31: Recruiting actresses

Xu Nanqin

Two days later, Qin Shou’s film and television company registration procedures were smoothly completed. The company name was officially decided as “Da Qin Film Industry,” simple, direct, and quite imposing.

Normally, according to standard procedures, registering a film and television company, from applying for various qualifications to final approval, would take at least half a month or even longer.

But this time, Qin Shou contacted Ren Jing and asked her for a small favor. Ren Jing, after all, was a high-ranking mayor. With her assistance, many matters were handled as special cases, receiving green lights all the way, and the company registration was completed in just two days.

With the company registration done, the next top priority was naturally to secure the script’s copyright. This matter also went surprisingly smoothly. Qin Shou directly contacted the relevant person in charge of the Tomato Novel platform.

Because the web novel he was interested in, “Peerless Master in Japan,” had always been lukewarm in popularity on the platform, belonging to the type of marginal work that was dispensable, the Tomato platform ultimately sold the copyright to Qin Shou for a mere five thousand yuan, a dirt-cheap price.

It is said that the author himself only received about two thousand in copyright fees, but even so, Qin Shou heard that the author was so overjoyed he couldn’t stop smiling when he learned his work would be adapted into a short drama.

With the script copyright settled, the remaining task was naturally to select suitable female leads. Qin Shou did not intend to look for actresses who already had experience filming several short dramas, the reason being simple—they were expensive!

Even for short dramas, actors with filming experience commanded significantly higher salaries than newcomers, which would undoubtedly increase cost pressure for Qin Shou, who did not have abundant funds.

In Qin Shou’s view, for this first project, he did not expect to become an overnight success, but he at least wanted to make a small profit to lay a good foundation for future development. Therefore, strict cost control was his top priority.

After some consideration, Qin Shou decided to go directly to art academies with acting majors to see if he could discover some high-quality, potential talents. Most importantly, they had to be beautiful enough to fit the image of the female lead in his mind.

In today’s market, jobs are hard to find. While prestigious schools like Beijing Film Academy are better, in some ordinary art academies, many acting graduates are unemployed upon graduation. For a few hundred yuan a day, a crowd of people would vie for the opportunity, especially for a female lead role.

At this moment, Qin Shou and Guo Gang arrived at Yecheng Academy of Performing Arts. They rented a classroom, preparing to conduct auditions for female actresses there.

Qin Shou planned to recruit three female actresses directly because the novel he intended to film had several important female characters in its early plot.

“I say, Old Qin, it’s been half a day, and there hasn’t been a single decent one, all just crooked melons and cracked dates.”

“I don’t think this so-called performing arts academy is all that great! Not many beauties.”

After half a day, Guo Gang’s eyes were almost strained, yet not a single person caught their attention.

Actually, Guo Gang’s requirements were relatively low. He had interviewed so many people and had seen a few girls who looked decent enough, finding them marginally acceptable.

But Qin Shou’s taste was exceptionally picky; he was almost unsatisfied with all the girls who came for the audition. In truth, this couldn’t be entirely blamed on Qin Shou. Lately, he had been interacting daily with stunning beauties like Yan Yourong, Xu Sishi, and Ren Jing. Constantly “immersed” in high-Appearance beauties, his aesthetic standards naturally rose, becoming very discerning.

“Hello, teachers. My name is Xu Nanqin, and I am a student specializing in traditional opera performance in the acting department.”

Just as Qin Shou and Guo Gang were feeling utterly disappointed, thinking today was destined to be fruitless, a gentle, melodious voice, as clear and pleasant as an oriole, reached their ears.

They both looked up at the sound, only to see a slender figure with a delicate and beautiful face appear in their line of sight. It was a young girl wearing a light yellow floral dress, with long hair draped over her shoulders and a fresh aura, like a breeze caressing their faces, instantly catching their eyes.

Qin Shou and Guo Gang exchanged glances, a hint of surprise and admiration in their eyes as they both inwardly exclaimed, “Wow, this one is truly good! Finally, someone decent has arrived!”

Qin Shou and Guo Gang had spent the entire day interviewing countless plain-looking, even “unbearable”, crooked melons and cracked dates, and were already aesthetically fatigued. Suddenly seeing such a fresh and refined girl with outstanding temperament felt like a complete change of scenery. Naturally, they couldn't help but take a few extra glances, for the love of beauty is universal.

However, their gazes made Xu Nanqin feel somewhat uncomfortable, even a little creeped out, and she involuntarily began to have second thoughts.

Especially Guo Gang, that guy's look and expression almost screamed “I want to sleep with you” directly on his face. For a young female university student who was about to graduate and lacked social experience, how could she withstand such an overtly aggressive gaze? It made her feel a little scared.

Fortunately, Qin Shou noticed in time. Seeing that Guo Gang’s drool was almost pooling on the floor, he quickly nudged him with his arm.

Guo Gang then realized he had been quite out of line. He quickly pulled out a tissue, wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, and averted his gaze.

“Hmm, your temperament is good, and it fits the setting for our female lead. I just don’t know about your acting. How about this, perform a breakup crying scene for me first. Just imagine I’m your boyfriend who’s about to break up with you.”

After speaking, Qin Shou immediately activated his skill [Manliness]. Instantly, his masculine charm greatly increased, and his entire being exuded an indescribable allure.

“Okay, I’ll try.”

Xu Nanqin heard Qin Shou’s request, hesitated slightly, but ultimately nodded in agreement.

She looked up and inadvertently glanced at Qin Shou, and that glance made her instantly freeze.

Qin Shou was already handsome, with well-defined features and a chiseled face. With the added boost from the [Manliness] skill, he was practically walking hormones, exuding masculine charm. Xu Nanqin, being a young girl with little worldly experience, had never encountered such a sight. She couldn't help but stare, somewhat dazed.

However, it was precisely this momentary fascination that inadvertently helped her performance.

Xu Nanqin immediately fantasized about the sweet scenes of falling in love with Qin Shou, from the heart-pounding first meeting to the sweetness of being deeply in love, and then to the pain and reluctance of an impending breakup. Various emotions flashed through her mind. She felt as if she had truly experienced a deeply etched love, and then had to face the cruel reality of a breakup.

Suddenly, all sorts of complex emotions were perfectly rendered. Xu Nanqin’s eyes immediately became moist, tears welling up as if they could spill at any moment. Her expression also turned resentful and sorrowful, looking utterly pitiful, making anyone who saw her feel a surge of compassion.

Qin Shou and Guo Gang were both stunned to see Xu Nanqin enter character so quickly.

Her acting was simply effortless, and her grasp and expression of emotion were so precise! Especially the resentment and sorrow in her eyes, they truly struck a chord.

The key was that Xu Nanqin herself was exceptionally beautiful, a typical youthful and radiant young woman. Her current appearance, with tears streaming down her face and a resentful cry, had a unique charm. Her delicate and sickly beauty, which inspired pity, even reminded Qin Shou of Lin Daiyu from the 87 version of “Dream of the Red Chamber.”

Of course, what the two did not know was that a significant part of Xu Nanqin’s excellent performance was due to her attraction to Qin Shou, which allowed her to truly immerse herself in the role and experience genuine emotional fluctuations, leading to her extraordinary display.

If she had imagined a different person she wasn't interested in, Xu Nanqin’s performance would certainly not have been this good.