Chapter 157: Auditioning for 00

Song Wan immediately cast a sidelong glance at him. "You say that as if I could just drop the project and you'd somehow make Director Cai agree to terminate the contract."

Zhou Qi: "..."

Fine, he couldn't.

This was a sad reality.

"Could you stop poking at my wounds?" Zhou Qi glared at her.

Song Wan treated him to an eye-roll. "I'm just stating facts." She paused. "Can we stop bickering now?"

Zhou Qi muttered under his breath, "You make it sound like I'm throwing a tantrum for no reason."

Ignoring him, Song Wan went straight to the point. "Isn't our main problem right now trying our best to ensure the show runs without a hitch?"

"What do you suggest?" Gao Xiang asked.

Song Wan frowned, and after a moment, replied, "If worst comes to worst, we can only find a backup director who isn't as famous as Director Cai."

She was genuinely worried that if the character Director Cai wanted to cast happened to clash with the specific role slated for auditions in the *Stellar* crew, there would simply be no way to explain it when the time came.

Fortunately, the situation wasn't critically urgent yet—

Everyone in Jiuzhou knew that Director Cai was exceptionally willful when it came to his films.

As long as the suspension of production didn't swallow up the vast majority of the show's schedule, they would still barely manage to find a workaround.

Zhou Qi frowned, looked between Song Wan and Gao Xiang, and ultimately remained silent.

Only his expression carried a trace of self-blame.

Song Wan waved her hand dismissively. "There's no use worrying about it now. Let's push the director issue aside for the moment."

"All the other preparations are done. We're basically just waiting for the auditions to start," said Gao Xiang, who had been in charge of this side of things. "If you two are certain everything is ready, I'll have the publicity team directly announce the audition dates and roles."

Song Wan exchanged a glance with Zhou Qi, and both nodded.

As they were leaving, Song Wan inadvertently caught sight of Zhou Qi's face and was surprised to find his expression rather grave.

Just as she was about to ask him what was wrong, she was pulled back by Gao Xiang.

"Don't ask. Director Zhou is probably figuring out how to handle the aftermath," Gao Xiang said, pulling Song Wan along as she walked.

Song Wan frowned. "He couldn't have foreseen that Cai Qi would—"

"Relax. Although Cai Qi is willful, he's not heartless enough to screw over our entire production team in one go." Gao Xiang chuckled, seemingly remembering something. "The worst he'll do is screw over Director Zhou alone."

Of course, walking away scot-free was something Cai Qi was entirely capable of doing, but he would also ensure the entire production team could still function after his departure.

However, Zhou Qi was currently taking a heavy psychological blow from the fact that Cai Qi had backstabbed him, leaving his brain a bit sluggish. Once he thought it through, he wouldn't be worried anymore.

Song Wan thought about it and had to admit that Gao Xiang made sense.

If Cai Qi truly didn't care about the consequences, the enemies he made in this industry would probably prevent him from ever directing a movie again.

Yet, Cai Qi would never treat his films as a joke.

"Are you heading straight home?" Gao Xiang asked Song Wan.

Song Wan pondered for a second and countered, "Has the crew's script been written? Can you let me take a copy back?"

Gao Xiang looked at her playfully. "Weren't you planning to audition alongside the other newcomers? According to the rules, the script can't be given to you, otherwise, it wouldn't be fair to the others."

She assumed that after saying this, Song Wan would dismiss her ridiculous notion, or at the very least, feel awkward for a moment.

To her surprise, upon hearing this, Song Wan nodded in wholehearted agreement. "You're right, Sister Gao. I can't walk all the way through the Long March only to stumble at the very last step and leave people with gossip fodder."

Gao Xiang: "..."

*I'm begging you to leave them some gossip fodder, okay?* Gao Xiang was practically on the verge of tears.

*Why bother?*

Up until now, among all the roles in *Stellar*, the most undisputed one was the role of Song Yi, which Song Wan was going to play.

Gao Xiang had the utmost confidence in Song Wan. Even for Lu Yang, played by Guo Kai, she couldn't guarantee one hundred percent that the role would ultimately land in his hands, but Song Wan's Song Yi was something she was certain would end up in her pocket.

Therefore, she completely failed to understand what game Song Wan was playing right now.

Even though giving up the role of Song Yi could earn her a good reputation, gimmicks, and high exposure, and ultimately shut her haters up—

If all the other roles were cast through open auditions while only the role of Song Yi was pre-assigned to Song Wan, her haters would definitely make a fuss over it.

However, to Gao Xiang, this minor trouble was not worth worrying about at all.

Song Wan probably knew that Gao Xiang didn't understand her actions, but she knew she had to do it anyway.

—The role of Song Yi actually mirrored little Song Wan's finest expectations. If there was a more suitable actress, she would naturally prioritize fulfilling little Song Wan's dream.

Yet, when the day of the auditions finally arrived, Song Wan was dumbfounded—

In the massive studio set, the number of actresses who showed up to audition for the female lead Song Yi was fewer than ten.

And after she walked onto the set, two or three of them automatically gave up and left.

Song Wan: "..." *Are you kidding me?*

Although she knew that within a crew, the competition for the male and female leads was usually far less fierce than for supporting roles, it shouldn't be *this* scarce, right?

She couldn't help but glance at the other actresses, only to be startled to find them standing around in twos and threes, chatting happily without a single trace of competitive atmosphere.

It was as if they had just dropped by the production set casually to pad out their numbers and broaden their horizons.

The only actress who looked somewhat reliable was standing not far from Song Wan. She had a delicate yet unassuming appearance and a rather aloof temperament, bearing a certain resemblance to the description of Song Yi in *Stellar*.

Clutching a notebook in both hands with a focused expression, she hadn't struck up a conversation with anyone else.

Right while Song Wan was standing there in a daze, that very actress trotted right up to her, stopped, and stared at her with sparkling eyes, her previous aloofness instantly vanishing without a trace.

"..."

Song Wan blinked, feeling rather bewildered. "Hello, is there something you need?"

The actress chimed, "Hello, Master Song! I'm a Pine Leaf! Knowing you'd be coming to audition for Song Yi today, I deliberately submitted my resume to the crew just so I could openly come here and meet you today. Am I super witty?"

"Master Song, let me tell you, actually a lot of other Pine Leaves submitted resumes too, but they were weeded out straight away during the preliminary rounds. I'm the only one who passed the preliminary auditions!"

"Master Song, let me tell you, when I got the audition notice, I rolled around on the floor in joy several times! When my mom saw me, she thought my brain broke!"

"Master Song..."

Song Wan: "..." *Who am I? Where am I? What on earth am I doing?*

By the time her little fan finally finished babbling away and venting her excitement, she suddenly remembered her ultimate goal—

She pulled out a notebook and handed it to Song Wan. "Master Song, since I made the trip all the way here, would you mind giving me your autograph?"

Song Wan froze. Though she suspected the other person was just hyping themselves up, she still signed it earnestly.

"What should I write?" Song Wan asked.

The girl thought about it for a long time before saying shyly, "Just write, 'Fuyu baby, you must work hard, Master Song gives you *mwah mwah*'."

Song Wan: "...Are you sure?"

The girl: "Sure! Oh, wait—"

Song Wan let out a nearly imperceptible sigh of relief.

Who would have thought...

"Master Song, remember to draw a little heart at the end. Send a heart over~"

Song Wan: "..."

Gao Xiang, watching from the side: "..."

"Pfft— Hahahahaha..."

It was just too hilarious.

In a state of mental detachment, Song Wan signed her name, almost impatiently snatching the notebook back.

Just as Song Wan wanted to say something, however...

The girl snatched the notebook back and trotted right out of the studio...

Ran right out of the studio...

Ran right...

"So, what on earth did she actually come here to do?" Song Wan felt her entire being falling apart.

Just moments ago, she had genuinely believed the girl was trying to pretend to be a fan to hitch a ride on her popularity and gain some recognition among netizens.

Gao Xiang was laughing her head off. "Ahahaha..."

Song Wan waited for quite a while, but seeing no signs of her stopping her uproarious laughter, she grew embarrassed and angry. "Sister Gao, shut up!"

Gao Xiang: "Ahahaha..."

Song Wan: "..."

Seeing that Song Wan was genuinely getting upset, Gao Xiang finally reined in her laughter and turned to look at her.

However, the amusement still lingering at the corners of her eyes and brows was truly aggravating.

"Didn't you already guess it?"

"Guess what?"

"Stanning a celebrity!" Gao Xiang looked at her with gloating amusement. "That girl just now clearly isn't from this industry, so she's definitely not an actress. Judging by her actions, she probably has no desire to get famous either..."

Song Wan: "...So, what was she here for? Didn't she just occupy a slot for nothing?"

Gao Xiang looked astonished. "A slot? The crew's preliminary auditions didn't set any limit on the slots at all."

Yet, that girl just now...

"As long as they met the requirements, the staff screening out unqualified actors would just keep them all."

However...

"Do you know why I insisted on moving Song Yi's auditions to the first day?" Gao Xiang gave Song Wan a malicious look.

Song Wan glanced at the sparse few auditionees scattered around. "...Because there are fewer people?"

Gao Xiang chuckled. "Yep."

"Do you know why there are so few people?" Gao Xiang asked again.

"Not enough qualified ones?" Song Wan struggled. She felt something was wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on it right away.

Gao Xiang rolled her eyes. "Qualified?"

Song Wan looked bewildered. Was there a problem?

"Let me tell you, except for you, every single actress present is unqualified."

Song Wan: "..."

"Because your previous acting performance terrified too many people, not many had the confidence to compete with you. Consequently, the resumes submitted to our inbox didn't even reach a hundred," Gao Xiang stared straight at Song Wan. "If we filtered them using strict standards, not a single one was qualified."

Song Wan froze on the spot. "How could that be?"

The female lead of *Stellar* shouldn't lack attractiveness to this degree, right?

Gao Xiang no longer wanted to speak, yet the boiling urge to rant inside her chest kept her mouth running anyway. "How could it not? With you blocking the way in front, anyone who knew they couldn't measure up to you simply stayed away to avoid humiliating themselves."

The few actresses who actually showed up at the studio today were only scraped together after lowering the standards over and over again.

Even so, the majority of them were outsiders.

Oh, and the one with the best aptitude among them had simply dropped by casually just to catch a glimpse of her idol.

Song Wan: "...Then can the footage from this episode still be used?"

Gao Xiang spread her hands. "Why wouldn't it be usable? This is a massive explosive point. It's guaranteed to draw netizens' attention, and sparking a flame war isn't out of the question either."

The scene before them was too exaggerated; netizens would definitely suspect the production team was staging a stunt, or even believe that genuinely capable actresses had all been weeded out by the crew just to guarantee Song Wan got the role.

It was all part of the routine!

Song Wan's haters would absolutely not let this opportunity slip by.

Thinking along these lines, Gao Xiang looked at Song Wan with a hint of disdain.

Song Wan: "..." *Why does she always feel like Sister Gao is looking at her with contempt?*

Gao Xiang: *Serves you right! That'll teach you not to listen to my advice earlier!*

Recalling how Gao Xiang had stubbornly insisted on moving Song Yi's audition to the first day without telling her the reason, Song Wan suddenly had an epiphany.

She immediately put on a crying, pitiful expression toward Gao Xiang. "Sister Gao, I was wrong!"