12: Mayflies peering at the blue sky

Yu Min pulled out a sheet of paper; it was the script for Azhu and Xiao Feng.

This was exactly the scene Liu Yifei was meant to test for; she had come today to audition for the role of Azhu.

"Let's swap it for this one. I think Little Liu's temperament is more suited for Wang Yuyan." Big Beard Zhang noticed Yu Min's movement and swapped it for a scene between Duan Yu and Wang Yuyan.

Who was to be tested went without saying.

Zhou Xiaowen saw this but didn't stop it. It was a good chance to see the quality of Li Xiuwu's acting and prepare accordingly.

The assistant gave the scripts to Li Xiuwu and Liu Yifei respectively.

Li Xiuwu scanned it once, quickly memorizing the lines, and began analyzing how to perform the scene.

Liu Yifei nervously clutched the lines; she had prepared to audition for Azhu.

She had memorized all those lines and even had Teacher Xiu Qing guide her before coming. She hadn't expected the audition content to suddenly change to Wang Yuyan's part.

Big Beard Zhang frowned as he watched Li Xiuwu, seeing his calm expression devoid of any nervousness or embarrassment.

The calmer he was, the more displeased Big Beard Zhang became. He had originally wanted to make a fortune off this role; it was bad enough that the Beijing Film Academy had forced their way in, but this kid was also being so impolite.

He checked the time and gave Yu Min a look.

"Ahem, are you ready?" Yu Min spoke up.

Li Xiuwu looked up at Liu Yifei. She nodded silently, her eyes filled with trepidation.

"Ready," Li Xiuwu said. He walked to the center of the room, and Liu Yifei followed tentatively.

"Don't be nervous. You're very suitable; just be yourself," he encouraged her.

"Oh," Liu Yifei felt slightly more relaxed.

"Begin," Yu Min said.

Liu Yifei had been looking down, but she raised her head upon hearing the voice: "Who is planting flowers here?"

Li Xiuwu took a few steps forward and cupped his hands: "This humble scholar was ordered by Madam Wang to plant camellias here."

[Host detected to be practicing Illusion Arts. Charm Aura activated.]

Li Xiuwu was unaffected by the system. Looking up at Wang Yuyan's face, his eyes instantly showed shock, gradually giving way to a look of adoration.

Liu Yifei felt shy under Li Xiuwu's fervent gaze. It felt as if her heart had been struck.

The Yu Mins' eyes lit up. This feeling... it was the perfect sense of youthful budding love. A young man's adoration should look exactly like this.

Even Big Beard Zhang, who disliked Li Xiuwu, decided right then that he was Duan Yu.

"Who are you?" There was a hint of shyness in Liu Yifei's eyes.

"Fairy Sister, I have missed you so dearly," Li Xiuwu murmured, the adoration in his eyes deepening.

He suddenly bowed down: "Disciple pays respects to Master."

"You... what are you doing?" Liu Yifei asked in surprise, taking half a step back.

"You bookworm, who gave you permission to call me sister this and sister that?" Liu Yifei frowned in anger, her lively eyes sweeping over the kneeling Li Xiuwu.

"Cut! Alright, that's enough."

Zhou Xiaowen interrupted their performance. He was extremely pleased.

Li Xiuwu's image was an incomparable fit. His physique, lines, and mannerisms were all excellent—it was as if Duan Yu had come to life.

As for Liu Yifei, her image suited Wang Yuyan perfectly, though she would need to work on her acting and delivery.

"Once you're on set, just come to me if you have any questions," Teacher Zhou said kindly to Li Xiuwu.

"Thank you, Teacher Zhou," Li Xiuwu thanked him.

"Does anyone else have any objections?" he asked the group, his gaze lingering on Big Beard Zhang.

Big Beard Zhang was speechless. He had only done this to make things difficult for Li Xiuwu and get him to quit voluntarily.

"Since no one has any objections, let's sign the contract. Remember to come by in a while for the costume photos," Zhou Xiaowen first sent his assistant to get the contract, then gave Li Xiuwu instructions.

"Okay." Li Xiuwu looked over the contract. The pay wasn't high, only seventy thousand, but there were no traps. Big Beard Zhang wouldn't dare set any for him.

Without hesitation, he signed his name.

"You can head back for now. Don't forget the costume shoot," Zhou Xiaowen took the contract and handed it to his assistant.

"Goodbye, Yu Mins." Li Xiuwu left the room.

In the hallway, those waiting to audition all turned their eyes toward Li Xiuwu.

Seeing his calm expression, they assumed the signing was a done deal and couldn't help but feel envious.

Li Xiuwu scanned the crowd and noticed that hostile horse-face. He felt a bit annoyed; a horse doesn't know how long its own face is, yet he still wanted to play Duan Yu.

Leaving the hotel, he returned to his car to wait. A pigeon flew across the sky.

Li Xiuwu projected a sense of goodwill, and the pigeon circled once before landing.

"It's actually a carrier pigeon." He saw the tube tied to its leg, took out the note inside, and glanced at it.

"My parents aren't home on Saturday. Come over; my cat can do a backflip."

He thought it was some secret matter that required a carrier pigeon, but it turned out to be young lovers trysting.

"Fly through that window. When you see the guy with the horse-face, take a crap on his head," Li Xiuwu commanded the pigeon.

"Why?" The pigeon tilted its head, not understanding what he meant.

"You're a good birdie, you'll help me, right?" Li Xiuwu stroked the pigeon's back.

"Good birdie will help you." Hearing this, the pigeon seemed to get a burst of adrenaline and flew into the hotel corridor. Before long, a chaotic commotion could be heard.

Li Xiuwu chuckled, took out a pen, and drew an 'old man pushing a cart' position on the back of the note.

The pigeon flew back, and he put the note back in.

"Go on, good birdie." Li Xiuwu released the pigeon from his palm.

[Detected top-tier Dual Cultivation Cauldron. System Prompt: Physical contact can speed up cultivation. It is recommended that the Host befriends her for future dual cultivation.]

Liu Yifei found her way over and came to his car.

"You actually ruined my audition!" Liu Yifei stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at Li Xiuwu in the car.

She had worked so hard to audition for Azhu, but because of Li Xiuwu, it was suddenly changed to Wang Yuyan.

"Wang Yuyan is better than Azhu," Li Xiuwu said to her with a smile.

"I know that, of course, but Big Beard Zhang had already settled on a Korean actress to play Wang Yuyan." It wasn't that Liu Yifei hadn't thought about Wang Yuyan.

Through her connections, she had received definite news that a Korean artist was confirmed for Wang Yuyan, which was why she settled for the next best thing and auditioned for Azhu.

"Is that so?" Li Xiuwu frowned; that wasn't how he remembered it.

"I don't care, you have to make it up to me. You're taking me to dinner." Liu Yifei opened the passenger door and sat down.

Just then, Liu Xiaoli also drove over and saw her daughter get into Li Xiuwu's car.

"Mom, we're going to eat!" Liu Yifei waved from the window.

"Let's go, Mr. top scholar."

Li Xiuwu glanced at Liu Xiaoli's car, started the engine, and drove out of the parking lot.

"You were so impolite to Big Beard Zhang, aren't you afraid he'll take the role back?" Liu Yifei thought of Li Xiuwu's performance in the room.

Before coming, her mother had instructed her to be polite to the Yu Min.

Li Xiuwu gave a carefree smile: "My coming to see him is already the azure sky casting its gaze upon a mayfly. Why should I be polite to him?"

Liu Yifei's mouth hung open slightly as she stared at Li Xiuwu in a daze.

The azure sky gazing at a mayfly... how arrogant. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Li Xiuwu.

She had previously thought Li Xiuwu was a bit too cold, but she hadn't expected him to have such a domineering side.

"Mom said he has a lot of influence in the entertainment industry." Although it felt satisfying, Liu Yifei still wanted to advise Li Xiuwu.

Even a top scholar of the college entrance examination needs resources upon entering the entertainment industry.

"I only came to the entertainment industry to see what it's like; I don't necessarily have to make a big name for myself."

Li Xiuwu spoke plainly.

"Maybe one day when I've had my fun, I'll just leave the circle. The world is so big, why box yourself in?"

Liu Yifei looked at Li Xiuwu in shock; their philosophies were completely different.

She, Liu Yifei, wanted to become a world-class Best Actress, while Li Xiuwu just wanted to play around in the industry.

Liu Yifei felt a bit depressed and stopped talking to Li Xiuwu.

Li Xiuwu found a restaurant, parked the car, and waited at the entrance for Liu Xiaoli to park before they all walked in together.

"Auntie, what would you like to eat?" Li Xiuwu gave the menu to Liu Xiaoli.

"You two order, I'm fine with anything." She pushed it back, but the menu was snatched away by Liu Yifei.

Liu Xiaoli looked at Li Xiuwu, hesitated for a moment, then spoke: "Are you really certain about attending the Beijing Film Academy?"

"I quite like the Beijing Film Academy." Li Xiuwu nodded with a smile on his face.

Liu Xiaoli sighed. she really wanted to advise him—such a good child with such great grades, how could he become an actor?

She looked at her daughter; if her daughter had such grades and dared to attend the Beijing Film Academy, she would break her legs.

One should avoid deep talk with shallow acquaintances. She wanted to advise him but couldn't bring herself to say it, so she could only sigh.

Li Xiuwu noticed Liu Xiaoli's sigh and knew it was for his own good. He said, "I'll study there for a year and see. If it really doesn't suit me, at my current age, even if I retake the exams next year, my scores won't be too bad."

"That's true too." Liu Xiaoli felt a bit better.

Liu Yifei didn't care about any of that. Her mouth never stopped as she talked about things she encountered while filming.

"I know a little sister who is so amazing. She gets her scenes right in one take, she can act just by looking at the script, and the Yu Min is always praising her."

As Liu Yifei spoke, she couldn't hide her envy.

"Why don't you ask her for advice?" Li Xiuwu said with a smile.

Liu Yifei's face slumped, deeply discouraged: "I asked her how she does it, and she said she just looks at the script and acts it out. She even wondered if I was intentionally acting poorly."