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Chapter 170 - 168, The Mysterious Youngster (Fourth Update)_1

Chapter 170: 168, The Mysterious Youngster (Fourth Update)_1

The team responsible for selecting the roles consisted of 5 members in total: Elder Zhou counted as one, Director Zhang counted as one, Ren He counted as one, and there was also an assistant director and a screenwriter.

In this production team, the screenwriter had a very easy job. Normally in other teams, screenwriters need to modify original texts to remove things that are difficult to present on screen, and perhaps add some more interesting plotlines or deepen the drama in certain scenes. However, the moment Zhang Ming saw Kunlun, he decided to present it as authentically as possible. Therefore, all the screenwriter needed to do was convert the text from Kunlun into a screenplay format.

Because of this, the golden editor on Director Zhang’s team even joked that this was the most relaxed job he’d ever had, to which Zhang Ming said he was practically on vacation this time.

Ren He initially planned to sit on the very edge, and no one minded, but as soon as he sat down, Director Zhang called out to him, "Come, come, for today, the casting for the three most important roles of Liang Xiao, Liu Yingying, and Hua Xiaoshuang still relies on your suggestions, so you have to sit next to me."

Just now, when they were discussing roles, Zhang Ming and Ren He had a high degree of consensus. With that, Zhang Ming fully trusted Ren He to be involved in the process.

The discussion process was also a way for Zhang Ming to gauge Ren He’s abilities. After all, if he let Ren He join only to mess things up, that wouldn’t do; this was serious work, not child’s play.

Ren He didn’t mind and took his seat in the middle. However, the others were somewhat surprised, and their curiosity about Ren He’s identity grew even more intense.

What did Director Zhang just say? The opinions of this youth were crucial for casting the three most important roles? They hadn’t misheard, had they?

Ren He’s image in everyone’s minds became even more mysterious. The casting call was a lengthy process due to the large number of participants, and with Zhang Ming being so meticulous, always hoping for better candidates, the entire crew ended up eating boxed lunches directly in the yard at noon. Due to the air of mystery that Ren He gave off, when lunchtime came, the master in charge of boxed lunches even took out a special portion from a separate box, smiled, and handed it to him. When Ren He opened it, he couldn’t help but laugh and cry; it turned out there was an extra fried egg...

The casting call began, with applicants entering in numerical order, which represented only the order of registration and had no significance regarding their identity. As such, several dozen people entered one after another, only to be politely asked by Zhang Ming to leave after a single glance.

Not one was deemed suitable!

At that moment, a bald young man walked in from outside and stood in front of everyone, but as he was about to introduce himself, he suddenly froze!

Fuck, wasn’t this the youth he had tried to hit on outside? Why was he sitting here now?

This was a huge misunderstanding – the person was one of the judges!

But how could someone so young possibly be a judge?

Ren He calmly sat there, pretending not to recognize him, though he knew the man was aiming to land the role of the young monk, Peanut. However, by appearance alone, even with a shaved head, the man looked more like a thug than a monk...

Moreover, Ren He had learned from Zhang Ming that the role of the young monk had been pre-cast for a martial arts star he’d worked with before, whose honest demeanor better suited the character.

However, the bald young man had a clever spark, and unlike before, Zhang Ming didn’t dismiss him with a glance. Instead, he gave him a specific topic to perform for half a minute.

After the performance, the bald young man looked expectantly at Director Zhang, who frowned as if contemplating whether there was a role that could showcase the young man’s abilities, because the bald young man’s performance had been quite good.

At least it was evident that he had put in a lot of effort and had come off quite naturally.

Ultimately, Zhang Ming decided to cast him as a villainous supporting character – he would play a sidekick.

The bald young man had aspired to be the male lead but ended up as a villainous side character. It had to be said that this was a stark departure from his expectations, but that’s life, isn’t it?

By the afternoon of the casting call, everyone was a bit tired. They had seen the beautiful, the handsome, the ugly, and the bizarre.

The most outrageous was a young man who walked in claiming that his father was some bureau chief and demanded the leading role, only to be promptly ejected by Director Zhang...

When two o’clock in the afternoon came around, a contestant walked in from outside. Just stepping through the door, they brought with them a refreshing fragrance that revitalized everyone’s senses.

This time, it was Ren He who was stunned. It was Xia Yuting who walked in from outside and stood in the center of the room, bowing to everyone. Her perfect figure and enticing curves were enough to catch anyone’s eye.

There were others at today’s open casting call who were more beautiful, but none had the eye-catching presence she did.

To be honest, aside from Ren He and Zhou Wumeng, everyone present was used to seeing beautiful people every day. What was the entertainment industry not short of? Beauty and handsome looks, that’s what.

However, after Xia Yuting bowed, she too froze for a moment. She looked up and saw Ren He sitting right before her. The feeling was just too unexpected!

This morning, when she had seen Ren He’s back, she thought there was no way he would show up here for an audition. But there he was in the afternoon.

He was indeed not here to audition... but to help with the casting!

Others may not have felt anything special, and the bald young man only thought Ren He looked excessively young, but for Xia Yuting, it was different. In her past interactions with Ren He, he was just an average middle school student without any outstanding qualities.

How could he be here?

Luckily, Xia Yuting’s mental resilience was strong. She knew this wasn’t the time to be stunned or to ponder such a surprising question, so she promptly discarded it and began her self-introduction confidently.

Her Mandarin was very standard, and her image and temperament shone through once again. She clearly had the credentials to proceed.

Zhang Ming scrutinized Xia Yuting before him and suddenly became interested. He said abruptly, "Please perform a swimming posture as if you’re in a pool. Aim for realism."

Ren He could sense a change in the expressions of the screenwriter and the assistant director beside him. He might not understand, but the assistant director, who had followed Zhang Ming for years, knew him best: Xia Yuting was dressed modestly, her white T-shirt and linen skirt gave her a fresh and elegant appearance. To portray a swimming posture, she would at least have to lie prone on the ground, right? By doing so, she would inevitably get covered in dust. How many girls could accept that? But Zhang Ming asking her to perform the posture wasn’t for a simple splash in the water; what would be the point of that?

Although they didn’t yet know if this girl would perform as Zhang Ming requested, both the screenwriter and the assistant director understood that Zhang Ming was serious. She was very likely to become one of the lead actresses!

To everyone’s astonishment, Xia Yuting immediately lay face down on the ground after hearing Zhang Ming’s words and started mimicking the breaststroke movement. She continued for more than ten seconds before finishing with a move that resembled coming up for air.

By the time she stood up, her white T-shirt was completely covered in dust, including her hair.

Ren He understood. Zhang Ming wasn’t just looking at her acting skills, but also her professionalism. Martial arts dramas are tough, and some actors have great qualities in all aspects but just can’t endure the hardship.

This was not an unusual occurrence on a film set.

Zhang Ming glanced at Elder Zhou, who nodded. Then, unexpectedly, he turned to Ren He and quietly asked, "What do you think?"

"I think she’s pretty good," Ren He said in a low voice with a smile. Not to mention she was indeed good, but as a friend, he felt he should lend a hand. Ren He wasn’t the type to boast about everything being for the sake of art with an air of pretension; he wasn’t affected.

The assistant director and the others were mentally prepared for Zhang Ming to seek Ren He’s opinion because Zhang Ming had already given them a heads-up. However, to Xia Yuting, this scene was bewildering, though she couldn’t say anything on this occasion.

Zhang Ming then said, "Please share your thoughts about the several key characters in ’Kunlun’."

As soon as he spoke, the assistant director and the screenwriter felt a weight lift from their hearts: This girl was bound to be one of the significant female roles.

...

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