Brother Dao Took the Entertainment Industry by Storm, Fans Beg Me Not to Kill Anymore

Chapter 652: Grand Calligraphy Show! A Judge Asking for Contact Info at the Audition?

After the ink, brush, paper, and inkstone were all laid out, Xiao He handled the remaining steps entirely on his own.

Although Director Chou was likely just trying to make things difficult for him, Xiao He didn't get discouraged. Instead, he sat down calmly and began grinding the ink with practiced ease.

After over a week of grueling training under Teacher Wen Yuan, Xiao He could finally fully showcase the results of his intensive crash course.

Before everyone's eyes, the young man was neither impatient nor flustered. He prepared his materials at his own steady pace, completely absorbed in his own world, as if the judges before him didn't even exist.

At that moment, he was fully immersed in his own space.

No one could disturb him.

The people around him unconsciously held their breath, watching the scene unfold with rapt attention—

A few minutes later, several judges marveled at Xiao He's calligraphy, clicking their tongues in admiration.

The judges for this final role selection all held significant positions. Among them were Director Chou Zhenlong, who had been assigned to oversee the project; a producer dispatched by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television to manage production; a person in charge sent by Jingyou Entertainment; as well as several historical consultants and screenwriters related to this historical drama...

So, strictly speaking, the audition wasn't a one-man show for either Director Chou or Jingyou Entertainment.

In particular, the few elderly scholars sitting nearby were technical advisors sent by relevant associations. After all, if they wanted to film an authentic historical drama that adhered strictly to historical facts, there would be many intricate details requiring highly specialized knowledge. Without their expertise, Director Chou would be under immense pressure handling these issues alone.

One elderly scholar, who specialized in the history of Emperor Chen and also served as vice president of the Calligraphy Association, stared at the writing before him, finding it nearly impossible to distinguish real from fake. For the first time, he put on his reading glasses, gently rubbing the rice paper as he examined it closely. If one looked carefully, they would notice his hands trembling slightly.

Finally, he muttered under his breath: "Excellent calligraphy, excellent... this is an exact replica! The strokes are alike, and even the spirit matches—as if Emperor Chen himself were alive. If I hadn't witnessed it with my own eyes... I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to tell real from fake."

"Impossible. Did you really just write this?"

The screenwriter who had cried earlier still hadn't wiped away all her tears. Her eyes were red-rimmed, but as she stared at the rice paper before her, her already reddened eyes grew incredibly wide again, a look of utter disbelief on her face.

The other elderly scholars nearby had long since left their seats, huddling together and chattering excitedly, their faces flushed with emotion. Xiao He was almost afraid they might suddenly faint from the excitement.

Even Director Chou stared at the calligraphy for a long time. Then, not believing his eyes, he reached out a hand to touch the ink marks, wanting to confirm that Xiao He had really written this in front of everyone. But his hand was promptly smacked away by the elderly scholar next to him: "Hey, don't touch! The ink hasn't dried yet! Do you want to ruin this piece of work?"

"Shoo, shoo, move aside! You clearly don't know how to respect other people's labor!"

"Philistine! You're just in the way!"

"Oh, coming through! Don't block us!"

"Are you done looking? If you're done, let me see—I want to study it—"

The elderly scholars scolded without any restraint, their disdain for Director Chou plain to see. They all craned their necks, eager to get a look at Xiao He's work. Director Chou was nearly pushed aside along with his chair.

But Director Chou couldn't afford to offend these big shots he had personally invited. So he had to save face by clearing his throat dryly, shifting his position, and pretending he hadn't heard anything.

—To be honest, he didn't really understand calligraphy.

Though he was older and worked within the system, his refined hobbies leaned toward chess and tea drinking. He had only a general understanding of calligraphy and painting, so he couldn't fully grasp why these old guys were so stunned by the calligraphy.

Still, anyone with eyes could see that the handwriting was exceptionally good. And since the authentic script was still displayed downstairs, Director Chou had glanced at it a few times out of pretentiousness and remembered it quite clearly.

Watching Director Chou suffer in silence, Xiao He stood still but silently thanked Yun Ziqi for the "assist."

Perfect. This was just perfect!

Going through all that trouble to procure an authentic script and curry favor with the production team, only to end up helping Xiao He with a promotion instead.

Now, seeing the elderly scholars' excited expressions, Director Chou didn't dare continue finding fault. He looked at the 98-point high score he had personally written on the evaluation form and had to admit that this young man was truly very suitable for the role.

Hmm, the two points he deducted were for his initial impression. After all, the traffic stars who had come in the morning were of terrible quality...

Fine, then he would add one more point and consider it.

Having been thoroughly shaken by the traffic stars who came in the morning, Director Chou now grudgingly acknowledged Xiao He.

At least the guy actually had real skills.

"Good, go back and wait for news."

Director Chou finally said.

So Xiao He stood up, bowed to the judges to thank them, and prepared to leave.

But just as his hand touched the door handle, someone called out to him from behind.

"Hey, Xiao He! You're called Xiao He, right?"

Xiao He turned around and saw that it was the elderly scholar who had been clutching his calligraphy, unwilling to let go.

The old scholar wore a pair of loose reading glasses. His hair was already completely white, but his face was full of smiles, making him look exceptionally kind—the type of elder who commanded deep respect. "Can you give me this calligraphy?"

"Of course, no problem."

Xiao He nodded in agreement.

He hadn't planned on keeping it anyway.

"Then let's exchange contact info! I can see you have a deep understanding of Emperor Chen's calligraphy. When we have time in the future, we can discuss it in depth."

Huh? A judge asking for contact info right at the audition?

What kind of magical development was this?

Still, having the chance to win over a judge was definitely a good choice—

But as he reached into his pocket, he showed an apologetic expression to the old man. "Sorry, but I can't bring my phone into the venue. How about you tell me your phone number, and I'll contact you once I get my phone back?"

"Sure, sure."

Without hesitation, the elderly scholar tore off a piece of the evaluation form beside him and scribbled down his contact number. "My surname is Qian. Feel free to contact me when you get back. I'll take you to visit our association sometime."

Director Chou watched the torn evaluation form, his mouth twitching: ...Not that anyone asked you to tear that thing up!

Xiao He quickly stepped forward and respectfully accepted the note with both hands. "Thank you, Elder Qian."

"It's nothing, nothing. Make sure to contact me when you get back, okay?"

Elder Qian nodded with a smile, occasionally looking down to admire the calligraphy in his hands, letting out sounds of admiration.

Director Chou suspected that if this weren't an audition, Elder Qian would have already pulled out his phone to take pictures and post on Moments.

Oh, no, that's wrong—he should have already dragged someone aside to discuss calligraphy.

As for Xiao He, he glanced at the flamboyant, highly skilled calligraphy on the note and felt a bead of cold sweat trickle down his back.

Damn. A counterfeit had met the real deal.

Others didn't know—they probably thought he was putting on an impressive show—but only he knew that he could really only write those few specific characters!

Without a reference to imitate, the calligraphy he wrote himself was nowhere near "artwork" level.

And the limited calligraphy knowledge he had crammed from his crash course was utterly insufficient for a discussion with such a distinguished senior!

If they chatted for even a few more minutes, he would definitely be exposed.

But... things being what they were, he would first establish a connection.

Yun Ziqi had stirred up quite a bit of trouble recently, getting heavily boycotted by drama fans and historical fans. That had even caused the auditions for "Imperial Enterprise" to be postponed until after the New Year. Given Director Chou's temperament, he definitely wouldn't keep Yun Ziqi in the running.

Yet Yun Ziqi had still made it to the final round of the recommendation slot.

That was enough to show the value of the authentic script he had sent.

Given Director Chou's attitude, could it be that the old scholars were only invited thanks to that authentic script?

If it weren't for that authentic script, Yun Ziqi probably wouldn't have been able to compete for the final role either.

But then again...

Xiao He raised the corner of his mouth.

This matter really was an unexpected bonus.