Chapter 260: The No-Name Star Beckons, the Benefactor Becomes a Simp 31

Chapter 260: A Nobody Crooks a Finger, and a Sugar Daddy Becomes a Lapdog 31

Before the audition, Lin Huaiqing had Xixi cancel all his shoots for him, and he stayed at the company to study with an acting teacher, honing his acting skills.

He wasn't classically trained, and neither was the original owner of this body. To avoid being mocked for his acting, he needed to put in more effort than others.

During this period, he was basically out early and back late. Even when Qin Song sent him messages, he didn't have much energy to reply, basically leaving the guy hanging.

Occasionally, when he thought about it, he felt guilty toward Qin Song. After all, a big shot like him was definitely busier than Huaiqing, yet here Huaiqing was, ignoring him.

And it was Huaiqing who had begged Qin Song to fake a CP with him in the first place.

But he was just too busy. A boyfriend could be dealt with later, but audition opportunities like this didn't come around often.

Before he knew it, the day of the audition arrived.

Sister Li sent him the address on her phone. When Lin Huaiqing saw where the audition was, he was stunned for a second.

Aurora Group?

Isn't that Qin Song's company?

"Sister Li, why is the audition being held at Aurora?"

Shouldn't it be at some entertainment company? Why were they holding it directly at the headquarters this time?

"The higher-ups at the company put a lot of importance on this S+ level production, so even supporting roles have to go through a full evaluation process."

"Besides, isn't Aurora Group your home turf?"

What does she mean, his home turf?

He and Qin Song were totally innocent—they hadn't even slept together!

Though no one would believe him if he said it. As long as his conscience was clear, that was enough.

Lin Huaiqing immediately decided to keep the audition under wraps from Qin Song.

What if he found out and secretly fixed it with the director? Then wouldn't he be someone who bought his way into the production?

He wanted to win this role on his own merit. Even if he failed, that was fine.

But if he let Qin Song help him, that was a whole different story.

Luckily, Aurora was such a huge company. Even though Qin Song was the CEO, he wouldn't bother with something as small as casting.

Especially for a supporting role.

Back home, Lin Xinxin had already cooked dinner and was waiting for him.

These past few days, Xinxin had also been out job hunting, but nothing suited her.

Xinxin's education only went up to high school, and then her parents wouldn't let her keep going. Coming to the big city, that kind of education didn't count for much.

She kept hitting dead ends looking for work.

But she didn't tell Lin Huaiqing any of this. Instead, she quietly dealt with it herself.

"Xinxin, your brother's been so busy lately that I haven't had time to check on you. How's the job search going? If you really can't find anything, you could be my assistant—I'm actually short-handed."

He said this mainly because he was worried Xinxin was stressing herself out too much.

"It's fine, bro. I'm still looking. You do your thing, don't worry about me."

Since Xinxin said that, he figured he shouldn't stick his nose in her business. As he talked, he opened the package by the door, pulled out a white box, and handed it to Xinxin:

"Open it up and see—do you like it?"

"What is it?" Xinxin excitedly opened the box, and inside was the newest fruit phone.

Xinxin had never even seen a brand-new phone before. The one she was using now was an old hand-me-down from her mom.

"Is this... for me?"

A friend back in her hometown also had a fruit phone, but it was a model from years ago.

Even so, she'd been so jealous of it. She never thought that today, she'd have one of her own.

Now that she was in the capital, she needed her phone for so much—scanning codes everywhere. Giving Xinxin a new phone would also make her life easier.

"That old phone of yours was way overdue for an upgrade. Think of this as your coming-of-age gift. I hope you like the color your big bro picked out for you."

"I love it! I seriously love it." Xinxin excitedly jumped into her brother's arms. This was the best gift she'd ever gotten.

The audition was today. Lin Huaiqing stood among a group of actors there to audition, and he wasn't particularly tall or eye-catching.

There were seven other people auditioning for the same role as him, and among them were veteran actors more famous than him.

There were also fresh-faced pretty boys who were taller and better-looking than him.

At his age, in the entertainment biz, he was no longer considered young.

No matter how you looked at it, he didn't have the edge.

Lin Huaiqing was fourth in line. The guy ahead of him had already gone in, and here he was, nervously chugging water.

He had a little habit—whenever he got nervous, he needed to drink water. Before he knew it, a bottle of water was already gone, but he was still antsy.

"Ding!" A message suddenly popped up on his phone. It was Qin Song, asking what he was up to.

At a time like this, how could he be bothered to reply? He just put his phone on silent and pricked up his ears to hear what was going on inside.

"Alright, next."

Hearing the call, Lin Huaiqing stiffly got up, walked into the room with awkward steps, greeted everyone, and sat down in front of the directors, screenwriters, and interviewers.

The moment he sat down, when he saw a certain someone at the table, his mind went blank for a second.

Sitting right across from him was the chief director, a big name in the industry who'd won countless awards—Director Lu.

And sitting next to Director Lu, reading his profile with a straight face, occasionally glancing up at him like it was no big deal—who else could it be but Qin Song?

Why didn't anyone tell him—what was Qin Song doing here?!

Did something this small really need his personal attention?!

Especially since he'd just gotten that text from Qin Song asking what he was up to. Now that he thought about it, that guy was definitely doing this on purpose.

Qin Song's lips curled into a barely noticeable smile as he looked down at the flustered, nervous, and stunned Lin Huaiqing below.

Calloused fingers gently brushed over the photo of Lin Huaiqing on the actor's resume.

In the photo, Lin Huaiqing had a goofy smile yet looked exceptionally refined, his smile carrying a magic that could brighten anyone's mood just by looking at it.

The other producers and scriptwriters, upon seeing Lin Huaiqing, also began whispering among themselves:

"He looks the part, and he's good-looking, but we'll have to see if he can act."

"Let's begin!"

Receiving the signal to start, Lin Huaiqing officially got into character.

Over the past two weeks, he believed his acting had improved significantly compared to his last drama—at least he wasn't as nervous in front of the camera or the audience anymore.

After the performance, Director Lu, as the chief director, was the first to nod:

"He hit the emotional beats well, though the performance is a bit rough around the edges. But I think he fits the image of the second male lead. What do you think, Mr. Qin?"

Today's audition was originally only meant for the show's staff, but Qin Song had crashed it at the last minute, which had already irked Director Lu.

But given the recent buzz around the two of them as a CP, who knew whether it was real or just hype.

"I think... he still has room to grow as an actor. He doesn't fully commit to the role and needs more polishing." Unconsciously, most of what he said questioned Lin Huaiqing's acting skills.

But then he quickly shifted gears, "Of course, I'm just here to observe; the final casting decision is up to Director Lu."

Lin Huaiqing sat below, not daring to lift his eyes, afraid of meeting Qin Song's gaze. Hearing Qin Song's critique of his acting now, he found it fair enough.

He'd thought Qin Song might pull some strings to get him the role, but thankfully he didn't, or it would've come back to haunt him later.

Even Director Lu was taken aback for a moment upon hearing Qin Song's comments.

All criticisms about his acting—so did Mr. Qin mean to pass him or not?