112: How can they compare?!
Li Kaiming stood still. "Then I'll begin."
"Please, go ahead."
Li Kaiming spread his feet apart, and after a starting posture, he stepped forward with his right foot, his right fist suddenly thrusting forward, followed quickly by his left fist. Two short, powerful straight punches.
Immediately after, his body sank, and his right leg swept out horizontally, the instep straightened, his leg drawing an arc.
Upon landing, he turned with the momentum, lifted his left leg, and delivered a high kick…
Chen Fang quickly memorized.
Li Kaiming's set of movements combined Bajiquan and Piguaquan.
Although he didn't know Piguaquan, he had a martial arts background, so imitating it was not a problem.
Chen Fang stared intently at Li Kaiming's movements, imprinting each move into his mind.
Twenty seconds later, Li Kaiming retracted his hands to his waist, breathing steadily.
He looked at Teacher Chen. "Teacher Chen, please. Be careful and just do your best."
Chen Fang stood in the center, his feet shoulder-width apart.
After taking a breath, he stepped out with his right foot, his right fist thrusting straight, followed by his left fist. Two straight punches, direct and forceful, short and powerful.
The director's eyebrows subtly raised, and his fingers, which had been rubbing his thermos cup, stopped.
A hint of surprise also flashed in Li Kaiming's eyes.
Tang Chen, on the side, was much more direct in his reaction.
He sat up straight, gazing at Chen Fang in astonishment.
He didn't know much about martial arts and didn't recognize what kind of kung fu this was.
He just thought—no, buddy, you really know how to fight? And at such a high level?
Amidst the surprised gazes of the crowd, some restrained, some overt,
Chen Fang's right elbow suddenly thrust forward, his left fist guarding his chest, his movements clean and sharp.
After completing the last movement, he brought his feet together, retracted his hands to his waist, breathing steadily, his gaze calm and composed.
Jiang Haotian's potato chips fell onto his lap.
Holy cow? No, is he that cool?
Wait, Chen Fang just said, if you can't beat them, run faster. Was he telling him to run faster?
The smiles on the other candidates' faces had transformed from friendly and benevolent to forced, heartbroken grins.
He had fame, popularity, good looks, and knew martial arts.
This… unless his acting score was low, or unless this role required an ugly appearance, how could the rest of them compete?
Lin Hong raised his hand and touched his forehead, unable to even force a smile.
He knew that Chen Fang's acting skills were top-notch.
Darn it, now not only was the Nine Gate Admiral role gone, but it had also fallen into his elder sister's idol's hands.
How much would his elder sister mock him later, oh heavens.
Lin Hong already felt like crying.
He looked at Chen Fang gloomily.
Now there was only one hope left: Chen Fang performed poorly in the sparring segment.
If Chen Fang's martial arts were just for show, it would be difficult for him to pass the next round.
That would also be a significant deduction for the role of Nine Gate Admiral, which involved a lot of fighting.
However, as soon as this thought emerged, he saw—
Chen Fang and the stunt actor bowed, and after Li Kaiming's "Begin!"
Chen Fang's right foot suddenly stomped forward, his right fist thrusting straight towards his opponent's chest, his movements short and powerful.
The stunt actor quickly dodged sideways, delivering a pushing palm strike directly at Chen Fang's shoulder.
Chen Fang turned sideways, his right elbow suddenly thrusting out, his movements fierce, seemingly about to strike the ribs, but the speed suddenly decreased, clearly holding back.
The stunt actor was slightly surprised, took a step back, and swept his right leg horizontally, attacking Chen Fang's lower body.
Chen Fang retreated his left leg, swept his right leg low, forcing the opponent back…
Lin Hong's mouth was slightly agape.
Chen Fang's moves were clearly Bajiquan, with occasional glimpses of Sanda.
His movements were clean and sharp, with a tight rhythm; this couldn't possibly be acting, he definitely knew real martial arts.
Lin Hong sighed softly, his shoulders slumped, his gaze lowered, his eyes unfocused as he stared at the ground.
Although he felt a bit down, casting was like this: either the excellent actor won, or someone with connections won.
Chen Fang had real skill, and he sincerely conceded defeat.
This was at least much more comforting than losing to someone with connections.
The other candidates were also either disappointed or still hoping to turn the tide with their acting skills.
Regardless, the area where the candidates were located was enveloped in a low-pressure atmosphere.
They were sad, but the director, Director Yuan Lang, was somewhat excited, even feeling an urge to stand up.
But on the surface, he merely nodded slightly, saying in a steady tone, "Good, that's enough."
Director Yuan Lang glanced at Chen Fang, his lips tightly pressed, suppressing a smile.
He was determined to get this person!
However, the choice for the protagonist, Fong Sai-yuk, had not yet been finalized.
This kid had high popularity, good looks, and excellent martial arts skills.
Perhaps, he should play the protagonist?
Director Yuan Lang's heart stirred, but the casting work had to continue.
He looked at the eleventh actor and Li Kaiming. "Teacher Li, please continue."
On the other side, Chen Fang walked back to his seat.
Jiang Haotian stared at him excitedly. "Holy cow, you really know how to fight! Bro!"
"Mm, Second Junior Brother."
[Jiang Haotian's negative emotion value +23]
Chen Fang tilted his head slightly to look at him.
How was this guy's emotional stability so high?
Jiang Haotian bared his teeth and waved his hand. "Don't call me Second Junior Brother anymore."
"You called me 'bro,' so I thought you wanted to go by age. I'm the oldest, you're next, and Yu Mengmeng is the youngest.
Since you don't want that, then let's go by the order of joining, Second Senior Brother."
Jiang Haotian's mouth twitched. "Bro, I was wrong. I've been deeply impressed by your noble character and virtue. Can you please stop tormenting me?"
Chen Fang hummed.
In the end, it was still about subduing (axing) people with virtue.
Jiang Haotian continued, "Can you just call me by my name? Just call me what you used to call your college roommates."
"Okay, Haozi (Rat)."
[Jiang Haotian's negative emotion value +66]
Tang Chen turned his head at the sound, a big question mark appearing above his head.
Was Chen Fang doing this on purpose?
Tang Chen pondered for a while and finally came to a conclusion: Chen Fang was just skillfully retaliating.
If others didn't offend him, he wouldn't offend them.
Hmm, it must be like that.
Jiang Haotian deserved it!
…
Another ten minutes passed, and the remaining two people also completed their assessment.
The time had also reached 11:30 AM.
The staff kept Chen Fang and three others, asking the rest to go back and wait for the results.
Jiang Haotian had to film in the afternoon, so he left first.
Chen Fang, Tang Chen, and others returned to the lounge.
The four who remained were either for additional tests, or to discuss compensation, or to adjust roles.
They would eat lunch while waiting for the discussion results.
As soon as Chen Fang sat down, before his seat was even warm, there was a knock on the lounge door.
A staff member called Tang Chen away.
Chen Fang yawned, and soon the exclamations, questions, and flattery of his assistant Song Yu and others reached his ears.
"Brother Chen, you learned martial arts? So cool!"
"Can you teach me a few moves?"
After chatting idly with them for a few minutes, Chen Fang took his bento box and started eating lunch.
Halfway through his meal, the lounge door opened.
Chen Fang turned his head and saw Tang Chen smiling faintly towards the adjacent room, seemingly greeting someone, his face calm and composed, graceful and at ease.
"You're busy."
Tang Chen smiled faintly and nodded to the other person.
The moment he closed the door, the calmness on his face was instantly replaced by excitement.
He walked steadily but quickly towards Chen Fang, sat down on the chair next to him, and stared at him with burning eyes.
Chen Fang sighed inwardly: Tang Ge, you're also quite good at pretending.
Just as he was about to greet him, Tang Chen, speaking a little faster and with barely suppressed excitement in his voice, asked, "Nine Gate Admiral is confirmed.
But do you want to try for Fong Sai-yuk?! The protagonist of a big-screen movie!"