On the 16th of November, Lu Ze headed to Shanghai for the interview.
It was quite interesting. Before receiving the system, he’d never gone to Shanghai, but in these past few months, he seemed to be going over every ten to fifteen days. It made him feel as if he was already familiar with Shanghai.
After disembarking from the bus, Lu Ze looked up the company’s address and arrived at the center of Rong Chuang Finance Center. It was as huge as Orange Entertainment’s office though it was different. Compared to the former, this sole huge tower clearly looked a bit more magnificent. After all, it was considered a landmark building.
When he entered the tower, he saw a diagram of the offices scattered in the building. He discovered that the floors were rented by many companies together while only the top floor was completely occupied by a single company.
This company was precisely Qianshijia Cultural Limited.
This was not too surprising to Lu Ze since they belonged to the same family. There was not much chance of Rong Chuang making its own company share space with other companies on the same floor, let alone leasing the space to its own subsidiary.
However, even parents and siblings kept their accounts clear, didn’t they? Thus, Qianshijia couldn’t be exempt from paying rent just because it was a subsidiary. Although they might not have to tangle with paperwork and their rent should be quite low, it wouldn’t be as paltry as a few cents per square meter per day, would it?
Adding on renovations and buying all kinds of equipment and facilities, how much funds did this company have? This aspect made Lu Ze a bit nervous. Wouldn’t the support from the corporation also ought to have a limit?
He took the elevator, which was much more spacious than the one in the office of Orange Entertainment. Even after ten people entered it, it didn’t feel crowded.
The elevator quickly moved. When it reached the eleventh floor, Lu Ze was the only one left. These people were clearly not employees of Qianshijia.
The moment he stepped out of the elevator, he couldn’t help but let out a soft ‘wow’. In his eyes, the entire floor looked spacious, too spacious.
Compared to the offices packed together on the bottom floors with their employees coming and leaving, it was quite peaceful here, which further accentuated the interior and made it look quite grand.
The walls were primarily brown in color. It was neither shiny like gold nor cold like white paint, but it exuded a brass-like feel. This brown color gave off a luxurious feeling yet carried an elegant and low-profile vibe.
The surface he stepped on was made of huge, black, gold-glazed 800 by 800 tiles. They looked quite lavish. Lamps were not placed on the ceiling but at the junctions between the ceiling and walls at an incline of 45 degrees. They gave off a bright yet gentle, natural light, giving the people entering a sense of power and also peace.
Qianshijia’s entrance was an electric door. When Lu Ze stood before the glass door, it automatically opened from both sides. The reception desk was also modeled in the same style, and the receptionist lady was quite beautiful.
“Hello, are you Mr. Lu Ze?” With a warm smile, her soft and pleasant voice would be an absolute pleasure for voice enthusiasts.
“Yes, it’s me. I’ve made an appointment on the phone.”
“Right. The department head has already been notified. You’re the only artist today for the interview. Please wait for a moment. I’ll notify the department.”
Lu Ze nodded his head to show his understanding. Complying with the receptionist’s words, he went to a small conference room. An assistant poured a cup of coffee for him. She then took his actor’s certificate and left the room.
Hengdian’s certificate had no value outside Hengdian, but it had one thing that could be considered a merit. One could log in on the union’s site and download one’s background information, saving oneself from carrying their resume and other minor documents for the interview.
Five minutes later, the assistant returned Lu Ze’s certificate and placed a stamped resume on the table before leaving again.
Lu Ze wasn’t very nervous. He played with his phone for a bit while waiting, but he also didn’t get too comfortable and sat with propriety.
About ten minutes later, three men and a woman entered the room. Lu Ze retracted his phone, stood up, shook hands with all of them, then sat down again.
The somewhat bald middle-aged man amongst them took a sip of water, picked up Lu Ze’s resume, and passed it to the other three. He didn’t go through it himself and began the conversation instead.
“Let me introduce myself first. I’m Sun Lihua, the head of the administrative department. This is Gao Wanzhi, the head of the artist management department. Director Han Chen, as you might know, is a director that has signed with our company, and finally, this is Lu Wenrui, the head of the creative works department.”
Lu Ze didn’t dare to be neglectful. He politely greeted the four of them, then began to introduce himself, “I’m Lu Ze. I’ve worked two years as an extra in Hengdian and am currently working in Director Gu Mingde’s new work ‘My Regiment, My Commander’. I’m well-versed in acting-related skills, and I don’t know how to sing or dance. Thank you.”
The four were quite dissatisfied with Lu Ze’s resume. The biggest problem was his high school graduate background. To become a star, the deeper one’s academic background was, the better. After all, they would be able to give an extraordinary image as a promotion if there was some higher education background.
As for Lu Ze’s other details, there was nothing too big of a shortcoming, but at the same time, there was nothing terribly outstanding either.
As for his features and body configuration, the four were actually pleased. Although according to their own beauty standards, Lu Ze’s appearance, which had been popular a decade ago, was now a bit less popular, it wasn’t as if there was no market for it.
Standing tall at 184 centimeters barefoot and 186 centimeters with shoes, his height was certainly on the taller side in the entertainment industry. The average height of male actors was about 175. Thus, being over 180 was certainly an advantage.
“You say that you specialize in acting skills, but we don’t see any formal education experience in your resume. Can you give us a demonstration so that we can also see and judge your strengths?”
Lu Ze did not hesitate. He had long anticipated that his performance would be judged by a professional. The request raised by Director Han Chen was quite reasonable, thus Lu Ze thought about what kind of acting would impress them. After thinking for twenty or so seconds, he had a plan.
“Ok, Director Han.”
These three simple words instantly terrified the four. They raised their heads and fiercely stared at Lu Ze, feeling completely at a loss. How could a young voice instantly transform into an old voice?
Indeed, Lu Ze was applying his first simulation course of the system—he simulated an old man’s movements and bearing!
As if he was losing air, Lu Ze appeared increasingly withered with every instant. Although his body didn’t change at all, his bearing turned to that of a senile old man.
He picked up the coffee mug with unsteady hands and gently took a sip from the incessantly shaking edge of the mug. At the same time, the corner of his mouth uncontrollably trembled and let out a whizzing sound as he sipped.
As he exhaled, a sigh escaped from his mouth as well. He placed the coffee mug on the table, causing a thump. Thereupon, he placed both his arms on the armrest of the chair, hunched his back, and looked at the four without a word.
The character he exuded was quite strange. The person before them was clearly a 25-year-old young man, but if they didn’t look at his face, they wouldn’t have been able to stop themselves from calling him “uncle”.
The kind of uncle you would certainly give up your seat for…
“Alright, you can stop. Have a rest.”
Director Han waved his hand. Lu Ze instantly retracted his bearing and nodded towards the four. He raised the coffee mug with the swiftness and agility of a young man again, making it seem as if the senile old Lu Ze from just now was merely an illusion.
The four were extremely astonished inwardly. Playing the role of a young person for old people was not that hard, but the converse was exceptionally challenging. Without experiencing aging oneself, one would be able to imitate the appearance at most but fail to imitate the spirit.
However, the old man Lu Ze played didn’t have a trace of abruptness. If one didn’t look at his face, they would not have been able to tell that they were looking at a young man. They admitted that his acting skills were quite good. Even if he could only play an old man, it still demonstrated his intuition towards acting.
Not to mention, he was even acting in Gu Mingde’s work, so Han Chen had no choice but to recognize a guy like him who sought perfection in perfection. For such a director to have chosen Lu Ze, even if it was only for a supporting role, it was an affirmation of his skill.
Based on this demonstration, how could Lu Ze just play an old man?