Second Take On Romance - The A-List Actor Wants Me
Chapter 178 : The Audition (4)

Chapter 178: Chapter 178 : The Audition (4)

Feng Jietang widened his eyes in disbelief. His grip on his gun inadvertently grew slack. Before he knew it, Shen Jingwei already slammed against him.

"Ugh!"

Feng Jietang’s gun fell to the floor, and Shen Jingwei broke free.

"Ok, CUT...!"

Shen Jingwei picked up the fallen gun prop from the floor and handed it to Feng Jietang with a smile.

"Interesting interpretation," the drama director remarked. "Can you explain your actions in more detail, Mr. Shen? Why did you point the gun at your head?"

"Cao Huifang witnessed his mother’s suicide when he was just a little boy," Shen Jingwei began to explain. "Even into the adulthood, this incident posed a deep trauma in his psyche. Due to his sensitivity for suicide cases, he selectively chose to take homicide cases instead.

By tapping into that trauma, it is possible to create a small loophole to escape Cao Huifang’s clutch."

"That is rather unprecedented," the casting director remarked as he leaned backward in his seat. "We anticipated an action-packed scene, not one where Su Jiahong outsmarts Cao Huifang to escape."

"Su Jiahong is a psychopath who relishes tormenting his victims mentally before inflicting physical harm," Shen Jingwei argued.

"He enjoys the cat-and-mouse game with Cao Huifang, whom he has been following since Cao Huifang took on the serial homicide case. I anticipate that when they finally confront each other, Su Jiahong will relish the opportunity to psychologically torment Cao Huifang as well."

"Cao Huifang is a formidable shooter, though," the drama director reminded him. "And he is known to act first and think later. Su Jiahong risked being killed over his perverted hobby."

Shen Jingwei nodded.

"Correct. And that’s where the thrill is. It makes the successful escape even sweeter than it is."

The judges nodded in apprehension. They seemed to be impressed. All but a bespectacled middle-aged man, who remained unconvinced. He was one of the producers.

"I don’t know about that," he grunted. "The scene you just showed is too... Well, girly."

His comment inadvertently made the other judges shift uncomfortably in their seats.

To his credit, Shen Jingwei did not even flinch.

Feng Jietang, on the other hand, was outraged.

"Mr. Gao, that was uncalled for," he snapped.

"How is that uncalled for?" Producer Gao looked confused. "I didn’t make any reference to Mr. Shen’s person at all. Mr. Shen, you didn’t take offense, did you?"

"No, Sir."

"Good, because if you start taking offense on every little comment people make, you are not going to survive in this industry for long."

Feng Jietang’s facial color changed from red to purple.

"Did you think of the scene as girly just because there was no shoot-out between the two characters, Mr. Gao?" Shen Jingwei asked.

"That’s not all," Producer Gao answered. "It was your posture altogether. I can deduce that you haven’t done a lot of action scenes in the past."

"My experience with action scenes is primarily limited to the fight choreography typical of xianxia dramas," Shen Jingwei admitted.

"That’s what I meant," Producer Gao said. "We are not doing any sword dance in this criminal drama, so I fear that you might be unsuitable for this role."

The casting director cleared his throat.

"Now, now, that was too early to decide."

"That’s right. We should take a look at the other candidates before we can decide."

"We should focus on the ones with extensive experience in action-oriented movies or dramas," Producer Gao insisted. "It will save us a lot of headaches later on."

"It is a criminal drama, not an action movie, Mr. Gao," an assistant director said with a slight furrow between his brows. "A battle of wit, not muscles."

"I know that, thank you for the reminder. I would still prefer a macho villain and not..." He nodded toward Shen Jingwei, "...you know."

The casting director cleared his throat a second time.

"I think we should discuss this later," he said with a sharp glare at his fellow judges.

"Thank you, Mr. Shen, you may go."

Shen Jingwei flashed them all a succinct smile before bowing perfunctorily and leaving the room.

Unfortunately, this was not the first time a judge made a homophobic remark during his performance.

After his sexual orientation became public, no matter what he did or said, it would always scream gay.

"Little Shen, wait up!"

Feng Jietang grabbed his shoulder from behind. He was panting heavily after chasing Shen Jingwei all the way out of the audition room.

"I am sorry," he sincerely said. "Please don’t think badly of our Yunhuan Entertainment. We... Most of us are very open and forthcoming."

Shen Jingwei smiled.

"I don’t. No worries, it’s the entertainment industry. I practically have that homosexual tag on my forehead. It must be difficult to ignore it."

Feng Jietang sighed. He wanted to say that that was not true, but he had no argument to offer.

"I am sorry," that was all he could say, over and over again. "I am sorry for the pain and humiliation. You didn’t deserve it."

Shen Jingwei shrugged.

"Eh, after three years, I have become used to it. Don’t sweat it."

He gave Feng Jietang one last friendly pat against the upper arm before he left the audition venue.

The oppressive atmosphere inside the building was suffocating, but the fresh air outside was a refreshing change.

Zhu Dongyi arrived not fifteen minutes later to pick him up.

"Little Shen, how was the audition?" He asked while lifting a bag of treats. "I have some roasted sweet cassava for us. What’s wrong?"

Shen Jingwei rubbed at his temples.

"Nothing."

Zhu Dongyi furrowed his brows at his protégé.

"Little Shen? Did someone bully you?"

"No."

Shen Jingwei laughed.

"Why would they."

"You worked hard to prepare for this audition. Now we just need to sit back and relax. It will take some time before you receive a callback for the third round."

Shen Jingwei merely smiled in return. He was unable to bring himself to deliver the bad news to Zhu Dongyi.

The only thing that brightened his mood was a text message from Yan Renzhong that arrived shortly after, "I am home. Waiting for you to come back, my love."