Huayu: Starting with Xiang Yu, the Hegemon of Western Chu

Chen Mo stood there for a long time.

Then he took a deep breath and gently leaned the prop spear against the wall.

He took out his phone and sent a message to Wang Zhiping.

"Teacher Wang, Director Gao wants me to play Xiang Yu."

After sending the message, he thought for a moment and added a sentence.

"Thanks."

Although he knew that if Wang Zhiping said he wouldn't help him, he definitely wouldn't.

Without Wang Zhiping's help, he probably wouldn't even have had the chance to join the crew and meet the director, let alone be chosen by the director to play Xiang Yu.

The message has been read.

But Wang Zhiping did not reply.

About half a minute later, my phone vibrated.

It's Wang Zhiping's WeChat.

There are no words.

There is only one expression.

A thumbs-up gesture.

Chen Mo looked at the thumbs up, and the corners of his mouth slowly curved up.

Then he put away his phone, went back to the dressing room, and began to take off the armor of a Qin soldier.

She was very careful when taking it off, unbuttoning it one button at a time, and then folding it neatly and setting it aside.

Although he won't need to wear this outfit for a long time.

But borrowed things must be returned properly.

That's the rule.

When he walked out of the dressing room, the sunlight outside the film set shone directly on his face.

The March wind carries the scent of new buds.

Chen Mo stood in the sunlight and squinted.

Then we walked towards the gate of the film and television base.

The steps were slow, but steady.

Each step felt like stepping on the ground, as if measuring a piece of land that was about to belong to them.

He didn't know where this road would lead.

But he knew that from that moment on, something had awakened within him.

It's like a fire that has been dormant for a long time.

I was ignited by the phrase "The King of Guanzhong is here."

It's burning now.

It burned brighter and brighter.

......

The news leaked the following morning.

In the film and television industry, keeping a secret is harder than letting a popular star win the Best Actor award.

At 10 a.m., Sun Zhe received a call from the investor.

"Old Sun, there's been a bit of a problem. It seems Gao hope has already cast someone to play Xiang Yu, and it's not one of your people."

Sun Zhe stopped holding the coffee.

"Who?"

"There's someone named Chen Mo, who was supposedly recommended by Chen Daomin. He just graduated from the Central Academy of Drama."

Sun Zhe remained silent for three seconds.

Chen Mo.

He knew that name all too well.

Just a few days ago, this name was trending on Weibo, repeatedly compared to his artist Ji Yu.

He thought this person would only cause trouble for a few days at most before calming down.

Unexpectedly, it turned around and jumped right to my doorstep.

"Is the news accurate?"

"It's pretty much true. Gao hope said it to this kid face-to-face on set yesterday, and a lot of people heard it. And you know Gao hope's temper; once he's made up his mind, not even ten oxen could change it."

Sun Zhe's coffee got cold.

He put down his cup, pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, and his mind raced.

Gao hope's word doesn't count.

The director said it never counts.

In this industry, the ones who truly call the shots are always the ones who pay the money.

"What's your attitude over there?" Sun Zhe asked.

"Don't you know our stance? We definitely support Ji Yu, but you also know Gao hope well. He's very stubborn. Going head-on with him directly will easily strain our relationship. My suggestion is to hold a public audition. Ji Yu was selected through a legitimate audition, so no one can say anything about it."

Public audition.

Sun Zhe's lips curled up slightly.

That's a good move.

On the surface, it appears to be fair competition, but in reality, investors can still manipulate the outcome by slightly tilting the evaluation process.

Moreover, the "open audition" format itself is advantageous to Ji Yu.

Ji Yu is, after all, a popular celebrity with a large fan base and significant commercial value.

Who is Chen Mo? He's an obscure nobody who terminated his contract less than half a month ago. All the buzz he's generated is just from a short video and a few marketing accounts.

The mere difference in their status alone was enough to crush him when the two stood together.

"Okay," Sun Zhe said. "I have no objection to open auditions. But we need to discuss the format of the auditions and the composition of the judging panel together."

"That's natural."

After hanging up the phone, Sun Zhe leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling for a while.

Then he picked up his phone and sent a voice message to Ji Yu.

"Brother Yu, I have one piece of good news and one piece of bad news."

"The bad news is that Gao hope replaced Xiang Yu with Chen Mo at the last minute."

"The good news is that I've arranged a public audition, and you have the opportunity to rightfully take this role back."

Ji Yu's reply came quickly.

One voice message contains only two words.

"Chen Mo?"

His tone carried an incredulity that even he himself was unaware of.

That invisible man walking with his head down in the corridor of Star Entertainment, that loser who was sidelined for four years and whose manager didn't even bother to provide him with a job.

They actually got ahead of him?

How dare they try to steal Xiang Yu from him?

Ji Yu gripped his phone so tightly his knuckles turned white.

Three minutes later, he sent a second voice message.

"When is the audition? I'll get ready."

Upon hearing this, Sun Zhe's smile widened.

Ji Yu has one notable trait: he is extremely competitive.

The more stimulated they are, the more energetic they become.

This was originally an advantage.

The problem is that being competitive and having the ability are two different things.

There's more than one wall separating the desire to win from the ability to win.

However, Sun Zhe wouldn't tell Ji Yu these things.

All he needs to do is pave the way for Ji Yu.

As for whether there are potholes on the road, that's something to consider once you've walked on it.

That same afternoon, Chen Mo received a call from Gao hope's assistant.

"Chen Mo, Director Gao asked me to inform you that the audition the day after tomorrow has been changed. You won't be auditioning alone; another actor will be participating as well. It's going to be a public competition audition, with both of you performing in the same scene, and the best candidate will be chosen."

Chen Mo stood by the window of the rented room for a while, holding his phone.

"Who is the other actor?"

"Ji Yu".

Chen Mo didn't speak.

He is not surprised.

To be precise, from the moment Gao hope said, "You play Xiang Yu," he knew things wouldn't go so smoothly.

How could the casting of core characters in a big-budget drama with an investment of over 100 million yuan be decided by a single sentence from the director in the hallway?

There must be capital, interests, and power struggles behind this.

He just didn't expect his opponent to be Ji Yu.

But thinking about it, it makes sense.

He's a rising star at Star Entertainment and a close associate of the investors; who else could it be but him?

"What was the audition like?" Chen Mo asked.

"The Feast at Hongmen. The scene where Xiang Yu and Liu Bang meet. Teacher Chen Daomin will personally act as his opponent, and the two of you will take turns acting in the same scene with him."

Chen Mo's heart skipped a beat.

It wasn't because I was nervous.

It's because of excitement.

Acting opposite Chen Daomin.

The Feast at Hongmen.

Xiang Yu versus Liu Bang.

If there's anything in the world that can get an actor's blood pumping, it's probably a moment like this.

"I understand," he said.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Mo sat down at his desk and opened the "Records of the Grand Historian," which he had already read so many times that the edges were curled.

Turn to the section on the Feast at Hongmen in the "Biography of Xiang Yu".

Read it again, word by word.

This time, he wasn't reading history.

He was reading Xiang Yu's mind.