Chapter 62

Lan Ying had been looking for a new script for Mu Xingyu when she suddenly received a call from Director Song, saying that Director Fang was preparing for a movie and wanted Mu Xingyu to audition.

Director Song excelled in commercial films, while Director Fang was known for artistic films. Since the two were good friends, when Director Song heard about Director Fang’s casting request, he immediately thought of Mu Xingyu.

Mu Xingyu had long heard of Director Fang’s reputation, as he had won awards at the Cannes Film Festival.

There’s a saying in the entertainment industry that if an actor wants to win an acting award, they should participate in a film directed by Director Fang, as he is a machine for creating award-winning performances.

Mu Xingyu naturally wanted to win awards too, but as a newcomer to the film industry, being able to participate in a movie directed by Director Fang already made him very satisfied. So, after receiving the script, he started reading it seriously, hoping to pass the audition smoothly.

When Gu Yunzhou came back from work and saw Mu Xingyu earnestly reading the script again, he couldn’t help but frown, “Are you going to film again?”

“Yeah, I’m preparing for an audition.”

“Is it a movie or a TV series?”

“It’s a movie, directed by Director Fang,” Mu Xingyu said.

“He’s quite a famous director.” Gu Yunzhou had also heard of Director Fang, but he couldn’t feel happy about it.

Mu Xingyu naturally noticed Gu Yunzhou’s thoughts, so he put down the script and came to Gu Yunzhou’s side, “This time it’s a modern drama, and I won’t be away for too long.”

“I really hope you can stay at home and rest,” Gu Yunzhou hugged Mu Xingyu and said.

“President Gu, I’m also a career-oriented person,” Mu Xingyu smiled.

On the day of the audition, Lan Ying personally came to pick up Mu Xingyu, which surprised him.

” Lan Jie, you didn’t have to come in person,” Mu Xingyu said, feeling puzzled.

“This is Director Fang’s project. If I’m not here, I won’t feel reassured,” Lan Ying had interacted with Director Fang when she brought Xie Qian along. This great director was extremely talented but had a bad temper and was very strict.

“Is he stricter than Director Zhang?” Mu Xingyu asked.

“Compared to him, Director Zhang is like a small fry,” Lan Ying chuckled, “But don’t worry, Director Fang doesn’t care about fame, he only cares about acting skills. Just perform normally during your audition.”

“Got it.”

The audition location notified by Director Fang was in the outskirts, an area that hadn’t been renovated yet and looked somewhat rundown.

In order to shoot the film, Director Fang specially rented a small house here. Mu Xingyu followed his assistant to the small house and finally met Director Fang.

Director Fang was an old man with white hair, but he was in good spirits. When he saw Mu Xingyu, he nodded in satisfaction and said, “Old Song said you were suitable, and now that I see you, it’s indeed true.”

Mu Xingyu and Lan Ying greeted Director Fang and then began discussing the audition.

“What are your thoughts on Chen Xiaodong?” Director Fang asked.

“He’s a young man eager for success. He came to the big city hoping to make a name for himself one day, but he couldn’t adapt to society and gradually lost his edge.” Before coming here, Mu Xingyu had carefully read the script and pondered over the character of Chen Xiaodong, the male lead.

Overall, the theme of Director Fang’s new film was very oppressive, depicting a young man with dreams who came to the big city alone to struggle but couldn’t adapt to social life, ultimately being ground down by society.

On the surface, Mu Xingyu and Chen Xiaodong were completely different types of people. However, after reading the script, Mu Xingyu felt a lot of resonance.

In his previous life, after the Mu family went bankrupt, he encountered many problems. For survival, he even went to do manual labor. At first, he couldn’t change his mindset, thinking that he could definitely take revenge on Andre with his abilities. But after repeated setbacks, he realized how naive he had been.

Similarly, Chen Xiaodong in the script originally came to the big city to make his mark but ended up experiencing repeated failures in his work. At first, he dared to resist the company’s harsh demands and changed jobs multiple times, which led to him being unable to afford rent. Eventually, like Mu Xingyu, he had to go to the construction site to do manual labor to earn a living.

After listening to Mu Xingyu’s words, Director Fang didn’t say whether it was good or bad. Instead, he pointed to the vegetables and meat on the table and said, “Perform the content of page 78 of the script, starting from when you enter the house.”

Lan Ying couldn’t help but frown upon hearing this. Indeed, Director Fang was as strict as ever, choosing a scene with a high level of difficulty. Sometimes, the difficulty of a scene lies not in extreme emotions but in integrating strong emotions into the details of daily life.

On page 78 of the script, it described Chen Xiaodong finally paying the rent through manual labor and then going to the market to buy fresh vegetables and meat to make himself a hearty dinner.

Although it was described as a hearty meal, for Chen Xiaodong, even a simple meal was already luxurious. After all, to save money, he had even eaten noodles for a whole week.

Mu Xingyu had received the complete script and had also carefully read the contents of the script. So, when Director Fang mentioned the page number, he knew what he was going to perform.

He nodded, picked up the vegetables and meat on the table, opened the door, and walked out.

“Let’s begin,” Director Fang said.

Mu Xingyu prepared his emotions, pushed open the door, and entered the room. His face looked a bit tired, but there was a hint of smile. After closing the door behind him, he eagerly went to the kitchen, cut a pound of meat into five small pieces, leaving one piece, and put the rest in the refrigerator to chill.

Then Mu Xingyu started picking vegetables. He bought lettuce, the cheapest vegetable in the market. When picking the vegetables, he hesitated to remove any yellow leaves.

Initially, Lan Ying was worried that Mu Xingyu couldn’t cook, but seeing Mu Xingyu’s skillful movements, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. Most importantly, after Mu Xingyu entered the house, he completely entered the state, unaffected even when the photographer was shooting nearby.

Mu Xingyu cut the meat, stir-fried it with lettuce, and at the same time, boiled a pot of water in another small pot, putting the vegetable leaves in to cook.

The whole process lasted for more than half an hour. Director Fang didn’t speak throughout, and Mu Xingyu kept acting. In the end, Mu Xingyu successfully cooked a dish with soup.

When Mu Xingyu served the food on the table, Director Fang finally said, “Stop!” He came to Mu Xingyu’s side, looked at Mu Xingyu’s successful labor, and couldn’t help but ask, “Did you learn cooking specifically for the role?”

“No, I already knew how,” Mu Xingyu replied with a smile.

Director Fang was surprised. He had intended to give Mu Xingyu a hard time, but he didn’t expect Mu Xingyu to not only complete the performance but also surprise him.

“Do you really know how to cook?” Director Fang asked again.

Mu Xingyu nodded, “Yes, Director Fang, you can taste it.” With that, Mu Xingyu handed the chopsticks to Director Fang.

Director Fang didn’t hesitate either, he took the chopsticks and tasted Mu Xingyu’s stir-fried lettuce with meat. Finding it delicious, he nodded in satisfaction.

Lan Ying, on the other hand, was surprised. She had known Mu Xingyu for so long but didn’t know he could cook. More importantly, as the young master of a wealthy family, Mu Xingyu’s skilled actions in picking and cooking vegetables made her wonder: Did Mu Xingyu learn this at home?

Mu Xingyu occasionally cooked, but he had never stir-fried vegetables before. The scene he just performed was simply a repetition of his destitute life from his previous life. However, unlike his previous life where he couldn’t see any hope in the dark, the character of Chen Xiaodong in the script still held onto a glimmer of hope.

Director Fang was very satisfied with Mu Xingyu’s performance, and they began discussing their views on the character of Chen Xiaodong.

During their conversation, Director Fang mentioned that the film would lean towards a more realistic style, and many of the daily life details of Chen Xiaodong in the script would be shown through long shots.

Finally, Director Fang suddenly said, “To ensure the quality of the film, this movie will be completely closed off for filming. You cannot take leave halfway through, nor can you participate in any activities. You must stay with the crew at all times. Are you willing?”

Mu Xingyu was surprised. Before the audition, he didn’t know that Director Fang had such a requirement for a fully closed-off shoot.

Lan Ying also frowned. She hadn’t received this news before either.

Seeing their concerns, Director Fang said, “I’ve been preparing for this movie for a year, and I hope to do everything I can to ensure the quality of the film. So, I’ve decided on a sudden fully closed-off shoot. If you have any concerns, you can tell me. Of course, I hope you seriously consider it and then give me your answer.”

On the way back, Mu Xingyu didn’t speak. When they were almost at Gu Mansion, Lan Ying finally couldn’t help but ask, “Xingyu, what do you think?”

“Jie, I want to act in this film, but…”

“But you don’t want a fully closed-off shoot,” Lan Ying finished his sentence. “I knew you would think like this. Xingyu, I won’t say anything. Whether you participate or not, think carefully about it.”

“Lan Jie, I thought you would persuade me to accept the role,” Mu Xingyu smiled.

Lan Ying said annoyed, “You thought I wouldn’t want to? But if I really persuaded you to do this film, Mr Gu would definitely hold it against me.”

“Alright, I’ll think it over and give Director Fang an answer tomorrow.”

…

At night, when Gu Yunzhou finished handling affairs and returned to his room, he saw Mu Xingyu standing by the window, lost in thought. He hugged Mu Xingyu from behind and asked, “Something on your mind?”

“I went for an audition today. Director Fang thinks I’m suitable for the male lead, but…”

“But what?”

“But it’s a closed-off shoot. I have to stay with the crew for three months.”

Upon hearing this, Gu Yunzhou tightened his grip on Mu Xingyu, holding him firmly in his arms. He asked gloomily, “What do you think?”

“Before this requirement came up, I would have readily accepted, but…” Mu Xingyu turned around to look at Gu Yunzhou, “But now, I don’t want to participate anymore.”

Gu Yunzhou’s face lit up with joy, and he quickly kissed Mu Xingyu. After the kiss, he said, “I’m glad you made that decision, but didn’t you say you also have ambitions? Now a good opportunity is in front of you, and you’re willing to give it up like this?”

“Yeah,” Mu Xingyu nodded, leaning against Gu Yunzhou’s chest.

“If you were really willing, you wouldn’t be like this now. Go and shoot the film. I’ll come to see you halfway through.”

Mu Xingyu was surprised, “You’re not against it?”

“I am against it, but I don’t want to affect your career,” Gu Yunzhou lightly kissed Mu Xingyu’s forehead and said, “You used to come home to see me often. Now it’s my turn to come see you. How about that?”

“Okay.”

Translator’s Note-Guys don’t forget to support and comment your views(^-^)