“Ah, Sister Xia, did you not sleep well last night?” Zhong Le exclaimed as he noticed the dark circles under Xia Yuan’s eyes.
You see, Xia Yuan was about to go for an audition.
As soon as Xia Yuan got into the car, she casually tossed her bag aside and lazily sneezed, “Hmm, just thinking about some stuff.”
Last night, after receiving the necklace from Meng Xiyue, she lay in bed unable to sleep.
Her mind was actually blank, but she felt inexplicably excited.
Then, in the middle of the night, she got up to pick a return gift for Meng Xiyue. She turned her room upside down but couldn’t find anything satisfactory.
If it hadn’t been so late, she even felt the urge to go shopping immediately.
Zhong Le cautiously asked, “Then, Sister Xia, have you memorized your lines?”
Today’s audition was for the role of a young martial arts sister, gentle and frail, only appearing in the male lead’s memories.
The role wasn’t big, but it was important.
Xia Yuan lazily glanced at Zhong Le and responded, “Hmm.” It was just half a page of lines; she wasn’t intellectually challenged, how could she not remember them?
Zhong Le felt a bit embarrassed and quickly handed her an opened bottle of water as an apology, “Sister Xia, have some water.”
Xia Yuan didn’t mind; she knew Zhong Le meant well and moistened her throat, “Where’s Lin Xin?”
Speaking of which, Lin Xin was her agent, and she hadn’t seen her for several days.
Lin Qi hurriedly said, “Sister Lin is accompanying another artist and can’t get away. She asked us to take good care of you.” Lin Xin was Lin Qi’s cousin, and she got this job because of Lin Xin’s introduction.
She didn’t want her cousin to annoy Xia Yuan.
Xia Yuan didn’t care much about Lin Xin and casually acknowledged with an ‘Oh’.
Lin Qi quietly sighed in relief.
…
Lin Xin was currently accompanying Yu Jiajia at an audition for the MV of the new song by the Prince of Love Songs. Yu Jiajia had a pure look, and even without makeup, she was beautiful, perfectly fitting the image of a first love as described in the new song.
Lin Xin was quite confident that Yu Jiajia would succeed in the audition.
Originally, this audition opportunity should have been Xia Yuan’s, but Xia Yuan, disliking the bland and innocent “first love” look as it didn’t suit her aesthetic, chose not to attend.
Thus, the opportunity naturally fell to Yu Jiajia.
However, Yu Jiajia, who Lin Xin usually had high hopes for, seemed to be in a less than ideal state. Lin Xin glanced at the other auditionees around them and asked in a lowered voice, “Jiajia, what’s wrong?”
Yu Jiajia snapped back to reality, bit her lip, and asked, “Sister Lin, I think I might have offended Miss Xia.”
Yu Jiajia had naturally attended the charity night the evening before. With her low status and being a relatively unknown actress, she could only sit in the back rows.
Even sitting at the back was enough to make her proud.
If she hadn’t seen Xia Yuan, at the auction, she bid on a painting of a popular celebrity (though it was an anonymous auction, in some ways, it wasn’t really anonymous, like when celebrities need publicity). The starting bid was not high, starting at ten thousand.
Yu Jiajia gritted her teeth and also joined the bidding, but stopped when it reached one hundred thousand.
One hundred thousand was her limit.
Just as she put down her paddle, she heard a bid of five hundred thousand.
Casually quintupled.
She looked up and saw a familiar profile, who was talking to someone next to her, seemingly about something amusing, laughing charmingly.
Undeniably, Xia Yuan was beautiful, especially when dressed formally, stunningly captivating.
Her eyes were sharp, and she could tell at a glance the worth of Xia Yuan’s entire outfit.
At least five hundred thousand.
And her own dress was rented.
She didn’t expect that Xia Yuan’s sugar daddy would be so generous, but regrettably, she maliciously thought, from her angle, she couldn’t see the sugar daddy’s pot-bellied figure.
Feeling a surge of frustration, she then casually mentioned to a fellow minor artist next to her about Xia Yuan being kept.
This was a tactic she often used.
As soon as she finished speaking, the young artist didn’t show the disgusted expression she had anticipated. Instead, her eyes conveyed a complexity that was hard to articulate.
Then, she learned about Xia Yuan’s identity.
The Xia family’s daughter, holding 5% of the Xia family’s shares, with a net worth of over a billion.
There was no way she could be kept by someone.
Yu Jiajia’s face instantly burned with embarrassment, and she didn’t utter another word at the auction.
Lin Xin was shocked to hear that Yu Jiajia had offended Xia Yuan, as the young miss usually seemed difficult to get along with, but she never abused her status to trouble others.
“Tell me, how did you offend her?”
Yu Jiajia didn’t dare to hide anything and honestly explained.
Lin Xin usually turned a blind eye to the petty squabbles among artists, but she hadn’t expected Yu Jiajia to use them against Xia Yuan.
Especially since she had specifically warned Yu Jiajia not to provoke her.
She glared at Yu Jiajia: “Later, I will apologize to Miss Xia. You better adjust your attitude quickly. If you don’t get selected, see how I will deal with you.”
Hearing that her manager would help resolve the issue, Yu Jiajia quickly nodded and put forth her utmost effort in the audition.
Lin Xin looked at Yu Jiajia, who had returned to her professional state. She was, after all, an artist Lin Xin favored and wouldn’t just ignore. However, she needed to think carefully about how to resolve things with Xia Yuan.
*
Soon, they arrived at the audition location. Xia Yuan sat on a bench outside, holding the number tag 18 that Zhong Le had gotten for her.
The wait was still within her tolerance.
So, she decided to browse her phone while sitting there. Her phone was the latest model from N.S.
The functionality was smooth and fluid, not laggy at all.
Not to mention the built-in smart system.
She absolutely loved it.
Xia Yuan was having a great time, but Zhong Le and Lin Qi were extremely nervous. Zhong Le tapped her foot slightly—it was her first time accompanying Xia Yuan to an audition. “Sister Xia, maybe you should look over the script again.”
Xia Yuan looked up, noticing the other’s trembling teeth, paused for a moment, and still took the script.
It was her audition, after all. Why were they needlessly worrying?
Seeing Xia Yuan looking at the script, Zhong Le felt a bit less tense.
There were many celebrities present, including some top-tier stars, but none had the presence of Xia Yuan, who brought two assistants just for an audition.
Celebrities are cautious about their image; if the media caught wind of this, accusations of diva behavior would surely follow.
Not to mention, none of the actors present had ever seen Xia Yuan, a newcomer treated so well.
Either she had strong connections, or she was being sponsored, maintained.
No matter how jealous they felt, they wouldn’t show it on their faces, secretly praying that they wouldn’t be competing for the same role.
As for the A-list stars, they were indifferent. They had reached their status through skill and popularity; a little newcomer with connections posed no threat unless her backers were exceptionally powerful.
One by one, they went in and came out, and soon it was number 18, Xia Yuan’s turn.
As soon as she entered, the directors, just by seeing her overly radiant and enchanting face, knew she wasn’t suitable for the role of the little junior sister.
Her demeanor was more fitting for the role of the Holy Maiden of the Evil Sect.
The director smiled and said, “Miss Xia, please try the scene for the Holy Maiden of the Evil Sect.”
The Holy Maiden of the Evil Sect, the third female lead in the drama.
Half a script’s worth of lines.
Xia Yuan bluntly refused: “Sorry, I haven’t considered that role.”
Everyone present was shocked. The role of the little junior sister was just a background character with few appearances, while the Holy Maiden of the Evil Sect appeared all the way towards the end to meet her demise.
Moreover, the character of the Holy Maiden of the Evil Sect could definitely attract a following, yet she rejected it without a moment’s hesitation.
Are all newcomers these days so indifferent to competition?
Xia Yuan didn’t care what the director and others thought, she just performed her junior sister’s part and then stood waiting for the results.
Perhaps the impact was too great, they didn’t pay close attention to Xia Yuan’s acting, only saying, “Go back and wait for the results.”
Xia Yuan truly left without any hesitation.
As soon as she left, Zhong Le and the others hurriedly asked, “Sister Xia, how did it go?”
Xia Yuan replied with a relaxed expression, “They said to wait for the results, let’s go, I’ll treat you all to some food.”
Zhong Le and Lin Qi exchanged glances, it seemed like it was a success.
Then they happily followed Xia Yuan.
…
“President, the promotional video has entered post-production and is expected to yield results by tomorrow.”
Meng Xiyue: “Contact all major media outlets, we’ll hold a product launch in three days.”
Secretary Gao: “Understood.”
It was nearly six in the evening, almost time to leave work.
Meng Xiyue: “Let everyone know, no need to work overtime today.”
Secretary Gao’s face brightened with a smile: “Understood, President.”
Meng Xiyue’s clear, ink-dark eyes continued to focus on the computer screen as he worked on.
Secretary Gao knew his boss’s temperament well and didn’t persuade otherwise, instead going out to spread the good news.
“Ding Dong”
The text message alert on the phone.
Meng Xiyue looked down, her slender fingers swiping across the message.
“Meng Xiyue, I’m waiting for you downstairs at your company, let’s go have hotpot together.”
Meng Xiyue tapped her finger on the reply bar.
*
“Xia Jie, it’s not yet time to get off work, and besides, President Meng is so busy, she won’t come. Let’s not go for hotpot today. You forgot, you have a shoot in a few days, and it won’t look good if you gain weight.” Zhong Le was really tired, she didn’t expect Xia Yuan to be so demanding.
Xia Yuan didn’t care, she got out of the car, the weather had cooled down, and a gust of wind made her shiver. She checked her phone, but there was still no reply.
She sent another message.
“Hurry up, it’s so cold down here, or should I come up and wait for you?”
Zhong Le also got out and continued to persuade: “Xia Jie, don’t wait anymore, President Meng won’t agree.”
Xia Yuan slightly lifted her chin and glanced at her: “She will agree.”
Zhong Le had a bitter face, she knew from the time they came to shoot the promotional video how busy the president of N.S was.
Not to mention, with a new product launching soon, she must be too busy to leave.
Upstairs, in the office.
Meng Xiyue saw the second message, typed a refusal, but then pressed delete.
She replied with a new message.
“No need, I’ll come down right away.”
Coming up meant more trouble and lower efficiency.
She shut down her computer and as she was leaving, Secretary Gao saw Meng Xiyue coming out, “President, are you off work?”
Meng Xiyue’s expression was faint: “Yes.”
She ignored his shocked expression and entered the elevator.
*
Xia Yuan, seeing the reply, triumphantly handed the chat screen to Zhong Le to see.
“I knew it, Meng Xiyue would come.”
Meng Xiyue treats her so well.
