Chapter 72
Now that Zuo Bian knew Meng Zhen had invested in “Twins,” she was determined to get the role.
She took out the script for “Twins” and decided to study it carefully, delving into the characters’ personalities.
If she were to take on this role, she would be playing not one but two characters, two completely different people.
This was a significant challenge for Zuo Bian, who had little acting experience. But when faced with a challenge, Zuo Bian would always strive to succeed.
As she reread the script, she discovered details she had missed before. She was so engrossed in reading that she didn’t notice Little Frog poking her cheek with its tiny hand.
Little Frog hopped onto Zuo Bian’s shoulder. It had tried to get her attention by poking her leg, but she hadn’t noticed. So it decided to jump onto her shoulder instead.
“Xiao Bianbian, ribbit, it’s eleven o’clock, ribbit. Time for bed, ribbit.”
Zuo Bian put down the script and glanced at the time. It was already eleven o’clock! She usually went to bed by this time.
She hurriedly put away the script and went to wash up. By the time she came out of the bathroom, it was even later.
“Call Qin Ai, Xiao Bianbian, ribbit.” Little Frog pushed her phone towards her.
Little Frog was like a thoughtful child, concerned about its parents’ relationship. It even reminded Zuo Bian to call Qin Ai.
Zuo Bian picked up her phone, but she hesitated.
Qin Ai might be asleep by now, and calling her would probably disturb her.
She thought for a moment and decided to just send a text message saying goodnight.
“What are you waiting for, Xiao Bianbian, ribbit? Call her, ribbit!”
Zuo Bian said, “I’m worried that Qin Ai might be asleep. It wouldn’t be good to wake her up with a phone call.”
True love wasn’t about selfishly wanting the other person to know how much you missed them. It was about caring for their well-being.
“But, ribbit, but Qin Ai must be waiting for your call, ribbit. I can feel it, ribbit.”
Little Frog’s intuition was much stronger than 555’s, and its accuracy was also much higher.
Hearing this, Zuo Bian initiated a video call.
As Little Frog had said, Qin Ai was still awake. She answered the call within two seconds.
Zuo Bian could only see Qin Ai’s upper body. She seemed to have just taken a shower, her hair still slightly damp. She was wearing a pearl-colored silk nightgown.
She was probably alone in her room because her nightgown was loosely tied, revealing glimpses of her skin with every movement.
Zuo Bian instinctively covered her nose. Her action betrayed her thoughts.
“Good evening.” She greeted Qin Ai, her hand still covering her nose.
Qin Ai leaned back slightly, the light from the bedside lamp illuminating her smooth skin.
Zuo Bian felt her nose itching and quickly looked away. “I didn’t expect you to be awake so late.”
Qin Ai hummed in response. “I was waiting for your call.”
“Sorry, I was engrossed in reading the script and lost track of time. That’s why I’m calling so late.”
“No need to apologize. You know it’s late, why aren’t you sleeping yet?”
Zuo Bian smiled and nodded. “Mm-hmm, I just wanted to say goodnight. Goodnight, Qin Ai.”
“Goodnight.”
After hanging up the video call, Zuo Bian lay down on the bed. Little Frog hopped onto the pillow beside her head and called 555 over to sleep.
“555, come on, it’s time for bed, ribbit.”
“Coming!” 555 had already chosen a new body and was reading an R-rated novel.
Although it had reached the most exciting part, Zuo Bian was going to bed, so it had to suppress its curiosity and go to sleep.
Before getting into bed, 555 turned off the lights. Its current body was quite tall, about a meter high, so reaching the light switch was easy.
After getting into bed, 555 returned to Zuo Bian’s body, only to find itself facing a bunch of mosaics. Then it was censored.
555: ???
What are you thinking about, Host?
Zuo Bian tossed and turned in bed for a while before finally falling asleep.
555, trapped in the “little black room” (censored state), went into sleep mode so it wouldn’t have to worry about when it would be released.
It had even created a rival character, telling Zuo Bian that it was being censored less often. Now that it was being censored more frequently, it was troubled again.
The worst part was that it could only imagine what was happening, it couldn’t see anything! This was torture for a system.
Being a system was tough. 555 went into sleep mode with tears in its nonexistent eyes.
==================
While preparing for the engagement ceremony, Zuo Bian immersed herself in studying the script and various psychology books.
She also visited Director Li, the director of “Twins,” with her parents. Director Li was very picky. He only made one or two movies every one or two years, sometimes even taking three years to prepare for a single movie.
He had high standards for his actors. He didn’t care about their popularity or their ability to generate buzz, he only cared about whether they had the qualities that fit the role.
If he didn’t think an actor was suitable, no amount of money could change his mind.
Du Yundong and Zuo Yan knew this, but they also believed in their daughter’s talent.
Zuo Bian was a blank slate, a natural-born actress. She could take on any color as needed.
Director Li asked Zuo Bian to choose a scene and perform it for him. He needed to see her acting before making a decision.
Zuo Bian chose a challenging scene where the protagonist perfectly framed an innocent middle-aged man for a crime. Everyone, including the man himself, was deceived by the protagonist. As she walked out of the police station, her eyes were filled with triumph, but she restrained herself, maintaining a calm facade. However, beneath the surface, there was excitement and desire. She enjoyed the feeling of manipulating everyone.
This scene had no dialogue and no major physical actions. It was a challenge even for experienced actors, but Zuo Bian, a newbie, chose this scene.
She closed her eyes, getting into character, replaying everything she knew about the protagonist in her mind.
Personality, appearance, experiences, motives, actions, everything flashed through her mind. When she opened her eyes again, she had transformed into Lin Ling’s alternate personality, Lin Zero.
Seeing the change in Zuo Bian’s aura, Director Li’s eyes lit up. He sat up straight, his attention fully focused on her performance.
Zuo Bian walked with a slight hunch, her gaze downcast. But beneath her seemingly timid and cowardly eyes, a cold and calculating mind was at work. A faint smile appeared on her lips, then quickly disappeared.
The challenge wasn’t just about portraying a character without major actions or conflicts, it was about portraying a character who was pretending to be someone else.
Lin Zero was disguising herself as Lin Ling.
The performance wasn’t long, only a few dozen seconds, but it was enough to showcase Zuo Bian’s talent.
“I’m done.” Zuo Bian bowed to Director Li.
Director Li was stunned for a moment, then he applauded enthusiastically, his beard practically flying. “Amazing! I haven’t seen such a talented actor in a long time! Your acting might be a bit raw, but with your natural talent, I’m willing to postpone the filming for six months just for you!”
For someone like Director Li, who prioritized quality above everything else, everything else was secondary. As long as the final product was good, nothing else mattered.
Zuo Bian was happy to receive such praise, but she wouldn’t make him wait for six months.
“Thank you for your kind words, Director Li. I’ll work hard on my acting skills, I won’t make you wait that long.”
“Good! Good! Good!” Director Li said three “goods” in a row.
There were many talented actors in the industry, but either their image didn’t fit the role, or they lacked that certain something.
And then there were the popular young actors who lacked the acting skills to carry this film.
The pre-production for “Twins” had started six months ago, but they still hadn’t cast the lead role because Director Li hadn’t found his perfect Lin Ling and Lin Zero.
After seeing Zuo Bian’s performance today, he was certain that she was the one.
“The filming for ‘Twins’ is scheduled to start in three months. Xiao Zuo, are you confident you can polish your acting skills by then?”
Zuo Bian nodded. “I’m confident.”
“Good.” Director Li turned to her parents. “Mr. Zuo, Mrs. Zuo, your daughter has a bright future! I haven’t seen such a promising talent in a long time.”
Zuo Yan said, “Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Li. Xiao Bian is a pure and innocent child. She’s very serious and dedicated to everything she does, sometimes even stubborn. I hope you can guide her.”
“Of course.” Director Li smiled.
Du Yundong was also happy to hear her daughter being praised. “To thank you for giving Xiao Bian this opportunity, we must treat you to dinner.”
“Eh.” Director Li waved his hand. “It’s not that I’m giving her this opportunity, it’s that she deserves it. But I would love to have dinner with you.”
And just like that, Zuo Bian successfully landed the lead role in “Twins.”
With Director Li at the helm, the quality and plot of “Twins” were guaranteed. Plus, several veteran actors, who were friends with Director Li, had also joined the cast. It had the potential to be both a critical and commercial success, even winning awards.
If news of Zuo Bian being cast as the female lead in “Twins” were to leak, it would definitely make many people jealous. It was a highly coveted role.
But even without the news leaking, Zuo Bian was already the target of envy.
“Ascending to Immortality” was still very popular, becoming a phenomenon-level drama. It was being discussed everywhere.
Memes and fan-made videos of the main couple were circulating online. Of course, the haters hadn’t stopped their attacks either.
After repeating the lies so many times, they started to seem like the truth. The rumor that Zuo Bian had slept her way to the top had become an established fact in the eyes of the haters, and no matter how many Weibo posts were deleted, new ones would always pop up.
Meanwhile, Zuo Bian and Qin Ai’s engagement ceremony was approaching. It was tomorrow.
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