Ji Niandong was awakened by the sound of a text message in the morning. She had been tense all night, practically sleeping in a state of alert.
As soon as the ringtone sounded, she sat up immediately.
Next to her, Shen Congling was still sound asleep, and Ji Niandong carefully got out of bed, afraid of waking her.
She picked up her phone and glanced at it. It was six-thirty in the morning, a text from Lu Beichen: "Good morning, Mrs. Lu!"
He adds another sentence: "I regret that I can’t take you there myself, good luck with the audition!"
Ji Niandong couldn’t help but smile as she replied, "Good morning, thank you!" She then added, "You’re up so early?"
"There’s an emergency meeting!" he quickly replied.
"Then I wish you success at work too!"
Lu Beichen replied with a smiley face, and Ji Niandong put down her phone and went to the bathroom to freshen up.
She had been running around outside for the past few days, and the fridge at home was almost empty. She went downstairs to have breakfast and bought a portion for Shen Congling before putting on light makeup.
She only woke Shen Congling when she left, reminding her she was going to be late for school.
Soon, Li Yi sent her the audition location and time on her phone, and Ji Niandong went straight there.
She arrived relatively early, and the staff was not fully assembled yet.
Ji Niandong sat on a bench outside and started rehearsing again, muttering the lines of the second female lead, Gao Yangyang, over and over. It’s not that she was greedy and aimed directly for the second female lead, but she felt that the role of being abandoned by a boyfriend of many years was something she could grasp better.
She practiced for a long time last night, but still couldn’t help feeling nervous.
As staff gradually arrived, many artists, both known and unknown to her, came to audition.
It seemed the competition was fierce!
Ji Niandong became even more nervous, her palms beginning to sweat.
After an indistinct amount of time, she suddenly heard someone call her name. Ji Niandong hurried over, and the stage manager didn’t even glance at her, urging, "Hurry, hurry, others are waiting!"
As soon as Ji Niandong entered, she saw Director Zhang sitting in the center. Seeing her come in, a look of surprise flashed through his eyes before he nodded slightly at her.
This feeling of having an inside connection made her even more uneasy. The producer called out, "Let’s begin!"
Without a word spoken, she was told to start directly, leaving Ji Niandong momentarily at a loss. Director Zhang, holding her resume, casually asked, "Ji Niandong? Have you read the novel ’Choked Love’?"
"I’ve read it!" Ji Niandong quickly answered.
"Then perform the part that left the deepest impression on you!" Director Zhang held her resume in his hands, arms crossed, and looked at her.
Ji Niandong closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and upon reopening them, her gaze turned sorrowful and sharp. She clenched her fists tightly and coldly asked, "Yu Tong, tell me, in all these years, have you ever loved me?"
Her eyes became red-rimmed, and though she bit her lips stubbornly, tears still fell uncontrollably, "What’s so good about this woman? You want to throw away our years of affection just like that?! For her, your directing career, your dreams, are you willing to give it all up?!"
She wiped away her tears and laughed bitterly twice, "I will make you understand what it means to have nothing. After leaving me, this is all you’re worthy of!"
She coldly uttered the final sentence, held her fists tightly for a long time, only then exhaled, and bowed to the director and producers.
Ji Niandong looked up nervously at the director and producers present. Their expressions were all incredibly complex and unfathomable.
This made her heart pound even harder.