Bringing your own Groupie to the Audition

"It's so awkward walking next to you..." Jie Jie complained and received a dirty look from Bai Jingyi.

"You think it's me who is hoarding the attention?!" Jingyi rolled his eyes over Jie Jie's face mask and cap. In a studio with so many artists, actors and workers from the entertainment circle, he was less likely the one who was gathering attention. But someone who disguised themselves from head to toe would always get the looks no matter where they go. Especially in this environment, one would assume that you were either a superstar in disguise or a super weirdo. Worst case, you could be an obsessed fan who snuck in.

"You haven't done your hair this way in a long time." Jie Jie still refused to take the blame ad changed the topic, praising Jingyi's casually slicked-back hair.

"Is it weird?" Jingyi went pale. "Is it too much? I got up so early for this, trying to look presentable." His mind was all set on the audition. Anxious of getting anything wrong and thus failing the mission, he was 200% more alert than usual.

"You're looking great. As always." Jie Jie shook her head. With looks like Jingyi's, he would always stand out in her opinion.

Jingyi once had shoulder-length wavy hair when they met. Back then, he would often tie it up at work, giving him that laidback and untamed feeling; perfect for the bar. Whether as a waiter or a bartender, people would swoon over him. Then, one day, he cut his hair out of the blue, and deeply regretted it. Cutting his hair gave him a fresh start, and people went nuts, starting to pamper and spoil him as it brought out his youthfulness.

To get rid of that boyish image, he shoved back his hair with lots of hair gel, looking polished and sleek. It enhanced his facials features to a degree where female guests came especially for him and a few bars specialised in male companionship trying to headhunt him. With that aloof and sensual appearance, the story should have been over. But Jingyi dropped it after a month, making people wonder what happened.

Only Jie Jie knew the truth: that perfect to a 'T' hairstyle was too much of a bother for the stylish but busy Jingyi. Doing his hair every day for a month left him exhausted.

"I had waited a month for my fringe to grow out. Now I can go back to an hour more sleep a day." He admitted back then, making her almost die from laughing. So he was enduring all the time.

Don't you believe it? Getting an hour more sleep doesn't sound much but in a month that would accumulate to 30 hours of sleep. That's more than a day he had sacrificed for the maintenance of his hair only.

"It's a refreshing look from your boring centre-parted mid-length."

"Hey, one can't put their best traits out all the time or people will grow bored of you sooner than later!" Jingyi refuted.

"Have people even seen anything from you yet?"

"Ouch, your aim is getting better and better..."

When the two of them arrived at the location, only a handful of people were present.

Min Lee was the first who took notice of them. By now the young scriptwriter could identify Jie Jie in eight out of ten cases even with her mask.

"Miss Shin, you're here already. That's great! Is this Mr. Bai?"

Jie Jie nodded.

"Nice to meet you. I am Bai Jingyi. Thank you so much for the opportunity."

"Handsome! So handsome!" Min Lee exclaimed excitingly. "This face is dashing. It certainly suits Bai Ling's clean-cut but pretty description."

Jie Jie just thought: 'Well, using the model to describe the portrait, of course, the description would match.' Unless she is terrible at describing, people will find Bai Ling's every trait in Bai Jingyi and vice versa.

"Hmpf... just because the face fits doesn't mean the guy can play the role well." A voice floated over. It was unquestionably looking down on Jingyi. While Jingyi's smile froze a little bit, Jie Jie turned to the source of the voice. Behind them stood a man in his mid-twenties. With a chestnut-coloured two-block hairstyle, a leather jacket and ripped jeans, the aggressiveness of his stare were enhanced multiple times. This man was a professional at gathering aggro, Jie Jie thought to herself.

"Ah, Tian Yu, you're so early today! The department head's scolding must finally take effect on you! You must be thirsty to graduate!" Min Lee seemed to know the new arrival very well.

"Well, not as thirsty as certain people who were even earlier to suck up to people. I'm only this early because I was already in the company." The young man snickered, ignoring the fact that Jie Jie was staring holes at him.

"This is one of our actors in training, Tian Yu. He is also auditioning for the role of Bai Ling." Min Lee took the effort to introduce them all and tried to defuse the situation. "And this is Bai Jingyi, newly added to the list of applicants. And this person here is..."

"Hmpf, bringing your own groupie to the audition, you've got nerves." Tian Yu finally was aware of Jie Jie's existence.

"Aaah! Tian Yu!" Min Lee agitatedly tried to make the fool shut up. He grabbed the other by the arm and took him to a corner. Offending another actor was common as you are rivals, but insulting the author, that was a severe problem!

"SERIOUSLY! If only you can shut up for once, you would have gotten a role by now!" Jie Jie could hear him furiously talking down on Tian Yu, who was perplexed at Min Lee's agitation, even though they were now in a corner discussing.

"Don't get angry." Before she could say anything, she felt Jingyis hand on top of her head, patting her cap slightly.

"What are you doing?" Jie Jie asked annoyed, but her left eye stopped twitching.

"This is how I used to calm down Mii back home."

"Mii?"

"Mii, my family home's pet dog."

And the twitching came back.

"You can drop it. I'm neither a dog, nor am I angry. You're the one who should be angry. Why didn't you rebut him?" More than angry Jie Jie wondered why her usually eloquent friend was so stuck up now. "You can just be yourself, you know?"

Jingyi smiled bitterly at her words. Where would you find a person in the entertainment world who would be just themselves? If you don't learn to smile when you're angry and laugh when you're sad, they will devour you. He took enough lessons to know that rule down to his bones.

"You must never let others anger you, okay?" This place isn't like anywhere else.

"But that Tian guy seemed much like himself just now!" Jie Jie didn't believe that it was just an act.

"It is always a good tactic to intimidate the rival and, in the best case, make them lose face in front of many people." Someone suddenly interrupted their conversation. It was Ye Hao, the director of the movie.

"Director Ye! It's good to see you." Jie Jie has met him before. They've already sat together two days prior for the audition of the male and female lead. Of course, he and the producer both knew her identity. Otherwise working together would be impossible.

As this was their second meeting, neither of the two were surprised to see Jie Jie masked up anymore. They have met their fair share of strange people in this industry.

"This young man is right. If he were to get angry or physical, we wouldn't even consider him for the role anymore. During business, you will meet many people who will infuriate you. It's best to not engage in arguments." The producer said, once more reminding them of the etiquette. The two of them were discussing a few points when they became aware of the taunting, so they came over.

"I don't think I've seen your face before. Are you a new actor?" After greeting Jie Jie, Ye Hao took a closer look at Bai Jingyi next to her. He had already heard of the additional person on the list.

Although it's not to his liking, he was giving Jie Jie a lot of face this time. From their first meeting, he found she was a considerate pal. She was not haughty and always took their advice. Even if she was a little bit strange, keeping her identity a secret, he found she was a reliable person. She must have her reasons to go with this actor.

"My name is Bai Jingyi. Thank you for giving me a chance to audition for the role, even if it was at the last minute." Of course, Jingyi knew that it was because of Jie Jie that he was here. He tried to make a good impression to lessen her burden.

"Hmm... not bad. I like your overall feeling. But don't think that you will be treated differently just because the author has asked for you. In the end, we will choose the person best suited for the role. And it might not be you, you understand?"

The director wasn't only talking to Jingyi but also to Jie Jie, as to prepare them for the possible disappointment. This Bai Jingyi does have a good face, but isn't everyone in this industry handsome and unique? If you put them all into a room, they will be nothing special anymore. He had so many faces to chose from; in the end, it will be only his talent that might separate him from others. And if it's talent, the newbie Tian Yu was a hot candidate already. He had very high evaluations from his teachers. If not for his hot-headedness, the guy would have signed already with YNG this year. But Tian Yu was trying hard now; he came even before his manager had arrived.

"I understand. You don't have to treat me any different from all the other participants." Jingyi nodded.

The truth was, he wasn't that confident either. He was excited, his fingers couldn't stop trembling, and he could swear that his shirt was drenched in sweat. But he held no hope to get the role. He trained to be an idol for almost ten years. Among the lessons, acting held up a minimal amount of the time he had invested. If it was singing or dancing... maybe. But acting? Although he could feel a lot of similarities with the character 'Bai Ying'... he wasn't sure if he could be someone else just at the snap of a finger.

Nonetheless, he was very thankful for Jie Jie to give him this chance. He had to try his best as not to disappoint her.

Seeing the earnestness in the young man's eyes, the director nodded and thought that this young man and woman do have a lot of similarities. He wondered what their story was. Lovers? Friends? Relatives?

"Jie Jie, it's best that I go to the waiting area. Others are starting to come in." Jingyi noticed that people are starting to arrive. As to not make his situation more special than it already was, he decided to lay low.

"Don't forget, just be yourself, okay?" Jie Jie urged once more.