After Being Blackened All Over the Internet, I Ruled the Military Variety Shows-Chapter 131 Wei Dao’s New Drama Title Released

After a series of blame-shifting maneuvers, the two successfully got rid of the bag of beans.

He Zhu glanced at Zhao Hu, who was holding the beans with a tearless look, and sighed in relief for avoiding the disaster.

Inside the room, the Jiang father and son looked at the large plate of salt-baked green beans in front of them, equally tearless.

It just shows that human joys and sorrows are not the same!

They had just gotten into the car to head home when Jiang Lingxi’s phone vibrated and rang before they even started, causing Zhao Hu to pause.

Shen Yunqing raised his hand to pull up the partition between the front and back seats.

The call was from Tong Yue.

She was resting now, so if it wasn’t important, a message would suffice.

Since Tong Yue was calling directly, Jiang Lingxi figured it must be urgent or important, so she answered without much thought.

The moment she did, she heard Tong Yue’s urgent and solemn voice, "Xiaoxi, your break time might have to be cut short."

"Hmm, what’s happened?"

"I just received a last-minute notification that Director Wei’s new drama’s audition has been moved up by a day, now starting tomorrow. Since we’re already in the Imperial City, this isn’t too big of an impact on us. But here’s the bad news: Xu Qingmei has returned to the country, reportedly for Director Wei’s new drama. I suspect the schedule change was made for Xu Qingmei."

Jiang Lingxi, having spent some time in the entertainment circle, had some understanding of its key figures.

Even if she hadn’t met Xu Qingmei, she’d heard her famous name mentioned multiple times by others.

She won the top three Actress awards domestically before turning twenty-five, and occasionally starring in a TV drama could assure her the TV Festival’s Best Actress award at the time. In recent years, she’d gone international, participating in many blockbuster films, one of which she starred as the lead actress.

Being the lead actress in a foreign film is no small feat, and domestic stars who manage that can be counted on one hand.

The key point is, she has just turned thirty, precisely the age when a woman is most attractive.

Even though her domestic popularity might not surpass some of the trending stars, her status in the industry is such that her mere interest in a script could delight producers and directors alike.

Truly a prominent figure among prominent figures.

Given her current status, Jiang Lingxi might not even get a chance to greet her.

"Now that Xu Qingmei’s back, I guess the lead role in Director Wei’s new drama is as good as hers."

Tong Yue sounded somewhat regretful, though she didn’t really expect her artist to suddenly have a breakthrough in acting and snag the lead role in Director Wei’s drama. But couldn’t she at least dream?

After all, just the other day, someone had asked Cheng Wan to make an exception and finish classes early for her, which indeed boosted her confidence quite a bit.

But now with Xu Qingmei’s return, she didn’t even want to think about it.

Jiang Lingxi, however, took it in stride, "Aren’t there other roles?"

"Of course, there are, but with Xu Qingmei’s presence, everyone’s attention and anticipation have shifted to her. Unless another character is portrayed remarkably, all would be overshadowed. I still remember her debut; she played the third female lead, but in the end, when the film aired, the female lead had little presence compared to her."

"Today, it’s not just us feeling this headache. Plenty of artists and their managers, who got the opportunity for an audition just like us, are probably as troubled now. They thought they’d ride Director Wei’s wave to fame, only to face a giant.

Jiang Lingxi calmly waited for her to finish, "It’s a fact now, getting upset won’t help. Just do your best at tomorrow’s audition."

Listening to the steady voice over the phone, Tong Yue felt a lot of her anxiety dissipating. She took a deep breath, responded with a light hum, and chuckled, "I was supposed to calm you down, but it turned out the other way. Maintain this mindset, even with Xu Qingmei there, we must try our best tomorrow."

Jiang Lingxi noted that while Tong Yue said this, she didn’t place much hope on her, "Goodbye, get some rest."

"You too, don’t think about anything tonight, have a good sleep. Tomorrow, Zhengzheng and I will come to pick you up."

Usually, she would let Lu Zhengzheng accompany her to auditions, but this time was different.

She needed to tag along to feel at ease.

After the call ended, Jiang Lingxi checked online and found that the top trending topic was precisely what Tong Yue had just mentioned.

#Xu Qingmei Returns, Dining with Director Wei, Intends to Act in New Play#

The first post showed a photo of the two toasting each other at a table.

The top comment had already gathered tens of thousands of likes, "Xu Qingmei and Director Wei are teaming up again, seems another phenomenal piece is on its way, can’t wait!"

Clearly, everyone was convinced Xu Qingmei would get the lead role.

Jiang Lingxi continued to scroll with interest until a voice interrupted her from the side.

"I overheard your call, is there a change in the audition?"

Jiang Lingxi set down her phone and turned her head.

She froze for a moment when she met those eyes filled with concern.

The next second, she composed herself, "Not really a change, just some unanticipated events."

"That’s good."

Jiang Lingxi turned her gaze back to the scenery outside the car window.

However, her mind was contemplating: Was Shen Yunqing just...concerned about her?

But what was the concern based on?

This person is becoming more intriguing, but unfortunately, she’s also very busy now.

But if he wants to act like a fox, there will be a day when she snatches his tail.

She is patient enough to wait!

*

While Jiang Lingxi could come to terms with Xu Qingmei’s return, thereby calming Tong Yue as well, some people were quite upset.

She Man, upon learning this news from her manager, lost her appetite for the bird’s nest soup that the housekeeper had just made for her, her furrowed brows remained unrelaxed.

She had been looking to return to the limelight, and Director Wei’s new drama was the first step of her official comeback she had set her eyes on.

She expected the auditions the day after tomorrow to go smoothly, but who knew that Xu Qingmei would appear suddenly before then?

As Tong Yue feared, with Xu Qingmei’s presence, combined with her decade-long beauty, ever-improving acting skills, and the aura honed from abroad, everyone else in the drama would just be a foil to her.

Even if she had won an Actress award, it would be the same!

How could she, an Actress, stoop to being a supporting role, especially to someone younger than herself?

"Wasn’t she doing well abroad? Why did she suddenly return, and of all things, set her eyes on Director Wei’s new drama?"

The manager sitting across from She Man was equally troubled, "It happened so suddenly, I couldn’t find any clues."

"So what are we gonna do now? Fight her for the lead role? I refuse to consider other roles!"

Though the manager also felt the chances were slim, seeing She Man’s frustrated face, he comforted her, "We still don’t know what Director Wei’s new drama is even about, maybe your look fits the lead role just right, and Director Wei is known to choose actors based on role suitability and acting skills, not fame. Don’t be discouraged."

She Man finally felt a bit better, and as she picked up her bird’s nest soup again, she saw her manager’s phone light up on the table.

"It’s a message from Director Wei’s show’s team." Quickly opening it, he saw just a few words on the screen, "It’s the title of the drama."

"’Yuan Zhao Empress’? Yuan Zhao, sounds familiar, is it a historical figure?"

"The first female Emperor in history, Yuan Zhao is both her era name and the name she later changed to. Seems like this is a historical female lead drama. Ah Man, the film you won the Actress award for was also a female-led one, I think this lead role suits you well."

"It suits Xu Qingmei too."

"Uh..."

Simultaneously, Tong Yue also received the news and immediately sent the title to Jiang Lingxi.

At the same time, she advised, "Let’s do some last-minute cramming on the history of Empress Yuan Zhao."

The "Empress Yuan Zhao" being advised: "..."

Do they expect her to learn about herself?