Second Take On Romance - The A-List Actor Wants Me
Chapter 177 : The Audition (3)

Chapter 177: Chapter 177 : The Audition (3)

Fu Wenchang tilted his head backward and broke into a shrill laughter.

"Good that you know your manners!" He praised, unaware of Shen Jingwei’s sarcastic reply. "For that only, I shall allow you to leave with your head held high."

Shen Jingwei stared at him, his gaze icy cold.

"Why would I leave?"

The two henchmen gasped in shock.

"How dare you question Senior Fu!" One of them shrieked.

"You should just go before Senior Fu loses it!" The other one advised.

Shen Jingwei let out a soft chuckle. He leaned casually against the wall, a wistful smile playing on his lips.

"And what if I don’t want to?"

Fu Wenchang’s face contorted with rage, his eyes bulging in a frightening manner.

"You... You...!" He shook a finger at Shen Jingwei’s face. "How dare you defy me!"

Shen Jingwei regarded the angry man with a cool look.

"You are not my superior and I do not owe you anything. Why do I have to listen to you?"

"I came here out of the goodness of my heart!" Fu Wenchang cried out. "Someone like you will never land this role anyway! Might as well go back home and waste your time somewhere else!"

"Someone like me?"

Shen Jingwei cocked his head to the side, his interest piqued.

"What exactly do you mean by that? Do elaborate."

Fu Wenchang sucked in a deep breath before he lunged at Shen Jingwei and grabbed him by his lapels.

"Everyone in the industry knows that the only reason you landed the male lead role in ’Dance Of The Dragons’ is your abnormal sexual preference," Fu Wenchang hissed. "Too bad, ’Eyes Of The Hunter’ does not feature any homosexual character. You should piss off and go back to your BL drama. You disgust me!"

The spray of spittle heading his direction made Shen Jingwei wrinkle his nose in distaste.

"Unfortunately, I don’t know you enough to care about your opinion," he ruthlessly said.

"...!!!"

Fu Wenchang, this local bigshot who had never came across someone as defiant as Shen Jingwei, was so angry that blood might just burst out of his seven apertures in no time.

"Besides, if you are so sure about my failing to land this role, why do you bother asking me to go home? Let the judges send me home. Or maybe they would send you home instead.

You don’t strike me as the right person to play Su Jiahong."

Su Jiahong was the name of the major villain in "Eyes Of The Hunter".

Fu Wenchang shot daggers at Shen Jingwei, who did not flinch at all.

"Very well!" He roared. "Very well! Since you are not listening to me, do not blame me for being ruthless!"

Fu Wenchang turned on his heel dramatically and left. His two henchmen shot Shen Jingwei vicious glares.

"Just so you know, Senior Fu’s sponsor is among the judges."

"He is going to get this role for sure."

After saying their pieces, they chased after their leader.

Shen Jingwei closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.

The second round might prove to be challenging.

Shen Jingwei’s eyes followed Fu Wenchang and his two henchmen as they approached more candidates.

Apparently, they had been intimidating select candidates throughout the hall, attempting to scare them into dropping out before the second round.

Most of them, like Shen Jingwei, refused to listen to Fu Wenchang.

Why would they?

They worked so hard to get this far. Maybe the Goddess of Fate and Destiny would look favorably upon them and grant them the role they coveted*.

No matter how bad the odds were, a chance of success still prevailed. It was too early to give up.

The most important thing right now was to recover from the unrest and focus his attention on the audition.

An hour later, his name was called.

Shen Jingwei followed an assistant into the room and came face-to-face with the panel of judges, who all sat in a row behind a long table.

As Shen Jingwei scanned their faces one by one, he spotted Feng Jietang in the middle.

The latter gave him a little wink to encourage him. Shen Jingwei almost broke into a smile.

"Mr. Shen Jingwei, correct?" The casting director asked.

"Yes, very nice to meet the judges," Shen Jingwei replied.

"We have looked through your portfolio, so there is no need to introduce yourself. Please demonstrate your skill by acting out Act 3, Scene 2."

Act 3, Scene 2 essentially depicted the first showdown between the protagonist, the detective Cao Huifang, and the antagonist Su Jiahong.

"I want to see your interpretation of both Cao Huifang and Su Jiahong. After reading the script several times, surely you have developed your own ideas about the characters."

"I have," Shen Jingwei confirmed.

"In that case, please show it through your acting. You may use any prop you deem suitable."

Shen Jingwei picked a gun prop from a nearby table and tucked it into his pocket.

Feng Jietang rose to his feet.

"I shall assist," he said before taking another gun prop.

The two men stood against each other, separated only by several feet.

"Action!" The drama director cried out.

At the beginning of the scene, Su Jiahong, who was escaping from police force, was cornered by Cao Huifang in a remote alley.

Light drizzle was falling upon them, with Cao Huifang pointing a gun at Su Jiahong’s head.

Su Jiahong was able to escape Cao Huifang, but the exact method of his escape remained unspecified, left to the actors’ interpretation.

Only the dialogue was provided.

Shen Jingwei took a deep breath and looked straight into Feng Jietang’s eyes.

"You finally caught up with me, Detective Cao."

"Your underlings have been captured without fail, Su Jiahong," Feng Jietang said while tightening his hold on the gun.

"Resistance is futile. Surrender while you can.

Smoothly, Shen Jingwei produced a gun from his pocket and pointed it at Feng Jietang as well.

"Have you ever killed someone, Detective Cao?"

"..."

Shen Jingwei smirked.

"Which one do you think is faster, yours or mine?"

He spun the gun in his hand and pointed it at his own temple.

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Author’s note :

*The Goddess of Fate and Destiny is a hated character from "Dance Of The Dragons" ⁽⁠⁽⁠◝⁠(⁠ ⁠•⁠௰⁠•⁠ ⁠)⁠◜⁠⁾⁠⁾

For reference, she likes to trade wishes against lifespans