“That Eastern doll is with Irving!” exclaimed one of the male companions of the blonde girls. “Good thing we didn’t approach her!” another man said with a laugh, relieved. “Yeah, Irving’s temper… hehe… good thing…” “But such a beautiful girl, maybe only Irving and his kind can match her!” “What are you guys talking about!” one of the blonde girls shouted. “Yeah, what’s so great about her! Skinny as a rail…” another one stirred her drink viciously. “Just wait, I’ll make her regret this!” the blonde girl declared. “Hehe, do whatever you want, just don’t involve us! We don’t want to offend Irving!” the men exchanged a knowing look, in agreement. “Cowards!” “Cowards!” The two blonde girls stood up indignantly and stormed off!
[Side Story: Star Dream Adventures: VI. Rules of the Preliminary Selection]
“Oh! Romeo…” “Oh… my Juliet, my love…” “Watch your emotions… don’t overdo it…” “Yes, teacher!”
“Students, watch carefully, no whispering, don’t affect the performance of the students on stage!!” The teacher addressed the seated students below, then turned to the students on stage in performance costumes, practicing their act: “Continue, Julie, remember, you are playing Juliet, not a shrew, be gentle! Anton, you are playing Romeo, deeply in love with Juliet but separated by family feud, not the boy next door, show more restraint, more helplessness! Let’s start over…”
The stage once again filled with passionate enactment…
Su Wen leaned close to Ou Tong’s ear and whispered, “Isn’t it clichéd? The teacher always has us practice these scenes in every acting class… so cliché…”
“Hmm… when I was in Hong Kong, every acting class was the same, either ‘La Traviata,’ ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ or ‘Anna Karenina’…” Ou Tong and Su Wen watched the stage intently, whispering carefully to avoid being caught by the teacher.
“By the way, with Irving here earlier, I didn’t dare to ask, what’s your relationship with him?” Su Wen asked with a suppressed giggle.
“Irving?” Ou Tong blinked, momentarily not catching on.
“Your ‘Kai’!” Su Wen kindly reminded. “Oh, you mean Kai…” Ou Tong suddenly realized that she had always been accustomed to calling him ‘Kai’, so when others called him ‘Owen’, she didn’t react immediately. “Me and him… How come, Wenwen, you like Kai?” Ou Tong playfully glanced sideways at Su Wen and nudged her with her shoulder. “Hehe… A lot of girls in school like Owen and his group… I… hehe, I’m just curious… I know my own worth… Owen is so outstanding, how could an ordinary girl like me even think about liking him!” Su Wen said with an awkward laugh. “Don’t say that about yourself, I think you’re more pure and kind than any other girl… Don’t worry, Kai is just my cousin…” Ou Tong squeezed Su Wen’s hand, comforting her who seemed a bit self-deprecating. “Really? I thought you were his girlfriend since he’s so good to you!” Su Wen said in a low voice, her tone filled with concealed joy and relief… “Hehe, of course Kai would be good to me, as if being good to me is like being good to himself… because his mom and my mom are identical twin sisters, with over 99% genetic similarity, almost like the same person. So, Kai and I, we could be considered half-siblings!” Ou Tong said lightly, a trace of complexity in her tone, her beautiful eyes drifting through the stage in front to some distant void… “Oh… to have such an outstanding man as your brother, Tong, you’re really lucky…” Su Wen, not noticing anything, continued to pretend to watch the performance, still carefully avoiding the teacher’s attention while chatting with Ou Tong. “Yes, such an outstanding man, and he’s my brother…” Ou Tong repeated softly…
“Bang…” The door to the performance hall was pushed open, and the students, including those performing and the teacher guiding them, turned to look at the suddenly opened door. The department head appeared with a smile on his face: “Everyone, please settle down.” He walked onto the stage, signaling the interrupted performers to step aside, then nodded to the guiding teacher, and began to speak, “Students, an excellent opportunity has come for all of you… However, as the saying goes, opportunities are for those who are prepared… So, this excellent opportunity, although open, fair, and rare, isn’t for everyone…” “Oh, Director, just tell us, don’t keep us in suspense!” “Yes, get on with it!” “Please, Director!” The students were getting impatient…
“Alright, alright, I’ll tell you… Here’s the deal, I just received a call, the Peak Film Group is coming to our school’s drama department tomorrow for casting for their new movie ‘Seeking Dragons’!” “Wow!” “Oh my God! Peak Film!” “Is that true?!” The room erupted in excitement. Ou Tong, puzzled by everyone’s enthusiasm, asked Su Wen, “Is this the Peak Film Group, ranked among the top five in the world?” Su Wen, clearly excited as well, nodded to Ou Tong and said, “Yes, last year, a senior was picked by Peak for a minor role that appeared for only 3 minutes, and from there, she became an internationally known actress, Bao Na!”
