Hearing Director Liang Shenggui say this, Zhou Zerui, who was standing in the middle of the room, couldn’t help glancing at Jiang Youli.
Jiang Youli immediately became interested. “Sure.”
She wanted to see whether Zhou Zerui could withstand the test she was about to give him.
When Zhou Zerui realized that Jiang Youli was going to set him an audition challenge, his expression shifted slightly. Nevertheless, he maintained his composure and waited for her prompt.
Jiang Youli thought for a moment. “In A Dream of Qingyun, there’s a scene involving the villain Jing Mozhi. At the end, he continues to believe that everything he did was to give impoverished scholars across the realm a fair chance in the imperial examinations. He never believes that he did anything wrong. Perform that scene.”
“All right.”
After saying this, Zhou Zerui closed his eyes.
A while later, he opened them again, and his entire gaze had changed.
It had become obsessive and fanatical.
Rather than reciting the novel’s lines verbatim, he had adapted them slightly according to his own understanding, making them more natural for an actor to deliver.
“I’m not wrong. I haven’t been wrong from beginning to end. I haven’t forgotten my original intention. What I want to do is give the impoverished scholars of the realm a fair chance to sit for the imperial examinations!”
“As long as I become emperor, I’ll be the one who decides what fairness is!”
“Jiang Xiaoye, I thought you would understand me. Unfortunately, even in the end, you still chose his side.”
“The only person who can take my life is me. It can’t be you.”
“You gave me my life. I don’t want you to be the one to take it away. I can’t do that to you.”
At the end, the villain Jing Mozhi suddenly plunged a dagger into his own heart. He slowly collapsed to the ground and closed his eyes, a smile filled with disappointment and helplessness still lingering at the corners of his mouth.
The performance was over.
Jiang Youli was completely absorbed in it.
Uncle Liang had been right. Zhou Zerui truly had a gift for acting. He had no fancy techniques—he relied entirely on his natural talent to enter character in an instant. His unrestrained emotions were so infectious that anyone watching would be affected.
“We’ll take him,” Jiang Youli said directly. “Director Liang, cancel the remaining auditions.”
Liang Shenggui also came back to himself. “All right!”
Even the assistant director, who had initially thought it inappropriate to let Zhou Zerui audition, had been thoroughly won over by his performance.
Zhou Zerui, who was still lying on the floor, heard Jiang Youli’s decision and immediately scrambled to his feet, his eyes filled with hope.
Jiang Youli had come here for one simple reason: to watch Zhou Zerui’s audition in person. Once she confirmed that he had passed, she asked Liang Shenggui, “Uncle Liang, how much longer will the rest of the casting process take?”
Liang Shenggui thought for a moment before answering, “At the current pace, at least another two months or so.”
Jiang Youli merely responded, “All right.”
She didn’t say anything more because she knew exactly what Feng Entertainment was planning. To ensure that its company’s new drama, Soaring to Great Heights, premiered before its competitor’s A Dream of Qingyun, Feng Entertainment would certainly try to save as much time as possible during the remaining casting process.
Jiang Youli quietly considered the matter. She planned to take this opportunity to have Ye Ying investigate the entertainers in the industry who might be exposed in scandals, then find a way to push them into the cast of Soaring to Great Heights.
That way, the production team would be like a basketball team assembled from a collection of problem players—full of trouble and headaches.
At the thought, the corners of Jiang Youli’s lips curved into a faint, barely perceptible smile. Then she said to Liang Shenggui, “I’ll leave the rest of the casting to you, Uncle Liang. There’s no need to rush. Quality is what matters most.”
Liang Shenggui naturally understood what Jiang Youli meant. He nodded solemnly. “I understand.”
Jiang Youli rose from her seat and left the audition room.
As she passed by Zhou Zerui, their eyes met briefly by chance.
At that moment, Liang Shenggui spoke up. “Zhou Zerui, you heard President Jiang just now, didn’t you? Congratulations. You’ve officially been cast. Go home and prepare yourself. We’ll notify you when it’s time to join the production.”
Zhou Zerui replied, “All right. Thank you, Director Liang.”
Jiang Youli turned and left, casually brushing a little dust from the back of her clothes as she went.
Once he stepped out of the room, Zhou Zerui’s gaze fell on Jiang Youli’s retreating figure.
After hesitating for a moment, he finally made up his mind and hurried after her.
Just as Jiang Youli was about to open the car door and get in, Zhou Zerui took a deep breath, gathered his courage, and called out loudly, “President Jiang, please wait!”
Jiang Youli stopped and slowly turned around. A trace of confusion appeared in her eyes. “If this is about filming, you can ask Director Liang directly…”
However, Zhou Zerui interrupted her. With a serious expression, he said, “It’s not about the filming, President Jiang. I heard that… you know medicine. Is that true?”
Jiang Youli stared at him in confusion. “Are you sick?”
The moment the words left her mouth, she realized they could be misunderstood, so she rephrased them. “Are you ill?”
Zhou Zerui shook his head and explained, “It’s not me. It’s my uncle. For the past three years, his consciousness has often become hazy, and his memory has been getting worse. Sometimes, he doesn’t even recognize me. And over the past six months, he’s been falling into deep sleep more and more frequently.”
He paused before continuing, “I know it’s rather presumptuous of me to come to you like this out of the blue, but I heard that your medical skills are extraordinary. You even said you could cure the leg condition of the eldest young master of the Qi family, something doctors across the country had been helpless against.”
Hearing this, Jiang Youli replied with an amused, enigmatic smile, “But my consultation fee isn’t cheap.”
Zhou Zerui had clearly prepared for this. Without hesitation, he said, “I can act in this drama for free!”
His words failed to move Jiang Youli. “You should understand that working for free isn’t really meaningful compensation to me. After all, how many entertainers are desperate to land a role in A Dream of Qingyun?”
Zhou Zerui fell silent, seemingly at a loss for how to respond.
Seeing this, Jiang Youli smiled. “I was only teasing you. I’ve been a little busy lately. When I have time, bring me to see your uncle and let me examine his condition. If I can treat him, I’ll name a consultation fee you can afford.”
The disappointment in Zhou Zerui’s eyes instantly gave way to eager anticipation. “Thank you, President Jiang!”
After getting into the car, Jiang Youli watched Zhou Zerui’s figure grow smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror. Then she lowered her head and looked once more at the profile Uncle Liang had given her.
Twenty-two years old.
Perhaps because she had recently been helping Qi Huan search for his younger brother, she had become especially attentive to men’s ages, birthdays, and family backgrounds.
Zhou Zerui was the same age as Qi Huan’s younger brother.
The only difference was that their birth months were one month apart.
Qi Yue had been born in August.
Zhou Zerui had been born in September.
And yet, from a certain angle, Zhou Zerui really did resemble Qi Huan somewhat.
Could it be that the real Qi Yue was far away and yet right before her eyes?
With that in mind, she drove straight back to the office. Once there, she returned to her desk, picked up the mouse, and opened the file on Zhou Zerui that Ye Ying had sent her earlier.
According to the file, Zhou Zerui had no parents and only an uncle who made a living collecting scrap. The uncle had told others that he found Zhou Zerui beside a trash bin while out collecting recyclables.
The claim that he had no parents was highly suspicious as well.
Perhaps she could find out the truth by meeting this uncle of Zhou Zerui’s.
