45: Qualification for the Small World Trial

Liu Yifei was very motivated to study and even dragged Li Xiuwu to practice with her; her acting skills and academic subjects were both making rapid progress.

"I want to take the Gaokao." During a meal that day, Liu Yifei said very seriously.

Liu Xiaoli was stunned and touched Liu Yifei's forehead. She didn't have a fever, so had she been provoked by Shu Chang?

"I'm serious. I feel like I'm terrifyingly strong right now; I could also become a top scholar of the college entrance examination." Liu Yifei pushed her mother's hand away. She was very serious; the progress she had made in her studies over the past few days made her blood boil with excitement.

She was originally a girl who loved to study, and with her extraordinary comprehension, she was very proactive in her learning, and her grades improved rapidly.

She found Shu Chang's high school books to read and felt that she could basically understand the content. If she had Li Xiuwu's guidance, she felt that she could also become a top scholar of the college entrance examination.

"What nonsense are you spouting? You are already a sophomore, and you don't even have a domestic student status. What Gaokao? Just eat your meal." Liu Xiaoli glared at her.

Liu Yifei instantly became like a deflated ball, her straightened back sagging.

"Why didn't I become smart earlier? Otherwise, I could also have become a top scholar of the college entrance examination." She was very unconvinced; she felt she was great at studying now.

Li Xiuwu and Shu Chang were both top scholars of the College Entrance Examination; why couldn't she be one?

Li Xiuwu found it funny in his heart; this couldn't be blamed on anyone else.

"Ahem." He coughed.

"Auntie, I need to go to the production crew for an audition today. Why don't you take Yifei to school?"

"Okay." Liu Xiaoli nodded.

Immediately, she added: "I'll take you to the production crew. I can help you handle some issues. She can just ride her bicycle to school."

"That's not necessary, right? I should be able to handle it on my own." Li Xiuwu said. He had never actually participated in a formal audition and didn't quite understand what was required.

Seeing that Li Xiuwu's tone was uncertain, Liu Xiaoli made the final decision: "It's decided then. I will accompany you to the audition."

Liu Yifei looked at the two of them, her teeth gritting audibly.

"Don't you like riding your bicycle? You can ride to school yourself later. Go slowly on the road and watch out for cars." Liu Xiaoli still had some maternal love and urged her to be careful on the way.

Li Xiuwu, sitting opposite her, was winking and making faces, which made Liu Yifei even angrier.

The frustration of not being able to take the Gaokao, her mother's favoritism, and Li Xiuwu across from her teasing her.

"I'm not eating anymore." She slammed her chopsticks down and stood up.

"Sit back down! Who taught you to slam your chopsticks? Have you eaten your fill and forgotten who you are?"

Seeing Liu Xiaoli angry, Liu Yifei tensed her face but still sat back down.

"Auntie, we can drop Yifei off at school on the way later." Seeing that their conflict had escalated, Li Xiuwu immediately tried to mediate.

"She's spoiled. Just let her go to school by herself."

Seeing Liu Xiaoli angry, Li Xiuwu also lowered his head to eat, not daring to stir up more trouble.

Liu Xiaoli looked at the two children eating with their heads down, feeling a bit helpless; they really were just two kids.

She finally understood what others meant when they talked about the feeling of having two children at home—it was exhausting.

After breakfast, they first dropped Liu Yifei off at the Beijing Film Academy, and then Liu Xiaoli drove with Li Xiuwu to the hotel where the audition for "the great emperor wu of han" was being held.

Upon entering the hotel, Li Xiuwu saw quite a few people.

"Let's go check in first." Liu Xiaoli said to Li Xiuwu.

"Oh, okay." Li Xiuwu followed Liu Xiaoli to find the staff member; he really hadn't realized this.

He had acted twice before, neither time via a formal audition, so he didn't know the process. If Liu Xiaoli hadn't been there, he would have had to fumble around and waste time.

"The audition for the young Emperor Wu of Han is at ten o'clock in the morning. You can go and wait for now." The staff member registered Li Xiuwu's name, checked it against another list, and upon seeing he was recommended by the chief cinematographer, informed him of the time.

"Thank you, brother." Li Xiuwu placed a pack of cigarettes on the table.

The staff member pocketed it without a change in expression.

"Including you, there are four actors auditioning for 'the great emperor wu of han'—three from the Beijing Film Academy and one from the Central Academy of Drama. None of the three are simple."

There was no one else around, so the staff member revealed the audition information to Li Xiuwu; he would see them soon anyway, so there was no need to hide it.

"The one from the Central Academy of Drama is named Deng Chao, who just had 'The Young Emperor' aired and has experience playing an emperor."

"One from the Beijing Film Academy is Huang Xiaoming, who already played Emperor Wu of Han in 'The Prince of Han Dynasty' in 2001. His competitiveness is very high."

"However, neither of them is the important one. The last one from the Beijing Film Academy is Du Chun; although he hasn't acted before, his father is Du Zhiguo."

The staff member gave Li Xiuwu a meaningful look.

"Junior, you are still young; don't worry about temporary gains or losses. There are many opportunities in the future."

"Are you a senior from the Beijing Film Academy?" Li Xiuwu sized up the staff member.

"Zhang Daniun, class of '97, Cinematography Department of the Beijing Film Academy."

"Haha, we're family then! Thank you for your hard work, Senior Daniun."

Li Xiuwu exchanged a few polite words and was just about to continue asking for information when he heard someone coming, so he stopped talking.

"Senior, I'll head off first. I'll treat you to a meal when I have time." He looked back and left after saying goodbye.

"It seems the role has already been reserved." Liu Xiaoli had also understood what Zhang Daniun meant.

Although there was an audition for this role, it had already been internally decided for Du Chun.

"Let's wait until the audition." Li Xiuwu didn't mind. When he got the role of Duan Yu, it was also internally decided; he had no right to talk about fairness.

Furthermore, "the great emperor wu of han" wasn't a show that would boost an actor's career; whoever came would be crushed in the brilliance of the Emperor Wu of Han. Li Xiuwu's desire to perform in it wasn't very high.

He observed the people auditioning. There were quite a few people auditioning today, and he saw several familiar faces.

He saw Deng Chao and Huang Xiaoming. As for Du Chun, he never saw him.

Many people were also sizing up Li Xiuwu; in fact, everyone was sizing each other up to see who their competitors were.

One's own strength was fixed; as long as the other party wasn't better than oneself, one was safe.

"Li Xiuwu." Huang Xiaoming walked over.

"Senior knows me?" Li Xiuwu didn't expect Huang Xiaoming to know him.

"It's hard not to remember our Beijing Film Academy's top scholar." Huang Xiaoming explained with a smile.

"Just an empty title. Big shots in the industry have told me more than once that the title of top scholar is useless in the entertainment industry." Li Xiuwu shook his head, as if sighing.

Huang Xiaoming was silent for a moment: "One has to try, right? Start from small things, and you'll always be able to make a name for yourself."

Li Xiuwu looked at Huang Xiaoming in surprise; he hadn't expected him to have such a good mindset. Thinking of the other's future achievements, it seemed to make sense.

Huang Xiaoming sat down beside him and introduced the people at the scene: "Those people standing over there with Teacher Song and Lin Jing are from our Beijing Film Academy."

"These people here, the ones next to Deng Chao, are from the Central Academy of Drama. The people from the Shanghai Theatre Academy are sitting on the north side, right there. The last group of people is from the Jilin Arts School."

Li Xiuwu was a bit surprised; apart from these four major institutions, there were hardly any independent actors.

"Thank you, Senior, for introducing them to me."

"You're welcome. Don't call me Senior all the time; just call me by my name." Huang Xiaoming said. He was naturally good at socializing, and since Li Xiuwu was at least a top scholar of the college entrance examination, talking a bit more could build a good connection.

The audition started quickly. People kept going in, and those who came out had no expression on their faces, so nothing could be told.

"Li Xiuwu, come in for the audition." The assistant came out to call the people auditioning for Emperor Wu of Han: "Huang Xiaoming, Deng Chao, get ready."

Huang Xiaoming was surprised; he hadn't expected Li Xiuwu to be auditioning for the same role as him. He didn't have a smile on his face: "Good luck."

The news Li Xiuwu could find out, he could naturally find out too—the role of Emperor Wu of Han had already been reserved. Being able to come today was just to leave a good impression on the directors.

Li Xiuwu nodded and walked towards the audition room.

[Detected: Host is participating in the competition for the qualification for the Small World Trial. Strive to obtain the quota to participate in the Small World.]

His footsteps paused. Was this system task released because it saw he didn't have a competitive mindset?

He introduced himself generously, without any restraint or anxiety about gain or loss: "Hello, directors. I am Li Xiuwu, and the role I am auditioning for is Emperor Wu of Han."