AM: Chapter 25

Cheng Xia was the last person to participate in the audition today. The moment he went out, the staff at the audition scene started to pack things up. An entire day of auditions made everyone physically and mentally exhausted. Pei Shaoze actively suggested, “You have worked hard. I will treat you tonight. Let’s have a meal together.”

Zhang Fan had already booked a nearby restaurant. Pei Shaoze called all the cast creators over and closed the door to chat while eating.

It was decided that Qin Nian would be played by Cheng Xia and no one had any opinion. After all, Cheng Xia’s performance was really remarkable. The author, President Pei and the director really liked him. As for other roles, Pei Shaoze asked, “Who do you think is more appropriate to play Lu Fengyang, the protagonist?” He glanced at the author Lemongrass. “Teacher Lemongrass, do you have any actors you like?”

Lemongrass recalled it carefully and shook her head. “To be honest, there are many alphas who auditioned in the morning. They are more handsome than the other but I don’t have any special impression of them.”

The same was true for Liu Xueyi. He took out his notebook and took a look. Then he spoke with a bitter expression. “I have scored every actor. The alphas in the morning were even messier than the afternoon. Lu Fengyang’s personality is a bit bad-tempered but most people played him as a third-rate gangster!”

Pei Shaoze thought to himself, ‘It is no problem for Cheng Xia to play the protagonist but who will play with him? If Lu Fengyang’s role isn’t chosen well it will be very embarrassing if they can’t cooperate well enough.’

Pei Shaoze didn’t particularly like the alphas in the morning. The ones who impressed him most in the audition were Ye Mingqian and Cheng Xia.

Ye Mingqian’s acting skills were really good but his appearance was too inconsistent with a cool and handsome alpha. Pei Shaoze thought for a moment before suddenly suggesting, “If it doesn’t work, look for someone from the outside. I have watched a lot of school dramas recently. Director Liu, what do you think about the alpha who starred in the drama ‘Classmate Next Door’ that you filmed the year before last?”

Liu Xueyi was stunned for a moment. He didn’t expect President Pei to watch the small drama he made two years ago. He thought back for a moment and asked tentatively, “President Pei, are you talking about Shen Kai?” Liu Xueyi saw Pei Shaoze nodding and immediately frowned. “Shen Kai was a small, unknown star when filming with me. His acting skills are very good but he is very Buddhist. He had no works for over a year.”

Obviously, he didn’t expect President Pei to pay attention to this type of 18th tier unknown star. In fact, the reason why Pei Shaoze knew was because he watched many school dramas to find a suitable person to play with Cheng Xia like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Pei Shaoze said, “Shen Kai has worked with you once. If you cooperate again then you will be more tacit. Cheng Xia is a newcomer. If the protagonist who plays with Cheng Xia is also an inexperienced newcomer, the filming will often NG. This will delay the crew’s schedule.”

Liu Xueyi quickly understood. “President Pei, you mean to choose an alpha actor who has already worked with me for Lu Fengyang’s role and let him lead Cheng Xia so the filming will be smoother?”

Pei Shaoze nodded. “What do you think, Director Liu?”

Liu Xueyi thought about it carefully and felt that this method was feasible.

In a drama, if the two main characters were newcomers with no experience then the risk was too great. If one of them had already worked with the director and had tacit understanding then Director Liu would be able to play more smoothly. Shen Kai was now a small star and wasn’t expensive. He also had good acting skills and this was the most appropriate when thinking carefully.

Liu Xueyi simply made the decision. “No problem, I will contact Shen Kai when I go back. This guy has been idle recently. A drama shooting for him is probably a pie from the sky.”

Pei Shaoze hummed and said, “How to arrange Ye Mingqian? How about letting him play the most handsome school omega? It might be a supporting role but the role of the second male lead is also important.”

Lemongrass remembered Ye Mingqian’s beauty and his eyes lit up. “President Pei, are you referring to Xu Fei in Folding Paper? He has a gentle personality and likes to smile. He is the dream lover of many alphas in school. He liked Qin Nian at first and confessed. Later, he learned that Qin Nian was an omega and the two became best friends.”

“Yes, if we let Ye Mingqian play this role then the effect of playing against Cheng Xia should be good.”

Liu Xueyi became more excited hearing this. “Two omegas, one beautiful and the other handsome. The beautiful omega confessed to the handsome omega. This is absolutely explosive! I think the alphas can step aside. If Cheng Xia and Ye Mingqian stand together then this scene is too eye-catching. Maybe people will support Cheng Xia and Ye Mingqian’s CP, hahaha.” He excitedly wrote a note in his notebook before his fingers paused. “Ye Mingqian is very popular. Will he be willing to play the supporting male lead?”

Pei Shaoze answered, “I will personally talk to his agent.”

This sentence immediately made Liu Xueyi feel relieved. Pei Shaoze in front of him gave him a particularly comfortable feeling. He said he would let Chen Yijun write the theme song and Liu Xueyi believed it without a doubt. He said he wanted to talk to Ye Mingqian’s agent and Liu Xueyi felt that this matter must be stable.

Liu Xueyi asked, “President Pei, what do you think about the other supporting actors?”

Pei Shaoze said, “Zhang Xiaoheng was Qin Nian’s childhood friend and is the drama’s comedic role. You can like Qi Xiaotian, Tianxuan’s child star try it. He has a baby face and should be competent in the funny role. For the sister Qin Yue, what do you think of Xue Ling?”

Liu Xueyi immediately nodded. “I also like Xue Ling. She has a cool temperament and is very suitable for the younger sister’s personality.”

For Lu Fengyang’s best friend, Pei Shaoze suggested, “Among the alpha auditions this morning, the one called Zhou Jiawen performed well. He has shot a lot of online dramas and has experience. He shouldn’t drop the ball.”

Pei Shaoze’s words spoke directly to Liu Xueyi’s heart. Liu Xueyi couldn’t help feeling, “President Pei, have you really never been a producer before? I think you have the eyes of a professional director.”

Pei Shaoze spoke calmly, “These are my personal thoughts. I only give advice and the specifics are up to Director Liu.”

Liu Xueyi patted his thigh and simply said, “President Pei is quick to do things and I have no disagreements. Let’s set the six important roles first. I will contact Shen Kai when I go back and make the publicity announcement after he agrees.”

Pei Shaoze nodded and looked at Lemongrass with a friendly attitude. “Teacher, would you like to participate in the screenplay adaptation? Qin Nian and Lu Fengyang are your personal creations. If you can participate then we would welcome it.”

Lemongrass touched her fingers again under the table and replied softly, “I have no experience as a screenwriter.”

Xu Moran sincerely told her, “It’s fine, I am here and we can work together!”

Pei Shaoze promised. “Your name will be added as a screenwriter and Teacher Xu is experienced. He will help you with the details. You can control the overall plot trend and try not to let the plot deviate as much as possible. How about it? What do you think?”

Lemongrass immediately agreed. “Okay!” She smiled and looked at Pei Shaoze with eyes full of sincerity. “President Pei, to be honest, when Tianxuan came to ask me to come to the audition, I didn’t expect you to treat this drama so seriously. Seeing Cheng Xia’s performance today, I think he is like Qin Nian who came out of the book. I am willing to participate in the adaptation personally. I hope everyone can work together to make this drama good. Thank you President Pei for this opportunity.”

Pei Shaoze politely extended a hand. “You are polite. I should be the one thanking you for creating a lovely character like Qin Nian and giving Cheng Xia the chance to act him out personally.”

The important protagonists and supporting roles were set during the meal and every actor fit perfectly with the character’s image. Pei Shaoze’s vision, efficiency and decisiveness as a producer secretly surprised everyone.

The next day, Liu Xueyi contacted Shen Kai who had previously worked with him. Shen Kai was hit with this pie from the sky and sent a row of hug emojis. [Director Liu, you actually remember me. I’m so moved!]

Liu Xueyi silently thought, ‘I almost forgot about you. You should thank President Pei for his insight.’

On Ye Mingqian’s side, the agent initially didn’t want him to play the second male lead. Then Pei Shaoze calmly said if the second male lead was acted out well, the fans would be no less than the male lead. Besides, the character setting was very good and there were many rivalry scenes with the protagonist. Two good-looking omegas standing together would definitely create enough of a topic.

In addition, the salary for the second male lead wasn’t low. The agent thought about it carefully and agreed.

February 10th was the Spring Festival so Pei Shaoze rushed to have the six stars go to Tianxuan to sign the contract in advance, lest anything change after the festival.

Zhou Yan was so happy that she wanted to go downstairs to run in a circle. All four of her artists were chosen! Cheng Xia was chosen as the main character Qin Nian, Qi Xiaotian played Qin Nian’s childhood friend, Xue Ling played Qin Nian’s sister and Zhou Jiawen played Lu Fengyang’s childhood friend. These were very important supporting roles in the drama.

You know, many newcomers in the entertainment industry started off as maids, servants, bodyguards and passersby. They didn’t even have a line. Meanwhile, her newcomers could play important supporting roles. There were many lines and scenes and their names would be shown in the credits!

This was experience. Acting skills and experience could be accumulated slowly. The newcomers were very happy and the three of them congratulated Cheng Xia one after another. They went to sign the contract with their agent.

Cheng Xia saw Ye Mingqian in President Pei’s office. Ye Mingqian wore a nice white coat. Cheng Xia smiled at him and Ye Mingqian returned it with a gentle smile.

The agent Ye Ping was unhappy. After all, the protagonist was taken away by the newcomer called Cheng Xia. She couldn’t understand the reason. Ye Mingqian was much better than this newcomer regardless of his fame and acting skills. Why was Cheng Xia chosen in the end?

Ye Mingqian himself didn’t mind his role being taken. He extended his hand generously. “Cheng Xia, happy cooperation.”

Cheng Xia also shook hands with him and smiled. “Please take care of me.”

Ye Mingqian turned and left. Zhou Yan took the four newcomers into the room to sign the contract. The salary of newcomers wasn’t high. It started at 100,000 yuan and it wasn’t comparable to the first-tier stars with tens of millions of yuan. Still, this was already a huge sum of money for these university students.

The newcomers signed happily. Pei Shaoze told them, “The Spring Festival will be in two days. You can go home for the new year. Adjust your state and it will start after the Spring Festival. I will have your agent tell you the specific time.”

The four of them thanked President Pei one after another.

After signing the contract, Zhou Yan led them to go out. Pei Shaoze suddenly said, “Cheng Xia, you stay.”

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Proofreader: Cat