After Being Dumped by the Film Empress, My Acting Skills Soared - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The week passed in a flash. Gao Hui actually followed through on Shao Niannian’s wishes and didn’t spend every waking hour nagging her to submit resumes, audition, or join variety shows. Both women tactfully avoided bringing up the events of the PQ banquet.

While Shao Niannian enjoyed her leisure, Huo Lülü and the others in the same agency were suffering. Every day after midnight, the group chat would ping with check-ins like: “Sisters, who’s still stuck on a night shoot? Hahahaha, it’s me! I haven’t lost my mind yet!”

Watching these people “go crazy because of work,” Shao Niannian sighed inwardly. It seemed that if Gao Hui wasn’t torturing her, she was torturing someone else. In their group, there was always someone struggling to breathe under Gao Hui’s iron grip.

“Are you sure you’re ready?” Gao Hui asked, worried. “To be honest, I’m not worried about your acting ability, but Director Mo… well, geniuses have their own habits and arrogance. She demands a very high level of resonance between the actor and the character.”

“Do you remember that ‘Hype Starlet’ who was in that Xianxia drama with you? After that show, her manager shoved her into Director Mo’s crew as the fourth female lead. She ended up getting scolded for four months straight until her head spun. She had to write nearly 70,000 words of character analysis, and when the movie was released, her role was cut down from fourth lead to seventh. Her individual screen time didn’t even total half an hour.”

Gao Hui felt a chill just thinking about it. “Don’t you dare crumble under the pressure and quit the industry after getting yelled at! My heart wouldn’t be able to take that hit!”

Director Mo’s reputation preceded her, and Shao Niannian knew it well. She patted her chest confidently. “Relax! What’s there to worry about? If Wen Jing has the guts to join Director Mo’s crew with her acting skills, I can certainly handle it. I did win the Best Newcomer award when I debuted…”

Shao Niannian paused. “Even if that award is considered a ‘participation trophy’ now, back when I debuted, it was still voted for by the audience, one ticket at a time!”

Seeing her artist’s confidence, Gao Hui didn’t want to dampen her spirit. An artist willing to go out and make money was a good artist. Besides, comparing Wen Jing’s acting to Shao Niannian’s, Gao Hui felt a bit less anxious.

After a ninety-minute drive, they arrived at the audition site. Following the instructions in the text, they found the location. At the entrance of the hallway, Shao Niannian was startled—there were at least twenty people in line, and this was only the first day.

However, there weren’t many familiar faces. Among this group, Shao Niannian was arguably the biggest name. This meant her chances were quite good.

Gao Hui waited outside. They expected the line to move slowly, but in less than an hour, it was already Shao Niannian’s turn. The people who came out before her were either red-eyed from crying or accompanied by the sound of folders being slammed onto tables inside.

Gao Hui’s eyelid twitched. “Director Mo’s temper really is… tsk, even worse than the rumors.”

Shao Niannian felt a bit of trepidation, but thinking of her perfect plan, she blinked and walked into the room with the resolve of someone heading to an execution.

Inside, the floor was covered in scattered papers. Four people sat behind a long table. Aside from the woman in the center wearing a baseball cap, Shao Niannian didn’t recognize any of them—except for one person who was crucial to her plan: Wen Jing, the female lead of the film.

The woman in the cap spoke with a raspy voice, sounding as though she had strained her vocal cords or had a permanent injury.

“Shao Niannian?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve seen your work.” Director Mo looked up. Her cold, emotionless eyes peered from beneath the brim of her cap, locking onto Shao Niannian. It was as if she wasn’t looking at an actor, but at a lifeless object.

Shao Niannian was startled by the lack of human emotion in those eyes. It was her first time meeting a director like this.

“Ah, really? Actually, I…” Shao Niannian tried to respond, but the woman cut her off.

“It was pretty bad.”

Director Mo flipped through a script handed to her. “If Wen Jing’s acting is trash, then you’re only slightly better. Barely watchable, but not by much.”

Shao Niannian: “…”

Wen Jing, sitting beside the director with her arms crossed, looked as though she wasn’t the one being insulted.

“Your debut film had some spark, but everything you’ve done since has been garbage. Looking at it for more than two seconds feels like an insult to my intelligence.” Director Mo clicked her tongue. She folded the corner of the script, spun it 180 degrees on the table, and gestured for Shao Niannian to take it.

“Even though I hate watching your garbage, my mother likes it. Five minutes. Get into character. If you can’t, get out.”

“Ah, okay. My regards to your mother.” Shao Niannian was speechless. She picked up the script with trembling hands. A quick glance told her exactly what the scene was.

The movie, The Mute Girl, was a thriller spanning twenty years. Wen Jing played a “good student” with an introverted, eccentric personality. The “Mute Girl” and the “Good Student” were high school classmates. Because both were outcasts, they became companions.

However, the “Good Student” never truly considered the “Mute Girl” a friend. Instead, she looked down on her because she was mute and a slow learner. To her, the Mute Girl was the bottom of the food chain. Despite her reluctance, only the Mute Girl walked to and from school with her. Just before the college entrance exams, they witnessed a murder. The victim was their classmate. In her panic, the “Good Student” pushed the Mute Girl out as a shield and fled.

She spent the night in terror, assuming the Mute Girl would be killed for seeing the murderer’s face. But the next day, the Mute Girl appeared in class against all odds, continuing to eat and walk with her as if the murder had never happened.

Years later, the “Good Student” moves back to her hometown. She discovers the Mute Girl is her neighbor. The Mute Girl remains as gentle and reserved as she was in high school. The “Good Student” takes out her life frustrations on the Mute Girl, who allows it and even brings her food every day.

The story culminates when an invitation to a high school reunion arrives, signed with an English name—the name of the classmate who died years ago. The Mute Girl comes over with her own invitation, asking via her phone if they should go together. Out of a sense of guilt, the “Good Student” agrees.

At the meeting spot, she realizes it’s a trap. The Mute Girl, wearing a red dress, walks toward her with a knife in hand…