Huayu: This director is so eager to improve.

Chapter 4 Casting

After securing the investment, Qi Yue and Guo Fan immediately began selecting actors.

In order to control costs, and also because of its proximity to the source, the recruitment notice was posted on the bulletin board and internal group of the film academy, which immediately attracted a large number of students with dreams of acting to inquire and apply.

The audition day arrived quickly, and the rehearsal room borrowed from the school was packed with people early on.

Guo Fan was sweating profusely as he checked the list and arranged the order. It was almost nine o'clock, but their director, Qi Yue, was nowhere to be seen.

Guo Fan looked towards the door for the hundredth time, then glanced anxiously at his watch before finally pulling out his phone and dialing.

The phone rang seven or eight times before it was answered.

"Qi Yue! Where are you?!" Guo Fan shouted in a low voice, "What time is it? A huge crowd has gathered here, just waiting for you to start!"

The background noise on the other end of the phone was a bit loud, but Qi Yue's voice sounded very calm: "I'm at the police station right now."

"Police station?!" Guo Fan's voice rose involuntarily, drawing the attention of several students waiting for their interviews nearby. He quickly turned his back and lowered his voice.

"What are you doing at the police station?! Don't you know what day it is today?!"

"Something came up, I need to deal with it."

"What could be more important than today's audition?... Scam! You got scammed?!" Guo Fan's heart skipped a beat. "Should I come over?"

"No need." Qi Yue's voice came through the receiver, tinged with helplessness. "It's not that I was scammed. Okay, I'll go back as soon as I'm done. You start, follow the procedure."

After hanging up the phone, Qi Yue put it back in his pocket.

Before him stood a girl crying her eyes out, and a policeman with a businesslike expression.

"Officer, you see, have you explained the situation to her now?" Qi Yue said. "Her money was stolen by someone impersonating her; it has nothing to do with me."

The young police officer in charge of taking notes nodded and said to the girl:

"What this gentleman said is basically true. We have reviewed your chat history and transfer receipts. The other party was impersonating your friend and committed fraud under the pretext of medical treatment. The money you transferred was to an overseas account."

The girl's sobs had subsided somewhat, but upon hearing these words, tears welled up in her eyes.

"That money is what I saved up over four years of acting... Waaah... It's all my savings... Officers, is there any way to get it back? Please, I beg you..."

The police officer sighed, closed his notebook, and softened his tone.

"We will open a case and investigate, and do our best to recover the money. But young lady, to be honest, in these kinds of scams, once the money is transferred, the other party will immediately empty the account and transfer it away, making the chances of getting it back extremely low. In the past, the victims of these kinds of cases were mostly elderly people. How could someone as young as you fall for this kind of scam?"

These words were meant to make things worse, and the girl burst into tears.

"Am I really that stupid? Waaaaah..."

Standing to the side, Qi Yue saw the girl's appearance, and his anger at being wrongly accused dissipated considerably.

The policeman glanced at Qi Yue and silently shook his head.

"Alright, we understand the situation. You two sign here and leave your contact information. We'll let you know if there are any updates."

Qi Yue picked up the pen and signed his name. The girl, sobbing, also signed her name with trembling hands.

—Li Qing

The handwriting was neat and clear, stained with tears.

......

By the time Qi Yue took a taxi back to school, he was already a full hour late.

Guo Fan, who had been holding on, finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned to the female student who was performing.

"Okay, stop now. You can go back now and wait for our notification."

The female student glanced at Qi Yue, who was late. She originally wanted to do something, but seeing that he walked straight past her, she could only bow awkwardly and leave.

Guo Fan offered him a seat, and Qi Yue sat down without hesitation. "Where are we?"

Guo Fan pushed a stack of resumes and evaluation forms in front of him. "I've arranged for the main characters to be interviewed later. The ones interviewed earlier are the supporting roles, the candidates for 'Zhang Meng,' 'Luo Jialong,' and 'An Jialu.' These are the ones I think are pretty good, all from our school's 08 and 09 classes."

Qi Yue quickly flipped through Guo Fan's marked resume and brief comments. Zhang Meng (Mouse) candidate: A slightly chubby boy with bright eyes; Luo Jialong (Camel) candidate: Tall and thin, with a scholarly air; An Jialu candidate: Two girls, one bright and generous, the other pure and gentle. Both looked like standard student actors, and with a little training, they shouldn't have any problems.

"Alright, we'll do it your way," Qi Yue decided, then looked up at the arena, "Who's next?"

Guo Fan turned to the assistant at the door who was calling out numbers and said, "Next up, 'Big-Breasted Sister' Lin Yujing is auditioning."

The girl who walked in was tall with long hair and striking features. She was wearing a simple black fitted T-shirt and jeans, and had a somewhat aloof demeanor.

She bowed politely and greeted them in a steady voice.

"Li Meng, Beijing Film Academy, Class of 09."

"Have you acted in movies before?"

"I've played minor supporting roles in several dramas."

"Okay, please begin."

The audition scene was a confrontation between Lin Yujing and Yu Zui in the early stages of the story. As a capable female criminal police officer, she needed to show disdain for Yu Zui's roguish style.

Li Meng's performance was adequate; her lines were clear, and her emotions progressed appropriately. She might have lacked the "spirit" that the character of Yu Jing should possess, but as Guo Fan later whispered to Qi Yue,

"The female lead's acting skills aren't required to be extremely high in this drama; her presence and looks are probably more important. Her appearance fits the 'big-breasted woman' character perfectly; she's beautiful in a cool and aloof way, and she's memorable."

Qi Yue remained noncommittal, simply writing a few words in the comments section to signal the next person.

After interviewing two more girls, the focus of the interview shifted to the male protagonist, "Yu Zui".

However, the male lead's problems are clearly much bigger than the female lead's.

Several male actors who came in for auditions, whether they had relatively rich acting experience or were newcomers, found it difficult to grasp the core of "Yu Zui".

To be honest, this role is very difficult to play. He has to be slick and cunning, talk nonsense, be shrewd and clever, and have the roguishness that comes from struggling in the lower class.

But at the same time, deep within him lies an undiminished conscience and an unspeakable loneliness, which allows him to unleash astonishing resilience and courage at crucial moments.

This extremely outward "badness" and the deeply hidden "goodness" must be perfectly integrated; any imbalance in either aspect will make the character laughable or one-dimensional.

Four or five boys came up one after another, each with their own unique appearance; some were handsome, some were roguish, but once they started acting, their flaws became glaringly obvious.

Either the acting is too exaggerated, turning cunning into sleazy; or it's too restrained, lacking in roguish charm, and appears stiff.

Guo Fan's brows furrowed more and more, and Qi Yue's face also darkened.

Time ticked by, and the shortlist remained empty.

If the character Yu Zui is not well-developed, the entire series loses its soul, and no matter how outstanding the other characters are, it will all be in vain.

"Where's Zhang Yishan, the level 10 guy I asked you to find?" Qi Yue looked at Guo Fan beside him, who looked troubled.

"I asked around, and Zhang Yishan is away filming and probably won't be back for two or three months."

"Alright, let's take a break." Qi Yue rubbed his temples and announced a pause.

A collective sigh of relief and hushed whispers filled the rehearsal room.

Guo Fan leaned closer and whispered, "What should we do? If all else fails... should we relax the requirements a bit, or consider finding a more established actor from outside the school? Although the budget..."

Qi Yue didn't answer immediately. His gaze unconsciously swept towards the doorway, where a crowd of students had gathered to watch the commotion.

"Let's go," Qi Yue picked up his things, "let's go find some outside help."