The Rebirth of a Top Star

An Luochen seized the opportunity to clap his hands twice, drawing everyone's attention away from their emotions. He glanced at Shen Nanqiao a few more times and unexpectedly said his first words to her, "You're not bad."

"Thank you, Director An." Shen Nanqiao was glad she had seized the opportunity.

He didn't look at Ye Meng behind him, whose cheeks suddenly turned red.

Shen Nanqiao turned to walk back to her seat, but before she could make a move, An Luochen suddenly brought up another topic, "Why don't you two switch roles and act them out?"

This suggestion really startled everyone around him. What did the director mean by this?

Shen Nanqiao turned around and glanced at Ye Meng, who was standing there without saying a word.

"Okay, I have no objection."

Shen Nanqiao spoke up.

Ye Meng looked up at Shen Nanqiao with a start. She was indignant. All her acting teachers praised her as the most talented actress they had ever seen. How could she lose to a newcomer who had not yet made a name for herself in such an audition?

Ye Meng didn't know Shen Nanqiao, but she was certain that if it weren't for Shen Nanqiao, she would definitely be the protagonist of Luo Yu's Biography.

Gu Ning wanted to offer some more advice, but Ye Meng seized the opportunity to agree, "I have no objection either."

The only one who was laughing the most was An Luochen, who was sitting in the main seat. He could tell the difference between the two actors' acting skills at a glance. One was a recent graduate with a little talent and could get into character quickly, while the other had an aura that seemed to be the result of years of hard work and experience.

Anyone with eyes could see the difference. Of course, the shrewd An Luochen noticed Ye Meng's dissatisfaction or anger just now.

He took the opportunity to make this seemingly unreasonable request.

The purpose was to dampen Ye Meng's arrogance and prevent her from ruining herself because of her strong will.

Shen Nanqiao was very confident in herself. Standing in front of Ye Meng, she politely asked this time, "Can we begin?"

Ye Meng was taken aback. She thought Shen Nanqiao was going to launch another surprise attack. This politeness startled her instead.

"Okay, let's get started."

So, with different people, different positions, and different roles, the same lines began to be performed.

Shen Nanqiao repeated Ye Meng's performance, lines, and emotions exactly the same.

But upon closer inspection, the only difference is that Shen Nanqiao did not shed tears. Although she was also showing weakness, her expression made everyone feel like they were being stabbed, thinking that she would cry and beg for mercy. Her expression was also full of sorrow.

But upon closer inspection, the tears that should have been in her eyes did not fall.

Besides pleading for Luo Yu's mercy, her eyes also gleamed with shrewdness. Everyone was tense for the female lead, thinking she had to be careful.

The scene where Shen Nanqiao takes Ye Meng away is a bit longer than the one that was supposed to be shown earlier. It ends right at the moment when Su Yao begs for mercy, and Luo Yu, unable to bear it, lowers his guard, and then Su Yao stabs Luo Yu in the abdomen with a dagger.

"Ah!" An assistant behind An Luochen shouted, seemingly frightened by the scene.

Even if Shen Nanqiao was only holding an air dagger.

Shen Nanqiao stood up first and gestured for Ye Meng to hold her hand as they stood up.

Ye Meng sat on the ground, completely stunned.

Just now, was she drawn into the scene by Shen Nanqiao? Everything seemed to have become a physiological reaction; she forgot that she was acting.

Ye Meng stood up as Shen Nanqiao did, and stood shoulder to shoulder with Shen Nanqiao to face An Luochen.

"How are you feeling?" An Luochen asked Ye Meng with a smile.

Ye Meng knew the words were directed at her, and lowered her head in shame, not daring to speak.

She felt ashamed of her earlier overestimation of her abilities.

Shen Nanqiao, standing beside Ye Meng, patted her shoulder and said with a humorous tone, "Don't be discouraged. After all, I'm the female lead chosen by our Director An."

Upon hearing this, An Luochen felt that Shen Nanqiao had set a trap for her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She just gave Shen Nanqiao a reproachful look, as if blaming her for what she had said.

However, An Luochen himself did not notice that in just a short audition, Shen Nanqiao had already won over his guard and successfully infiltrated his inner circle.

An Luochen spoke up, "Why don't you sit back down quickly?" He waved to Shen Nanqiao, signaling her to sit back down, and then looked at Ye Meng again.

What do you think of the character Su Yao?

This is back to the audition.

"I envy her." "Oh? How so?"

Director An found this answer rather strange, "Why would you envy the villain in my drama?"

Perhaps it was because Director An asked Ye Meng something she had already thought about, Ye Meng's confidence also rose, "because she dares to love and hate, dares to do what she wants to do, and is not bound by heaven and earth."

Shen Nanqiao nodded secretly after hearing this, agreeing with Ye Meng's statement.

The most distinctive feature of Director An's TV dramas is that no matter how small the character is, they all have their own core personality.

"Okay, do you think you can play the role of Su Yao?"

"The problem has been thrown back at us again."

Ye Meng unconsciously looked at Shen Nanqiao. The girl who had just acted opposite her was really good at acting, especially her eyes, which gave people a sense of immersion that Ye Meng had never experienced before.

However, Su Yao and Ye Meng believed in themselves; this was confidence in their own abilities.

"Of course, director."

As Ye Meng looked at Shen Nanqiao, An Luochen was also looking at Shen Nanqiao.

He had to admit that Shen Nanqiao had given him a big surprise.

The original intention was to embarrass her, and although the female lead wouldn't be replaced in the end, it would let her know whether she was overestimating herself.

Now things are actually better; I've given her a chance to shine.

When those outside received the notice that they no longer needed to come in for the second female lead interview, many sighed with regret, stood up, packed their things, and left. However, a large number of them had prepared double insurance and came in to prepare for the interviews of the third and fourth female leads.

After watching for a while, Shen Nanqiao and Gu Ning left first. There was no need to pick out the minor characters who didn't have much screen time with the main characters.

Before leaving, Shen Nanqiao finally obtained the entire script about Luo Yu.

It was the same thickness as the one in Gu Ning's hand.

After politely adding Teacher Gu Ning on WeChat, Shen Nanqiao sent her contact name and said goodbye politely.

Gu Ning watched Shen Nanqiao's departing figure, and the corners of her mouth, which were always turned up, fell down.

It seems that she is not quite the same as the rumors circulating online.

This wasn't the first time Gu Ning had met Shen Nanqiao, but it was the first time she had witnessed her acting skills.

"Teacher Gu Ning, we're leaving now." Some staff members who were leaving in the middle of the event greeted Gu Ning with smiles, and Gu Ning smiled and left.

Shen Nanqiao took Xiaoju back to their residence. Xiaoju didn't say a word the whole time, just silently followed behind Shen Nanqiao, but she was very quick and agile.

Seeing Shen Nanqiao looking for water, he took out a bottle of purified water from his backpack, and when he saw Shen Nanqiao reach out, he handed her a piece of paper. He did everything meticulously.

Shen Nanqiao was very satisfied with Xiaoju's work attitude, or rather, she knew Xiaoju's work ability from the beginning.

“There’s nothing else to do today, why don’t you head back first?” Shen Nanqiao held up his thick script and said to Xiaoju with a smile, “I might need a few days to seriously study the script, at least until the reading session.”

Looking at Shen Nanqiao's sincere and warm smile, Xiaoju suddenly smiled. It seemed that working here wasn't as bad as before.

Xiao Ju showed her first smile of the day while standing next to Shen Nanqiao. "Then I'll be leaving now, Sister Nanqiao."

Although he spoke more, his voice was still soft.

Shen Nanqiao was surprised. The person who had already sat down turned around, glanced back, and gave a smile as a farewell.

The reading session took place a week after all the casting was completed, and it was the first time Shen Nanqiao had met all the important main characters.

Some actors will become familiar faces in the Chinese entertainment industry later on, while others will remain unknown for a long time. Shen Nanqiao wore simple makeup today, looking fresh and beautiful, and a white suit with her straight legs showing under the short skirt.

Upon entering, Shen Nanqiao went straight to An Luochen, saying, "Good morning, Director." After the previous incident, Shen Nanqiao had long since forgiven Director An for his initial cold reception, and even found the old man rather interesting.

"Mm." An Luochen nodded reservedly. The other actors were all afraid of him, but An Luochen was still quite unaccustomed to Shen Nanqiao's overly familiar manner.

Gu Ning sat next to the director and greeted Shen Nanqiao with a smile.

Shen Nanqiao sat directly in the seat with her name on it. She wasn't the last one to arrive. Ye Meng, who officially became the second female lead Su Yao, followed her in.

The reading session officially began after all the main creators had arrived.

After several days of working tirelessly, Shen Nanqiao had memorized all the content perfectly and watched others rehearse with great confidence.