241: Second female lead also taken

Second female lead also taken

When that actress entered the room, the others glared at her back.1

One of them couldn't hold back anymore and loudly said, "Hmph! I didn't expect to see her here today."

"Who's she?" Xu Lei asked.

The one who couldn't hold herself back rolled her eyes and said, "She's Qin Ling. She's one of the director's nieces. Apparently, they already want her for the second female lead."

Upon hearing what the other actress said, Xu Lei's gaze turned a little bit colder before the calmness inside it returned as if nothing happened.

If the woman named Qin Ling was really one of the directors' niece then, there would be no chance for them to compete for the second female lead role.

In the world of the entertainment industry, the numbers of artists that had a relative working as a director, producer, and sponsors were too many to count. It was just that the media was too afraid of letting this gossip out in the public for fear that these big shots would go after them.

However, that didn't mean that no one knew who had a backer, a sugar daddy, and a sugar mommy. The people who knew who had these people behind these artists had to glue their lips to a close so that they wouldn't gossip too much about it.

Xu Lei glanced at the closed door and sighed.

"That's too bad… What should we do? I still have a pictorial later. I'm just wasting time by sitting here." Another complained.

All the others who gathered around nodded their heads.

When they noticed that Xu Lei was the only one who didn't nod and had gone silent this time, one of them couldn't help but speak to her.

"Senior Xu Lei..What about you? Are you going back to your agency?"

Xu Lei shook her head and smiled at her. She replied, "No… I'm going to stay."

The one who spoke to her previously raised her eyebrows in surprise and said, "But you're just going to waste your time. The directors won't change their minds."

Xu Lei looked down. In their perspective, Xu Lei was disappointed and was feeling sad about having failed the audition without even entering the audition room.

They didn't know why it was, but the moment they saw her look down, their hearts were gripped by guilt and soon, the ladies who gathered around her tried to speak comforting words to her. After all most of them knew what Xu Lei had gone through.

"It's alright! If you want to stay then, stay! Don't listen to us busybodies."

"That's right. Our words don't mean anything. I think you're prettier than Qin Ling."

"Yeah, you look much better than her if you play as the second female lead!"

"Good luck!"

Xu Lei: "Thank you everyone."

The instant that Xu Lei lifted her head, the surrounding turned for a few seconds. They were blinded by the sweet smile on her lips.

It was true that there are already too many beautiful and pretty actresses in the acting industry. One could overwhelm the other, while some could possess a different aura.

However, what they saw didn't just only shock them. Yes, the lady before them was extremely beautiful with her pale skin, white teeth, long hair and bright eyes. However, what really shocked them was the fact that despite the gloominess that had wrapped the whole waiting room when the selection started, the lady before them still had her brilliance and youthful smile as though spring had come and sprouts started to grow visibly everywhere and flowers bloomed around her.

A sudden sense of maternal instinct blossomed inside of them. The girls found themselves wanting to take care of Xu Lei and protect that youthful and untainted smile on her lips.

Just when they were about to transform into mother hens, the door to the audition room was pulled open.

Qin Lin, whom they had been gossiping about earlier, came out of the door. Her smile had risen a higher notch. As expected, she probably got the role already.

The ladies surrounding Xu Lei frowned in distaste and irritation when they saw the smug look in Qin Ling's gaze. They shot her with a murderous glare and when Qin Lin passed by, she was almost scared away by them.

Before coming out of the room, Qin Ling was expecting that if she displayed a bright smile after she got a confirmation from her uncle that she had secured the role for herself, the people inside the waiting room would watch her in envy.

But who knew that when she went out, there was no envy filling their eyes; instead it was filled with disgust and anger.

What was happening?

Why was it different from what she envisioned?

"What are you looking at? Hmph! Bunch of losers!" Qin Ling harrumphed and went back to get her material which she never used from her seat before leaving the waiting room.

After what had happened inside the waiting room, the atmosphere was a bit thick and stagnant. The other artists who came to audition left and some stayed to take the other roles in the movie.

Xu Lei thanked the other girls who encouraged her and sat back down on her chair.

"Number 17. Please come inside. The directors are ready!" The staff called out.

Xu Lei jolted for a tiny bit as she heard her number being called out.

"Yes, I'm coming!" She answered back and walked to the entrance of the audition room.

Meanwhile, inside the audition room.

"Sigh... Why do we still have to waste our time to pretend as if we're choosing an actress from outside? Why can't we just announce that we already picked some people to play the roles in the movie?" A young director couldn't stop himself from yawning.

Director Lan glanced at his fellow directors. He was the youngest director in the group. However, his reputation and ability as a director was no doubt on par with the award-winning directors in the room.

Director Chi turned his head to him and didn't respond.

The movie was licensed and signed by Giants Media, the second largest media in the country. Originally, the director who picked up the movie from the original author of the novel 'The Great Empress' Love' wanted to personally choose a suitable actress who will play the leading role. However, the Giants Media interfered and had a very long meeting with the directors of the movie.

Aside from the profit share they will get from licensing the movie and distributing it locally and internationally, Giants Media demanded that the roles for the leading role will be given to an actress of their picking at the last minute. Moreover, Director Zhao also recruited his own niece to be the second female lead.

Thus, they ended up making up a story that there would a serious audition where they will pick the actresses who will play these roles when in fact, the two roles were already taken and filled by someone else.

Director Lan looked down and flipped the resume the actresses sent over days before the audition. Their basic information, qualifications and experiences were all written in the documents they sent over.

Earlier, he read Qin Ling's resume and found that she had been in the acting industry for four years now. She had several leading roles under her belt and even won a few awards. If you only close your eyes and ignore the fact that she got the second female role due to her uncle, one would think that she was quite capable.

With that, Director Lan kept his other opinions to himself and didn't complain anymore.

Anyway, he will just sleep through the whole duration of the audition and treat it as a day off.

Just when he was thinking of this, out of courtesy, he flipped the page and went to the resume of the next actress.

Then, his fingers paused.

Just then, the door to the audition room was pulled open and a beautiful lady entered.

As soon as she stepped inside, an oppressive aura was oozing out from her body. Her gaze was cold and seductive, but it didn't look vulgar or overly indifferent. On the contrary, it looked like she was looking down from a dais and while staring down at her subordinates.

As soon as Xu Lei entered the door, she was already acting. The villain of the story had taken over her body and was now the one who was moving towards the center of the stage.

"Please introduce yourself," a staff told her without looking at her.

Xu Lei nodded and said smoothly, "Hello, everyone. I am Xu Lei and I am here for the second leading role of the movie, Lin Yifei."

Once her voice landed, the room was filled with impregnable silence. The staff who told her to introduce herself to the directors felt that something was wrong and looked up.

The staff initially didn't look at the actress who entered the room, knowing that it was pointless to look at the actress who will leave disappointed anyway. However, she didn't expect that someone could still make everyone starstruck with just a glance!

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