Huayu: This top star doesn't play by the rules.

Two days later, in the morning, Chen Chao was packing his luggage when there was a knock on the door. When he opened the door, he saw Meng Ziyi, Li Yitong, and Chen Xingxu standing at the door.

"Here you go. There are some snacks inside that you can eat on the way. You mentioned before that you get carsick, so I bought you motion sickness medicine and patches, as well as stomach medicine, in case you get an upset stomach in Hengdian." Meng Ziyi first stuffed a small bag into Chen Chao's hand.

Carrying the heavy bags, Chen Chao found it rather amusing: "I'm only going to Hengdian for two or three days, is it really necessary to prepare so much stuff for me?"

"You need to make arrangements for two or three days!" Meng Ziyi glared at him with slight dissatisfaction, then took out two bags of nuts from her bag and stuffed them into the bag. "These are good for your brain. You can eat them while you're reading the script."

Watching the interaction between the two, Li Yitong couldn't help but smile and shake her head: "Don't be too nervous during the audition. You can do it. Just bring out your strengths and the results of your practice these past few days."

"Okay, I understand." After hearing Li Yitong's words, Chen Chao nodded slightly in response, and then turned his gaze to his good brother.

"I don't have any scenes to film today. I'll take you to the high-speed rail station in a bit." Noticing Chen Chao's gaze, Chen Xingxu didn't keep him in suspense and directly stated the purpose of his accompanying them.

"You three..." Chen Chao smiled as he looked at the three people in front of him, took a deep breath, and said, "When I come over for my audition, we'll go to the best restaurant in Xiangshan. You can order whatever you want."

"Absolutely!" Meng Ziyi raised her chin, speaking with a hint of arrogance, "We're your strongest support team!"

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About three hours later, Chen Chao arrived at Hengdian Station, hailed a Didi to go to the hotel he had booked in advance, and after checking in, he first sent a WeChat message to the three of them to let them know he was safe. Then he sat down at his desk and continued reading the original novel of "Princess Agents" and pondered the role of Yan Xun.

Although he had Director Jiang's recommendation for this audition, he was still at the disadvantage of being a complete newcomer with no works to his name, while most of the other actors who auditioned were familiar faces who had been in the industry for many years and had representative works.

With his strengths and weaknesses offsetting each other, he was essentially on the same starting line as everyone else. If he wanted to stand out, he had to work harder to understand and master the character of Yan Xun and strive to portray him better.

.......

The next morning, Chen Chao changed into a simple black shirt and casual pants, without any extra dressing up. Although he was without makeup, his handsome features and tall figure were still eye-catching enough.

When Chen Chao arrived at the audition venue, there were already about a dozen actors sitting in the waiting area outside the conference room, all of whom were there to audition for the role of Yan Xun, just like him. They all had exquisite faces and were accompanied by assistants and agents. He glanced at them and recognized several familiar faces. They were all actors who were somewhat famous in the entertainment industry in his previous life. One of them was none other than the actor who played Yan Xun in his previous life.

Chen Chao's appearance instantly attracted the attention of most people. After all, he is now a newcomer promoted by Weibo, and his song "Exchange the Rest of My Life" and his face have been trending on Weibo several times in the past two days.

However, after only a brief glance, these people looked away. In their eyes, an actor like Chen Chao, who had no notable works to his name, was not a competitor at all; he was probably just there to make a brief appearance.

Chen Chao casually found an empty chair and sat down. He closed his eyes and went through Yan Xun's life again in his mind, from the dashing prince of Xiliang to the desperate young man whose family was destroyed at Jiuyoutai, and then to the sinister and ruthless King of Yanbei. The psychological changes of the character at each stage and the details of every look in his eyes were clearly unfolded in his mind.

"Number 37, Chen Chao, are you there?"

Chen Chao didn't know how much time had passed when he heard the staff call his name. He then snapped out of his contemplative state, stood up, straightened his shirt collar, took a deep breath, and followed the staff into the audition room.

In the audition room, several people sat behind a long table: the director, Wu Jingyuan, the producer, the screenwriter, and the assistant director. They all looked serious as they sized him up as he walked in.

"Hello teachers, I am Chen Chao, here to audition for the role of Yan Xun." With a slight bow, Chen Chao spoke calmly and confidently, showing no sign of nervousness.

After carefully examining Chen Chao's appearance from head to toe, Wu Jingyuan nodded almost imperceptibly.

Chen Chao has excellent physical attributes: tall with long legs, broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and handsome and three-dimensional features. He has both the youthful clarity and cleanliness of a young man, as well as a hint of composure and tenacity hidden in his eyes. Just his appearance alone makes him a perfect fit for the role of Yan Xun.

"Okay, have a seat." Wu Jingyuan nodded and gestured for a staff member to hand him a script. "This contains today's audition clips. Take a look at them first. You'll have ten minutes to prepare. After ten minutes, you can begin your performance."

After taking the script and glancing at it, Chen Chao's pupils constricted slightly, because the so-called script contained only one line: "Nine Nether Terrace, Yan Xun witnessed his mother's suicide."

This scene is considered one of the most crucial and difficult scenes to perform in the entire series. Yan Xun doesn't have many lines; the performance relies mainly on the actor's emotional intensity and eye acting to bring the character to life.

However, this kind of emotional outburst and eye acting technique is indeed quite difficult for newcomers, and even veteran actors who have been in the industry for many years may not be able to perform it well.

But Chen Chao, who was already prepared, did not panic at all. He simply nodded calmly: "Okay, director, but I don't need ten minutes, just one minute will do."

After saying that, he walked to the center of the performance area, closed his eyes, and adjusted his emotions.

The crowd, who hadn't expected Chen Chao to give such an answer, fell into a moment of silence.

Looking at Chen Chao, Wu Jingyuan couldn't help but feel more expectant. Although he already had some expectations for Chen Chao because of his old friend Jiang Jiajun's recommendation, his expectations rose even higher after hearing Chen Chao's answer.

When Chen Chao opened his eyes again, his entire demeanor had changed. His body trembled slightly, his face seemed to have lost all color in an instant, and his eyes were filled with disbelief, as if he had seen a terrifying scene that he could never have imagined in his life.

His lips moved silently, as if trying to shout something, but it was as if an invisible hand was choking him, preventing him from making a sound. Only tears rolled down his face without warning and fell to the floor.

That was the despair of a young man who witnessed the tragic death of his loved ones before his eyes, the devastation of all his hope that was instantly crushed, an extreme grief that made it impossible for him to even cry.