Chapter 79: For the Sake of Art

“Kiss?”

Jiang Xin, who had just entered the audition room ready to give her best performance, was momentarily stunned.

“Problem?”

Zhang Zhongzhi tugged at his beard.

“No problem.” Jiang Xin nodded decisively.

It’s just a kiss.

To become famous, many male and female actors are willing to do anything.

As long as they rise to fame, as long as they gain recognition.

They’re willing to sacrifice anything.

Before some shocking acts, enduring strange glances and opposition from family and friends to film artistic films requiring heavy sacrifices is already child’s play.

Of course.

All of this is for art.

“How do we shoot it?”

Li Luo began to understand the details.

“No lines,” Zhang Zhongzhi tapped the table and continued: “Li Luo, you’re in love with Jiang Xin, but because of her status, you must strictly control yourself and not overstep boundaries.”

“Jiang Xin shares the same reservations, but you can’t control yourself.”

“You must relentlessly pursue.”

“In this scene, both of you have been drugged—figure it out yourselves!”

Li Luo instantly understood.

This was exactly the scene where Duan Yu was drugged by his own father—back then, Duan’s true identity hadn’t been revealed, and he believed Mu Wanqing was his sister, trapped in a torment of mind and body.

Mu Wanqing, unable to withstand the drug’s effects, thus became the one who couldn’t control herself.

To secure the role, Jiang Xin had thoroughly read the original novel.

She quickly recognized which scene it was.

A flicker of shyness passed through her eyes, but more than that, there was determination.

It’s just a kiss scene!

After all, the guy standing in front of her wasn’t bad-looking—this was all worth it.

“Get into it.”

Zhang Zhongzhi said calmly: “Signal me when you’re ready.”

These two actors had just met and were about to perform such a scene in front of others—they’d naturally need some psychological preparation time.

He understood this.

The audition room quickly fell silent, the only sound the faint breathing of those present.

Li Luo wasn’t afraid of kissing scenes, but he needed to figure out how to portray Duan Yu’s state at that moment—to blend longing and inner struggle into one complex emotion; it wasn’t easy.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to draw on Zhang Wuji’s emotional pain and turmoil.

Only ten or so seconds passed.

He gave Zhang Zhongzhi a thumbs-up.

Not long after.

Jiang Xin nodded as well.

“Begin.”

Zhang Zhongzhi signaled the cameraman to start recording.

As the recording button was pressed, Li Luo and Jiang Xin’s gazes met—they instantly slipped into character, showing no trace of shyness; instead, their eyes burned with fire.

The fire grew fiercer, more intense.

The two figures merged as one.

The moment their lips touched, Li Luo recoiled backward, his hands pushing her away.

But he didn’t apply force—just pretending.

He couldn’t let her appear to be the aggressor.

Jiang Xin was entirely different.

Due to height difference, she had to rise onto her toes and wrap her arms around Li Luo’s neck.

She also portrayed an intensely passionate expression.

Li Luo faced her eyes locked onto his, feeling her heavy breaths puffing against his face, kisses raining down like wild drops.

He tried to pull away, but she chased after him relentlessly.

Perhaps it was her first kiss scene, or perhaps she was simply too immersed— even her tongue launched an attack.

That cool, slender tip slipped and danced between his teeth.

“No!”

Li Luo struggled to utter a muffled sound.

“Mmm~”

Jiang Xin shook her head, her movements unceasing!

In her mind, she remembered only Zhang Zhongzhi’s words: “You can’t control yourself.”

So she fully immersed herself in the role, ignoring the audition panel beside them, pressing her body against his to portray the effects of the drug with perfect precision.

The girl’s figure exceeded Li Luo’s expectations.

The elasticity was astonishing.

Now he truly became the one desperately resisting!

This girl.

Too bold~~~

Aside from the actors’ movements, the entire audition room was utterly silent.

The production executives seated nearby.

Watched with great enthusiasm.

The camera operator swallowed hard, his fingers trembling—he now longed to rush forward, drag Li Luo away, and take his place.

“Cough.”

After who knew how long, Zhang Zhongzhi cleared his throat loudly:

“Enough!”

The two quickly separated; the cameraman clearly saw a glistening strand of saliva trailing from Jiang Xin’s tongue.

He immediately bowed his head.

“Sorry.”

Seeing the smudged lipstick on his lips, Jiang Xin apologized quickly, shyly sticking out her tongue.

“It’s fine.”

Taking the tissue offered by the crew, Li Luo said not to worry about it.

After calming down,

Both looked toward Big Beard Zhang.

“Hmm.”

Zhang Zhongzhi said nothing, signaling Yu Min to speak.

After a pause, she first turned to the left: “Li Luo’s performance was solid, but he lacked a touch of longing.”

“As for Jiang Xin.”

She looked at the doll-like face eager for approval, and softened her words: “Your performance was fine, but it would be better if you held back a little more!”

“Thank you, director.”

Li Luo and Jiang Xin both expressed their gratitude.

“That’s enough.”

Zhang Zhongzhi scratched his beard: “Li Luo, thanks for coming today—we’ll notify you if there’s further news. Jiang Xin, stay behind for more auditions.”

“No trouble.”

Li Luo bid farewell cleanly: “Thank you all, I’ll be going now.”

“Good luck.”

He smiled at Jiang Xin again and left the audition room.

Do your best, leave the rest to fate.

He’d given his best performance—whether he succeeded or not was beyond his control.

Still, experiencing such an audition for the first time was quite interesting.

He wiped his lips again.

He found the makeup artist to remove his makeup.

Jiang Xin’s audition ended shortly after; smoke curled gently in the audition room.

Each seasoned smoker sat quietly puffing cigarettes.

“How was it?”

Zhang Zhongzhi tapped the table: “What do you think of Jiang Xin as Mu Wanqing?”

His appearance is acceptable.

He has a bit of baby fat; he needs to lose some weight.

His acting is average.

His costume has problems too.」 Zhang Da thought for a moment and raised his arm: 「Let’s begin the first round of voting.」

As arm after arm rose, Jiang Xin was added to the shortlist.

「Duan Yu.」

Zhang Zhongzhi scribbled on his notepad, then looked at the group again.

Aside from himself, these six others included investors, screenwriters, and the director—all people with some influence—and he needed to consider their opinions to some extent.

His appearance is excellent.

His acting is good, and his physical skills are fine too.

He’s a bit too dark.

Not a big issue; he’ll get fairer with some rest.

His physical skills are indeed impressive; those who don’t know might think he’s a professional stuntman—the fight scenes will surely look stunning.

「Isn’t Li Luo’s experience a bit too shallow?」 The investor representative raised his hand and looked seriously at Zhang Zhongzhi: 「Hu Zi, I know you like him a lot, but we need to consider market response.」

「That’s right—he starred in The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.」

「But that drama hasn’t aired yet; we don’t know how it’ll turn out.」

「It’s hard to say!」

He paused slightly, then continued: 「Leaving aside experience, there are a few other aspects I think aren’t quite suitable.」

「Go on.」

Zhang Da Hu Zi slowly exhaled a plume of smoke.