My Landlord is an Idol Singer - Chapter 151

A few minutes later, the door to Yu Lei’s tea room was knocked on again. It was the same young man from earlier, but this time he was accompanied by another boy who was just as good-looking.

The two looked about the same age.

“Hello, Teacher!”

They both greeted Yu Lei first upon entering. When they noticed the charming Yun Yinxue sitting there, they were clearly surprised. After all, though Yun Yinxue was younger than them, she already had some fame.

“These are two of my students. The one on the left is Chen Yuze, and the one on the right is Meng Xingye. They’re the best in my class.” Yu Lei nodded as he introduced them to Gu Zhinan and Lai Jingming.

“These two are the directors of the film. If you fit the roles, you’ll be cast as the male leads. But I’ll be honest, the pay is very low. Are you interested?”

“Hello, Directors! I’m Chen Yuze, 19 years old! I have no problem with that!” Chen Yuze was the first to respond, looking a bit excited. If his teacher personally recommended this movie, he’d be willing to play even a background extra!

“Hello, Directors. I’m Meng Xingye, also 19. But… I was wondering, how much is the pay?” Meng Xingye asked with a teasing tone, but when he saw his teacher’s darkening expression, he quickly corrected himself. “I mean, even if there’s no pay, I’d still gladly do it!”

“What do you think?” Yu Lei looked at Gu Zhinan, who glanced at Lai Jingming. “Fatty, go handle the audition.”

Lai Jingming nodded, picked up the A Little Thing Called First Love script, and walked over to the two boys with a smile on his chubby face. He flipped to a scene featuring both the male lead and the second male lead and let them read for a few minutes before taking the script back.

“You two don’t need to worry about who’s the lead or the supporting role yet. Just act out a scene where you both fall for the same girl, show me that emotion.”

Chen Yuze and Meng Xingye exchanged glances. They got into character quickly, without a single line, just through body language and facial expressions. Their hands trembled slightly as if they couldn’t believe what they were feeling.

Their eyes were full of disbelief, but Gu Zhinan noticed that Chen Yuze’s expression seemed more natural. It fit better with the feeling the lead character, A’Liang, would have upon realizing that his best friend A’Tuo also liked the heroine, Xiaoshui.

Yu Lei watched them, growing more confident. Yun Yinxue also nodded approvingly. But then Gu Zhinan spoke up. “Show me some brotherly affection next. Let’s see that.”

“Huh?” Brotherly affection? That kind?

Chen Yuze and Meng Xingye were stunned. They hesitated for more than ten seconds, making Gu Zhinan a little confused. Was this so difficult?

“Don’t know how?” Gu Zhinan couldn’t help asking. There was no explicit ‘bromance’ line in A Little Thing Called First Love, but subtle hints were definitely there. If they couldn’t act this out, it could be a problem.

The two boys exchanged a determined glance.

Then, suddenly, they both shifted their expressions. Chen Yuze gently stepped forward, took Meng Xingye’s hand with great tenderness, while Meng Xingye gazed at him affectionately, raising his other hand to softly caress Chen Yuze’s face.

“What the hell?” Gu Zhinan nearly choked. Lai Jingming was frozen. Yun Yinxue watched with great interest.

“Stop!” Yu Lei scolded sharply. “What the hell are you two doing?! He said brotherly affection, not that kind! Don’t you understand the meaning of the words?”

He cursed them, wondering what on earth these two usually watched.

“Uh…” Chen Yuze and Meng Xingye quickly let go of each other’s hands, their faces burning with shame. They suddenly felt like they’d socially died on the spot. It was bad enough for one person to misunderstand, but how did they both get it wrong?

Gu Zhinan, the one who gave the challenge, felt a little awkward himself. He cleared his throat. “I really meant normal brotherly friendship… nothing complicated…”

After this little mishap, Gu Zhinan felt pretty reassured. If they could even turn that into such a convincing performance, then their acting ability shouldn’t be a problem.

The two boys sat nervously in front of Gu Zhinan and Lai Jingming, waiting for the final verdict, after all, this could be their first-ever film role.

“I’m Lai Jingming, the assistant director. I also graduated from Beijing Film Academy’s directing department. Relax a bit.” Lai Jingming eased the tension while Gu Zhinan quietly sipped his tea, still feeling a little awkward.

“The man just now is the boss and the chief director, he also wrote the script. I can only offer you each fifty thousand yuan in pay. Chen Yuze, you’ll be playing the male lead. Meng Xingye, you’ll be the second male lead. Here’s the full script. And this young lady, you should recognize her, right?”

Yun Yinxue gave a sweet smile. Chen Yuze and Meng Xingye both nodded.

“Read the script carefully and let us know. Don’t force yourselves, we want people who truly want to act.” Lai Jingming handed over the script.

Chen Yuze, having been chosen for the lead role, picked it up first. Meng Xingye leaned over to read as well. 

Twenty minutes passed.

“Director Lai, we’re in! We’ll do our absolute best!”

Lai Jingming smiled and glanced back at Gu Zhinan. He didn’t mention the box office split because Yun Yinxue’s share would be different from these two newcomers. Though they were all good actors, Yun Yinxue had some fame already, she’d starred in three major films, even if her roles were small.

“The contract will be signed later at the company. Leave your contact info with the assistant director.” Gu Zhinan turned to Yu Lei with a smile. “By the way, aren’t there other students in the class? We still need actors for some supporting roles, right?”

Yu Lei chuckled and scolded jokingly. “You sure are bold, wanting more? You’re paying them, you know!”

“Of course!” Gu Zhinan grinned. With Yu Lei’s hint, Lai Jingming took the script along with Chen Yuze and Meng Xingye to select a few more suitable students. After all, the heroine’s friends needed solid acting skills too.

Once they filled these age-specific roles, the rest would be easier, they could just cast veteran extras from Hengdian Studio City. There’d be no shortage of capable supporting actors there. As the assistant director, this glorious task would naturally fall to Lai Jingming.

“Alright then, I’ll head back now. But make sure to inform me when the cast is finalized, don’t you dare switch me out at the last minute!” Yun Yinxue giggled as she said this. Gu Zhinan nodded. “Of course. We’ll keep in touch.”

What a lively girl and talented too.

Though the film’s future was uncertain, at least the crew was finally coming together. Lai Jingming now felt confident they could pull this off.

“See you on set, Director Gu! I’m going back to read Legend of Sword and Fairy!”

“See you on set.”

“Old Liu really values you, huh? I heard you stunned everyone with your Blue and White Porcelain performance at Huayang TV?”

Now only Yu Lei and Gu Zhinan remained in the tea room. Yu Lei was growing increasingly interested in this young man. Gu Zhinan didn’t know how to respond. Say yes? Not quite. Say no? But it did kind of happen that way.

“You flatter me. It just happened to match the theme, that’s all.” After thinking for a moment, Gu Zhinan chose to answer modestly.

“Just as Old Liu said, you’re humble. When he called me last night, he couldn’t stop praising you. I also heard that you donated 20% of the sales profits from Legend of Sword and Fairy and Blue and White Porcelain to charity. That’s actually one of the reasons I agreed to help you find actors.” Yu Lei grinned. People with this kind of character naturally gave off a sense of trustworthiness.

Gu Zhinan simply smiled faintly. Part of his willingness to donate came from the memories he carried and part of it was just his personal belief.