Chapter 555 - 37: After Divorce, the Cannon Fodder Joins a Romance Variety Show

The assistant’s gaze made Shang Qingrao feel a surge of anger. She suddenly grabbed the eyebrow pencil knife on the table and swung it at her hand.

"I hired you to work, not to come here and question what your boss says! What do you mean? Are you questioning if there’s something wrong with my makeup?

So you think I look like this naturally? Want to laugh at me?!"

The young assistant clutched her hand in pain, tears streaming down continuously.

Fortunately, the eyebrow pencil knife wasn’t very sharp and only left a scratch on the back of her hand, but Shang Qingrao’s strength was considerable. The dull knife cutting into flesh made the assistant view the woman in front of her as terrifying and dreadful.

"Sister, I didn’t mean that; I didn’t."

She had kept doubts in her heart, but there was no way she truly believed that’s how Qingrao looked.

Shang Qingrao’s beauty was universally acknowledged; who would question her appearance?

"I’ll do your makeup for you."

"No need!"

The foundation couldn’t even cover the sallow complexion anymore; there was no need to put on any more makeup.

Back in the private room, Director Du and Murong Yan were both momentarily stunned when they saw Shang Qingrao.

The food on Director Du’s chopsticks dropped.

A hint of awkwardness flashed across his face.

"Who did your makeup like that?"

Shang Qingrao’s expression was somewhat rigid.

She felt as though she had been stripped bare and exposed under the sun.

But she had to stay calm now.

"My young assistant; she lacks experience and just did it casually. Isn’t the heroine supposed to have grown up in the countryside? So I thought I’d darken my skin to get into character."

Director Du glanced at Murong Yan, feeling it was unnecessary since the makeup looked really bad, but he nodded out of respect for Murong Yan.

He thought that as long as the acting was good enough, the makeup wouldn’t be a problem.

But soon after Shang Qingrao began performing and saying her lines, the smile on Director Du’s face gradually disappeared.

Along with becoming serious, so did Murong Yan beside him.

The two exchanged a glance, seeing the words "disgust" in each other’s eyes.

The Shang Qingrao before them had acting skills that could only be described with terms like "completely chaotic" and "unbearable to watch."

The script’s heroine, known as the "Flower of the Highlands" for her bold personality, was portrayed by her as a village woman throwing a tantrum at the village entrance.

No, she wasn’t even as lively and expressive as a village woman.

Performance, performance—the first fundamental skill is imitation. You need to have a sense of belief in the character, continually convincing yourself you are the character to achieve the most basic step, which is similarity.

At the very least, you have to act like it.

No one expects a performance that’s seamlessly natural without traces of acting.

The Shang Qingrao in front of them was entirely lost in her own world, unable to relax or hold on, remaining stiff while her lines were vague, and her eyes darting around with not a hint of grace.

Apparently, this makeup didn’t help her find the feeling at all—it offended Director Du’s usually high aesthetic standards.

He suddenly regretted agreeing to dine with Murong Yan.

Just moments ago on the red carpet, his heart had already been struck by Jiang Lai on stage.

But due to his friendship with Murong Yan, he came here, against his better judgment, to give Shang Qingrao a chance.

Ridiculous.

Utterly ridiculous.

A random person picked off the street, with proper makeup done, could act better than her.

Director Du’s expression gradually shifted from surprise to disbelief.

He couldn’t believe this was a professional actor’s performance!

He had seen clips of Shang Qingrao’s performances before: naturally lively, although not exceptionally good, her unique features, competent lines, and fitting expressions worked in her favor.

But now...

"Alright, you can stop now."

Shang Qingrao had just prepared to squeeze out a couple of tears, but was stopped.

"Director, I haven’t finished yet."

"You don’t need to continue."

After saying this, he looked at Murong Yan and sighed, unable to hold back.

"Honestly, watching your performance..."

Shang Qingrao looked eagerly.

Then she heard Director Du continue.

"It was like thorns on my back, like a fishbone stuck in my throat!!"

"!!!"

Shang Qingrao’s heart felt like something was gripping it tightly.

She knew her performance was far from perfect, but she hadn’t expected Director Du’s critique to be so blunt and harsh, disregarding her and Murong Yan’s dignity altogether.

After saying this, Director Du quickly got up, called for an assistant.

Murong Yan also got up to see him off.

"This is enough, I’m really sorry, I genuinely can’t help with this, after all, I can’t risk my reputation.

Honestly, you yourself have seen your girlfriend’s acting. As someone working in the industry, you should see the problems too.

My advice: find an acting coach and really study for a few years in seclusion. Don’t take on any scripts soon."

Murong Yan nodded, without a hint of embarrassment from the rejection on his face.

"I understand, thank you for coming; let’s consider this a personal gathering, it’s my fault for not being a good host."

"No, no, no, it’s getting late; I have things to do back at the company."

"Take care, oh by the way, the Jiang Lai we saw on the red carpet today, what do you think of her?"

As he escorted the guest, Murong Yan casually asked.

It really sounded like it just came up casually.

Director Du nodded seriously.

"She’s great, she has what I want in her eyes, a strong sense of belief, a talented actress ready to be shaped.

Isn’t she an artist from your company as well?"

He seemed to recall that she recently participated in some variety show.

Murong Yan nodded.

"Yes, we still share some friendship; if you like Jiang Lai, giving her an opportunity would be doing me a small favor."

"No, no, no, my liking for her has nothing to do with her being from your company. If her audition performance turns out well and she’s chosen, it wouldn’t be because of your face—that girl is genuinely good."

His judgment was accurate.

After creating so many award-winning actors over the years, he had a sense that Jiang Lai would soon become a movie queen.

Seeing Director Du off, Murong Yan pulled out his phone to make a call, turned around, and suddenly saw Shang Qingrao standing behind a tree.

The startling face, paired with the malice and dissatisfaction yet to be concealed in her eyes, almost made Murong Yan drop his phone.

"What are you doing?!"

"Just now, Director Du said he won’t choose me, but Jiang Lai, right?"

Murong Yan frowned.

It was clear Shang Qingrao’s resentment was directed at Jiang Lai.

"You heard everything then, what’s the point of asking? Don’t say I didn’t help you; you just couldn’t cut it yourself.

Do you want to see what you just performed? How many years have you been in the industry? Why is your acting still worse than a passerby on the street?"

Murong Yan was also angry.

This wouldn’t just reflect badly on him.

Luckily, Jiang Lai redeemed his reputation; otherwise, today could have been truly embarrassing in front of Director Du.