Chapter 190 - 170: Strange Audition and a New Script

"Are you totally confused?"

Wei Shuojie just smiled.

He clearly looked like he knew something.

"It feels like they’re choosing an imperial concubine."

Ni Bingyan sighed again.

"Alright, enough with the sighs!"

Wei Shuojie was utterly exasperated.

"Well, it’s because you’re always keeping things from me, isn’t it?"

’If I hadn’t gone to Zhou Dawei’s wedding and run into Xu Liangyu, I probably still wouldn’t know about this!’

"Why would I tell you about something that isn’t set in stone? You’d just dwell on it all day, and that’s a complete waste of energy. It’s better to focus on other things! If there was a genuinely good opportunity, do you think I wouldn’t fight for it?"

Ni Bingyan propped her chin on her hand and stared out the window without speaking.

Wei Shuojie knew she was upset, so he said:

"Don’t think Xu Liangyu is really just some Big Mouth Xu. Let me tell you, he only runs his mouth like that with the few people he’s optimistic about. He takes a ’nothing ventured, nothing gained’ approach and doesn’t care if the information ends up disrupting your life."

Ni Bingyan had to admit, she had been thrilled for a long time after hearing the news.

But once she learned the film was looking for an older actress for the lead role, she’d put it out of her mind.

It was already tough for actresses. Once they got older, suitable roles became scarce. Trying to snatch a role like this—aside from being a question of whether she was overreaching—would seriously offend people.

She wasn’t guaranteed to get the part, but she was guaranteed to piss off the senior actresses at the company. She wasn’t crazy.

’The only reason my hopes are up again is because they told me to come audition, right?’

’Since I have this chance, of course I want to fight for it.’

’What’s wrong with wanting to dig up more information?’

’Wei Shuojie knows, but he won’t tell me. Of course I’m going to be upset!’

"Alright, stop pouting. Come over and listen to what I have to say."

Ni Bingyan immediately broke into a smile and scooted her chair closer. What anger? There wasn’t a trace of it left.

"Go on, go on, I’m all ears!"

"Remember how I told you they called you in to audition because the script was revised? I thought it was strange at the time. A simple revision shouldn’t have been enough to change the female lead’s entire character profile. Then I found out they probably swapped out the script entirely. The original one was temporarily shelved because the company didn’t have a suitable actress for it."

"They already discussed it in a meeting, how could it just be shelved? Are you kidding me?"

"Several projects were proposed during that meeting. This was just one of them."

For a talent agency developing its artists, awards are a crucial component. Naturally, a lot of their work revolves around that.

It’s standard practice to set the work plan for the upcoming year in advance and then continuously adjust it based on the situation as it unfolds. That’s perfectly normal.

Ni Bingyan understood now. Xu Liangyu’s tip really was a case of him blowing things out of proportion.

Compared to Wei Shuojie, he was far less reliable.

That last trace of dissatisfaction she felt toward Wei Shuojie instantly vanished.

"This year, our company’s main push is *Great Grandmaster*. The awards strategy will be centered on that film, so we definitely won’t have our own people competing against each other. There’s nothing wrong with shelving this other big project for now. After all, you don’t go to the trouble of planting a fine phoenix tree just to let someone else’s phoenix nest in it."

At this, Wei Shuojie also sighed.

Ever since their top actress’s downfall, the company has lacked an internationally acclaimed actress to be its standard-bearer. And despite all their efforts, the new top actress still can’t compete with the ones from other companies.

You could see it in the quarterly financial report the company just released.

Ever since she started investing, Ni Bingyan had subscribed to an authoritative financial newspaper. So naturally, she had seen her own company’s financial reports.

She hadn’t just seen them; she had analyzed them privately.

Compared to the same time last year, Xingdi Film and Television’s profits for the first quarter were down four percent.

For a company this large, four percent was a significant amount.

If they didn’t want things to keep getting worse, the company would have to find a way to navigate this period of weakness.

Whether that meant collaborating with a top actress from another company or building up a new star of their own, both were viable solutions.

The company had good projects on hand, perfect for promoting one of its own artists, but none of them were quite ready to carry a major film. Rushing into production would be a guaranteed disaster, yet they couldn’t stomach using those projects to promote an outsider.

After all, what’s a one-off deal compared to the long-term benefit of developing your own talent?

"So, at the meeting the day before yesterday, the higher-ups proposed a new solution: if we can’t get there with quality, we’ll make up for it with quantity. They plan to cultivate several domestic award-winning actresses. Once you’ve all established yourselves and the hype from *Great Grandmaster* has died down, the plan is to have you start making a push for the international stage."

There was something Wei Shuojie left unsaid, but Ni Bingyan already understood.

’Even facing this situation, the company hadn’t panicked. Instead, they decided to play it safe and steady. First, they’d let the actresses battle it out, and then they would throw their full support behind whoever came out on top.’

’There were too many variables, after all.’

"So, this audition today..."

"The ones eliminated back in the height and weight measurement room were those whose physical stats weren’t quite as ideal. They’ll be given a batch of scripts to choose from. The final four who were left will get to choose from a selection of carefully prepared, award-bait projects. As for you, not only do you get to choose one of those, you also automatically get the role you just passed the audition for."

’Looks like I ranked first in the second round of evaluations.’

’The company is really getting serious. They’re going to start mass-producing stars!’

"So what are my choices?"

’Two movies... even if filming goes quickly, it’ll take until next year. If they’re difficult projects, I might be busy for the entire year.’

’Cold, hard reality had taught her one thing: it was best to sweep the domestic awards first. Fantasizing about going international right now was just delusional.’

’A film with a shot at domestic awards was a good option for her, too.’

"First, make your pick. We don’t want to keep the others waiting."

’If she chose one, the others would have one less option. The feeling was surprisingly intoxicating.’