Chen Feng held the opponent’s name, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
Qu Dan.
His competitor was actually her.
Mixed gender, one of two advances.
This was the first round of the advancement competition, all 108 Actors were randomly matched, and it was an elimination system.
So, in the end, 54 contestants would advance.
To be able to pick Qu Dan out of so many people, this ‘fate’ was truly something else.
Chen Feng, of course, wasn’t worried about being eliminated.
Consider her unlucky.
He flipped the name tag to look at the back.
There was the competition topic.
Upon seeing the topic, Chen Feng was speechless again.
The performance piece was “Don’t Talk to Men Casually.”
Male character: Abusive Husband.
Tag: Psychopathic.
Female character: Victim of Domestic Abuse.
Tag: Modern Woman Exploding in Despair.
Chen Feng: “…”
Was the first round of the advancement competition already this intense?
Was he just a stepping stone, or had someone secretly manipulated things?
Right off the bat, he had to play a psychopath.
Alright!
He’d experience what it felt like to be an Abusive Husband.
Fortunately, his opponent was Qu Dan.
He had no psychological burden.
Besides, in competitions like this, they generally wouldn’t allow real fighting; even physical contact had to be handled carefully.
If he wanted to hit someone, he’d have to use forced perspective.
So, at most, he’d just scare her.
Chen Feng put down the name tag, turned around, and followed the staff out.
…
A few minutes later.
Qu Dan arrived.
She was brought over personally by that young director.
After entering the small room.
Qu Dan picked up her opponent’s name tag.
When she saw that familiar name, she instinctively let out a soft gasp, covering her mouth with her hand, her eyes full of surprise.
How could it be him?
She had almost acted with him during the audition.
If she had acted with him then, she probably would have been eliminated during the audition.
She never expected to be grouped with him again in the advancement competition.
Why was she so unlucky?
Qu Dan felt uncertain.
Mainly because the pressure Chen Feng exerted on her was too great.
Qu Dan was uneasy, she flipped the name tag to look at the requirements for the advancement competition, and her small face instantly crumpled.
Oh my god!
He was playing a psychopathic Abusive Husband?
And she was playing the long-suffering wife?
What kind of terrible topic was this?.
Qu Dan stomped her foot in anger.
But there was nothing she could do.
This was only the first round of the advancement competition; there was still a long way to go.
If she wanted to stand out and shine on the stage of “What is an Actor,” she had to overcome all obstacles.
Chen Feng was the first.
She absolutely had to PK him out.
Qu Dan put down the name tag and hurried away, full of worries.
Outside.
In the lobby, the young director Ma Jun was sitting in the waiting area with his assistant.
Seeing Qu Dan come out, he quickly stood up and waved.
Qu Dan was his chosen target.
This girl wasn’t from a professional acting school and had no acting foundation, but she had a good appearance—fresh and natural, very deceptive.
So, when Ma Jun first met her, he tried every possible way to sleep with her.
Then he used sweet talk to PUA her, making her his exclusive property, and then found ways to package her and train her in acting.
He was preparing to cultivate Qu Dan.
Currently, Qu Dan had made some progress.
She was the female lead in his small-budget urban film, and although it was a struggle, with countless NGs every day, she was slowly maturing.
She was maturing slowly in acting.
But she was maturing quickly in bed.
To date, besides her packaged innocent appearance, Qu Dan was already quite experienced internally; her seductive charm in bed was endlessly memorable.
So Ma Jun was also very fond of her.
At this stage, the two of them were in the throes of a passionate affair.
Therefore, when it came to participating in this variety show, Ma Jun made time from his busy schedule to accompany her.
On one hand, to cheer her on.
On the other hand, he also wanted to use his professional knowledge to guide her well.
He aimed to help her advance smoothly.
As long as she could make it into the national finals, Qu Dan would win.
By then, she would shine in the variety show, grabbing all the attention, and when Ma Jun’s TV series premiered, how could the ratings be low?
Ma Jun’s calculations were very shrewd.
However, looking at Qu Dan, who was hurrying over, her expression didn’t seem too good?
Was the advancement competition topic too difficult?
Soon, Qu Dan walked closer.
Ma Jun asked with a smile, “How was it?”
“Director.”
Qu Dan pouted her small mouth in grievance, leaned close to him, and with one hand, pinched his clothes, pulling him to sit on the sofa.
Then she whispered in his ear, “My opponent is Chen Feng.”
“What?”
Ma Jun was startled, “Who?”
“Chen Feng, the one who played the chef in our crew about half a month ago.”
“It’s him?”
Ma Jun looked incredulous, “You met him again in the advancement competition? This is truly bizarre.”
“Tell me about it.”
Qu Dan stomped her small foot, saying in a low voice, “I get angry just thinking about him. How am I supposed to act? Also, do you know what our topic is?”
“What is it?”
Ma Jun quickly pressed.
“A segment from ‘Don’t Talk to Men Casually.’ He plays the psychopathic Abusive Husband, and I play the abused wife. What kind of terrible topic is this? How do we act it?”
“…”
Ma Jun was unexpectedly stunned.
That TV series.
He had seen it.
It was a classic urban drama about anti-domestic violence.
The Abusive Husband played by the male lead in the drama was indeed a very typical psychopathic character.
In front of outsiders, he was a polite, kind-hearted, and respectable good man.
But in reality, he was a psychopath, an animal with violent tendencies.
Later, that male Actor was even labeled as an ‘Abusive Husband’ for a time.
So, strictly speaking, using a segment from this drama for the advancement competition had both disadvantages and advantages.
The advantage was intense conflict, which made it watchable.
Audiences liked to watch it.
Especially live broadcast footage.
Once there was strong conflict on set, it was easy to resonate with the audience.
Especially female audiences.
This was beneficial for Qu Dan’s advancement.
But the disadvantages were also obvious.
It tested acting skills.
Qu Dan’s acting skills definitely couldn’t withstand the test at the moment.
Ma Jun was silent for a moment.
Qu Dan also knew that he must be thinking of countermeasures, so she sat obediently to the side, waiting.
A moment later.
Ma Jun suddenly smiled.
He could become a director, so he himself was not to be underestimated.
He still had experience.
Ma Jun pulled Qu Dan and quietly comforted her, “Dan Dan, don’t panic, and don’t rush. Listen to me analyze a few points for you, and you’ll understand.”
“First, the choice of this drama is excellent.”
“It has strong conflict that can resonate with the audience, especially female audiences; this is your advantage.”
“Second, this segment of the drama will definitely test acting skills greatly.”
“Your acting skills are a weakness, we don’t deny that. But can Chen Feng definitely play a psychopathic Abusive Husband well?”
“Not necessarily.”
“He can play a chef well, why? Because he definitely has rich professional experience. Don’t let him deny it, I’m certain he used to be a chef.”
“That chef’s skill is not fake.”
“So, if I’m not mistaken, Chen Feng might have used illicit substances before, so he has personal experience in that regard.”
“But a psychopath? This kind of role is difficult to portray.”
“It tests acting skills even more.”
“Next is my third point.”
“This is crucial, you must remember it.”
Qu Dan quickly nodded, “Director, tell me, I’m listening.”
“Good. This third point is, if there are conflict scenes in the drama, domestic abuse scenes, remember, let him really hit you.”
Qu Dan exclaimed in astonishment, “What? Really hit me?”