I was criticized on a dating reality show, but I retaliated and became an internet sensation.

The elevator doors opened, and a few people were already standing in the waiting area corridor.

Shu Zi glanced around and found a seat by the window. Lan Manwen sat down next to her without saying much, leaving her the space to adjust herself.

Not long after, a staff member came over with a sealed document bag in his hand. The bag was printed with the words "screen test clip" and had a number and signing requirements marked next to it.

The staff verified her name and handed her the document bag.

Shu Zi took it, thanked her, signed it, tore open the seal, and pulled out the paper inside.

The script fragment was very thin, only one page long, with no backstory, no dialogue between the actors, just a monologue by one person.

Shu Zi read it quietly, without rushing to analyze it. She closed the paper, closed her eyes, and went through the scene in her mind.

Then I opened it and read it a second time.

By the third time, she began to make some simple marks in the blank spaces of the pages with a pencil.

Lan Manwen sat beside her without disturbing her. She only glanced at Shu Zi as she silently recited her lines, then looked away without making a sound.

About twenty minutes later, a staff member came out with a list in his hand: "Next, Shu Zi."

Shu Zi closed the script and stood up.

Lan Manwen patted her shoulder, said nothing more, and only gave her a look.

Shu Zi took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and went inside.

The room was brightly lit, and three people were sitting behind a long table.

The man in the middle is director John King Fairbank, with gray hair and wearing metal-framed glasses. He has a gentle demeanor but exudes an aura of quiet authority.

Sitting next to him was a middle-aged woman who looked like a screenwriter and a man who looked like a producer.

When Director Fei saw her come in, he nodded slightly and said in a calm tone, "Shu Zi, right? Please sit down."

Shu Zi sat down on the lonely chair opposite her, her back straight, her hands naturally placed on her knees, without making any unnecessary movements.

Director Fei flipped through the documents in his hand, then looked up at her:

"I have a deep impression of your crying scene in 'Under the Bright Moon,' where you played Su Yexue. The emotional layers were very rich, and the control was natural. But my character is completely different from Su Yexue. You've read the script excerpt, haven't you?"

"I've seen it," Shu Zi nodded.

"So, what do you think is different about this role compared to the ones you've played before?"

Shu Zi answered almost without hesitation:

"Su Yexue's crying is an outward release; her pain is meant to be heard by the audience. But this character is different; her pain is swallowed."

"She won't let anyone see her break down; she'll only pick up the pieces of herself, one by one, after everyone has left."

She paused, then added:

"She is not someone waiting to be saved; she is someone who pulls herself out of the mud."

After listening, Director Fei did not immediately express his opinion. Instead, he remained silent for two seconds, then put the script on the table and leaned back in his chair.

"Okay, let's get started. Get ready, we can begin anytime."

Shu Zi nodded, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.

When she opened her eyes again, her entire aura had changed.

She didn't say any lines; she just sat there quietly with her head down, her fingers gently clenching the hem of her clothes until her knuckles turned white, then slowly loosening.

She repeated this several times, as if suppressing something, then slowly raised her head, her gaze falling on a point of nothingness in front of her. Her lips twitched slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but then she swallowed it back.

The silence lasted for about ten seconds.

Then she spoke, her voice soft and slightly hoarse:

"Do you know what the hardest thing is? It's not being betrayed, it's not being misunderstood, it's putting on a good show in front of everyone, to the point that you almost believe it yourself."

She paused here, her Adam's apple bobbing slightly, as if she were swallowing something.

Then she raised her head, her gaze fixed straight ahead, her voice still soft, but now trembling slightly:

"But every night, as soon as the lights are turned off, all those things come rushing in. You can fool everyone else, but you can't fool yourself."

After she finished speaking, she lowered her eyelashes and remained silent for a while. Then, her aura gradually relaxed, and she returned to her usual Shu Zi state.

She looked at Director Fei and nodded slightly: "I'm done acting."

The room was quiet for a moment.

Director Fei didn't speak immediately. Instead, he looked down and wrote a few words on the paper in front of him. Then he looked up, took off his glasses to wipe them, put them back on, and looked at her with a rare hint of appreciation in his voice:

"Your silence just now was more powerful than any dialogue."

Shu Zi felt a slight sense of relief, but she didn't show it on her face. She simply replied politely, "Thank you, Director Fei."

Director Fei nodded, and was about to put a checkmark on the evaluation form when he suddenly stopped.

He leaned back in his chair, his gaze lingering on Shu Zi's face for two seconds, then reached out and flipped through another script on the table, pulling out a page.

The man next to him instinctively spoke up, "Director Fei, this..."

Director Fei raised his hand, and the man stopped talking.

Director Fei pushed the page to the front of the table and tapped it with his fingertip:

"Since we're here, let's try another section."

Shu Zi was slightly taken aback, but didn't ask any further questions. She simply nodded and said, "Please go ahead."

Director Fei turned that page of the script towards her, but offered no further explanation:

"In this scene, after experiencing a huge upheaval, the character stands alone on a high place, looking down at the city below. She doesn't cry, she doesn't make a scene, and she doesn't even utter a word of accusation. She just stands there and then makes a decision: she decides to let go of herself."

He paused, his gaze lingering on her face:

"Don't follow the script. Just give me a passage based on your understanding of the phrase 'forgive yourself'."

Shu Zi glanced down at the page of the script, but didn't take it. She just remembered the atmosphere of that scene.

She was silent for a few seconds, then raised her head, looking calmly ahead with an unfocused gaze.

She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, her shoulders relaxing slightly as if she had unloaded something she had been carrying for a long time.

Then she lowered her head, looked at her hand, and slowly spread out her fingers one by one, palm up, looking down at her empty palm as if confirming something.

After a moment, she slowly clenched her fist and then relaxed it.

She looked up, her lips curving slightly, a faint smile that quickly vanished.

She shook her head slightly, a very small movement, and then whispered, "Never mind."

Just two words, without much explanation or background, and without any unnecessary embellishment.

He just spat it out softly, as if he were talking to himself, as if he had finally let go of himself and made peace with himself deep in his heart.