Chapter 13 Audition Successful

"About seven or eight days!" Shi Niannian stretched the truth a bit.

"That long?" Ling Yichen raised an eyebrow lightly, "Brother Qin Zheng's film company is investing in a movie, and there's still a dancer role missing. Do you want to try out for it?"

"Acting in a movie?" Shi Niannian was stunned and then asked the crucial question, "Is there a payment for the role?"

"Are you short on money? Doesn't the Shi family give you an allowance?" Ling Yichen didn't understand.

"I want to spend money that I've earned myself."

Ling Yichen hadn't expected the girl to have such a backbone, "Of course, there's a payment for the role."

"Then I'll do it!" Shi Niannian's eyes shone with determination. As long as it was a chance to make money, she was willing to give it a shot, "My stomach won't hurt anymore in three days."

"I'll ask Qin Zheng to contact you; you can go directly."

"Okay, thank you, Brother Yichen."

"Just a thank you, and that's it?" Ling Yichen looked at her sideways.

Shi Niannian got out of the car and bowed deeply to Ling Yichen, "Thank you!"

Ling Yichen...

Shi Niannian smiled, closed the car door, waved at Ling Yichen, and then turned to leave.

Ling Yichen rolled down the car window and watched Shi Niannian's slightly unsteady steps as he left. His lips curved up unconsciously; the girl was quite cheeky.

Ling Yichen dialed Qin Zheng's number. It rang several times before he picked up, and the sound of a woman's moaning could be heard in the background, "Hey, what's up? Calling so late at night, you're interrupting my business."

Ling Yichen was used to it and didn't care at all about what was happening on the other side, "There's this historical drama your company is planning. I need a dancer role added; she doesn't need a lot of scenes, just a dance performance."

"Are you out of your mind? That means changing the script. Who are you so concerned about?"

"Shi Niannian. Just change the script and contact her directly," Ling Yichen thought for a moment and then added, "I'll cover her payment. Offer her 200,000."

"Niannian? You're looking to move in fast, huh?"

"Don't you get any ideas about her!" Ling Yichen hung up the phone. Anyway, it was only right to do something nice for the young lady since he had taken advantage of her.

Shi Niannian returned to her dormitory to find it empty. Xu Wenwen had gone home for the weekend, and the other two roommates hardly ever stayed there.

Lying on the bed, she pondered over the recent events that had taken her by surprise, disrupting the peace of her life over the past decade.

Shi Shuyao wanted her to have Ling Yichen's baby but was afraid of her getting close to Ling Yichen; what a contradiction!

How could Shi Shuyao and her daughter take it for granted that she would willingly have the child?

And there was Shi Xinghe's attitude, which left her wondering how she should face him in the future.

It seemed like the Shi family saw her as nothing more than a pet, to be played with at their whim.

So annoying!

The next day, Ling Yichen proved to be trustworthy, sending someone to deliver Shi Niannian's package to the school.

Shi Niannian opened the package; nothing was missing, and both of the recommendation letters were there. At last, she had something to be happy about.

In the evening, Xu Wenwen returned to school, and Shi Niannian gave her one of the recommendation letters.

"Niannian, you're amazing, where did you get this from? And there are two of them." Xu Wenwen opened the recommendation letter in surprise.

"I got them in exchange for selling myself."

"What? Then I don't want it." Xu Wenwen threw the recommendation letter back at Shi Niannian, "You should return this!"

"I'm just kidding. It was Brother Yichen's friend who happens to know the headmaster; he got it for me." Shi Niannian explained.

Xu Wenwen took back the recommendation letter, "You scared me to death."

Shi Niannian smiled, thinking to herself: I haven't sold my body; what I sold is skill.

On Monday, Shi Niannian and Xu Wenwen presented their recommendation letters to sign up, and the teacher at the registration desk gave them an extra look — these were recommendation letters from the principal, so these two kids must have some solid backing.

The competition was in a month, and they needed to choose their music and choreograph their own dance. The timing was quite tight.

A couple more days passed, and Shi Niannian's period was coming to an end, her menstrual cramps were over, but she was still thinking about the role in the movie.

Having not received a call from Qin Zheng, she was unsure if it was reliable and wondered if she should ask about it.

As she hesitated, an unfamiliar number called her. Shi Niannian answered, "Hello, may I help you?"

"Is this Sister Niannian? It's your Brother Qin here."

It was Qin Zheng, always so casual on the phone. Shi Niannian responded with a smile, "Yes, it's me, Brother Qin Zheng."

"Yichen mentioned you're interested in acting in a movie. There happens to be a role for you to audition for!"

After telling Shi Niannian the time and location of the shoot, Qin Zheng hung up.

The audition was scheduled for 3 p.m. that very day. It worked out well since she had no afternoon classes; she could go and try out.

After lunch, Shi Niannian freshened up in her dorm room, told Xu Wenwen, and headed out.

She arrived at the film set half an hour early. When she dropped Qin Zheng's name, a staff member immediately took her with great enthusiasm to meet the director.

The director's attitude towards Shi Niannian wasn't great. If it hadn't been for Qin Zheng pushing someone on him, there would have been no need to revise the script overnight to add a new scene.

The director roughly explained the scene to Shi Niannian: The dancer Ni Chang fails to assassinate a general during her performance and is killed on the spot.

Shi Niannian would be playing the dancer Ni Chang. Her main task was performing a sword dance, which she could improvise.

Acting wasn't Shi Niannian's forte, but dancing was. She had learned sword dance as well, and she felt confident about it.

After the explanation, the director had someone do her makeup and change her costume.

The costumed Shi Niannian took the staff by surprise with her stunning appearance.

Dressed in a red gauze, the upper half of her hair was pinned up with a hairpin, while the rest draped over her shoulders. Holding a sword in hand, she looked like she had walked out of a painting.

The director's eyes lit up upon seeing her; she looked striking in the ancient costume. He called for the music to start.

Moving with the music, Shi Niannian danced gracefully, her silhouette fluttering. The sword in her hand enhanced her captivating yet bold dance, mesmerizing everyone present.

As the music ended, Shi Niannian finished her move, and the room fell silent.

Feeling unsure, she asked softly, "Director, was my dance not good enough?"

"What?" The director finally came back to his senses. "No, it was great, really great."

Reviewing the footage at the camera, the director was delighted. This dance would definitely be a plus for the film. For the first time, he was grateful that his boss had forced someone onto the project.

"So Shi Niannian, isn't it? You've got the part. Leave your contact info," the director said cheerfully. "When we officially start shooting, the crew will notify you."

"Really? Thank you, Director!" Shi Niannian bowed excitedly to the director.

Shi Niannian changed back into her own clothes and left, brimming with joy.

The director called Qin Zheng to praise Shi Niannian and even complimented him on his great recommendation.

Qin Zheng was quite surprised. Curious about what was so special about Shi Niannian's performance, he requested the dance video.

"Yichen, come over and watch Niannian's audition video with me." Qin Zheng called Ling Yichen, who was sitting on the sofa, to join him.

Ling Yichen pulled up a chair and sat next to Qin Zheng, watching the video of Shi Niannian's sword dance on his computer.

After the video ended, both men were silent. After a while, Qin Zheng punched Ling Yichen lightly, "Be honest with me, have you made your move on her yet? If not, I'm going to start pursuing her."