Why Is the Male Lead Looking at Me Like That [Entertainment Circle] (BL) - Chapter 4

Watching the entire entertainment circle realize how beautiful Xia Xu was, Qi Hong took him to the audition.

The biggest project in the film and television circle lately was Director Zhang Mo’s new work.

Zhang Mo, a renowned TV series director in China, has only ever filmed historical dramas. He pursues a gorgeous, rich visual style reminiscent of classical oil paintings combined with Oriental charm. His works feature symmetrical composition, brilliant and beautiful colors, and an elegant classical sound, enjoying a certain reputation worldwide.

As a TV director, his output is very low. He only films one drama every seven years. From the time he entered the industry at thirty to his current age of sixty-five, he has filmed four historical dramas, and every single one is an exquisitely beautiful masterpiece, propelling countless people to fame. Several of the minor supporting actors in his last work are now mainstays in the entertainment circle.

So, when Director Zhang’s fifth work was put on the agenda, nearly half the entertainment circle went to audition.

What was the subject of the fifth work? No one knew.

All they knew was that it was a historical drama and they needed a group of beautiful men. Business ability was secondary; the first requirement was to be beautiful.

This was because Director Zhang said in an interview that he wanted to film a refined, decadent, historical drama full of romance and beautiful scenery (Fēng huā xuě yuè).

“I won’t tell you anything else, just remember one thing: what is your core competitiveness?” she looked at Xia Xu.

Although answering this way was a bit narcissistic, how could a person who was truly beautiful not know it?

Xia Xu humbly replied, “Not bad looking.”

“You’re not ‘not bad looking,’ you’re too good looking!” Qi Hong said. “When you audition later, don’t worry about acting well. What kind of acting does a rookie have? If you end up crying hysterically, you’re trying too hard in the wrong direction. Remember, you are a beautiful ‘vase’ right now. Act as pretty as you can! They are looking for beautiful men. You are so beautiful, I don’t believe they won’t be tempted.”

The entertainment circle does not lack handsome men, but she wasn’t exaggerating when she said there were definitely no more than three people as beautiful as Xia Xu.

In her opinion, Xia Xu should have been famous long ago.

Someone as handsome as Xia Xu, even if he didn’t become a massive star, shouldn’t have had any trouble becoming a second-tier artist after entering the industry.

But beauty is a double-edged sword. Sometimes, it can be the reason for success, and other times, the reason for failure. The entertainment circle is a field of fame and fortune, and where there is fame and fortune, temptation and danger coexist.

Too many people had their eyes on Xia Xu—female bosses, male bigwigs, and younger peers kept coming in waves. In a big forest, all kinds of birds exist. Where there are gentlemen, there are naturally villains. Less than half a year after Xia Xu entered the circle, a big shot surnamed Huang took a liking to him.

Xia Xu, a person who single-mindedly wanted to be famous and earn money, was unwilling to take the wrong path. The big shot, who was past fifty and still a dirty old man, became angry and embarrassed after being rejected.

The big shot was truly powerful, the kind who could shake the entertainment circle with a stomp of his foot. Xia Xu truly suffered a lot. Being replaced at the last minute was common, and he was often subjected to difficulties. It was only after the big shot was imprisoned last year that Xia Xu’s life slowly got better.

But his reputation was already tarnished; he was no longer the fledgling that first sang the year he entered. The entertainment circle also pays attention to luck. Once the rookie period passes, it’s too difficult to make a surprising comeback.

Of course, it was also related to their company’s lack of strength.

Hongyang Entertainment was a truly small company, and resources were severely limited.

But she always believed that as long as he was good-looking enough, there would always be an opportunity.

Director Zhang’s new drama was being filmed in Mo City in the northern suburbs of South City. This was a film and television city that Director Zhang financed and built after his second drama became a huge hit. This city was usually open to other film crews, but when Director Zhang’s drama was put on the agenda, Mo City served only Director Zhang.

The city gates were now tightly shut, and tourists were being turned away.

This was also Xia Xu’s first time entering Mo City. Looking at the two bright red characters on the city gate, he couldn’t help but sigh at the immense wealth.

They entered Mo City guided by Qi Hong’s crew friend. Mo City was different from the imperial cities he had seen before—it was more refined, archaic, and the colors were richer and more brilliant. It was divided into East and West sections: one half was a garden with mountains and water, and the other half was an elegant and grand imperial palace. A group of workers was planting white crabapple trees on both sides of the road. The sun shone on the red walls and black tiles in the distance, and the busy workers stretched as far as the eye could see.

They got onto a shuttle bus and traveled inward, passing through the dappled light and shadow beneath the palace walls.

Xia Xu’s heart was surging.

This is the scale of a major production.

“So many workers,” Qi Hong exclaimed.

“Director Zhang hopes to start filming before the weather gets too hot, so they’ve been rushing the schedule recently. Director Zhang is also extremely busy, eating and sleeping in Mo City,” the driver said as he drove. “Our casting process is quite special. Director Zhang has to personally review all actors, regardless of whether they are leads or supporting roles. The assistant director can only give opinions and can’t make the final decision. Otherwise, since the assistant director and I are good friends, I could have helped put in a good word, but now you have to rely on yourselves.”

“We’ve already troubled you so much. When you have time, let’s have a meal together,” Qi Hong said.

The man smiled, looked back at Xia Xu, and said, “You might really have to treat me. I think you’ll make it.”

Qi Hong smiled and asked, “Really?”

“The young man is genuinely beautiful,” the man said sincerely.

Xia Xu wasn’t just handsome, nor was he merely beautiful. To be more precise, these words weren’t accurate enough.

The more precise word was pretty (or gorgeous).

He glowed. The man was stunned at first sight.

Qi Hong had gone all out this time. She made Xia Xu put on more than ten face masks in the last two days alone, and his makeup was as flawless as possible. With the sun shining on him, Xia Xu lived up to his name.

The crew member’s words gave both of them great confidence. After getting out of the car, they followed the man inside. The audition location was near a Buddhist temple in the southwest corner. Many people had gathered outside the hall. A massive, ancient-looking Buddha statue, about ten meters high, stood outside the main hall, looking magnificent. A worker was perched on a scaffold, pouring water into the palm of the Buddha’s hand.

Xia Xu looked up at the statue and felt the Buddha’s eyes, slightly cast down, looking at him—both holy and merciful.

“Xia Xu,” Qi Hong called him.

He quickly followed her. After walking past the statue, he suddenly saw a familiar face emerge from the main hall.

It was a handsome middle-aged man, followed by a young idol with fair skin and rosy lips.

The face was somewhat familiar, but he couldn’t recall who it was. It was probably someone in the circle.

So, Xia Xu very humbly bowed to the person.

This was one of the experiences he accumulated over his few years in the entertainment circle.

When you don’t recognize someone, being humble is definitely the right move.

The other man paused, walked a distance, and then looked back.

“Was that Xia Xu?” Brother Cai asked.

The young idol behind him said, “It looks like it. He’s so good-looking.”

He really is good-looking.

Better looking than in the video.

The sun shone on his tall, slender back. His light red shirt made him so beautiful that people couldn’t take their eyes off him.

Brother Cai was there to audition his artists.

Director Zhang’s team had actually extended an olive branch to Nan Qingyan, wanting him to play a famous monk role in the drama. Nan Qingyan was very interested at first, but after hearing that the rating would be 13+ (indicating suggestive or mature content), he decisively refused.

There were too many kissing scenes.

But they couldn’t ignore Director Zhang’s massive project. If Nan Qingyan wouldn’t take it, Brother Cai could recommend his other artists.

“He and Qingyan are a match.”

This was Brother Cai’s biggest feeling after meeting Xia Xu in person.

Their CP chemistry was absolutely incredible. No wonder netizens shipped them. They were both people who glowed—one with dazzling beauty, the other with cool elegance.

After returning and seeing Nan Qingyan, he conveyed the director’s sincerity again.

Director Zhang truly valued Nan Qingyan and felt the role of the famous monk, Liu Qing, was perfect for him. He was even willing to add scenes to ensure Nan Qingyan maintained his position as the first male lead.

Director Zhang was a master-level director who rarely made concessions for actors. This showed genuine appreciation.

However, Brother Cai knew that conveying the message was useless.

There was simply no convincing Nan Qingyan once he made up his mind.

With Nan Qingyan’s severe mysophobia, how could he possibly film kissing scenes with people?

Brother Cai had always had a headache over Nan Qingyan’s unwillingness to film romance.

Eight out of ten dramas in the entertainment circle were about falling in love, especially for roles of Nan Qingyan’s age.

If he doesn’t film romance, Brother Cai felt Nan Qingyan was wasting the face God gave him.

But what could he do about Nan Qingyan?

The young master entered the entertainment circle not for money or fame, but simply to do whatever he pleased.

“By the way, I saw Xia Xu in Mo City today. He went to audition for this drama, too,” Brother Cai looked at Nan Qingyan and said half-jokingly, “Honestly, no wonder netizens ship you two. You’re a match.”

Nan Qingyan was playing a mobile game and didn’t even look up.

“I think he might get cast,” Brother Cai said. “I just wonder who he’ll play.”

Nan Qingyan continued his killing spree without expression, only letting out a quiet “Mhm.”

“Seeing him in person, I feel your getting dumped is understandable,” Brother Cai finally said. “He truly is beautiful enough to glow.”

Then he heard the phone let out a sound: “KO.”

Nan Qingyan was eliminated from the game.

Director Zhang’s audition process involved direct camera tests.

Xia Xu didn’t know which one among the group of people was Director Zhang. A cluster of lights shone on him. He followed the assistant director’s instructions, taking shots from head to toe. After the shoot, a group of people whispered among themselves, but he couldn’t hear them, so he stood obediently under the bright lights.

On the monitor, his face was dazzlingly white from the light, and the shirt he wore was as bright as fire.

It was early May, past the beginning of summer, and the weather was already getting hot. The bright lights made it even hotter.

After a few more minutes, a staff member handed him a sheet of paper.

This was the usual audition procedure. Sometimes, the script provided wasn’t necessarily for the drama being filmed; it was usually a specific scenario with a few lines, mainly to check basic skills. After reading for a while, he realized the person he was to play was “noble yet promiscuous.”

[“They all say I am possessed by a demon. Master, with your clear vision, what demon do you think is clinging to me?”

The young monk turned his head to look at him, and in the shadow of the lamplight, he was shocked to find that the man’s dark hair was loose, and under his thin robe embroidered with crabapple flowers, he wore nothing. The monk quickly turned his head away.

The man chuckled, lowly and proudly, “What did Master just say? A beautiful, white face is merely a skeleton covered in flesh? A beautiful woman in heavy makeup is only a leak under a garment?”]

He really didn’t expect to be asked to audition for such a hardcore scene.

He wasn’t from a professional acting school and didn’t possess natural talent. As Qi Hong said, he really only had his face going for him. He didn’t know how well he acted, but after finishing the “promiscuous” part, the people around him were laughing, and his face was completely red.

Then he heard someone ask, “The scale of our drama is quite large. Can you handle it?”

Xia Xu couldn’t give any other answer at that moment: “The scale is no problem for me. I can even do an 18+ rating.”

The people next to him burst into laughter.

“It’s not that big,” a man wearing a hat laughed.

After leaving the room, Qi Hong asked him, “How did it go? How did it go?”

Xia Xu was a bit discouraged: “Not very well.”

Qi Hong, however, was optimistic and comforted him, “Let’s wait and see.”

She felt there was a chance because when a few staff members left the room earlier, she heard them all saying that Xia Xu was so beautiful.

The entertainment circle needs two types of people: those with acting skills and those who are good-looking enough. Although the public often looks down on the second type of actor, the truth is, the entertainment circle also needs good-looking vases.

They waited outside for about ten minutes. Staff members kept passing by in a hurry. Some carried extremely intricate costumes in brilliant, fragrant colors. Qi Hong asked and learned that they were setting up a scene by the pool behind the temple to shoot concept photos and posters, as filming was about to start.

“Can we go take a look?” Xia Xu couldn’t help but ask.

“Sure, just don’t take any pictures.”

Even Qi Hong was very curious. The two followed the staff to the back of the temple. A worker was burning coffee beans to create smoke. The light smoke drifted and was blown by a fan onto the water, fluctuating and spreading along the surface of the pool. Under the shade of flowers and trees, a group of male actors in snow-white robes, with loose black hair and pure, simple attire, stood by the water’s edge, their foreheads tied only with vermilion headbands. Their clothes fluttered, and their postures were elegant.

The gorgeous flowers and the thin, dreamlike smoke left Xia Xu and Qi Hong stunned.

Both of them were even more anxious after returning from the back of the temple.

They absolutely had to get into this drama!

Besides them, other managers continued to bring actors in for auditions, all young idols.

Finally, the assistant director came out and told them to go home and wait for news.

It wasn’t a definitive rejection, so it was a result that was neither good nor bad.

Xia Xu had failed so many auditions and was replaced at the last minute so often. Although there was foul play involved, it had somewhat worn down his initial spirit and undermined his confidence. He was always pessimistic about auditions now.

Fortunately, he had some popularity lately and received many jobs. After leaving Mo City, he went on a tour to perform in the countryside, working non-stop for several days. Xia Xu put the audition out of his mind.

It wasn’t until a week later, after he and his teammates finished a performance in a small county town in West City and went to visit a nearby temple, that he remembered. The temple was a thousand-year-old ancient temple located in the northern suburbs of the county. There was a large Buddha statue there, and as soon as he saw it, he immediately thought of the one he saw in Mo City.

Looks like the audition failed again.

Cannon fodder fate.

The trending searches he was on, the Nan Qingyan he met at the gala, and the unnamed drama he auditioned for were all like a spring dream, leaving no trace when he woke up.

Fortunately, he was used to it after all these years.

“I heard making a wish here is very effective. Let’s all make a wish! Does anyone have coins?” Wen Yu asked, standing by the wishing well.

Then Xia Xu and the others all pulled out handfuls of coins.

The group looked at each other.

“Looks like we’re of one mind,” Zou Kai said.

“What are you going to wish for?” Huang Yue asked.

“Let’s wish that we’ll become mega-hits this year!” Wen Yu said.

The others all laughed.

Huang Yue said, “Forget it.”

“We’ve wished for so many years; it’s useless,” Zou Kai said.

“I don’t care. I wish that we will be better this year than last year, that we’ll be famous everywhere, treated like VIPs wherever we go, have millions of fans, have to wear masks when we go out, and have so much money we can’t spend it all.” Wen Yu said this as he tossed a few coins into the well.

The coins splashed in the wishing well, and everyone laughed.

Just as Xia Xu was about to throw his coins, the phone in his pocket suddenly rang.

It was Qi Hong calling.

“Where are you!!” Qi Hong shrieked.

Xia Xu was startled: “What’s wrong? We’re at… at a temple on the mountain.”

Wen Yu and the others all turned to look at Xia Xu.

Qi Hong’s voice was so loud they could all hear it.

The situation looks serious. Qi Hong is so excited.

Everyone looked nervously at Xia Xu, watching his face gradually turn red. His eyes and expression changed, and he kept saying, “Is that true?”

After he hung up, Huang Yue quickly asked, “What’s up? What happened?”

Xia Xu looked at the others, then at Wen Yu: “Your wish… seems to have come true.”

After Xia Xu said this, he threw the entire handful of coins in his hand into the wishing well. Splash! The coins caused countless ripples in the water.

A day later, Qi Hong sat across from Xia Xu, her eyes shining with excitement.

“This drama will mark many firsts.”

“For example, this will be the first drama that will be shown to the audience via live stream during the filming process. For example, this will be the most expensive web drama per episode in the history of historical dramas… But these are not the most noteworthy points.”

“The most noteworthy thing is its subject matter.” Qi Hong handed him a thin file.

On the cover was a string of vermilion Buddhist beads, with a piece of jade tied below it with a heart knot. Two large golden characters on the cover read: [TYRANT].

To the right of the title were two vertical lines of smaller text.

[Above ten thousand people, below one person.]

“This drama tells the story of a mad and arrogant tyrant.”

“The reason he is a tyrant is that he is completely unstable—he has the hereditary neurological disorder of a lunatic family—and he is extremely fond of men. It’s said that he has over eight hundred men in his harem… Some of these men offer themselves to him, some are tributes from officials, but most are kidnapped and imprisoned by him in the palace. They range from noble princes and marquises to slaves and courtesans, of varying genders and ages. And he’s still not satisfied! He also likes to ride out of the palace on excursions and snatch anyone he finds good-looking. The emperor’s licentious behavior has caused widespread panic, until a beautiful and dignified famous monk enters the palace to redeem him. And the story of our drama begins there.”

“The first-ever BL Harem Drama! I heard that the main actors currently cast are all beautiful men—it’s a massive collection of handsome men in the entertainment circle, generating huge buzz. Think about it: you turn on the TV, and holy crap, there’s a bunch of gorgeous male celebrities! You can ship this one, you can ship that one—wouldn’t you want to watch a drama like that? It would be an offense to heaven if this drama didn’t become a massive hit!”