Chapter 93
Zhao Meng had always despised the practice of pulling strings and sneaking people in through the back door.
There had once been someone who brought gifts right to him, saying they wanted a role in one of his dramas. Even a supporting role would do. But no matter that the person already had a fair amount of fame, Zhao Meng still scolded them and sent them packing, leaving them no choice but to obediently attend the audition.
There had also been investors who tried to stuff people directly into Zhao Meng’s production team, to the point that the entire crew had been left with headaches over it.
Zhao Meng, however, was the type to go all in once he made up his mind. He decisively told that investor to withdraw their funding, then went to find new investors instead. He had even declared that even if he had to personally fill the funding gap himself, he would never accept a lead who entered the cast through such means.
Director Zhao had the confidence to act this way not only because of his fame and status in the industry, but also because he came from an extraordinary family background. The resources and connections in his hands were things other people could only envy.
Rumor had it that he was on very good terms with the current head of the Song family. Although no hard evidence had ever surfaced to prove it, the Song family had never denied the rumor either.
Losing one investor only to pull in another immediately after—that kind of ability was not just empty talk.
From then on, the entire entertainment industry knew just how iron-faced and impartial Director Zhao was, and little by little people put away all those crooked thoughts.
That was until this time, when he heard the name “Lin Zhiqiao” from Song Fengshi’s mouth.
Zhao Meng was Zhao Yuanning’s older cousin on his father’s side—Zhao Yuanning being Song Fengshi’s father. Though the relationship was distant, the uncle and nephew had always been on quite good terms.
After Zhao Yuanning married into the Song family and later had his son Song Fengshi, he never forgot to bring the child to visit this elder relative during holidays and family celebrations.
Zhao Meng had devoted his life to his career and never married or had children, but he liked kids very much. He had been especially fond of little Song Fengshi and had doted on him often. Over time, it was only natural that Song Fengshi got along quite well with this great-uncle of his.
Not long ago, during some holiday or another, Song Fengshi, as usual, brought gifts to visit this “lonely old man.”
At that time, Zhao Meng had been troubled over casting for a new short film. After the two of them got to chatting, he casually complained that he could not find a suitable actor and that worrying over it was enough to make him go bald.
It was then that Song Fengshi suddenly said, “I know an actor named Lin Zhiqiao.”
Zhao Meng had been taken aback. “Since when did you start involving yourself in entertainment-industry affairs?”
If he remembered correctly, this grandnephew of his had always looked down on the mess and chaos of the entertainment circle. Yet now he not only knew some obscure little actor, but was even “recommending” someone to him.
That immediately set alarm bells ringing in Zhao Meng’s heart.
Although he did not show displeasure on his face, after Song Fengshi left, Zhao Meng went online and searched for the actor named “Lin Zhiqiao.”
The more he read, the angrier he became.
As an actor, Lin Zhiqiao did not have a single respectable work to his name. His acting had been criticized, and during this recent period he had been spending his energy on one variety show after another. Never mind improving himself and polishing his acting—he was even wasting time like this—
Every single thing about him seemed to stomp squarely on Zhao Meng’s sore spots.
In truth, Song Fengshi’s mention of him did not really count as helping someone “sneak in through the back door.” At most, an offhand mention like that only let Zhao Meng know that such a person existed. The absolute most it could do was win the man a chance to audition.
As for whether he could pass the audition, that depended not on Song Fengshi’s words, but on the actor himself.
The real reason Zhao Meng reacted so strongly was because he was worried that his “simple and innocent” grandnephew might be led astray by some morally compromised person in the entertainment industry.
That was why, when Fang Xinnan later approached him and said he wanted to work with him on the variety show Life, Zhao Meng had originally intended to refuse. But the moment he saw “Lin Zhiqiao” among the guest names, he changed his mind at once.
He wanted to see for himself exactly what this little actor, who had somehow made it into his grandnephew’s mind, was actually capable of.
In one corner of the audition room, a camera had been quietly placed.
That was set there by the production team of Life, after receiving permission from Director Zhao’s crew.
When it was Lin Zhiqiao’s turn, Zhao Meng did not show it on his face, but hidden in the way he looked at the young man was a severe and picky sort of scrutiny.
Good-looking enough, sure. But the entertainment industry was not a place where a pretty face alone could get you anywhere.
Lin Zhiqiao’s performance slot lasted two minutes. By the time it ended, most of Zhao Meng’s contempt had already faded.
Though his acting was nowhere near the monster-level skill of true acting gods, it was clear he had some solid foundation. More importantly, and most rare of all, Zhao Meng realized that Lin Zhiqiao had an extremely sharp grasp on the emotional core of a role.
Zhao Meng studied him again for a moment, then gave a light cough and said, “These two…” He picked another two scenes from the same character. “Try these again.”
Lin Zhiqiao only glanced at them twice before memorizing them.
Before the audition, he had already memorized nearly all of this character’s scenes, so this sort of “on-the-spot performance” did not make him panic in the slightest.
After he finished acting them out, Lin Zhiqiao continued sneaking looks at Director Zhao’s expression—
Maybe it was because the lighting was too dim, but Director Zhao’s face looked dark. Paired with his unsmiling expression…
Lin Zhiqiao’s heart had already sunk all the way to the Arctic.
What he did not know was that Director Zhao was actually rather satisfied with him.
After Lin Zhiqiao left, Zhao Meng quietly took out his phone and searched for Lin Zhiqiao’s past works.
He found it very strange. With Lin Zhiqiao’s level of acting, there was no reason his reputation should be as terrible as people said.
Then he saw the kinds of roles Lin Zhiqiao had previously played—
A nameless enemy soldier torn apart by hand in some anti-Japanese war godly drama.
An octopus monster with suction cups all over his face in some supernatural fantasy drama.
A cannon-fodder nobody who got killed off right at the start in some xianxia fantasy epic—without even showing his face…
Zhao Meng: “…”
What kind of scripts had Lin Zhiqiao’s manager been getting for him?!
He honestly felt a little sorry for the kid now. It was not that he had no ability; it was just that he had never been given a proper chance to show it.
Zhao Meng sighed inwardly. Such a good seedling, yet he had been delayed for so long!
The producer sitting beside him was also quite satisfied with Lin Zhiqiao’s performance.
“Old Zhao, what do you think?” the producer leaned over and asked quietly.
Zhao Meng kept a blank face and said, “Let’s keep looking.”
“What a pity, looks like Xiao Qiao’s probably out of luck.”
“Director Zhao really lives up to his reputation. He kept a straight face the entire time—just as strict as the rumors said.”
“To be honest, I feel like Lin Zhiqiao’s acting was actually pretty decent. It’s nowhere near as terrible as people online make it sound.”
“I think so too. It’s way better than some traffic stars whose exaggerated acting is downright ridiculous.”
The auditions for the six of them ended quickly.
By then it was lunchtime. Director Zhao had generously ordered lunch, and everyone still at the audition site got a boxed meal.
Lin Zhiqiao and the others also lucked out and got lunchboxes.
The group found a shady little corner and chatted while eating.
Ji Ran asked Lin Zhiqiao, “How do you feel? Do you think there’s any hope?”
Lin Zhiqiao immediately shook his head. “None. Director Zhao’s face was darker than Judge Bao’s.”
Tang Zhou comforted him, “Isn’t it said that Director Zhao is always unsmiling? Maybe it wasn’t dissatisfaction—maybe his expression just naturally looks bad.”
Lin Zhiqiao sighed.
Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out not far away.
Everyone looked up at once and quickly found the source.
Ji Ran let out a wow. “Bai Su? Is he here to audition too?”
Jiang Qianqian’s eyes lit up. “He should be here for the lead role, right?”
The others nodded one after another, clearly agreeing with her guess.
Among the new generation of popular male stars, Lin Mubai firmly occupied first place, while Bai Su consistently followed right behind him, his popularity ranking second among young actors.
Unlike Lin Mubai’s gentle and refined image, Bai Su was known for blushing easily, which gave him a youthful and pure vibe.
A couple of teasing words were enough to make him blush. When speaking to actresses, he would not even dare make eye contact. And when filming with other actors, just a basic scene could have him red in the face and ears, while intimate scenes made him turn red all over like a freshly steamed crab.
Since entering the industry, Bai Su had almost never had any scandals. The only time paparazzi filmed him tugging at some woman, his studio immediately clarified that she had been an obsessive stalker fan and not some secret girlfriend, nor had there been anything inappropriate.
Because of that, Bai Su had earned a very famous nickname in public: “the pure college boy.”
Perhaps because both their names contained the character Bai, Bai Su and Lin Mubai had clicked immediately the first time they met and became very close. Even their fandoms got along with each other, and every time the two sides crossed paths, the atmosphere was peaceful and harmonious.
Lin Zhiqiao bit into a chicken wing and showed no excitement at Bai Su’s arrival.
In his eyes, even a top-tier traffic star was not as thrilling as a juicy piece of gossip—unless that traffic star happened to have gossip attached to him.
Like right now—
“Holy crap, this is huge gossip!!!”
Lin Zhiqiao sucked in a sharp breath.
“On the surface, he’s selling a single and pure image, but in reality he’s already secretly married with three kids! If anyone’s really pushing the national three-child policy, Bai Su, it’s you!”
