Chapter 162: Willful

People tend to make mistakes when they are nervous.

The directors clearly knew this, so they quickly reined in their expressions and listened attentively to his explanation.

Even so, Kang Jian stumbled through his reasoning, causing the listeners to furrow their brows involuntarily.

Impatient, Cai Qi immediately raised a hand to cut him off. "Begin your performance."

Qian Fu added from the side, "Do that scene you like."

Since *Starlight* was adapted from a film and television work, anyone who had watched it would have a general understanding of the plot and dialogue.

To stay true to the original novel, the screenwriters for the *Starlight* production team had made very few alterations.

This news had been communicated to all actors along with their audition notices, which also informed them that they could freely choose their own audition material.

That was the reason Kang Jian had selected that particular scene.

Worried that Kang Jian might be too intimidated, Qian Fu kindly offered a reminder.

Kang Jian breathed a sigh of relief, smiled at the directors, and walked off to the side. With a vacant, unfocused stare, he lay down.

...

As soon as his performance concluded, Cai Qi glared at Kang Jian with an unfriendly expression.

Kang Jian felt like crying without tears. "Director... Director Cai, is there something wrong with my performance?"

Cai Qi's fierce glare made him shiver involuntarily.

"How could an actor I trained have any problems with their acting?" Cai Qi snapped back, disgruntledly flipping through the actor's profile sheets with a rustling sound.

Qian Fu and Zhou Qi exchanged glances and couldn't help but chuckle. What a proud, prickly person!

Qian Fu spoke up. "Kang Jian, right? Your performance is over, you can head out now."

Kang Jian nodded and walked out of the audition room with a trembling heart.

Outside the door, his manager had been waiting the entire time.

Seeing him emerge, the manager eagerly stepped forward. "How did it go? Did you pass the audition?"

Kang Jian opened his mouth, then closed it again.

The manager was struck with dismay. "You didn't make the cut?"

Kang Jian shook his head. Meeting the manager's worried gaze, he pressed his lips into a thin line and said, "I don't know the result. The director told me to leave right after I finished acting."

The manager let out a breath of relief. "No news is good news. You looked so terrible just now and wouldn't speak—I thought you had been outright rejected. Good thing that didn't happen..."

With that, the manager patted his chest to calm his nerves.

Kang Jian, however, felt somewhat dazed and touched his own face. "Did I look that terrible?"

The manager nodded. "Terrible doesn't even cover it. You were as white as a sheet." Anyone who didn't know better would have thought you had just lived through some kind of disaster or been thoroughly ravaged.

Mindful of Kang Jian's feelings, the manager kept these thoughts to himself.

Kang Jian forced out a smile. "Alright, I've done my absolute best. Now all we can do is wait for the results."

The manager hesitated, words on the tip of his tongue. His gaze landed on Kang Jian's complexion, but he ultimately held his tongue.

The two of them left the *Starlight* production team together.

Along the way, quite a few people wanted to fish for information from Kang Jian. But since they were competitors, how could Kang Jian possibly leak any news?

He was hardly foolish enough to hand others an advantage that would ultimately lead to his own elimination.

-

Inside the audition room, the directors were almost at each other's throats again.

There was nothing wrong with Kang Jian's acting; today's performance was at his normal standard. While it lacked any major highlights, his solid foundation was evident, proving him to be a talent worth molding.

Yet precisely because of this, the directors found themselves divided.

Cai Qi frowned. "I don't think we can use Kang Jian. His performance was thoroughly mediocre. Compared to when we worked together previously, not only has he failed to improve, but he's actually regressed."

In particular, the scene Kang Jian had chosen today had deeply displeased Cai Qi from the very start.

As a director who placed film above all else, he could not tolerate actors treating cinema as a mere commodity to pander to audiences. To him, that was an insult.

To put it bluntly, the little tricks and schemes Kang Jian had pulled today had thoroughly rubbed him the wrong way.

Knowing his personality, Qian Fu and Zhou Qi immediately guessed what he was thinking.

However, their own opinions were diametrically opposed.

Deep down, Qian Fu didn't particularly care for Kang Jian's pandering behavior either, but he believed Kang Jian genuinely possessed acting skills. He felt the actor could be kept around for observation as a backup candidate.

As for Zhou Qi, while he also disliked Kang Jian's tactics, he thought it wasn't a big deal at all—

Since Kang Jian could act and was capable of handling the role of Zhou Ya, he was entirely qualified to participate in the next round of callbacks.

With all three holding different attitudes, their final recommendations diverged completely.

However, since both Qian Fu and Zhou Qi agreed to keep Kang Jian, Cai Qi had no choice but to acquiesce despite his dissatisfaction.

He glared resentfully at the two of them. As he lowered his head, his peripheral vision accidentally caught sight of Song Wan, and his face instantly lit up with joy. "Song Wan, tell us your thoughts!"

Song Wan: "..." Who can tell me why an innocent bystander just minding her own business could get cued by the big boss?

What offense had she ever committed against him?

Song Wan's mouth dropped open in shock, her gaze drifting off.

Yet Cai Qi and the others clearly had no intention of letting her off the hook. Three pairs of sharp, piercing eyes locked onto her, bringing an immense wave of pressure.

To defuse Cai Qi's inexplicable hostility, echoing his stance at this moment was undoubtedly the best choice.

Cai Qi's gleaming eyes also confirmed to Song Wan that agreeing with him would indeed win his favor.

Pausing for a moment, Song Wan hesitated and said, "I think... keeping Kang Jian for the next round is fine..."

Cai Qi's eyes widened in disbelief. If looks could kill, Song Wan would have already been hacked into a million pieces.

Knowing the inside story of Cai Qi's animosity toward Song Wan, Qian Fu and Zhou Qi silently offered her a shred of sympathy before bursting into unreserved, boisterous laughter.

Song Wan: "What on earth did I do?"

Watching Cai Qi's expression grow increasingly unkind, Song Wan wanted to scream: I take it back!

Yet, even if she said it, no one would believe her.

Overwhelmed by awkwardness, Song Wan subconsciously flashed an ingratiating smile at Cai Qi.

She had to admit, given Song Wan's breathtaking and peerless face, attempting to curry favor with someone was an effortless task.

However, Cai Qi was hardly a normal human being.

Seeing Song Wan smile at him, his initial reaction was to knit his brows tightly, followed by an immediate, unconscious scrutiny of her face and facial expressions.

Then...

"That face of yours is quite nice. It fits the physical description of the female lead in my next-next film," Cai Qi declared.

Song Wan: "..." Should I pretend I didn't hear that, or should I pretend I didn't hear that?

Qian Fu & Zhou Qi: "..." Old Cai's lifelong reputation for brilliance had probably just been ruined right here.

Why do people say reality shows are both the fastest way to make a star and the fastest way to destroy one?

Although Cai Qi wasn't an idol, his previously stern, lofty, and elite persona was undoubtedly shattered.

"Such a dazed, adorable fool..." It was simply too painful to watch.

Zhou Qi turned his head away and noticed that while Qian Fu was still maintaining his scholarly composure, the twitching corners of his mouth betrayed his inner thoughts.

They originally thought Cai Qi would panic once he came to his senses.

Yet, as expected of someone unconventional, Cai Qi snapped out of it only to clap his hands in joyous surprise. "Oh! I was worried I wouldn't be able to find a female lead, but I never expected to find a suitable actress just like that!"

Song Wan blinked. "Director Cai, are you serious?"

Finding an actress for your movie right in the middle of the auditions for *Starlight*—even if it wasn't a supporting role for the film *Broom Star* that he was currently shooting, it was still his movie!

Song Wan felt a mental breakdown approaching and couldn't help casting a pleading look toward the variety show director behind the camera.

The variety show director looked fit to burst with joy. Seeing Song Wan look at him, he cheerfully waved back at her with a silly grin.

Seeming to feel that wasn't enough, he gestured frantically for Song Wan to keep questioning Cai Qi, hoping she would nail the matter down once and for all—

If they could break such massive exclusive gossip right in the first episode, would they ever have to worry about viewership or ratings?

Song Wan: My heart is exhausted...

Cai Qi nodded repeatedly, then seemed to recall something. He frowned and looked at Song Wan suspiciously. "You want to refuse?"

Song Wan: "..."

Song Wan felt her footing slipping away. What did I even say for you to jump to the conclusion that I'm refusing?

Swallowing hard, she carefully responded, "No. So many people are begging to be in Director Cai's films and can't even get a foot in the door; how could I possibly refuse?"

She meant every word. Although Cai Qi's relentless pursuit of perfection drove many collaborating actors crazy—branding him as overly meticulous and pedantic—outsiders didn't know the inside story!

Uninformed people only saw the glory Cai Qi commanded, naturally breaking their necks in their haste to squeeze into his films.

Even actors who had worked with him before, no matter how much psychological trauma he had inflicted, would desperately pull strings and cash in old favors the moment they needed awards, just to land another role in his movies.

Unfortunately, Cai Qi's strictness in casting was identical to his strictness in directing.

Even if they had collaborated before, and even if the actor was draped in accolades, if they weren't his absolute ideal choice for a new film's role, he would reject them without a shred of mercy.

However, Cai Qi, having just been rebuffed by Qian Fu and Zhou Qi, hadn't fully recovered his composure yet.

Hearing Song Wan's words, his instinct told him she was simply buttering him up.

Yet, after a careful appraisal, he had to admit that Song Wan genuinely meant it and wasn't just giving a perfunctory reply.

Soon, realization dawned on him—

Song Wan had never worked with him before, so of course she had no idea what he was like when he was shooting a film!

With that thought, the eight-tenths desire he had to cast Song Wan as his new female lead instantly shot up to a full ten out of ten—

This role simply had to belong to Song Wan!

When she later learned the truth, Song Wan could only sigh: When you're talented, you can afford to be utterly willful!

Song Wan smiled. "If Director Cai has truly decided to cast me, would it be alright to discuss it with my manager, Sister Gao, in a moment?"

Because she had come to supervise the audition site, Gao Xiang figured nothing would go wrong and had gone off to oversee other matters instead.

Although she was Song Wan's manager, she also held shares in Capital Entertainment, making her a minor boss of the company, so she naturally had to look out for corporate interests.

Cai Qi stood up immediately. "Where is your manager?"

Song Wan: "..."

Dazed, she looked at Cai Qi's eager, ready-to-pounce expression, her mind completely blank.

Director Cai truly acted on a whim the moment an idea struck. Their earlier worry that he would drop everything the moment he found his desired actor had certainly not been unfounded!

Right now, however, she had no choice but to find a way to appease him.

The veins on Song Wan's forehead throbbed, but her face remained wreathed in smiles. "Director Cai, the auditions are still ongoing, and Sister Gao has other work to attend to." She paused and added, "Can we talk about this after the auditions finish?"

"That won't do..." Cai Qi tried to brush past her.

He had always acted with decisive speed; once an idea crossed his mind, he had to execute it immediately, leaving no room for waiting.

Qian Fu and Zhou Qi hurriedly grabbed him, their expressions indescribably complex.

Sure enough, being friends with Cai Qi was fine, but working with him would probably shave three years off your lifespan!