Chapter 173: The Storm Continues
Xu Youyou couldn’t help but question her life.
After encountering so many strange and bizarre people in a row, she felt like she wasn’t here to be a judge for the auditions, but to witness the diversity of species.
After auditioning seven contestants, not a single one made it to the pending list.
Until the eighth contestant came in.
“Hello, esteemed judges. My name is Shu Yunling, and I’m auditioning for the role of Shi Xiangyun today.” The young girl with a long face and large eyes looked very lively and beautiful.
Xu Youyou suddenly felt like the world had brightened up. The reason was simple: this girl was just too beautiful. She looked down at the girl’s resume. She was a freshman at the Shanghai Drama Academy, currently studying acting, with no experience in film or television production.
Xu Youyou didn’t immediately ask the girl to perform. Instead, she turned to Professor Wu.
Professor Wu had spent most of his life studying Dream of the Red Chamber. What he was most famous for was his deep admiration for Shi Xiangyun. When it came to this role, no one had more authority than him.
“Young lady, could you tell us about your understanding of the character?” Professor Wu asked gently.
Shu Yunling replied, “Hello, esteemed judges. I have read Dream of the Red Chamber thoroughly, and I believe that Shi Xiangyun is open-minded, optimistic, bold, yet still a little innocent…”
Seeing Shu Yunling speak so confidently, everyone couldn’t help but nod. At least, compared to the previous candidates, she had clearly read the original novel.
Ouyang Ouyang had her perform a scene. The girl didn’t have much acting experience and seemed somewhat immature, making it difficult to say it was a good performance.
Shu Yunling also felt it was terrible, and her face was full of anxiety.
“Youyou, I want her to try a scene for Baoqin,” Professor Wu said quietly.
Xu Youyou understood that Professor Wu was being polite, so she immediately said, “Uncle Wu, if you think she is more suitable for Baoqin, feel free to mention it.”
Shu Yunling was given a script for Baoqin’s scene.
The audition results still weren’t particularly great, but her acting could be gradually honed. It was rare to find a candidate who suited Baoqin’s character description.
Xu Youyou gave her a pass ticket, and the other judges made similar decisions.
“Congratulations, you’ve passed this round,” Xu Youyou said with a smile.
The young girl was so happy she almost jumped up. “Thank you, thank you to all the judges, and thank you to Teacher Xiao Song.”
Xu Youyou couldn’t help but smile again. “Teacher Xiao Song, she’s your fan.”
Song Zhibai gave a perfunctory smile. Out of the eight contestants who came in, seven claimed to be his fans.
A few more contestants came in, and Xu Youyou thought they all looked familiar. They seemed either to be internet celebrities or actors who had already worked in productions. The actress who had just finished the audition even had the title of “Short Drama Queen.” She couldn’t help but ask Xie Ran about it.
Xie Ran’s explanation was quite reasonable. “I had the more famous contestants go first so our variety show wouldn’t have people turning off after a few minutes.”
Xu Youyou had no objections to this arrangement. After all, Xie Ran was a businessman, always thinking about maximizing profits.
“Do the contestants know about the variety show?” Xu Youyou asked. “A lot of them are quite famous, and I’m worried if they don’t advance, they might cause a scene.”
Xie Ran nodded. “In the invitation letters for the offline auditions, I made sure to emphasize this in bold, so they know that coming here means accepting this.”
Xu Youyou breathed a sigh of relief after confirming there wouldn’t be any disputes.
However, the video footage from the audition quickly leaked online, and it immediately stirred up a frenzy.
Zheng Shuying and Liu Ye, both experienced actresses with fan followings, were no strangers to the public. Fans of these well-known stars could not accept that their idols, after attending the audition, had left empty-handed.
“Not letting my sister play Lin Daiyu is one thing, but they actually humiliated her by offering her the role of Xiaohong? Do they even know what kind of star she is?”
“Exactly! My sister is as beautiful as a fairy, and they want her to play Xiren? She must have said something wrong. Lin Daiyu is just a petty character! I think that judge Xu is the one who’s really petty!”
“Who is this Xu person? Why does someone so young get to sit at the head of the judging panel? Even Director Ouyang and Song Zhibai are bowing down to her?”
“She’s so young, who knows what kind of tricks she’s using to get into this position?”
Although some of the actors’ and influencers’ fans were making a lot of noise, there were also a fair amount of online trolls stirring the pot, throwing mud at Xu Youyou.
With the frenzy escalating, even Song Zhibai’s fans began to get confused. They started to feel that Xu Youyou was holding their idol back, believing that Song Zhibai should have played Jia Baoyu, not the character Liu Xianglian.
Xie Ran quickly noticed this and posted an official statement on the company’s Weibo, revealing the identities of the judges.
Other than Song Zhibai, who was considered a related professional, Xu Youyou and Xie Ran were the leadership of the company.
Fans, no matter how bold, didn’t dare to go after the official Weibo account, demanding that Xu Youyou, the boss, be removed.
The official statement included the following: “The company has a clear and comprehensive plan for each artist. Our artists do not strive for the leading role at all costs but aim to do their best in each role that suits them.”
This implied that the role of Liu Xianglian was a perfect fit for Song Zhibai in the company’s eyes.
Song Zhibai also made a statement on his Weibo, sharing an internal audition video of himself for the role. He had always wanted to play Liu Xianglian.
During the entire event, he spoke confidently about his understanding of the character, and the glow in his eyes was clearly voluntary, not forced.
“To be honest, I didn’t think much of Song Zhibai before, but after this, I suddenly realize his perspective and attitude are different from other young stars.”
“Exactly, other celebrities start fighting for screen time the moment they join a show, fearing that they’ll lose out. Song Zhibai never does that—his focus is on the role, not the ranking.”
As things escalated, not long after, state-run media weighed in, concluding with the phrase, “Actors should compete for acting skills, not rankings.”
This helped settle the storm and brought the audition event into the public eye. Many people flocked to the leisurely short drama platform to watch the auditions.
They wanted to see if the role selection was truly fair and objective, and they also hoped that the production team was serious about making a good Dream of the Red Chamber.
It was as if, before the show had even started filming, it had already attracted a lot of attention.
Xu Youyou couldn’t help but look at Xie Ran. “Did you plan this all along?”
