Xie Yunxie: Woof woof!
When Ming Yi entered, Director Ji was speaking with someone beside him. The person was frowning, their expression full of helplessness. Ming Yi caught a faint fragment of conversation, “Stop being so picky, let us just go with [Name],” before the voices ceased abruptly upon his entry.
Before Ming Yi walked in, Director Ji had been having a disagreement with the casting team. The anxiety of being unable to find a lead in time had spread throughout the group. The casting team favored the third actor who had auditioned; his acting was decent, he brought his own fan traffic, and he had experience on the big screen. His only flaws were that he was slightly older and had features that were a bit too rugged.
He did not quite match the Immortal Lord Wu Wang, Ying Bu Ran, who had attained the peak of cultivation at a young age. In other words, he lacked that ethereal, celestial air.
Because of this flaw, Director Ji remained stubborn. He believed the actor was not fit for the role and insisted on seeing every actor present before making a decision. For a moment, the atmosphere was at a stalemate. Ming Yi’s arrival pushed this strange tension to its peak.
Who was Ming Yi? He was a famous “vase” in the entertainment industry. How “thirsty for talent” must Director Ji be to have sent Ming Yi an audition invitation? Several people frowned, their scrutinizing gazes landing on Ming Yi.
To be fair, Ming Yi’s appearance was indeed young and beautiful enough. No one could find a flaw in that face. But for an actor, poor acting is the original sin. Even with a pretty face, if the performance is painful to watch, it is useless.
Director Ji also watched Ming Yi. Inviting him had been a desperate, risky gamble. He had not held much hope, but seeing the person in the flesh, he felt that same plucking of his heartstrings again. It was a subtle, special aura, fragile enough to make one feel a malicious desire to destroy it, yet unyielding, like a faint flame burning beneath an ice field. It made one want to break through the ice to touch that deeply hidden warmth.
Ji Hong often referred to this as a sense of story. He was unexpectedly suitable for the role of Ying Bu Ran.
The question was whether this actor, labeled as a “vase,” had the ability to carry the role.
Under the weight of so many doubtful gazes, it was impossible for Ming Yi not to be nervous. He could only comfort himself with Xie Yunxie’s experiences; even if he messed up, he would not be beaten and thrown out, which was already much better than Xie Yunxie’s entrepreneurial start.
Thinking this, Ming Yi’s heart gradually calmed. Xie Yunxie could make a comeback under terrible conditions; as Xie Yunxie’s partner, his own mindset could not be too poor.
Ming Yi gave a clear self-introduction and entered the audition phase. The casting team clearly held no hope for him, but since he was already there, they could not just tell him to leave. They chose a difficult scene to perform, aiming to make Ming Yi retreat in the face of the challenge.
They selected a key scene from the final battle: Ying Bu Ran is triggered by the protagonist into a mental demon state. In the illusion created by his inner demons, he sees his past self, living a pathetic existence with hands stained in blood. He laughs and cries, gradually descending into madness.
The difficulty lay in the portrayal of “laughing and crying while descending into madness.” According to the casting team’s knowledge of Ming Yi, they doubted he could even cry on cue, let alone express deeper, more complex emotions to the camera.
The group watched Ming Yi with irritation, hoping he would take the hint and leave quickly so as not to waste their time.
But in the next second, what happened was entirely beyond their expectations.
Without any warning, Ming Yi’s eyelids turned red. A tear gathered quickly and traced a path down his expressionless face, falling completely. He cried exactly when needed, startling the group who had expected nothing. It was so seamless.
And it did not stop there. Immediately after, Ming Yi suddenly let out a laugh. His downward turning lips were suppressed with effort, pressed into a cold, heartless line that showed a stubborn refusal to reveal his fragility. But even as he pursed his lips and gritted his teeth, a self-mocking, self-loathing laugh escaped.
After the suppression, he finally laughed out loud. His shoulders trembled, and even the muscles in his face were shaking. Crying and laughing at once, he looked manic. Anyone could see his sorrow and pain.
This performance was incredibly infectious. It reached the script’s requirements perfectly, leaving the group stunned.
Wait, who said his acting was bad? This acting is actually quite good, right?
It had layers and emotion. If this was still called a “vase,” then the entertainment industry must be full of unformed lumps of clay!
Ji Hong’s eyes lit up, and he chose another scene for Ming Yi to perform. It was a confrontation with an enemy. Ying Bu Ran stands before his foe, sword pointed at them, revealing the enemy’s ugly true nature with hatred.
Ming Yi wiped his face and quickly gathered his emotions for the next scene. To chase and surpass Yan An, Ming Yi had once tried to mimic Yan An’s acting techniques. But at this moment, his mind could not recall any of those so called techniques.
Hatred, he had that himself. Yes, the fires of hatred had begun to burn fiercely in his heart the moment he returned home at fourteen and realized Yan An occupied all of his family’s love.
“Every night when I wake up from a nightmare at midnight, I think: I must kill you!”
“I want to make you fall from your heights of glory and let the world see your hypocritical face!”
The hatred was so full that it nearly overflowed from his sharp gaze and trembling words. Ming Yi stared darkly as if at Yan An, hating him with genuine feeling. He wanted so badly for time to turn back to the moment they were swapped, so he could cut off this twisted fate!
The performance ended. Ming Yi slowly put down the prop sword, returning it to its place. It was only when he let go that he realized his fingers were aching and numb from gripping the sword too hard.
His emotions had been entirely vented. Ming Yi felt as though his body was hollow, like a puppet that had lost all feeling. He heard Director Ji tell him to go home and wait for news. His body automatically went through the polite process of leaving. By the time he came to his senses, he was back in the car.
His manager, Sister Xu, leaned in nervously and asked how the audition went. Ming Yi only said, “Director Ji told me to wait for news.”
The manager did not look disappointed. She smiled and encouraged him, “Do not worry. The process is usually like this. You still have a chance.”
Ming Yi did not sink into the disappointment Sister Xu feared. He felt like he had just finished a major exam, exhausted, but possessed by a sense of transcendence now that he had left the hall. The difficult test was over; the score and the result were in the hands of fate.
Ming Yi even said, “I think I performed quite well this time.”
He had not been met with those indescribable looks from people on the spot. Furthermore, Ming Yi felt that purely based on the script, his emotions were in place. He had the feelings and the acting. No technique, just raw emotion.
This time was a stroke of luck. The audition required crying, which happened to be Ming Yi’s usual state lately. After learning the truth of the world and being treated cruelly by the scumbag Xie Yunxie, the helplessness and grief of being abandoned by everyone often broke through his defenses, forcing him to curl up in a corner and cry in pain.
The audition required him to hate. And so coincidentally, Ming Yi often hated certain hypocritical people and this world where fate was out of his control. Ming Yi thought with a mix of self-mockery and relief: whether he got the part or not, at least he felt good performing today.
“By the way,” Sister Xu said as if remembering something. She suddenly took something out of a thermal bag and handed it to him with a smile. “Mr. Xie asked me to give this to you. He said it is your audition gift.”
Ming Yi snapped out of it and looked at the object in her hand. It was a box with a small cream cake shaped like a unicorn.
Ming Yi pursed his lips. His tongue seemed to taste a hint of sweetness. He looked at the cake with hesitation, unable to understand why Xie Yunxie would send him this. But he took the cake anyway, scooped up a spoonful, and put it in his mouth.
The sugary taste spread across his tongue. The sweetness soothed his volatile mood, bringing a brief moment of mental pleasure. Ming Yi squinted and ate the cake bite by bite. He did not know if he would have more roles to film in the future, so he would not worry about the calories today.
When he arrived home, Little Pine Bear heard the noise and trotted to the entrance to greet him. The whimpering puppy pounced on Ming Yi’s legs. Ming Yi simply crouched down and petted the fluffy dog for a while, his mood instantly improving.
But this good mood vanished the moment Ming Yi saw the shredded sofa cushion.
“Little Pine Bear! You did something bad again!”
The puppy pricked up his ears and looked at Ming Yi with large, innocent eyes, tilting his head. The puppy does not understand what the human is saying.
The dog was too cute. Ming Yi’s stern face lasted only five seconds before he surrendered and resigned himself to cleaning up the mess.
The old butler was still on sick leave, and the servants at the Xie residence had been dismissed. Xie Yunxie only hired an hourly worker and a cook. At this time, it was already mealtime. The cook was in the kitchen, while the hourly worker had not yet arrived for cleaning.
Ming Yi circled the large villa and finally found a broom and dustpan, preparing to clean the messy living room. Just then, his phone vibrated with a message.
Ming Yi held the broom in one hand and opened his phone with the other. He saw a message from a friend with a wolf profile picture and the nickname Legend of the Hungry Wolf: [I am so hungry, brother. What are you eating for lunch?]
Ming Yi: “?” Who was this?
Ming Yi scrolled up the chat history and finally identified the person as Xie Yunxie.
“…”
This nickname and profile picture might be a bit tacky on someone else, but on Xie Yunxie, they were strangely fitting.
Ming Yi replied: [The cook has not finished yet. Have you not eaten?]
Legend of the Hungry Wolf: [I am still in a meeting. So boring. So hungry. Slacking off secretly.]
Legend of the Hungry Wolf: [Did you eat the cake I sent you?]
Ming Yi: [I ate it.]
Ming Yi thought for a bit and decided to ask Xie Yunxie why he thought to send a cake.
Ming Yi: [Why did you send me a cake?]
Legend of the Hungry Wolf: [Because eating something sweet makes your mood better. Every time I finish something big, I eat something sweet.]
Ming Yi paused and replied: [Thank you. The cake worked well.]
During the reply, Little Pine Bear circled Ming Yi’s feet. Seeing Ming Yi ignoring him, he began to bite Ming Yi’s pant leg. Ming Yi snapped back to reality, saw the mess on the floor, and could not help but take a photo for Xie Yunxie.
Ming Yi: [Image] Ming Yi: [When I came back, the cushion on the sofa was shredded by a bad puppy.]
Xie Yunxie was typing for a full minute before replying.
Legend of the Hungry Wolf: [Actually, I shredded the cushion. This morning, at the thought of going to work for a meeting, a mysterious brute force took control of me, causing me to shred the entire cushion with my bare hands. Little Pine Bear circled around me, trying to talk me out of it, saying you would scold me! But I did not listen.]
Ming Yi: [?]
Legend of the Hungry Wolf: [Anyway, it was definitely not Little Pine Bear! You are not allowed to say he is a bad puppy!]
Ming Yi: […]
What was Xie Yunxie saying? He had clearly said to Ming Yi’s face before that Little Pine Bear was a bad puppy. Ming Yi suspected Xie Yunxie was lightheaded from hunger. He was already talking nonsense.
Ming Yi: [Then who is the bad puppy? You?]
After sending this, Ming Yi felt it was a bit inappropriate and quickly retracted it. Unexpectedly, in the next second, Xie Yunxie’s message popped up.
Legend of the Hungry Wolf: [Woof woof!]
The message flashed and vanished because Xie Yunxie also retracted it with lightning speed.
“…”
Although the messages were retracted, both were certain the other had seen them. Originally, it was just normal teasing and joking, but once retracted, the nature of it felt different. It was as if they were engaging in some unspeakable roleplay.
How strange.
The chat window was silent for a long time, so long that the cook finished the meal, and Ming Yi began to eat before Xie Yunxie’s next message appeared.
Legend of the Hungry Wolf: [Brother, let us go out for Di Guo Ji tonight!]
The topic jumped so fast that Ming Yi did not react: [Where are we eating?]
Legend of the Hungry Wolf: [I will arrange it. I will pick you up when I get back.]
Ming Yi thought for a bit and replied: [Okay.]
Ming Yi had no work now and was idle. Going out for some good food was not a bad idea.
After eating, Ming Yi cleaned the living room and took a rare, leisurely nap. When he woke up, it was already three in the afternoon. There was another message on his phone, but the sender was not Xie Yunxie; it was from Ji Nian, whom he had added earlier. The previously silent contact list seemed exceptionally busy today.
Ji Nian: [I told you to go see a psychiatrist before. Have you gone? (Staring)]
Ming Yi froze for a moment and replied: [I have not gone. I feel much better now.]
Ji Nian: [I do not care how you feel. Some people feel as calm as still water, but when you look at the EKG, they have been gone for a while!]
Ming Yi: “…”
Ming Yi could not refuse Ji Nian’s kindness, so he promised: [Thank you. I am free tomorrow; I will go see the doctor.]
Actually, Ming Yi felt he was fine. At its core, his melancholy was simply because his life had hit rock bottom. Compared to the setbacks in life, the problem that truly troubled him was being unable to escape a future where he was destined to die. And this problem happened to be a supernatural factor that a psychiatrist could absolutely not solve.
Plots and Systems, this kind of supernatural issue could not be solved by a doctor. But since someone actually cared about him, Ming Yi was willing to try for the sake of Ji Nian’s kindness.
Ji Nian was satisfied with the answer: [Do not blame me for being nosy. There is no harm in a check up. Mental health is very important.]
Ming Yi typed sincerely: [I know. Thank you, Brother Ji Nian.]
Ji Nian changed the subject: [By the way, did you offend someone lately? Someone bought a black trending search for you again.]
A black trending search?
Ming Yi opened Weibo and immediately saw the tag hanging prominently: #YingBuRanYanMingYi#
Clicking in, he saw photos of him taken by paparazzi today. The photos showed Ming Yi also participating in the audition for the role of Ying Bu Ran in the Ascension production. Based on these photos, marketing accounts were making various sarcastic insinuations about Ming Yi’s overestimation of his abilities. Original fans were cursing Ming Yi for being so bold as to covet this role.
There was a wall of insults. Ming Yi took a few glances and exited. Being scolded was the norm; Ming Yi had long ago learned to remain calm even when faced with vitriol.
Let them curse. He uninstalled Weibo directly. He likely would not need it in the future anyway. Ming Yi did not believe that based on those few performances, he could defeat other experienced candidates and take the role.
But the trending search still had to be handled. Someone was blackening him on purpose, likely wanting to gain something from him. Ming Yi very much did not want to see the person who set him up get their way.
Sister Xu answered Ming Yi’s call. After learning the details, she comforted him calmly: “It is fine. Do not worry about those clowns. We are about to finish handling it on our end.”
Ming Yi said okay and stopped paying attention to the online rumors.