I just want to sell products, but you're forcing me to perform talents.

Chapter 197 First time discovering, Brother Xian is also a sucker for good looks!

[I mounted my horse at dawn: As for Jia Baoyu's look, I doubt anyone can outshine Xian Ge. And this Lin Daiyu look... hehe, I feel like I could try it too.]

[Riding a pig on the highway: Nonsense, Brother Xian's looks are just average, about one-tenth of my skill. You can check out my Jia Baoyu makeup and styling on my homepage.]

[The wood ear mushrooms turned black, the bananas softened: Seriously, anyone who goes there needs to wash their eyes, it's disgusting!]

……

[Blood in the Chrysanthemum Region: Speaking of which, I feel it would be very difficult to find a real person to portray Lin Daiyu in the two-dimensional world!]

[This old monk is here to read the scriptures: Nonsense, I feel Lin Ying is the most suitable actress to play Lin Daiyu. Lin Ying is very beautiful, and I think her acting skills are perfectly capable of portraying Lin Daiyu's fragility.]

[Sounds of wind, rain, and farts: Come on, Lin Ying is a variety show personality. Do you expect her to play Lin Daiyu, uprooting a willow tree? But she's a master of head-changing; if we find a good body double, maybe she could actually pull it off.]

……

Anime and manga fans have already searched for all their favorite celebrities, and some have even used AI to create head swaps, merging the images of celebrities with those of Lin Daiyu (a character from the classic Chinese novel *Dream of the Red Chamber*).

Everyone has their own preferences, like radishes and cabbages, and no one can convince anyone else. Now, finally, the audition for Lin Daiyu has arrived, and everyone is looking forward to it.

Public auditions are usually found in variety shows and talent shows. Large-scale TV drama projects with investments of hundreds of millions of yuan rarely have public auditions. Some big stars are very wary of this, because being selected is a happy thing, but not being selected would be embarrassing on the spot.

This is no different from a public execution.

Therefore, none of the big stars who were invited to audition had actually officially agreed to audition yet. Ye Xian didn't care. What he discussed with Director Jia was to try to select some performing arts students who were still in school, because they could at least still have some natural naivety.

Among celebrities who have truly entered society, it's not impossible to portray the spirit of Lin Daiyu; it requires exceptional acting skills.

Ye Xian didn't want too much money to be spent on actors' salaries, so he didn't have any expectations for those big stars.

……

"Such a rudimentary audition environment?"

Looking at the bustling construction site, Li Hong almost thought she had come to the wrong place.

Did the investors really invest 1 million?

Aren't auditions usually held at schools, companies, or hotels?

Next to a busy construction site, in a noisy environment, you have to change clothes in a temporary prefabricated house. Who can act well in that situation?

Is the school lying to me?

"Check the number of viewers in the live stream."

Chen Xu, her best friend who came with her, turned on a fast-paced audio player and placed it in front of Li Hong.

"10+"

Looking at the densely packed comments and the constant stream of gifts popping up, Li Hong felt a little dizzy: "Is this Ye Xian really that amazing?"

Chen Xu munched on sunflower seeds, watching with great interest: "That's right. Xian Ge now has over 1800 million followers and has become the most popular blogger on the entire internet recently. As soon as his Jia Baoyu look was released, it immediately topped the trending charts. He was called the 'most handsome ancient costume male god' and the 'most beautiful ancient style youth.' His different Jia Baoyu looks have gone viral."

Li Hong looked at Chen Xu suspiciously: "So, you came with me to the audition just to see your idol?"

Chen Xu paused slightly while eating the melon seeds, then chuckled dryly, "How could that be? I'm here to accompany my best friend to the audition. If you ask me, you're the perfect Lin Daiyu!"

"snort!"

Li Hong, who knows her best friend best, saw through Chen Xu's thoughts at a glance, but she was in no mood to care about such things at the moment: "Sigh, so many people come to audition, they're probably just here to make up the numbers. The lead role will definitely be given to a big star."

"That's not necessarily true!"

Chen Xu continued eating sunflower seeds, speaking with conviction: "Brother Xian has already opened the voting channel, I believe he wouldn't play those tricks."

Li Hong knew her best friend was trying to comfort her, but she still couldn't help but fantasize: "Sigh, if only it were that simple."

Just as Chen Xu was about to say something, Sun Li walked over with a list: "Li Hong? Come quickly for your makeup trial."

Li Hong quickly went over.

Seeing that he had nothing to do, Chen Xu strolled over to Sun Li and asked, "Commander? Is there anything I can help you with?"

Sun Li turned to look at Chen Xu and smiled, "A fan of the late-night snack group? Came with a friend? If you're free, help me maintain order later."

"Okay!"

Chen Xu happily followed Sun Li forward, and soon saw Ye Xian talking to Director Jia.

"Oh my god, we're doomed!"

Chen Xu dropped the melon seeds in his hand: "How can the real person be so handsome?"

After Ye Xian finished discussing the lines for everyone's audition with Director Jia, he looked up and saw a girl staring at him. Ye Xian was stunned.

How come this girl looks so much like the woman I remember?

Ye Xian waved to the other person: "Are you here for an audition?"

Chen Xu was surprised when Ye Xian suddenly called him. He hurriedly stuffed the sunflower seeds in his hand into his pocket and stepped forward, saying, "I came with my best friend. She's here for an audition."

The fans in the live stream were arguing about who would be the most suitable Lin Daiyu, and when they saw Ye Xian suddenly greeting a girl on camera, they immediately got excited.

[Living by the sea and loving to surf: Wow, Brother Xian's eyes are shining!]

[Nationally designated top-tier unprotected waste: Of course! I feel like Brother Xian is about to devour the other person!]

[Abusive postpartum care: Just how beautiful must this girl be to make someone as worldly as Brother Xian lose his composure?]

[Stupidity can be endearing: I never knew Brother Xian was such a sucker for good looks!]

……

Have you studied acting?

Ye Xian asked again.

"I've studied it. I'm in the directing department at the drama academy. Acting is an elective." Chen Xu hadn't realized what Ye Xian meant by asking this, but Ye Xian's next sentence left her speechless.

Have you read "Dream of the Red Chamber"? Do you know anything about Lin Daiyu?

Ye Xian's question made Chen Xu immediately understand what Ye Xian meant.

"Brother Xian, what do you mean?"

"Okay, Sun Li, arrange it for her. Let her audition later."

Ye Xian looked at Chen Xu carefully again before turning to Director Jia with satisfaction: "Director Jia, what do you think?"

Director Jia was also examining Chen Xu at this moment: "Not bad, give it a try."

He understood what Ye Xian meant just now.

Ye Xian is an investor, as well as the author and screenwriter of the original work. His understanding of the original work is definitely deeper than that of the director himself.

However, as a director, one cannot draw conclusions casually, lest others misinterpret them.

Ye Xian is a blogger who hasn't yet adapted to his celebrity status. He does everything very casually, even doing things like public auditions, which are something everyone avoids. He wants to do a live stream of it all over the internet. This kind of thinking from a new generation of young people is something that this old-fashioned person like him can't grasp.

However, he had to admit that Ye Xian's series of actions had made the show increasingly popular, even though the very first scene hadn't been filmed yet.

He could already imagine that when the show was released, there would be no need for any promotion or marketing.

Ye Xian was very satisfied. He had only intended to give the first batch of auditionees a try, but he did not expect to meet someone who was very compatible with him.

Some things are just coincidental. For example, the landlady in the alternate-world version of "Kung Fu Hustle" was accompanying a friend to an audition, and she was immediately spotted by Stephen Chow while smoking a cigarette.

This Chen Xu has an indescribable talent. Ye Xian has never been a director, but no one understands the original work better than him, so he took a liking to him at first glance.

The fans in the live stream now understood what Ye Xian meant.

[A pretty girl picking her toes: Holy crap, what kind of amazing plot is this? A girl who accompanied her best friend to an audition got spotted by Brother Xian?!]

[The cat staring blankly at the fish tank: Damn it, why don't you turn the camera around so we can see what it looks like? That old fox, Xian Ge, keeps us in suspense!]

[Peeing three feet into the wind: Is this scripted? Are they just acting out a scene?]

[Lift your skull: What a load of crap! Once the vote starts, everyone will decide whether it's good or bad. Why are you being so cynical?]

[The person behind the scenes who cooked this shit: Ha, is this even a big deal in the entertainment industry?]

[A renowned poet: Give me a break! "Dream of the Red Chamber" is practically Xian Ge's (a famous Chinese writer) own son. Would you really give your own son an ugly wife?]

……

P.S.: Today's Recap

Haizhou aged liquor inventory: 6005 bottles

(End of this chapter)