The first audition was a complete failure. Li Ling felt it was all Jin Jingyao's fault. He unexpectedly sat in front of her and looked at her with a rather strange expression, which caused her to panic at the beginning and stutter through her lines. A kind director would have stopped at this point, explained the scene, and let her start over. A malicious director would have said nothing, just watched her with no expression. An even more malicious director would have placed his hand on the table, occasionally glancing at his watch. Li Ling couldn't help but be distracted by that expensive-looking watch face. Coincidentally, the character she was playing was a policewoman interrogating a suspect, so she fiercely said, "Stop looking around! Lift your head!" Jin Jingyao smiled coldly, "Don't change the lines." Li Ling: "…Sorry, Director." They started over. The second time, Li Ling obediently recited her lines without making any mistakes. She thought she did quite well, showcasing her excellent memory. But for some reason, as the scene progressed, the people below the stage became noisier. Although she couldn't hear what they were saying, it probably wasn't good. "That's enough," Jin Jingyao said. Li Ling was startled and immediately stopped her performance. The audience suddenly fell silent. Jin Jingyao frowned, looking at her with dissatisfaction, "I was telling them to be quiet." Li Ling: "…" Could you be clearer next time, bro? Although it was a misunderstanding, once her emotions were interrupted, it was hard to get back into the groove. The audition didn't continue. Li Ling felt uneasy and tentatively asked, "Director, how do you think I did?" Jin Jingyao: "Hmm." Then he stood up and left. Li Ling: ? Is there something wrong with his brain? Does he not understand Chinese? That night, Li Ling tossed and turned, repeatedly replaying Jin Jingyao's tone and subtle attitude in her mind, feeling more and more that she had no chance. She couldn't help but message Xiao Liu. Xiao Liu tactfully said, "It would have been better if you had more freedom to improvise during the audition." "But the director told me not to change the lines," Li Ling said, puzzled. Xiao Liu: "He says that, but he actually likes to see actors improvise." Li Ling was still somewhat skeptical. After a while, she received a message from 9787532754335. He asked her, "Did you audition?" Li Ling felt she needed to maintain her image in front of her fans, so she half-truthfully said, "Yes, it went very smoothly. The director really liked me and kept praising my performance." The other side: 6 Li Ling: ? Before she could ask further, he quickly retracted the message, saying he had made a mistake. Li Ling thought middle-aged people probably didn't know what "6" meant, so she didn't dwell on it. 9787532754335 then said, "The director likes you, what about you?" Li Ling recalled Jin Jingyao's lifeless demeanor during the audition and sarcastically said, "I absolutely adore him." 9787532754335: "Don't talk nonsense." Li Ling: "You're right, I just love him so much I don't want him to die young." 9787532754335 was probably speechless and stopped responding. In the middle of the night, Li Ling was awakened by a series of intense knocks on her door. Her phone screen showed it was 1:46 AM. She was shocked, barely putting on her slippers as she rushed to open the door. She saw Xiao Liu standing at the door, with a few staff members behind him, their flashlight beams erratically cutting through the night. Li Ling's first reaction was to think something major had happened, and she blurted out, "What, is there an earthquake?" Xiao Liu was very anxious: "Teacher Li, the director has decided to reshoot the scene from this afternoon. We're just waiting for you. Let's hurry over." Li Ling: ??? She couldn't believe it and glanced at the time. Now? Reshoot? Does your director not sleep? The second audition should have been something to be happy about, but now Li Ling felt like she was being abducted by aliens in the middle of the night, confused and dragged to the set. The moment she pushed open the door, she was stunned: the theater was brightly lit at midnight, illuminated by glaring lights as bright as daylight, as if she had jumped from the silent night into Truman's world. There were many people inside, each performing their duties in an orderly manner, showing no signs of it being a film set at two in the morning. Li Ling was momentarily in awe until she walked into the makeup room and saw that the makeup artist's coat was covering a wrinkled bear pajama, and the assistant's hair was as messy as a bird's nest. It turned out that most of the people on set had just crawled out of bed half an hour ago—because the director had suddenly decided to reshoot a scene. Li Ling was shocked: "This, this is too..." "Too awesome!" The makeup artist said admiringly, "Yes, I think so too. The director is like Superman! Always inspired! Never tired!" Li Ling silently swallowed the word "pervert" that she hadn't said out loud. When she walked onto the set, Jin Jingyao was on stage adjusting the lighting with the cameraman. Although the few staff members around him were tall and strong, they were also very sleepy, nodding off and yawning wildly. In contrast, the young director, despite his pale face and thin frame, still stood out as the most elegant and upright person in the crowd. Due to the angle, Li Ling could only see his profile and shoulder. He had no expression, making him seem very unapproachable. She looked for at most half a second before the young director sensed her gaze and turned around. Li Ling was caught by his cold gaze. She was worried that he would say something critical again. But he just pressed his lips together, his eyes more complex and harder to understand than she had imagined, and without explaining why he had called her back, he simply said, "Let's begin." - If time could turn back, Li Ling wouldn't feel so grateful when she heard the words "Let's begin," nor would she think Jin Jingyao was a good person. In the afternoon, he had just quietly watched her perform. But now, after every line she delivered, he would interrupt her, saying "No" or "Not good enough." Li Ling humbly asked for guidance on how to improve. He didn't explain, only saying, "Do it again." Li Ling had been acting for many years and had never encountered a director who spoke so little. Many times, he seemed to play the role of an observer, silently watching her. His gaze was judgmental, or perhaps something deeper. She didn't know what he wanted and couldn't find the answer from his reactions. As she recited her lines, Li Ling felt increasingly numb, like poor little Harry being punished by Umbridge to write lines. The lines weren't coming from her mouth but were carved into the back of her hand, each stroke leaving a miserable bloodstain. Finally, Director Jin was satisfied, and Li Ling thought the scene was over, her whole body relaxing. The demon suddenly issued a low command: "Don't move your shoulders." "Straighten your waist a bit more." Li Ling: "..." The same scene, the same lines, the same actions, over and over, in a loop. Li Ling's lips were chapped, and her voice was hoarse. Jin Jingyao still wouldn't allow her to drink water, claiming it would make the scene look more realistic. After more than four hours of shooting, Li Ling felt her mental state was still stable, as long as she did whatever the pervert said. But the staff around her were already in a state of walking on thin ice, trembling with pressure. The photographer's eyes were bloodshot, seizing every break to apply eye drops. The makeup artist, with a look of heroic sacrifice, rushed to touch up her makeup, brushes waving vigorously. After another take, Jin Jingyao was still not satisfied. "Your face didn't catch the light," he said. Li Ling pretended to be too tired to understand human speech and asked naively, "So what should I do, Director?" She thought he would ignore her as he had before. However, Jin Jingyao quietly looked at her and said "Sorry," then stood up straight. Li Ling didn't understand why he was apologizing to her. Until she watched in astonishment as the young man leaned down towards her, his fingers touching her face, lifting her jaw without any tenderness. Even though there was a table between them, she still felt an indescribable danger as the shadow loomed over her. His fingers were still cold. Cold and piercing, a touch that made her breath catch. "Just like this," Jin Jingyao said, "Don't move." Li Ling's breath instinctively quickened for a moment. The unfamiliar breath, along with his gaze, enveloped her from head to toe like a torrential downpour. He sat back down. She followed his instructions and performed the scene again. Under the young man's gaze, she felt an out-of-body experience. Her tongue, eyes, and body no longer belonged to her. When Li Ling finished the last line, the morning light shone through a small side window. It was a moment close to a miracle. The morning light bathed her profile, turning her face into a golden glow. Like a field in the morning mist, washing away all the night's sorrow, the sunrise rose in her eyes. Jin Jingyao said, "That's it." She heard the assistant director breathe a sigh of relief over the walkie-talkie, mixed with faint cheers from others. Li Ling collapsed onto the table like a boneless heap. After being tormented all night, she felt a bit unreal, struggling to lift half her face and asked Jin Jingyao, "Director, how was my performance this time?" He replied indifferently, "The lighting was great." Li Ling didn't quite understand what her performance had to do with the lighting. The assistant director came over, joyfully reporting that the light and shadow in this take were simply perfect, praising the director for his foresight, as today's sunrise was exactly as predicted. Li Ling: "..." "Director, were you trying to capture the sunrise?" she couldn't help but ask. Jin Jingyao: "Yes." Then why did you wake everyone up at two in the morning? Some people dragged the crew into a dilapidated theater at two in the morning, rehearsing all night. Just to capture that one second of the sunrise's light casting a rosy silhouette on her face? Li Ling suddenly didn't feel tired or sleepy anymore, just a bit itchy in her hands. Xiao Liu stood behind the director, constantly winking and gesturing at her, looking quite anxious. She sat up straight, looked at Jin Jingyao opposite her, and said sincerely, "Director, I suddenly have a new idea about this scene." Jin Jingyao gestured for her to continue. "I think both the script and the female officer's attitude are too passive," Li Ling said reasonably. "This is an interrogation scene; she should take the initiative." Xiao Liu nodded frantically on the side, almost applauding her. Jin Jingyao seemed uninterested: "The light has changed." Li Ling took a deep breath, silently reminding herself that small impatience could ruin big plans, then turned to look at Xiao Liu with hopeful eyes. Xiao Liu understood and said a lot of good things. Under their combined persuasion, Jin Jingyao finally agreed reluctantly, but emphasized, "Only one condition. Don't waste film." Li Ling was almost shocked by his double standards. Who was it that wasted an entire night of film for one second of sunrise? The sun gradually rose. Morning light shone in through the window, invading Jin Jingyao's private space. The young man was enveloped in large, interwoven beams of light, with floating dust particles falling into his eyes. His eyebrows furrowed, finally revealing a hint of frail illness. Like a light-sensitive vampire, he moved unobtrusively to the side, sitting back into the shadows. Li Ling silently watched all this, waiting for the assistant director to call "Action." She didn't say another line, stood up without warning, and grabbed Jin Jingyao's short hair, forcing him to lift his face. She lowered her head. They were very close. Their breaths intertwined, their noses almost touching. Jin Jingyao blinked slowly, as if observing her, somewhat curious, or at a loss. She smiled at him, pressing the back of his head, forcing him to turn and face the interrogation lamp beside them. The glaring light suddenly aimed directly at the young man's eyes. It stabbed into his pupils like a needle.