had directly cast Fang Miaomiao as the villain.
It was fine if he had, as it would have created even more buzz later. But he hadn't expected Chen Tianming to not favor Fang Yan Huan and want Fei Qingqing as the protagonist. This completely disrupted their plans.
"You!"
"Me, what about me?" The producer stood up from his seat and said unequivocally, "That's settled. The female lead Chen Yao will be played by Fang Yan Huan, and the villain will be Fang Miaomiao. As for Fei Qingqing, I don't mind if you give her a supporting role as female lead three."
With that, several producers and investors stood up and left.
"Damn it," Chen Tianming muttered after a long pause. "Just because you have the copyright, you think you can do whatever you want."
Guo Yuan patted Chen Tianming's shoulder. "They don't just have the copyright, they have your contract too. If you quit, they can sue you. Besides, can you really bear to abandon such a good film?"
Hearing this, Chen Tianming looked at Guo Yuan with a grievance. "You sold the copyright too quickly back then. If you had waited a step longer, I would have had the Wen Corporation invest."
Guo Yuan shook her head and smiled. "Accept fate. Fang Yan Huan it is then. At least the Fang Yan Huan they're pushing has some acting skills. You should just focus on filming."
Chen Tianming sighed deeply and slumped onto the table, remaining silent.
...
"Miaomiao, it looks like you'll be facing Fang Yan Huan for a long time to come."
"What's there to be afraid of?" Fang Miaomiao said with a smile and a raised eyebrow. "We'll face whatever comes our way. Besides, Fang Yan Huan needs to maintain her 'little fairy' persona, so she won't be able to go too far."
"That's true. You see things more clearly than anyone else."
"Hahaha, Senior Jiaxin, please don't praise me anymore. If you keep praising me, I'll lose my bearings."
"Hahaha."