"So good," Chen Tianming ruffled Wen Yan'an's hair. "An'an, why don't you go play to the side? Uncle needs to talk to Mommy about other things."
"Okay."
Wen Yan'an nodded obediently, took Fang Miaomiao's phone, and went to find a spot to sit quietly.
Ten minutes later, the producer, supervisor, screenwriter Guo Yuan, and special guest Zhou Jiaxin were all seated.
"When Chen Tianming mentioned one of the female leads was cast, I was wondering who it could be. He wouldn't say when I asked, and it turns out it's someone I know."
"Senior Zhou, please don't tease me. It's just that the director thinks highly of me."
"You say that. I think your image is quite suited for a villain. As long as you listen carefully to Chen Tianming's explanations of the scenes, you'll gain a lot of fans."
"Alright, I'll take Senior Zhou's kind words to heart."
"This child," Zhou Jiaxin chuckled, then joined everyone in watching the actors' auditions.
"You'll be in the third episode, scene five."
"First episode, scene one."
"Scene four."
...
An hour later, not just the producer and screenwriter, but even Chen Tianming was rubbing his temples.
"Director Chen, if we follow your requirements, we'll never be able to choose a female lead in this lifetime," the producer said with a frown. "How about we lower our standards a bit?"
After speaking, the producer cast a subtle glance at Fang Miaomiao.
"I'm afraid even if I lower the requirements, no one among these can meet the target."
He had asked Assistant Director Yang to send the script for the first half to all the aspiring actors, so why were they all acting like this? Staring blankly, lacking emotion, and some couldn't even remember their lines.
"Old Chen, you know as well as I do, it's all about making quick money these days. How many of the younger generation are willing to settle down and polish their acting skills?"
Chen Tianming sighed softly, straightened his back, and flipped through the actor profiles. "Next, let's continue."
This time, a popular young actress, Fei Qingqing, entered.
When Fei Qingqing saw Fang Miaomiao sitting there, a flicker of surprise crossed her eyes. However, she quickly regained her composure and politely bowed to introduce herself.
"Third episode, scene four."
Fei Qingqing remembered this was the scene where the female lead rescued the villain amidst a zombie horde, pulling him away.
She nodded slightly and took a moment to get into character.
Holding a long bow, she shot forcefully towards a point.
"Hello, my name is Ruolan. Come with me."
Her delicate hands, coupled with that gentle smile.
Chen Tianming frowned but said nothing.
"I remember you. Your image is quite close to that of the female lead."
Fei Qingqing smiled gratefully for the screenwriter's praise, then shyly said, "Actually, compared to the female lead, I'd prefer to try the villain role."
Chen Tianming's brow furrowed. "We've already cast the villain. Moreover, your current image is indeed very different from the villain character."
"I believe I can overcome this problem with my acting skills."
Guo Yuan smiled and said, "Why don't we let her try the villain role?"
To be honest, Chen Tianming casting Fang Miaomiao as the villain without her consent made Guo Yuan uncomfortable. More than the female lead, her focus was on the villain.
The villain, in the early stages, was well-behaved. With Chen Tianming's guidance, Fang Miaomiao might be able to portray that innocent and obedient demeanor. But later, the villain Chen Yao, with a seemingly innocent face, was utterly wicked. She could act as a pure white lotus and commit murder. Such rich emotions, yet she had to be restrained. Could Fang Miaomiao truly portray such a character?
Guo Yuan didn't want her hard work to be ruined by Fang Miaomiao.
Chen Tianming glanced at Fang Miaomiao, then nodded. "Then let's try scene four, where Chen Yao is flustered after killing someone and then encounters the female lead Ruolan."
Fei Qingqing nodded and got into character.
After the scene, it could only be described as 'acted through.' There were no highlights.
Seeing no one speak, Fei Qingqing said softly, as if she had done something wrong, "Did I not act well?"
Guo Yuan immediately shook her head. "It's not that you didn't act well. It's just that, compared to Chen Yao, I currently feel you are more suited for the role of Ruolan."
"But, but I really like the character Chen Yao, and, and my agent said..."
Chen Tianming looked at Fei Qingqing coldly. "Miaomiao, you play this scene."
Fang Miaomiao raised an eyebrow and stood up from her seat.
"Director, which scene?"
"The same one."
Fang Miaomiao pondered for a moment, then squatted down.
Her posture was as if she was tearing at something.
Suddenly.
She thought of something.
She looked at the empty space in panic, then instinctively took a few steps back, muttering continuously.
"Who's there?" she looked at a spot with cold eyes, clenching her fist. "Get out."
There was no response.
She tiptoed closer.
Then, as if seeing something terrifying, she took a step back and wiped her mouth. "I, I just ate a rabbit. I was just too hungry."
Whatever the other person said, she tilted her head, a smile on her lips. "Okay, I won't do it again."
After speaking, she reached out and pulled the person along, walking out.
"This... how is this possible?" Fei Qingqing stared at Fang Miaomiao in disbelief.
Despite her few movements, her eyes seemed to say, 'Believe me, I didn't do anything, I'm innocent,' even with the un-dried bloodstains at the corner of her mouth.
There were no visuals, yet it felt as if every image had appeared in her mind.
As the words fell, Guo Yuan was the first to stand up and clap. "Not bad, Fang Miaomiao. That scene just now was excellent."
Her villain was a natural-born evil seed, devoid of emotion, right or wrong.
Even under the suppression and guidance of the female lead, she could not change.
"How did your acting suddenly become so good?" Fei Qingqing blurted out.
"One should look at someone with new eyes after three days apart," Fang Miaomiao said with a smile to Fei Qingqing.
She remembered this person. In the novel, this person was her real-world counterpart: a good actress with a tragic background who sold herself into the entertainment industry, struggling her way to become a popular young star.
A very inspiring person, unfortunately, she had enmity with the original host.
A very dramatic story. The original host's first role was opposite Fei Qingqing. The original host, not a good actress herself, blamed Fei Qingqing, causing Fei Qingqing to directly lose a role that was very important to her.
Later, although the original host felt guilty and knew she was wrong, she remained stubborn. While giving Fei Qingqing her remaining hundred thousand yuan to help with her grandmother's medical expenses, she still verbally attacked Fei Qingqing.
The subsequent plot was that the female lead, Fang Yan Huan, who had opened her own studio, saw Fei Qingqing's potential and signed her, directly promoting her to the position of a movie queen. And the day Fei Qingqing became a movie queen was also the day news broke that Fang Miaomiao had passed away abroad.