Becoming a Movie Star, System Only Finished Loading After Ten Years

"Not bad."

Li Jiahang gave an embarrassed smile, but inwardly he retorted, your scandals fill the entertainment circle, never having a break between relationships, and yet you have the audacity to say I have a rich emotional history.

"There's a scene on this piece of paper, try acting it out."

Qi Hao picked up a piece of paper from the table, improvising on the spot.

"Mr. Qi Hao, no preparation time?" Li Jiahang pulled a long face; this didn't quite follow the usual rules.

"Three minutes then."

Three minutes later, Li Jiahang started his performance. After finishing, Qi Hao let him leave.

"What do you think?" Qi Hao asked An Feng.

Today, it was just him and An Feng in charge of the auditions. The assistant director and executive director were contacted but hadn't officially started working yet.

"A bit raw, but it seems okay."

An Feng might not have deep acting skills, but his experience was enough, making him a good support for Qi Hao.

"Let's put it aside for now. Next, please come in!"

Qi Hao called out, and Yang Liu brought someone in.

"Shen Teng... you're a theater actor, huh."

Qi Hao glanced through the second applicant's resume, lingering a bit longer on his age.

You're so old, how do you have the nerve to audition for a high schooler?

"I've also played in a few TV dramas, all minor roles."

Compared to the previous one, this one was much calmer.

Li Jiahang didn't have any noteworthy works, but this Shen Teng, a theater actor, seemed to be the mainstay of a somewhat famous theater company in the industry—Happy Mado.

He was looking to cross over for film resources.

"You're quite handsome, actually," Qi Hao complimented first.

"Thank you, can't compare to Mr. Qi Hao, but I was considered the heartthrob at our Military Art School."

The two of them exchanged a few casual comments.

Qi Hao also handed over a script for Shen Teng to perform a part.

Shen Teng's acting was decent.

After all, he was a seasoned theater actor.

"The main thing is, well, a high school student..." Qi Hao felt a bit troubled.

He was only two years younger than Shen Teng, so if he himself could play a high schooler, why couldn't Shen Teng?

Plus, Shen Teng was quite handsome, fitting the role of the male lead perfectly.

"I feel I can play a high school student well, really. I have such vivid memories of high school that I dream of going back, playing a high schooler is my dream."

Shen Teng naturally lobbied for the role.

"There's actually a role for a handsome teacher which suits you well. The screen time is a bit less, but the character is very impressive, with many female teachers and students having crushes on you."

Qi Hao acknowledged that Shen Teng was handsome, but a mismatch for the male lead.

"Alright, let's go with that, set it up."

Shen Teng quickly accepted the teacher role.

In fact, up until now, he hadn't been in any movies. Theater and film are two different tracks; for a first movie role, even a supporting role wasn't bad.

"Happy cooperation!" Qi Hao shook hands with him.

"Make sure to remember to arrange more roles for me in the future."

Shen Teng wasn't content with staying in the theater scene, as too few people watched plays these days, making it hard to stand out, and hardly earning any money.

His girlfriend, a classmate from Military Art School, had progressed better than him, having participated in Wang Xinmin's anti-Japanese war drama "Railway Guerrillas" in 2005 and Gong Ruofei's historical drama "Great River Song" the same year.

She later became the lead in "Horse's Whinny and Wind's Howl."

Shen Teng's theater company wasn't doing well; during one snowy performance, they only sold seven tickets, and he basically lived off his girlfriend's support.

In 2007, Shen Teng was broken up with once.

Relying on theater alone isn't sufficient to make money—at the very least, don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Qi Hao's audition seemed like an opportunity to him.

Though they clearly stated they were looking for actors to play high schoolers, he shamelessly sent in a resume and successfully got the audition chance.

He wasn't disappointed that the role he got wasn't the male lead.

As long as he built good relations and befriended Qi Hao, more chances to shine would come later on.

"Next! Wang Yanlin, right? Also from Shanghai Theatre Academy."

Qi Hao held auditions in the capital, with applicants coming all the way from Shen City.

"Hello, Mr. Qi Hao, I..."

A student from the 2008 class, he appeared well-behaved during the audition, introduced himself, and performed a piece before Qi Hao told him to wait for a notification.

Of course, he didn't forget to ask,

If he didn't get the male lead role, would he be interested in other roles?

This was mainly targeted at students who hadn't debuted yet.

Students running to various auditions after school generally had good looks and a hint of acting skills, definitely a case of good quality at a great price.

"Zhang Ruoyun... you're from Beijing Film Academy."

Qi Hao started the next interview, noticing an additional name scribbled in pen on this person's resume.

Father: Zhang Jian~

Qi Hao knew of Zhang Jian, someone with influence in the entertainment circle, though he hadn't collaborated with him yet.

When Yang Liu was organizing the materials, she discovered that Zhang Ruoyun had acted in the 2004 television drama "Sea's Oath," a romance series starring Li Xue'xue, Gao Yuanyuan, Chen Xiaodong, and others.

And the writer and producer of this drama, Zhang Jian, is Zhang Ruoyun's father.

Of course, when submitting his resume, he didn't mention his family, and Qi Hao naturally wouldn't take the initiative to talk to him about his father.

Zhang Jian didn't make him feel intimidated.

"I'm in a vocational class..." Zhang Ruoyun said truthfully.

"Oh, why didn't you go to undergraduate?"

Is it because you don't like it?

"I didn't pass the art exam, so I didn't want to bother, feels the same whether you go to school or not."

Zhang Ruoyun probably has seen a lot of big scenes and appeared to be very composed in front of Qi Hao.

When he said going to school doesn't make a difference, it seemed like he was giving Qi Hao a bit of praise.

After all, it's well known that Qi Hao is a middle school student.

Yet, this middle school student became one of the four little fresh meats, won Best Actor, and now has started directing.

Not to mention, he even colludes with capital, oh no, that is, aligns interests with them.

Just, Zhang Ruoyun doesn't know one thing, that is, Qi Hao is also now starting to pursue academic qualifications and will take his first self-study exam next month.

The school he's applying to is the same as Zhang Ruoyun's, Beijing Film Academy.

"What do you think high school romance feels like? Did you date in high school?"

Qi Hao asked.

He never dated in high school, not because he was ugly and no one liked him, but because he never attended high school.

"I did date, I think student era romance..."

Zhang Ruoyun knew this question was important, part of the audition, so he answered earnestly.

As usual, Qi Hao asked him to perform a segment, and then just like that, sent him off to wait for notification.

An Feng stretched lazily, a bit tired, and yawned along the way.

Qi Hao knew she was also someone who liked to take naps.

In the past, when filming "The Return of the Condor Heroes," she would often lay on a lounge chair, cover herself with a blanket, and nap; sometimes there might even be an extra dog under the blanket.

"Of the four interviewees, who do you think is most suitable?" Qi Hao asked An Feng.

"The first and the fourth one."

The first was Li Jiahang, the fourth was Zhang Ruoyun.

"I think so too."

Li Jiahang is a bit more handsome than Zhang Ruoyun, but handsomeness isn't enough to be the standard of judgment.

Zhang Ruoyun, while not super handsome, is not ugly either, in a high school teeming with ordinary people, he might even be considered a good-looking guy.

Actually, the most important thing is the student vibe.

Good acting, has a student aura, doesn't appear out of place in a youth movie, the audition is pretty much set.

If really no one else is coming for the audition, aside from Shen Teng, the three who auditioned earlier could be used as emergency picks.

The reason there are so many coming now is because everyone is too eager for the second collaboration between Qi Hao and An Feng, thinking this film might hit big, so they all want to join in for a share.

Especially these students still in school.

They can't get into big productions, "First Love, This Little Thing" has a relatively low threshold for them, no A-list stars competing for resources, considered a particularly noteworthy choice.

However, the two who auditioned later performed quite ordinarily.

Qi Hao focuses on choosing between Li Jiahang and Zhang Ruoyun.

"In the movie, there is a scene with your mother, would inviting Aunt Liu to cameo be okay?" Qi Hao sought An Feng's opinion.

"I'll ask her when I get back." An Feng did not immediately agree.

It's a habit to go back and ask mom for advice every now and then, which isn't so easy to change, especially since asking her to cameo merits seeking her personal consent.

Ms. Liu had a cameo as the Queen Mother in the Hollywood action film "King of Kung Fu," so even if she is invited, it wouldn't be her screen debut.

"No problem, just tell her there will be payment."

"Then who would you get to play your parents?" An Feng asked out of curiosity.

"What do you think about getting Mr. Guo and Madam Huang to play them?"

Qi Hao has plenty of senior actor options, having worked with so many actors over his ten-year career, and this spontaneous idea in his head felt genuinely interesting.

"Mr. Guo and Madam Guo... Will they agree to take part?"

An Feng quickly realized Qi Hao was referring to Wang Luoyong and Kong Lin.

"I have their contact information, I'll try reaching out later; they likely won't refuse since I got along well with them during filming."

Wang Luoyong studied and worked in Miguo for fourteen years, becoming renowned internationally as the first Chinese artist on Broadway, known for his excellence in music theatre, especially noted for performing 2,478 shows of the musical "Miss Saigon" over 6 years.

He's brilliant in musical theatre.

In the film and television circle, his status is medium, typically playing supporting roles.

Kong Lin first played the rural girl Hong Xing in Li Shaohong's film "Bloody Morning," then played the maid Yan'Er in Zhang Yimou's film "Raise the Red Lantern."

She has since played both lead and supporting roles.

"You seem to get along well with everyone..."

An Feng sighed, looking back now, feeling that she was quite clueless in social interactions in the past.

"Why do I feel like there's a hidden meaning in what you're saying? Are you praising me?"

Qi Hao expressed suspicion in this regard.

"Yes, I'm praising you. Why didn't you invite your rumored girlfriends to cameo this time?"