Chapter 26
Seeing Ning Xi’s bewildered expression, Xiaomi explained, “Our boss values Teacher Ning very much. She’s been watching your performance from the other room the whole time.”
Ning Xi pressed a hand to her forehead and gave a bitter smile. “Haha.”
The feeling of letting her inner lunatic run wild in a hidden corner, only to be discovered, was just… wonderful.
She felt like a rat dragged out of a dark sewer to be scorched by the sun, a clown in a circus, a monkey in a zoo.
Surprise, excitement, annoyance-her emotions were being toyed with. It was great, truly great.
“Miss Ning, we finally meet. I am the head of Sunshine Studio, Lin Suqing.”
The door to the adjacent room opened, and Lin Suqing walked out, smiling at Ning Xi.
She looked to be in her thirties, radiating the sharp, capable aura of a career woman.
Ning Xi gave a faint smile, her expression carrying a calm indifference that suggested she had made peace with life and death. “Hello, Boss Lin.”
Lin Suqing stared at Ning Xi’s face for a few seconds before smiling. “Actually, you didn’t need to read the male lines just now. You could have skipped them.”
Thinking back to her attempt at mimicking a male voice, Ning Xi broke out in a cold sweat. “…Ha, ha, ha.”
“Your delivery and expressiveness are excellent. Plus, you’re very photogenic. You’re the type who is easily noticed and remembered,” Lin Suqing added.
Ning Xi nodded without a hint of modesty. She understood; this was the praise before the rejection.
“So, I look forward to a happy collaboration.” Lin Suqing smiled and extended her hand.
“Mhm, happy collab-”
Ning Xi reached out as well, only to realize a moment later: Had she passed the audition?
Was it… really that simple?
Lin Suqing began to brief Ning Xi on the short drama they were currently preparing.
Ning Xi finally understood that the production Lin Suqing wanted to make wasn’t the typical fast-paced, low-budget short video where episodes lasted a minute and featured a butler standing by, exclaiming, “It’s been so long since I’ve seen the Young Master smile like this!”
Instead, it was a six-episode series, with each episode running sixty minutes.
The drama, titled *The Chess Player*, told the story of two girls with very different life paths: Ming Jia, a teenage Go prodigy, and Lin Zhi, an orphan.
“Your character is Ming Jia. She’s the president of the Go club, the belle of Mingde High School, and a championship-winning Go player adored by everyone.
“You have a happy family and a sunny personality. You are the perfect goddess in everyone’s eyes.
“Until one day, your path crosses with Lin Zhi, a bullied orphan with an eccentric temperament. You teach her Go and become her only friend.
“However, during a yacht party celebrating your championship win, you accidentally fall into the sea while intoxicated and pass away…”
“That sounds like murder,” Ning Xi guessed.
Lin Suqing merely smiled without confirming. “Since Ming Jia doesn’t appear in many episodes throughout the series, your fee will be three million. I’ll send the script to your email later. Once the actress playing Lin Zhi is available at the end of the month, filming for *The Chess Player* will begin.”
Upon hearing that she would earn three million for just six episodes, Ning Xi’s mood instantly became bright and sunny.
She completely forgot to ask who the actress playing opposite her was.
It wasn’t until later, when she finally remembered to ask, that she realized how reckless her immediate agreement had been.
Of course, that is a story for another time.
Since Ning Xi’s contract with her current agency was about to expire, she and Lin Suqing settled on a verbal agreement for the time being.
As Ning Xi was about to leave, Lin Suqing suddenly spoke up.
“Actually, we intended to reach out to you six months ago. However, your manager said you weren’t interested and recommended another newcomer to us instead. We eventually found a more suitable actor, so that collaboration never happened. If I remember correctly, that newcomer is currently filming the same live variety show as you.”
Ning Xi offered a sincere thank you before turning to leave.
She stood outside, staring blankly at the flow of traffic below.
Her manager had never mentioned a single word about a script offer.
For the past six months, she hadn’t had any new works-only commercial appearances and magazine shoots that slowly drained her popularity.
Her manager had told her the company had new plans for her.
She hadn’t doubted it for a second.
After all, through one year of training and four years since her debut, Ning Xi had never made a single mistake in her work.
During the year she had the most endorsements, the money she earned for the company was enough to buy an entire office building.
At her busiest, she worked non-stop for a week, sleeping for less than five hours in total.
But Ning Xi never felt it was a hardship.
She was like a loyal puppy-incredibly well-behaved, guarding the house for its master and exhausting every effort to make them happy each day.
Even if it were locked outside for hours, the moment the master opened the door, it would still happily pounce into their arms, whimpering and acting spoiled with its dark, blinking eyes.
But if one day it became a stray, standing outside a pet shop window and watching its former master buy a more lovable puppy, it would still feel sad.
[Is Ning Xi discouraged because of the audition?]
[It’s actually quite normal. After all, that’s Sunshine Studio! So many actors have been catapulted to stardom by their dramas; it’s a prize everyone in the industry wants to snatch. It’s only natural they’d reject a newcomer like Ning Xi with zero acting experience.]
[Then why let Ning Xi audition in the first place? Is it fun to mess with people?]
The netizens hadn’t seen the actual audition process; they only knew that Ning Xi had gone to Sunshine Studio to try out.
Seeing her come out looking somewhat dejected, they all assumed she had failed and began offering words of comfort in the bullet chat.
Suddenly, a new message appeared in the “Youai” group chat, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Xie” has joined the group chat.
[Xie? Who’s that? A new guest?]
[Holy crap, a newcomer is joining already? This is getting exciting!]
“Youai Butler: ‘You Are My Blessing’ is a show about making friends, so a new friend will be joining the Youai Home tonight. Everyone can head back to the villa early to prepare a welcome!”
All of Ning Xi’s emotions were instantly diverted by this new guest.
In the original plot, a new guest did indeed appear later on.
However, that wasn’t supposed to happen until the night of the fifth day of filming.
Why was it happening early now?
A second later, Ning Xi received a private message from the Youai Butler-
“Youai Butler: The surprise benefit for placing first in last night’s ‘Truth Vote’ has been unlocked. You may meet the new guest ahead of time for a private encounter.”
Attached was the new guest’s location.
He was only a little over a hundred meters away from where Ning Xi was currently standing.
Ning Xi: !!!
Suddenly being told she had to meet the new guest-was this a surprise or a shock?!
Ning Xi followed the map to the location.
At first glance, she saw a Cullinan parked by the side of the road.
At second glance, she saw a man’s profile with a smooth, flowing jawline and a sharp, prominent Adam’s apple.
His left hand rested casually on the steering wheel, his fingers long and well-defined, with faint blue veins snaking down to his cold, white wrist.
He looked aloof yet carried a hint of raw desire; he was oozing sexual tension.
The bullet chat went absolutely wild at the sight.
[A Cullinan Black Badge edition, over 9 million RMB out the door… I’m done, I can’t compete with you rich people!]
[What a god-tier face!]
[I’m already hallucinating about being pinned by those hands in front of a floor-to-ceiling window for some ‘forced love’ action [drool]]
[You don’t need many boyfriends; three to five sincere ones are enough.]
Ning Xi also murmured, “Tell Fu Zhi I’ve died out here.”
That profile, those hands-she knew from the first look that this was a genuine benefit.
Right then, the man seemed to sense something. His gaze swept coldly toward Ning Xi.
His eyes lingered, tracing over her features inch by inch.
A moment later.
A lazy curve rippled at the corner of his lips, like the first thaw of ice on a lake in spring.
He looked into Ning Xi’s eyes and said, “I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”