After parting ways with Director Wen An, Wen Yao saw Yuan Min waiting at the entrance of the audition venue as soon as she stepped out. Yuan Min had been waiting for nearly five hours, but there was no trace of impatience on her face. Instead, she greeted Wen Yao with a bright smile.
"Yao Yao, how was your chat with Director Wen?"
Wen Yao looked at Yuan Min expressionlessly and replied, "It was fine."
Faced with Wen Yao's indifference, Yuan Min didn't mind at all. She was completely immersed in the joy of the audition, envisioning scenes of the movie's huge box office success and Wen Rou's overnight stardom.
Thinking of this, she reminded, "Yao Yao, the opportunity given by Director Wen for his movie is precious. You must put in extra effort. Use this time before the shoot to polish your acting skills. Don't disappoint me and my sister."
Upon hearing this, Wen Yao found it amusing. "You should be saying this to Wen Rou."
Ever since her debut, Wen Rou had only personally starred in two movies, both of which had unbelievably poor reviews and were already considered a dark history by her fans.
As an actress, having such poor acting skills, the focus of the agent and the actress herself was not on improving the acting skills, but on finding a stand-in.
Wen Yao shook her head in disbelief, striding forward without saying another word to Yuan Min.
Caught up in her delight, Yuan Min completely failed to notice Wen Yao's change in attitude. She quickly caught up to Wen Yao, coaxing, "Our sister has an extroverted and sociable personality, suitable for commercial performances, advertisements, and variety shows. Whereas you have a talent for acting, suitable for filming. You two complement each other."
Sometimes, she thought, if both of their strengths could be combined in one person, how perfect that would be.
Alas, nobody is perfect.
Hearing this, Wen Yao sneered inwardly. Before she could respond, a figure appeared in front of them and blocked their way.
Wen Yao looked closely and realized it was the woman with whom she had competed that afternoon.
The woman looked at her with a curved smile, her tone no longer disdainful but with a touch of respect.
She politely greeted, "Teacher Wen, hello! My name is Wei Ling."
Wen Yao raised her eyebrows, "What's the matter? Are you looking to compete again?"
Hearing this, Wei Ling quickly shook her head, "No, Teacher Wen, your martial arts skills are definitely above mine. I admit defeat and have no right to challenge you again."
"Then, what is it?"
"Teacher Wen, I deliberately waited here to apologize again for the incident this afternoon. I was dissatisfied because I had auditioned for the leading role, but Director Wen did not choose me. So, I was a bit resentful and wanted to know the true abilities of the chosen leading actress."
"And now?"
"Now, I understand. Our martial arts skills are poles apart. You are truly worthy of the leading role! I hope Teacher Wen won't compare herself to me."
Wei Ling was straightforward in expressing her thoughts, which made Wen Yao appreciate her even more.
In today's society, there are too many people who are hypocritical and insincere, and she has encountered quite a few like that. It's rare to meet someone so straightforward in character.
Moreover, for martial artists, sparring is completely normal, so she didn't want to argue with Wei Ling.
She said, "You're exaggerating. I only considered the sparring this afternoon as a normal martial arts exchange. I didn't take it to heart, and you don't need to worry about it either."
"Really?" Wei Ling asked with widened eyes.
Wen Yao saw the sincere look in her big watery eyes and smiled, "Of course, in the future, I'll rely on Miss Wei Ling to take care of me more at the set."
Wei Ling didn't expect Wen Rou to be so magnanimous and amiable. Her admiration for Wen Rou increased even more.
Recalling what she had learned about Wen Rou from the internet, before meeting her in person, she had assumed that Wen Rou would be a delicate and beautiful girl, unlikely to possess profound martial arts skills. As for the video of her rescue, she had even suspected it was a marketing ploy by the company.
After personally getting in touch, she realized that this girl was completely different from her on-screen image. Wei Ling both admired the gentle skills and was curious about how many different sides of gentleness were present, and which one was the real her.
Thinking about this, Wei Ling was looking forward to the next few months of getting along.
---
The movie directed by Wen Dao is called "The General", and is based on a real historical figure. Wenyao was very curious about this heroic figure, who was so admired by future generations. So, she read the script overnight. After reading it, Wenyao found that the protagonist was so similar to her, not only in character, but also in background and experiences. Coming from the same background as the protagonist, training in martial arts at the age of three, going to the battlefield at thirteen, and achieving military exploits before the age of sixteen. However, the reason why the female general in the script stepped onto the battlefield was because both her father and brothers had sacrificed themselves on the battlefield, and her father's head had been hung on the enemy's city wall and humiliated for a month. She swore to slay the enemy and avenge her family. From this hatred, the protagonist gradually realized the suffering that the war brought to the people and began to understand why her father and brothers, despite knowing the dangers of the battlefield, willingly and selflessly fought. After realizing this, the protagonist no longer fought for revenge, but instead took on the responsibility of protecting the country and the people, fighting for the well-being of the people. Wenyao's life, however, did not have that stage of seeking revenge. She had been by her father's side since she was young, deeply influenced by her father, and had always aspired to be loyal and protect the country, ensuring peace and security. It's just a pity that her loyalty and ideals did not encounter a good ruler. But the protagonist in the script, on the other hand, had better luck and encountered a ruler who appreciated her very much. After reviewing the content of the script, Wenyao thought that maybe the heavens wanted to use this movie to give her original life a conclusion. Since that was the case, she was determined to do her best and leave no regrets.
Wen An, the director's movie had been prepared for two years, and all that was left was the lead actress. Now that the leading actress was in place, the shooting time naturally needed to be as soon as possible. Therefore, just three days after Wenyao passed the audition, Wen An notified all the actors to join the crew. The movie was to be filmed at the Imperial Capital Film and Television City, which was not far from where Wenyao lived, just a half-hour drive, but Wen An still requested that all actors stay at the hotel arranged by the crew. During the filming of the movie, actors couldn't leave the set at will, couldn't accept other job offers, and couldn't shoot other movies at the same time. He needed the actors to give 100% dedication to his movie. If this demand were put on other directors, the actors would probably have been dissatisfied long ago. But under Wen An, everyone thought it was reasonable, without a single complaint. Just two days after all the actors joined the crew, the movie officially started shooting.
Wenyao was originally worried about whether her acting skills would be up to par. Although the original lead actress was very good, she wasn't the original lead, and for her, she had only been learning for just over a month. However, she soon found her footing under Wen Dao's guidance. Coupled with the similarity between the character and herself, within a week, she had become adept at grasping the character's emotions, although she was still a bit awkward in acting with others. When Wenyao thought that the next scene was her scene with Wei Ling, she decided to rehearse the lines with her to get a feel for it. Wenyao scanned the set and found Wei Ling chatting with a few staff members. As she approached, she heard Wei Ling excitedly ask, "What else did the paparazzi dig up, come on, tell me!" "What else could it be, just some photos from a date," someone replied. "Oh my, they managed to get these private photos, which paparazzi is so powerful?" After hearing the word "paparazzi", Wenyao quickly recalled from her memory what it meant. Paparazzi were specialists in digging up celebrities' private information, then using exposure to gain traffic and benefit themselves. In this industry, almost everyone hated paparazzi, and they were universally despised. However, Wenyao currently needed this kind of "help". She called Wei Ling over and quietly asked, "Wei Ling, do you know any paparazzi?"
---
Meanwhile, the tender-hearted one who was cooped up at home and was already bored, became anxious, feeling as though she would fall ill if she didn't get some fresh air. She said, "Yuanjie, can't you let me go out for some air?" "No! Everyone knows that during the filming of Wen Dao's movie, actors are not allowed to leave the crew. Now that Wenyao is on set, if you go out and get caught, how will we explain it later?" Yuan Min considered it comprehensively. However, the tender-hearted one didn't give up, "I'll disguise myself, and no one will know. Besides, Wen Dao's movie generally only announces the lead actors just before the premiere, which is probably six months away, so even if I get caught today, no one will remember in six months."
"Tender heart!" Yuan Min's tone became a little stern. Seeing Yuan Min, the tender-hearted one knew that softness wouldn't work, so she softened her tone and coquettishly said, "Yuanjie, how about I don't go out now, and we go out tonight? You can accompany me, and we'll just take a stroll nearby." "Yuanjie, Wenyao has to be on set for at least three months, you can't keep me from going out for three months, can you?" Seeing tender-hearted, Yuan Min hesitated for a moment and thought, well, three months without going out, even a normal person wouldn't be able to stand it, they would go crazy.
Furthermore, Wenrou's popularity was not high, she had no gossip topics and she wasn't considered a popular celebrity, she rarely had paparazzi following her around, so she was relatively safe.
"Fine, we'll go out for dinner and then come back, but don't linger too long."
"Okay, you're the best, Sister Yuan."