Gu Rushan managed to squeeze herself into the subway with great difficulty.
She was already used to squeezing with the crowd into the subway every day. When the train doors opened, aside from protecting her own wallet from being pickpocketed, she still had to pay attention to her body from being groped.
Leaning against the silver handrail to find her balance, Gu Rushan took out her earpiece from her pouch and played music that calmed her heart down.
The location of the interview that she's going to was located at Northern 5th Ring Road, Beijing's Film City. Hence, it would take a long time for her to get to the destination by the subway.
She had spent a long time in Film City with group actors, narrators, and other small roles in the hope of finding her opportunity.
But she was helpless since many people who came from all over the country also held the same aspiration. Gu Rushan did not have any background, nor was she willing to use her body. Hence, she was forced to return to the city as an ordinary employee for a living.
The one who acted as a medium to recommend her was a female student in the grooming agency. She felt that Gu Rushan had the right conditions with a dancing foundation and was suitable for the role in the drama. Hence, she recommended Gu Rushan to take the interview.
But when she arrived at the location, the expectations that Gu Rushan had before fell down the valley. There were too many people participating in the interview.
The female student's name was Mi You, and she had been waiting for Gu Rushan. When she saw the latter, she immediately came over. "Big Sister Rushan, you can be reassured. I have already greeted the production team. Despite the numerous candidates, I'm sure that you can be chosen."
Seeing Mi You's effort, Gu Rushan was perplexed as she asked, "Is there any special requirement for this role? Or are there any characteristic traits?"
Revealing her buck teeth, Mi You sweetly smiled. "Our production team is filming a drama called Huadu's Green Wine. It talks about a spy story at the beginning of an age. Before the male protagonist accepted a spy mission, he was arranged for training at a special location by the organisation. At the same time, the male protagonist was assigned to a female comrade. She was initially a dance performer at a dance hall, in which she killed someone since she wasn't willing to be humiliated. Hence, she became a convict that was sentenced to death and became a sacrificial female spy. This is the character that you're going to interview for. Although it's not the female lead, there's a lot of appearance in the drama and even a romance episode with the male lead. If you manage to play this role, you might become famous!"
Gu Rushan knitted her brows; it was typical for people to hope that they could get the lead role. But she has worked at the bottom of the food chain as a group actor, and many of those were without any lines, like a maid in a dynasty drama, or the immortal maid standing behind the Queen Mother in mythical dramas. Hence, she naturally became excited that she could finally take on a character that has depth in it.
When Mi You saw her colleague waving in her direction, helplessness flashed in her eyes as she left her words behind, "I'll go and get busy. You don't have to be nervous, just believe that you can defeat the other competitors with your own strength."
Finding a seat, Gu Rushan sat down and took out her makeup box from her purse, then touched up her makeup.
Sitting beside her was a tall woman who was sneering in disdain as Gu Rushan sat beside her and took up the free space she had.
"I never expected that there's such a weirdo in the interview." The woman coldly swept a glance at Gu Rushan. Her purse was a product of a street stall that only cost ¥300-400, and her makeup was a typical Estee Lauder product. Looking at her, aside from Gu Rushan's delicate brows, there's nothing special about the latter, and someone like that was fit to compete with her?
Taking out her phone, the woman made a call and said in a pampered manner, "Oppa, where are you now? I've waited for half an hour, so why isn't the interview starting yet?"
"I'm already here, where are you?" A man's voice resounded from the other side.
The woman immediately stood up and looked around before she finally found her Oppa. Hugging her phone, she waved her hand in excitement. However, the man had ignored her existence and rebuked, "Are you an idiot? Are you trying to tell everyone that you know me?"
The woman was briefly stunned before she immediately sat down and grumbled, "That's because I love you too much, and forgot about it."
"Alright, stay low-profile. I'm one of the judges, and I will surely help you fight for that role!" The man quickened his pace as he entered the office.
After hanging the call, the woman wore a proud smile while giving a provocative glance to Gu Rushan, before muttering to herself, "Don't be cannon fodder and waste everyone's time!"
Gu Rushan locked her brows together. If she was younger, she would definitely quarrel with that woman. However, she was no longer that innocent girl who had just arrived in Beijing, and she knew that she could only be placed on the passive if she started a fight with that woman. After all, there were so many competitors around, and this woman was only one of them.
When the staff started to call out numbers, everyone was given ten minutes. Gu Rushan had gotten one of the bigger numbers, which was also an advantage and disadvantage at the same time.
The advantage being that the judges would give higher ratings the further they go, since that's how humans typically were; they're more hopeful of the later performances. Her disadvantage lies in the fact that the judges would be exhausted by that time, and it wouldn't be easy for one to try and impress them.
"You're actually behind me!" The woman glanced at Gu Rushan's number in depression as she continued, "But no worries! I will let you know that all you've done is futile effort!"
Gu Rushan sighed as she replied, "If you have the time to talk, why don't you think of how to impress the judges. Even if your Oppa is one of the judges, he's not the one making the final call. I believe that the interview will be fair, or there's no need for you to be seated here like a comical penguin waiting for the ratings of others!"
"You!" The woman never expected that Gu Rushan's words would be so incisive, leaving her speechless. But after a long while, she said with indignance, "How arrogant! I hope that you can still be high on your horse when the interview is done."
Gu Rushan no longer bothered with the woman and started to flip through her notebook, remembering the points for the interview, like how she had to be easy-mannered when she enters, impressing four of the judges, and put emotions in her acting.
There was a total of four judges in the interview room, and the interview processed at a fast pace. Although everyone was given ten minutes, those mediocre ones were asked to leave within three minutes.
The director of the drama sat in the center, wearing a stern expression; he was thoroughly disappointed by the low standard of the interviewees today.
Although the role might not be a female lead, it still played a crucial role in the entire drama, and the director hoped that he could find a newcomer to impress the audience.
After another interviewee left, the director sighed and grumbled to the vice-director, "How did you guys filter the interviewees? All of them are relying on their faces, and they're simply empty decorations. What is acting? Is that something that can be done with just surgery words and makeup?"
The vice-director immediately felt awkward as he moved to the director's ears and explained, "They're all sent over by the sponsors!"
Instantly, the director became silent as he inwardly cursed. The show business in China was all ruined by that bunch. But despite the indignance he felt, there was nothing he could do about it, since he knew that he had to occasionally comply if he wanted to be a director with a positive reputation.
There's someone amongst the judges that wasn't a part of the production team, and he represented the sponsor who invested in the drama. Hence, the director knew that he could only suck it up.
But fortunately, that judge had not given any hints yet. Evidently, the candidate that the sponsor has chosen hasn't shown up yet.
After the staff called out another number, the woman sitting beside Gu Rushan snickered as she proudly strode into the interview room.
Her Oppa was seated at the far right, which she purposely gave a glance over. However, her Oppa pretended to ignore her existence.
The director sighed. The sponsor's representative had commented on this woman's résumé before she came in.
Hearing those words, the director knew that this woman must have a background with the sponsor, which was the reason why she was given such importance.
However, the woman's temperament and appearance weren't suitable for the role at all. She had an internet celebrity's looks with her sharp chin, big eyes, and high nose being famous nowadays. But the fake chin would show itself upon smiling, and it's practically a poison to have her in a spy drama.
The woman first gave her introduction, and she sang a popular song in the food market to perform her talent, which the production team locked their brows together.
Common, it was so common that it was utterly intolerable!
Even the few other interviewees that were asked to leave were much better than her.
During the acting segment, everyone was left speechless by the woman. Not only was she unclear with her words, but she even sounded coyish. How does she look to have the wisdom and coolness of a spy?
However, the sponsor's representative actually clapped at her performance, which was merely unreasonable.
"Alright, thank you for your performance. In general, you're pretty good. You can now return to await for further notice; we will contact you within a day." The vice-director could tell that the director's mood was terrible, which he immediately tried to alleviate the atmosphere.
When the woman left, the sponsor's representative said, "Representing the sponsor; I feel that this interviewee should be given high ratings!"
However, the director dealt with this tactfully, "Her standard does exceed many people before her, but she's not clear with her mandarin."
"It's fine if it's not clear. Don't many dramas do dubbing? In some dramas, actors don't even need to say their lines since they just have to move their lips and put a dubbing over it. We've invested so much money, and this cost is nothing." The sponsor's representative replied.
The director awkwardly coughed. He was truly left speechless by the sponsor's representative. However, the sponsor was the decision-maker here, and he had to lower his head.
At this moment, Gu Rushan walked into the interview room and introduced herself, "Hello, fellow judges. I am interviewee No. 39, and my name is Gu Rushan. Although I did not graduate from an acting school, I have a sturdy foundation in my dancing. According to my understanding, this character is required to dance in many scenes, and I believe that I can perform it perfectly. At the same time, I hope to bring a new face to the audience. I've never partaken in any important role in the past, and I feel that I fit your requirements."
Perhaps it was due to the terrible performance by the previous interviewee; the director was instantly captivated by Gu Rushan's self-introduction.
"Then, you can start your talent performance when you're ready." The director knocked his finger on the table as he said without changing his expression.
