I don't know why Uncle Liang suddenly asked that, but Jiang Youli replied, “Of course I know him. He was one of the candidates for the male lead in The Gale Entertainment’s previous production.”
However, she had asked Yu Linglong to pull a few strings and eliminate him from consideration.
Otherwise, there was a real chance that Gale Entertainment would cast Zhou Zerui as the male lead in Soaring to Great Heights. She couldn’t let that show become a disaster.
“Yes. It was probably because Gale Entertainment rejected him that Zhou Zerui called me yesterday and said he wanted to audition for the role of the main villain in Aspirations in the Azure Clouds,” Uncle Liang explained.
So that was the reason.
Hearing this, Jiang Youli felt a little embarrassed.
After all, she did feel somewhat indebted to him over this matter.
In a sense, Zhou Zerui had become a casualty of her struggle with Long Yuan.
That was why she had considered making Zhou Zerui the male lead in Starlight Entertainment’s next production, provided he himself was interested.
“To be honest, Zhou Zerui is practically a newcomer. He’s been in the industry for less than two years, but I’ve watched the shows he’s acted in. Compared with Yang Yufan, whom Gale Entertainment ultimately chose, Zhou Zerui has a more natural feel for acting. His performances aren’t so formulaic, so I decided to give him a chance to audition today.”
So that was Uncle Liang’s plan.
Jiang Youli smiled. “Uncle Liang, I told you—the casting is entirely up to you. As long as you’re satisfied, that’s all that matters.”
Liang Shenggui said, “Although you’ve put it that way, Girl Li, I’m still a little concerned. Like Chen Wang, he has quite a few scandals attached to him. But I know Chen Wang personally, whereas I don’t know Zhou Zerui very well. And he previously auditioned for the male lead in Gale Entertainment’s Soaring to Great Heights. Now that he’s been rejected, he’s turned around and considered our Aspirations in the Azure Clouds project. I’m not sure what to make of that.”
Jiang Youli explained, “Don’t worry, Uncle Liang. I had Zhou Zerui investigated beforehand. Those scandals were all deliberate smear campaigns. In reality, there’s nothing wrong with him. Even if you do cast him, he won’t have any impact on Aspirations in the Azure Clouds. Uncle Liang, I trust your judgment. Don’t worry about anything else.”
“All right. If Zhou Zerui passes the audition, I’ll finalize the casting.”
“Mm.”
Jiang Youli was about to hang up when Uncle Liang asked, “By the way, Girl Li, would you like to come and watch his audition?”
She had intended to decline, but then she remembered that the male villain in Aspirations in the Azure Clouds was no less charismatic than the male lead. Since she had no especially urgent work at the moment, she changed her mind and asked, “When is Zhou Zerui auditioning?”
“I scheduled him for eleven this morning.”
Jiang Youli glanced at the time. It was already nine-thirty, leaving her an hour and a half. “All right. I’ll come over later.”
…
Jiang Youli arrived at the hotel where Uncle Liang had arranged the auditions at ten-thirty. Quite a few men were sitting on the benches along the corridor, waiting for their turns.
Most of them were young and handsome, and already somewhat well known in the entertainment industry.
None of them noticed Jiang Youli’s arrival. The three male actors closest to her were whispering among themselves.
“I wonder what Zhou Zerui is thinking. Why would he come audition for Aspirations in the Azure Clouds? Starlight Entertainment wouldn’t want him even in their wildest dreams.”
“Exactly. He’s got so many scandals hanging over him. I even heard he assaulted a director on set. Apparently, he’s practically blacklisted now.”
“He was rejected when he auditioned for the male lead at Gale Entertainment, and he still thinks he can come to Starlight Entertainment? Doesn’t he know that Starlight and Gale Entertainment are bitter rivals now?”
Jiang Youli’s gaze slowly settled on the young man sitting quietly on a bench in the middle of the corridor.
He was alone and silent, as though completely cut off from the noisy world around him.
By then, snow had already begun falling in the capital in November. He wore a white down jacket as pure as snow, paired with black trousers, giving him a strikingly fresh and neat appearance.
There was a maturity about him that seemed beyond his years.
And yet, beneath that maturity was the spirited defiance of youth.
Although people’s whispers reached him from time to time, he seemed entirely unaffected. He simply kept his head lowered, absorbed in the book in his hands.
As Jiang Youli drew closer, she looked down at the book he was holding. It was the novel she had written, Aspirations in the Azure Clouds.
“Jiang Youli! That’s her—the real heiress of the Jiang family, Jiang Youli!”
“I don’t know if it was because I was prejudiced from the start. I thought Jiang Yonghe was the number one talented beauty in Beijing’s elite circles, so how could a girl from the countryside compare? But now that I see her, she’s actually quite beautiful.”
“Being raised by a wealthy family really does make a difference. Still, she’s only been brought back for a little over two months.”
After whispering excitedly among themselves, the auditioning actors greeted her one after another. “President Jiang!”
At the sound of their voices, Zhou Zerui, who had been looking down, raised his head. His eyes happened to meet Jiang Youli’s from across the corridor.
His movement visibly faltered, seemingly surprised by her sudden appearance.
But the surprise lasted only an instant. Zhou Zerui quickly recovered and jerked his gaze away as though he had been burned.
His throat bobbed before he offered a low greeting. “President Jiang.”
Jiang Youli showed no particular reaction to Zhou Zerui’s response. She merely answered with a calm “Mm” and walked into the audition room without a change in expression.
Zhou Zerui watched her retreating figure and silently looked away. But his thoughts were no longer settled.
Inside the audition room—
When Liang Shenggui saw Jiang Youli, he immediately stood and waved her over. “Girl Li, you’re here. Come sit over here.”
Apart from Liang Shenggui, the room also contained an assistant director he had brought in.
Jiang Youli walked over and sat in the place Uncle Liang had arranged for her.
“You came early—half an hour ahead of schedule,” Liang Shenggui remarked after checking the time.
Once seated, Jiang Youli said, “Since I’m here to watch the auditions, I naturally can’t look only at Zhou Zerui’s performance. I need to see the others and compare them. That’s the only way to judge who’s truly better.”
Liang Shenggui readily agreed. “That’s true.”
He then handed Jiang Youli a printed document. “These are the materials Zhou Zerui submitted. You can look them over first.”
“All right.” Jiang Youli accepted the documents.
And so, Jiang Youli watched the actors perform their improvised scenes alongside Uncle Liang.
After watching five actors audition, it was finally Zhou Zerui’s turn.
When Zhou Zerui entered the audition room, his eyes quickly swept over the three people inside. They paused briefly when they reached Jiang Youli.
But he soon shifted his gaze away again and fixed it on the director, Liang Shenggui, seated in the middle.
“Esteemed judges, I’m the actor Zhou Zerui. I’m here today to audition for the role of Mo Jingzhi, the main villain in Aspirations in the Azure Clouds.”
The moment he finished speaking, the assistant director frowned and turned to Liang Shenggui. “Director Liang, why did you allow Zhou Zerui to audition? He has so much negative press attached to him.”
At the assistant director’s words, Zhou Zerui’s hands, which had been relaxed at his sides, unconsciously tightened as he waited for Liang Shenggui’s response.
Before Liang Shenggui could return, Jiang Youli had already spoken: “I agree to let Zhou Zerui audition.”
Zhou Zerui looked at Jiang Youli in surprise, but soon regained his composure.
The assistant director was clearly taken aback by Jiang Youli’s words. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something else, but in the end, he closed it again.
After all, Jiang Youli was the major investor in the production as well as its original author. Naturally, her opinion carried considerable weight.
Liang Shenggui suggested, “Girl Li, how about you choose the scene for Zhou Zerui’s audition?”
