When Yu Mian saw the message from Shaxs on his light brain, he was indeed quite surprised.
“Readers are actually sending letters…?”
Especially when he saw the box in the picture, it looked so vintage and elegant that Yu Mian couldn’t help but want to rush back and open it to see what was inside.
He couldn’t help wondering what the Bart readers from the Eternal Night galaxy had written in the letters.
However, after Yu Mian followed a group of interns to the venue, he found that although Kane and the director, producers, and other big names hadn’t arrived yet, many of the actors had already arrived.
Some were even holding the original book of “Contract Marriage”, reading it over and over, clearly preparing for their auditions.
After all, ever since Xingqiong Entertainment officially announced the casting plan and promised to conduct a fair and just selection, the competition for the roles in “Contract Marriage” had become intense.
Even before the adaptation aired, several candidates had already gained popularity. It was easy to imagine how high the main actors’ popularity would soar once the show aired.
Moreover, since Xingqiong had stated that the entire casting process would be live broadcast, photographers were already conducting some random interviews with the actors present.
The hype had reached such a level that every time an actor appeared on camera, it sparked countless discussions and debates.
[Ahh, when is it officially starting?! I think several of the actors for Gu Bai look so good! QWQ]
[Did anyone notice the person in the lower-left corner? He looks pretty good.]
[I’m different, I just want to know if Fish Soup Noodles really showed up?! I really want to see them ahhh, the tricky Xingqiong got me hooked on the live broadcast!]
Of course, aside from discussing the actors, many readers were clearly here for Yu Mian, and they couldn’t wait to point a magnifying glass at the camera to scan the crowd one by one.
What did this troublemaker who always caused such chaos look like?
Was he hiding so deep because he was afraid of being recognized and getting sent razorblades offline?
[I think that’s very likely! By the way, “Eternal Night Rose” is so sweet now, but will it end up having knives later!?]
[Waaah, I really want to ask too! TAT and there’s so much controversy about Dreven lately, how is the author going to handle the drinking human blood issue? Otherwise, I really can’t support a member of the Bart clan!]
[I’m so anxious, after “Contract Marriage” finishes, we’re finally going to get daily updates for “Eternal Night Rose”!]
Having already realized that many people were trying to dig him out, Yu Mian naturally stayed vigilant and avoided the cameras, heading straight for the restroom.
He wasn’t going to appear on camera. Never in this lifetime.
If he was recognized, would that mean every book he released would be followed by fans sending razor blades in real life? That would be the end.
And because he didn’t want to reveal his identity, Yu Mian specifically asked Kane not to give him any special treatment. Just earlier, he had been directed by the staff to help move some boxes as if he were just another intern.
He had even accidentally scratched his hand and drew blood.
[Ugh, you’ve really stayed at home too long, you can’t even handle simple tasks anymore.]
The little system was critiquing Yu Mian’s clumsy actions and wanted to get some medicine for him.
Unexpectedly, just as he was about to react, someone handed him a band-aid.
“Did you get hurt?”
“Ah, thank you!”
Yu Mian looked up at the young man in front of him and subconsciously thanked him.
Just as Yu Mian was about to strike up a conversation, the sound of a conversation from outside the restroom caught his attention.
“Yeah, Gu Bai’s role has already been internally decided… Sigh, we just got the news… After all, with a big company like Xingqiong, it’s obvious they wouldn’t let the most core role go to just anyone…”
Yu Mian: Huh?
What do you mean by “internally decided”? Why didn’t he, the author, know that Gu Bai’s role had already been decided!?
Startled, Yu Mian accidentally misapplied the band-aid, causing a sharp pain. The person who spoke outside clearly heard the noise and immediately stopped talking.
As a result, Yu Mian, who had been trying to eavesdrop on the gossip about who had been “internally decided”, regrettably lost the source of the gossip.
On realizing the restroom only had two unfamiliar young faces, the man let out a sigh of relief, obviously thinking that they weren’t important people.
“You guys heard that? Just consider yourselves lucky to have gotten the inside scoop. If you’re smart, hurry and go try out for another role. You might still have a chance.”
The man seemed to be some kind of agent, he extinguished his cigarette and quickly left.
‘Have I been mistaken for an auditioning actor?’
While trying to memorize the man’s face to confirm things with Kane later, Yu Mian realized that his attire today seemed to resemble the style of the actors auditioning for Gu Bai.
“Try another Band-Aid, be careful this time.”
The young man beside Yu Mian noticed that the band-aid had been applied crookedly, and handed him a new one.
He seemed to want to say something when they looked at each other, but in the end, he simply watched as Yu Mian fixed it and then left quietly with his bag.
[It seems like he really came to audition for Gu Bai… so what’s the deal with this role being “internally decided”?]
The system appeared to make a comment.
“I don’t know either, I’ll ask Kane about it soon.”
Yu Mian was also a bit confused, but he was sure Kane wasn’t the type of person to pull something like that, so there must be some reason behind it.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t reveal his identity as the author and tell the young man that he didn’t even know the role had been internally decided.
Yu Mian glanced at the band-aid on his hand, feeling a little regretful.
But if the young man really went to audition for another role, maybe Kane would pay special attention to him, because he seemed to have great potential.
After this brief detour, the auditions officially began.
As soon as Kane arrived at the venue, he couldn’t help but keep glancing toward the interns working in the inner area, to the point that even the directors and producers standing next to him with the actor resumes had to remind him several times to pay attention.
His secretary had to nudge him multiple times.
The boss was looking around, obviously he was looking for someone.
But who on earth is the person that the president is paying so much attention to?
In fact, ever since Kane had agreed to Yu Mian’s request to attend the event, he had been full of curiosity during this time.
After all, after Yu Mian confirmed he would be attending on time, he not only said he didn’t want to reveal his identity in public but also wanted to have a private conversation afterward.
So what could be so special that he needed to talk to him privately?
Did he feel the copyright fee Xingqiong offered wasn’t enough, or did he have special opinions about the adaptation?
And why didn’t he want to reveal himself to the public?
Could it be because of his legs?
But since he had agreed to attend the event, and had also mentioned that his legs were just temporarily immobile, did that mean the author had used the royalty fees from the novels to heal himself?
The more Kane thought about it, the more the mystery surrounding Yu Mian seemed to grow. During this period of time, he had been thinking about these questions over and over again before going to bed at night, which almost overwhelmed the unbearable feeling of waiting for updates.
What Kane didn’t realize was that as he kept searching for Yu Mian between auditions, his distracted behavior quickly sparked curiosity and speculation among the sharp-eyed netizens in the live broadcast barrage.
[So am I the only one who thinks Boss Kane seems a bit distracted?? Why does he keep glancing to the left?]
[I also noticed it!! What’s going on here?!]
[Could it be someone in that direction?! After all, no matter how mysterious the “mysterious observer” is, Boss Kane must know where Teacher Fish Soup Noodles is!]
It was almost correct.
“Help, why does this guy keep looking this way…”
Yu Mian, who also noticed Kane’s gaze, almost covered his face. He really didn’t know what to make of him.
Wasn’t he usually the calm, composed boss?
However, just when the barrage was about to collectively urge the director to turn the camera to Kane’s direction, eager to find out what was over there, the next auditionee suddenly attracted everyone’s attention.
Because for the audition, this candidate didn’t need a simulated dubbing. Instead, he played a smooth and beautiful piano piece!
You have to know that while many young actors had put effort into learning piano playing techniques, the audition piece was completely random. If this candidate could play it, it meant he was truly skilled at the piano.
“Wow, he actually chose the role of Gu Bai to audition?”
Yu Mian’s eyes lit up when he saw the candidate.
Because, even though he knew the role had already been “decided”, he still hadn’t given up.
Moreover, his performance was very impressive, but for some reason, the producer sitting next to the director seemed to show a hint of regret.
“Alright, do you have anything else you’d like to say? If not, we can move on to the next person.”
When the producer asked as usual, this young man named Liao actually took the microphone and said he still wanted to speak.
“Uh, okay, go ahead.”
The producer hadn’t expected Liao to actually have something to say.
“Actually, the reason I came to audition today is mainly because I want to say a few words to Teacher Fish Soup Noodles, who might be somewhere in the audience right now. After all, you probably don’t see all the comments in the comments section.”
“When I read “Contract Marriage”, I was going through a very tough time in my life, but Gu Bai’s story gave me the courage to start over. So, I hope you can write more amazing stories in the future, bringing us more lovely and beautiful characters like Gu Bai and Caesar.”
“Of course, what I want to say the most is that I hope “Eternal Night Rose” can be updated daily as soon as possible. Waiting a week for one update is really too hard! Thank you! My speech is finished!”
Liao quickly finished speaking and bowed toward the stunned director, producer, and others on the panel, before leaving the stage. It was clear he had no intention of waiting for any further instructions.
In fact, as soon as Liao finished his speech urging for more updates, not only did the staff on site freeze in shock, but the barrage in the live broadcast room exploded.
[Wow, this guy gave me a new idea. So this is the benefit of auditioning—urging updates on the spot?! If I had known, I would have signed up!]
[Help, why did I not think of this with my broken brain? This guy is clever! Just for this, I have to vote for him! What a genius way of urging updates, I love it! So Fish Soup Noodles, did you hear that?! We want daily updates!!]
[Daily updates, daily updates—! We want daily updates!! [slams desk trying to shout]]
After being completely caught off guard by Liao’s refreshing audition speech, countless viewers in the live broadcast suddenly realized that this was indeed a genius way to urge updates.
After all, what could be more effective than shouting for updates in person at the scene?!
Soon, the topic in the barrage was completely distorted, and all kinds of barrages urging for updates filled the entire screen.
Many of the actors auditioning were indeed readers of “Contract Marriage”, now, after being inspired by Liao, almost all their final audition thoughts turned into creative ways of urging updates or bold confessions.
“Help…”
Yu Mian, who was sitting offstage, felt like covering his ears in pain after hearing all the urging comments.
Why had everything turned into this?
He had finally taken a break from updating to rest offline, and now all he could hear were “update” and “update” and “update”!
[Fish is breaking down]
So by the time the last audition ended, and the audition for the role of Gu Bai officially finished, Yu Mian didn’t want to stay for even a second, so he immediately stood up, wanting to go backstage for his scheduled meeting with Kane.
However, what Yu Mian didn’t expect was that at that very moment, the director switched the camera to show the scene of the auditionees leaving.
And at that moment, everyone on screen seemed to be curiously looking around, trying to find “Fish Soup Noodles”, the hidden mysterious observer who hadn’t appeared throughout the entire event.
As a result, the only figure walking in the opposite direction in the wide-angle shot stood out!
[What the heck? Fish Soup Noodles!! It’s you, right? Director, zoom in the camera—!! [screaming]]
[Catch him, quick, I’m dying! Don’t you have a god’s perspective?! Is it really him? I’ve been looking for hours, and he finally shows up?!]
The boiling comments from viewers on the barrage quickly made their way to the staff on site, who also subconsciously started searching for Yu Mian.
“?”
Yu Mian, who was running, heard a commotion and turned around. He was immediately startled to see the camera pointed right at him!
‘Damn it!’
Yu Mian was so frightened he covered his mask tightly in the next second and hurriedly slipped into the backstage area, disappearing into the staff passage.
“Stop right there! Everyone, don’t block the passage—this is a staff area, no entry allowed!”
The security guards at the scene tried their best to stop the agitated crowd, they never expected such a sensational commotion to happen at the last moment.
As the photo of Yu Mian as he disappeared into the staff passage was shared on numerous platforms, the hot search #CatchThatBowlOfFishSoupNoodles# trended, surpassing the popularity of the audition itself by several times!
