The Empress In The Modern Era [Entertainment Industry GL] - Chapter 2

Yu Shilan followed her heart and decided to step into the entertainment industry.

She had not come from a professional acting program, nor did she have any acting experience. Even the major she had originally studied had nothing to do with performing at all. But she was lucky. Because of all kinds of part-time jobs, she had fortunately caught the eye of an assistant director, who had taken the initiative to invite her.

After discussing it with her younger brother, Yu Shilan did not tell her parents. She made the decision herself and accepted the invitation.

Although she had received the invitation, she still had to go audition first. Early Saturday morning, Yu Shilan got up, dressed herself properly, and took the bus to the destination.

After arriving, she first called the assistant director. “Sister Wang, I’m here.”

The other woman spoke very quickly. “Come up to the eighth floor. I’ll wait for you by the elevator.”

Yu Shilan hung up and entered the building. To be honest, she was actually a little nervous. Although Assistant Director Wang had said her temperament suited the image of one of the supporting roles very well, and the meaning behind her words was that as long as Yu Shilan came, it should basically be settled, Yu Shilan still had no experience at all. Without confidence in her heart, she could not put on a confident appearance on the outside either.

Just as the elevator doors were about to close, someone called out in a crisp voice, “Wait a second!” and ran over. Yu Shilan hurriedly pressed the open-door button.

Two youthful, pretty girls jogged into the elevator. One covered her chest and panted while taking out a mirror to check herself. The other took out her mirror as well while smiling and nodding at Yu Shilan.

Yu Shilan also nodded slightly. Because she was standing closer to the buttons, she asked them, “Which floor are you going to?”

“Eighth floor!” the girl replied. She leaned over to look and saw that the button for the eighth floor was already lit, so she immediately understood that Yu Shilan, like them, was also here to audition.

No assistant, no manager, and she herself was also here to audition for a supporting role. So the girl did not even say thank you to Yu Shilan, merely stepping back a little and nudging her companion.

The two girls whispered into each other’s ears. Yu Shilan did not fuss over it. Fortunately, the eighth floor arrived very quickly, and she stepped out of the elevator first.

As soon as she came out, she saw Assistant Director Wang. Assistant Director Wang smiled and waved at Yu Shilan, saying, “Come on, hurry. Go change clothes first, then get your makeup done.”

As she spoke, she handed Yu Shilan a paper bag.

She had to change clothes, and she had to put on a different makeup look too?

Yu Shilan’s heart was full of questions, but she did not ask anything. She obediently nodded and followed Assistant Director Wang to the makeup room.

When she came out after changing, Assistant Director Wang looked at her and nodded in satisfaction. Then she asked a very fashionable-looking man beside her to do Yu Shilan’s makeup before hurrying away.

The man looked several years older than Yu Shilan, yet when he introduced himself, he said, “I’m the makeup artist, Wen Fei. Miss Yu can call me Xiao Wen or Xiao Fei.”

With some difficulty, Yu Shilan called him Xiao Wen. “You don’t have to call me Miss Yu either. Just call me Xiao Yu.”

Yu Shilan’s personality was actually a little quiet and dull. Four years of university had already passed by three of them, leaving only her final year before graduation. But after such a long time—perhaps because she did not live on campus—she and her classmates were still only nodding acquaintances. She did not have a single deeply close friend.

But now that she was entering the entertainment industry, good social connections were extremely important. Even if she was not good at it, she still had to force herself to try.

As Wen Fei observed Yu Shilan’s face in the mirror, thinking about what makeup would suit the qipao she was wearing, he smiled and said, “Aiya, why call you Xiao Yu? Miss Yu, can I call you Lanlan? Or Shishi?”

Goosebumps instantly rose all over Yu Shilan. Lanlan? Shishi? Even her parents only called her Shilan. This cultured makeup artist was so effeminate that Yu Shilan almost wanted to misunderstand his sexual orientation.

At the mention of sexual orientation, Yu Shilan’s face reddened slightly.

Although she considered herself a straight woman, whenever she thought of the dreams she kept having, and the woman who appeared in those dreams, she could no longer be quite so righteous about it.

Even her voice became a little unnatural. “You, you can just call me… call me Shilan.”

Seeing Yu Shilan’s face faintly turn red, Wen Fei could not help finding it funny. These young girls who had just entered the entertainment industry really were all so pure they could practically be squeezed for water. After rolling around in the entertainment industry for a few years, every last one of them would turn into an old hand, each learning the essence of smiling without warmth.

He stopped teasing Yu Shilan. The young girl was still innocent right now. He could not corrupt her.

A professional makeup artist was fast and skilled. When the makeup was finished, Yu Shilan looked at herself in the mirror and almost did not dare recognize herself. She believed she was good-looking, but she had always been more dignified and pretty than glamorous and charming. Yet today…

Perhaps it was the qipao showing off a woman’s graceful, curving figure, adding a touch of alluring charm to her. Or perhaps Wen Fei was simply skilled, uncovering the beauty beneath her dignity. In any case, the her at this moment did not look like the usual her, but she was especially eye-catching.

Truly eye-catching.

Although Wen Fei was effeminate, he was genuinely a straight man. Even he, who was used to seeing the entertainment industry packed with beauties, lost focus for a moment.

Toward a pure beauty, Wen Fei became even more enthusiastic. “Shilan, don’t be nervous. I know what kind of drama Director Wang and the others are filming. Forget everything else—just by standing there in this qipao without saying a word, they’ll definitely give you a role.”

After all, she was pleasing to the eye!

Yu Shilan smiled, thanked him, and quickly left.

Wen Fei smiled crookedly and slowly began tidying up his makeup tools. But a ponytailed girl suddenly burst in from outside the door.

“Aiyo, I say, great Makeup Artist Wen, why are you still here? Our ancestor over there is so anxious she’s about to tear the roof off. Hurry, hurry!” she shouted at Wen Fei the moment she entered.

Only then did Wen Fei remember that he had come here today to do makeup as a favor for a good friend. But after being invited over by Director Wang and seeing such a beauty, he had actually forgotten his proper business.

“Ai, fine, fine, fine. Go calm her down first. I’ll be right there,” he hurriedly said. He packed up his things in a flash and rushed out, running toward the makeup room they had agreed on earlier.

As soon as he entered, an unidentified object came flying toward Wen Fei. Wen Fei set his makeup case on the table beside him, leaped up, and caught the thing with his other hand.

It was a snow-white plush charm. The genuine product sold on the official website for the equivalent of more than one thousand yuan, but it was already sold out and discontinued.

“Wow, our Yunyun is so rich now? Throwing around a plush charm worth more than a thousand yuan so casually?” He picked up his makeup case with a smile and walked over. “If you don’t want it, just throw it at me. I cherish it.”

Wang Yun rolled her eyes at him and scolded, “You damn sissy. If you’d come any later, this birthday present would’ve been gone!”

Birthday present?

Only then did Wen Fei remember that he had previously reposted a giveaway on his alternate Weibo account, saying he really liked this plush charm.

A wave of emotion passed through his heart, but on his face, he pounced forward ferociously as if he were going to strangle Wang Yun. “You damn woman, saying that about me again! In a bit, I’ll make you up into an ugly freak and have you lose the audition!”

“Pah, pah, pah!” Wang Yun spat three times in a row at him. “Enough, all right? Don’t you know I’m most afraid of that?”

Of course Wen Fei knew. He quickly changed his words too. “Fine, fine, fine. I won’t say it, I won’t say it. I’ll do your makeup properly and make sure that when you go over later, you won’t even need to say anything before they choose you immediately!”

“That’s more like it!” Wang Yun muttered, then looked at her own face in the mirror. “My dark circles are a little heavy. Make sure you cover them properly later.”

Wen Fei agreed and skillfully opened his makeup case.

Because the door was open, someone glanced inside while passing by. Then she let out a cold snort and quickly walked away.

Yu Shilan stood in the waiting line. Poor them—there were so many people here just to compete for a supporting role. Everyone was a little newcomer, so they were not even given a waiting room. One by one, they could only stand there.

Fortunately, the shoes she wore today were rather comfortable. Otherwise, after standing like this, by the time it was her turn, she guessed she might not even be able to walk.

Yu Shilan waited while recalling the lines for the audition. Suddenly, there was a stir behind her. She turned back along with the others and saw a girl in a goose-yellow dress walking over with two people who looked like her assistants.

Yu Shilan usually had a lot of part-time work, and she also had to study and manage her Weibo, so she did not know many of those second- or third-tier celebrities in the entertainment industry. Seeing that this girl had quite a grand manner, Yu Shilan looked at her several times but had no impression of her at all. She figured this person was probably a second- or third-tier celebrity.

The people beside her, however, recognized her. At this moment, someone said, “Why is Dai Qian here too? Could she also be here to audition? Are there other roles being auditioned for today as well?”

“I don’t know. But she’s already a little famous, and she’s also a rich young lady. Does she really need to compete with us for this kind of small role?”

While they were talking, Dai Qian walked over and stopped behind Yu Shilan.

“Miss Dai, you’re here. This is your number card.” The girl who had originally been standing behind Yu Shilan handed the number card to Dai Qian’s assistant.

So she had been lining up for Dai Qian.

Sure enough, no matter how big or small, she was still already a celebrity.

Yu Shilan merely thought this, then continued silently reciting her lines. But Dai Qian behind her was clearly not someone who could settle down quietly. Yu Shilan heard her speak to her assistant in a mocking tone.

“If I didn’t see wrong just now, the one in that makeup room was Wang Yun, wasn’t it?”

Her assistant chimed in, “Of course it was. With the way she is, she still got Wen Fei to do her makeup. Even if he made her look like a fairy, if she can’t do it, she still can’t do it.”

Dai Qian laughed lightly and said, “Ugly people make the most fuss, don’t they? Even if someone’s ugly, surely you can’t forbid them from dreaming.”

When Yu Shilan heard Wen Fei’s name, she had already pricked up her ears. But now, after hearing “ugly people make the most fuss,” she felt as if an arrow had struck her knee. Dai Qian was talking about that person called Wang Yun, but unfortunately, she had counted Yu Shilan in too.