Chinese Entertainment: Top-Tier Boyfriends of Young Actresses

Su Yu stared at the unfamiliar number on the screen, his heartbeat unusually clear in the quiet rented room.

The IP address showed Beijing, and the caller ID did not display any name.

He took a deep breath and answered the phone.

"Hello, is this Su Yu? I'm Dai Lu."

Su Yu sat up straight instinctively: "Hello, Mr. Dai, I'm Su Yu. Have the audition results been released yet?"

"That's right." Dai Lu on the other end of the phone replied crisply and decisively, without any unnecessary formalities.

"After discussion, we have decided to invite you to play the role of Jiang Chen in 'A Love So Beautiful.' When can you come to sign the contract?"

Hearing Dai Lu's definite answer, Su Yu's heart still couldn't help but beat faster.

After all, this is his first leading role in two lifetimes.

Su Yu took a deep breath, trying to keep his tone calm.

"Thank you all for your appreciation. I can come to sign the contract tomorrow."

"Okay, then tomorrow at ten o'clock, at the same place as today's audition."

"Okay, I'll be there on time."

The moment the call ended, Su Yu stood there holding his phone, then suddenly swung his fist downwards.

"Yes! Yes!"

Su Yu was overjoyed; he had won this role entirely on his own merits.

Without a cost-effective strategy or company support, he directly defeated the male lead originally chosen by the investors.

It's incredibly valuable.

"It was totally worth the money I spent on hiring an acting coach these past few days, it was so worth it."

These past few days, he's been going to the acting teacher's place all the time, going over Jiang Chen's key scenes over and over again. In the end, the teacher got scared of him and would reflexively rub his temples whenever he saw him push the door open.

Fortunately, they managed to win in the end.

He calmed his breathing, picked up his phone again, opened WeChat, and entered Tian Xiwei's chat window.

The chat history was still stuck on the previous sentence, "Then I'll take your good wishes." He tapped the screen a few times with his finger.

"The production company just called me."

The message was sent and received a reply in less than three seconds.

"How did it go? Did you get it?"

Su Yu stared at the line of text, smiled, and typed a reply:

"It's a pity we didn't win."

"Huh? How could this happen!"

"What a pity..."

"It's okay, Brother Yu. It's their loss that they didn't choose you. You're so talented, there will definitely be better roles waiting for you in the future!"

"Let me tell you, this production team has terrible taste. Missing out on you is the biggest mistake of their lives!"

"Brother Yu, don't be sad. Really, you are the best Jiang Chen in my heart."

Su Yu looked at the string of messages popping up rapidly and finally couldn't help but laugh.

"Haha, just kidding. Actually, they notified me that I passed the audition and I'll be signing the contract tomorrow."

There was a long silence on the other end, then messages started bombarding the screen.

"Hmph! How could you be like this!"

I was truly heartbroken for you just now!!!

"Do you know how many words I typed?!"

"fraud!!!"

On the other end of the WeChat message, Tian Xiwei threw her phone onto the bed, her face puffed up like a steamed bun.

She was genuinely heartbroken for Su Yu, and her mind was even searching for casting announcements from other production teams for him. Turns out, he was just lying to her.

She grabbed her phone and glanced at the message "Just kidding" on the screen again, so angry she wanted to punch him through the screen.

But she still typed "congratulations" in the end.

"Congratulations on landing this role."

She thought to herself: After all, you are such a good person.

Su Yu smiled and exited the chat window. He found Huo Xiaolan's number in his contacts and dialed it.

"Hey, Sister Huo, I need to tell you something."

"I already know what you're talking about."

Huo Xiaolan's voice sounded a little off on the phone; she seemed somewhat angry.

Su Yu was taken aback: "Huh? Sister Huo, you already knew?"

"Yes, Song Jiawen told me when she came back."

Huo Xiaolan's tone was somewhat urgent, "Su Yu, you too, we're all from the same company, there's no need to do this. After all, we still have to survive in this industry, tearing things apart won't be good for anyone. Why don't you come over and say hello to him—"

"Stop, Sister Huo," Su Yu interrupted her. "That's not what I meant. I wanted to say that I passed the audition."

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

"Hmm? You auditioned? For the male lead?"

"Yes, Jiang Chen, the male lead of 'A Love So Beautiful'." Su Yu paused. "By the way, what were you about to say?"

"It's nothing." Huo Xiaolan's tone changed instantly.

"What were you saying about Song Jiawen just now?"

"I told him to apologize to you. He's so petty. I'll go and talk to him properly later."

Su Yu was immediately amused, not expecting this Hunanese to be even more good at changing his expression than he, a Sichuanese.

"It's alright. By the way, Sister Huo, the contract signing is at ten o'clock tomorrow. Could you arrange for someone to go with me to discuss the contract details then? This time, we don't need to lower the price."

"Okay, I'll go with you tomorrow and help you negotiate a good price."

After hanging up the phone, Huo Xiaolan leaned back in her office chair and stared blankly at the artist information on the table for a long time.

The reason she recommended the audition for "A Love So Beautiful" to Su Yu was to temper his arrogance.

After all, Su Yu is too opinionated; from signing the contract until now, he has made every decision himself.

He decided to lower the price to secure the role in "Forensic Doctor Qin Ming," he decided to reject those low-end endorsements, and he even arranged for the additional acting lessons before this audition.

She hopes that the artists under her management will be more obedient, and at least consult with her before making decisions.

So they wanted Su Yu to run into some obstacles and suffer some hardships.

Unexpectedly, this person actually defeated the pre-selected male lead.

Those are the investors' own people.

It's said that they went through layers of auditions, but frankly, it was just a formality. The candidates were pretty much decided long ago, and everyone in the industry knows that.

As a result, Su Yu managed to snatch the male lead role from the other party.

Huo Xiaolan picked up Su Yu's information from the table and turned to the page with his works.

Lin Tao from "Forensic Doctor Qin Ming", Hu Qing from "General and I", and now Jiang Chen from "A Love So Beautiful".

Having been in the industry for less than a year, I've already played three different roles, taking one step at a time.

She closed the document, picked up her phone, and sent a message to Su Yu.

"We're meeting at the company at nine tomorrow, don't be late."

After sending it, she thought about it again and added a sentence.

"Well done."

In the rented room, Su Yu saw the last message Huo Xiaolan sent, smiled, and put his phone on the coffee table.

The city outside the window had completely darkened, and the light from the streetlights shone through the beige curtains, casting a blurry, warm glow on the ceiling.

He lay down on the sofa and stared at the ceiling.

In his past life in the lab, his greatest achievement was producing a beautiful electrophoresis band. His mentor said, "This band is running well," and he was happy for a whole week.

He landed the lead role in a TV series, beating out the investors' pre-selected candidate, and he's going to sign the contract tomorrow.

I've changed my way of living.

He rolled over and rested his head against the sofa cushions, unable to suppress the corners of his mouth from his mouth.

My phone vibrated again. It was a message from Tian Xiwei, containing only one sentence.

"I knew you were the best, Yu-ge."

It was followed by a cat giving a thumbs-up emoji.

Su Yu looked at the cat giving a thumbs-up and smiled.

"She's quite cute, just like you."

Just after replying to the message, something suddenly flashed through my mind, as if I had forgotten something.

He frowned and thought for a moment, but couldn't remember.

What is it that is so important?

"Oh no, I notified everyone, but I forgot to tell my girlfriend."