Securing this role would be no easy feat.
The Original Host had looked down on it because it was a web drama, so even though her agent had mentioned it to her, she never intended to audition. In fact, she believed that as long as she showed up, the role of the “Female Protagonist” would surely be hers. After all, she had just finished a hit idol drama and was at the peak of her fame; surely she was better than those newcomers?
In reality, she wasn’t.
In Director Wang’s eyes, being a “newcomer” was a bonus point, while “fame” was a deduction.
Much later, everyone would realize that Director Wang didn’t just debut newcomers in his first project; he used them for almost all his shows. If he absolutely had to, he would use veteran actors who were so unpopular they were buried to the center of the earth. He once famously said:
“Famous actors certainly have an aura of popularity, but their acting also has a certain ‘greasiness.’ They lack the ‘cleanliness’ my camera shots require, so I won’t use them.”
Only a man like him could say such things without getting beaten up.
The newcomers he launched always became overnight sensations. His words showed almost no regard for their feelings, yet they could only force a smile and nod, saying Director Wang was right, Director Wang was brilliant.
Because he was Director Wang.
When others filmed web dramas, they were considered shoddy productions that weren’t presentable; when he filmed web dramas, it was seen as visionary leadership and a mastery of changing technological trends.
Qin You remembered that later, some people analyzed why Director Wang chose to film *Sleepless City* as a web drama, and their arguments were quite convincing. For instance, they claimed the plot was so tight and exciting that if it were broadcast on TV, viewers tuning in halfway through would have a diminished viewing experience. Releasing it online was different; it ensured the audience’s viewing experience remained complete.
Because he was Director Wang, every decision he made could be interpreted as well-thought-out and visionary, even if those decisions ran in opposite directions to the rest of the industry.
So, contrary to what the Original Host had imagined, her fame was not an advantage—it was a disadvantage. If she had actually gone to the audition, there was a high probability she wouldn’t have gotten the role.
And now, Qin You had inherited that fame. In fact, she had inherited a bit too much of it. When the Original Host spoke to her agent about this script, she was merely a somewhat famous idol drama actress. Now, she was the “mistress” known to the vast majority of people; her notoriety had grown by more than just one circle.
Thus, the difficulty had increased.
On the other hand… perhaps this could be a good thing.
Qin You’s gaze fell upon the chat records that made her feel sick. She could release them now to clear the Original Host’s name.
Or… she could use them as leverage to fight for this role.
The viper-like beauty in the script was named Ling Yu. Although this was an ensemble drama, there was a backbone character who strung all the episodes together—and it was her.
Ling Yu was true to her name; her methods were ruthless, and she was cold and heartless. Whether dealing with herself, her friends, or her enemies, she was equally cruel.
It wasn’t easy for an actor to display these traits, and even harder to make the audience believe in them.
In her previous life, after Director Wang’s meticulous screening, this role was played by a talented student. Her image was fitting—she had that shrewd, cold, yet stunningly beautiful look.
Unfortunately, looking shrewd didn’t mean the person actually was. That actress later ruined herself because she was a “love-brain”… her level of obsession was almost on par with the Original Owner of Qin You’s Body.
When her love-brain deeds were exposed, Director Wang was extremely unhappy. Even though it was several years after *Sleepless City* had launched and her actions couldn’t affect the show’s performance, the collapse of her image still had a massive impact on the character of Ling Yu.
This was what Director Wang was dissatisfied with. Ling Yu was the character he had shaped with the most care, and she later became the most watched character by the audience—the core figure of the entire drama. He didn’t care if the actress ruined her own life, but the new persona she gained after her image collapsed was poles apart from Ling Yu. After that, many people said they couldn’t help but feel a sense of discrepancy when re-watching the drama.
Qin You always felt that Director Wang was a director with a strong desire for control. While most directors were control freaks, Director Wang was clearly more extreme than most.
Qin You had a theory. She believed the reason Director Wang only used newcomers—at least for important roles, using famous stars only for extremely minor ones—wasn’t just because famous actors had “greasy” acting.
Using newcomers had another advantage: most newcomers who rose to fame from his dramas would be immediately typecast. The roles they were offered afterward were mostly of the same type. Even if they were different, the probability of an actor hitting two blockbuster roles was incredibly small.
So, even if these actors became more and more famous later on, the public’s perception of them remained consistent with the beginning. When the audience watched the drama, they wouldn’t experience any sense of breaking character.
Director Wang didn’t care about the future prospects of his actors; he liked it when the audience couldn’t distinguish between the person and the character. Only then could he ensure they believed the world on the other side of the screen was real while they watched.
Qin You currently held a bad hand, but she could turn it into a good hand.
If she found Director Wang and, on the basis that her image and acting were up to the task, told him she was willing to bear the reputation of a “mistress” until the drama aired—specifically, until the moment Ling Yu’s true motives were exposed—and then released the evidence… Of course, she would have to re-select the screenshots, trying to find conversations where the Original Host’s remarks weren’t so mushy. She would tell everyone that her endurance of the overwhelming vilification for so long was all to ignite the drama’s publicity.
Director Wang didn’t care about promotion—at least not particularly—but this action would be extremely fitting for Ling Yu’s persona.
The audience would believe that she *was* Ling Yu.
And this should be enough to cancel out her current “fame” debuff.
Qin You quickly selected a few more chat records where the man was sweet and loving while the Original Host was neither hot nor cold. Then, she began messaging her agent, asking where the auditions for *Sleepless City* were currently being held. She remembered the auditions were at a series of different locations and didn’t know where Director Wang was now.
“Sleepless City? Didn’t you say you weren’t planning to audition?”
“Are you okay these past two days? Do you still feel bad?”
“Oh, the entertainment industry is just like that. Don’t take it too much to heart. Being infamous is also popularity. Besides, no one will remember it in a while.”
“Work hard and try to get a good role in the future. Then no one will care about this little thing anymore.”
Looking at the string of messages popping up with no intention of stopping, Qin You took a deep breath.
The conversation style between the Original Host and this agent didn’t seem like a working relationship; it was more like they were best friends.
“The audition address, can you send it to me?”
The other side typed for a while before a new message arrived.
“The auditions have already ended. They just finished the auditions at X University last night. Weren’t you uninterested in this drama? Why did you suddenly think to ask?”
“It’s nothing.”
X University.
X University… Qin You glanced at the time. It was ten in the morning.
If she remembered correctly, Director Wang’s lunch location was very fixed.
Even though he might be worth hundreds of millions, his lunch every day was a fixed small hamburger. It was boring, simple, and left one hungry—it was said to be a habit from his previous job. People in the finance world weren’t used to eating too much at noon, and they strictly avoided a full meal because it would affect their mental clarity in the afternoon.
She checked the map. There was only one KFC and one McDonald’s near X University that sold hamburgers. If Director Wang was still staying near X University, his location during lunch hour should be easy to pin down.
Next… Qin You looked at her messy self in the mirror. Next, she had to change her styling—to a look that perfectly matched Ling Yu.
On this point, she also had an advantage. She had already seen the drama *Sleepless City*, and she had watched it so many times that every detail was crystal clear in her mind.
As a reminder, Director Wang, as a director, was a top-tier control freak. Every single costume in the drama was personally finalized by him along with the art director and the costume designer.
When Ling Yu made her first appearance, she wore a black dress.
Qin You pulled open the Original Host’s wardrobe and rummaged for a long time before finding a black dress that appeared in her memory. This dress was eighty percent similar to the one in the drama from her previous life.
She changed into the black dress, applied bright red lipstick, and did a simple makeup look for the rest of her face. Then, she put her hair up, securing it with a thin wooden hairpin that looked no different from a chopstick. She pulled out a few flyaway hairs and finally used foundation to carefully conceal the red marks on her neck.
She now bore a seventy to eighty percent resemblance to “Ling Yu” in her first appearance. If there was any difference, it was that her face was even more beautiful.
This series of actions took Qin You less than ten minutes. She grabbed her notebook, took her mask and sunglasses in her other hand, and went out to hail a taxi.
Destination: X University.