The casting process, which had lasted for over half a month, finally reached the stage of taking promotional photos.
On this day, Quan Jiu, as usual, sent Mi Mi and Tu Tu to school before rushing to the film set.
In the waiting hall for actors, a group of selected actors were excitedly congratulating each other. However, they soon discovered a strange phenomenon: Xing Di and Liu Wenwen had also been selected.
"One of them is an online drama actor who isn't even in the eighteenth tier, and the other has almost no acting experience. How did they get selected?" someone wondered.
"They probably only have a few seconds of extra roles. After all, it's scriptwriter Nine. Even if it's just an extra, it's a chance to be seen," another person speculated.
"But Xing Di is really handsome, truly the pinnacle of rugged charm."
"Xiao Qi is the most handsome, of course. He's the male lead."
"Are you sure Xiao Qi is the male lead?"
"Isn't that obvious? Who else could it be? Xiao Qi as the male lead and Zhang Sui as the female lead, it's set in stone."
Hearing the discussions behind him, Xiao Qi smiled confidently.
Zhang Sui stood beside him and deliberately leaned in, saying, "Congratulations, Xiao Qi. Among all the actors I've acted with, you're the most compatible."
"Congratulations to you too," Xiao Qi replied politely, then buried his head back in his script.
Zhang Sui, not receiving an enthusiastic response, felt a bit put off and didn't say anything more.
The assistant picked up a water cup and said to Xiao Qi, "I'll go get some water."
However, as he passed by Xing Di, he saw that Xing Di was also looking at the male lead's script, which struck him as odd. After getting the water, he whispered to Xiao Qi, "Xing Di is also looking at the male lead's script."
Xiao Qi glanced over.
He was just an insignificant actor from the eighteenth tier, not worth his attention. He indifferently withdrew his gaze, "He probably really likes the male lead role."
"Liu Wenwen, you're looking at the female lead's script? Are you okay?" Suddenly, someone laughed, drawing the attention of everyone present.
Xiao Qi also looked over.
He remembered Liu Wenwen. She had a very clean appearance and clear eyes, looking a bit naive. Honestly, her image was more fitting than Zhang Sui's, but she was a complete newcomer with green acting skills.
Liu Wenwen's face turned red as her script was snatched away, and she stammered something unintelligible.
The person who snatched the script sneered even louder, "What? You're a candidate for the female lead? You must be dreaming of being the female lead."
The other onlookers also burst into laughter. A newcomer claiming to be a candidate for the female lead was utterly ridiculous.
Liu Wenwen was both anxious and angry, "Give me back my script."
The person who snatched the script tossed it high in the air, "You're daydreaming. I'm just trying to wake you up."
The script fell to the ground.
Xing Di, standing a short distance away, walked over expressionlessly, picked up the script, and said, "This is a script, not trash." He placed the script back into Liu Wenwen's hand.
Liu Wenwen smiled gratefully. Seeing Xing Di turn to leave, she couldn't help but follow him.
The person who threw the script was embarrassed by Xing Di's cold shoulder. They let out a disgruntled hmph and continued to discuss Liu Wenwen with others.
Liu Wenwen felt awkward and wronged, muttering softly, "The director really asked me to come for the female lead's promotional photos. I wasn't lying."
"Mm."
Liu Wenwen looked at the script in Xing Di's hand and immediately recognized it as the male lead's script. She happily said, "So you're the male lead."
Her voice wasn't quiet, and others heard it.
The male lead? Xiao Qi looked over. It was Xing Di.
He told himself that he was just an insignificant actor and shouldn't care, yet he couldn't control himself from stepping forward.
"There will only be one male lead and one female lead," he said, holding up his male lead script, his meaning clear.
This caused the scene to become completely lively: What was going on? Two male and female leads appeared at the same time?
However, more people didn't see it that way. In their opinion, Xing Di and Liu Wenwen were still dreaming.
"I thought it was just a rumor and didn't believe it, but I didn't expect there to be a competition."
Everyone looked at the speaker, Liu Liu, who played the third female lead.
"What competition?" someone asked, confused.
Liu Liu said, "The scriptwriter and the producer had a disagreement over the casting of the male and female leads. They chose two different sets of people, and when they couldn't reach a consensus, they proposed a competitive solution."
The crowd was in an uproar. Then they all looked at Xing Di and Liu Wenwen.
Chen Yan, the second female lead who had previously snatched Liu Wenwen's script, looked incredulous, "Impossible. How could Liu Wenwen compete with sister Zhang Sui?" Even she was relegated to the second female lead; why would a newcomer have the possibility of being the female lead?
Liu Wenwen was flustered by the truth that her single sentence had revealed.
She timidly glanced at Zhang Sui, who was also looking at her, her eyes as sharp as knives.
Liu Wenwen flinched in fear and murmured dejectedly, "So I'm really not the female lead. Compared to Zhang Sui, I definitely can't compare."
"Why would it be like this? Xiao Qi and Xing Di, Zhang Sui and Liu Wenwen, isn't the outcome obvious? Is it just for hype?" someone else asked, puzzled.
Liu Liu shook her head, "No. The scriptwriter chose Xing Di and Liu Wenwen, while the producer chose Xiao Qi and Zhang Sui. They just have differing opinions."
These words caused another wave of commotion.
"Nine is so capable, why would she choose those two?"
"I heard it was to prove her own judgment, so she deliberately went against the grain."
"This is too unreliable. Is she capable? Is casting something as casual as eating?"
"Who says not? Even many people within the crew are waiting to see her make a fool of herself. She caused such a stir before, and if this incident gets out, she'll be utterly disgraced."
"A friend of hers said she's incredibly ugly and an old shut-in. I think she definitely likes Xing Di, so she's deliberately trying to please him."
"Xing Di is considered good. It's Liu Wenwen who's unfathomable. She's nothing, yet they chose her as the female lead? Is her brain not working properly?"
... Various doubts and discussions continued, and Xiao Qi's unpleasant expression finally eased slightly. He glanced indifferently at Xing Di, trying to suppress the displeasure in his heart.
Zhang Sui also sneered disdainfully, "A newcomer with no acting skills wants to compete with me. If this gets out, wouldn't it be said that I'm bullying a newcomer?"
Xiao Qi didn't respond but focused even more intently on his script. Today, for the promotional photos, there would be a scene of the male and female leads interacting. He was determined to let that competitor know what a gap was.
...
Producer Wang Qiang and director Luo Cheng overheard all these words.
Wang Qiang said irritably, "She's using her minor fame to disregard the rules. I'll see how she handles this situation."
Luo Qiang also sighed helplessly, "Young people are all hot-headed. Although what she said makes sense, the film set is not a school. We can't specifically accommodate newcomers for their development."
"We must keep the news sealed, otherwise, if it gets out, it will also negatively affect the crew," Wang Qiang said, still considering the crew's interests despite his anger.
But he didn't expect that there would always be people who liked to stir up trouble and had their brains scrambled.
After learning about the competition, Chen Yan, without a second thought, passed the information to a gossip reporter. She didn't consider that as the second female lead, she would also be implicated if the crew had bad rumors.