This humble Taoist priest is going to be a movie star!

"Is the audition about to begin?"

Li Qing spoke up.

This finally snapped Jiang Chenggang out of his daze.

Their eyes are so similar.

"Um."

"Alright, let's get ready and head out."

The little boy next to him glanced at Li Qing.

It seems I'm a little reluctant to part with this new friend.

Li Qing patted the little one's head and said, "If I pass the audition and filming starts, you can come visit the set."

The filming location for Ocean Paradise is nearby, in the Beijing metropolitan area, the old city, and the local aquarium.

I don't know if the little one understands or not.

But it's easy to imagine that he was reluctant to see Li Qing leave...

Zhou Qiaohui, who was smoking nearby, watched and then silently put out her cigarette.

And he gave Li Qing a red envelope.

"Give."

Li Qing was somewhat surprised. She opened the red envelope and found 2500 yuan inside.

Jiang Chenggang, who was standing next to him, was also somewhat surprised.

"Did you get the 2500 back?"

Li Qing said.

"Isn't this the same as giving a refund?"

"2500 is the price I paid to sell my dignity," Zhou Qiaohui said, glancing at her reluctant son. "But you didn't buy it."

After pondering for a moment, Li Qing accepted the red envelope.

After a long silence, Zhou Qiaohui spoke.

"Thanks."

.......

Jiang Chenggang wasn't stupid; he could see through many things, such as Zhou Qiaohui's reasons for returning the money.

"Damn, you actually became friends with that autistic kid."

Li Qing said.

"They're just not as smart, and they see the world differently from us, but that doesn't mean they don't have feelings."

"You're awesome."

Jiang Chenggang gave a thumbs up.

Regardless of the outcome of this audition, their serious attitude will motivate their agent, Jiang Chenggang, to work as well.

If his artists were salted fish, then Jiang Chenggang would also be salty...

When I arrived at the small hotel for the audition, everything had already been set up.

The small meeting room was packed with people: crew members and auditionees.

This is actually quite a grand affair.

There were eight people auditioning in total.

They took turns going in for auditions.

Li Qing could even recognize some of the auditionees; they were all relatively young, leading supporting actors.

The most eye-catching one was a young man with a baby face.

He doesn't seem to be very popular; he doesn't really respond when many people go up to greet him.

Li Qing didn't even bother to greet them or get to know them, lest he be met with a cold shoulder.

Jiang Chenggang explained.

"This one, Zhang Jiawen, is a second-tier, almost first-tier actor. He focuses on urban dramas and is considered a rising star. He's also a hot contender this time." Jiang Chenggang paused and said, "His appearance is a little better than yours, but his personality isn't so great. I've heard before that he likes to act like a diva."

Although she is much older than Li Qing, her baby face is still an advantage, making her look younger.

He has a naturally simple and honest temperament.

Moreover, his tendency to act like a big shot demonstrates his solid abilities.

Those who aren't online dare to act like big shots.

"Oh...you mean I'm handsome?"

"When did you become so narcissistic?" Jiang Chenggang teased. "But it's true, a handsome guy like you with a classical style might be at a disadvantage when it comes to playing a simpleton."

"But it's okay."

At this moment, Jiang Chenggang suddenly pulled out various items from his satchel.

Upon closer inspection, they were all cosmetics with labels in English that I couldn't understand.

"Clothes make the man, and a saddle makes the horse. Let me do your makeup so you won't get eliminated because you're too handsome."

"Hey Old Chiang, how good are your makeup skills...?"

"You think I've been doing nothing these past few days? Don't worry, I can't bring you down..."

Old Jiang pulled Li Qing into the restroom, took out his cosmetics, and started applying makeup.

...

The rising star for this audition is Zhang Jiawen. His image is a good fit, and he has the strongest acting experience and star power.

Even Zhang Jiawen thinks so.

"How's it going? Have you seen what I gave you?" Zhang Jiawen's agent, a young man, came over.

Zhang Jiawen said impatiently, "Alright, alright, you can see I'm getting annoyed, stop with the nonsense."

"it is good."

Faced with Zhang Jiawen's attitude, the agent sighed. He was used to it; that was just his temper, and he couldn't change it.

But if he said he saw it, then he must have seen it...

"It would be best if we could land this role and win a few awards, which would make it easier to get roles and boost our status," the agent said.

"Of course I understand that," Zhang Jiawen said, cracking her neck. "I'm determined to take this stepping stone."

For Zhang Jiawen, Ocean Paradise was just a stepping stone to winning prizes.

"You can't say that..."

"Everyone's here for this purpose, so what can't be said? Otherwise, who would act in this low-budget art film? Wouldn't it be better for me to go to 'Lan Kwai Fong' instead?" Zhang Jiawen shrugged. If it weren't for the chance to act alongside the Kung Fu Emperor, he wouldn't have even glanced at the script.

After venting her frustrations, the audition began, and Zhang Jiawen silently began to recall how to portray the character "Dafu".

...

The audition has begun.

Director Xue Lu and Li Lianjie were sitting inside.

The Kung Fu Emperor sat there, exuding an imposing aura without anger.

The first person to audition saw this kung fu emperor and immediately lost some of his ability, reducing his performance from 80% to 60%.

Li Lianjie simply crossed out his name.

"If you're so nervous in front of me, imagine how you'll feel when we're actually acting together."

Li Lianjie was not very satisfied with the next few people who came in.

Until Zhang Jiawen came in.

Li Lianjie nodded slightly when he saw his baby face.

Although he's a bit older, his appearance is better than before, and he's changed into a long shirt, which adds to his youthful look.

This audition offered two options: either choose a scene to act out, or portray an autistic person within oneself.

Zhang Jiawen chose an excerpt from Ocean Paradise.

"I want to go swimming."

"I want to swim..."

"no."

"I want to travel."

Zhang Jiawen stared at Li Lianjie, her left hand beginning to swing erratically, her expression becoming increasingly flustered.

Li Lianjie nodded, surprisingly finding it quite good.

It vividly portrays the restless, unruly movements of autistic individuals.

Faced with this subtle gesture, Li Lianjie nodded almost imperceptibly.

not bad...

At least you can tell that he did his research, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to portray that feeling.

At this moment in the drama, the "father" is in the scene after his failed suicide attempt with Dafu.

Dafu wants to swim and wants his father to take him swimming, to the ocean.

Little did he know that his father wanted to take him away with him, to take him away from that world.

The more romantic Dafu's character is here, the more heartbreaking the echo of the earlier plot.

It's clear that Zhang Jiawen's portrayal of Dafu was satisfactory in Li Lianjie's eyes.