Who Wants to Be the Affectionate Cannon Fodder?! [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 54

[Deep Affection Value +5, Contributor: Father Jiang]

[Deep Affection Value +1, Contributor: Unknown Netizen 1]

[Deep Affection Value +1, Contributor: Unknown Netizen 2]

[Deep Affection Value +1, Contributor: Unknown Netizen]

Yu Lin leaned against the car seat, looking listlessly at the dense character biography in his hand, and let out a yawn. Perhaps because of Shen Xingzhuo’s unique status, the accumulated Deep Affection Value in this world had long since surpassed that of the previous one.

He had previously speculated that there were two ways to leave a world: reaching a specified quota of Deep Affection Value or completing all plot points in the original storyline. However, the fluctuations in values between the two worlds were so large that he could not pin down the standard for this one. But if he had to take the second path, to be honest, it would be difficult.

“Xingzhuo, have you finished reading the script?” Zhou Yao glanced back through the rearview mirror. “We are heading straight to the hotel for the audition. We should make it in time, right?”

“I was going to tell you sooner, but you know how you have been lately. You would not listen to a word I said,” Zhou Yao said, his tone carrying a hint of grievance.

“Mhm, I have finished it.” Yu Lin scanned the character settings and requirements at the top of the script. He pursed his lips and asked suspiciously, “Are you sure this setting—ordinary appearance, timid on the surface but pathologically sinister underneath—actually fits me?”

Was he overestimating Shen Xingzhuo’s acting skills or underestimating his face?

Zhou Yao choked and coughed a few times, clearly aware that the character in the script was a far cry from Shen Xingzhuo.

“It was a recommendation from Director Li Rui, after all. He rarely makes mistakes when judging people.” Zhou Yao did not know if he was saying this to Yu Lin or comforting himself. “But if you really cannot pull it off, it is fine. Director Zhao’s project is a big deal, but you cannot bite off more than you can chew. You finally managed to improve your reputation with the role of Xiao Jingyan; we cannot let it slide back down.”

Yu Lin propped up his head, tapping the script with his finger as he thought for a moment. “If you want me to do it, it is not unplayable,” he said.

“Eh?”

“His emotions are not complex. He is easier to play than Xiao Jingyan,” Yu Lin added.

“Holy crap!” Zhou Yao exclaimed. “When did you learn to boast like that, Xingzhuo? This is a Zhao Jinyu film. No matter how it turns out, it is aimed at winning awards. All the other major roles have been cast except for Lin Jibai. Word is she has screened every famous actor with a similar vibe and found no one satisfactory. That is why she expanded the casting call. The line of people auditioning stretches from here to France, and you say a role like this is simple?”

Yu Lin glanced at him and remained silent.

“Why have you gone quiet? Did you just realize how big of a boast that was?”

Yu Lin said calmly, “I am just thinking that since you have said everything there is to say, what is left for me to say?”

Zhou Yao had no response.

The car slowly pulled into a parking spot. Zhou Yao’s sharp eyes recognized several familiar license plates, estimating that the floor upstairs was likely already packed. Yu Lin casually opened the door and stepped out, still not taking the warnings to heart.

Zhou Yao hurriedly unbuckled his seatbelt and trotted to keep up. “I am just worried, that is all. Of course, selfishly, I really hope you land this role.”

The two entered the elevator together, heading from the underground parking lot straight to the sixteenth floor of the hotel.

The audition was held in a conference room at the end of the hallway. The nearby lounge and refreshment area were already full of people. Hearing their footsteps, several actors looked up. When they saw Shen Xingzhuo’s distinct face, they reacted with expressions ranging from surprise to contempt.

The final cut of The Breaking Array Song had not been released yet. No matter how much the internet hyped it up or how much Li Rui vouched for him, it was all just talk. Plenty of people did not believe Shen Xingzhuo’s acting could improve so drastically in such a short time. They were waiting for the actual broadcast to see the truth.

Furthermore, even if he had improved, he might not catch Zhao Jinyu’s eye. Although there were unknown or mediocre actors present, most of them felt they were superior to Shen Xingzhuo—at least in terms of fitting the character’s physical description. Shen Xingzhuo did not look like someone who could ignore his appearance.

Yu Lin scanned the crowded sofas, then looked at the extra rows of small stools. He walked to the refreshment area, picked up a few pieces of cake, poured a glass of sweet milk with ice, and sat down on a small stool with an expressionless face. Those who were still studying their scripts and agonizing over their characters looked at his unprepared state with disdain and secret delight. Especially Li Yao, who sat furthest inside and let out a snicker behind his script.

“Do you not need to look at it again?” Zhou Yao whispered in Yu Lin’s ear.

Yu Lin instinctively leaned away to avoid the breath from his words. He absentmindedly poked a piece of cake, swallowed it, and said muffledly, “No need.”

Sensing Li Yao’s subtle scrutiny, Yu Lin glanced over out of the corner of his eye and then looked away with indifference.

He hates Shen Xingzhuo so much, so why has he not released that recording yet? I am tired of waiting, Yu Lin complained to 007.

007 asked, What do you want to do with that recording?

Yu Lin thought for a while and said, Make everyone think I am madly in love with Jiang Shiyan?

007 pondered this. It felt like something was not quite right, but it could not pinpoint what.

Just then, a staff member came to the door and called Li Yao inside. Li Yao smoothed his hair. To audition for this role, he had not even applied makeup. He was bare-faced and wearing the most low-profile clothes he owned.

As he passed Yu Lin, he let out a feigned “Ah” of surprise and said happily, “Senior, what a coincidence. You are here to audition for Lin Jibai too?”

Yu Lin gave a perfunctory nod. “Is there a problem?”

“Not at all,” Li Yao said with a smile. “It is just that your face is so beautiful, Senior. It might not be suitable, right?”

Yu Lin lifted his eyelids, scanned Li Yao’s face, and used his usual lazy, dismissive tone. “Indeed, I am not as plain-looking as you.”

Li Yao’s mouth twitched with rage, but he had to hurry off at the staff’s urging and ran into the conference room.

Is he a masochist? I already scolded him before, so why does he keep coming back for more?

007 remained silent.

If he still does not release the recording at this point, I will truly look down on him.

007 thought, I suspect you never looked up to him in the first place.

“Xingzhuo? Xingzhuo?”

Yu Lin looked up at Zhou Yao. “What is it?”

“They suddenly changed the rules inside. They called several people in at once, including us.”

Zhao Jinyu was a dynamic thinker. In the previous individual auditions, regardless of whether an actor performed well, she would always give feedback at the end. She even threw in a semi-prompted essay on a whim for extra testing. In the end, she failed to find a satisfactory candidate and instead dragged the schedule out indefinitely. The casting director and producers beside her lost their patience. After a private discussion, they took over the reins and changed the format to groups of ten to speed things up. Otherwise, the auditions would have lasted until next year.

Yu Lin was the last of the group, and he closed the door behind him.

Zhao Jinyu sat in the middle with a sour expression. The low pressure she exuded was so intimidating that some of the already nervous actors spoke their introductions with trembling voices. When it was Yu Lin’s turn, the strict and talented director took one look at him and moved her gaze away in dissatisfaction.

“Let’s just start then,” Zhao Jinyu said. “Perform the scene where Lin Jibai gets his revenge.”

Lin Jibai was the key character in this movie, the origin of the film’s overt plot line. He was like a ghost lurking in the dark of night, seeking revenge for a wronged and murdered lover, executing a twisted sense of justice. The difficulty of this scene lay in covering Lin Jibai’s transformation from a timid outsider to a terrifying psychopathic killer. From the initial disguise to the moment the mask was torn away, to the obsessive and frenzied killing, and finally to the madness of the moment his revenge was complete—it was all extremely difficult to act.

Li Yao had clearly hired a performance coach for a crash course. Every emotional beat was hit precisely, and the rhythm of his performance was well-timed. But Zhao Jinyu had seen this kind of performance too many times. The famous actors she had already rejected could perform this segment with a score of ninety, but something was still missing. They could not reach the Lin Jibai in her heart.

Seeing her ruthlessly toss people into the “pending” or “pass” piles again, the producer beside her could not help but cough and whispered through gritted teeth, “That is enough. This is the dozens-th one already.”

Zhao Jinyu also looked hesitantly at Yu Lin, who climbed up from the wall and straightened his clothes.

“Is it my turn?” His tone was very relaxed.

Although his appearance did not fit Zhao Jinyu’s vision for Lin Jibai at all, she said hesitantly, “Let’s see. Begin.”

Yu Lin wandered around the conference room, dragged a chair in front of the directors, and sat down with his back to them. Yu Lin was not the only one to use props on-site today, and all of them had been all bark and no bite. Zhao Jinyu had seen it so many times she almost wanted to call a stop immediately.

But in the next moment, her eyes widened.

With his back turned to them, Yu Lin hunched his shoulders, looking timid and shrinking—like an unwelcome outsider lurking in the dark corners of society. But this state did not last long. He smoothed his hair back and sat up straight, forcing a rigid posture that made him look like a police officer who had undergone countless hours of training.

He hummed a tuneless song, which could vaguely be identified as The Ambition of Youth. The sound seemed to travel through a long river of time, through the ghostly wails of the underworld, bringing back a soul that had crawled out of a sinister hell and returned to the world of the living. There was no youthful ambition to be found; there was only endless, chilling eeriness.

Zhao Jinyu pointed to Li Yao, who was closest to him, and whispered the name of Lin Jibai’s final enemy, signaling him to step forward and act with Yu Lin.

Li Yao walked forward tremblingly and asked, “Who are you?”

Lin Jibai let out a soft laugh, his voice dry and raspy like an old woman’s. “Why do you not ask yourself who you are remembering?”

Li Yao shouted in a panic, “Who are you! Stop playing tricks!”

Lin Jibai turned around, looking submissive and cowardly as if he were a weakling begging to be bullied. But a silver light flashed at his fingertips; a butterfly knife had appeared out of nowhere. He walked very slowly, and his posture was somewhat unstable. The upright, rigid manner he had just forced himself into vanished completely, replaced by his previous cowering, fawning stance. He had become used to it.

But when he was very young, his dream was also to become an upright and handsome police officer like Xie Zhao. It was simply too late for everything now.

While fiddling with the butterfly knife, he slowly approached Li Yao. His lips curled upward into an uncontrollable smile, and his drooping eyelids lifted to reveal a wild, flickering fire of madness in his eyes.

“Are you afraid?”

Li Yao backed away repeatedly, shouting in terror, “I do not know you! No matter who hired you, I will pay double—no, ten times the price! Let me go!”

Lin Jibai paused, as if remembering something. He narrowed his eyes and said mockingly, “Alright.”

Li Yao breathed a sigh of relief and stabilized himself against the conference table in front of Zhao Jinyu and the others.

“Eight hundred thousand.”

Li Yao’s face went blank for a second.

“A very familiar number, right? It is exactly the same as the blood money paid for Xie Zhao’s life back then.”

In the next second, the butterfly knife slashed down rapidly in front of him, stabbing straight toward the back of his hand. Li Yao cried out in pain and fell from the edge of the table, clutching his hand and screaming.

Lin Jibai knelt down and pinched Li Yao’s chin, forcing him to look up. The silver light of the butterfly knife stung his eyes. The young man before him had blood-red eyes, and half of his face was hidden in shadow, looking like a vengeful ghost coming to take a life.

Li Yao had almost no doubt that the man truly wanted to kill him.

“Why are you screaming? This knife is not even sharpened, and I did not even hit you,” Yu Lin said, pushing Li Yao’s face aside with a look of disgust.