How To Say I Love You

This was such a good opportunity; how could Lin Le Yang not be moved? He firmed his resolve and replied, “Okay, I’ll go and ask Ji Ge.”

He had just entered the office and before he had a chance to speak, Ji Mian said, “Take this script and have a look through it, go to the audition in the afternoon.”

Seeing the words on the cover, Lin le Yang’s heart was full of enthusiasm, “Okay Ji Ge, I’ll go and read the script right away.” He hurriedly walked out, forgetting to say goodbye. Ji Mian stared at his distant back with dark eyes.

In the afternoon, all the invited artist gathered in Hu Ming’s studio waiting for the audition. Xiao Jia Shu was among them. He sat at the outermost edge of the corridor without an agent or assistant by his side and looked particularly lonely. Seeing him, Chen Peng Xin frowned, but his attention was taken away upon noticing Ye Xi and his entire face darkened.

“What is Ye Xi doing here?” He whispered to Lin Le Yang.

Ye Xi was also an artist under President Mian’s Studio. He made his debut earlier than Lin Le Yang and was more famous than Lin Le Yang. His arrival naturally decreased Lin Le Yang’s chances.

“Should this be the resource President Ji arranged for just you?” Chen Peng Xin was very dissatisfied with Ji Mian’s approach and complained, “Le Yang, is there a problem with your relationship with President Ji, why is he not here? Not here to support you?”

“How do you still want Ji Ge to support me?” Three movies, one series and two reality shows with so many advertising endorsements, my resources have far exceeded the newcomers who debuted at the same time, so I should be content.” Lin Le Yang smiled and continued, “Ye Xi is my senior and he is also qualified to share the company’s resources. It’s all the same, no matter who gets the first male lead role.”

“I am afraid the role will be taken by Xiao Jia Shu due to his background.” Chen Peng Xin sneered.

“Director Hu Ming has strict requirements for actors. He never considers one’s background so don’t worry about it.” As soon as Lin Le Yang’s voice fell, the interviewer started calling the numbers. The male artist who got the number one card quickly walked into the conference room as the crowd of artists staying behind waited nervously.

Hu Ming was strict as described by the rumours, he drove them away one at a time in the audition and didn’t leave them a bit of face. Artist kept hiding their face in embarrassment as they left, making the atmosphere even more tense. There were artists who stayed behind but they got less important roles, the role for the first male lead was yet to be filled.

‘The Chaser for Love’ is a suspenseful horror novel about a man with a dual personality. It was only after being damaged in a relationship that his second personality emerged; chasing, manipulating, and hunting the women around him. The role of the male protagonist was much greater than that of the female protagonist. It can be said that roughly two-0thirds of the plot of the entire movie was dedicated to the male protagonist alone. For this reason, Director Hu Ming was particularly cautious about the selection of the male lead.

“No. 33 can go in.” The interviewer shouted.

Xiao Jia Shu immediately pushed the door in.

As soon as he walked in, someone started talking behind his back, “That’s Xiao Jia Shu, right? It’s over, we have no chance. He can just invest some money to buy the role. After all these years, no matter how powerful an actor is, they are not as powerful as this word – money.”

“I think so too. What’s the use of sending an audition invitation when the role is already directly determined!” Many artists began to complain, making Lin Le Yang uneasy.

This was Xiao Jia Shu’s first time participating in an audition and it would be a lie if one was to say that he was not nervous. His throat felt a bit dry, so he took a sip of water before entering and as he started to introduce himself. Director Hu Ming waved impatiently with a sullen face, “You, perform the ‘awakening’ scene.”

Xiao Jia Shu opened the script and looked at it before nodding, “I’m ready.”

The awakening scene was the beginning of the story: the male protagonist was abandoned by his girlfriend and was about to commit suicide by jumping off the bridge. A kind-hearted person was able to pull him off the bridge rail. He fell to the ground, dizzy and a strong sense of despair killed off the first personality giving birth to the second personality.

Xiao Jia Shu ruffled up his hair and clothes as he reminisced about the plot. He was radiant a second before and instantly became haggard the next second. There was no other actor to cooperate with and no bridge for him to jump off. This was a solo performance without physical objects. He carried the mineral water bottle in his left hand, pretending it was a bottle of alcohol and staggered forward, holding the ‘bridge railing’ in his right hand. He squinted his eyes as if being unable to see the road ahead, stopped and drank the water in one breath; then made a climbing motion.

He climbed up the non-existent railing, threw the bottle away, looked down and fell in a daze. It was as he slowly stood on his tiptoe preparing to jump that his head suddenly leaned back as if someone had caught his collar and dragged him off the railing.

With some struggles, he managed to sit on the ground with difficulty with his back against the railing; his whole being soft as a puddle of mud. He remained still for a long time, his messy hair covering his face made his face appear to be hidden by the shadows. After another moment, he slowly raised his head and stared ahead as if there was a person squatting there, talking to him. His expression was dazed, his eyes out of focus but soon his muddy dark eyes began to glow as if it were a mass of condensed heat and his haggard face also glowed with radiance.

He had no movements or lines throughout the whole process. He just stared ahead but with only one eye visible, it was possible to infer the death of the first personality and the birth of the second personality with remarkable vividness from the changed eye. Director Hu Ming, who had been unbothered, sat upright unconsciously and observed him whilst holding his breath.