I Became the White Moonlight’s Ex-Wife (GL) - Chapter 2

The director of Chronicles of Yunling is Su Qiao, a top-tier director in China with extensive experience directing TV dramas adapted from popular IPs. He has helmed hit shows like With You to the Grave and Locked in the Deep Palace.

When Zhaoyang acquired the rights to Chronicles of Yunling, Su Qiao was the obvious choice to direct.

The main cast of Chronicles of Yunling was decided a long time ago. For instance, the female lead is played by Shen Manhui and the male lead by Zhao He’an. Both are talented actors in the idol drama scene; with some fine-tuning, they can definitely carry the show.

The remaining roles were to be filled through open auditions. They didn’t consider popular idols because they only cast A-list talent.

So when Su Qiao received a call from Jing Yiqiu, he was in disbelief.

Wen Su’s acting might be poor, but she is definitely an A-list celebrity. Her connections alone with major brands were enough to secure her a top spot. And now she wanted to audition for a role that wasn’t even a second female lead.

Su Qiao immediately got a headache. Not only was Wen Su a bad actress, but she also had a terrible temper. If they were to cast her in this role, and she acted more difficult than the male and female leads, what would they do?

Before Su Qiao could politely decline, Jing Yiqiu said that it was fine if the audition didn’t go well; Wen Su just wanted to give it a try.

That essentially blocked his escape route.

Su Qiao discussed it with the directing team and screenwriters and decided to hold a private audition for Wen Su. Although it was just for show, Su Qiao gathered the main creative team for the audition.

They had to show respect to Wen Su because of Wanyuan, the powerhouse behind her.

Yuan Xi is the screenwriter for Chronicles of Yunling and Zhaoyang’s top writer. She personally adapted Locked in the Deep Palace and With You to the Grave. For this audition, the original author, Hai Putao, was present, and so was she.

Yuan Xi idly twirled her pen and asked, “Has the actress for Princess Anning been cast yet?”

“Not officially,” Su Qiao replied, shaking his head. “But I think Zhang Sui is good.” The role of Princess Anning isn’t huge, but casting is a bit difficult because Princess Anning is the fraternal twin sister of the male third lead, the young lord.

This was a clever plot point, but it’s not easy to find twins to play the roles. They had considered having a man play the young lord in drag, but it was too difficult. So they had to change the fraternal twin concept into ordinary siblings.

Hearing the name, Yuan Xi said, “The actress Shen Manhui recommended, right?” She remembered Zhang Sui. She was very pretty and her acting was decent, but she lacked a certain natural sparkle.

Hai Putao was also a judge at that audition, although she didn’t have much of a say. After that audition, they had intended to cast Zhang Sui, but then Wen Su suddenly requested to audition, so the creative team had temporarily held off on notifying her.

Although Hai Putao didn’t know much about acting, she felt that Zhang Sui was missing something. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she just didn’t fit the image of Princess Anning in her mind. It might also have been because she wasn’t in costume or makeup, which made her seem out of place.

The other creative staff members were only a little impressed with Zhang Sui’s acting and appearance. It was already a rare thing for an actress to be able to portray a character well, and finding a naturally gifted actress was even more so.

The creative team was still chatting when Su Qiao got a call from Jing Yiqiu. They exchanged glances—

The time had come to test their acting skills.

A staff member led Wen Su to the audition area. This audition was held exclusively for her, so Sister Jing and Xiao Sheng followed her in.

Su Qiao, sitting in the middle, spoke first. “Since you’re here, let’s not waste any time. We can start right away.”

Assistant director Xu Meng said, “I’ll read the lines with you. Are you ready?”

The scene was the breaking point between Princess Anning and the male lead, Qi Xiaonian. Anning, whose purity had been defiled, becomes corrupted. After learning that Qi Xiaonian intended to propose to Yunling, she completely loses it and plots to harm Yunling. If Qi Xiaonian hadn’t arrived in time to save Yunling, Yunling would have been humiliated and killed.

Discovering that his own “sister” Anning was behind it all, Qi Xiaonian angrily goes to the Prince of Zhao’s manor to confront her.

“Ready,” Wen Su nodded slightly.

She closed her eyes and let out a soft breath. When she opened her eyes, her expression was filled with a repressed gloom.

Her plan had failed, and she had completely lost the chance to fight back.

This performance was beyond their expectations. They hadn’t expected Wen Su to be so good; she was no worse than Zhang Sui.

Xu Meng, the assistant director, was stunned, but he quickly reacted, his voice cold and filled with suppressed anger. “Zhao Anning!”

Hearing the voice of the person she loved, Wen Su froze. Her eyes lit up, and the gloomy look vanished, replaced by an innocent and lovable smile. She looked up at a certain spot, reaching out as if to grab his sleeve, and said cheerfully, “Brother Xiaonian, you’re here!”

No matter what, she was always the well-behaved Anning in front of Brother Xiaonian.

Hearing her voice, Su Qiao’s expression changed too. Wen Su’s line delivery was so solid, and her intonation was perfect. Just this alone put her far ahead of the young actors who had auditioned.

“Don’t touch me!” Xu Meng growled, his voice tinged with disgust.

Wen Su’s arm was thrown aside. Taken by surprise at being pushed away by “Qi Xiaonian,” her smile froze, replaced by a look of sorrow. Her voice trembled slightly. “What’s wrong? Did Anning do something to make Brother Xiaonian unhappy?”

Hai Putao was shocked. Was this improvisation? She could “see” what “Qi Xiaonian’s” actions and expressions were from Wen Su’s performance, and this was conveyed solely through Wen Su’s body language.

Not only were the creative staff stunned, but Sister Jing and Xiao Sheng, who were sitting beside them, were also speechless. Sister Jing was a top manager; she knew exactly how bad Wen Su’s acting was. But now, Wen Su’s performance was completely different!

Could it be that after getting the audition materials, she found an acting coach to guide her?

Who was this amazing coach that helped Wen Su improve so quickly? If she could maintain this level of acting, winning the White Begonia Award for Best Actress would be a breeze!

The audition continued—

“You know what you did.” Xu Meng was getting more and more into the scene, his emotions more intense. “Yunling is a girl. How could you be so vicious? To use such a—malicious method against her. Is this what the Zhao Manor taught you?”

These words hit Wen Su like a thunderclap, waking her completely. Her eyes slowly lost their light, and that gloomy look returned.

“…I’m malicious?” Wen Su said, enunciating each word. She stared intensely at “Qi Xiaonian” and asked in a cold voice, “Where were you when I was being humiliated?”

“You and Yunling were enjoying the moon and drinking wine on the back of Mount Xiangning, being affectionate and intimate!”

Her words were like daggers, her voice becoming more frantic, her emotions building and building. She was incredibly expressive, just waiting for the final, sudden burst of anger.

“No matter how bad my family’s teachings are, we still know that men and women should not touch each other intimately!”

She hated Yunling, and she hated the bandits who humiliated her, but most of all, she hated Qi Xiaonian!

He promised to protect her and take care of her, but he also stood by and let her be ruined!

“This is what you meant by protecting and taking care of me.” Wen Su laughed in her fury, but tears streamed down her face. Her smile was mocking and full of grief. She shook her head in disappointment and muttered to herself, “Brother Xiaonian is already dead. He died the moment he met Yunling.”

When she looked at “Qi Xiaonian,” the sorrow on Wen Su’s face completely vanished, replaced by an endless hatred. “And you, General Qi, are nothing but a dog at Yunling’s feet!”

Xu Meng was speechless. He remained silent.

According to the script, Qi Xiaonian was supposed to refute Anning at this point, but faced with the emotions Wen Su conveyed, he was unable to say anything.

Wen Su didn’t want to hear him speak anyway. She closed her eyes wearily, a gesture of disdain for both herself and “Qi Xiaonian.” She turned her back on him and said in a cold voice, like a stranger, “Banxia, see our guest out.”

The audition was over.

Wen Su returned to normal and said to the judges, “My audition is complete.”

However, everyone remained silent until a sniffing sound broke the atmosphere.

“Sniff—”

It was Wen Su’s assistant, Xiao Sheng, who was sniffling. She hadn’t read Chronicles of Yunling and didn’t know what Princess Anning had done, but Wen Su’s performance had moved her.

Realizing her sniffle was too loud, Xiao Sheng awkwardly turned her head and covered her face, worried someone would see her. But no one was paying attention to her. The others were still in a state of shock.

It wasn’t that they had never seen a brilliant performance before, but because this person was Wen Su, the Wen Su who only ever had an expressionless, world-weary look on her face.

As the original author, Hai Putao knew that everything that happened was Anning’s own doing, but watching the light in Wen Su’s eyes dim, she couldn’t help but feel a little heartache.

This was without Wen Su wearing makeup or a costume. It proved that with enough acting skill, even without a costume, an actress can make the audience feel immersed in the scene. The reason Zhang Sui was lacking was that her acting wasn’t up to par.

Su Qiao, who had worked with veteran and talented actors, was also incredibly moved. He discarded his initial thoughts of this being a formality. Wen Su would be the best choice for Anning, hands down.

He looked at the producer, Zheng Sheng, who was sitting next to him. Zheng Sheng silently nodded.

Among all the actors who came to audition, Wen Su’s performance was undeniably the best.

“I should probably tell you to go home and wait for our call,” Su Qiao said with a smile. Seeing Wen Su nod, he continued, “But I don’t think that’s necessary. This audition was worth it.”

Wen Su froze. Did that mean she got the role?

Su Qiao nodded. “The role is yours.”

Even though she was trying to maintain the original character’s cool demeanor, Wen Su couldn’t help but let a small smile escape. “Thank you, Director Su, and thank you, everyone.”

But if that was the case, why not try for another role?

Wen Su became serious. “I have one more request. I hope you can give me another opportunity.”

Hearing this, the creative staff were intrigued. A thought crossed their minds. Could it be that Wen Su…

“I want to audition for Princess Anning’s fraternal twin brother, the young lord.”

Sister Jing felt like she must still be dreaming. Just when she thought this little boss was finally getting serious about her career, the little boss became so arrogant she wanted to play Princess Anning’s fraternal twin brother, the male third lead.

That was a male role!

She wasn’t even going to mention how difficult it was to play a male role. This was a single person playing two roles! How could she be so arrogant as to think she could play both roles well?

Then, the creative team agreed to give her a chance and told her she had a day to prepare. But the little boss refused!

The little boss asked the creative team for the young lord’s audition materials and started preparing on the spot. Half an hour later, the audition began.

The little boss succeeded.

She not only got the role of Princess Anning but also, in the process, got the male third lead role, the young lord. She would now be playing two characters.

Sitting in the van, Sister Jing turned to look at a slightly tired Wen Su. “Did you plan to get both roles from the beginning?”

“No,” Wen Su denied. She had only arrived today. How could she have planned to get both roles? She just noticed the young lord’s character when she was analyzing Princess Anning, and on a whim, she wanted to give it a try. She didn’t expect to actually get it.

This was a big challenge for her. She had played a male character before, but now the difficulty lay in playing both a male and female role at the same time.

“So you just thought of it on the spot?” Sister Jing was even more horrified.

No, no, no, that’s impossible. It must be that acting coach who guided her. That’s the only way she would have had the courage to ask to play a male role. Otherwise, it would have been professional suicide.

Wen Su didn’t say anything. She just looked at the time and said, “I have something to do tonight. Take me back quickly.”