Chapter 75: The Disliked Wu Jing (Seeking Collections and Recommendations)

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

He had his assistant help Wu Jing run the scene.

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

Wu Jing nodded and began acting the moment the director called "Action."

He came from a background as a martial arts actor and wasn't skilled in drama, but after acting for so many years, his performance wasn't bad.

Plus, with that baby face, it was still passable.

At least it wouldn't make people feel this new recruit was excessively old.

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

"Begin," Liu Meng said directly, without any hesitation.

Hearing this, Qi Hui immediately crouched down, touching the "stream water" on the ground to wipe his face.

A crumpled ball of paper was thrown, landing in front of him, accompanied by a faint command:

"Slowly stand up."

Qi Hui, looking bewildered and confused, slowly raised his head, his emotions then shifting to shock.

Finally, he followed the other person's words and slowly stood up.

Through this sequence of emotions, the "clear-eyed stupidity" typical of a college student was fully revealed.

Never mind the director's assistant acting with him, even the three directors sitting behind the bench, as well as Wu Jing, subconsciously felt that Qi Hui really was a college student.

That made sense; this kid had only just left school not long ago.

"What do you do?"

"Student."

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

"Backpacker."

"Backpacker?" The director's assistant stepped forward. "What kind of donkey? Where's the donkey?"

"This... how do I explain this to you?" Qi Hui scratched his head, his expression becoming helpless and wry:

"There's no donkey. 'Backpacker'... it just means traveling."

As he spoke, he carried a sense of superiority—the superiority of a college student.

"Do you have a student ID?"

"I do."

"Drama Academy, Directing Department. Oh, a future big director." The director's assistant acted well, saying it with some shock and amusement, then immediately changed the subject:

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

Qi Hui chuckled and spread his hands, laughing: "You think so too? My classmates all say I look like Andy Lau."

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

It was like the "plain and unremarkable Louis Koo," so he changed it.

The director's assistant was also a witty person; his expression didn't change as he said: "Is that so? Why do I think you look more like Leon Lai!"

"Hahaha... stop." Behind the bench, the three men including Liu Meng laughed and called an end to the audition.

It was basically enough at this point.

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

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

The two chatted for a bit, exchanged contact information, and then parted ways.

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

"How did it go?" Qi Hui asked.

"I passed," Old Ling laughed. "I'm playing Zheng Sanpao."

Qi Hui felt a toothache upon hearing this. Wasn't it "wait for notification"? So fast?

Old Ling saw his confusion and laughed: "It's just a supporting role. I'm the most famous person among everyone, so of course I can handle it."

Not only that, his family had also put in some effort.

Fair competition was fine, but some people could be "more fair" than others.

In the office building, inside the room.

Liu Meng organized the resumes of the auditionees: "You two, who do you think is more suitable?"

These two were a producer and a representative of the investors. He, the director, had the final say, but he also had to consider their opinions.

Especially the opinion of the producer, Ji Daoqing. He was deeply involved in military dramas, and his previous work was only made possible because of his help.

If not for him, it would have been very troublesome.

"Director, who do you think is better?" Ji Daoqing asked in return.

Hearing this, Liu Meng flipped through them and pulled out three resumes to display.

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

"I think these three have the best qualifications."

The middle-aged man in military uniform on the far right took a look, pondered slightly, and said: "Wu Jing is not suitable."

"He has acted in many Hong Kong films these past few years—either as a yellow-haired hitman, a blue-haired gangster, or a mercenary."

"They are all cruel, violent, and murderous images."

"Not suitable for this show."

Ji Daoqing nodded: "That's what I think too."

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

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

The man in military uniform thought for a moment and said: "The main purpose of filming this show is to expand the influence of the military. It is to shape a new image of the military in the new era. I believe the better the appearance, the more it fits this goal."

Entering the new millennium, the country joined the WTO, the economy began to take off, and everything in society was looking toward money.

Now that there is peace and no ideology, everyone only has money in their eyes.

The saying "Good men don't become soldiers, good iron isn't used for nails" was once again rampant.

And in recent years, only one show, *Soldiers Sortie*, was talking about modern soldiers; the military was getting further and further away from the masses.

This won't do!

"I agree with that," Ji Daoqing said: "We don't expect a Tom Cruise like in *Top Gun*, but we must have a prominent image for our own military."

"Compared to Qi Hui, Gu Zhixin is too old, and his appearance isn't right."

"Using a way that people enjoy to deepen their perception of the military—so my suggestion is to choose Qi Hui."

The man in military uniform nodded: "He looks more like a soldier than anyone else; choosing him is better."

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

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

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

However, it was only an inclination.

"Since that's the case, then it's settled. Choose Qi Hui," Liu Meng said immediately:

"Prepare to draft the contract."

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

A few days passed quietly, and the audition results came out. Qi Hui succeeded.

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

That place had filmed many TV series: the new *Three Kingdoms*, the new *Water Margin*, and now *The Warring States*.

It was clear that these were all shows with poor reputations.

Xiao Zhang had also disappeared.

He said he was filming, but Qi Hui always felt it wasn't the case, because his Weibo updated from time to time—no pictures, but rather some inexplicable words.

They were all texts about love and lovers.

Qi Hui guessed that he had fallen in love.

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

Just as Qi Hui expected, the reporters were super capable of stirring up trouble.

They wouldn't ask two questions before very bluntly turning the topic to Yao Chen.

Old Ling faced it calmly, appearing extremely indifferent, as if he had truly let go, not at all like someone who had been cheated on.

And Yao Chen, who originally had no reaction, began to write on Weibo.

Of course, it was still subtly pointing fingers; someone must have been stopping her.

However, the netizens wouldn't indulge her; all sorts of sharp questions appeared in her comment section.

The public perception of Ling Xiaosu and Yao Chen was also turning around bit by bit.

Soon, the time to join the crew arrived.

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

The show *I Am a Special Forces Soldier* was spearheaded by the Southeast Military Region, so the filming location was, of course, in the south.