Chinese Entertainment: Top-Tier Boyfriends of Young Actresses

After everyone finished their auditions, the staff closed the door.

Dai Lu leaned back in her chair, twirling a pen in her hand, her gaze fixed on the stack of audition records on the table.

"Who do you think is more suitable?" she asked first, her tone casual, as if it were a casual question.

Before the audition, she was quite satisfied with her artist Hu Yitian, but after watching Su Yu's performance, Hu Yitian's performance was only mediocre.

Yang Long and assistant director Duan Chao exchanged a glance.

Duan Chao works for Huace Media and has extensive experience working on set. He always tends to use his own artists when casting roles.

Yang Long, being younger, is more sensitive to the temperament requirements of actors.

"I think Su Yu and Hu Yitian are both pretty good," Yang Long said first. "But Su Yu has a better image. When he puts on his school uniform and stands there, he is Jiang Chen himself. That youthful spirit is not something that can be acted out."

Duan Chao put down his notes and replied, "I think Hu Yitian is a safer bet. After all, he's an artist from our own company, so we shouldn't let the profits go to outsiders."

"Moreover, he's not bad-looking either. He's tall and has a clean face. With a few more scenes and some practice, he'll definitely be able to pull it off."

"Hu Yitian is good-looking." Yang Long did not directly refute this.

They simply rewound the video of Su Yu's audition by a few seconds, freezing the moment when Su Yu had his head down and the pen tip hovered above the paper.

"But he lacks this: inspiration."

Duan Chao glanced at the screen but didn't say anything. Su Yu's performance in this scene was indeed profound.

Dai Lu didn't respond immediately; she was weighing her options.

Hu Yitian is an artist she personally signed.

When she first found his photo in Huace's artist database, she even drew an X on it.

After all, the boy in the photo at the time only had regular features, but nothing particularly striking about him.

When I met him in person, he was 1.88 meters tall, standing there quietly and cleanly, looking very fresh and natural.

She hesitated for a long time before finally deciding to sign him.

When casting for "A Love So Beautiful", she actually initially planned to "pre-select" Hu Yitian.

The auditions went through layer after layer, and the process seemed legitimate, but those in the industry knew that some auditions were essentially just to generate buzz for the project, and the candidates had already been decided long ago.

But Su Yu's performance today made it impossible for her to continue pretending not to see it.

After seeing Su Yu's performance today, she felt that this person was Jiang Chen who had stepped out of the book.

In all her years as a producer, this was the first time an actor made her feel that he truly embodied the thoughts of the character.

She has a feeling that if this drama casts Su Yu, it will definitely be a hit.

But here's the problem.

Su Yu is an artist under Daylight Entertainment, not Huace Media.

A drama produced by Huace Media made an artist from another company famous because of his male lead. From a business perspective, this was not a worthwhile deal.

As the producer, she is responsible for the quality of the show, but also for the company's interests.

Hu Yitian is an artist under their management. If "A Love So Beautiful" becomes a hit, he will also become popular, and the company can take advantage of the situation to launch a new star.

But what if this show flops?

She wasn't entirely confident that Hu Yitian could carry the show.

Yang Long sat next to her and saw Dai Lu frown slightly and remain silent for a long time. He roughly understood what she was struggling with.

"What does Mr. Dai think?" he asked.

Dai Lu put down her pen, remained silent for a few seconds, and then spoke.

She always speaks very directly and doesn't like to beat around the bush, and this time was no exception.

"Actually, I think Su Yu is more suitable. If we used him, this drama would definitely be a hit; but—"

She didn't finish her sentence.

Experienced people like Yang Long and Duan Chao understood without her even having to finish speaking.

This means they want a "chosen" lead like Su Yu to carry the show, but they also want their own artist, Hu Yitian, to become popular—a classic case of wanting both.

Yang Long's mind raced, and he said, "I think Su Yu and Hu Yitian are both good, but Su Yu is more suitable for Jiang Chen, as for Hu Yitian—"

He paused.

"I think he's more suited for the second male lead role, Wu Bosong. How about we give Hu Yitian more screen time to make his character more fleshed out? We can announce that he's a co-star, which will make it easier for the company to explain."

After listening, Duan Chao nodded in agreement: "That's a good idea. Hu Yitian is a good fit for the role of Wu Baisong in terms of appearance—tall, athletic, and the second male lead has enough screen time, so it's not unfair to him. It would also look good on the surface if word got out that they're playing the same character."

Dai Lu did not answer immediately.

She pulled back the video of Su Yu's audition and watched it from the beginning.

Neither Yang Long nor Duan Chao made a sound.

After watching, Dai Lu pressed the pause button, and the screen froze on the moment when Su Yu faced the judges' panel.

"That's settled then."

……

Su Yu left Huace's office building and took a taxi straight home.

He mentally reviewed today's audition again, feeling that there were no major problems. He had performed both scenes and done everything he could.

As soon as I got home, my phone rang. It was Wang Churan calling.

"How did your audition go?"

"It's alright, I did my best." Su Yu hung up his down jacket and sat down on the sofa.

"But I saw another actor, and he also fits the role quite well."

Who is it?

"His name is Hu Yitian, and he's quite tall."

"Hu Yitian?" Wang Churan thought for a moment. "Never heard of him. Is he a newcomer too?"

"Pretty much, but he's an artist under Huace's own management, working for the investors."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Huh?" Wang Churan's voice changed. "Wasn't that already decided? Then why did you even try?"

Su Yu leaned back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling.

"I'd like to give it a try. After all, he's the male lead. I'll give it my all. As for the rest, I can only do my best and leave the rest to fate."

Wang Churan remained silent for several seconds, then softened her voice and carefully offered words of comfort.

"It's okay, baby. Even if it doesn't work out this time, there will be other opportunities in the future. You're so capable, you'll definitely get a better role."

Su Yu smiled as he listened to her clumsy attempts at comforting him.

"Okay, I'm not that fragile inside. Oh, and I also want to thank you, Xiao Wang, for today."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"The school uniform you contributed—when I took off my down jacket today and revealed that school uniform, everyone else at the audition was dumbfounded."

Wang Churan was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing: "Really?"

"Seriously, they were completely dumbfounded. They probably cursed me for being uncivilized."

Wang Churan couldn't stop laughing on the other end of the phone, and it took her a while to slowly stop.

"Su Yu".

"Um?"

"No matter what the outcome, you will always be the best Jiang Chen in my heart."

Her voice was soft, but exceptionally sincere.

Su Yu held his phone but didn't answer immediately.

The city of Beijing outside the window was shrouded in a gray haze, with low-hanging clouds, but light still managed to seep through the gaps in the clouds, in streaks.

"Thank you."

"No matter what the audition results are, you have to let me know as soon as possible, okay?"

"Okay, okay, I'll definitely tell you first, my little housekeeper."

After hanging up the phone, Su Yu lay on the sofa in a daze.

Just then, his phone vibrated.

It was a message from Tian Xiwei.

"Brother Yu, how did the audition go today?"

Ever since they became friends at the Shancheng Airport, Tian Xiwei would chat with him from time to time.

However, unlike some fans who add their idols and bombard them with messages, she simply chats with them occasionally and shares her daily life.

Su Yu would sometimes reply with a few words, but sometimes he would forget to reply when he was busy.

Tian Xiwei is very tactful. If she sees that his reply is not enthusiastic, she will end the chat in a timely manner and never pester him.

This perfect sense of distance made Su Yu feel comfortable chatting with her, without any burden.

She asked him when the audition was a while ago, and he gave her a rough time. Today's message is to ask about the result.

Su Yu thought for a moment, then typed a few words and sent them.

"I don't know, we'll wait for your notification."

They didn't tell her the inside story that Hu Yitian was an artist from an investor company.

After all, the two had only met twice and got along well online, so there was no need to say things too explicitly.

Tian Xiwei replied quickly.

"Haha, that's definitely going to work! Yu-ge, you're the best!"

"Then I'll take your good wishes."

"Really, really, I think you can definitely succeed, Brother Yu! I have a feeling!"

"Haha, if it really works out, I'll recommend you to the director so you can play the female lead."

While we were chatting, the screen suddenly jumped, and a phone call came in.

Unknown caller ID; IP address shows Beijing.

Su Yu's heart was instantly thrown into turmoil, and his heart began to race.

"Could this little girl really be right?"