36: The financial sponsor's chosen candidate

“Xiaoyun, we can go over now. Where should I put the clothes?”

Li Qinghe walked over and waved his hand in front of the parched Xiaoyun.

“O-okay, Mr. Li.”

Snapping back to reality, Xiaoyun stammered in response to Li Qinghe. She was so stunned by the man in front of her that she momentarily couldn't think of what to do.

“Xiaoyun, I mean, where should I put the clothes?”

“Um… I can hold on to them.”

Xiaoyun found a bag, put Li Qinghe's clothes inside, and held it to her chest.

She had already remembered what she needed to do and quickly led Li Qinghe towards the audition set.

They hadn't walked far when, in an area set up as a gym, they encountered Pham Huyen My, who was rushing out to check on the situation.

Li Qinghe had sent her a message when he was almost there, saying he'd arrive soon, but after several minutes, he hadn't appeared, and Xiaoyun hadn't replied to her messages.

So she came directly out of the lounge to see.

Xiaoyun was still introducing the advertising set to Li Qinghe, explaining that the audition venue was in the adjacent studio.

Just as she saw Xiaoyun bringing Li Qinghe over, she happily went up to him: “Brother Qinghe, you're finally here.”

Seeing him, a weight was finally lifted from her heart.

She playfully patted Xiaoyun and asked her why she hadn't replied to her messages.

Xiaoyun was startled and quickly pulled out her phone, only to find several unread messages. It seemed she had forgotten to check her phone while bringing Li Qinghe over.

Amidst Xiaoyun's stammering explanation, Pham Huyen My didn't blame her much but walked over to Li Qinghe.

Li Qinghe looked up and immediately felt his eyes brighten. Today, Pham Huyen My was dressed quite stunningly, a complete change from her casual style last night.

Wearing a white fitness tank top with red trim and matching shorts, paired with her mixed-race features, curvaceous figure, and fair skin, she looked as beautiful as a porcelain doll.

And a question immediately popped into Li Qinghe's mind: does black make it look bigger or does white? The answer seemed to be right in front of him.

It had to be said, this girl was really well-nourished. Mixing in some 'big horse' genes truly felt different; she had both the delicate skin of an East Asian and the prominent curves of a Caucasian.

Pham Huyen My.

Although Pham Huyen My had already seen Li Qinghe working out shirtless in videos.

But Li Qinghe, wearing only fitness shorts, with his defined muscles, standing vividly in front of her, the impact was not something that could be felt from watching a video.

Paired with his handsome face, in that instant, Pham Huyen My also experienced the strong wildness that Xiaoyun had felt earlier.

Fortunately, Pham Huyen My had been an internet celebrity for several years and had seen many handsome men and strong guys. She had also collaborated with celebrities who had good physiques, so her resistance was quite good. She quickly composed herself.

“Brother Qinghe, let's go quickly.”

Pham Huyen My pulled out her phone from her back pocket and glanced at it. It was already 10:27 AM. She quickly turned and led Li Qinghe towards the audition venue.

Just then, the sponsor's representative, Boss Li, and Director Li, had just finished an audition with a strong man. The two looked at each other and shook their heads.

Compared to others, he was excellent, but they both felt something was missing.

“Boss Li, Director Li, Li Qinghe has arrived.”

Pham Huyen My had Li Qinghe and the others wait outside for a moment while she went into the audition area to greet the two bigwigs.

As the designated female lead for the commercial, Pham Huyen My enjoyed special treatment on set.

Furthermore, the candidate she recommended looked incredibly strong in the video, which made both the sponsor and the director quite expectant.

Now, hearing her personally report that the candidate had arrived made both the sponsor and the director feel that she was very considerate and didn't have the bad habit of big internet celebrities becoming arrogant after gaining fame.

Since the female lead was being considerate, the sponsor and director were also willing to reciprocate, so the director kindly asked his assistant to bring Li Qinghe in.

As Li Qinghe, like an ancient Roman sculpture, walked in, his 1.85-meter height and muscles, as if cast in bronze and iron, gave the sponsor and director immense pressure.

Looking at Li Qinghe's robust and slender physique, a hint of satisfaction flashed in the director's eyes.

Watching him in a video always had a certain distance, but now, standing right in front of them, from a professional perspective, this was a very photogenic physique.

What amazed the director was that Li Qinghe's muscles were truly flawless from every angle; he could be filmed from any angle to create beautiful, powerful shots.

Then, looking at Pham Huyen My standing next to him, the director felt a strange sense of harmony between the two.

“Director Li, I think A-He's appearance is excellent. He looks very compatible with Mei. Let's have A-He demonstrate first.”

Director Li saw that the sponsor had already spoken, so he naturally had no objections.

He then signaled Li Qinghe to demonstrate his strength.

Li Qinghe didn't hold back. He pointed to a 200-kilogram barbell on the mat: “This one, please add it to 500 kilograms for me.”

The crew members on set then added the barbell to 500 kilograms according to Li Qinghe's request.

Li Qinghe applied some chalk to his hands, then walked to the barbell, took a deep breath in front of dozens of people in the studio, bent down, gripped the bar, and performed five deadlifts in one go.

Seeing it in a video and seeing it done right before your eyes brings a completely different visual impact.

The eyes of the sponsor, the director, and all the key crew members, including Pham Huyen My, gleamed with admiration.

When Li Qinghe walked to the pull-up machine and put on a weighted belt.

The director quickly instructed the staff to go and help.

Li Qinghe easily jumped onto the machine and grabbed the bar, then had the staff hang 200 kilograms of barbell plates onto the chain of the weighted belt.

This weight already far exceeded the records in the fitness world.

Li Qinghe, once again in full view of everyone, performed 5 standard pull-ups with a 200-kilogram weight.

When the staff came to remove the barbell plates, he easily released his hands and landed steadily on the floor.

The sponsor was so excited his hands were trembling. He pointed repeatedly in Li Qinghe's direction and turned to the director: “Director Li, choose A-He, we'll choose A-He.”

Before his words had even finished, he turned to Pham Huyen My: “Mei, the person you recommended is fantastic! This is exactly the powerful feeling our product needs.”

Pham Huyen My nodded politely: “Thank you for your recognition, Boss Li. Brother Qinghe is very capable, and I believe this commercial will achieve an effect beyond imagination.”

“Yes, yes, yes, with the two of you working together, you will definitely produce a superb commercial.”

“Director Li, A-He doesn't need to demonstrate further. If there's no one stronger than him later, then he's confirmed.”

The sponsor's words decided the casting, essentially making it an internal selection.

Boss Li decided not to audition the remaining people, leaving all subsequent auditions to Director Li.

The sponsor could capriciously leave the studio to rest, but Director Li still had to deal with the next few people to be interviewed.

Pham Huyen My saw that Li Qinghe was so fierce that securing this role was almost a certainty.

Since Director Li was about to interview the next few candidates, she took the opportunity to invite Li Qinghe to her lounge for coffee.

Due to her status, she was the only one in the entire commercial production crew who had the privilege of a private lounge.

Although not from a professional film and television background, Pham Huyen My knew that before filming any content, it was crucial to establish good chemistry with her partner. This would make it easier to get into character during filming.

Therefore, inviting Li Qinghe to her lounge was also a decision Pham Huyen My made after considering several factors.