Jiang Lai suddenly screamed and sat up in bed. She ruffled her long hair and rolled around on the bed like a madwoman.
"I forgot to ask for their WeChat!"
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Author's Note:
First friends, then sister, and finally little darling!
Chapter 8
Today, a light rain fell in City A. The windshield wipers were constantly moving, pedestrians on the street were holding umbrellas of various colors, and some people without umbrellas were running in the rain. The milk tea shops were full of people taking shelter from the rain.
Jiang Lai leaned against the car window, looking down at the script in her hands, trying her best to immerse herself in the role.
The car door opened, and Anna, the assistant, handed over two cups of hot milk tea, one for Nan Moxi and one for Jiang Lai.
Jiang Lai took the milk tea, held it in her hands, and felt warm inside.
The driver closed the car door, started the car, and the windshield wipers started moving again.
Anna patted the raindrops that had fallen on her shoulders and sat obediently.
"Anna," Jiang Lai called softly.
"I'm here!" Anna straightened up, as if she had heard an order from her homeroom teacher.
Jiang Lai was amused by her appearance and handed her her milk tea: "Here, have some."
Anna, who came from a small county, was admitted to City A. She is meticulous and conscientious in her work. Her only flaw is her low self-esteem; she is always timid and hesitant in front of people. Yesterday, when she first saw Jiang Lai, she bowed three times in a row. Even though she was two years older than Jiang Lai, she kept calling her "Sister Jiang," making Jiang Lai think she was some kind of celebrity.
Anna was flattered and her bright eyes were full of gratitude. She really wanted to drink, but she still pushed it back: "Sister Jiang, I don't want to drink."
Jiang Lai forcefully shoved the milk tea into her arms: "You're such a bad assistant, you don't even supervise my diet."
Anna pouted: "Sister Jiang, you're not fat at all."
Jiang Lai looked at Nan Moxi beside her, both amused and exasperated: "Sister Nan, look at Anna, she keeps calling me 'sister' and 'you' in such a formal way, she's making me sound so old!"
Nan Moxi: "Anna, Lai Lai is younger than you, you don't need to call her 'sister'."
Anna looked slightly flustered: "What's her name... Jiang Mei?"
"puff."
The driver couldn't help but laugh, then looked at everyone and apologized.
"Just call me Lai Lai, like Sister Nan does."
"May I?"
"Um."
Ten minutes later, the car stopped downstairs at the Kangde Hotel, one of the top five-star hotels in City A. As expected of Director Yu, the scale is indeed different. This is the third round of auditions, and if he passes this time, he will basically be fine.
The audition room was on the 21st floor. As soon as the elevator doors opened, Jiang Lai's heart started pounding.
Although she was determined to get the role, Jiang Lai was still very nervous. She was facing Director Yu, as well as the producer and investors, who were notoriously picky. It was probably because of You Yi that she made it to the final round.
The staff led them to the waiting room, a large suite where several people were sitting, all vying for the role of the second female lead. Many actors who weren't big names but had good acting skills would choose the second female lead role. They firmly believed that the first female lead might be decided by the investors, but the second female lead would definitely not be. Director Yu was known in the industry for looking at acting skills, not star power.
Jiang Lai started to panic. Perhaps You Yi said it was pre-arranged to comfort her, otherwise why would there have been so many rounds of auditions?
However, it was very challenging, and Jiang Lai found it both exciting and novel.
The room was too stuffy, so Jiang Lai took the script and hid in the stairwell. When she pushed open the door, a woman with a slender figure was standing by the window making a phone call. Her curly hair was loose, and Jiang Lai could almost smell the gardenia scent of her shampoo.
"Okay, Mr. Li, don't worry, um..."
After hanging up the phone, the woman breathed a sigh of relief, but when she turned around, she was startled by Jiang Lai.
"Jiang Lai?"
Lin Zhi remembered that this entire floor had been booked by Yu Wei for auditions of his new drama. Could it be that Nan Moxi found a role for Jiang Lai with Yu Wei in such a short time?
"Sister Lin, what a coincidence... Qi Chuan is here for the audition too?"
For some reason, Jiang Lai would feel inexplicably nervous whenever she saw Lin Zhi.
Lin Zhi nodded: "Yes, what are you doing here? Which role are you auditioning for?"
To save time, Yu Wei auditioned for the second male lead and a female role today. Lin Zhi couldn't remember which one, but it might be a minor supporting role. However, even if it was just a minor role, it would be a valuable experience for Jiang Lai to debut in Yu Wei's drama.
"The second female lead," Jiang Lai glanced at the script, "Yu Xin."
Lin Zhi was somewhat shocked, but she swallowed back what she wanted to say. She patted Jiang Lai on the shoulder and encouraged her gently, "Keep it up."
After Lin Zhi left, Jiang Lai stood there stunned for a long time, as if the warmth from her shoulder was still there.
come on!
She cheered herself up.
An hour later, the second male lead finished his audition, and after a five-minute break, the director began the second female lead's audition.
Jiang Lai was second, quite close to the front, but it's good that it's over soon, so she won't have to be nervous for so long.
Next up, Jiang Lai!
The staff called Jiang Lai's name. She took a sip of water and calmly walked in.
Jiang Lai has read this script to death. They live in a small city facing the sea. The second female lead, Yu Xin, is a very strong person. No one dares to bully her at school, but hidden beneath her strength is a heart full of scars. The female lead is similar to her but different. Just like the title "Island", the female lead is always lonely and alone. She is ostracized and bullied by her classmates but does not complain. Yu Xin is like flying in the sea surrounding the island. She is tolerant and protective of the female lead but cannot save her. She and the male lead are both the female lead's salvation. However, the male lead is like a blue whale in the sea. He can take her away from the island, while Yu Xin can only watch the female lead and her salvation go far away and even fantasize about drowning in the sea with the female lead.
This drama is very depressing, with an open ending. You can interpret it as the "blue whale" carrying the female lead to escape the island, or you can interpret it as the female lead sinking into the "sea" and ending her life.
Jiang Lai was moved by the friendship between the female lead and Yu Xin, which in Jiang Lai's heart had long transcended friendship.
Yu Wei had already seen her resume. He originally had no hope for this little actress who got in through connections but didn't have much experience. He was vague to the investors, but he didn't agree to give Yu Xin to her. There were too many students at the Film Academy in City A, but very few that he could really take a liking to, except for the director he admired—Min Xuehua, who was a once-in-a-century genius at the school. Yu Wei had watched every film she directed and even studied them repeatedly no less than five times.
It was precisely because of this famous director that Yu Wei gave the students of the Film Academy in City A a lot of leeway, but the result disappointed him greatly.
Jiang Lai bowed: "Hello, Director, Assistant Director, Producers, Investors..."
"Stop!" Yu Wei interrupted her. "I don't want to hear your flattery. Let's get started."
As expected of Director Yu, he didn't give her a kind look at all, just like before.
Yu Wei: "I'd like to hear your understanding of Yu Xin."
Jiang Lai received the script for the end of the film, in which the female lead, unable to bear the bullying at school, climbs to the top floor alone, and Yu Xin is the first to discover her and rushes to her side.
"I think Yu Xin is very selfish."
These words shocked everyone present. Everyone knew that Yu Xin was someone who would fight against her teachers and classmates for her friends, but Jiang Lai said that she was a selfish person.
Just when everyone thought Yu Wei was about to fly into a rage and kick her out, Yu Wei suddenly laughed: "Go on."
"Yu Xin couldn't see her grandmother's love for her, nor could she see the second male lead's concern for her. She only complained and blamed the world for taking her parents' lives. When she was unhappy, she would take her temper out on the people around her. People at school were afraid of her. In fact, she was also an unwitting bully at school. But she fell in love with someone who shared the same fate, namely the female lead. Although she protected the female lead, she couldn't truly redeem her. She even willingly went with the female lead when she wanted to commit suicide. In my eyes, such a person is selfish."
Yu Xin nodded in satisfaction, then, as if remembering something, asked, "You mean Yu Xin has fallen in love with Jian Ning?"
Jiang Lai made no attempt to hide her thoughts, stating frankly, "It is love, but for them, this love is clean and pure."
The woman sitting to the side clapped her hands: "In my eyes, Yu Xin is exactly as you described. May I watch your performance?"
Although the woman was wearing a mask, Jiang Lai still recognized her. This was Xia Fanrou, who won the Best Actress award at the Hundred Flowers Awards last year. She was as beautiful as her name suggested, like a fairy descending to earth.
Jiang Lai immediately understood; she was the female lead of the play, Jian Ning, and she had come this time as well.
It is a dream for many actors to act alongside Xia Fanrou.
Xia Fanrou stood up, took off her mask, and stood opposite her. Her messy hair and red eyes made her look like a girl who had been bullied.
"Okay, I'll get ready."
Jiang Lai didn't have much time to prepare. She closed her eyes, took two deep breaths, and when she opened them again, she was Yu Xin.
At that moment, she felt as if she were on a rooftop, surrounded by howling sea winds. There was no sunshine that day, and dark clouds covered the sky above.
She saw blood seeping from Jian Ning's forehead, and the ill-fitting school uniform pants couldn't hide the bruises on her legs.
"Jian Ning! Don't leave me." Her voice trembled as she slowly walked towards Jian Ning, the veins on the back of her hand bulging.
Facing the sea breeze, Jian Ning shed a tear: "Ah Xin, I'm so tired."
"I'm tired too. I'm so tired every day. This cramped city suffocates me every day, but you came into my life. I feel like life is no longer so dark. If you leave me, how am I supposed to live alone?"
“You still have Wu Xuezhi. You can still live a good life without me. Leave Haicheng, take me with you, and let's greet the rising sun together.”
She suddenly went berserk, ruffling her hair and kneeling down to beg Jian Ning, "Please! Don't, please don't go."
Jian Ning raised her lips, and that smile was like the rising sun to Yu Xin.
Yu Xin suddenly realized something was wrong, got up and rushed towards Jian Ning. At the moment of falling, she caught Jian Ning completely and they jumped off the roof together.
A thunderous applause erupted, and even the investors shed tears for the two girls.
When Jiang Lai fell, she quickly rolled over and pinned herself underneath. Yu Xin in the drama did the same; even at the cost of her life, she wanted to protect her sun.
Jiang Lai stood up, wiped away her tears, and bowed to Xia Fanrou to apologize.
Xia Fanrou hugged her and whispered in her ear, "Thank you, Axin."
The movie ends here. In Yu Wei's vision, the male protagonist called the firefighters and laid out an air cushion under the roof.
The description of this place is very vague, and even Jiang Lai, who has read the script, does not know whether the air cushion really exists.
Yu Wei handed over a tissue, his voice softening: "Go back and wait for our notification."
Jiang Lai took the tissue and bowed again: "Thank you, Director."
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Author's Note:
Lin Zhi: You actually hugged another woman!
Jiang Lai: I understand, I'll kneel on the washboard right now.
Chapter 9