"Yuan Meng, the competition for this movie role is indeed quite fierce. If you don't get it, it's normal. It doesn't mean your acting is bad. Don't be discouraged. Keep trying!" The agent, who had just finished her work and came to see Yuan Meng, comforted her. Although the agent knew that Yuan Meng entered the entertainment circle just because of a word from Ling Qianchen, she still had high hopes for this kind - hearted, lovely and hard - working girl.
"I'll look for more opportunities for you when I get back. There are quite a few good scripts recently. If we try a few more, we're sure to succeed." Although the agent highly recognized Yuan Meng, when she thought of Ye Wanning, a movie queen, competing for the same role in the same group, she naturally assumed that Yuan Meng would not get the role.
"Thank you. It's so nice to have you as my agent!" Yuan Meng gave the agent a sweet smile. Yuan Meng knew in her heart that with her acting skills, as long as the director wasn't blind and there was no backstage manipulation, the probability of her succeeding in the audition was high. However, she didn't say much to the agent. The result would prove everything.
Three days later
On a sunny afternoon, Yuan Meng was alone again in the Ling Mansion. Being unrestrained, she was sitting in Ling Qianchen's study reading a book. A beam of sunlight shone through the window of the study, making the girl in the room look extremely dazzling.
Ring - ring - ring, ring - ring - ring...
A ringing phone interrupted the tranquility of this beautiful picture of a girl reading.
Yuan Meng picked up the phone and pressed the answer button. Just as she was about to speak, she heard the excited voice of her agent from the receiver: "Yuan Meng, do you know what just happened?! The director of *A Sad Story* just called me and said you've succeeded in the audition!!!"
In contrast to the agent's excitement, Yuan Meng on this end of the phone was calm. "It's just luck, just luck. Maybe the director just really likes me. And thank you for your help. Otherwise, I wouldn't have succeeded in the audition so smoothly!"
"You're really amazing, Yuan Meng. The competition was so fierce. You were competing with a movie queen for a role. I really didn't misjudge you!
By the way, the director said it should be okay for you to enter the crew in half a month. You should prepare well. I'll come and give you some acting lessons tomorrow if I'm free. If we do a good job this time, we're sure to make a big splash!" The agent's tone was so excited that it seemed as if she could already see the day when Yuan Meng became a movie queen.
"Thank you. Let's work hard together! See you tomorrow." After hanging up the phone, Yuan Meng's expression softened involuntarily, and a nice smile appeared on her lips. Usually, people saw her fake smiles a lot, so this sincere smile looked extremely charming.
Although she didn't really care whether her acting career would be a great success, it was really a pleasant thing to do a job well and get others' recognition.
After all, it was Ling Qianchen who asked Yuan Meng to enter the entertainment circle, so Ling Qianchen had channels to know about Yuan Meng's situation.
"Is this Yuan Meng's agent? This is Ling Qianchen."
"Ling... Mr. Ling! I'm Yuan Meng's agent. Do you want to ask about her situation?" The agent had seen a lot in the world. Apart from being a little surprised at first that Ling Qianchen would call him, he didn't show any strange reactions.
"I heard Yuan Meng succeeded in the audition? Tell me what you think of her acting skills?"
The agent had a slight doubt in his heart. Since she was his wife, why didn't he just go home and ask her in person? But the agent knew these were not his business, so he still answered Ling Qianchen's question truthfully.
"Yes, Mr. Ling. Yuan Meng is really amazing. The competition for this role was very intense. There was even a movie queen competing with Yuan Meng for the same role in the same group. It was really unexpected that Yuan Meng could get the role. And this director is well - known for being strict. Being recognized by him shows that Yuan Meng's acting skills are really great."
Ling Qianchen didn't show any abnormality. He just found a random excuse to dismiss the agent. However, after hanging up the phone, Ling Qianchen fell into deep thought.
In his heart, Yuan Meng had always been a naive and innocent little rabbit. All she did every day was whimper and sniffle. Although she was cute, she was also quite annoying. Yuan Meng actually succeeded in the audition for such a difficult script this time. Was Yuan Meng really extremely talented in acting, and he had achieved unexpected success without much effort? Or had Yuan Meng been pretending to be weak to outwit him all along?
The seed of doubt was firmly planted in Ling Qianchen's heart. He decided that he must find an opportunity to test Yuan Meng again.
On Yuan Meng's side, she was still reading the script and studying the characters when suddenly Yan Ke'er called.
"Sister Mengmeng, look at the hot searches on Weibo. Someone actually bought negative news to smear you!"
"Smear me? Read it to me." Yuan Meng wasn't overly panicked when she heard the news. After all, the person who could smear her and get away unscathed probably hadn't been born yet.
"Sister Mengmeng, don't be angry when I read it... The 18 - line actress Yuan Meng snatched the role of movie queen Ye Wanning through connections. Who is the backer behind her?" Yan Ke'er gritted her teeth, getting angrier as she spoke.
"Sister Mengmeng, they're just talking nonsense! You snatched Ye Wanning's role? It's clearly that her acting skills are inferior to yours!"
"It's okay, Ke'er. The innocent will remain innocent, and the guilty will expose themselves. There's no need to argue with these people. We just need to do a good job in the acting." Yuan Meng herself didn't think it was a big deal. There would always be some people in the world who would distort the truth out of jealousy. In the end, their jealousy would also ruin them.
"I won't talk to you anymore, Ke'er. I'm going to the company to discuss countermeasures. See you in the crew in half a month."
Seeing that the negative news didn't affect Yuan Meng, Yan Ke'er felt relieved. "Okay, Sister Mengmeng, come on!" Then they hung up the phone.
Although Yuan Meng didn't care about the negative news, she was now at the center of the storm, so she still dressed up in full gear, wearing a hat, sunglasses and a mask, and drove to the company.
The agent had been waiting for her at the company early. The entire public relations team was also trying their best to suppress the news, but they still couldn't outdo the side that released the negative news.
"The most important thing now is to find out who released the negative news so that we can know what they really want." The agent said anxiously to the investigators, "We're just waiting for Yuan Meng to come. Then we can analyze who we've offended."
However, it was going to be difficult for Yuan Meng to reach the company.
Yuan Meng was photographed and followed all the way after she left the Ling Mansion. Finally, when she passed a small road with few people, she was blocked on the road by a group of reporters.
[Is that Yuan Meng? May I ask if it's true that you snatched the resources from Movie Queen Ye?]
[Miss Yuan Meng, according to insiders, you had a conflict with Movie Queen Ye at the audition site. Was it for the role?]
[Miss Yuan Meng, it's said that the backer behind you is very powerful. Is the news true?]
Yuan Meng sat in the car, looking at a group of reporters surrounding her with microphones. She couldn't help feeling annoyed. She rubbed her forehead and picked up her phone to send a WeChat message.
"It's so noisy..." Yuan Meng complained while waiting for something.