Chapter 004: If You Aim, Aim for the Leading Role

This meant that Trainee No. 07 not only excelled in the monthly evaluations but also received many job offers, taking on various roles of different scales. In fact, the trainee, whose real name was Su Che, was now gaining some fame. One of the roles currently under negotiation, though a supporting character, was for a major film by renowned director Shen Qi, who had high hopes of winning awards with this production.

Many in the industry believed that even if Glory Entertainment’s star-making project had only discovered Su Che, it would have been worth it.

Tang Jun shot an unhappy glance at Fang Hui. “How many stars did she get this time to jump so many points like that?”

Fang Hui, too, was filled with doubt. He knew Jian Han’s score well. With a bit of calculation, it was easy to figure out—three five-star ratings, a total of 1,500 points.

Fang Hui furrowed his brows. Last time, Jian Han had offended Han Chen. Given Han Chen’s personality, there was no way he would have given Jian Han a five-star rating. Could it be a glitch in the scoring app?

Not wanting to commit to anything, Fang Hui said mildly, “We’ll know once the video comes out, won’t we?”

Glory Entertainment was excellent at creating buzz. From the early stages of selection to the initial thousand-person competition, the company opened a special section on its official website once the 30 trainees were chosen. Every competition video and update on the contestants was posted there.

Each trainee also had their own personal page and fan group, but all the fan communities shared a common forum. You could imagine how heated the discussions were among the various fanbases.

Of course, someone like Jian Han, who had been at the bottom and was only kept afloat by the few appearances Fang Hui had secured for her, had a pitifully small fan base.

Tang Jun snorted heavily. “Fine, I really want to see how she managed to score that high!”

In the evaluation room, as the judges finished scoring, Jian Han smiled and was about to take her leave when the distinguished, gentlemanly judge sitting in the middle called out to her: “Young lady, would you be interested in acting in one of my films?”

Han Chen immediately interjected, “Director Zheng!”

His thick brows furrowed tightly as he firmly stated, “Director Zheng, this trainee’s performance is unstable. Last time, when she played a young wife being bullied by her mother-in-law, she stuttered through her lines and her movements were stiff. She turned the oppressed young wife into a complete fool!”

Zheng Qingqiu gave Han Chen a meaningful look. “Xiao Han, you were a judge last time too, weren’t you?”

The girl’s phone was obviously not just a prop hastily put together—it was clear she was a die-hard fan of Han Chen. Encountering her idol and being nervous and stiff was totally understandable!

After a moment of thought, Zheng Qingqiu raised his right hand to stop Han Chen from speaking further and offered a compromise. “Fine, I won’t give her the role outright, but how about letting her audition for it?”

Zheng Qingqiu smiled as he looked back at Jian Han. “What do you think, young lady? Do you have the courage to try?”

Jian Han frowned and glanced at Han Chen. Originally, the role was hers, but now, thanks to his interference, she had to audition first!

Her accusatory gaze was obvious, and Director Zheng Qingqiu couldn’t help but chuckle. “Don’t blame Xiao Han. I was originally going to offer you the fourth female lead, but now you’ll be auditioning for the second female lead instead.”

Jian Han froze, and a sudden surge of confidence filled her. She smiled calmly and said, “Really? I’ll definitely go. Don’t worry, the second female lead is as good as mine!”

Han Chen snorted, “Such a big ego!”

Jian Han’s face stiffened, and she couldn’t help but shoot him a sideways glance. She wondered what the original Jian Han saw in this guy—so mean-spirited and full of venom, there wasn’t a single redeeming quality about him from head to toe.

Since he already said she had a big ego, she might as well make it bigger. Jian Han turned to Director Zheng and grinned. “Once I play the second female lead, you’ll probably find it hard to give the lead role to anyone else in your next film.”

With that, she waved cheerfully. “Well, I’ll be off now. See you all soon—no need to see me out.”

Her easygoing demeanor left the three judges momentarily stunned. Watching her walk away with a broad smile, it took them a few moments to process. The handsome man in the suit was the first to burst into laughter, and Director Zheng shook his head with a smile. “President Qi, it seems you’ve got a real talent on your hands. This trip wasn’t in vain after all.”

Once Jian Han walked past the screen, her smile immediately disappeared. The way she had skillfully handled the situation reaffirmed her identity as an actress. But whose voice had suddenly appeared in her mind?

As she thought about it more, she realized she couldn’t recall the specific tone of the voice, though it felt strangely familiar. It was like looking at a scene through frosted glass—she could clearly see the colors of the flowers, red and yellow, but their exact shapes remained hazy.

Anyone would feel frustrated if they had no knowledge of their past and fragments of memory kept resurfacing to confuse them. Jian Han’s expression darkened bit by bit.

Seeing her gloomy face as she stepped out of the evaluation room, Fang Hui’s heart sank—so it really was a problem with the scoring system!

Being a seasoned professional, Fang Hui knew better than to approach her when she was in a bad mood. After all, he felt a little guilty himself. If he had known Han Chen would be there, he would have told Jian Han to forfeit the test entirely. He could have used some of his connections to get her on more shows; even if the national broadcasts were hard to secure, local TV stations wouldn’t be a problem.

Fang Hui patted Jian Han on the shoulder and said gently, “It’s been a tough day. Let me take you home.”

Still lost in her thoughts, Jian Han barely heard him. The harder she tried to recall that mysterious voice from her mind, the more her head filled with emptiness. With her brow furrowed and her mind elsewhere, she absentmindedly replied, “Mm.”

Fang Hui didn’t say anything else. He led her downstairs, retrieved his Buick from the parking garage, and watched as Jian Han, still in a daze, got into the passenger seat and buckled her seatbelt. Suddenly, she snapped back to reality. Was that another habitual action?

For a moment, she doubted her previous assumptions about her identity. A star shouldn’t automatically go for the passenger seat when getting into a car, right?

Jian Han exhaled a heavy breath, feeling her brain ache from overthinking. She rubbed her temples with her fingers and decided to stop dwelling on the question of her true identity. She closed her eyes and let her mind go blank.

Fang Hui skillfully drove her back to her apartment building. Just before getting out, Jian Han finally remembered to tell him, “By the way, Director Zheng asked me to audition for a role. Make sure to arrange that.”

After that, she got out of the car. Fang Hui watched her enter the building before it fully dawned on him—maybe Jian Han really did score three five-stars in today’s evaluation!