Three days later, the final confirmed casting list for the drama was posted by the teacher in the class group chat.
Shen Li’s roommates eagerly opened the document with her, but the moment they saw the contents, their faces all froze.
“Ayü” — Xu Zishan.
Xu Zishan… from Class Eight?
“What’s going on?” Wang Chuhan asked in confusion. “Wasn’t this role confirmed on the spot for Shen Li? How did it end up being Xu Zishan?”
Sun Yuan was also surprised. Thinking back to the audition, she felt indignant for Shen Li. “What the hell? Xu Zishan didn’t even audition for Ayü that day. How did the role suddenly go to her?”
Scrolling further down, they saw:
“Aru” — Shen Li.
The two roles had been completely swapped — each now playing the other’s part.
“This must be a mistake.” Wang Chuhan patted the stunned Shen Li and urged, “Hurry, ask Teacher Zhang if the production crew mixed you up with Xu Zishan.”
Sun Yuan nodded in agreement.
Only Zhao Meina suddenly sighed while looking at Shen Li. “Shen Li, don’t bother asking. I’m afraid this is the final decision. You can’t change it.”
“Meina, what do you mean by that?” Wang Chuhan frowned. “Do you know something?”
Shen Li also looked up, her eyes red with unshed tears, but she held them back.
She had really been looking forward to playing Ayü.
Zhao Meina, seeing Shen Li’s pitiful expression, squeezed her hand with sympathy. “Yesterday during military training, I accidentally overheard some gossip from Class Eight. They’re saying Xu Zishan’s father invested five hundred yuan in the Destined to Be Phoenix production.”
“Five hundred yuan?” Wang Chuhan and Sun Yuan exclaimed at the same time, instinctively glancing at Shen Li.
But surprisingly, hearing Zhao Meina’s words, much of the hurt in Shen Li’s eyes seemed to fade.
She quietly nodded, her voice soft: “I was feeling a bit unwilling just now, but if she paid five hundred yuan to get that role, then I don’t feel so bad anymore.”
“Shen Li…”
Her roommates thought she was just forcing herself to stay strong. Anyone would feel unfairly treated in this situation — how could she truly accept it so calmly?
But Shen Li forced a small smile and shook her head. “I mean it. Even though Ayü is the maid role with the most room to perform, it’s still just a maid. It doesn’t make that big a difference who plays it. But if she could bring in five hundred yuan of investment for the show, I can understand.”
Wang Chuhan and Sun Yuan hugged her from either side, trying to give silent comfort.
Zhao Meina patted her hand too. “Honestly, this kind of thing happens a lot in the acting world. You’ll run into it again sooner or later. Think of this first audition as your first lesson — it’ll toughen your mindset.”
Shen Li nodded. “A lot of classmates didn’t get any role at all. At least I still get to play Aru. That’s pretty good.”
Seeing her take it so positively, her roommates relaxed a little.
Meanwhile, Shen Ci had spent three full days holed up in the dorm, finally finishing the nearly two-million-word novel Destined to Be Phoenix.
She had read it quickly and only grasped the big picture, but she now understood the plot and the main characters well enough.
“You finally finished?”
Gu Lianxing came in holding a bowl of green salad, shaking her head in amazement. “You’re incredible. It took me almost a month to get through it. When the second young lady died, I had to stop for two or three days — I cried so hard…”
She set down the salad, eyes sparkling. “You’ve been cooped up here reading for three days. Li Xiao came by three days in a row. When I went downstairs to get takeout, I shooed him off. Let’s go eat out — I’m craving that little restaurant we went to last time.”
Shen Ci smiled and nodded. She’d relied on Gu Lianxing to bring her food while she read, so of course she wanted to return the favor.
On the way out of campus, Shen Ci started a video call with her younger sister.
Since Shen Li was busy with military training, she could only be reached at night.
The video connected quickly — and before anyone spoke, Shen Ci immediately sensed something was off with her sister.
Even though she was trying to look strong and cheerful, Shen Li had clearly cried alone earlier. The camera caught her swollen, red eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Shen Ci’s smile faded as she asked.
Shen Li quickly forced a smile. “It’s nothing, sis. I actually wanted to tell you some good news. The Destined to Be Phoenix crew came to our school a few days ago to cast roles, and I got one.”
Shen Ci paused — what a coincidence.
“I just read that book. Who are you playing?” Shen Ci asked.
“I’m playing Aru — the little maid who serves the fourth young lady.”
Shen Ci thought for a moment before recalling that minor, cannon-fodder character who dies early in the story, beaten to death for taking punishment in her mistress’s place.
“Big sister, Shen Li was originally supposed to play Ayü, but someone bought the role.”
Before Shen Li could stop her, Wang Chuhan suddenly popped into the camera frame and blurted it out. Shen Ci’s face immediately darkened.
Beside her, Gu Lianxing also frowned. “Your sister’s just a first-year student, and there are already people using money to snatch roles?”
“A’Li, tell me everything,” Shen Ci said calmly.
Knowing she couldn’t hide it, Shen Li explained the whole situation. At the end, worried her sister would be upset, she added lightly, “But I think it’s okay. Having something is better than nothing. There’ll be more chances in the future.”
Of course Shen Ci felt protective of her sister — but with her professional eye, she didn’t actually want Shen Li to play Ayü either.
“A’Li, listen to me. Ayü isn’t the right role for you. The director and teachers probably thought you acted really well, but that’s exactly why I don’t want you playing her.”
“That character is a villain. Even though she’s just a small supporting role, if you act too well, you’ll risk getting typecast. What if people only offer you bad-maid roles in the future?”
Shen Ci wasn’t just trying to comfort her sister, nor was she exaggerating. Many actors get pigeonholed by their first breakout role. If their debut villain performance is too good, they’ll keep getting cast in similar parts.
And besides — she didn’t want her sister playing any maid at all.
Even if she couldn’t start as a lead, she should at least have a supporting role with standout moments.
For example, the second young lady in the novel — timid, kindhearted, carefree at first, but later making a brave, tragic sacrifice for the heroine. That was the kind of role Shen Ci wanted for her sister, one that could win her a big fanbase.
(End of Chapter)