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

Only Chen Chao, Ji Ran, and Yi Laoshi remained in the audition room. Tian Xiwei and Zhang Ruonan were temporarily taken to the lounge by the hotel staff, and their footsteps gradually faded away in the corridor.

But faintly, Chen Chao and the others could still hear Tian Xiwei's voice, which, though lowered, was still quite clear and very recognizable: "That impromptu performance just now was really difficult; I almost didn't even have time to react."

Closing his notebook, Yi Laoshi leaned back in his chair, picked up his now-cold coffee, took a sip, and frowned slightly, as if deep in thought.

"Three music videos should be enough for ten days of shooting." Setting down his cup, Yi Laoshi tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "But the two actresses you chose are both newcomers. Although they have potential, they'll definitely need some practice during filming."

"But it's alright, I left a buffer in the budget report I made before." As he spoke, he took out a document from his briefcase, unfolded it, and handed it to Chen Chao.

After a quick glance, Chen Chao passed it on to Ji Ran. After all, these kinds of tasks were now handled by Ji Ran, the top agent, so he didn't need to put in any more effort.

"Compared to our expected expenses, we still have a considerable surplus." After carefully reviewing the expense details, Ji Ran looked up at Chen Chao. "Chao, if we follow the current actual expenditure, we could shoot another music video."

Chen Chao, who was lying on the back of the chair spacing out, perked up immediately after hearing Ji Ran's words and gave his answer without hesitation, "Then let's shoot another film called 'Love That Never Loses Contact,' and we'll use Tian Xiwei as the female lead."

"Okay." Ji Ran made a note in his memo. "What about the plot? Will you still be writing the outline?"

"Let Director Yi have the freedom to create this one." Shaking his head, Chen Chao turned to look at Yi Laoshi. "I provided the story framework for the first three pieces. This one is for you to have room to work with, Director Yi. As long as the style and songs are consistent and the plot is reasonable, I won't interfere."

"Go ahead and improvise?" Upon hearing Chen Chao's words, Yi Laoshi's eyes lit up immediately. "No problem, I already have a rough idea."

"Then I'll go revise the contract now, and also get Tian Xiwei's and the others' contracts sorted out." Seeing that the two had already said this much, Ji Ran no longer hesitated, stood up, and called Yi Laoshi to go out together.

.........

After renewing the contract with Irausch and seeing him off as he eagerly prepared to return to writing the script, Chen Chao and Ji Ran went to the lounge to find Tian Xiwei and Zhang Ruonan.

When Chen Chao and his companions pushed open the door to the lounge, they saw two girls sitting close together, each with a cup of cold water on the table in front of them.

Tian Xiwei was holding her phone, showing something to Zhang Ruonan. The two were very close together, and every now and then they would let out laughter, which they tried to suppress but couldn't hide.

Upon hearing the door open, both of them looked up at the same time, and Tian Xiwei instinctively and quickly hid her phone. The smoothness of her movements showed that she had done this many times before.

"Congratulations to both of you." As if he hadn't seen anything, Ji Ran pushed up his glasses, stepped forward, and placed the two contracts in front of the two of them respectively. "After our comprehensive evaluation, you have both passed the audition."

"Ms. Tian Xiwei will star as the female lead in the music videos 'Waiting for You After Class' and 'Love That Never Loses Contact,' while Ms. Zhang Ruonan will star as the female lead in the music videos 'Won't Cry' and 'Exchange the Rest of Our Lives.'"

Upon hearing Ji Ran's words, Tian Xiwei was stunned for a moment, then suddenly looked up at Ji Ran standing in front of her, her eyes wide open. Zhang Ruonan's reaction was slightly more reserved; she blinked first, then the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.

"We... all passed?" Tian Xiwei's voice was noticeably higher, and she unconsciously added a rising tone to the end of her sentence, characteristic of Chongqing dialect.

"They both passed." Looking at the two girls, Chen Chao smiled and gave an affirmative answer.

"That's great!" Hearing the answer she wanted, Tian Xiwei jumped up from the sofa, then, as if she had thought of something, quickly sat back down, cleared her throat, and tried to appear more gentle. "I mean... thank you, Teacher Chen Chao and Teacher Ji Ran."

Lowering her head, Zhang Ruonan gently ran her fingers over the contract, looking at the signature of the representative and the official seal of Chen Chao Studio already affixed. Her lips moved, as if she were muttering something to herself.

Then he raised his head again, looked at Chen Chao, and spoke softly, using a respectful form of address, "Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I have carefully protected the autograph you gave me in Dingzha last time by sealing it in plastic."

"No need to thank me. I chose you because I think you are suitable candidates." Chen Chao's gaze lingered on Zhang Ruonan's face for a moment before he spoke. "Besides, you don't need to use honorifics. It sounds a bit awkward to me."

"My studio and I have already booked hotel rooms for you. You can rest well at the hotel tonight and head back to school tomorrow to ask for a break for the MV shooting."

After confirming that there were no problems with the contract, Zhang Ruonan and Tian Xiwei each signed the contract and then went with Chen Chao and Ji Ran to the hotel front desk to complete the check-in procedures.

..........

That evening, Chen Chao, who had previously promised to provide food and accommodation, took the two girls and his agent to a hot pot restaurant. During his two weeks in Beijing, he had successfully found some good restaurants, and this hot pot restaurant was one of them.

Although the winter night in Beijing was a bit unbearable for the few southerners present, the warmth they felt upon entering the store, along with the aroma of mutton, quickly dispelled their chill.

"As I said before, meals and accommodation are included, so I'll pay tonight. You can order whatever you like." Without even glancing at the already familiar menu, Chen Chao handed it to the two of them.

"Then how come..." Before Zhang Ruonan could finish her refusal, Tian Xiwei had already taken the menu, her eyes quickly scanning the list of dishes while muttering to herself.

"My roommate took me to a hot pot restaurant last time. The hand-cut fresh lamb was especially delicious, and you should also order the sesame seed cake... By the way, Professor Chen Chao, do you eat pig brains?"

"I don't eat much."

"Never mind then, I'll order one myself." She quickly ticked a few things off on the menu, then handed it to Zhang Ruonan, looking at her expectantly.