Chapter 99 - Screen Test
Rebirth of a Fashionista: This Life Is Soo Last Season
After sending away the Ning couple and Yun Qian, Sheng Jiaoyang went to the company with the newly-hired assistant, Ning Xiaoruan.
"A-assistant?" Li Yu was very surprised to see the two of them together.
"That’s what your Boss Shen decided." Sheng Jiaoyang lazily leaned on the chair.
Ning Xiaoruan’s face was filled with despair, and he could already predict how his classmates and friends would laugh at him upon knowing that he’d become an assistant for a star. A small star’s assistant at that! But, his cousin’s decision was absolute, plus his parents had told him to do it well before boarding the plane. Since even his parents didn’t feel that his job was shameful, what else could he do about it?
Li Yu had finally accepted this fact, while at the same time, he felt that his respect for the girl in front of him had risen. She’d even made the Ning Group’s Young Master work for her. With this, did it mean that she’d already conquered the Boss’s family?
With that out of the way, it was time to talk about the main issue.
Li Yu felt that since Sheng Jiaoyang had just made headlines and was a hot search topic, she should strike while the iron was hot by acting in one or two popular dramas. Meanwhile, she should participate in popular variety shows to stabilise her popularity. However, Sheng Jiaoyang felt the problem didn’t lie with the issue of popularity. Instead, she thought about hooking up, cough, getting to know more people to introduce to Shen Zhining. She didn’t refuse Li Yu's arrangements, but she only picked scripts according to what interested her. Ever since having acted with Mei Niu in a few dramas, she’d found a new interest. It was no wonder that even in the midst of being busy, Mei Niu still took some time out to pick a script that she wanted to act. Sheng Jiaoyang felt a great sense of accomplishment when acting out a script that she was interested in.
Sheng Jiaoyang chose a script that was created by the company to boost newcomers. There were already several female candidates for the role, but with her arrival, she immediately got the role of the female lead.
Li Yu obviously wouldn’t reject Boss’s future wife, and he’d originally wanted to boost her fame anyways. After spending so much money to sign this ‘flower vase’, if it turned out to be useless, even if his boss didn’t mind, it still mattered to him since it would leave a permanent black mark on his record.
The crew had started preparing two days ago. The only thing missing was the female lead. The previous few managers had argued with each other, each wanting to push the up-and-coming newcomers that they managed. Initially, this wasn’t a big deal. However, these managers previously had problems with their resources. Now that they had newcomers whom they wanted to push up, and coming upon such a good script and crew, who could let go of such an opportunity? Thus, no one wanted to give way and it ended up in the hands of Li Yu.
In the end, the role of the female lead flew away from their grasp.
By the time the managers who’d made a scene for this role knew of this matter and inquired about who’d stolen the role, the crew had already started filming.
The title of the drama was ‘Redeeming my IGD Boyfriend’[1], and the contents could easily be guessed from its title. The whole drama was mainly about the boyfriend, Liao Jiayi, who was addicted to gaming, and his girlfriend, who pulls her boyfriend out of this addiction. Specifically, it’s about a couple who grew up as childhood friends entering university, but are not only not intimate, but also solitary, due to the fact that Liao Jiayi was influenced by his roommates to indulge in gaming. In order to save her boyfriend, Zhen Xin creates a series of hilarious rescue plans with the help of her roommates.
In the drama, the setting of Zhen Xin’s personality was a blunt and tall beauty. So, when Director Wan Youfang saw Sheng Jiaoyang, he didn’t belittle her because of her unknown identity. Instead, he felt that the company was reliable in this area as they didn’t randomly choose a female lead that didn’t fit the setting and request to change the whole plot due to that.
The actors of other important characters in the crew also arrived, and after the opening ceremony, they took a set of photos.
In the initial setting, Zhen Xin was a tall beauty with long black hair, so Sheng Jiaoyang had to get a complete makeover.
"Ning Xiaoruan." Sheng Jiaoyang stood in front of Ning Xiaoruan and stroked her soft…wig.
Ning Xiaoruan, who was scrolling through his phone, heard her call and looked up. He was stunned. The girl in front of him satisfied all the fantasies that he had about his future girlfriend. Her long, straight black hair was hanging by the sides of her face, making her already small face seem more refined. The natural eye makeup made her big eyes particularly clear and clean. With the addition of that small nose, pink lips…
He could hear him himself swallowing his saliva.
But, why did she look so familiar?
Sheng Jiaoyang blinked her eyes and said, "You don’t recognise me?"
Ning Xiaoruan held his chest as he felt his heart breaking. He thought that he’d finally met his goddess. But, it was just God playing a joke on him, wait no, it was Xu Jiaojiao, that brat, who was playing a joke on him.
"It turns out that you looked like this with long hair. This is too deceptive!" Ning Xiaoruan muttered, smiling dryly.
"How did I deceive you?" Sheng Jiaoyang narrowed her eyes and tilted her head.
"Yep, this expression is the expression. You look more normal this way."
Sheng Jiaoyang was startled. She tucked her chin in and lowered her eyes with a smile as she whispered, "I’m normal, no matter what." After saying that, she gracefully glanced at him before heading to the photo studio to take her promotional pictures.
With one look, Ning Xiaoruan felt like he’d just received a blow, and his bones seemed to have been burnt to crisps. He held his chest as he looked at the gentle figure of a lady gradually retreating. The girlfriend he was looking for was a really gentle girl, not a fickle one like Xu Jiaojiao.
"Zhang Yue, don’t look at other people! Remember that you’re Liao Jiayi now, you have a gaming addiction! Remember! A young lad with a gaming addiction!" The director's voice with a local accent echoed through the studio, resulting with the onlookers having a hard time holding in their laughter.
Zhang Yue was the male lead of this drama. He was also a newcomer that the company was trying to push up. He’d already participated in many TV dramas before, ranging from cameos to important supporting leads. He’d trained his acting skills vigorously, and all that was lacking was the opportunity to make him famous. This time, the higher-ups in the company had decided to let him take on this role of the male lead in the hopes that he could achieve stardom from this.
Why was he, someone who already had a stable and strong set of acting skills and experience, still getting shouted at by the director for daydreaming? It was naturally because of the arrival of someone with looks as pure and attractive as a goddess, especially for an otaku!
After taking a set of promotional photos, the director instructed the main leads to find a sense of chemistry between each other.
The other males in the room tried to pull away the female lead’s roommates as the female lead came into the male lead’s dorm room. The male lead was sitting at the computer desk and playing games. When he saw the female lead, he just made a small acknowledgement before going back to fighting the boss.
“Jiayi, I’m thirsty,” Zhen Xin said, hinting that she wanted to be spoiled.
“Okay, just give me two minutes," Liao Jiayi didn’t bother to look up as he replied, his fingers still vigorously tapping on the keyboard.
"…Forget it, I’ll do it myself." I’m already parched! If I have to wait for you, I’ll die of thirst first.
Zhen Xin pouted as she poured herself a glass of water. She then approached Liao Jiayi, and with her lips close to Liao Jiayi's ear, she said breathily, "Jiayi, we have no classes tomorrow afternoon, so why don’t we go to the movies together?"
“Sorry, Xinxin, I’ve already made an appointment with my friends to clear a dungeon tomorrow afternoon. I can't accompany you."
Zhen Xin already knew that he’d say that and revealed a disappointed expression. She looked away and blinked before she immediately moved her head to block Liao Jiayi’s line of sight. Liao Jiayi’s first reaction was to naturally push her away. Splash! Suddenly, the cup of water that Zhen Xin was holding drenched his computer and keyboard, while the other half soaked his body.
"Oh no, what should I do?! Jiayi, I didn't mean to do it!" Zhen Xin acted like she was flustered, but her face revealed a smug expression.
Liao Jiayi was far calmer than she’d thought he’d be as he comforted her. "It’s okay, my computer is waterproof." As he spoke, he flipped the computer upside down to drain the water. Then, he took out some tissues to dry his keyboard and table before continuing to play the game.
"…" Zhen Xin was stunned, she felt as if she’d wrongly been struck by lightning.
"Good! Xu Jiaojiao performed very well and acted very naturally. Zhang Yue, your second half isn’t bad, but at the beginning, there were some problems. You must remember that you’re a complete internet addict. Under the sky, there’s nothing more important than your game. When Xu Jiaojiao talked into your ear, what was the change in your expression for? Remember, you must be calm! Act like your heart can never be moved by anything but games!" the director commented.
A complete internet addict. Zhang Yue thought resentfully. If this was reality, and a person like Liao Jiayi wanted to become one with the computer instead of cherishing his pure and beautiful girlfriend, he’d end up forever single!
1. IGD = Internet Gaming Disorder