Chapter 48: One of the Few Women Who Won Against Capital

Chen Ling looked at the next actress entering the audition room, his gaze complicated. This was a woman surrounded by controversy, someone who fought for every opportunity to climb upward, but in the end, grasped nothing. Or perhaps, to say she grasped nothing wasn’t quite accurate—what she managed to seize in the end simply fell short of what she truly desired.

“Senior, you’re here today as well. How’s the filming of ‘Palace’ going?” The actress walking in now was someone Chen Ling knew of, though this was their first meeting in real life. At this moment, Yang Mi should be busy filming Yu Zheng’s new drama, “Palace,” which was destined to become another wildly popular sensation.

It was also the drama that would catapult Yang Mi’s popularity to its peak, securing her place in the first tier. Even though she would later take on numerous mediocre projects, her foundation remained solid—television, after all, launches stars better than film.

“I took leave from the set to come here. If I’m suitable, Director Chen, please give me a chance. I won’t let you down.” Yang Mi was exceedingly polite toward Chen Ling. She was still primarily a television actress, and breaking into the film industry required a stroke of luck—one that Chen Ling held in his hands.

Facing this senior who, in the future, would be among the few to successfully wager against capital, Chen Ling was also eager to see her performance. While people in later years would criticize Yang Mi’s acting, today he would judge for himself.

“Which role are you auditioning for, Senior?” he asked.

“I’d like to audition for Siqing.” Hearing her reply, Chen Ling instinctively glanced at Yang Mi’s legs—fair, straight, and long. Clearly, she came prepared. Not a single easy opponent among them.

“Go ahead and begin your performance.”

There were only a handful of lines—little room to truly test acting—but it was not as bad as the harsh criticism found online in later years. Overall, she was a notch above Liu Yan, who had just auditioned.

“When do you expect ‘Palace’ to wrap?” Yang Mi had a reputation for juggling multiple projects, and Chen Ling, being a time traveler, knew there were no secrets for stars who thrived under the spotlight.

His films did not allow actors to work on other projects simultaneously—not even supporting roles.

“About ten more days, I think. My scenes are almost done, so it won’t delay joining your production.”

Exchanging a glance with Chen Zhixi beside him, Chen Ling nodded. “Go home and study the script. The company will coordinate your schedule with your agent. Also, in my crew, no double-booking.”

The implication was clear: as long as there were no scheduling conflicts and she didn’t take on other projects, the role was hers. Yang Mi naturally understood.

“Thank you, Director Chen.” Elated to have landed a role, Yang Mi bowed deeply in gratitude.

In the original film, this character had been played by Zhang Li, whose looks and temperament closely resembled Lin Zhilin. When the film was first released, Zhang Li was still an unknown, and many viewers mistook her for Lin Zhilin. Chen Ling had also invited Zhang Li to audition, but she was unavailable due to scheduling conflicts.

…

Downstairs in the nanny van, Yang Mi’s agent, Zeng Jia, quickly opened the door for her as she hurried down.

“How did the audition go?” Zeng Jia had arranged the audition, seeing it as a prime opportunity. If the film released next year, together with the already scheduled “Palace,” Yang Mi’s popularity would surely soar.

“It should be fine. But…”

“But what?” Zeng Jia was delighted to hear the role was secured, but Yang Mi’s hesitation made her worry.

“Director Chen said his crew doesn’t allow actors to work on other projects simultaneously.”

Yang Mi knew Zeng Jia was also negotiating another period film for her. She had auditioned for it not long ago, and its budget far exceeded “Breakup Buddies.” More importantly, she was up for the lead role. Originally, the lead was about to be finalized for someone more famous and popular, and if that actress agreed, Yang Mi would have no chance. But unexpectedly, things took a turn—the original lead declined, and with this news, Yang Mi and Zeng Jia resumed talks with the production.

The director, however, had yet to respond, and the two films’ schedules overlapped considerably. The other film would start shooting about a month after this one, and they also required her to join early, forcing Yang Mi to choose between the two.

“They haven’t replied yet. I’ll push them again. If it comes down to choosing, you know what to do, right?”

After thinking it over, Zeng Jia made up her mind—it was a choice between a supporting role and a lead, and as Yang Mi’s agent, she couldn’t afford to be indecisive.

“Of course I know.” Having clawed her way to the top tier of actresses, Yang Mi was no stranger to making such choices.

“Jiajia, push them again. It would be best to get a clear answer before this film starts. Landing a lead is tempting, but I don’t want to offend Chen Ling either. Backing out before production is one thing; quitting after filming starts is quite another.”

“I understand. Leave it to me.” After years of working together, words were hardly needed between them.

Another reason they favored that other film was because the original lead had been set as Liu Yifei, but she had recently turned down the big production in favor of the much lower-budget “Breakup Buddies.”

What they thought was a lost cause suddenly seemed within reach, and the two of them sprang into action.

Given the choice between playing the lead in a big-budget film or a supporting role in a comedy, Yang Mi was a hundred percent inclined toward the former. She was a proud member of the top four young actresses, after all.

“Call Shaofeng too. He has some influence with the director, and the two of you reuniting on the big screen after starring together in TV dramas is a great angle for publicity. Don’t give up.”

“Understood, Jiajia.”

…

“Thank you for your audition. Please wait for further notice,” Chen Zhixi said politely to the round-faced girl whose performance had just ended.

She was the last auditionee of the day.

“Thank you, Producer Chen, and thank you, Director Chen.” The girl expressed her gratitude and left the conference room.

“Director Chen, what do you think?” Chen Zhixi asked quietly after the round-faced girl exited.

“Her name’s Zhao Liying, right? Her contract with Huayi has ended, hasn’t it?” The last person to audition was Zhao Liying. If he remembered correctly, she had just ended her contract with Huayi.

“It expires after the New Year.”

“After the New Year, huh?” Chen Ling remembered quite well that this future queen of TV dramas would leave Huayi once her contract expired next year.

“There aren’t any suitable roles for her this time, and besides, I recently had a falling out with the ‘Little Cannon’—using Huayi’s people isn’t appropriate.” After some thought, Chen Ling decided to decline.

If her contract had already expired, he wouldn’t mind giving her a chance, but since it hadn’t, there was nothing to be done.

Chen Ling hadn’t forgotten the remarks made by the ‘Little Cannon’ after his film “Love Is Not Blind” was released—he would definitely settle the score when the opportunity arose.

“My oversight, Director Chen. I didn’t consider the company relations and only looked at the actor’s potential.” Chen Zhixi realized her mistake—she had forgotten to factor in the relationship between their companies, focusing only on the actress’s promise.

“It’s alright. Let’s cast the roles according to the auditions today. Contact them about their schedules, and if there are no issues, sign the contracts. Also, notify the main cast that we’ll hold a press conference in a few days.” For this film, Chen Ling intended to start promoting it from day one—a press conference was essential.

In commercial films, marketing is key, and Chen Zhixi understood this well. “Leave it all to me. Should we announce the cast list as well?”

“Let’s wait until their schedules are confirmed,” Chen Ling replied. He didn’t want to announce the cast only to have to change it due to scheduling conflicts, even if it was just for a few supporting roles.

“Alright, I’ll follow up.” Chen Zhixi did not object to Chen Ling’s decision.

Though the official cast list was not yet public, the news was already out.

…

“It’s reported that Chen Ling Films completed their auditions today, with the final cast to be announced soon.”

“Rumor has it that students from the Beijing Film Academy took part.”

“Many of today’s auditionees were women, with current starlet Yang Mi also attending the audition.”