Reborn in the Hong Kong entertainment industry in the 1980s

Charlie was still a little hesitant, so Hu Xiaoxiao continued, "Charlie, filming will start in a few days. Time waits for no one. I've learned all the martial arts they know. I don't need to train. I can join the crew directly without affecting the filming progress at all."

“Let me think about it,” Charlie said.

Hu Xiaoxiao, trying to decipher Charlie's thoughts, asked, "Charlie, do you think there are other people who would be equally suitable for the role of Zhou Bijun? Is it Helen?"

Charlie didn't answer, and Hu Xiaoxiao knew she had guessed correctly. She was about to persuade Charlie when the martial arts instructor spoke first: "If it's Helen, Charlie, you might as well let Hu Xiaoxiao play the role of Zhou Bijun. Zhou Bijun has a lot of action scenes, which Helen simply can't handle. Lin Erniang only has a few action scenes, and I've been teaching her for half a month and she still can't learn them well. If you want me to teach her Zhou Bijun's action scenes, you should find another martial arts instructor; I can't teach her."

Charlie looked at the martial arts instructor, "You also think Hu Xiaoxiao is a good match for Zhou Bijun?"

"Anyway, she's more suitable than Helen. She only trains sporadically. Look, it's almost afternoon now, and she still hasn't trained. We'll have to wait until she learns Zhou Bijun's action scenes. I estimate that the start of filming for 'The Grandmaster' will be delayed by at least six months."

Mingxu then spoke up, saying, "Charlie, the filming progress can't be delayed; this movie needs to be released next year."

Mingxu's words touched on Charlie's biggest concern, and he immediately made a decision, saying to Hu Xiaoxiao, "I hope you won't let me down."

Hu Xiaoxiao immediately assured him, "Charlie, don't worry, I will do my best to play both roles well."

Charlie still had concerns, "Can your acting skills hold up?"

"Yes!" Regardless of the truth, Hu Xiaoxiao had to speak with confidence. She would focus on securing these two roles first, and then work harder on the others. "Charlie, don't worry, my acting skills are up to par. I've been studying acting all along, learning from Teacher Xia Qing."

Charlie was quite surprised. "You're learning acting from Xia Qing?"

"Yes, many people in the company have seen it. I am often with Teacher Xia Qing and have learned a lot from her."

Charlie felt a little relieved. Xia Qing was a veteran actress in the company. Although she hadn't filmed much in recent years, she had been training newcomers, and many of the trainees in her classes were her students. With Xia Qing's guidance, as long as Hu Xiaoxiao wasn't too stupid, she should be able to handle it. After all, this was a martial arts drama, and exciting action scenes could make up for some shortcomings. Besides, most of the screen time was on Ren Tianhua's side, so as long as Mingxu didn't make any mistakes, it shouldn't be too bad.

After making up his mind, Charlie immediately returned to the television station and summoned his writers to revise the script.

Meanwhile, Hong Qiuyan leisurely arrived at the training room and sat down at the makeup table, slowly applying lipstick. A fellow artist who knew her couldn't help but remind her, "Why are you so late?"

If I had come earlier, I might have been able to use our friendship to compete with Charlie for the role of Zhou Bijun.

Hong Qiuyan held a mirror and slowly applied lip liner, saying, "It's just training, it's not like filming has started yet. Why did I come so early? It's just a few fight scenes, and I've already learned most of them. I just don't understand why a supporting role like me needs so many fight scenes. I almost strained my back from practicing them."

The familiar actors ignored her, stood up and left, saying, "You can't even catch the hot shit."

Upon hearing this, Hong Qiuyan angrily threw the mirror down, "Are you crazy? Why are you swearing at me?"

However, Hong Qiuyan soon learned that Charlie was going to give Hu Xiaoxiao more scenes and roles. Upon hearing the news, she stormed into Charlie's office in a rage.

"Charlie, how could you do this to me?" Hong Qiuyan walked up to Charlie, slamming her hand on the desk in agitation, and said, "It's not enough that you made Hu Xiaoxiao the lead actress, you also gave her a supporting role with so many scenes. Is she the only one you're promoting? Charlie, I've been with you for so many years, how could you treat me like this?"

Charlie looked at Hong Qiuyan with a headache. "I would like to give you the role of Zhou Bijun, but you haven't even mastered the role of Lin Erniang yet."

“Then let someone else play Lin Erniang, and I’ll play Zhou Bijun.” Hong Qiuyan had long coveted the role of Zhou Bijun, which involved a lot of screen time, but she knew that Charlie had invited You Na to play the role, and since she wasn’t as famous as You Na, she didn’t compete for it.

“Zhou Bijun has a lot of action scenes, you can’t act in them,” Charlie said.

Hong Qiuyan was unconvinced and said, "Does that mean Hu Xiaoxiao can act? She's never even acted in a period drama before, she's only played a minor role, what makes her think she can compare to me? I'm not good enough, and she's even worse! Charlie, I have two more years of acting experience than her, and I've even acted in martial arts dramas!"

"How dare you say that?" Charlie was getting a little angry. "You've been acting for two years and haven't improved at all. Your action scenes are so bad I'm embarrassed to even mention them. How am I supposed to promote you?"

"If you don't like it, then teach me slowly! I don't care, I want to play Zhou Bijun! Charlie, have you forgotten that I am the company's biological daughter, and Hu Xiaoxiao is the goddaughter? You're not promoting your biological daughter but promoting your goddaughter. Are you out of your mind, doing someone else's bidding?"

"You're hopeless and can't even get yourself to work. What can I do? Don't you know how many chances I've given you?"

"How can you blame me? The roles you assigned me were either flirtatious and seductive or stupidly chasing after men. It's always the same old roles. Linda gives her actresses all different roles, each with its own personality..."

Charlie's expression immediately changed. "If you like Linda so much, go find her!"

Hong Qiuyan realized her mistake and quickly apologized, "Charlie, I misspoke in my haste. I didn't mean to. I'm the most loyal to you."

"Alright, I'm busy, you can go now."

Hong Qiuyan carefully left Charlie's office and helped close the door behind her.

Then, she sulked for a long time in front of the door.

Upon arriving at the film studio, they saw Hu Xiaoxiao trying on makeup for Zhou Bijun. Her all-black outfit accentuated her fair skin, and her outstanding temperament and natural charm made her very eye-catching.

Hong Qiuyan was envious and ran to the stylist, saying, "I really like Zhou Bijun's black outfit. Let Lin Erniang wear it."

The stylist, who had a good personal relationship with Hong Qiuyan, said, "Lin Erniang is a wine shop owner, so wearing black is not suitable for her."

“I think it’s perfect. Lin Erniang’s husband has died, right? Wearing black is just right for a widow.”

After Hong Qiuyan's repeated requests, the stylist, considering their friendship, finally agreed and went to Hu Xiaoxiao, saying, "Ms. Hu, this outfit was originally designed for You Na's figure and temperament, but it doesn't suit you very well. How about I find you another outfit that suits your temperament?"