The Peak Competition of Beauty and Acting (4)

Director Chen seemed to like this suggestion. "Sure. You can help him with the emotions, and we can see how it goes."

Lin Ran got up from his chair and walked over to Xu Qichen. He was quite tall, standing at 187cm as originally planned by Xu Qichen, and now he regretted it a little because the man's presence was truly overpowering.

"You recited your lines very well. Shall we continue with that monologue?"

Xu Qichen nodded. "Sure, we can do that."

He didn't have the ability to improvise on the spot, but luckily, the previous monologue had already created a scenario and emotional foundation for him. If Lin Ran were to choose a later scene with a stronger emotional outburst, Xu Qichen knew he wouldn't be able to get into the right state of mind immediately.

Lin Ran was incredibly skilled in his craft, and his facial expressions changed in an instant. He transformed into the character of Nan Ke, his smile bright and his French fluent.

"Bonjour, monsieur. You just ordered an iced mocaccino. Is there anything else you need?"

Xu Qichen realized that the setting was in France for this flashback. His eyes met Lin Ran's, and he involuntarily nodded, then quickly shook his head. However, neither he nor Ji Mengze could speak French, so he had to skip the short lines that were supposed to be there.

"Very well. That would be 2.25 euros."

Lin Ran's non-tangible performance was excellent. He had the perfect curve in his smile, completely embodying a skilled barista. Xu Qichen reached into his pocket, fumbling around.

A subtle sense of embarrassment remained on his face, which the director and screenwriter sitting below noticed. In fact, this kind of scene, where he had his first conversation with his crush, required just the right amount of awkwardness.

Xu Qichen extended his arms, and Lin Ran naturally opened his palm. A pink, crystal-clear candy dropped into his hand.

Lin Ran, who had a perfect work ethic, almost burst out laughing.

"Alright, please wait a moment." Lin Ran walked over to the side, busying himself with the coffee-making process.

Xu Qichen looked down at his own feet, then glanced at the side of Lin Ran's face, replacing the French lines with Chinese.

"Are you French?"

Lin Ran continued "making" the coffee while answering, "No, I'm Chinese. I'm here studying."

"Really?" Xu Qichen's tone carried a hint of surprise.

Lin Ran turned his head to look at him, and the two of them shared a smile. He picked up a disposable cup from a small table next to him and walked over to Xu Qichen, extending it to him with both hands.

"Here's your coffee."

His fingers were long, and when Xu Qichen reached out to take the cup, he accidentally brushed against Lin Ran's fingers. Lin Ran looked at him with direct and intense eyes, like the July sunshine.

In that moment, Xu Qichen felt a deep sense of unease from the depths of his heart. He couldn't explain why, but this feeling was terrifyingly familiar. His palm became slightly sweaty, and his hand trembled slightly as he took the cup.

"Thank you."

Xu Qichen turned around, and the next scene was him leaving the café. He walked slowly, as if his shoes were actually touching the melted asphalt road.

"Will you come tomorrow?"

Xu Qichen turned his head abruptly, and Lin Ran scratched the back of his head. "I mean, there's an event at the café tomorrow. It's summer, so we have a buy one get one free offer on cold drinks."

The way he said "summer" sounded like he was whispering sweet nothings.

"You can also bring your friends, it's a great deal."

Xu Qichen looked at him, his tone sincere. "But I don't have any friends."

As soon as he said those words, Xu Qichen regretted it and wanted to bite his tongue. That wasn't in the script. Clearly, he still lacked experience, and he was starting to blur the lines between reality and drama.

Lin Ran paused for a moment, but it was only for a brief moment. He walked around the nonexistent counter and stood in front of Xu Qichen, extending his hand towards him.

Xu Qichen also froze, looking up at Lin Ran who was half a head taller than him. He had a mix of manly and boyish qualities. The smile on his face was incredibly genuine, almost making Xu Qichen forget that this was acting.

After hesitating, Xu Qichen extended his hand, which was quickly and firmly grasped by Lin Ran.

"Now you have someone."

"Come tomorrow and 'll treat you to an iced mocaccino."

"Okay."

As soon as Director Chen Anping called for a stop, Xu Qichen immediately pulled his hand back and thanked Lin Ran again. Lin Ran returned to his seat with his usual smile.

Qu Qing's expression was different from when she came in initially. She genuinely smiled at Xu Qichen, but he wasn't sure if she treated the other auditionees the same way. Director Chen Anping's expression didn't change much.

They exchanged a few brief words, and Xu Qichen left the room.

As soon as he stepped out, Li Yun approached him. "How did it go? You stayed for quite a while."

Xu Qichen showed no expression and honestly replied, "I did a monologue and a scene, but they didn't say anything."

There was a hint of disappoitnment in Li Yun's expression, but she already expected it. This opportunity was highly sought after, and the people auditioning were well-known actors. Ji Mengze's biggest advantage was his good looks and popularity, which many investors were eyeing.

However, for a film like this, his shortcomings were enough for the director to reject him.

Li Yun patted Xu Qichen's shoulder symbolically. "Regardless, it's good to give it a try. There will be more opportunities in the future."

Xu Qichen didn't really hear Li Yun's words. He was in conversation with 0901.

"0901, these characters are all system-generated roles. Can you read their thoughts?"

0901 calmly replied, "In theory, I can, but it would require you to pay 5,000 points as an exchange."

5,000? He only had 400 points now.

Xu Qichen gave up on the idea of using the system AI to find out the truth.

0901 added, "But Mr. Xu, I think your acting is quite good."

Xu Qichen smiled bitterly, realizing that his acting skills were limited to these unrequited love scenes...

When he came back to his senses, Li Yun had already dragged him out of the hotel.

Unlike other artists, idol groups had a tight schedule, and their one day had to be divided into two and a half days. It was now 10:40 in the evening, and Xu Qichen had to go back to the company to rehearse with his teammates.

After completing half of the dance routine, the five of them sat in a circle on the floor of the rehearsal room, taking a break.

Bai Yi held a pack of throat lozenges in his hand, opened one and tossed it into his mouth. "I feel like my throat's going to smoke these past two days."

Xu Qichen, sitting across from him, reached out his hand towards Bai Yi, "I want one too." Bai Yi broke off another one and threw it to him. "How's it going on your end?"

The taste of the lozenges was weird, sweet and spicy at the same time, but Xu Qichen still liked it. "I probably won't make it."

MingQi patted Xu Qichen's hunched back. "Hey, it's not that fast. Acting is a mysterious thing. If we don't believe in ourselves, we can accumulate experience one project at a time."

Jiang Ling, on the other hand, spoke frankly, "It's good that you didn't get chosen. It saves you from getting criticized and feeling uncomfortable later."

Shen Huan threw his damp towel at Jiang Ling's head and jokingly scolded, "Take care of your own variety show first."

Jiang Ling, due to his good athletic talent and physique, was chosen as a guest for a new season of an outdoor sports reality show. However, as an idol group member, even if his masculinity was off the charts, it was difficult to avoid opposition.

"I'm thick-skinned, I don't mind the criticsm."

Shen Huan kicked Jiang Ling, then used the opportunity to fall onto Xu Qichen.

When writing, in order to create some dramatic scenes from time to time, as well as the inevitable CP relarionships between team members, Xu Qichen didn't hesitate to shape Shen Huan as a somewhat captivating character. But now that he actually encountered him, he found it difficult to handle such a personality.

Xu Qichen subtly moved his leg, causing Shen Huan to fall to the ground. Bai Yi laughed hysterically, "Your hair is all sweaty, and you insist on wiping it on Mengze."

Xu Qichen smiled and waved his hand. "No, it's just that my legs are sore."

After resting for a while, the five of them were pulled up by the choreographer to continue rehearsing. They only returned in their dormitory in the early hours of the morning, with only three hours of sleep before a magazine cover shoot in the morning.

On the way to the studio, Xu Qichen watched everyone playfully fooling around in the car, feeling a strange emotion in his heart, but it wasn't negative.

He had always been bad with words, unable to establish close relationships with others, and unable to fit into larger environment. Over time, he realized that he didn't have many friends.

Suddenly, receiving the special interpersonal relationship of his teammates in this new identity, he felt a sense of joy amidst the novelty.

After shooting the group's part, it was time for each member's individual part. Xu Qichen could rest for a while and sat on the couch, feeling sleepy and hungry. He grabbed a dessert from the coffee table and stuffed it into his mouth. One of the female staff members saw this and covered her mouth, giggling. "So Mengze doesn't care about body management at all."

Xu Qichen couldn't speak with a mouthful of cake and awkwardly smiled. But then, a voice came from behind, "He doesn't gain weight."

As the voice fell, Li Yun, dressed in a black suit, plopped down next to Xu Qichen. Xu Qichen chewed the cake slowly and looked at her.

Li Yun sighed. "Aren't you worried about your audition at all?"

Xu Qichen finally swallowed the last bite. "Worrying won't do me any good."

"Have you seen Weibo?" Li Yun took out her phone.

Xu Qichen shook his head. Since returning to the company, he had been rehearsing non-stop and hadn't had time to check Weibo.

Li Yun handed her phone to Xu Qichen. "I was actually thinking of releasing some news yesterday to link your image with the movie. But someone beat me to it."

Xu Qichen looked at the phone and saw several familiar marketing accounts that had posted on Weibo during the audition yesterday. The content was similar, with phrases like "Chen Anping's new work, focusing on LGBTQ themes!" and "Chen Anping supports the LGBTQ community in his new work!" Most of the attention was focused on the movie's theme and cast.

Xu Qichen clicked on the full text of the Weibo post and saw some subtle mentions of certain artist's names.

He reached out and clicked on the comments, pointing to one.

"Are you implying that it's him?"

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