Chapter 75: The Unwanted Wu Jing (Please Favorite and Recommend)

"Let's begin," Director Liu Meng said. "Wu Jing, you go first."

He also had his assistant help Wu Jing with the scene.

Following the queue order, it was Wu Jing's turn.

Wu Jing nodded, and the moment the director called action, he began acting.

He came from a martial-arts stunt background and wasn't skilled at dramatic scenes, but after so many years of acting, his performance wasn't bad either.

Add to that his baby-faced looks, and he was passable enough.

At the very least, he wouldn't make people feel this new recruit was unreasonably old.

Before long, Wu Jing's audition ended, and he stepped aside; next was Beside Qi Hui Hui.

"Begin," Liu Meng said without dawdling.

Hearing this, Beside Qi Hui Hui immediately crouched down, wiping his face with the "stream water" on the ground.

A crumpled paper ball flew over, landing in front of him, accompanied by a casual command:

"Slowly stand up."

Beside Qi Hui Hui, bewildered and confused, slowly raised his head, then his expression shifted to shock.

Finally, following the other's words, he slowly stood up.

Through this whole chain of emotions, that clear-headed foolishness unique to college students was on full display.

Forget the director's assistant acting opposite him—even the three directors sitting behind the bench, and Wu Jing himself, all instinctively felt Beside Qi Hui Hui really was a college student.

Which made sense—the kid had only just left school not long ago.

"What do you do?"

"Student."

"If you're a student, why aren't you at school? What are you doing here?"

"A travel buddy."

"Travel buddy?" The director's assistant stepped closer. "What buddy? Where's the buddy?"

"Uh… how do I explain this to you?" Beside Qi Hui Hui scratched his head, his expression turning helpless and caught between laughter and tears:

"There's no buddy. This 'travel buddy' thing… it means traveling."

As he spoke, there was even a hint of superiority in his voice—a college student's superiority.

"Got a student ID?"

"Yeah."

"Directing Department, Drama Academy. Oh, a future big director." The director's assistant acted well, saying it with some surprise and amusement, then Hua Xuanji shifted the topic:

"Why do I feel like I've seen you somewhere before?"

Beside Qi Hui Hui chuckled, spreading his hands with a smile: "You think so too? My classmates all say I look like Andy Lau."

The original line was "I have a common face," but Beside Qi Hui Hui felt that line didn't quite fit him.

Like the "ordinary-looking" Louis Koo, so he switched to a different line.

The director's assistant was also a clever one, keeping a straight face as he said: "Really? Why do I think you look more like Leon Lai?"

"Hahaha… cut." Behind the bench, Liu Meng and the other two burst out laughing and called a stop to the audition.

At this point, it was basically enough.

"Alright, you two, the audition's over. Go back and wait for notification," Liu Meng said with a smile.

Hearing this, Beside Qi Hui Hui and Wu Jing nodded and left the room.

The two chatted briefly, exchanged contact information, then parted ways.

Outside the building, by the car, Old Ling was already waiting.

"How'd it go?" Beside Qi Hui Hui asked.

"Got it," Old Ling said with a smile. "I'm playing Zheng Sanpao."

Hearing this, Beside Qi Hui Hui's teeth ached—wasn't it supposed to be wait-for-notification? That fast?

Old Ling saw his confusion and laughed: "It's just a supporting role. I'm the most famous person among everyone here—of course I could pull it off."

Not only that, his family had also pulled some strings.

Fair competition is fine, but some people can be fairer than others.

……

Office building, inside a room.

Liu Meng sorted through the auditioners' résumé files: "You two, who do you think is more suitable?"

These two were one producer and one representative of the investor side. He, the director, had the final say, but he still had to take their opinions into account.

Especially the opinion of the producer Ji Daoqing—he was deeply rooted in military dramas, and his previous film had only come together with Ji Daoqing's help.

Without him, things would have been very troublesome.

"Director, who do you think are the better candidates?" Ji Daoqing countered.

Hearing this, Liu Meng flipped through and pulled out three résumés, laying them out.

They were Wu Jing, Gu Zhixin, and Beside Qi Hui Hui.

"I think these three have the best conditions."

The middle-aged man in military uniform on the far right glanced at them, thought briefly, and said: "Wu Jing isn't suitable."

"These past few years he's been in a lot of Hong Kong films—either blond-haired assassin or blue-haired Triad thug, or else a mercenary."

"All brutal, violent, kill-a-thousand-images."

"Not a fit for this film."

Ji Daoqing nodded: "I think so too."

Upon hearing this, Liu Meng put away Wu Jing's resume.

"What about Gu Zhixin?" Liu Meng pushed a resume forward.

The middle-aged man in military uniform thought for a moment, then said: "The main purpose of filming this drama is to expand the military's influence, to shape a new image of the military in the new era. I believe the better the appearance, the more it fits this purpose."

Entering the new millennium, the country joined the WTO, the economy began to take off, and everything in society began to revolve around money.

Now that it's peaceful, there's no -ism anymore, and everyone only has money in their eyes.

The saying "good men don't become soldiers, good iron doesn't get made into nails" once again rose to a deafening clamor.

And in recent years, only one "Soldiers Sortie" has been about modern soldiers; the military has grown further and further from the masses.

This won't do!

"I agree with that statement," Ji Daoqing said. "We don't expect a Tom Cruise like in 'Top Gun,' but we still need our own military's standout image."

"Compared to Beside Qi Hui Hui, Gu Zhixin is too old, and his looks don't work either."

"Use a form the people enjoy, deepening the sensory impression of the military, so my suggestion is to pick Beside Qi Hui Hui."

The middle-aged man in military uniform nodded: "He looks more like a soldier than anyone else, picking him is better."

Upon hearing this, Liu Meng took back Gu Zhixin's resume.

Actually, in his heart he leaned more toward Gu Zhixin — he himself came from the Central Academy of Drama, and Gu Zhixin was also from the Central Academy of Drama.

Moreover, Gu Zhixin was also an actor strongly recommended by another investor.

Still, it was only a lean.

"Since that's the case, then it's decided — Beside Qi Hui Hui." Liu Meng said on the spot:

"Get ready to draft the contract."

The military always does things this way — swift, decisive, resolute. He had filmed several military dramas and had picked up quite a bit of the military's style.

……

A few days slipped quietly by, the audition results came out, and Beside Qi Hui Hui succeeded.

He had originally wanted to find someone to celebrate with, but Jing Tian had gone to Yu Province to film, the shooting location at the Jiaozuo Film and Television City.

That place had filmed quite a few TV dramas — the new "Three Kingdoms," the new "Water Margin," and the current "Warring States."

You could tell, they were all dramas with not-so-great reputations.

Little Zhang had also disappeared.

He said he was filming, but Beside Qi Hui Hui always felt it didn't seem like it, because his Weibo updated from time to time — no pictures, but rather some baffling words.

All of them were words about love, about lovers.

Beside Qi Hui Hui figured he had fallen in love.

The only one left was Old Ling, who, taking advantage of these few days, ran to several interview sites.

Just as Beside Qi Hui Hui had predicted, the reporters were super good at stoking the fire.

Before two questions were asked, they very stiffly steered the topic to Yao Chen.

Old Ling faced it with composure, utterly calm, as if he had truly let go — not like a man who had been cuckolded.

And Yao Chen also went from her original no-response to starting to write on Weibo.

Of course, still subtly hinting at something — probably someone was holding her back.

But netizens wouldn't indulge her; all kinds of sharp questions appeared below her comment section.

Ling Xiaosu's and Yao Chen's public opinion was also gradually turning.

Soon, the time to enter the production crew arrived.

Old Ling and Beside Qi Hui Hui boarded a plane and headed toward Su Province.

"I Am a Special Forces Soldier" was a drama spearheaded by the Southeast Military Region, so the shooting location was naturally also in the south.