"Are you sure you don't want to reconsider?" Tang Zhiming questioned.
He had seen An Wen's performance. As of now, she was totally capable of executing a perfect rendition of Li Qingyi. However, for her to assume the role of Lin Wanting who had multilevel traits did pose a challenge. He could undoubtedly cast her as Li Qingyi right away, but she would have to go through an audition to acquire the role of Lin Wanting.
Tang Zhiming's drama was the most popular among performers, so much so that not only beautiful actresses with high commercial value but also acting veterans with plenty of experiences would participate in the audition.
The character Lin Wanting would turn from being naïve and innocent in the early stages of the drama into a ruthless Big Boss later on. Numerous people would compete for this role as it was the most promising character following the main male and female leads.
"Director Tang, I've already made up my mind!" An Wen's eyes twinkled with brilliance. "I hope Director Tang would save me a spot when the time comes for auditioning."
"Of course! Hahahaha…" Tang Zhiming cracked up at her response. That mentee of him had a spectacular intuition; this girl was indeed full of potential.
She would naturally become a well-known goddess as soon as the character Qing Sha was aired. Generally, other actresses would secure their fanbase by constantly taking up characters that portrayed the image of an elegant goddess. An Wen, on the other hand, was determined to break out of the typecasting process.
Indeed, the character Lin Wanting was absolutely abhorred by the hardcore fans of the original novel.
"Hi, Director Tang," Lu Maner came over and greeted Tang Zhiming.
"Director Tang, this is Lu Maner," Assistant Director Zhang introduced the woman.
Tang Zhiming nodded at Lu Maner and then simply said to her, "You need to work harder on your acting!"
Lu Maner nodded and said with a kind smile, "Don't worry, Director Tang, I'll be sure to work harder. I've heard that…"
She wanted to enquire about the drama Flower Falls in Chang'an, but Tang Zhiming shifted his attention towards Assistant Director Zhang instead. "It's getting late and I shall take my leave now."
"Director Tang, let me get Director Ye for you," the man offered.
"It's OK, your production crew's on a tight schedule. I'll just leave," insisted Tang Zhiming.
"See you later, Director Tang," said An Wen.
"See you later, Director Tang," echoed Lu Maner like a parrot.
As soon as Tang Zhiming left the room, Lu Maner suddenly snatched the script in An Wen's hand and threw it on the ground. "What're you doing?" the empty-handed girl held her gaze and asked in confusion.
"Stop pretending, I'll not forgive you for this!" Lu Maner shouted in anger.
"Aunt Lu, what have I done?" the poor girl bent over to pick up the script, asking once again.
Lu Maner became even more infuriated when An Wen addressed her as an aunt. She was about to tear the girl's script into pieces but the latter was quick enough to hide the script behind her. An Wen took a few steps backward and called out to her, "Aunty, a filming studio full of cameras is not a place to showcase your overweening attitude. Aren't you afraid that someone might film this and post it online?"
Those words dawned upon Lu Maner, so she stayed rooted to the spot and bellowed in agony, "Watch it!"
An Wen scratched her ear with the tip of the script and replied nonchalantly, "I'm afraid I didn't get what you said earlier because of the wind. Come again?"
Lu Maner gave her a deathly stare before finally walking off.
Soon after she left the room, An Wen unfolded the script and sighed at the creases, "How horrible!"
Ye Xiaoxing, who had just finished shooting her scenes, came to An Wen. She asked when she saw the wrinkled script, "What happened? Did Lu Maner come looking for trouble again?"
"Yes, Your Highness the Princess!" said An Wen playfully.
"Did she hurt you?" urged Ye Xiaoxing.
That question left An Wen momentarily stupefied. "That aunt's hurt someone before?"
"Before you joined our crew, she'd once torn an eighteenth-tier actress's script into half and gave her a cold, hard slap in the face."
"Who's that poor lady?" An Wen pressed.
"I've no idea. She's already finished shooting all her scenes!"
An Wen felt somewhat consoled at that information and exclaimed, "I always thought I've unknowingly offended Lu Maner or something, but now I know she's just arrogant and disdainful."