Her widened eyes reflected the man’s cruel and cold handsomeness, and she suddenly felt that his temper might not be as mild as it seemed.
Yan Luoxi slapped away his large hand, rubbing her cheek that he had pinched painfully, “You’re wrong, it’s not an ex-girlfriend, it’s an ex-fiancée.”
Li Yeqi’s brows and eyes were filled with a smile that was more mocking than joyful, “Ex-fiancée?
Still longing for him?”
Yan Luoxi was taken aback.
Longing, was she?
She never tolerated any flaws in her relationships, and she had seen with her own eyes Lu Zhaoran’s betrayal.
Even if giving him up was as painful as gouging out her heart, she had still let go with poise.
But there was something inexplicably possessive about the tone of this man whom she had only met three times.
It seemed he knew everything about her, yet she knew nothing about him, and this feeling was not at all pleasant.
“Whether I still long for him or not, what’s it to you?” Yan Luoxi cocked her head, her tone sharp and challenging as she stared at him.
The light was bright, and the clean, handsome man sitting across from her took out a cigarette, lighting it with practiced ease.
The pale smoke dispersed into the air as his deep voice, authoritarian and domineering, said, “I’m very interested in you, so you must be completely clean, both body and mind.”
Yan Luoxi gave a slight smile, “Just because you’re interested in me, I have to keep clean in body and soul?
What gives you the right?”
“Because I am your man!” The man’s eyes narrowed, his thin lips parting to exhale a stream of smoke, blurring his handsome face, making it hard for her to discern his expression.
Yan Luoxi was annoyed, grasping her purse and standing up, “Seventh Master, I think I’ve completely lost my appetite for this late-night snack.
Let’s not meet again!”
With that said, she turned and left the private room.
Li Yeqi slowly drew on his cigarette, his slightly narrowed eyes fixed on the woman’s retreating figure, and he did not make a move to follow her, “Not meet again, you think it’s up to you?”
The intense stares from behind her were like thorns on her back, causing Yan Luoxi to quicken her pace, and she soon disappeared at the entrance door.
Yan Luoxi took a cab back to her place, and her phone began to vibrate.
She pulled it out of her bag, glanced at the caller ID and answered the call, only to hear a soft female voice from the other end, “Are you home?
Did anything happen with that Seventh Master?”
“Yeah, something unpleasant happened.” Yan Luoxi flopped aggressively into the sofa, “Right, how’s the web series going?”
Audition tomorrow morning, I’ve sent the script to your email.
Get ready,” Tian Lingyun subdued her curiosity about that Seventh Master, getting back to business.
Yan Luoxi glanced at the laptop not far away, crawled over to boot it up, and soon pulled up the script from the computer, “Got the email, I’ll take a look.”
After hanging up the phone, she hugged the laptop and leaned back on the sofa, seriously reading the script.
“Jin Palace” tells the story of a meek princess of the royal family, who, used by the Emperor as a pawn and sent to the Prince’s estate, is spurned by the Prince and pushed into Huzhai River by the servants, miraculously surviving and then undergoing a complete transformation, swearing to make herself admired by all.
It was an inspiring story.
With rapid plot development, if produced well, this series could even become more popular than “Empress Wu.”
Yan Luoxi read the script until late into the night and then chose a scene where the princess, reborn from the ashes, confronts the Prince, as her audition piece for the next day.
The next day, Yan Luoxi, dressed in a simple and clean white T-shirt and denim shorts, arrived at the audition building.
She took the elevator upstairs, located the suite number sent by her friend, and after checking several times to make sure she was at the right place, she walked in.
Different from the previous audition venue, every part of this place exuded an indescribable surprise.
When she entered, a female actress auditioning was just being chased out by the director.
“This shitty crew, enduring such bad luck for eight lifetimes just to come audition, wasting my time,” the actress stormed off in a huff.
From the audition room came the staff’s calling, “Next, please.”
Yan Luoxi glanced at the hallway, which was empty except for her.
She poked her head in and immediately spotted the middle-aged man with artistically kept beard, exuding an unmistakable “I am the director” vibe.
She gave an awkward smile and hurried in, “Director, my name is Yan Luoxi, Tian Lingyun referred me for the audition, shall I start my performance?”
The director looked at her lazily, “Yan Luoxi?
The recent hot topic of a national supporting actress on Weibo?
You’re not playing your supporting role and you run over here to join the fun?”
“Well, I came because it’s lively, Director.
Can I start my performance now?” Yan Luoxi put down her bag, ready to get into character.
“Wait, wait,” the director raised his hand to stop her.
Yan Luoxi looked at him in surprise, “Director, is there a problem?”
“I have one question for you.
Answer it, and consider that your audition.”
She had never encountered such an unprofessional audition, but the director had the final say, “Please ask, Director.”
“First question, our crew is very poor, we could run out of funds at any time, can you accept that?”
Yan Luoxi glanced at the shabby audition room.
The crew was evidently poor, she felt it, but she didn’t mind, “It’s okay, I have some savings, I can invest.
I am very optimistic about this drama.”
The director was obviously surprised that she mentioned investment.
The actors who auditioned before her would become perfunctory once they heard the filming could stop at any time.
“No problem then, let’s begin the audition now.”
Yan Luoxi quickly got into character; when she was forced to jump into the Huzhai River, her eyes conveyed such desolate despair that was compelling, making people involuntarily immerse themselves in the sorrowful atmosphere she created.
Then, when she was miraculously rescued and first saw Prince Jing in her room, she looked at him with defiance, “Prince Jing, I owe you nothing.
You were the one who climbed up to royalty.
From today onwards, we sever all ties!”
Seconds after Yan Luoxi finished her performance, the director hadn’t snapped back to reality.
A good while later, he clapped in appreciation.
“Excellent, you’re our lead actress.
Miss Yan, shall we discuss the investment now?”
Yan Luoxi: “…”
It turned out that Tian Lingyun had dug her a colossal pit.
She had never heard of a drama requiring the lead actress to provide investment.
Such an absurd situation befell her, yet seeing the director’s anticipant and enthusiastic expression, she felt like crying but had no tears.
“Director, it’s such a waste that you don’t act.”
Yan Luoxi’s face was full of grievance.
Promises of acting leading to wealth and reaching the pinnacle of life, with a slap in the face, why did the plot not follow the script at all?
Yan Luoxi left the building still filled with complaints.
She stood by the roadside, fiddling with her phone while waiting for a taxi.
Unintentionally looking up, across the street was a Bentley Mulsanne parked, and a man, back towards her, leaned against the car casually smoking, seemingly waiting for someone.