Xia Yanxi was calm and composed. Her smile of a thousand suns had only gotten brighter after the ill-remark was thrown at her. Unaffected by the crude comment, she retorted.
“Miss Gu, it seems that you are fixated on the idea that I have been bedded. I do not know from where you heard of this and I shall not speculate the fact that you are insinuating as if you were there in the first place. That aside, if I were as pretty as you say I am, and if I, as you claim that I did, slept with someone for the sake of getting a role, I wouldn’t be here auditioning. On the other hand, you have been, as you said so yourself, famous since you were young, so why are you here with the other students auditioning for a role? With your talents, directors all over the country should be so lucky to have you in their movies! Or perhaps, you have nothing to substantiate your claims…”
Xia Yanxi was done and the crowd turned their eyes onto Gu Yanyan, staring at her begrudgingly.
Clearly, Xia Yanxi had said something to touch a nerve as she was convulsing like an electric toothbrush. If they were not in public, Gu Yanyan would have already smacked that insolence out of her face!
“Enough teasing, we are here for the audition. We compete with our skill in the arts. Only by being picked by the judges shall one be successful! That is all. Hmph!”
Gu Yanyan huffed before she walked away. She let her win this round. Sooner or later, Xia Yanxi would be part of the entertainment circle and Gu Yanyan would have every other chance to teach her a lesson.
Xia Yanxi had never once thought of quarreling in public, but she had been stepped on for far too long. She had had her moments and there was no way she was going to continue letting others step on her head. Even if she were just a transparent sheet of plastic in the entertainment industry, she was still human and no matter how good-tempered she was, she would not let others take her for granted.
***
There were people coming and going from the hall as members of the staff were shouting out ballot numbers. The atmosphere was initially one of excitement and hype, then it became tense and stressful. Xia Yanxi was nervous as well but she did not let her expression convey one single bit of her emotions. She examined her ballot again. The number “nine” stared back at her with a certain glint. Gu Yanyan was number ten and she was lining up right behind her.
When her name and number were called, she put away the crumpled script in her hands, took a deep breath, and walked confidently with her head held high.
She was led onto the stage and a line of judges were sitting below the stage. One of the judges had a familiar face, and when she saw who he was, her heart sank.
‘Why is he here?’
Her eyes scanned the name labels placed in front of her. It did not matter how he managed to be here as the more important question was, why would he be investing in this movie?
Hou Dao, the director of the movie, noticed how rigid she was, and frowned. His eyes, slightly clouded with years of experience, narrowed as he shouted impatiently, “Number nine, please begin!”
“Thirst for Love” depicted the story of a young girl who had fallen in love for the first time. To help the male character graduate from University, the female protagonist had taken odd jobs as soon as she graduated high school. Alas, she was cheated into taking an illicit job as a show girl in a night club. She became a famous figure in the underground world and she had to do something to protect the man’s future, so she had to put on a show to make the man truly believe that she had fallen to the dark side
The script Xia Yanxi had chosen was the part where the female protagonist was confronted by the male protagonist.
This scene was obviously difficult. It was even more difficult since there was no practice partner to act out the scene with. Very few participants had gotten this part.
Xia Yanxi nodded and smiled to greet every judge present. Her face lit up with such brilliance, yet it reflected a plethora of emotions. She took several steps forward, lusciously and suggestively, as to act out the scene, and faced the director, pretending he was the male protagonist.
“Muan! You should know what I have done. If you want to spend the night with me, you ought to name a price!” she said. Not one second later, the smile on her face grew even more luscious and deranged.
“I have no self-love? Well, you’re right! I have always been this way! I love what I do! I love to wake up every morning next to a new man! I love this carefree lifestyle! Xi Muan, I am no longer the same girl you once knew. All I want is money! I want power! If you have those, you can then consider having me. I will make sure that you have the best experience in bed…”
Before she could finish her sentence, she collapsed to the ground, holding her hands to her cheek to act out the scene where the male protagonist had slapped her in the face. Her eyes teared up but a smile was still hanging on her face.
“Xi Muan, you have slapped me well. From here on out, you will walk your stairway to success and I shall stay away from you forever! Do not come back to me! You can never stop me from having my dream life!”
Silence filled the room when she stopped yelling.
The director, Hou Dao, was spellbound from the very beginning, and the ashes on his cigar had gradually accumulated before falling onto the ashtray amidst the silence.