The next day Ashlyn woke up pretty energetic. She smiled at herself in the mirror feeling happy. "I got this." She reminded herself and smiled brightly. "I will make you proud mom," She mumbled before heading out from her hotel room.
She met with the others outside the hotel and they all looked at her in amazement. "Not that I'm complaining but your smile is blinding." Lake laughed and covered her eyes. Ashlyn smiled even more brightly. "Have you gone blind yet? Should I smile more?" She asked.
"That's the energy." Li Zi commented and they headed inside the car waiting for them. She was happy to see everyone in high spirits. They will need this kind of confidence and bright mood when they are in the audition.
Inside the car, Li Zi started telling Ashlyn a few more details about the audition. "The male lead role and supporting characters are chosen already. Don't worry about it taking too long because it's only for the second leading role, the leading role, and the male leading role will only be there as a second judge and help."
"The finalists will have a scene with the other finalists of each role they auditioned for. They will be separated in groups and to finish it off, they will start being eliminated one by one and sometimes by twos even."
"For example, someone auditioning for the main role will have to play a scene with someone auditioning for the second leading role."
"This way the judges will be able to tell who works well with who. They want the least drama between the cast as possible. The point is for them to see if the people will get along with each other. Also, they want the attention to be only on the movie and nothing else. This also means that Sissie's chances of creating drama for you have become slimmer." Li Zi continued.
"Which means she can also use this against me by making me look like the one causing drama," Ashlyn concluded and Li Zi nodded.
"That's true but aside from that the investors and directors can't control the media and what they say. So drama between you two caused by the public is not something that would be too surprising. To be specific what they don't want is scandals. If we are going to strike then we must make sure that it isn't done by us but by the public. " Li Zi smirked when she said that.
"Manipulating the situation you mean...." Ashlyn shook her head and a small laugh escaped from her lips. "We will just have to see who can manipulate it better, me or her," Ashlyn added with amusement.
" Yes, Sigh this is probably one of the strictest films to be ever made. We could do a lot more if it weren't this strict. But at least we can protect ourselves from any scandals that can harm your reputation. Luke told them and Li Zi completely agreed with him.
"Mmm yes. The investments are huge and they can't afford any losses. All the equipment is top-notch and the accommodations for their stars are even more amazing. Not to mention that you can be a nobody and still get a role. As long as you have the talent they will choose you." Li Zi continued.
"You are probably familiar with this kind of filming right?" Li Zi asked the obvious. Ashlyn only nodded her head. "Very." She mumbled.
"This can either go very well or very bad." Ashlyn chuckled. "Exactly. That's why we will make it go extremely well." Li Zi smiled. "As long as we work together, we can surely accumulate the amount of popularly that would take 4 to 5 years in just one or two months." She added with excitement clear in her eyes.
She was very excited. She had never gotten such a challenge before. She isn't a top manager for no reason and making Ashlyn a star in such a short time became a challenge she was more than willing to accept.
They all smiled in unison. "Aww." Ashlyn wiped a tear from her eye and she looked away, embarrassed. She felt so touched by their determination that she unknowingly teared up. It pursued her to work even harder and it convinced her of doing her best to come out of the audition room with success.
"Ash, did we touch your little cold heart?" Lake teased. "Heh come here." They all leaned in and gave Ashlyn a side hug. "We are here." They said and Ashlyn grinned. "I know." She replied.
"Thank you for that." She said again and laughed. "You guys are too sweet," Ashlyn complained and her cheeks turned bright pink. She was surprised at her reaction. This made everyone laugh together.
The atmosphere in the car was all rainbows and sunshine. The driver himself was grinning like a fool. He too was affected by the contagious happy atmosphere.
After a while, they finally arrived at the hall where the audition would be held. Ashlyn's face turned serious and she looked out the window. She put her glasses on and got her purse with her. Luke came out of the car and she followed after him.
Behind them, Lake and Li Zi followed. At the same time, the car parked in front of them opened their door and someone came out.
Sissie removed her sunglasses and looked to her side. Behind her was her assistant and manager. Sissie smiled. That smile didn't reach her eyes at all. She was looking innocent but only one with experience could see the rage in her eyes. Ashlyn arched an eyebrow.
They were both facing each other as if they were arch-nemesis. This made the people around them turn their heads in interest. Some of them were fans of Sissie who came to give her some support. Some were a random passersby or a group who know the recent news about the two.
Since no reporters were allowed anywhere near the area they were the only ones that could let the public know of what would go down. This made a few excited because they were thinking about getting more followers from just a picture or video.
Ashlyn didn't bother to deal with her and moved forward. She would have enough time to deal with her little stepsister later. Right now she has to focus on her audition.
"Sister? It's been so long. Aren't you going to greet me?" Sissie held onto her wrist and squeezed it tightly. She forced Ashlyn into a hug and smiled brightly. "Listen to me 'sis', go back home and stop dreaming about becoming something you are not," Sissie whispered in her ear.
Li Zi scoffed. Sissie had not gotten the message at all. Ashlyn was never a pushover in the first place, did she think that Ashlyn would still let her do as she wants? As if!
" Sissie…" Ashlyn whispered back. Sissie froze. Did she hear correctly? Did Ashlyn just speak to her?
She was shocked at the sweet and yet chilly voice of Ashlyn's. Her voice sent chills down her spine.
" Please mind your own business and don't cross paths with me again okay?" Ashlyn pushed her away softly and held one of her hands in hers. Sissie found herself in a frozen state. Ashlyn gave her a sweet smile and she caressed Sissie's cheek like a caring older sister.
"We wouldn't want you to get caught on the crossfire right?" Ashlyn told her in a low voice almost as that of a whisper.
"Ah, sis good luck to you too! I'll see you inside." Ashlyn told her cheerfully and gave her one last hug. She waved goodbye and walked away.
The twins and Li Zi walked behind Ashlyn as if they had not heard or seen Ashlyn threatening Sissie in broad daylight.
'None of our business.' They all said in their thoughts and walked away.
'Step one has been accomplished.' Ashlyn thought as she walked towards the entrance of the hall were the audition would take place. She wanted to do this but she didn't want to do it now. In the end, Sissie insisted she had to play along right? She can be an innocent and sweet sister as well. Even if they aren't related Ashlyn would make sure to treat her with great 'care'
"It seems the rumors are wrong! Both sisters have a pretty good relationship huh!" One of the people around them commented. By then photos and videos were already on social media.