Chasing the Light

Liang Xincheng’s work in Beijing was not over yet and there was also an audition for a movie, which was the Republic of China film that Liu Fan told him about before. Although he was really not very interested when Liu Fan mentioned it at the time, Liu Fan insisted that he give it a try, so Liang Xincheng had to agree.

The audition took place at director Peng Lai’s studio. Peng Lai had always been a prominent figure in the industry and had many masterpieces to his name. The opportunity was very good, but Liang Xincheng did not hold much hope. It was not that he didn’t have confidence in himself, it was just that a lot of times confidence didn’t help.

He wasn’t the only one who came to audition, there was also Xia Yuanhang who was still sick.

Xia Yuanhang came a little later. Liang Xincheng had already changed into his costume when he came in. He was wearing a simple white shirt and suit. The original fluffy brown curly hair was dyed black and straightened, neatly combed, and the slightly longer bangs were properly placed in front of his forehead, making him look a lot less flashy, more handsome and elegant.

Xia Yuanhang subconsciously stopped in his tracks, Liang Xincheng smiled at him and took the initiative to come over and greet him: “Has the fever gone down? Is your arm okay?”

“It’s much better after a good night’s sleep, and my arm doesn’t hurt anymore. I’ll change the dressing once this is over.” Xia Yuanhang nodded. Looking at Liang Xincheng in front of him, his mind was a little confused for no reason.

He had never seen Liang Xincheng dressed like this. Liang Xincheng’s appearance tended to be on the flashy side and he often wore heavy makeup. It was easy for people to ignore his own appearance. In fact, his simple and clean appearance was good enough.

This movie told the story of the protagonist’s growth in a turbulent era of ups and downs; the feud between the country and the family, and the love of children were mixed together. In the beginning, the male protagonist was a naive and pure rich son who was not well-versed in the world but at the end of the movie, he grew into an iron-blooded soldier who stood on the top of the world. It was a big test for the actor’s acting skills and appearance. At least the transition of the first and last two identities should not make people feel incongruous.

Xia Yuanhang had always felt that Liang Xincheng could not play this kind of role before. It would be too difficult for him to be naive and pure. His temperament was completely inconsistent, but now he saw the person standing in front of him smiling quietly, he realized that his misunderstanding of Liang Xincheng was probably really more than a little bit.

Xiang Qiao and Peng Lai were old acquaintances and Xia Yuanhang also had already worked with Peng Lai before. He should have been sure to win, but now he was a little uncertain.

“Your outfit is quite suitable for the characters in the movie. Director Peng and the others should be very satisfied.”

“Is that so?” The smile in Liang Xincheng’s eyes deepened. “I’m borrowing your good advice, let’s each go by our own abilities in a while.”

They went in together to greet Peng Lai and the producer. Liang Xincheng auditioned first. Xia Yuanhang didn’t rush to change clothes, but sat down in the corner; he really wanted to see how Liang Xincheng would interpret the role.

The scene that Liang Xincheng auditioned with was at the beginning of the movie. The protagonist’s family suffered a change for the first time. His father died in an accident and the creditor came to the door. He originally only read intellectual books, but as the only child in the family, the young master, who didn’t care about foreign affairs, had to stand up and deal with the unscrupulous debt collectors.

“In the past, my father was always generous when he signed the sale and purchase agreement with you. He never pressed the price. He paid the payment on time every time, he never delayed or owed you. Sometimes your delivery was late, but father didn’t bother you about this. This time, my father went out and encountered an accident. The goods were lost and the payment could not be returned. We are already trying our best to make up for it. Now my family is still holding a funeral, can’t you come back later? Do you have to choose to come to the door today?” Liang Xincheng read a long list of lines, his voice fluctuating and sonorous. Every accent fell on the key words. The person stood upright, proudly glanced at the non-existent debt collectors in front of him. He was full of momentum, but the left thumb unconsciously rubbed the index finger, revealing a trace of the protagonist’s inner tension.

The producer’s voice was flat as he helped him with his lines: “Young Master Lin, don’t blame us for being unforgiving and having to choose today to come to the door. We also don’t want to make trouble, but we have no choice. The world is not peaceful now, the Japanese will soon attack. We are all in a hurry to evacuate to the south with our families, so we have to pay for our expenses and settlements to go to the south, right? The money for the goods is not a small amount…”

“What a last resort,” Liang Xincheng sneered coldly, glancing at each other contemptuously. There was not much embarrassing expression on the handsome face, but the contempt in his eyes was just right, “Didn’t you have a relationship with that Japanese lackey a long time ago, why are you in such a hurry to run?”

The producer laughed a little and deliberately continued to read the lines from the play in a light-hearted tone: “What are you talking about? You slander me for being in cahoots with the Japanese without evidence. I think you are deliberately trying to find an excuse to delay the payment of goods. As everyone sees it. Since Young Master Lin has such an attitude, why should we be polite with him? I see that there are antiques everywhere in this house, moving all of them back can at least recover half of our losses.”

“I’ll see if any of you dare!” Liang Xincheng’s voice rose abruptly. The producer’s emotional disturbance did not make him come out of the play. He took out his prop gun, held it in his hand with strong calmness and pointed it at the people in front of him, without retreating half a step, “If you want to move things, step over my dead body first!”

“Okay,” Peng Lai, who had been silent all this time, stopped, and picked out another line for him, “Read this line again.”

Liang Xincheng, who took the script book, cleared his throat and guessed the character’s state of mind and tone of voice before reading the line. Xia Yuanhang listened carefully. He was actually surprised. Liang Xincheng’s acting and line skills were much better than when they worked together. It could be seen that he really had worked hard in this area, but when compared to others who came from an acting background, he was indeed a bit inferior.

When it was Xia Yuanhang’s turn, he glanced at Liang Xincheng and made up his mind: “Director Peng, I won’t compete for this role. Liang Xincheng is more suitable than me.”

Liang Xincheng couldn’t help frowning in surprise, and Peng Lai was also surprised: “You don’t even try and say you won’t compete? Are you afraid to compete?”

“Even so, just now I watched Liang Xincheng’s performance, I think he is really suitable for the role of Young Master Lin. I have been influenced by him. If you ask me to act, I probably won’t be able to perform well,” Xia Yuanhang frankly admitted.

Peng Lai laughed out loud. He and Xia Yuanhang had a pretty good relationship and he wouldn’t be angry that he deliberately didn’t give himself face. In fact, he was hesitating just now after watching Liang Xincheng’s audition. Originally, he and Xiang Qiao agreed to give Xia Yuanhang this role, but Liang Xincheng’s agent got an audition opportunity through other relationships. He was worried about this, fearing that he was going to offend others. But he didn’t expect Xia Yuanhang to give up on his own initiative.

When they got off the elevator together, Liang Xincheng asked Xia Yuanhang, “Why did you give up without even trying?”

Xia Yuanhang explained with a smile: “I didn’t mean to give in to you. I thought this role was not suitable for me before, and after watching what you acted, I just became more determined. Actually, my agent also helped me get another movie and he was waiting for me to nod and sign the contract. The schedule just happened to clash. I personally prefer that film; the role is suitable for me and the pay is high.”

As soon as the last three words came out, Liang Xincheng had nothing to say. Xia Yuanhang was really short of money. Probably nobody knew about it better than Xia Yuanhang himself.

“Return this to you,” Xia Yuanhang handed the bracelet that had been kept for more than two months to Liang Xincheng, “Return it to the original owner.”

Liang Xincheng looked at the bracelet that was back in his hand and felt an indescribable feeling in his heart. He tried to put the bracelet on, but he couldn’t fasten it. The elevator door had already opened, but Xia Yuanhang did not rush out. Instead, he pulled Liang Xincheng’s hand: “Let me help you put it on.”

Liang Xincheng was taken aback for a moment, but did not refuse. He lowered his eyes slightly to hide the emotions in his eyes. Xia Yuanhang carefully helped him put on the bracelet and fastened it, smiling as he said: “It’s very beautiful. Your friend has a really good eye.”

Liang Xincheng nodded: “Thank you.”