After Secretly Marrying the Top Celebrity, I Fell in Love - Chapter 10

Two days later, the second audition arrived.

Xia Xinglu was eliminated in the preliminary audition.

This re-audition was to select one person between Bai Yiyan and Bo Yiyan (or Bai Yicen and Bo Yiyan – the second name,  will be consistently translated as Bo Yiyan for clarity) to finalize who would play the second female lead in Nine Heavens.

The location for the re-audition was no longer the previous set, but a hotel suite, as this audition scene would require a “bed.”

Today’s audition was for a small, rather exciting scene in Nine Heavens, which was also a crucial confrontation scene between the female lead and the second female lead.

Prequel: The female lead, Jiang Yinmian, hails from the foremost “evil” cult of the martial world, the Moon God Cult. Jiang Yinmian is the only daughter of the Moon God Cult Leader, raised as a son by her father and habitually wears men’s clothing.

After Jiang Yinmian succeeded as the Cult Leader, she attended the Heroes’ Assembly for the first time. On her way back to the cult, she found the second female lead, Zhou Zhi, suffering from insanity. Unable to bear her fiancé breaking off their engagement, Zhou Zhi “escaped” from her manor, afflicted by a mental disorder.

Along the way, Jiang Yinmian sought out many famous doctors to cure Zhou Zhi, but all attempts were fruitless. Ultimately, Jiang Yinmian had no choice but to bring Zhou Zhi back to the cult first, then dispatch a protector to search the martial world for the legendary Doctor Xue.

During the time Zhou Zhi was being treated for her insanity, Jiang Yinmian took meticulous care of her day and night, visiting her daily and personally making nourishing soup for her.

It was this kind of thoughtful care that made Zhou Zhi increasingly dependent on Jiang Yinmian. Gradually, Zhou Zhi even fell in love with Jiang Yinmian, who was disguised as a man, completely unaware that the other person was actually a woman.

Therefore, there is also a subtle, underlying lesbian storyline in the drama.

At nine in the morning, the two auditioning actresses waited in the suite’s living room, waiting to be called in one by one. This time, the order was not decided by drawing lots; whoever was ready first would go first.

A staff member called Bai Yicen.

When Bai Yiyan appeared at the re-audition, Bai Yicen was surprised, and a sense of apprehension inexplicably arose in her heart. Bai Yicen, who had been full of confidence, felt a little panicked at this moment. She pretended to be composed, but her palms were already thinly sweating.

Bai Yicen sat up straight on the long sofa in the living room, and when Bo Yiyan took the initiative to greet her, she nodded and smiled, softly replying “Hmm.”

Who on earth is the person backing her?

If this person turns into a “resource-hog,” how can I compete?! This role, which was practically within my grasp, wouldn’t it just fly away?!

“Ms. Bai, are you ready?” A staff member approached and politely asked Bai Yicen.

“Yes, I’m ready,” Bai Yicen stood up from the sofa, glanced out of the corner of her eye at Bo Yiyan diagonally across the room, and said with composure.

Staff member: “Then please come this way, Ms. Bai~”

With that, the staff member turned sideways and led Bai Yicen away. The two walked one after the other straight towards the closed master bedroom door.

The audition time this time was longer than the preliminary one.

Bo Yiyan held a bottle of mineral water, occasionally squeezing it to relieve her inner tension.

Her gaze was fixed on the tightly closed bedroom door.

The hotel’s presidential suite was very large, and the soundproofing was excellent. Bo Yiyan, in the living room, could not hear any movement inside the bedroom.

The living room was silent, so silent that Bo Yiyan could hear her own long, deep breaths and her chaotic heartbeats.

Finally, the master bedroom door opened.

Bo Yiyan looked up and met Bai Yicen’s eyes, which were filled with complex emotions. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks, and her eyes were teary.

Bai Yicen harshly wiped her lips with the back of her hand, smearing residual lipstick onto her fair skin. She turned her head away, avoiding Bo Yiyan’s gaze, and strode away in her high heels.

“…!” Bo Yiyan looked at the action of wiping her mouth, her heart instantly filled with confusion, and it pounded heavily.

Although the script did not mention a kissing scene, Zhang Mingxiu was known to spontaneously change and add scenes for the actors, so…

Bo Yiyan comforted herself inwardly: The person currently in the bedroom is the female lead, not the male lead, so even if there’s a kissing scene, it’s with the female lead. Kissing a woman is no loss.

From the day she decided to become an actress, Bo Yiyan didn’t mind if she would have kissing scenes in the future.

Life is mirrored in the play, and the people outside the play are also acting, aren’t they? In interpersonal relationships, who doesn’t hide at least seventy or eighty percent of their true feelings? Who would bare their heart to others?

Inside the bedroom, a circle of people was gathered: Zhang Mingxiu (the Director), Vice Director Chen, the Producer, the Supervisor, as well as the Cameraman and Lighting Technician—a dense crowd.

In addition, there were three cameras on the floor, aimed at the large hotel bed from different angles.

The hotel bed had been redecorated.

Sheer drapes were lowered. The flowing, hazy greenish-grey fabric obscured the view of the bed, only vaguely showing the scene within, not clearly visible.

“Director Zhang, Vice Director Chen, good morning,” Bo Yiyan walked up to the two directors and greeted them politely.

Zhang Mingxiu stood up from the sofa, holding the script, and said to Bo Yiyan: “Xiao Bo is here. I’ll explain the scene to you first, and then we’ll start.”

Bo Yiyan nodded: “Okay.”

Zhang Mingxiu: “You must have memorized the lines for the scene we’re auditioning for today and know what it’s about. However, I still need to remind you. There is actually an underlying lesbian storyline in the drama, which is very subtle. The second female lead’s character is very conflicted. Her feelings for the female lead start as love because she has always regarded the female lead as a man, which, of course, can’t be blamed on her…”

Zhang Mingxiu held the script rolled into a tube in one hand, occasionally tapping his palm with it.

Bo Yiyan listened to Zhang Mingxiu’s explanation while intermittently nodding and signaling with her eyes that she was listening intently.

Zhang Mingxiu: “Ours is an ancient costume martial arts drama with both a female lead and a male lead, so this subtle lesbian storyline cannot be overly expressed, but it also cannot be completely absent. The balance in between must be controlled by the two actresses. Especially the second female lead, because her character is very complex. The hardest part to act is her different feelings for the male and female leads—there’s jealousy, but even more so, admiration and possessiveness.”

With Zhang Mingxiu’s clarification, Bo Yiyan instantly felt enlightened, gaining a deeper understanding of the character.

After explaining the scene, Zhang Mingxiu turned sideways, signaling the staff to bring him a prop: a bouquet of flame-red Phoenix flowers.

“Xiao Bo, here, this is the prop,” Zhang Mingxiu handed the Phoenix flowers to Bo Yiyan, looking at her with expectant eyes.

“I look forward to your performance.”

Bo Yiyan received the Phoenix flowers with both hands, saying, “Thank you, Director Zhang, I will definitely perform well.”

In the bedroom, the two actresses and the staff were all ready. Several pairs of eyes simultaneously looked towards the two directors.

“Nine Heavens Audition! Action!” On the side, the slate operator, after receiving a nod from the director, sharply clapped the clapperboard shut and then retreated to the side.

Bo Yiyan stood about five meters away from the large bed, holding a bouquet of bright red Phoenix flowers, and silently closed her eyes, imagining herself as Zhou Zhi.

The moment the slate operator clapped the board, Bo Yiyan suddenly opened her eyes, envisioning herself standing outside a lavish sleeping chamber, with jade steps beneath her feet.

The script noted: Zhou Zhi had specifically bathed and changed clothes, pinned the sachet Jiang Yinmian had given her to her waist, and held a bouquet of Phoenix flowers in her hands.

These were Jiang Yinmian’s favorite flowers. The entire cult grounds were planted with Phoenix flower trees.

When the flowers bloomed, the vibrant red blossoms covered the branches in clusters and masses, as red as the fiery sunset clouds on the horizon, as if ready to set the very sky ablaze.

Under the camera, Bo Yiyan stood in position holding the Phoenix flowers in one hand, and raised her other hand mid-air, miming a gentle knock on the door.

“Cult Leader, you asked for me.”

On the large bed enveloped by ethereal sheer drapes, Fu Yu (the female lead actress) wore a magnificent robe as light and flowing as a cloud. Her waterfall-like dark hair was tied up slightly at the back, with a large portion left draped over her shoulders. A jeweled hairpin was tucked into her inky black hair, centered with a large ruby that refracted a brilliant glow in the dim light.

The beauty half-reclined on the bed, her cherry lips parting slightly.

“Enter.”

Bo Yiyan walked step by step towards the edge of the large bed, stopping just one step away, no longer moving forward.

Just as Bo Yiyan was about to speak, the sheer drape on the bed suddenly moved. Immediately after, a pair of pale, tender arms emerged, pulling the drape aside.

Fu Yu’s beautiful, mesmerizing eyes gazed quietly at Bo Yiyan, her eye corners slightly upturned.

“You… how can you be a woman?!” Bo Yiyan’s eyes turned red, and she instinctively took a large step back, her heart severely struck.

At the same time, the bouquet of Phoenix flowers silently slipped from Bo Yiyan’s hands.

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