Global Film Emperor

Chapter 57 The Audition Begins

"Brother Cheng, is there still a vacancy for the second male lead? I'd like to have our Lu Ze give it a try."

Everyone knew Shen Jinghan and Lu Ze's intentions, so Shen Jinghan directly stated his purpose, but didn't say anything like "Do you think Lu Ze is capable?" That would sound like he was trying to force Cheng Yuan through connections, which would only embarrass Cheng Yuan and wouldn't benefit Lu Ze.

“Sure, Xiao Lu is a decent-looking guy, not ugly at all, what’s wrong with him? I’d love to have him join my crew. How about this, let Xiao Lu come to the audition in January.”

Cheng Yuan wouldn't give a direct guarantee, but he did say that Lu Ze should audition. However, he also said that he would welcome Lu Ze to the production team, which revealed that he wasn't opposed to Lu Ze joining the team, suggesting that there was a chance for this to happen.

The casting of Lu Ze was glossed over. It was definitely not appropriate to have Lu Ze perform a scene at a dinner party. Doing so would not only be a slap in the face to Lu Ze, but also to Shen Jinghan. Did they think that the artists Shen Jinghan managed were so low-class?
When an artist is new to the industry, their manager is especially important. If the manager is a tough person, others will give you appropriate respect out of respect for the manager. But if your manager is a pushover, it goes without saying how far you can go.

The conversation then turned away from Lu Ze. Since everyone in the industry knew about the production crew, they started asking Cheng Yuan about the ins and outs of the crew and began to discuss things.

The dinner lasted until after 10 p.m. Lu Ze barely touched his chopsticks, but he drank quite a bit of alcohol and was now a little drunk. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw them get up.

They went downstairs together. Most of these people had drivers, so they didn't need to find a designated driver and left the hotel directly. Lu Ze and Shen Jinghan, on the other hand, called a designated driver, who arrived fifteen minutes later.

"Are you alright? You're even wobbling when you walk."

Of all the drinks at this gathering, Lu Ze drank the most. For every toast someone offered, Lu Ze would drink at least more. By the end of the meal, Lu Ze had consumed at least half a kilogram of baijiu (Chinese liquor).

"It's okay, I can't throw up, don't worry, Aunt Han."

Lu Ze made a joke, sat in the car with his eyes closed, and his mind was indeed racing. Just then, there was a knock on the passenger window.

Lu Ze rolled down the car window and was taken aback. Cheng Yuan, who was standing by the car, waved to Lu Ze.

Lu Ze understood the situation, opened the car door and sat in the back, while Cheng Yuan plopped down in the passenger seat, closed the car door and windows, and gave the two of them a smile.

"Director Cheng."

"You've had quite a bit to drink, haven't you? It's alright. I'll just talk to Jinghan for a bit. You can rest if you're tired."

Lu Ze nodded, but didn't close his eyes, watching Cheng Yuan turn his head towards Shen Jinghan.

"I couldn't say anything during dinner. We've been friends for twenty years. I thought you were going to take a break, but after a few years you're back to your old ways. I can still say something about the roles, but no one has gotten the second male lead role yet. Xiao Lu, you have to give me a crash course when you get back. I'm good friends with Jinghan, but I definitely won't go easy on you. If you don't meet my requirements, you're out of luck. Don't even think about it, understand?"

“I know Director Cheng. I have already started researching the role, and I am confident in myself.”

With just a few words, the second male lead was basically secured. Lu Ze, who was already quite drunk, was a little confused and hesitated for a moment before patting his chest to assure him.

"This kid is really drunk; he dares to say things like that."

Cheng Yuan thought Lu Ze was just talking nonsense because he was drunk, but Lu Ze was genuinely confident. He was confident that he would be fine as long as it was a fair competition, let alone the fact that he had pulled some strings.

"Brother Cheng, thank you so much this time. Lu Ze needs an opportunity, and I'm really grateful that you gave him this chance. Lu Ze, you should thank Director Cheng right away."

After Lu Ze thanked him, he noticed that Shen Jinghan's expression wasn't particularly surprised, as if he already knew something. Moreover, after Cheng Yuan made his promise, his expression was similar to Shen Jinghan's, showing no change in emotion.

"Alright, I've had a bit too much to drink, so I'll be going now. Xiao Lu, you should study the script carefully. You're lucky to have gotten into Qian Shijia." After saying that, he pushed open the door and left. In that instant, Lu Ze suddenly understood why the two of them had that expression, and why Cheng Yuan said those words when he left.

Sure enough, there's no such thing as feelings or friendships in this circle. All that talk about a relationship of nearly twenty years is just nonsense. There must be something here that Lu Ze doesn't know about, some kind of exchange of interests between Shen Jinghan, Cheng Yuan, and Qian Shijia.

Lu Ze didn't know what they exchanged, nor did he want to know, because the more he knew, the more he would realize how deep the waters were in this circle. After experiencing so many simulation courses in the system space, he actually felt a sense of returning to simplicity.

Sometimes being oblivious is far better than being clear-headed. Not delving into things can actually make life more comfortable. He just wants to act and enjoys the feeling of filming. As for the mess and chaos, it's best if someone else takes care of it for him.

"You heard what Director Cheng said?"

"Ah."

The two remained silent until the designated driver, wearing a blue windbreaker, arrived. Shen Jinghan sat in the back seat and first took Lu Ze home.

December slipped through our fingers, and before we knew it, it was the end of January.

During this time, Lu Ze was so bored he was practically growing moss. He had never been this idle since dropping out of school. He had been resting for more than a month, and he even considered doing a temporary job to pass the time.

There's no need to worry about finances for now. He's never been extravagant with his money, and neither is his sister. Including Lu Hua's hometown, their total monthly expenses don't exceed five thousand yuan.

Guo Xiaofei's biography is finished, filling an entire notebook. Next, he wrote an autobiography, which is not very long, only a few tens of thousands of words.

But this autobiography truly gave Lu Ze a sense of immersion. This experience of writing in the first person made Lu Ze feel as if he had gone through a systematic simulation course in reality.

He has now found some ways to pass the time, such as wandering around the company. He doesn't have to report to the company every day, but he does have an employee card. Often, when he's too lazy to cook lunch, he goes to the company to improve his meals.

Then he applied for the smallest rehearsal room, and every day he would bring his autobiography, biography and script to the company to rehearse. Here he could devote himself to it, forget about time and forget about himself.

The best thing about each day is when I'm tired from practicing and need a break, I'll get myself a lemon tea, hold my water cup, and lean over the wall of another dance studio to watch the two beautiful trainees from the company dancing in hot pants.

At the beginning of January, the company recruited a new batch of trainees, totaling more than 20 people, mostly girls, 17 of whom were girls. Lu Ze still watched the girls dance in his spare time, which made the new trainees think that Lu Ze was a pervert.

This led to Wang Min, the head of the artist department, scolding Lu Ze and telling him to go home and sleep if he was bored, instead of spending his days peeping over walls.

Lu Ze felt somewhat wronged, explaining that he was simply very lonely and wanted to become friends with the trainees. Of course, female friends were his first choice. Who would want to hang out with a bunch of men who were sweating profusely from dancing when they could play with girls?
Of course, this reason still earned him a severe scolding from Wang Min.

Lunar New Year's Eve is early this year. On January 23rd, Lu Ze was preparing to audition. There were still 16 days until the New Year. After the audition, he would return to Lühua. The crew of "My Regiment" also called Lu Ze and asked him to report to Tengchong on the eighth day of the first lunar month.

After getting dressed, Shen Jinghan waited for him downstairs. She got into her Maserati Quattroporte and headed to Tianhe Media for the audition.

Just like going to Tiancheng, you have to queue and take a number, just like at a bank. Shen Jinghan cheered Lu Ze on. Then Lu Ze pushed open the door to the conference room. Everyone inside was looking at Lu Ze. Most of them had very young faces.

I wasn't nervous at all. I found an empty seat and sat down, and the audition began.

(End of this chapter)