Chapter 37: Playing the Villain

Pei Liu had been at home studying the role and consulting teachers, finally managing to get a decent grasp of it. As for whether he would be selected, that would depend on his performance on the spot.

When his manager came to pick him up and saw him so tense his face was expressionless, she found it somewhat amusing: “Nervous as always, huh? You’ve been acting for a few years now, yet you’re still like a complete rookie.”

“Was I always this nervous before?”

Pei Liu’s attention was caught, and he turned to ask Sister Yu, feeling quite curious. He truly was a pure rookie now.

Chatting about past events helped distract him. Pei Liu relaxed a bit, leaned back in his seat, looked out the car window, and squinted, feeling a bit sleepy.

Suddenly, he felt a spying gaze. Looking up, he met a pair of deep, profound eyes reflected on the glass. They were blurry but extremely oppressive.

Pei Liu’s heart trembled. He quickly turned his head, only to see Sister Yu on the other side.

Sister Yu noticed his unnatural expression, frowning in concern: “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Having managed him all this time, she naturally knew his situation well. Pei Liu was born with a beautiful face, considered the ceiling of the industry’s aesthetics, and could become famous just by relying on it. But perhaps, as the ancient saying goes, “beautiful people suffer short lives”—with gains come losses. Pei Liu’s constitution was frail, and he would easily fall ill if he wasn’t careful, like a fragile, beautiful piece of glass.

So, seeing his face turn pale, Sister Yu immediately grew nervous.

Pei Liu warily scanned his surroundings but found nothing. The bright sunlight shone warmly on his back, dispelling the chill. Thus, he shook his head and said: “I’m fine.”

Sister Yu breathed a sigh of relief: “That’s good.”

After a few words of instruction, the car came to a stop.

They walked into the waiting room together.

Many celebrities had already gathered there. Each one was glamorous and exceptionally good-looking, drawing attention whether standing or sitting.

As Pei Liu looked at the celebrities in the room, they were also sizing him up. There was amazement, jealousy, and disdain, but they all had to admit that Pei Liu indeed possessed a flawless face—a true gift from heaven. Recently, he had shined in a highly popular paranormal program, gaining countless fans.

However, this was a place that tested acting skills. Director Chen was strict and wouldn’t cast just anyone. It was fortunate that Pei Liu was just a “vase” with terrible acting.

They threw Pei Liu a few overt and covert glances before returning their focus to preparing for their roles.

Pei Liu, on the other hand, was like an examinee about to enter the testing hall. His palms were sweating, and he couldn’t help but go to the restroom twice.

Sister Yu couldn’t bear to watch this anymore. If he went in like this, he would definitely bomb. She decided to chat with him to divert his attention: “For this audition, the original author is also here. He’s the screenwriter and is personally involved in casting.”

Having read the novel and enjoyed it, Pei Liu had become a casual fan. Hearing this, he felt a bit excited: “We can see the author later?”

“Yes, his name is Yan Gao. I heard he’s very deeply devoted. The gentle and kind female lead in his novel is modeled after his wife, in memory of his beloved.”

“Memory?” Pei Liu noticed something off.

Sister Yu said: “His wife was also a novelist. They met at an authors’ convention and were very much in love. Unfortunately, his wife passed away from an illness two years ago. Even now, he still frequently visits the old places they used to go to and posts pictures of the tropical fish they raised together.”

Pei Liu’s heart softened: “That’s so nice.”

Not long after, Pei Liu heard his name called. He took a deep breath and prepared to go in. Sister Yu said with a relaxed expression: “Just do your best, no need to put too much pressure on yourself. I have other scripts on hand.”

She said that, but since this was their first audition, this role was obviously the best, and the other scripts were backups. Sister Yu was just afraid he would be too nervous and mess up the performance.

Pei Liu pushed open the door and entered. Seeing the several interviewers behind the long table, he first bowed politely.

The middle-aged man sitting in the center was likely Director Chen, looking just as stern as imagined. To his right was a man wearing glasses, around thirty years old, looking refined, introverted, and exuding a gentle aura.

Upon seeing Pei Liu, a hint of pleasant surprise flashed in the man’s eyes: “His image fits Xiao Yu very well.”

Director Chen nodded in agreement: “Indeed, but we still need to see his acting skills first. Let’s give it a try.”

Pei Liu guessed that the man with glasses was the author, Yan Gao, and instinctively took another look. Noticing his gaze, the man smiled in response.

Xiao Yu, full name Yu Chu in the text, was the role Pei Liu was auditioning for. He was also the most important male character aside from the male lead and the main villain. When he first appeared, Yu Chu was an innocent, clean college freshman living in an ivory tower. But targeted by the villain, trapped, seduced, and forced step by step to fall, Yu Chu ultimately darkened and became a person just like the main villain.

For this audition, he had to perform a scene of Yu Chu’s innocence and an important scene after his darkening.

For Pei Liu himself, he hardly needed to act for the former; he just had to be himself. The difficult part was acting the darkening.

This required acting a monologue to thin air, without dark makeup, without sets, relying entirely on expressions and emotions—like singing a cappella.

Pei Liu started very well, acting seriously. But halfway through, Director Chen loudly and dissatisfiedly called cut: “You’re playing a villain, not a righteous person throwing a tantrum. Where is the viciousness, the ruthlessness, the terror? Where is it?!”

Suddenly shouted at, Pei Liu stood in the center of the spacious room, pressing his lips tightly together, freezing helplessly, unsure of what to do.

Yan Gao had a very good temper. Realizing the young man was frightened, he intervened to smooth things over, comforting him: “You’ve already got a bit of the feeling, but you haven’t truly darkened. You need to smile condescendingly, to enjoy the bloodiness and terror. In his eyes, others aren’t human; they are merely toys to be ravaged and tortured. You can act however you want, without any restraints or morality.”

Pei Liu nodded obediently.

The screenwriter exchanged a few words with Director Chen, hoping to give him another chance.

In fact, if Director Chen truly thought nothing of Pei Liu, he wouldn’t have bothered scolding him. Thus, Director Chen didn’t object.

Yan Gao said: “It’s indeed quite hard to act without a scene partner. Let me be your prop.”

He actively walked to stand opposite Pei Liu and smiled at him.

Pei Liu smiled gratefully and quickly gathered his emotions. When it came to terror, he thought of the ghosts in the abandoned villa, letting them flash through his mind one by one, finally pausing on the face of a certain handsome, pale man.

Pei Liu closed his eyes, let out a soft breath, and when he opened them again, his gaze and aura had completely changed.

Cold, gloomy, mocking.

A sneer appeared on his beautiful, innocent face, like an evil flower blooming in the dark—gorgeous, yet highly toxic, continuously bleeding thick, sinful blood.

Director Chen instinctively sat up straight, showing a satisfied expression, and even gave a rare compliment: “Not bad.” The screenwriter’s eyes lit up, looking pleasantly surprised as if seeing the character from his pen come alive.

Pei Liu blinked, returned to his normal expression, and politely thanked them.

When he had acted just now, he tried to blend the feelings those ghosts gave him, combined with his own understanding—cold and dark, his smile even more chilling.

He hadn’t expected it to actually succeed.

After coming out, Sister Yu asked him how it went.

Pei Liu tilted his head and smiled: “I think… it was okay?”

He described Director Chen’s reaction, and Sister Yu immediately confirmed: “It’s a sure thing.”

Hearing this, Pei Liu’s mood lifted.

Behind him, the entity patted his head, the corners of its lips curling into a slight smile. Because it could tell that Pei Liu had just imitated its appearance.

After that, it was just a matter of going back and waiting for the production crew’s notice.

Before leaving, Pei Liu went to the restroom. While washing his hands at the sink, the overhead lights flickered twice. In the past, he would have just thought the voltage was unstable or the bulb was faulty. But now, he grouped this together with a lack of cell signal as manifestations of magnetic interference caused by ghosts, putting him on high alert.

Pei Liu quickly walked out of the restroom, tense and guarded.

Shortly after, he ran into the screenwriter he had just seen at the audition in the hallway, heading toward the restroom.

Seeing him, Yan Gao was slightly surprised, then smiled refinedly and praised: “You really fit the role of Yu Chu. I have high hopes for you. Good luck.”

Saying this, he patted Pei Liu’s shoulder.

Pei Liu thanked him, speaking politely and sincerely: “I read your novel, it’s wonderful. Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop.”

“Really?” Yan Gao said modestly. “My writing still has a lot of room for improvement. I’m very happy that readers like it.”

Since they had merely bumped into each other, they exchanged a few more pleasantries and then bid each other a polite farewell.

As they brushed past each other, Pei Liu felt a chill and couldn’t help but look back. To his surprise, he saw a beautiful female ghost clinging to Yan Gao’s back, affectionately wrapping her arms around his neck, her eyes full of deep love.

Pei Liu’s footsteps stalled, his heart tightening. Then, before the female ghost could notice him, he turned and walked away briskly.

He used his phone to search and finally dug up a photo, confirming that the female ghost was indeed Yan Gao’s deceased wife.

His feelings were complex, hard to describe.

She probably lingered in the human world and couldn’t bear to leave because she loved her husband too much. But a ghost lingering around a living person, eroding them with yin energy, would ultimately cause harm.

Pei Liu frowned, wondering if he should warn him, but how could he make him believe it? And how could he help her cross over and exorcise the ghost?

Pondering this, he walked outside.

Two days later, Sister Yu brought him the good news: he had secured the role of Yu Chu. The assistant picked him up to go to the company to sign the contract.

When he arrived, he found two contracts laid out on the table.

Sister Yu explained to him: “There’s still more than a month until filming starts. It just so happens that a dating reality show invited you as a guest star. It’s only three days of filming and won’t take up much time. While you still have heat, adding more exposure and topics of conversation is good. After all, you won’t be able to show your face for those few months while filming the drama.”

“A dating show?” Pei Liu was surprised. “Aren’t celebrities not supposed to date?”

Sister Yu smiled: “That unspoken rule exists, but this kind of show is basically like an idol drama. You hype up a CP to generate buzz, and after the show ends, you slowly fade out and separate. The audience knows exactly what’s going on. Shipping one pair today and another tomorrow—they’re incredibly busy.”

Pei Liu was a bit hesitant: “Is there a script? I’ve never dated before, won’t my acting look really fake?”

Sister Yu was straightforward: “There’s no script, but you don’t need to worry about that. They’re just looking at your face. A guest star doesn’t have to form a CP; you’re joining midway to add some excitement to the existing ambiguous CPs, creating a love triangle. That’s what the audience loves to watch. When the time comes, the production team will give you tasks. All you need to do is get a bit closer to a certain female guest, maybe give her flowers or something, just to make the other male guests feel threatened and jealous.”

It sounded like he would just be a tool to push the romance forward? It didn’t seem hard?

Moreover, this dating show was quite popular. Showing his face there would only bring benefits.

So, Pei Liu nodded and signed his name on the contract.

The entity stood beside him, casting a shadow over him, expressionless, exuding a distinct aura of danger.