Part 2 of Chapter 67
Please Like Her 18 – Concert
Until the performance ended.
Shang Lu gave Lin Yanyan two thumbs up as encouragement.
Song Zeqian was the first to point out the issues, saying, “Sometimes, the traces of your performance are still too obvious, although slightly better than before, this has always been your old problem, so I won’t say much about it.”
Lin Yanyan nodded to show her understanding.
She lowered her head, her hands gripping her clothes nervously, waiting for harsher criticism.
But Song Zeqian’s tone suddenly softened, “However, there are also some commendable aspects. You’ve portrayed what the other auditionees lack the most very well. You performed the nervousness but also tried to conceal it vigorously, the blend of these two emotions is very natural. I didn’t expect you to pull that off, it’s surprising.”
Lin Yanyan instantly lifted her head, her eyes filled with a hint of anticipation.
Song Zeqian continued to comment, “The detail of leading with your fingers before your body should be something Jiang Jing taught you, right? There are a few lines of dialogue that weren’t in my script… but the changes are good. It matches the style of Shang Lu, and that expression when you were on the verge of being exposed, that must be Xu Ze, right?”
Lin Yanyan widened her eyes, finding it somewhat unbelievable. “You could tell all that?”
“I’ve said before, I know each one of you well enough, referring to your acting styles and individual strengths,” Song Zeqian calmly said, then turned to Lin Yanyan to give his assessment. “If the actresses I’ve seen before were rated at a ninety, then Lin Yanyan, I would give you a maximum of an eighty for this performance.”
Song Zeqian could give her an eighty?!
Lin Yanyan was clearly delighted, and her spirits, which had been low, instantly revived. She then asked, “So, Director Song, can an actor with an eighty be cast in your movie for a supporting role that lasts more than a minute?”
Song Zeqian furrowed his brows.
Lin Yanyan immediately backtracked, “How about thirty seconds?”
Song Zeqian replied, “You’d rather play a supporting role than the third female lead?”
Lin Yanyan was stunned.
Lin Yanyan’s brain was having trouble keeping up, and she immediately looked to Shang Lu for help. “What did he say? What did I hear?”
Shang Lu served as a direct translator for Song Zeqian and grinned, saying, “He means the role is yours.”
Lin Yanyan exclaimed, “What?!”
Lin Yanyan went into a state of shock, seemingly unprepared for this sudden surprise.
Then she murmured, “But didn’t you say they were rated at ninety, and I’m only at eighty?”
Song Zeqian looked at Shang Lu.
Shang Lu had a clear understanding this time and said, “Shall I answer that?”
Song Zeqian nodded.
Shang Lu knew the reason very well and said straightforwardly, “Because the scenes they acted in were more in line with their own personalities, while this is one of the scenes that is least like you. He gave you an eighty because he believes you have better abilities in other aspects.”
“Just like what you said earlier, she doesn’t need to act; she just needs to be herself,” Song Zeqian added, and then he even showed a hint of regret on his face, suddenly feeling emotional. “Is my character really that stupid?”
Lin Yanyan : *Sniff* 🥺
Was he praising her or criticizing her?
Although she couldn’t understand, she still felt so happy that she wanted to jump up from the ground.
This feeling continued all the way back home.
Lin Yanyan is still in this ‘self-doubt’ state.
Can she perform in Song Zeqian’s script?
This is to the extent that if it’s mentioned by a marketing account, it will be criticized as fake news.
When Shang Lu finished washing up and lay down on the bed, she received the fifth call from Lin Yanyan that night.
“Llu, am I really not dreaming? Is what happened tonight real? Am I really going to make a movie with you and Song Zeqian?”
Shang Lu was already tired, and her patience was nearing its limit.
So this time, Shang Lu didn’t choose to encourage and comfort Lin Yanyan, but said, “Not exactly, Song Zeqian’s crew has always had strict terms. Half a month of training before shooting, and the contract is not signed until at least a week after shooting starts. In other words, for nearly a month, if your performance isn’t good, he can replace you at any time.”
Lin Yanyan : “?”
Oh, right!
Being chosen now doesn’t mean everything is over. It doesn’t count until you finish shooting!
As the call ended, Shang Lu heard Lin Yanyan shouting on the other end, “I’m going to postpone all my upcoming work! Acting classes! I’m going to attend classes! Ahhhh—”
Shang Lu put down her phone and yawned.
Great.
She can sleep in peace now!
And at that moment, the sound of knocking on the door rang out again.
Chi Yan’s voice came from the door with some concern, “I heard strange noises, did something happen?”
Strange noises = the screams coming from Lin Yanyan on the phone.
Shang Lu responded, “It’s nothing, Lin Yanyan just called.”
Hearing her say that, Chi Yan felt relieved and said, “Good night,” from behind the door before leaving.
Shang Lu still lived at Chi Yan’s place now.
Because she had fallen in love with this mattress, and the same one she asked Chi Yan to buy for her wouldn’t be delivered until next week due to limited availability. So, she shamelessly continued to freeload here.
So comfortable.
Shang Lu happily rolled on the bed, burying herself in the soft blanket.
Today ends here—
No way.
The phone rang again.
Shang Lu buried her face directly into the pillow.
She couldn’t take it anymore, really couldn’t!
After five seconds of agony, she picked up her phone.
This time, the caller was not Lin Yanyan but Ou Yi.
Shang Lu : “…”
For some reason, she suddenly had a bad feeling.
Shang Lu sighed and reluctantly picked up her phone.
“One minute, tell me what you want.”
Ou Yi’s voice on the other end was enthusiastic: “Our group has a concert next week. Do you want to be a guest?”
Shang Lu naturally refused.
She also didn’t really like singing.
But Ou Yi looked pitiful and explained that while others had friends who could join as guest performers, he had offended many people since his debut and didn’t know whom to invite.
Although she knew Ou Yi was playing the sympathy card, she couldn’t refuse when seeing him like this.
Shang Lu could only compromise : “Choose something simple.”
Ou Yi’s voice became cheerful : “I’ve already thought about it. Let’s sing the OST of <Salvation Plan>. We’ve sung it together in the recording studio before, so it’ll save a lot of rehearsal time. We only need to rehearse it a couple of times to make sure it’s okay!”
It sounded like a perfect arrangement, and they could also promote the movie, which was great.
There wasn’t much difficulty, and it wouldn’t take much time. She only needed to arrive by noon on the day of the concert, so Shang Lu agreed.
But—
Who could tell her why there were so many familiar faces in the audience?
Even Xu Ze and Lin Yanyan were there, and surprisingly, Ye Lu was standing next to them.
Shang Lu forced a smile as she looked at Ou Yi and asked, “Why didn’t you invite all the variety show guests over?”
Ou Yi replied, “I did invite them. Director Song said he’s still casting, so he asked me not to bother him. Teacher Jiang Jing has a charity event and is unavailable.”
Shang Lu fell silent.
She had just mentioned it casually, but she didn’t expect Ou Yi to actually have done it.
Shang Lu asked, “Are they all going on stage?”
Thinking about Xu Ze and Lin Yanyan singing, Shang Lu suddenly felt a bit scared.
Ou Yi’s voice was happy as he replied, “Of course not. Each person has only one guest spot. I’ve reserved front-row tickets for them! After the concert, Xu Ze will even accompany me to play basketball late at night!”
Late at night, playing basketball.
These two phrases together seem very unusual, don’t they?
But Xu Ze didn’t even refute.
Shang Lu still felt something strange.
She looked at Ye Lu and found the source of the strangeness.
Shang Lu was a bit surprised, “Are you two enemies have turned friends now?”
“How is that possible?” Ou Yi naturally retorted and then said, “I didn’t invite him.”
Ye Lu, on the other hand, sneered and instantly raised his chin, making himself seem noble, “I was invited as a guest performer by Yan Yu!”
Ou Yi rolled his eyes at the mention of ‘Yan Yu’ and became even more disdainful.
Shang Lu also found it strange, “Your relationship is so good… *cough cough*!”
Ye Lu asked strangely, “What’s wrong, did you get choked by the shock?”
“I don’t know, my throat suddenly felt a bit itchy.” Shang Lu didn’t pay much attention to it, took the throat lozenge handed by Ou Yi, and continued to answer Ye Lu, “I heard that your company has very strict economic contracts, especially in the field of stage performances among peers. You have to go through a bunch of applications. Yu Su wanted to help a friend’s band as a guest performer, but it took a month to get the approval, and the friend’s band had already finished the performance half a month ago.”
Lin Yanyan also couldn’t help but sigh, “You’re such a lazy person, and you’re willing to go through all this trouble?”
Ye Lu didn’t say anything; his expression was completely stiff.
He forgot to get approval ?