Chapter 51: Li Xiaoran, Chen Hao? A Glancing View!

Part 1

My Fair Princess and The Xiangjiang Girl.

The current public promotion was that the two talent searches were being held together.

The stated reason was to save resources.

There was certainly no problem with this, because domestic talent searches of this kind had never been conducted before.

Since this was our first time, naturally, any method of execution was acceptable.

Moreover, the process for The Xiangjiang Girl talent search was extremely simple.

Kang Jianmin served as the sole judge.

If he felt a candidate was suitable, he would then take the audience's suggestions into consideration.

And that would settle it.

In fact, although the role of "The Xiangjiang Girl" was the female lead in That Mountain, That Man, That Dog, her actual screen time was quite limited.

Furthermore, much like the father, the mother, and the son in the film, this "girl" had no name.

She was simply a Dong ethnic minority maiden.

However, this namelessness was actually a subtle hint.

None of the family members had names, which implied the reverse.

Those without names represented the family as a whole.

This implication in itself was quite interesting, though it remained to be seen if anyone would pick up on it.

Regardless, both talent searches had already been launched.

Early this morning, Ma Xun drove his Mercedes-Benz to the Beijing Film Studio once again.

...

Bingbing and her mother had arrived in Beijing once more.

Passing through the gates of the Beijing Film Academy yet again, she felt an inexplicable sense of melancholy.

"Don't think too much about it. You're definitely going to make it through this talent search."

"Mom, stop always saying things like that. We still need to remain modest and cautious."

"Hah! This is just the preliminary audition. With my girl's looks, if she can't even get past the prelims, there's definitely some shady corruption going on behind the scenes!"

"Mom—"

Bingbing could not help but pull at her mother's sleeve, urging her to speak more quietly.

In truth, her mother had been filled with lingering resentment over her previous failure in the art exams, and had even inquired about various rumors.

Some said that because of a particularly unique candidate last year, the examinations had been checked with extreme strictness this year.

This matter made Bingbing's mother increasingly convinced that there was hidden manipulation behind the art exams!

She brought it up constantly these days.

As for Bingbing herself... she actually had her own doubts deep down.

Although she had performed only averagely on the day of the exam, it shouldn't have been so bad that she failed to clear even the preliminary round.

Besides, how had her senior fellow student managed to pass last year?

Word had it that the senior student had even lost her admission test permit last year.

This really made it difficult not to suspect backstage manipulation.

In fact, rumors of corruption in examinations of this sort were as numerous as grains of sand.

And now that it had fallen upon the two of them... Huh?

Bingbing caught sight of someone.

He looked like that talent scout.

The one who made Gao Yuanyuan famous...

Why was he appearing here as well?

Could there really be shady dealings?

It was only human nature for Bingbing to think this way.

After all, Gao Yuanyuan had passed, while she had been rejected.

Yet for this current talent search... would she fail once again?

Carrying a heart full of anxiety, Bingbing walked toward the Beijing Film Studio.

She hoped Ma Xun would not notice her.

Huh?

This guy was looking at other girls, and he even lingered on several of them.

...

Ma Xun was here this time to serve as a judge.

Of course, he did not plan on acting as a judge the entire time.

He had merely come to check out the preliminary auditions. Besides, the Beijing preliminary audition site had been set up at the Beijing Film Studio.

He could handle some other matters along the way.

Little did he expect that before even stepping inside, he would spot several potential female stars.

Yuanyuan and Hao Lei naturally did not need to be watched.

Besides, the two of them had not ridden over in a Mercedes-Benz.

As had been said, it was too flashy.

Wait a moment.

Wasn't that Chen Hao?

She was precisely that "Xiangjiang Girl."

Ma Xun naturally could not help taking a few extra glances.

Hao Jie was truly fresh and tender right now.

With a pair of peach-blossom eyes and the aura of the inaugural universal sweetheart, she was simply top-notch.

And she was not the only one.

Ma Xun quickly spotted another young woman.

Wasn't this Li Dabai?

Oh, she couldn't be called Dabai yet; she was still just Xiaoran.

She had come as well.

Ma Xun felt deeply gratified.

Wait... what on earth did his gratification have to do with anything?

Part 2

However, as he walked all the way here... hold on.

Ma Xun thought of a phrase:

Strolling through the garden to admire the flowers.

His surname happened to be Ma, and he certainly hadn't seen a shortage of flowers along this journey.

How fitting!

However, Ma Xun had no idea that his flower-admirling stroll had been witnessed entirely by Bingbing not far away.

Bingbing was only more convinced that shady manipulation was at work here!

Ma Xun paid it no mind. After admiring the scenery for a while, he walked into the Beijing Film Studio.

Since this was a preliminary audition, they had simply borrowed a room.

As soon as Ma Xun stepped inside, he found two people already waiting in the room.

"Mr. Ma has arrived."

The first to speak was Kang Jianmin, who was actually here for more than just judging duties.

"Mr. Ma, come, sit over here."

Han Sanping, the head of the Beijing Film Studio, was also beaming with smiles.

The two of them were already familiar with each other.

However, their relationship had grown even closer now.

Han Sanping and Kang Jianmin also got along quite well; earlier, when Kang Jianmin had traveled to Beijing, he had sought out this top official of the Beijing Film Studio to discuss investing in the production of That Mountain.

Now, That Mountain had successfully established a seamless connection with the postal system.

The warmth in Han Sanping and Kang Jianmin's attitudes toward Ma Xun was indescribable.

"Mr. Ma is truly a supreme talent!"

"Brother Kang, how many new tricks have you picked up from him this time?"

"You bet! In the past, I really was working behind closed doors, but after chatting with Mr. Ma a few times, my mind suddenly flew wide open. That our film can reach where it is today is entirely thanks to Mr. Ma!"

Kang Jianmin had previously maintained a sliver of intellectual restraint, but now, as he showered Ma Xun with praise, he had completely abandoned all shame!

There was no help for it; the postal system was difficult to deal with these days.

Even more unexpected to Kang Jianmin was that before filming had even begun, the movie had already been elevated by several tiers.

It was abundantly clear that certain departments intended to use this film to make a significant statement.

Every single one of these changes was unquestionably Ma Xun's achievement!

Han Sanping had naturally heard all about it, and having collaborated previously, he now wore an even broader smile.

"Mr. Ma, let me put it this way: as long as I, Han Sanping, am around, the doors of the Beijing Film Studio will forever remain wide open for you."

Goodness! Just listen to those words!

In truth, the Beijing Film Studio had also been suffering losses for many years.

Ma Xun recalled what Yu Dong had said later on: the days when they couldn't even pay out salaries were something he would remember for the rest of his life!

"The two of you are far too polite. I can't take credit for any of this; I merely ran around on behalf of many parties."

What this implied was that he had pulled quite a few strings.

Yet in the ears of Han Sanping and Kang Jianmin... Excellent! Simply wonderful!

"You can't say that. Even if there's no grand achievement, there's still the credit of hard work."

"Indeed, look at how exhausted Mr. Ma is—he's lost weight."

Well... he had indeed thinned down a bit.

Yet what Ma Xun was actually pondering in his heart was: Xu Qing's full and rounded physique was simply lethal enough to kill a man!

That was a topic best not delved into too deeply.

While the three of them were busy flattering one another, several more people entered the room.

The moment they stepped in, Ma Xun saw them clearly.

Liu Lili and Shen Yi—that master and disciple duo had arrived again.

One could sense the hostility between them almost instantly.

However, Ma Xun also noticed someone else.

It was a petite young woman who was a capable protégé of Director Ouyang.

Long Danying.

She was only in her twenties right now, but this woman was truly formidable.

"Greetings, leaders. Allow me to make some introductions."

Evidently, Ms. Long had arrived early to lay the groundwork and was already acquainted with Han Sanping and the others.

Moreover, Han Sanping already knew Liu Lili, given that she was Taiwan's most renowned female director and had previously come to Beijing to shoot films.

That made things easy; everyone was an acquaintance.

However, the visible antagonism between Liu Lili's faction and Ma Xun was striking.

"We must conduct this selection with absolute fairness and impartiality!"

"Naturally."

"I'm just afraid some people might try to plant their own people."

With such sarcastic insinuations, who was she talking about?

Ma Xun knew that this female director was probably going through menopause and likely suffered from irregular menstruation as well.

He didn't bother wasting his breath on her.

"Let's begin right now!"

...

Her number was finally called.

"Mom, I'm going in."

"Stay steady!"

Bidding farewell to her mother, Bingbing followed a group of girls into the room.

In truth, this scene was almost identical to the art exams.

Well, it had essentially borrowed the art exam format.

Such a method yielded much higher efficiency.

Yet once she stepped inside...

Ah?

Part 3

Bingbing could not help letting out a gasp of surprise.

Why was this talent scout here?

Fortunately, at this moment, nameplates sat in front of all the judges.

His name was Ma Xun?

Bingbing knew of Liu Lili, but she had genuinely never heard of this Ma Xun person.

By this time, however, the preliminary auditions had already commenced.

The first candidate was a girl of exceptionally tall stature, enough to induce envy.

"Greetings, teachers. My name is Li Xiaoran."

Ma Xun had naturally noticed Bingbing, but he was far more captivated by Li Xiaoran.

One could not blame him.

The Li Xiaoran before him was pure and lovely.

Her facial beauty went without saying, but the key was her figure.

Though not as voluptuous as she would become later, her curves were already distinct and graceful, further enhanced by her tall and well-proportioned frame.

A fresh graduate of the Beijing Dance Academy, she was indeed exceptionally striking.

In addition, there was Chen Hao as well.

This batch of candidates was truly impressive.

Li Xiaoran gave a brief self-introduction and then performed her talent.

Hailing from the Beijing Dance Academy, she naturally danced.

There was no need to question her skill level.

Ma Xun immediately took the lead in applauding.

"Very good, we'll take this girl."

Although the decision was made rather quickly, Ma Xun felt there was no issue.

Han Sanping and Kang Jianmin nodded instantly as well.

However!

"No good, this girl is too tall. It will be difficult to find a male actor of matching height to star opposite her."

Liu Lili dropped this remark.

It had to be said that she did have a point.

If a female actress exceeded one meter seventy centimeters, coordinating her with co-stars became inconvenient.

Furthermore, this time, Huan Zhu had actors coming over from Hong Kong and Taiwan, all of whom were relatively short.

The Little Tigers simply had no way of pairing up with Li Xiaoran.

Ma Xun was just about to speak...

"Miss Li, you may return."

Shen Yi directly dismissed her on the spot!

At this sight, everyone understood.

Liu Lili and her disciple had locked horns with Ma Xun.

Clearly, it was because of the previous incident.

Seeing this situation, Ma Xun smiled.

"Teacher Liu, this is still just the preliminary audition; there's no need to go this far."

Liu Lili smiled as well.

"Even if it's a preliminary audition, we must still maintain strict standards."

Showing no respect?

Damn it!

Ma Xun cursed inwardly, but how could he possibly allow himself to be suppressed by this master-disciple pair?

He had known from the very beginning that this talent search would not be a peaceful affair.

Yet he hadn't expected the opposition to strike so quickly.

And to be so aggressively overbearing.

Then don't blame me!

Without hesitation, Ma Xun pointed directly at a certain girl.

"You're the one. You're through to the next round."

The targeted girl was instantly stunned!

"Me?" Her large eyes held a slightly bewildered expression.

It was precisely Chen Hao!

Liu Lili naturally made trouble once again, shaking her head as she said, "This girl's facial features carry a sense of seductiveness; we don't want this type."

A sense of seductiveness?

She was the universal sweetheart!

How could she not be seductive!

Was she going to be rejected by Liu Lili yet again?

Instead, Ma Xun turned with a smile to Kang Jianmin and said, "Teacher Kang, what do you think of her?"

Kang Jianmin understood instantly. "Not bad! Excellent! This girl has the feel of an ethnic minority maiden, and can serve as one of our candidate 'Xiangjiang Girls'! What is your name?"

"I—my name is Chen Hao."

That's right, what I'm selecting this time is the "Xiangjiang Girl"!

Wasn't Liu Lili overstepping her bounds a bit?

That move was played brilliantly!

Han Sanping was practically ready to applaud.

Liu Lili had practically been slapped across the face right then and there, making a thoroughly disgraceful spectacle of herself.

One could say Ma Xun had successfully reclaimed his ground and deterred the visiting Taiwanese master and disciple from acting presumptuously again.

However, while they were engaged in this open and covert struggle, Bingbing was frightened out of her wits.

She had suspected there might be dark manipulation, but she hadn't expected it to be entirely corruption!

Chen Hao had been selected just like that, without even her name being properly discussed.

This, this...

Bingbing trembled all over.