Chapter 78: Audition

Facing the scrutiny of everyone’s gazes, Li Luo stood perfectly upright.

“According to the file.”

Hu Zi, sitting beside Zhang Zhongzhi, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and sporting a slicked-back pompadour, flipped through the papers on the desk and began first: “You’re Lin Pingzhi from The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, right?”

“That’s right.”

Li Luo answered plainly and directly.

Zhang Zhongzhi flicked away ash with a wave of his hand and added: “Xiao Luo played it well—he captured Lin Pingzhi’s essence.”

“Yes.”

“I remember.”

“He did a good job.”

With Hu Zi’s comment, the others perked up.

When they recognized an actor, everyone would chat a bit to help them relax.

“I’m Yu Min.”

Hu Zi tried to keep reading but found the file ended—he looked up at Li Luo: “You’re the director of this drama. Besides Lin Pingzhi, what other acting experience do you have?”

The file in hand was far too sparse.

Just Lin Pingzhi and a Beijing Film Academy student.

Even though Hu Zi said he was good, Hu Zi couldn’t help feeling uneasy.

The others also flipped through their own files.

All of them were murmuring internally.

“Director Yu, hello.”

Li Luo blinked once and nodded: “There’s a drama currently filming in Huairou—Lai Shuiqing’s The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber—I’m playing Zhang Wuji.”

The moment he spoke, a few coughs broke out in the audition room.

Mentioning The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber meant this wasn’t some low-budget indie project—only major funding could pull it off.

They all knew Lai Shuiqing—he was a well-known director in the industry.

As for credentials,

he utterly crushed Yu Min!

They’d assumed this kid was some newcomer, only for him to suddenly claim he was the male lead—leaving several people stunned.

“You people need to be more professional.”

Zhang Zhongzhi’s expression turned stern. He raised a hand and sharply tapped a nearby crew member: “What are you all doing? Is it really that hard to collect basic actor information?”

These people had been busy shooting or prepping new dramas lately.

Not knowing the details was understandable.

But I gave instructions days ago—how could basic info still be wrong? This is disrespectful to actors—and it’s slapping me in the face!

“Forget it.”

Yu Min smoothed things over, handing out a sheet of lines: “Try this scene.”

He took the paper.

Li Luo quickly scanned the few lines written on it.

“Oh?”

He looked at the gold-rimmed-glasses-wearing Hu Zi: “Duan Yu stealing the horse?”

“Correct.”

Yu Min nodded and added: “Let me know when you’re ready.”

Hearing those words,

a faint smile appeared on his face.

At least the director had the right attitude—some actors never even read the original novel.

“Mm.”

Li Luo silently recited the lines several times, closed his eyes, and guided himself into performance mode. Within seconds, he opened his eyes again.

His entire demeanor grew gentler.

“Begin.”

Yu Min glanced at the script and read calmly: “How dare you steal my Black Rose?”

“I’m not your servant.”

Li Luo frowned, indignant: “Whether I stay or leave depends on my mood—it’s not running away.”

His pace was slightly faster than usual.

He sounded urgently anxious.

After all, Duan Yu was rushing to save someone.

“As for the Black Rose!” He glanced sideways, his tone hesitant: “I borrowed it from you before—I haven’t returned it yet.”

“So?”

“It’s not stealing!”

His tone shifted instantly from hesitation to smooth confidence, his eyebrows lifting with a touch of pride.

Zhang Zhongzhi nodded repeatedly, listening.

The rhythm was perfect—he nailed the smug, defiant arrogance perfectly.

“Still making excuses?”

Yu Min continued the scene: “Tell me, who are you? How dare you defy me again and again?”

“I’m someone who cares about a friend’s safety.”

Li Luo glanced at the script, stepped forward, and his expression turned serious: “If you treat me with courtesy, I would never defy you!”

“Draw your blade.”

Yu Min scratched his beard, watching him with approval.

“Gulps~”

Li Luo imagined a blade at his throat, swallowed hard, lifted his chin slightly in fear.

Yet his eyes remained resolute.

“Enough.”

Yu Min nodded and clapped gently: “Well done, thank you, Li Luo.”

A scattered round of applause echoed in the audition room.

Whether he could do it—

one scene was enough to tell.

“Thank you, Director Yu. Thank you all.”

Li Luo relaxed, instinctively bowed his hands in thanks.

Though only a few lines, maintaining such intense focus was exhausting.

“For action scenes,” said the burly man in the back, rubbing his big nose as he grinned at Li Luo: “No need to test—he moves sharp and clean. This won’t challenge him at all.”

The man was Zhao Jian, the action director of The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.

He was big and rugged.

His laugh was simple and warm, but his serious face was terrifying.

Zhao Jian once played Fei Bin, Zuo Lengchan’s junior disciple in The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, killed by Mo Da’s sword when he tried to exterminate Qu Yang and Liu Zhengfeng.

He was also a seasoned action choreographer.

In past productions, Li Luo had trained with Yuan Bin and him a few times.

They were familiar with each other.

Though he said that, since others were present, Zhang Zhongzhi still asked Li Luo to demonstrate.

A folding fan lay nearby—Zhao Min had a fight scene using a fan, and Li Luo had learned two moves from Yuan Bin. He casually picked it up.

Snap—he opened it.

Then turned the fan into a sword—flicking, sweeping, thrusting—moves so swift they dazzled the eye.

Normal action auditions were extremely simple:

Just check coordination, ask if they exercise, and most actors just mimic moves on the spot—or worse, strike poses.

Someone like Li Luo who could perform a full sequence was rare.

“Enough.”

Zhang Zhongzhi thought of something else and tapped the table with his finger toward a crew member: “Bring in Jiang Xin. Li Luo, do another scene with her—see how the chemistry feels.”

Auditions are all about testing everything.

No one turned away.

Soon after, 19-year-old Jiang Xin was brought in.

At this point, she was still unknown.

She started acting young, a child star; after failing the Central Academy of Drama entrance exam, she stayed in Beijing as a “Beijing drift,” and by chance connected with a drama director from The Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils crew.

That’s how she got the audition for Mu Wanqing.

Having endured hardship since childhood, she was extremely cautious.

Upon entering, she bowed deeply, repeatedly.

Seeing her look, Zhang Da raised his eyebrows distinctly, whispered a few words to Yu Min, and discussed the scene the two would perform next.

“How about this.”

After a few quick words, Zhang Zhongzhi looked at the two standing before the camera and said bluntly:

“You two, kiss each other.”