Chapter 34 : Just Call Me Uncle

From Jasmine Yu's POV

"No...No No No No, I can't let this happen!" she cried out loud.

"Ma specifically told me to make sure he comes for the audition. I really am a f##king mess. How can I manage a team when I can't even get a single person to show up?"

Picking up a large bottle of whiskey, she took a large sip as she flopped on her chair,

"What am I supposed to do now? I mean, I could just tell them that he didn't want to come, it's not like people remember him much nowadays"

Feeling slightly woozy, Jasmine closed her eyes, mumbling

"Why does everyone even care about that old annoying man? If it was up to me, I would make sure to kick him off to retirement already. Nobody is in this industry for their talent, it's all about the money."

The sound of a ringtone blared through the room, abruptly waking Jasmine up from her deep sleep.

Groaning loudly, she looked around for her phone, her eyes still closed.

Finally finding it, she looked at the private number and sighed,

"Why are you calling me at 6 am?"

"I'll be there at 11 tomorrow. See you."

"Wait, Wait! What do you mean? I can't just change the entire schedule for you, the auditions start at 9 am, not 11." Sounding exasperated, Jasmine tried staying calm.

The voice from the call grumbled back, "I'm not used to waking up so early. See you then, goodnight."

Jasmine stared at the disconnected call, her eyes twitching in irritation, "How is this man even famous?!"

//

Standing at the entrance of the audition hall, Jasmine tapped her foot on the ground, impatiently waiting for him to arrive.

"Because of his last-minute choices, I had to change everything. I can't afford to lose the experienced actors, it's almost sure they would reject us if he criticizes them too much. It's good we had a spare room and I could send them there. Where is he anyways?"

Glancing ahead, she saw a shabby-looking older man with an uncut beard and messy hair, wearing a worn-out white shirt and gray pants looking as if he had just woken up.

Stepping towards Jasmine, he took off his sunglasses and commented,

"What are you waiting for? Let's go."

Frowning at him, she held onto her files and walked towards one of the rooms.

The man yawned behind her and continued to follow her, ignoring the nervous actresses that sat on the benches, muttering to themselves.

"What was the subject again? Fear or something?"

"Pain," Jasmine replied, not wanting to continue the conversation further.

Scratching his forehead, the man grinned, "Huh, you gave the first-time actresses quite a complicated emotion. It would be fun to see if any of them could get it right."

After reaching the room, the man nodded at the other judges as he sat on the chair and put his head down to take a nap.

Jasmine shook her head, hoping that the other directors would say something, however, everyone seemed extremely excited and in awe, talking about how lucky they were for him to be present among them.

Scoffing, she whispered to the staff to inform the girls that they were ready to hold the auditions.

Slowly, she laid out all the files of the actresses, cross-checking their ages, academy time, etc. Her eyes fell on one particular paper that had listed a girl who had spent five years training,

"I hope this one has some experience."

Gradually, the girls came through the door and stood in front of the judges, unable to meet their eyes.

Looking at them, Jasmine felt a hint of sympathy but quickly regained her composure after banging her fist on the table, gaining everybody's attention.

"The audition starts now and the subject is Pain. Please go ahead and show us your idea on the subject."

Most of them immediately started performing while some took a moment to prepare themselves.

The judges whispered within themselves while Jasmine looked through their files.

Suddenly one of the actresses began to cry out loudly, her face up to the ceiling with her arms flunking around her torso.

"Oh god, this can't be happening."

Turning back to look at the directors, she saw the old man scowling, his hands on his ears,

"What the hell is this? Do these girls have any idea what pain even means? Look at that, we don't know who you are if you hide your face like that, and can somebody please kick the one with the pigtails out? This isn't a beauty pageant for kids."

Pausing his sentence, he jolted up and stared at Mei's face and droopy body.

Following his gaze, Jasmine gawked at her, "How did this girl get his attention? She isn't even doing anything!"

She skimmed through the papers in haste, throwing an application on the floor, yelling out her name,

"Mei Ling! What do you think you're doing?! No acting experience at this age, do you think you're being funny?"

Blinking back in surprise, Mei replied, "I was being serious."

"THAT'S BEING SERIOUS?"

The man called out from behind, his voice spiked with curiosity, "Mei Ling, right? Continue doing that but this time show me pain that even an idiot can understand."

"Who are you calling..." Gaping at the girl, she couldn't believe what she saw.

"How is she doing that? Her aura just changed all of a sudden out of nowhere. She is truly feeling pain right now!"

Her body seeming heavy and weak, Mei softly glided onto her knees, her eyes now filled with tears. Tilting her head, she looked at Jasmine as she asked, "Is this fine? Or should I do something else?"

Stunned at her performance, she remained speechless, "I...I think."

Before she could say anything further, Mei bowed down to thank them about to leave when the man got up from his seat, holding her application in his hand.

Walking up to her, he made Mei stand beside the door when he said,

"And as I told you, I don't like remembering names so just call me Uncle."