Qi Yu never expected that her ordinary act of jumping off a cliff would spark so many ideas in the director.
Director Wang, seeing Qi Yu finished with her work and about to play on her phone, walked over as if remembering something and tentatively discussed with her, "Qi Yu, have you studied dance before? I just noticed that the mid-air spin you did during the shoot was truly beautiful!"
As he spoke, Director Wang handed her his business card, then took out a new script. "This is also for this drama, but it's not for a stunt double. It's for a very beautiful villain role. Oh, I don't know if you'll like it, because if you actually take on the role, it means you'll be officially signed. But I don't know how your acting is yet."
Director Wang's implied meaning was to gauge Qi Yu's acting skills. If her acting was very good, he would directly give her the villain role in the script.
Qi Yu carefully flipped through the script and felt the character was quite good. She seemed to have done something similar before, so without a second thought, she nodded in agreement.
Director Wang's face lit up with joy. He quickly asked Qi Yu to choose a scene and come with him to audition.
Qi Yu casually flipped through the script.
In the blink of an eye, she had memorized the entire script.
When she arrived at the audition office, Qi Yu walked in with the script in her hand and found it filled with directors.
Qi Yu wiped the sweat from her forehead, never imagining that a simple filming session would attract so many people watching her.
She turned to the page she wanted to act out and, in a very natural tone, gave a brief performance.
In the script Director Wang had given her, the villain she was to play was a supporting female character who was constantly overshadowed and compared to the female lead, eventually becoming a villain due to inferiority complex and psychological disparity.
The scene she chose was precisely when the supporting female character was about to turn evil.
Qi Yu felt she had captured the feeling quite accurately, as it mirrored her own darkest period of emotional experience.
Following the familiar script lines, she acted out the feeling in her heart.
Her spiritual energy surged, causing her robes to flutter.
Director Wang, Director Li, and the other directors in the room were all stunned, sitting there staring blankly.
After Qi Yu finished her performance, she stood still for five minutes. Seeing them still staring, she couldn't help but prompt, "Director Wang, my performance is over. What do you think? Do you want me to try other scenes?"
In fact, the part she had just acted out was the most conflict-ridden and explosive scene in the entire supporting female character's storyline.
Director Wang turned to Director Li and discussed, "I really thought that scene was quite good. If she performed that part so well, it should be even better with post-production special effects. But her resume doesn't seem to mention any acting studies. I wonder why she can act so well."
"Qi Yu, your records show you haven't had formal training, but your acting was truly outstanding just now. What experience did you draw upon? Or have you had other acting experience before?"
Director Wang wasn't particularly concerned about this, but some actors had existing contracts that they didn't disclose, leading to many contractual disputes later on.
Director Wang had learned his lesson from such situations.
That's why he was asking these questions indirectly.
Although Qi Yu hadn't experienced such things, she could guess what Director Wang was worried about. So, she casually replied, "I haven't learned acting from anyone. It's all based on my own experience and insights, a spontaneous inspiration. Besides this, I haven't joined any company. My resume is truly a blank slate."
Qi Yu was simply telling the truth.
Si Qing and the others were secretly listening outside the door.
Seeing Qi Yu say this, Director Wang believed her more and immediately made a decision to cast her.
Director Li had no objections, and the other directors nodded in agreement.
Qi Yu signed her name on the contract with a flourish, her value instantly doubling. She went from being an ordinary martial arts stunt double to a minor villain in a Xianxia drama.
Although the role didn't have many scenes, she was now a formal actress. More importantly, Qi Yu could work as both a martial arts stunt double and a villain. The combined pay for both jobs made even Wang Lanqing's mouth water.
"Sister Qi Yu, normal martial arts stunt doubles don't get paid this much, and they only eat boxed lunches with everyone else. But you've actually gotten the director to assign you a separate room to live in. It seems Director Wang really cares about you," Wang Lanqing chattered beside Qi Yu. "Sister Qi Yu, do you plan to stay in this industry long-term? Becoming a small celebrity here first would be very good. Top stars have all sorts of glamour, and most importantly, becoming a top star means owning luxury cars and houses."
The thought of a life where she was adored wherever she went made Wang Lanqing's eyes sparkle.
Qi Yu didn't feel much about it. "You mean becoming those celebrities people fawn over in videos? But isn't that kind of life exhausting? No matter what you do, a crowd of people are following and filming you, so you have to maintain a persona in front of others."
"And to prevent your life from collapsing, you have to carefully maintain this facade. Even eating an extra chicken leg feels like a struggle."
Wang Lanqing was a little surprised. "Sister Qi Yu, you're quite something now, knowing terms like 'maintaining a persona.' Contemporary celebrities are indeed a bit hardworking, but if it's not hard, where does the sweetness come from? And this hardship is a small matter for people like you."
After all, those celebrities feared being secretly filmed mainly because they were ordinary mortals, with no magic or illusionary arts to use.
But Qi Yu, as the Heavenly Dao, could do anything. Was she really afraid of paparazzi?
Hearing this, Qi Yu thought about it carefully and felt it made some sense.
Si Qing shrugged beside her. "Don't underestimate the humans here, especially those celebrities and actors. They've undergone years of training and can control their emotions with ease, which is something we amateur actors can't match. The reason Sister performed so well during the audition was mainly because the supporting villain role she chose was one that Sister had experienced before."
Qi Yu had to nod. "That's right. I don't have to exert much emotional effort because I've experienced it, so I know how to portray it. But if you asked me to act out a scene like being dumped by a boyfriend, I probably couldn't do it."