“Miss Qiao, please go home and wait for our notification.”
Excellent. The brave one was their casting director.
Qiao Cheng didn’t react much to this. She glanced at Ying Shi, who was sitting at the very edge, then turned her gaze to Director Zhang Shuo. “Give me a straight answer. Did I pass or not?”
Ying Shi watched the actress’s arrogant and domineering profile and thought to herself that the only wealthy young lady she had ever interacted with was Jiang Nian—the kind who was gentle, polite, and a wolf in sheep’s clothing type. Now she finally got to see what willful and spoiled really looked like.
Zhang Shuo had a good temper, but he wasn’t good at saying soft things to appease these young masters and miss. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had no say at all on the set of ‘For Your Sake.’
So at that moment, Director Zhang simply stated the facts plainly. “You’re not suited for Yao Sanxiu.”
Qiao Cheng’s expression visibly darkened.
Just as Ying Shi thought she was about to lose her temper, Qiao Cheng forcibly suppressed her anger. “At least let me know where I fell short.”
Ying Shi thought to herself that the young lady really couldn’t read the room or sense everyone’s awkwardness.
After a moment of thought, just as Director Zhang was hesitating and about to speak, Ying Shi spoke up first. “Would you be interested in playing a supporting role?”
Everyone else instantly shifted into spectator mode. In their eyes, this was probably shaping up to be a battle of the second-generation rich kids.
Everyone knew that Qiao Cheng had only played supporting roles in two dramas at the very beginning of her career. Once she gained a bit of popularity, she landed nothing but female lead roles.
Regardless of how those dramas performed, her personal popularity had been hyped up, and she had accumulated quite a few fans.
Everyone present knew that Ying Shi’s criterion for casting was simply suitability. She didn’t care about an actor’s popularity or status. Who would ultimately be chosen as the female lead of this drama was still unknown.
If the female lead turned out to be a complete unknown like Zhou Qingning, who had been a mere extra, Qiao Cheng would probably explode with rage…
Surprisingly, Qiao Cheng didn’t get angry. She just thought for a moment. “Which role do you think I’d be suited for?”
Her attitude was predictably arrogant, as if she didn’t take Ying Shi seriously at all.
Ying Shi certainly didn’t mind her attitude. She pulled two sheets of paper from the folder in front of her. “Would you like to try Du Zelan?”
Du Zelan was the only daughter of the owner of Derentang, the Lingcao Hall’s main competitor.
Because Old Du had a strong business acumen, he had cornered the herbal medicine market in the local area and several neighboring counties. The Lin family was still able to hold their ground solely because Mrs. Lin’s live-in husband, Doctor Ye, had exceptional medical skills.
As a result, Du Zelan had been raised to be spoiled, willful, and arrogant, often clashing with Yao Sanxiu.
In Ying Shi’s view, this role was practically tailor-made for Qiao Cheng.
When she mentioned Du Zelan, Director Zhang and Song Zhizhi on the side looked somewhat surprised.
Qiao Cheng was indeed suited for Du Zelan, but there were too many unknowns when it came to using her, and an uncontrollable actor was always a problem.
However, since Ying Shi didn’t mind, naturally no one else would say much.
The immediate issue was that directly suggesting Miss Qiao play Du Zelan—wouldn’t she take that as an insult?
Qiao Cheng did frown. She had clearly seen the list of roles available for audition in “The Legend of Medicine Maiden.”
Based on the released character descriptions and audition sides, Du Zelan wasn’t exactly a likable role.
But Qiao Cheng still didn’t explode. It seemed like she had talked herself into calming down. “I need to see the audition script.”
“Of course.” Ying Shi’s expression remained calm, but her dark eyes carried a hint of anticipation.
…
After the auditions ended, Ying Shi made it very clear that they could confirm Qiao Cheng for Du Zelan. Given the role’s screen time and billing, if Qiao Cheng didn’t mind, she could come to Ying Shi Entertainment to sign the contract.
Qiao Cheng left with an air of indifference, only revealing her true emotions once she was inside her private van.
“I got the role!” she exclaimed excitedly, grabbing her assistant’s arm. The assistant looked flattered and caught off guard.
Her agent, An Lin, sat in the passenger seat and glanced back at her. “Are you sure you want to play Du Zelan?”
“Why wouldn’t I? I earned this opportunity through the audition!” Qiao Cheng reacted vehemently.
An Lin felt a wave of exhaustion and helplessness. The young lady had taken it into her head to audition on a whim. Given Ying Shi Entertainment’s casting standards, An Lin had originally thought Qiao Cheng definitely wouldn’t pass. And on top of that, there was the relationship between Director Zhang and them…
The only reason she had agreed to let Qiao Cheng come was that she knew she couldn’t change the young lady’s mind. She figured Qiao Cheng would have to hit a brick wall before learning her lesson.
Who would have thought—she hit the wall, but the wall opened a door. The young lady took a few steps and managed to walk right through.
“Du Zelan is a willful, spoiled rich young lady. She comes off as foolish and brainless, constantly at odds with the protagonist. A classic ugly supporting role configuration. Are you sure you want to play that?”
An Lin couldn’t help but admire Ying Shi. This character really was tailor-made for Qiao Cheng. If the world were a novel, Qiao Cheng would be the perfect embodiment of a brainless villainess…
Well, maybe there were still some differences.
Even though Qiao Cheng had a terrible temper, she had never deliberately made things difficult for others. The reason she had gone along with the drastic changes to “For Your Sake” was that she couldn’t stand the male lead; she felt it was humiliating to play a supporting role to a “pretty boy” who lived off a sugar mommy.
And the other party wasn’t peaceful either. After changing the supporting roles’ scenes, he wanted to change hers too. The young lady’s temper flared at the slightest provocation, so she simply decided to burn it all down together.
An Lin had tried to stop her back then, but there was no holding her back.
Now that she was joining the cast of “The Legend of Medicine Maiden,” Ying Shi certainly wouldn’t let her do whatever she wanted. When she inevitably got upset, it would be a whole new pile of trouble.
“They said I acted well. And you’re always telling me that there are no good or bad roles—that playing a villain well can still make you shine. You’ve been wanting me to try different types of roles, haven’t I switched it up now?” Qiao Cheng looked confused.
An Lin’s head began to ache again.
Qiao Cheng had always been obsessed with the “gentle, intelligent, benevolent to the world” type of role—the kind that felt like a White Moonlight(pure, untouchable first love type). She always chose such characters, and no amount of persuasion could change her mind. The problem was, her acting just wasn’t up to it. An Lin had repeatedly tried to get her to try different types of roles, but she never listened. Now she suddenly decided to be obedient?
Fine. She was done meddling.
“Just remember—we can’t invest in ‘The Legend of Medicine Maiden.’ Once you join the cast, you have to behave yourself and focus on your acting. They haven’t cast the female lead yet. If it ends up being some complete nobody, don’t you dare throw a tantrum—”
“Hmph, do I look like the kind of person who just throws tantrums for no reason?” Qiao Cheng lounged smugly against the back of her seat, closed her eyes, and began to rest.
…
[Breaking News! Qiao Cheng auditioned for “The Legend of Medicine Maiden”—Is she going to take on the goddess role again?]
[OP: I’m from City B and went to check out my minor celebrity crush. Unexpectedly ran into Qiao Cheng. I heard they were auditioning for the female lead. Qiao Cheng didn’t look angry—did she pass the audition?]
[Guanjun is rich herself. She shouldn’t have to bow down for investment, right?]
[With Qiao Cheng’s acting skills, if she’s the female lead, this drama isn’t worth watching. It’ll be the same thousand-episode expressionless goddess act.]
[But given her status, she wouldn’t agree to a supporting role, would she?]
[Don’t drag us into this. No confirmation, no discussion!]
[Showing up at YSYS doesn’t necessarily mean she’s auditioning. Could be a different collaboration?]
[Stop promoting “The Legend of Medicine Maiden” using Chengzi!!! Argh!!!]
[She was at the audition location, and they’re still saying “no confirmation, no discussion.” The hardest thing in the world is a fan’s mouth.]
[Haha, I feel like I’ve seen this episode before! “We were ready to fight to the death—so why did Your Majesty surrender first?”]
[The Mushroom curse. You never disappoint!]
[Qiao Cheng’s fans were cursing out Director Zhang and Mushroom just days ago, and now their own sister is happily auditioning for their drama!]
[This really is disheartening for fans…]
[Heartless my foot. Qiao Cheng is just playing around as a rich young lady. Why would she care about her fans’ feelings?]
[A lot of people who follow Qiao Cheng are drawn to her royal status. No need to fight for resources—the resources just come to her. They’re in it for that satisfying feeling (dog head.JPG).]
[Aren’t we analyzing which role she might play? Judging by her expression when she left, she seemed pretty happy?]
[I can’t imagine what role she’d play. Her auditioning for Zhang Shuo’s new drama is already surreal enough. Would Zhang Shuo even dare to cast her?]
[With Boss Ying in charge of this drama, it should be fine, right?]
[…]
[Latest news! Qiao Cheng confirms she will appear in “The Legend of Medicine Maiden”—but not as the female lead!]
[No way. Royalty isn’t playing the lead? She’s actually willing to take a supporting role? This has to be Boss Ying’s doing!]
[Ying Men! Hooray!]
[Ying Men +1]
[Ying Men…]
[I checked the YSYS official website notice. The audition notice for the supporting female role “Du Zelan” has been taken down, saying that actors scheduled to audition for that role will be reassigned to other characters. Though, to be fair, not many actors were auditioning for this role in the first place…]
[So Qiao Cheng has been confirmed for this role?]
[That’s the fourth female lead…]
[The third female lead has such a sloppy introduction too. Who is ‘Miss Wen’? A third lead without even a full name?]
[Don’t try to figure out YSYS’s logic.]
[Qiao Cheng’s fans are indeed kicking up a fuss. She went to a rival company to audition and ended up with the fourth female lead. Laughing to death.]
[You stan royalty, expecting top-tier resources, only to get this. Of course you’d be upset.]
[But Qiao Cheng is being pretty sincere. She posted a long Weibo saying she genuinely likes this role. Since she agreed to take it, she personally said yes—it has nothing to do with her studio…]
[The Eldest Miss is truly fearless…]
[Am I the only one curious—what’s so special about this drama?]
[It’s just hype. Everyone was bashing it before, and now the reputation has suddenly improved…]
[So, the ‘Eldest Miss’ Qiao Cheng cooperating with hype? For a fourth-lead role? Do you even hear yourself?]
[…]
[Another update! The female lead is Xia Wenxin. Second female lead is Sun Yuan. Third female lead is He Xinrou!]
[Among the male actors, there’s Zhang Jingsi.]
[Wait??? I’m shocked just from following this gossip! Sun Yuan? Wasn’t Sun Yuan supposed to be on a break?]
[Zhang Jingsi has good looks and acting skills, but he’s always had bad luck with resources—constantly playing cannon-fodder supporting roles. Hopefully, he’ll get a decent part this time.]
[The female lead, Xia Wenxin, is also decent. Good acting, but like Zhang Jingsi, she’s been a perennial supporting actress. I heard she transitioned from being a opera martial artist(Wusheng) to entertainment. She only switched careers because of a foot injury. Is this goddess role really that hardcore? O_o]
[A Wusheng? Now I have to at least check it out! Could it be that this goddess wins people over with martial virtue?]
[Isn’t this drama about a medicine immortal?]
[Aaahhh, when is the production team going to release the character stills? I want to see them!]
[Haha, aside from Sun Yuan and Qiao Cheng, this drama is mostly familiar faces with small fanbases. Yet it’s still this lively.]
[You don’t understand the charm of Mushroom?]
[Mushroom is the real traffic king of YSYS!]