Chapter 146: The Audition

Lu Zhoushan took out an exquisite chessboard from the box in front of him.

Along with a set of chess pieces, all hand-carved.

The horse pieces looked distinctly like horses, and the elephant pieces bore the exact features of elephants.

Even the finest details were carved with lifelike precision.

Lu Zhoushan ran his hand along the side of the chessboard, where a square seal was also carved.

This was truly the work of the master carver Chen Ping!

Goodness, both gifts had hit straight home to his heart.

This was no longer a matter of whether they were expensive or not. When other people came to visit, they might bring pricey liquor or expensive cigarettes, items with fixed price tags that could easily be repaid as favors in the future.

However, these two items were things money couldn't necessarily buy.

Moreover, there were only five sets of chess carved by this master in total, and he had been yearning for this treasure for years.

This...

"Xiao Lin, how am I supposed to thank you for this?" Lu Zhoushan looked at Lin Ze with a complex gaze.

To present such a generous gift right off the bat—could it be that he had some matter he needed help with?

"Teacher Lu, what's there to thank? It would be great if you could introduce me to a couple of good scripts to film when the time comes," Lin Ze said with a grin, holding his teacup.

Lu Zhoushan hesitated for a moment, then smiled. "Alright, whatever you need, just say the word. I'll make sure it gets done for you."

"It's nothing, really," Lin Ze laughed.

Over the past two months, the initial earnings from those songs had all been spent on purchasing these items.

Lin Ze was back to living off his partner once again.

"By the way, Teacher Lu, is there something you wanted to see me about?"

Lu Zhoushan stroked the jade chess pieces affectionately, the smile on his face becoming a bit warmer.

"Ah... Originally, there was a movie role I wanted to offer you, but given this, I'm actually a bit embarrassed to introduce that film to you now."

Lu Zhoushan thought for a moment. "How about this? There's a major production starting up just in time, and they are currently casting for auditions. I'll take you over to check it out. With your image and acting skills, landing the male lead shouldn't be a problem."

Su Zitan looked at Lin Ze. "There won't be any kissing scenes or anything like that, right?"

"Um..." Lu Zhoushan looked at Lin Ze.

Lin Ze immediately caught on and looked cautiously at Su Zitan. "How about forced perspective angles? Or if all else fails, we can use a body double."

Su Zitan pouted and sat aside, looking slightly miffed.

Lin Ze held Su Zitan's hand, sitting beside her and grinning foolishly.

"It's about time, I'll go start cooking," Lu Zhoushan said, putting away the chess set and standing up.

Before Lin Ze could speak, Lu Zhoushan cut him off. "Don't help, you don't need to. The vegetables are all prepped, they just need to go in the wok."

Lu Chuan had put away the paddles and found Lin Ze increasingly pleasing to the eye.

He poured water and turned on the television. Some movies required a VIP subscription, and Lu Chuan unlocked one for Lin Ze without a second thought.

This was already the highest level of hospitality for a guest.

Lu Chuan even took Lin Ze and Su Zitan to look at the photo wall, which was filled with pictures of Lu Zhoushan with other star directors and celebrities.

Su Zitan recognized many stars up there, including Chen Weiwei and Bai Qiong, and she even spotted Zhao Fuqing tucked away in a corner.

Lin Ze took a selfie in front of the photo wall.

Then he uploaded it to the group chat they had set up earlier.

"Guess where I am?"

"Holy crap?" Ji Chen was the first to speak. "Is this... Teacher Lu Zhoushan?"

"Ah, it's old Lu. Let me see where I am in there," Chen Weiwei said, squinting closely at the photo wall.

"Wow, Xiao Lin is really living large now, actually making it into Teacher Lu's house," Zhao Fuqing expressed his envy.

"No worries, Brother Zhao. If you want to make a comeback, just come to our company, and we'll boost you into your career's second spring!" Lin Ze replied cheerfully.

"In your dreams. Once we make a comeback, we'll build our own company," Pei Xue posted a sticker of Su Zitan clenching her fist.

"Let's talk about something else first. Xiao Lin, I just realized that Emperor Entertainment basically doesn't have anyone who can release songs anymore. There's only Xu Shenshen, and you crush him every single time. I want to release a song too!"

Ji Chen complained to Lin Ze.

Come to think of it, Emperor Entertainment really did have quite a few traffic stars left, and Tang Chuan, the capable actor who had successfully transitioned, was leaving the company in the next couple of days.

"Well, Brother Ji, go ahead and release one," Lin Ze shrugged. "Nobody is going to go head-to-head with me for a while anyway."

"Yeah, yeah," Su Zitan also sent a message. "You're the jinx of the entertainment industry; whoever crosses paths with you goes down."

"Hahaha..."

"Dinner's ready!" Lu Zhoushan called out.

Lu Chuan led Lin Ze and Su Zitan out of the room.

Lu Zhoushan wiped his hands. "Make yourselves at home, just treat it like your own place."

...

"This is your first time attending an audition, so don't be nervous. Just treat it like you're on a show; go in and perform according to your understanding of the character."

Lu Zhoushan brought Lin Ze outside the offices of Glory Pictures in Yueisha City.

Fearing that Lin Ze might be nervous, Lu Zhoushan offered a few parting instructions.

The two of them took the elevator all the way up.

As soon as they stepped out, they saw several ordinary hopefuls sitting nervously, along with some minor celebrities accompanied by their teams, touching up their makeup.

After Lin Ze and Lu Zhoushan walked up, they immediately drew a lot of attention.

"Lin Ze? Lin Ze is here to audition too?"

"And he actually came with Teacher Lu. Lin Ze's connections are pretty solid."

"I wonder which role Lin Ze is aiming for..."

The atmosphere grew even more tense.

Lin Ze politely returned the greetings of those who nodded at him.

Lu Zhoushan had already called the director beforehand, but the director had stated that specific roles would still depend on Lin Ze's audition performance.

After all, for a movie with such a massive investment, roles weren't handed out arbitrarily.

While Lin Ze was sitting there, someone walked out of the conference room looking furious.

Lin Ze found this person somewhat familiar, though he couldn't quite place who it was for a moment.

Just as he was about to say something, the person's manager covered their mouth, whispered a few words into their ear, and then dragged them away with an ugly expression.

Unaware of what had happened inside, Lin Ze felt rather puzzled.

How could someone get that angry?

Others who went in came out as well; even those who failed usually only looked disappointed.

Soon, another male celebrity walked out with a dark expression.

He gritted his teeth, offered Lin Ze a greeting, and then hurried away.

"Teacher Lu..." Lin Ze looked at Lu Zhoushan.

It was just an audition. At worst, they would tell you that you didn't pass, or that you needed to proceed to a callback, or at the absolute worst, tell you to wait for news.

How could these people look ashen to that extent?

Before long, Lin Ze's name was called from inside.

Lin Ze walked toward the audition room.

As soon as he stepped inside and closed the door, he saw the two people sitting dead center in the row of judges wide-eyed in astonishment.

One of them was pot-bellied and had his arm around a young woman sitting next to him.

"Oh my, oh my! Isn't this Lin Ze? I never expected to run into such a big star here. Come, come, Lin Ze, come over and give me an autograph."

The pot-bellied middle-aged man waved at Lin Ze.