002: New beginnings 2

Sanju Apartments Gym, minutes before the phone call.

After running on the treadmill for An hour and a half, Liu Qiao Qiao was starting to feel sore. She turned off the treadmill and stepped down. She picked up her gym bag and walked to the door.

Liu Qiao Qiao paused for a few seconds by the door, pulled out her white face towel from her gym bag, and wiped down her face and neck.

She put the towel back into her bag and walked over to the elevator. She pressed the call button, seconds later the elevator arrived. An audible chime was heard right as the door rolled open and the sole occupant, a middle-aged woman walked out of the elevator.

She got into the elevator, clicked on the Sixth Floor, and stepped back to rest by the elevator wall as she waited to arrive at her floor.

A few seconds later the elevator came to a stop and the door rolled open. She got out of the elevator and walked over to her apartment, punched in her passcode, and got into her apartment.

She shared the apartment with her younger sister Liu Qinyang. Her childhood friend Shi Xiaotong was temporarily staying with them until she got her place.

Her sister Liu Qinyang was currently out of town Filming an advert, While her best friend Shi Xiaotong was at work so she had the apartment all to herself.

It was a well-furnished three-bedroom apartment with a good view of the popular Sanju apartments garden.

Liu Qiaoqiao and her Younger sister Qinyang had moved into the apartment two years ago.

Liu Qiao Qiao changed into her slippers and the door. Holding her pair of white sneakers in one hand, She walked to her room.

She dropped her gym bag and sneakers next to her closet, got out of her workout clothes, and threw them into the laundry basket. She rushed into the bathroom to wash up.

She sat at her dressing table blow-drying her hair when her phone began to ring. She hadn't gotten around to unpacking her gym bag so her phone was still inside her gym bag.

She turned off the hairdryer and placed it on her dressing table next to her body lotion. She picked up her gym bag, unzipped the first zip brought out her phone.

She picked up the phone to check who was calling. It was Shi Xiaotong and not the occasional telemarketer. She swipes and answered the call

"Hey, Tong Tong what's up" Said Liu Qiaoqiao in a cheerful tone.

"Qiao Qiao what are you doing now"

"Nothing, I just got back from the gym"

"Wonderful" Shi Xiaotong said excitedly

"Huh? Liu Qiaoqiao said, surprised. She brought the phone out of her ear to check if it was Xiaotong that she was speaking with and not a stranger.

"I have good news, Qiaoqiao. A role in our company's new Production just opened up" Shi Xiaotong said quickly.

"Really? Liu Qiaoqiao replied surprised. Shi Xiaotong worked for the production team of Baiyu Studios, a popular Production company known for producing high-quality projects.

"Yes, rush over to the set of the series. I will send you the address. An actress just dropped out of the Production, the directors are looking for a new actress to replace her.

it's a music-oriented drama so I recommended you for the role. I played a video of you singing and they loved it. They want you to come on for a formal audition"

"Really"

"Yes you better hurry okay don't keep them waiting"

"I won't," Liu Qiaoqiao said loudly and rushed over to her closet and changed into a thigh-length gown and boots. She quickly ran a brush through her black silky waist-length hair and rushed out of her apartment.

Thirty minutes later she arrived at the set.

Shi Xiaotong was already waiting by the entrance when she arrived. Liu Qiao Qiao got down from the taxi and rushed over to where she stood. Shi Xiaotong grabbed hold of her hands and led her into the set.

Shi Xiaotong dragged her over to be introduced to the Directors

"This is the friend I told you about," said Shi Xiaotong, as she introduced Liu Qiao Qiao to the Directors.

"Hello I am Liu Qiao Qiao"

'She's really pretty, that's good this would make things much easier Director Zhu thought, giving her a thorough look down.

'Now to check if she had the talent' He thought.

"Hello, I'm Director Zhu. We haven't got much time to spare. The audition would be twofold. First, we have the voice audition then a script reading"

After staying in this industry for as long as he has. He knows never to trust anyone at face value, not with the level of technological development currently available.

"Thanks for giving me a chance, I will be performing the title track of the soul music queen Amy's fifth album titled VACUUM," Liu Qiao Qiao said.

"Alright, hold on a minute let's get everything ready" Director Zhu said signaling to Xiao Zhong.

Ten minutes later a baby-faced tall young man dressed in a button-down shirt and jeans ran over to the computer and to connect his phone to the speakers.

When everything was set he gave the director and other executives a thumbs up.

"Okay let's get going Miss Liu you may proceed with the voice audition the script would be given to you when the voice audition is concluded," Lu Zhiyuan said.

Lu Zhiyuan was one of the three co-owners of Baiyu studios and a talented musician and actor. He had been in the industry for close to fifteen years and has made a name for himself both at home and internationally.

"Yes sir" She replied and walked over to stand in the middle. A minute later the Audio track began to play.

A few seconds later she began to sing the melody, as she sang she felt dragged deep into the music as did everyone else.

Vacuum was an emotional song written and sung by Amy while she was going through the painful loss of her husband.

It was a very emotional song that depicted the pain she felt at that point in her life. It was one of the Musical masterpieces of its era.

It had some difficult notes that made it very difficult to sing. This particular song had made Amy the reigning soul music queen she presently was.

They had all been so surprised when Liu Qiao Qiao had announced that she would be auditioning with such a difficult song but as they listened to her they couldn't help but be drawn deep into the song.

Liu Qiao Qiao had managed to make a complicated song like this her own. She didn't try to mimic Amy's style at all which was completely unexpected.

Everyone was completely blown away by her performance that they remained speechless even when she was done.

Even veteran musicians like Lu Zhiyuan and Shen Xue weren't immune to the spell that was her voice.

They were both enchanted by it all that as soon as she was done they both asked in unison

"Are you signed with any company?