Chapter 694 - 37: The Cannon Fodder Actress Opposing the Slacker Female Lead (Part 37)

The next second, Lu Huan’s voice came from inside.

"...stop wasting time...not just anyone can come here and join the fun..."

The playback ended.

The entire dressing room fell into a dead silence.

Jiang Lai looked at Lu Huan.

"You said that, right? Then you should have said it earlier, I could have saved on two plane tickets."

The other actresses waiting for their audition results looked at Lu Huan with complex expressions.

One of them suddenly stood up and coldly said.

"People with connections are really powerful. They can pre-determine roles in such big productions. I thought the environment here would be better than back home, but now it seems like a complete waste of time."

After saying this, she gave Lu Huan a couple of glances and then left, dissatisfied.

Not long after, two more people got up and left.

Just as Lu Huan was about to say something, her mother pulled her aside.

As her agent and mother, Mrs. Lu spoke even more harshly.

"Miss Jiang, don’t bring conflicts from variety shows into reality. We might have a working relationship in the future. Don’t burn bridges today that you might need tomorrow. Don’t let youthful impulsiveness destroy your bright future."

"Are you threatening me?"

Jiang Lai suddenly said, catching even someone as cunning and shrewd as Mrs. Lu off guard.

"How could it be a threat? Just a suggestion from an elder."

"All those elders who loved to give me advice are long gone. My grandma’s lived so long because she never meddled in my affairs."

"You!!"

"Auntie, calm down. Leave some dignity for your daughter in public, okay?"

After saying this, Jiang Lai directly changed her seat, appearing as if she didn’t want to continue the conversation, leaving Mrs. Lu standing there, glaring helplessly.

She had never suffered such a verbal loss!

"Mom, it’s confirmed to be my role, right? There won’t be any surprises, right?"

Compared to Jiang Lai, Lu Huan cared more about her own future.

Mrs. Lu nodded.

"Don’t worry, I’ve arranged everything. Just perform as usual for the second audition. Remember everything I told you?"

Lu Huan hesitated a bit upon hearing this.

"Uh... almost."

"What do you mean almost?! You must, absolutely must remember! If you can’t remember the standard answers I’ve given you, not even an immortal could save you!"

Lu Huan was a bit nervous but turned away, thinking her mother was overreacting.

The role was already decided, and she’d memorized the standard answers pretty well. When she sees the director, she just needs to say them. Why worry over something that’s already set in stone?

"Mom, don’t worry, the role is definitely mine."

"You better not make any mistakes!"

After a simple lunch, the list for the second audition was announced at around one in the afternoon, and Jiang Lai’s name was on it, near the top.

Lu Huan’s name was also on it, even closer to the top.

Fifteen candidates remained, many of whom were popular actresses back home.

They quietly discussed in the room what the order of names on the list might mean.

Everyone speculated it might be the results of the first audition.

Jiang Lai sat on the sofa, feeling like she was back looking for a job in an interview.

The second audition began, and everyone walked into a makeshift set built just for the auditions.

After the interview, they wouldn’t leave but rather find a seat inside to watch other actresses’ auditions.

Agents couldn’t go in, so Jiang Lai was advised.

"Don’t be nervous, just keep a calm mind. It’s great if you get selected, but no shame if you don’t."

With so many strong competitors, losing wouldn’t be a big deal.

"Yeah, I know. I’m mainly here for the trip; the audition is just a side thing."

Jiang Lai’s mindset was so good that it made her agent worry. Did she even know what role she was auditioning for?

This globally popular hero series was openly casting for local actresses for the first time. Many didn’t even qualify for an initial audition.

Jiang Lai made it to the second round, yet while others were nervous wrecks, she slept like a log at noon. If the agent hadn’t woken her, she might have slept through the entire audition.

"Forget it. Do whatever you want."

There’s not much hope anyway, treating it as gaining experience.

The makeshift set was large, clearly simulating a chaotic New York street scene, with model cars knocked everywhere and skyscrapers displayed with big screens. Below the screen was a podium.

As Jiang Lai saw this, Little Buding said.

"This imitates a comic scene, where there’s an attack during the president’s speech, and the superhero and the heroine have their initial encounter here.

The lines for the heroine in this scene are particularly long, and the audition might randomly select a part for you to act out.

This greatly challenges an actor’s line delivery."

After Little Buding finished speaking, he showed all the lines to Jiang Lai.

If printed in size 5 English font on an A4 sheet, it came to about six pages.

And they were all long passages of English, with lots of obscure words.

Sweeping through it, Little Buding sighed.

"Forget it, read as much as you can before it’s your turn. This audition really targeted Hua Country actors.

Lu Huan is Asian, having immigrated to the United States since childhood. She’s good at English and already knows the lines.

Just by the lines, other actors can’t compete with her.

Not to mention she also knows what role she’s going to play."

Little Buding only noticed then that Jiang Lai wasn’t listening at all, just silently closing her eyes, unclear what she was doing.

"Forget it, if you’re not worried, why should I be?"

Since it has nothing to do with the task, Jiang Lai didn’t seem like she wanted to waste more time on this.

At this moment, the script notebooks were handed out.

One per person, a thick stack in hand.

"Please begin memorizing the lines now. In half an hour, I’ll collect the scripts and start the auditions."

Upon receiving the script, Lu Huan glanced back at Jiang Lai.

Seeing her expressionlessly looking at her script, she couldn’t help but smile a little.

Isn’t Jiang Lai a keener? This time, let’s give her a chance to really work hard.

Let’s see if she can memorize all this content in just thirty minutes.

Just thinking about this impossible task, Lu Huan couldn’t help but feel delighted.

Her mother had worked hard to get the lines from the casting director and had her start memorizing half a month ago.

Even though she’s lived in the United States since childhood, speaks English better than Chinese, she struggled with these pages of lines.

The crucial part is that she not only has to memorize them but also perform with full emotion.

With this level of difficulty, other actresses were basically just there for show.

After glancing over for about fifteen minutes, Lu Huan closed the script, raised her hand, and said.

"Excuse me, I’ve seen enough. Can I start now?"