Chapter 20: Chapter 20: Just Exaggerate A Bit

But Jiang Qi’s audition this time didn’t go too smoothly.

Wang Zhaoqiu should have informed Qiu Heng in advance. When Shen Lei and Jiang Qi arrived at the audition set for “Jiao Si”, it was Qiu Heng’s assistant, Huang Haofan, who personally came out to greet them.

Qiu Heng was a director from Hong Kong, and so was his assistant. Before they even approached, Huang Haofan smiled and said, “Mr. Shen.”

…Normally, Shen Lei should have responded with “Mr. Huang,” but he felt awkward saying it that way, so he just said, “Assistant Huang.”

“Director Qiu is waiting inside.” After Huang Haofan greeted Shen Lei, he glanced up and down at Jiang Qi. During this time, who hadn’t heard of Jiang Qi’s name dominating the headlines? Who wasn’t curious? Huang Haofan was naturally no exception, his gaze filled with interest as he smiled slightly. “Let me take you over.”

The three of them went to the audition set together. Qiu Heng was a man in his late thirties, unmarried, tall and slender. He wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his sharply defined face, and even in the noisy set, he wore a suit as if he were attending a formal dinner.

Most Hong Kong men were good at taking care of themselves, and Qiu Heng looked like he was in his early thirties at most. He exuded a delicate, rigorous, and meticulous feeling.

He stood up and shook hands with Shen Lei, but only nodded at Jiang Qi. In the entertainment industry, there was a clear distinction between seniors and juniors, as well as between superiors and subordinates. Qiu Heng clearly understood this principle well. He exuded an imposing aura in front of his juniors.

In the industry, Shen Lei and Qiu Heng’s positions were actually quite similar. Qiu Heng had won more awards, but Shen Lei had stronger box office performance. But compared to Qiu Heng, Shen Lei was much more affable.

“Old Shen.” Qiu Heng lightly pushed his glasses with his long fingers and glanced at Jiang Qi with his narrow eyes behind the lenses, smiling slightly. “Is this the young man you’ve discovered?”

“Yes.” Shen Lei also smiled and patted Jiang Qi’s shoulder. He didn’t hesitate to mention the most frequently discussed word in the industry recently. “Purple Microstar.”

“Wang didn’t say that. He just recommended this young man to you.” Qiu Heng’s words were polite, but he didn’t agree with Shen Lei’s praise.

He turned to Jiang Qi, his tone gentle as he asked, “Young man, do you like the role of Chen Si?”

Jiang Qi didn’t mind being called a “young man” by Qiu Heng and shook his head. “I don’t like it.”

Qiu Heng was momentarily surprised. Jiang Qi hadn’t yet adapted to the concept that flattery often found in the entertainment industry, so his straightforwardness could be somewhat choking. But sometimes, after getting used to the antics of those in the industry, one might find this kind of “innocence without pretense” quite interesting. Qiu Heng raised an eyebrow. “You don’t like it? Then why bother auditioning?”

This time, Jiang Qi replied confidently, “Because I can play it.”

Sometimes, auditioning for a role wasn’t about whether you liked it or not, but whether you could portray it.

Interesting, truly interesting.

Qiu Heng couldn’t help but smile, gesturing for Huang Haofan to come over and hand the script to Jiang Qi. Shen Lei breathed a sigh of relief on the side—this meant that Jiang Qi could audition.

But as Jiang Qi watched, his clear and elegant brows slightly furrowed. Actually, the selected audition segment wasn’t particularly difficult. It depicted Chen Si in the movie, who, after entering high school, still didn’t like to play with boys, dressed very “femininely,” and hung out with girls.

At first, the girls felt awkward and uncomfortable, but in the end, they found it refreshing.

It was during this time that Chen Si met the “female lead” in the movie, Meng Li. There was no romantic storyline between her and the male lead. She was also an “anomaly” among ordinary people, a homosexual, but she didn’t dare to be as bold as Chen Si in expressing it.

In the movie, Meng Li was more like another side of Chen Si. After she discovered Chen Si’s uniqueness, she immersed herself in “dressing him up” only.

In the girl’s clothes, the girl’s makeup, Chen Si was present in the gentle demeanor. He lay on Meng Li’s lace bed, basking in the sunlight, caressing himself, completely immersed in his imagination of “gentle lady.” Then, he had to portray the girl’s smiling and naive demeanor, even though he didn’t understand much about the world.

The selected audition was this segment.

Everything else was fine, except…

As everyone knows, Jiang Qi doesn’t smile.

Even the hashtag #JiangQiNeverSmiledBefore# has trended, sparking widespread discussion.

Recalling briefly, Shen Lei realized he had known Jiang Qi for almost two years and indeed had never seen the boy smile. With this realization, Shen Lei couldn’t help but feel somewhat worried. With a slight frown, Shen Lei watched Jiang Qi, after reading through the script, walk to the front of the camera.

During auditions when other actors weren’t available to perform with, it was usually a solo performance, showcasing one’s acting skills to the fullest. And Jiang Qi, despite lacking professional training, was a complete “natural” actor. As he stood in front of the camera, he effortlessly transformed into Chen Si.

The script called for a silent and eccentric demeanor in school, with subtle gestures and expressions exuding a gentle ambiguity, reminiscent of a shy girl. Finally, after acting out the scene for quite some time, Jiang Qi lay down on the bed.

Shen Lei’s heart skipped a beat. This was when Jiang Qi started to lose himself. His slender hands unconsciously clenched into fists. Sure enough, the thing he feared most happened.

While Jiang Qi could portray the girl’s demeanor reasonably well, his inherently mysterious and elusive aura made it easy for people to immerse themselves in the scene. However, making him genuinely smile and feel happy and satisfied…

That was difficult. Shen Lei could see that the smile on Jiang Qi’s face was forced and stiff.

Just then, behind the camera, Qiu Heng called “cut.”

“Very impressive,” Qiu Heng’s refined face showed a smile, pleasantly surprised as he looked at Jiang Qi. “The little friend indeed has some talent, but was the last part a bit out of character?”

Listening to Qiu Heng’s words with a stiff expression, Shen Lei knew Jiang Qi wasn’t out of character. He might… He might just not know how to smile. But why would someone not know how to smile? Was it a psychological reason or something else? Jiang Qi’s expression was also grim. He shook his head at Qiu Heng.

“Sorry,” the young man said, “I might not be able to perform well.”

“Who said that!” Qiu Heng seemed even more confident than Jiang Qi himself, shaking his head with a smile. “You did great. It’s just the last part that seemed a bit off.”

He remained blindly optimistic.

“But the last part is a big problem,” Jiang Qi continued to shake his head, showing a sense of frustration towards himself. “Director, I can’t feel happy, satisfied, and naturally smile like the main character.”

Qiu Heng’s smile gradually stiffened, then furrowed his brows. “Is this how you judge yourself?”

It was the first time he had seen an actor being praised by the director after an audition but looking as if he had been rejected. This legendary “Purple Micro Star” was indeed an odd one.

Even more bizarre was Jiang Qi’s response. After nodding in acknowledgment of Qiu Heng’s words, he turned to leave. Before Qiu Heng could react, Shen Lei intercepted Jiang Qi.

“Do you want to be known as the director’s rejector?” Shen Lei grabbed Jiang Qi and whispered, “Do you still want to make it in this industry?”

If Jiang Qi had said he couldn’t perform earlier, that would have been one thing — but just half an hour ago, he had talked about signing with a company, indicating his desire to stay in the entertainment industry. If he wanted to stay, could he afford to be so stubborn?

Offending directors like Wang Zhaoqiu and Qiu Heng — directors whose names alone could shake the industry — was not a wise move. Just thinking about it made Shen Lei’s scalp tingle.

Sometimes, extreme talent combined with a rebellious spirit could be a double-edged sword. Qiu Heng didn’t hear what Shen Lei and Jiang Qi were saying. He just saw Jiang Qi hadn’t left yet and hurried over. “Why don’t we try again? I really think you have the talent for this role.”

In a capitalist society, some roles could be substituted with money, fame, and fortune. But faced with exceptional suitability, Qiu Heng found himself still yearning for perfection. He wanted this young man before him. Qiu Heng could almost envision the success of the film with Jiang Qi as Chen Si.

“Director Qiu, it’s lunchtime.” Shen Lei, fearing Jiang Qi would directly refuse Qiu Heng’s suggestion, decided to speak up. “Why don’t we take a break and let Jiang Qi try again this afternoon?”

…

Poor him, a renowned director, was now doing the job of a talent manager. It was time to find Jiang Qi a truly suitable talent manager.

“Okay.” After checking his watch, Qiu Heng nodded. “Let’s reconvene at 1:30.”

With that, Qiu Heng dismissed the crew and instructed everyone to go eat.

Jiang Qi didn’t want to embarrass Shen Lei, so he kept silent until everyone had left before furrowing his brows and saying, “I really can’t do it.”

“Just give it one more try, and then we’ll see.” Shen Lei insisted before ushering Jiang Qi to the restaurant upstairs in the studio building.

As the tall, slender figure of the young man walked away, Shen Lei stood there, contemplating for a moment. A vague idea that had been forming in his mind suddenly grew like wild grass. He called Qiu Mi over and whispered a few words to him. As a result, Qiu Mi’s expression became increasingly surprised, and his mouth involuntarily opened wide.

“Okay, go take care of this matter. Make sure to bring the person before 1:30,” Shen Lei said, smiling at him. There was a hint of threat in the whirlpool at the corner of his lips. “Understand?”

Qiu Mi couldn’t help but shiver, hastily nodding. “I’ll go right away!”

Sometimes, he really felt like Shen Lei was a god. He could come up with ideas like this.

Qiu Mi bought a sandwich on the way and drove to the entrance of Lin Lan University. After presenting his ID at the gate, Qiu Mi, inquired around the vast campus and finally headed straight to the female dormitory building. After informing the dormitory auntie and waiting for a while, Qiu Mi finally saw the true face of “Zhi Qi” for the first time.

The girl in the emerald green spaghetti strap dress descended from the steps, her slender figure gracefully moving, emitting an overall radiance. Her chestnut-colored hair was loosely tied up, with a few strands falling onto her distinct collarbones. She wore a pair of linen-colored strapped sandals on her petite feet.

Zhi Qi’s ivory face was untouched by makeup, exhibiting a pure and innocent appearance with a hint of confusion. This appearance was even more beautiful than most of the female celebrities Qiu Mi had seen before, leaving the assistant momentarily stunned.

It wasn’t until the girl approached and softly asked the dormitory auntie who was looking for her that Qiu Mi snapped out of his daze. He finally understood why his usually calm and indifferent brother, Jiang Qi, would become disoriented with just a few pieces of information about this girl named Zhi Qi.

“It’s me, it’s me,” Qiu Mi realized the urgency of the matter and quickly walked over. “Miss, are you Zhi Qi?”

“I am…” Zhi Qi looked at the unfamiliar young man in front of her with some surprise. “Who are you?”

“I’m Jiang Qi’s assistant.”

After saying this, he clearly saw a hint of surprise flash through the beautiful black pupils of the girl in front of him. Qiu Mi remembered Shen Lei’s instructions to use “exaggerated language” and to do whatever it took to bring her over…

So he suppressed his guilt and gritted his teeth. “Um, can you come with me? There’s something wrong with Brother Qi.”

Qiu Mi didn’t want to lie like this, but he remembered Shen Lei’s exact words—

“Jiang Qi must take on this role, otherwise he won’t be able to survive in the industry.”

“So we must find a way to make him laugh, by any means necessary.”

“Only that girl named Zhi Qi can make him laugh, make him gentler. Go and bring her.”

“Well, just exaggerate a bit to trick her into thinking something’s wrong with Jiang Qi.”