Chapter 228: Chapter 228: The Inflated Director Qin
The second group to perform featured a team of actors renowned for playing twisted characters, but in this round, they took on upright and righteous roles.
Although their acting remained solid, their previous portrayals of sinister characters were so memorable that as soon as they appeared, the audience instinctively expected someone to die any second.
This performance didn’t meet the mentors’ initial expectations. It was meant to test whether these actors could use righteous roles to shake off the audience’s ingrained impressions of their past characters.
But the final result was less than ideal. The four who advanced were just the tallest among the short ones.
Sang Ning only dared to voice a light opinion in her heart: maybe it’d have worked with actors whose skills were more refined.
She had seen actors who could make audiences gnash their teeth in hatred as villains and then evoke deep sympathy as heroes.
Breaking fixed impressions is tough, but acting at a divine level might just achieve that elusive face-switch effect.
The third group to perform was Chu Xi’s group, whose theme was palace drama.
Originally, Chu Xi’s role as the Empress was supposed to appear outwardly composed and elegant but harbor an inner darkness and jealousy.
However, Chu Xi’s sweet, innocent "first love" face had absolutely no connection with elegance and composure. Forcing her into the role felt jarringly out of place.
Chu Xi opted for an alternative route, voluntarily altering her character into a seemingly naïve and clueless young Empress who, in reality, was deeply scheming and malicious.
Sang Ning thought Chu Xi would definitely advance with this performance because she was basically playing herself in real life.
After the performance, some mentors questioned Chu Xi on why she didn’t adhere to the Empress’s original character written in the script.
Chu Xi immediately latched onto the script’s age description to counter the mentors, arguing that according to the script, the Empress was only 21 years old.
In modern society, that’s just the age of a freshly graduated college student.
At this age, a girl’s eyes naturally exude a clear naïveté—where would she find the elegance and composure prescribed?
Scriptwriter Xu Qiqi initially wanted to refute Chu Xi by saying: Can ancient people’s lives be compared to modern ones?
Girls got married at 13 or 14 back then and matured mentally far earlier than modern people. At 21 in ancient times, one was already considered an old maid, leaving no trace of clear naïveté.
But before she could speak, Ma Liheng jumped in to praise Chu Xi’s commendable quality as an excellent actor—thinking outside the script and offering unique insights.
Xu Qiqi silently shot Ma Liheng a glare, swallowed her intended rebuttal, and cursed him inwardly: bootlicker!
After the first three groups performed, it was finally Sang Ning’s group’s turn to take the stage.
Sang Ning’s role was a hot-headed young General. If she were honest, this type of character wasn’t very likable, especially when contrasted with Jiuqiansui’s multifaceted character.
Jiuqiansui was ruthless, merciless, indifferent to life, with one exception—he bestowed all his favor upon his beloved Qiuqiu.
This "I’ll slaughter the whole world but will never betray you" type of madman would be someone people avoided in real life, but in dramas and novels, such characters were cherished by audiences.
Especially when paired with an actor whose face could withstand scrutiny, audiences quickly found themselves forgiving the character, drawn in by their unique charm.
In contrast, Sang Ning’s impulsive General, who killed Jiuqiansui with one reckless arrow, was likely to provoke audience ire.
Sang Ning was quite nervous. Her acting wasn’t stellar to begin with; if her performance came across as irritating, it was likely she’d face a new wave of online backlash once the second episode aired.
To make such an unlikable character shine, she had to refine the details and find ways to make the audience empathize with her.
The first detail was to kill with her face.
Sang Ning admitted this was rather shameless, but since her face had captivated Li Juezhou at first sight, surely it matched most viewers’ aesthetic preferences.
On stage, she stood tall, fully embodying the spirited demeanor of a young General.
In one scene, Jiuqiansui kidnaps the Crown Prince and flees, forcing Sang Ning’s General to give chase immediately to rescue the Prince.
The stage wasn’t very large, so the distance needed to catch up with Jiuqiansui was just a few paces.
To heighten the urgency of the chase, Ma Liheng instructed them during rehearsals to circle the stage at least twice.
During those two laps, Sang Ning shamelessly employed her second detail—her skills.
Given her role as a young General, wasn’t it reasonable for her to showcase some martial prowess? And wasn’t demonstrating Qinggong while chasing someone totally justified?
So when Sang Ning executed back-to-back front flips on stage, she captivated the mentors and trainees watching from the observation area, completely stealing attention from Qingyue, who had been pouring his soul into acting.
Qingyue was dumbfounded. He had assumed the entire performance would be his moment to shine, with all eyes fixed on him, but Sang Ning had stolen the spotlight just like that.
Damn it! She hadn’t even hinted at this move during rehearsals!
This woman was unbelievably cunning!
After the performance, during the review segment, the other mentors showered Qingyue with exaggerated compliments.
His groupmates knew the truth—while Qingyue’s performance was decent, it wasn’t flawless enough to warrant such praise.
Everyone understood the compliments weren’t meant for Qingyue—they were aimed at the capital backing him.
Only Qin Jiaxiang and Wen Jiu stood out as exceptions.
Qin Jiaxiang didn’t want to offend Qingyue’s backers but couldn’t stoop to singing insincere praises about him either.
He skipped Qingyue entirely, instead staring directly at Sang Ning with teary eyes and earnestly inviting her: "Sang Ning, the lead role in my new film is tailored for you. Won’t you reconsider joining my cast?"
Qingyue’s face darkened immediately. Qin Jiaxiang’s dramatic move felt like a direct slap in his face.
Everyone knew Jiuqiansui was supposed to be the focal point of this performance. For Qin Jiaxiang to publicly invite Sang Ning to his film was outright disrespectful.
This wasn’t the first time Qin Jiaxiang had invited Sang Ning—she had resolutely declined in the past.
She feared messing up and damaging Qin Jiaxiang’s reputation, but this period of rehearsals had unexpectedly stirred a budding interest in acting within her.
Maybe she truly could do this?
"Director Qin, thank you for your kindness. A renowned director deserves equally remarkable acting. I wouldn’t dare touch your project until my skills have been honed further." Sang Ning’s reply this time was less definitive, leaving room for possibility.
Qin Jiaxiang knew he had her now. Confidently, he patted his chest and declared, "There’s no actor I can’t train under my guidance. Join my team without worries."