She debuted after having a child with a celestial being.

Xiao He stood at the entrance of the audition waiting area in the office building, carrying a simple backpack but without a script in his hand.

Yang Yang's assistant led him to the audition room, explaining the situation in a low voice as they walked.

Chen Xiao's schedule is booked until next year, and the investors want to start filming when Liu Yifei's popularity is at its peak, so the male lead must be decided within two weeks.

Zhang Wei revised the script framework for the older woman/younger man romance, setting Gu Qianfan as a military general a few years younger than Zhao Pan'er, saying that he naturally has the temperament of a young general, and playing an older woman/younger man romance perfectly matches the real age difference.

However, Director Yang emphasized that the audition did not consider relationships or the singer's identity, but only whether the candidate could handle the switching between different emotional modes of the same character.

One is the traditional Gu Qianfan, whose aura overshadows Pan'er.

One is a younger version of Gu Qianfan, who admires her, follows her, and transforms all his past pain into the strength to protect her.

Then let him choose one of them to act in a scene with Yifei.

The assistant pushed open the door, and there were more people in the audition room than he had expected.

Yang Yang sat behind the monitor.

Zhang Wei sat next to her, with two annotated scripts spread out in front of him.

One book contains excerpts of Gu Qianfan's lines from the original version, while the other is a character biography adapted from the "older woman-younger man" romance framework.

Producer Wang Yuren sat at the long table by the window.

Zhang Wei pushed two script excerpts towards him and got straight to the point: "Two scenes, one is Gu Qianfan from the original script, and the other is a Gu Qianfan adapted from a romance between an older woman and a younger man. You'll perform both. You have ten minutes to prepare."

Xiao He opened the original version of the script.

In episode 19, after Zhao Pan'er was released from the Imperial City Guard, Gu Qianfan confessed his feelings to her in the carriage.

She had just been waterboarded; water droplets still clung to her temples, and her wrists bore bruises from the rope binding her.

Gu Qianfan sat opposite her, laid out all his concerns, and said, "You are my Achilles' heel."

The other section is an adapted version of a romance between an older woman and a younger man, with a new framework written by Zhang Wei.

Gu Qianfan became a young general who had just been transferred back to Tokyo from the frontier. He was a few years younger than Pan'er and met her while investigating a case at the Imperial City Guard.

He admired her resilience and intelligence, and followed her step by step from a teahouse to Yong'anlou. As they started their business together, feelings gradually developed between them.

Xiao He closed both books.

"It won't take ten minutes. Come straight here."

Zhang Wei pushed up his glasses and glanced at Yang Yang. Yang Yang stopped twirling the pencil in his hand.

Performing two parts in a row means switching personalities within the same character, from a guardian looking down to a follower looking up.

"Okay. Let's get started." Yang Yang placed the pencil in front of the monitor and nodded to the assistant director.

The assistant director was a woman in her forties with short, neat hair, holding a script in her hand.

She stood in the center of the performance area, and Chong Xiaohe nodded—she was there to act alongside him, not to offer any commentary, but simply to recite her lines.

Xiao He took off his coat and draped it over the back of the chair before walking to the center of the performance area and standing there.

He took a deep breath, and when he looked up again, his eyes had changed.

The first scene is the confession in the carriage in episode 19.

His shoulders and back were straight, his chin was slightly tucked in, and his posture resembled a knife sheathed in its sheath.

But his breathing was heavier than before, and the rise and fall of his chest revealed a kind of suppressed urgency.

He looked up at the assistant director, his gaze falling on the non-existent water droplets at her temples, and his Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

She reached out her hand—her fingers hovered in mid-air, as if afraid to touch a bruise that didn't exist.

"I've been wondering whether I should tell you these things."

His voice was lower than usual, with a hoarse quality reminiscent of someone who had just finished a long journey.

It wasn't Xiao He's usual clear voice, but Gu Qianfan's exhaustion and determination after riding back to the capital for days. He knew that once he opened his mouth, there would be no turning back, but he still had to speak.

The assistant director glanced down at the script and read out Zhao Pan'er's lines: "Gu Qianfan, why are you speaking so hesitantly today?"

"Because I'm afraid."

"What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid of you." His fingers gently fell, hovering above the non-existent bruise on her wrist.

"What will you do if they find out you're my Achilles' heel? What will we do?"

As he uttered the last word, his voice trembled slightly, and his Adam's apple bobbed once more.

The assistant director continued reciting his lines: "What fatal weakness? Who is the fatal weakness?"

"You are my Achilles' heel."

He emphasized the word "fatal flaw" very softly, as if afraid that if he said it too harshly, it would come true.

But his gaze didn't waver; he stared straight ahead—those eyes were filled with unguarded vulnerability. The Imperial City Guard, who had been a living Yama for over a decade, was disarmed for the first time in front of someone.

"Cut."

Yang Yang's voice came from behind the monitor.

She glanced at Zhang Wei, her voice low, "His delivery of lines is truly impressive."

Zhang Wei didn't answer, he just stared at Xiao He on the screen.

"Let's jump straight to the second section," Xiao He said. He took two steps back, turned his back to everyone, and paused for about three seconds.

Then turn back.

The same height, the same facial features, but his shoulders were relaxed, and the lines of his jaw were no longer taut.

Gu Qianfan was like a knife sheathed just now, but now he's more like a newly sharpened sword—sharp, but harmless.

The assistant director turned to the second section of the script and read out the first line of the adapted version of Zhao Pan'er's lines: "Gu Qianfan, why are you suddenly saying these things today?"

"Sister Pan'er. The first time I saw you at the Imperial City Guard, I knew you were no ordinary person."

He tilted his head slightly, his eyes filled with undisguised admiration.

His voice is no longer hoarse, but younger and brighter, carrying the sincerity that has not been worn away even after years of military service.

"Because I feel that if I don't say it now, I'll never have the chance to say it again. It's not to repay you for helping me investigate the Imperial City Guard case, nor is it because you took that sword for me at Yong'an Tower. It's because you made me realize that the real battlefield isn't at the border, but in my own heart. I never looked back when I was fighting before, but now I look back every time I leave Tokyo. It's not because I'm afraid the enemy will catch up, but because I want to see if you're on the city tower."

He paused, then pulled out a non-existent cloth bag from his pocket, presented it to her with both hands, his fingers trembling slightly.

"These are three land deeds and four keys—all my belongings. Before, when I was alone, these things were just banknotes and a house. But since I met you, they've become my betrothal gifts."

The assistant director read Zhao Pan'er's response from the script: "Do you know how many years older I am than you?"

"Know."

"Knowing you still..."

"Knowing I still dared to do it. Not because you saved me, not because you helped me, but because..."

He placed a non-existent cloth bag in her palm, then closed her fingers and gently held it.

"You are the only person I want to spend my whole life with. It has nothing to do with age. It has nothing to do with status. It has nothing to do with anyone else's opinion."

The assistant director read out the last line: "From now on, you are not allowed to come back injured again."

"Yes, ma'am."

Yang Yang stood up from behind the monitor.

She took two steps forward and stopped between the monitor and the performance area.

"You've perfectly captured the rivalry between peers and the admiration between an older woman and a younger man." Yang Yang led the applause, her voice not loud but steady. "This role seems to be perfect for you."

Zhang Wei closed the script outline, glanced at Xiao He, and turned to Yang Yang, saying, "I'll start laying out the details for the older woman/younger man romance storyline when I get back today."

Wang Yuren stood up, walked up to Xiao He, and extended his hand: "It's a pleasure to work with you, Gu Qianfan."

Xiao He shook the hand and smiled slightly: "It's been a pleasure working together. Thank you all for your support and for giving me this opportunity. However, please don't tell Sister Feifei about my role as the male lead for the time being."