Director Xu raised his hand and pointed at a few people, telling them to leave.

Ye Fu let out a quiet breath—the finger hadn’t pointed at her.

She subtly observed the people around her and realized that in less than two minutes, fewer than five remained.

“You’ve all seen the slip of paper in your hands, right? That’s correct—everyone has the same audition prompt: the single word ‘cry.’” Director Xu adjusted his glasses as he spoke. Though he wasn’t yet fifty, his hair was completely white, making him look much older, and his voice carried a weathered tone. “Starting now, you have one minute to perform.”

Ye Fu stood there blankly. The other four actresses had already dropped to their knees, crying. They cried with deep sorrow; some even wailed loudly, shouting random names as they added improvised drama to their performance.

Ye Fu was slow to get into character. She knew this about herself, which was why she always arrived an hour early when filming. But auditions weren’t like filming—there was no preparation time, especially when the prompt had just been handed out.

She didn’t have enough time to prepare. When Director Xu called stop, her tears had only just begun to well up.

“You, you, you… go home.” Director Xu pointed.

Resigned, Ye Fu picked up her underwear, preparing to put it back on, when she saw Director Xu frown and point at her again.

“You—cry again.”

Ye Fu looked at him in surprise.

“You didn’t manage to cry just now. I’ll give you another chance.” After speaking, Director Xu looked at her. “You have one more minute.”

“She gets into character slowly.” The man beside Director Xu suddenly spoke. His voice was deep and magnetic, extremely pleasant to hear. “Shall I help?”

Director Xu glanced at him in surprise. “Sure.”

“Cen Luan!” The actress beside Ye Fu covered her mouth in excitement. “It really is him!”

Ye Fu was also shocked—the man was actually the Best Actor, Cen Luan.

At twenty-four, Cen Luan had won Best Actor with Director Xu’s film Red. It had become a global hit that year, and he stayed famous for years. A few years ago, it was said he went abroad for further studies and had been gone for a long time. After finally returning, he hadn’t taken on any roles—who would have expected to see him here at an audition?

As Cen Luan walked over, he removed his sunglasses.

His irises were very light in color, giving him a distant, cold appearance. When he wasn’t smiling, he seemed even more aloof. He casually tossed the sunglasses onto the table.

When he reached Ye Fu, he didn’t say a word. Suddenly, he grabbed her by the neck and pressed her down onto the wooden floor.

The sudden pain struck her fragile spine. Before Ye Fu could even cry out, the actress beside her screamed in fright.

Hearing that scream, Ye Fu suddenly understood—this was the Best Actor helping her find the right emotional state.

Cry.

Could it be… the cry of someone being assaulted?

The moment she grasped it, she immediately struggled, her mind racing with the thought: this man is going to violate me. Tears streamed down instantly as she cried out,

“Please… let me go—!”

Tears covered her face, her body trembling as she sobbed.

Ye Fu’s body was beautiful, her skin extremely fair—like polished jade. Many women were beautiful, but not all cried beautifully. Ye Fu was different; when she cried, she looked especially captivating. When her eyes had first filled with tears, Director Xu had already wanted to see what she would look like fully crying.

Now he saw it, and his eyes lit up. “Alright.”

“You can go,” Director Xu said to another actress. Then he looked at Ye Fu. “Maintain your figure. No injuries or changes. If anything comes up, contact me immediately. In three days, come to this address—we start filming.”

After handing her a business card and address, Director Xu turned and left.

Ye Fu stood there in a daze for a moment before realizing she had passed the audition. She quickly got up, thanked the director, and then remembered that the Best Actor, Cen Luan, was still standing beside her.

“Thank you…” she said awkwardly, covering her chest with her hands.

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