Chapter 42: Auditioning For The Film
The next day, Liu Man arrived at the Galaxy building just after nine passed, because of what Peach had said.
Galaxy building was the headquarters of Capital City Galaxy Film and Television Ltd. It had 37 floors in total, and the building looked very huge. It could be counted as one of the landmark buildings in the city. Because there were many famous superstars in the entertainment circle who had constantly appeared here, to prevent fans from entering, the security here was very strict. Each entrance had its own security team and electronic door systems.
Liu Man had just gotten near the front doors before a sentry who was wearing a completely black uniform came over to stop her.
“We don’t let any random people go near this building, stay away,” The guard thought she was just another young girl trying to get a glimpse of her idol.
“I’m here for an interview,” Liu Man said.
Coincidentally, Galaxy Film and Television had just finished finding new super-stars-in-trainings, so the guard impatiently said, “Don’t try to lie to me with an excuse. The interviews for new-super-stars-trainees are over, and we haven’t received a notice for new interviewees.”
The guard’s words bewildered Liu Man too. She opened WeChat to confirm that she came to the right place, and told the guard, “Professor Qiu Jing told me to come here.”
The guard’s expressions immediately changed when he heard Qiu Jing’s name. He took a few more glances at Liu Man, “Oh, so you’re here for the audition. Why are you here alone? No one took you here? You came here on foot? Where’s your car?”
Liu Man said, “I don’t own a car, I came here by riding the subway.”
“That’s weird,” The guard mumbled, and said again, “You’re here too early, but that can be good sometimes. Come with me, we need to log in your information.”
Liu Man followed him into the security office and put in her information on a chart. The guard then took out a card from a drawer, “This is a temporary key to the front doors, you can enter now.”
“Thank you!”
Liu Man held the card as she crossed a small plaza before arriving at the entrance of the building. The two sides of the entrance were a huge parking place. There, parked multiple kinds of expensive business cars and Alphard cars. There were even a few sports cars.
At this time, it was when people started to work. A lot of staff members were walking towards the entrance of the building. They all looked very astute and grown-up, and they all had an elite aura on them.
Liu Man mixed into the crowd and got onto the elevator.
As she got onto the 37th floor, she got out of the elevator. As she stepped onto the soft carpet, she looked around her. She realized that she didn’t know how to get to the audition room.
A young woman who walked out of the elevator at the same time turned around to look at her before finally recognizing her. She asked tentatively,
“You are Liu Man?”
“Yes, I am.”
“I remember that Manager Qiu said that they had set the time to 10 o’clock. Why are you here so early?”
Liu Man smiled, “I think it’s better to be early.”
Her smile was a mixture of austereness being a student, coyness, and a bit of discreetness. The young woman, who had been seeing a lot of arrogant and self-centered people lately, had a favorable impression of her.
“Follow me then.”
The young woman was wearing a pair of high-heels which were very high and thin, but she had a really fast pace. Liu Man followed her, taking as huge steps as she could. The young woman kept on walking as she told Liu Man, “I’m Manager Qiu’s assistant, Zhou Xi. I will put you in conference room number four for now, and I’ll depart from you as soon as Manager Qiu’s here.”
“Thank you, sister Xi.”
“There’s no need to thank me, this also counts as a part of my duty,” Seeing how sweet Liu Man could be, Zhou Xi felt very happy.
Zhou Xi knew a lot about Liu Man ever since days ago. Qiu Jing had mentioned her quite a few times, and showed her Liu Man’s photos, so that was why Zhou Xi recognized her within just a glance.
Ever since “Listen, It’s the Sound of the Wind” had been confirmed and was going to start casting, the company had put all its resources and attention on the film. Qiu Jing had put away everything else on her schedule to completely be in charge of this project. Now, all the basic preparations for this movie were done. They only needed to find actors for ‘Ji Ning’ and the second female lead.
The auditioning today hadn’t actually been prepared for Liu Man, but mainly for the second female lead.
Liu Man sat in the corner of the conference room, near the window, as she waited. The conference room was completely visible for people in the hallway since its walls were just transparent windows. The curtains weren’t put down.
Ye Zian and another investor walked over, then saw the girl sitting in the conference room at their first glance.
The girl was wearing a light gray coat. She was sitting in a great posture, her body upright, and her clothes were very clean, without a single wrinkle. Her legs were stuck together and leaned towards one side; her hands were layered on top of each other. Her appearance seemed very natural as if she didn’t pretend at all. And at this moment, she had turned her head towards the window, and her retro hairstyle on the back of her head showed. There were two sparrows standing beside the window sill and had caught her whole attention.
Even if he couldn’t see her face, Ye Zian could still feel that her expression towards the sparrows must’ve been very soft.
“I remember, in the script, that there was a part where Ji Ning stared at the birds outside the window while they had class. This was the exact picture I had in mind,” Ye Zian said.
Beside him, stood a man, who was one of the producers/investors of “Listen, It’s the Sound of the Wind.” His name was Gao Jindong, and everyone in this circle all called him Teacher Gao out of respect.
TL’s Note: Circle as in like industry. But not completely an industry, as it can refer to things that are more secluded at times.
When Gao Jindong was young, he had been a famous male actor. His appearance was orthodox and grandeur, and even though he was over 50 years old, he still looked very graceful. When he was younger, he had been filmed in movies and TV shows about national mountains and rivers with heavy styles. After he collected enough popularity and money, he had gone backstage to become an investor.
Gao Jindong laughed, “This girl looks like she’s come from a decent family. She’s suitable for Ji Ning.”
“The girl Manager Qiu picked out also fits Ji Ning,” Ye Zian.
“That’s why I came here today. To see how she looks like since you two rarely agree on anything.”
Ye Zian checked on his watch, “It’s now nine-forty. All the actresses trying out for the second female lead should already be here.”
The audition for the second female lead had also been set at nine-thirty. Liu Man didn’t know that while she had waited, there had been some famous stars who had arrived here one by one.
Different from Liu Man’s shabbiness, they all had professional drivers drive them in Alphard cars. They also had assistants, makeup artists, and agents following them. The affair seemed ostentatious.
“Uncle Gao,” A surprised voice came from behind the two.
Gao Jindong and Ye Zian turned around at the same time to look at the girl who had spoken.
The girl’s appearance was, no doubt, eminent. She had bright eyes and white teeth, and she looked very excited. She had long curly hair that reached her waist, and the tips of her hair were dyed into a grayish-yellow color. She wore extremely tenuous clothing, even under such cold weather: a ginger-yellow long-sleeved sweater, and a jean skirt. They complemented her long sexy legs.
This girl was called Yang Huayue, and she had just graduated from the Capital City Film Academy. However, she had started to take part in filming ever since her freshman year. At first, Yang Huayue had only acted as some side characters or second/third female leads. She had just stepped into the movie industry a year before. Her first movie had been invested in by Gao Jindong.
Yang Huayue sprinted over, “Uncle Gao, I didn’t expect you to be here today too. Are you here to see me audition for the second female lead?”
Gao Jindong smiled, “Yes, you have to try your best.”
Ye Zian thought: “So fake…”
Ye Zian did hear a few things about the relationship between Gao Jindong and Yang Huayue. Yang Huayue’s father had been Gao Jindong’s best friend when they were children, and Yang Huayue has gotten into the film academy by using Gao Jindong’s social connections. Many TV shows had let her take side character roles because of Gao Jindong too.
Yang Huayue probably thought that movies would’ve made her more famous than TV shows, so she changed and started to take part in movies. Gao Jindong did support her, but the box office hadn’t exactly met expectations, and Gao Jindong had almost not gotten his invested amount back.
That was why Gao Jindong hadn’t been so eager to help Yang Huayue this time. However, the only reason why Yang Huayue had been able to attend the audition was that Qiu Jing hadn’t wanted Gao Jindong to feel embarrassed.
Credits: Sydney & Kathrien
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