He plays Feng Yuxiu, and his girlfriend is a fairy-like beauty.

Just as Ye Mo was about to leave, Lu Yang's voice came from behind him.

"Wait a moment."

Ye Mo turned around. Lu Yang stood at the tent entrance, holding a script in his hand, his expression somewhat subtle, as if he were pondering something.

"Director Lu, is there anything else?"

Lu Yang walked over, circled him, and looked him up and down.

"You were like that just now," Lu Yang pointed at him, "smoking, tilting your head, acting all nonchalant—keep that look and do that audition scene again."

Ye Mo was taken aback.

"Now?"

"Now," Lu Yang nodded, "use that feeling you just had, don't hold back. I want to see."

Ye Mo's mind raced for a moment, and then he suddenly realized.

Lu Yang no longer wanted the "aloof Ding Xiu".

The cold-blooded assassin he saw behind the monitor that morning was just a "qualified" character.

But the roguishness and laziness that he had unintentionally revealed just now showed Lu Yang another possibility.

A more vibrant and interesting possibility.

"Director Lu, you have such excellent taste!" Ye Mo couldn't help but say, his eyes lighting up. "This is exactly what I've been wanting to talk to you about—Ding Xiu shouldn't be that aloof and cold type; he should be that kind of..."

"Which one?" Lu Yang looked at him with interest.

"Carefree and irresponsible," Ye Mo said, putting the cigarette back in his mouth. "He's a wanderer who makes a living by killing, but he doesn't hate the world. He just doesn't care. After killing someone, he still haggles with his junior brother, saying things like, 'How will I make money if I kill you?' But deep down, he protects his junior brother more than anyone else. How could someone like that be cold and aloof?"

Lu Yang didn't say anything, but his eyes lit up.

"Please wait here." Ye Mo took the cigarette away and took a few steps back.

He took a deep breath.

This time, he didn't close his eyes to get into character.

Because his current state is exactly the same as it was just now.

He stood with his head tilted to the side, his body slouching, one leg supporting him on the ground while the other was casually draped over his shoulder.

His eyes weren't sharp; they were languid, like a cat basking in the sun, disturbed and a little impatient, yet too lazy to move.

His hands were in his pockets, and his shoulders were slightly hunched.

Then he spoke.

"You're Shen Lian?"

It wasn't the cold tone from this morning, but rather a tone that—how should I put it—was somewhat teasing and nonchalant, as if he were talking to someone he didn't know very well, and he couldn't be bothered to take it seriously.

Lu Yang's brow twitched suddenly.

Ye Mo took a step forward, but his pace was not the steady rhythm he had "measured" in the morning. Instead, it was sluggish and casual, with each step a sway.

"Even the Embroidered Uniform Guard comes to a place like this?"

A slight smirk played at the corner of his mouth. It wasn't disdain, but rather a smile that said, "That's kind of interesting."

He tilts his head to look at people, his eyes not sharp, but you always feel that he will draw his sword at any moment.

And he was probably still smiling when he drew his sword.

Lu Yang stood on the opposite side without saying a word.

His fingers tapped lightly on the script, his eyes fixed on Ye Mo.

Every detail—the angle of his head tilt, the tone of his voice, the way he walked—went over and over in his mind.

Then he laughed.

It wasn't a polite laugh; it was the kind of laugh that comes from "finding a treasure."

"Okay." Lu Yang said one word, his voice not loud, but his tone was very serious.

He walked up to Ye Mo and patted him on the shoulder.

"This is it."

Lu Yang turned to Ding Xiu's page in the script, which was covered with annotations. "When I wrote this character, I envisioned him as a cold-blooded killer. But the way you were just now made me realize—I made a mistake."

Ye Mo was taken aback.

"You heard me right." Lu Yang looked at him. "The Ding Xiu I wanted before was too rigid, too upright. How could a wandering swordsman who makes a living in the martial world have so many airs? The way you were just now was how he should be."

Ye Mo felt a surge of indescribable emotion.

He had seen "Brotherhood of Blades" in his previous life and couldn't forget Zhou Yiwei's portrayal of Ding Xiu.

That iconic scene of "I have to pay more," that twisted logic of "I can live even if I kill you," that sharp tongue but genuine affection in taking a knife for his junior brother in the end—that Ding Xiu was alive.

He didn't expect that Lu Yang would bring this up himself.

"Director Lu, may I talk to you about this role?" Ye Mo asked tentatively.

"Speak." Lu Yang sat down and pointed to the chair opposite him.

Ye Mo sat down and considered his words carefully.

"I think the core of Ding Xiu's character is not coldness, but indifference," he said. "He doesn't care about money; he kills people to make money. He doesn't care about his junior brother either. He says he wants to kill him, but he never really had the intention. He doesn't care about the martial arts world. He doesn't take sides or pledge allegiance to anyone. He works for whoever pays him."

Lu Yang listened without interrupting.

"But his indifference is not numbness." Ye Mo spoke more and more smoothly. "He has seen through it all, so he doesn't care. His martial arts skills are high enough that he can walk around the martial arts world with impunity, but he just doesn't want to take it seriously, because if he does, it becomes meaningless."

Lu Yang's pen flew across the notebook as he jotted something down.

"You continue."

"So his lines should be—how should I put it—smooth-talking, greedy and cunning, acting crazy, unconventional, and full of roguish charm."

Lu Yang raised his head and looked into Ye Mo's eyes.

"Have you read the complete script?"

"No," Ye Mo said, "it was just those few pages I flipped through just now."

Lu Yang remained silent for a few seconds.

He mentally went over every single thing Ye Mo had said.

This isn't nonsense, nor is it just actors' random speculation; it's a genuine understanding of the underlying logic of the character.

In many ways, it was deeper than he had imagined.

"Ye Mo." Lu Yang put down his pen.

"Um?"

"Just act however you want," Lu Yang said. "I won't hold you back."

Ye Mo was taken aback.

"Everything you just said is correct." Lu Yang stood up, patted him on the shoulder, "I didn't think of this aspect when I was writing it, but you thought of it for me, so how Ding Xiu is portrayed is up to you."

……

Outside the tent, several figures stood there.

Wang Qianyuan had just come out of the dressing room, holding a cup of coffee, and was about to return to the RV.

As he passed the tent, he heard laughter coming from inside.

He glanced at it from the side.

Lu Yang was patting a young man on the shoulder, his eyes crinkling with laughter.

The young man sat opposite me, holding a script and talking about something.

"Who is that person?" Wang Qianyuan asked his assistant.

The assistant peeked out and said, "I don't know, he looks unfamiliar. He seems to have auditioned today for the role of Ding Xiu."

"Ding Xiu?" Wang Qianyuan frowned. "Didn't Director Lu say this role wasn't urgent? How come it was suddenly decided?"

"I heard someone recommended him," the assistant said in a low voice. "Director Chen Desheng recommended him."

Wang Qianyuan didn't say anything more, took a sip of coffee, and turned to leave.

But I've already made a mental note of it.

They were parachuted in.

It doesn't matter who promoted it; the key is whether they have real skills.

In this industry, nine out of ten people who get in through "connections" don't even last the first act.

……

Meanwhile, Li Dongxue was sitting in his RV memorizing his lines.

The car door was open, and he saw Lu Yang and the young man come out of the tent. The two walked and talked, and Lu Yang had a rare look of excitement on his face.

"Dongxue, look at that." The assistant pointed out the window.

Li Dongxue put down the script and glanced at it.

Who is it?

"The actor playing Ding Xiu is a newcomer."

"A newcomer?" Li Dongxue's brow twitched. "What have you acted in before?"

"It seems like I played a minor role. Chen Desheng's movie just finished filming, and I played a villain."

Li Dongxue didn't reply and closed the car door.

A newcomer? A newcomer? They were chatting and laughing right from the start.

Putting these three words together rarely yields good results.

……

At the entrance to the dressing room, Liu Sishi was touching up her makeup.

Her makeup artist, a gossipy girl, leaned over and whispered, "Sister Sishi, did you see that new guy? He's the one playing Ding Xiu."

"What's wrong?" Liu Sishi asked indifferently, her eyes closed.

"Director Lu chatted with him for almost an hour, and when they came out, he even had his arm around his shoulder. They seemed to have a very good relationship."

Liu Sishi opened her eyes and glanced at the makeup artist's expression in the mirror.

"Director Lu treats everyone the same way," she said, her tone indifferent.

But she still glanced in the direction of the tent.

Ye Mo was walking over from that direction, and Lu Yang followed behind him for a couple of steps before turning back.

Liu Sishi watched the young man's retreating figure.

Wearing a black T-shirt and jeans, with her hair untied, she walked with a somewhat lazy gait.

She looked away and closed her eyes again.

With so many people being parachuted in, only a few will actually stay.

......