TriNovel Chapter 650: The Strongest
Chapter 650: The Strongest
It was Yun Ziqi who made the first move.It was clear that the "Imperial Enterprise" project was incredibly important to him.
With Xiao He ahead of him and some unfamiliar guy suddenly popping up from nowhere, this was undoubtedly a massive headache for Yun Ziqi.
He was also accustomed to keeping all unstable factors under his control.
So, under everyone's watchful eyes, Yun Ziqi walked straight over to the young man, then a faint smile—one Xiao He had grown familiar with—curled onto his face. It didn't seem overly sycophantic or harbor any malice; it truly looked like the expression of a gentle, friendly person.
Yet everyone knew that whoever made a move at this moment was the one revealing themselves to be the most impatient person in the room.
"Hello, I'm Yun Ziqi. Are you here to audition for Emperor Chen too?"
Yun Ziqi extended his hand, intending to shake the other's.
The others immediately perked up their ears, diligently eavesdropping on the conversation.
The man had been looking down at the script. Hearing Yun Ziqi's words, he raised his head with a hint of confusion, looked at Yun Ziqi, then with an expression tinged with cold detachment, he merely gave a slight nod and said, "Hello."
He seemed like someone difficult to approach, with a rather aloof personality.
Yun Ziqi wasn't bothered by the other's distant attitude. He sat down and continued to inquire, "What's your name? I don't think I've seen you before."
"Yang Heng."
The other replied flatly.
Surname Yang?
Xiao He immediately connected it to Director Yang Li's surname.
So, he really was related to Director Yang, huh.
Yun Ziqi's thoughts were clearly the same as Xiao He's. Hearing the surname Yang, the smile on his face deepened. "Ah, your surname is Yang? Is Director Yang Li your elder? I've worked with Director Yang Li many times before, and I feel like I rarely come across this surname of his in daily life."
These were clearly just empty words to build rapport. The main goal was to probe the relationship between Yang Heng and Director Yang Li. Yang Heng, however, seemed utterly unconcerned. He simply nodded carelessly, saying with a rather casual air, "He's my fourth uncle."
Instantly, a look of dawning realization swept across the faces of the people around.
Wow. That's one solid connection.
Xiao He grumbled internally.
But being able to make it to the final round, and being completely unbothered about revealing his own "nepotism," was enough to show that the guy was extremely confident.
He had to be a formidable player.
"Ah, I never imagined Director Yang was your fourth uncle…"
Yun Ziqi tried to continue the conversation along this line, but Yang Heng had already frowned impatiently, looking at him as if he wanted to say something.
Fortunately, before he could speak, the senior actor who had first recognized Yang Heng's identity stood up, walked over, and proactively greeted him: "Little Yang, long time no see. Remember me? We met once backstage at the National Theater."
That single sentence temporarily stopped whatever Yang Heng was about to say to Yun Ziqi.
The remaining actor also promptly stood up and walked over, clearly intending to take this opportunity for some good socializing.
So, all the candidates had now gathered together.
Xiao He felt a bit embarrassed to keep standing alone by the window, letting the wind blow on him, so he simply strode over to greet them as well.
It was at this moment that the senior actor gave a slightly more formal introduction to everyone: "Little Yang is the youngest principal representative of the National Theatre. Don't let his age of twenty-one fool you; he's already starred in multiple nationally acclaimed stage plays and performed on key CCTV stages. Despite his youth, he's already won several international awards and is the new-generation leading figure the theater troupe is focusing on nurturing…"
With the senior's words, the breath of everyone present hitched imperceptibly.
Without a doubt, they were dealing with a genius-level powerhouse.
No wonder he could be so cocky; he really did have the strength and the background.
Although he had been deeply rooted in the stage play field before, historical costume dramas often pulled in many national theater actors to bolster the acting quality anyway, so the transition between the two fields wasn't too hard. And now, with a genuinely talented and strong stage actor of solid background competing for the role of Emperor Chen, it was hard to imagine what Qiu Zhenlong was planning.
If ranking by likability, this young man's entrance would make Qiu Zhenlong slam the golden buzzer hard!
Yun Ziqi still wore a smile on his face, but the coldness in his eyes was already impossible to hide.
Yang Heng, who had just been formally introduced, seemed oblivious to the others' barely concealed wariness. His gaze drifted onto Xiao He, and the coldness on his face finally thawed a little. In the end, he reached out his hand towards Xiao He, right in front of everyone: "Teacher Xiao, your performance in 'Twelve Mirrors' was truly unforgettable. I never thought I'd have the fortune to meet you here."
Xiao He was a bit surprised, but he extended his hand as well, nodding with a smile: "'Twelve Mirrors' was already last year's thing. I didn't think Teacher Yang would still remember that stage. I'm a little embarrassed."
"Don't be embarrassed. I've watched the 'Twelve Mirrors' stage many times. To this day, I still think its stage design was incredibly clever, especially the lighting changes during the personality shifts and the post-production sound effects. Those were key factors in its great success. And your method of capturing a character's traits and amplifying a specific feature was also very good, perfectly covering up your own inability to fully master all the roles…"
Yang Heng began to chatter endlessly about the stage play 'Twelve Mirrors' that Xiao He had performed at his birthday party. Xiao He's smile was practically frozen on his face.
If it weren't for the visible excitement in Yang Heng's attitude, Xiao He would have suspected the guy was deliberately trying to pick a fight.
Sure, designing the stage that way was indeed meant to be a clever shortcut, to cover up the flaws in a few roles that didn't quite fit. But analyzing it all so bluntly like this, what difference was there from just calling someone out on their true situation?!
"Hehe."
Yun Ziqi let out a sneering laugh from the side, resembling a mocking chuckle.
Xiao He couldn't be bothered with him and chose to ignore him completely.
Coincidentally, Yang Heng also didn't intend to pay Yun Ziqi any mind. After casually chatting with Xiao He for a bit, he went back to being cold and distant.
And so, the scene just went dead quiet.
About twenty minutes later, a staff member finally came in.
She first gave Xiao He a number tag and handed him the script for the upcoming audition: "Teacher Xiao, please."
He hadn't expected the first person to be called up was Xiao He.
Xiao He sighed inwardly.
Going by this order, he was probably the least anticipated candidate.
"Alright, thank you."
But Xiao He quickly composed himself and began flipping through the script in his hands.
The moment he saw the first page, Xiao He raised an eyebrow slightly.
It was a solid, dialogue-heavy scene.
It depicted the second year after Emperor Chen's ascension, the first major political disagreement with Chancellor Zhang, who had helped him become emperor.
At this point, Emperor Chen had already shed some of his military general's brutishness and had learned the imperial art of balance. However, his heart still leaned towards military governance, believing that military preparedness could not be abandoned, the law could not be broken, and the world would not know peace as long as border troubles remained unsettled.
Chancellor Zhang was also an interesting character. He had been by Emperor Chen's side since the early days, a trusted aide who had made great contributions to establishing his rule. He, however, believed that since the world was now at peace, the emphasis should shift to civil governance, the military and taxes should be reduced, and the country should be ruled through inaction.
The two sides had a fundamental conflict in their national governance strategies.
They held several meetings in the study, but neither could convince the other. In the end, it escalated all the way to the imperial court, yet still ended in discord.
These few dialogue-heavy scenes were a rather important part of the entire 'Imperial Enterprise'. The main point was that "each side has its own valid arguments," which required not only highlighting the state of both parties insisting on their own views but also making the audience feel that both sides had their reasoning, compelling them to constantly shift their perspective along with the speakers.
This fundamental conflict of ideology had also become a topic of discussion among many historians. Setting that aside for now, Xiao He could see that Director Chou was testing him through this scene.
The core of this dialogue-heavy scene wasn't about whether he agreed with either side's stance, but about his state of performance.