novellhall Chapter 13 Good luck, bro!
Chapter 13 Good luck, bro!
She carefully picked up a piece of stir-fried green peppers and pork with her chopsticks.
I put it in my mouth and chewed it a couple of times.
Her eyes widened suddenly, then she covered her mouth, pointed at the plate with her other finger, and made a muffled "ooh" sound.
Chen Xun's heart skipped a beat: "What's wrong? Is it too spicy?"
He remembered that Koreans can eat a lot of spicy food too.
That kimchi is so cool!
They could be eaten as a meal!
Li Suyan shook her head vigorously.
After finally swallowing the food in his mouth, he let out a long sigh of relief, his eyes shining with an alarming brightness:
"This isn't spicy! This is magic! Holy crap! How can this flavor be so aggressive yet so harmonious? How can this pork be so tender? This sauce... this wok hei (wok aroma)..."
"Oppa! Where did you learn this? Hogwarts China branch?"
Chen Xun: "Thank you for the compliment. This is just basic operation from the Chinese cooking show... oops, I mean, it's just basic operation for ordinary Chinese people."
He served himself rice and started showing it off.
It has to be said that the feeling of being self-sufficient is truly satisfying.
The spiciness of the chili peppers, the charred aroma of the pork, and the savory flavor of the sauce blend together perfectly, served with steaming hot white rice.
It instantly cured the Chinese stomach, which had been tormented by American fast food and Korean semi-finished products for a long time.
Lee So-yeon has completely disregarded her image.
He ate until his forehead was sweating, his nose was red, and he mumbled "Masiso" and "Daebak" in Korean.
"Eat slowly, no one's going to take it from you."
Chen Xun watched her wolf down her food, feeling both amused and a little sad.
This girl probably hasn't had many decent home-cooked meals since she came here.
Come to think of it!
There's not much to eat in South Korea anyway!
Every day it's just seaweed soup, tofu soup, and kimchi rice!
"Oppa~"
Lee So-yeon finished the last bite of her rice, slumped onto the sofa, and patted her stomach contentedly, her eyes glazed over.
"I've made up my mind!"
"Decid what?"
"When I look for a boyfriend in the future, he absolutely has to know how to cook stir-fried pork with chili peppers!"
She said with a serious expression, "This is a hard requirement, even more important than whether you have a green card!"
Chen Xun almost choked on his food: "Your criteria for choosing a partner are really simple and unpretentious."
After the meal, the atmosphere between the two was noticeably better than before.
After cleaning up the dishes.
Chen Xun took out his phone and looked at the audition message that Robert had sent him again.
That was an independent film project called "Silent Echoes".
The character is "Li," a Chinese student studying at an American university who experiences an identity crisis and immense loneliness due to cultural barriers and language difficulties.
In the script excerpt, the character has long monologues and complex emotions that need to be conveyed through subtle facial expressions and eye contact.
In the past, Chen Xun would have felt his scalp tingle and thought he couldn't handle such a role.
But now, feeling his control over his emotions and the steady improvement of various data on his attribute panel, a strong desire welled up in his heart for the first time.
This isn't a stereotypical Han character, nor is it just a background character with only three lines of dialogue.
This is a truly flesh-and-blood, challenging character!
"What are you looking at? You look so serious."
Li Suyan leaned closer and glanced at his phone screen:
"Audition for 'Silent Echoes'! Wow~ that sounds way more sophisticated than 'Burger Guy'!"
Chen Xun put away his phone and took a deep breath: "I'll try my luck tomorrow!"
"Fighting!"
Lee So-yeon subconsciously shouted out the slogan.
Then, remembering the precautions Chen Xun had mentioned to her before, she quickly covered her mouth and changed her words:
Good luck, bro!
Chen Xun smiled and didn't correct her anymore.
He walked to the window and looked down at the ever-burning lights of Los Angeles.
Tomorrow will be another battle.
……
The audition for "Silent Echoes" took place in an office area in Culver City that looked like an abandoned warehouse.
The air was filled with the smell of old cardboard boxes and cheap coffee.
The corridor was crowded with waiting actors.
Each of them had a look on their face that screamed "Pick me! Pick me!"
The atmosphere was more civilized than the labor market in Santa Monica, but the underlying anxiety was exactly the same.
Chen Xun found his name on the sign-in sheet, took a sticker with the number "37" and put it on his chest, then found a corner seat to sit down.
He glanced at the people around him.
Most of them are of Asian descent, ranging from green students to seasoned veterans.
Today's focus is on internal competition!
He took a deep breath and went over the script excerpt in his mind again.
The character "Li" only has two scenes:
One instance was at a party, unable to fit in due to language and cultural differences, sitting silently alone in a corner.
Another scene is a monologue where the protagonist returns to his empty rented apartment, faces a video call from his family from overseas, forces a smile to reassure them that he is safe, but breaks down emotionally the moment he hangs up.
The first test is static presence and eye acting, while the second test is emotional outburst.
For Chen Xun a month ago, this was practically hellish.
but now……
"Number 37! Chen Xun!"
An assistant poked his head out and called out.
Chen Xun stood up, straightened his dark shirt (the only decent-looking item on him), and walked into the audition room.
The room was small and simply furnished.
Three people were sitting behind a long table.
In the middle is a white woman with messy hair and black-rimmed glasses; she's probably the director.
On the left is a middle-aged Asian man with a blank expression; he may be a producer or screenwriter.
On the right is Robert, who invited Chen Xun to audition.
When Rob saw him, he didn't react much, just nodded slightly, with no particular expectation in his eyes.
That's normal.
After all, the two hadn't seen or contacted each other for a month.
Chen Xun was quite surprised that Robert still remembered him and invited him to audition!
"Chen Xun, right?"
The female director in the middle, named Sarah Jones, flipped through the documents in her hand, her tone flat:
"Let's begin, starting with the party."
There were no cameras, only three pairs of scrutinizing eyes.
Chen Xun walked to the center of the room, where a chair was placed symbolically, representing the corner of the party.
He sat down, without deliberately hunching over or looking pitiful; he simply relaxed his shoulders slightly, but his back remained straight.
His gaze was not focused on any of the judges.
Instead, he stared blankly into the air ahead, as if he had pierced through the walls and seen the noisy party scene that had nothing to do with him.
He didn't make any exaggerated expressions; he simply pursed his lips down very slightly.
It's not sadness, but the weariness of getting used to this estrangement.
His fingers unconsciously tapped lightly twice on his knee.
It's like an unconscious action synchronized with the rhythm of inner loneliness.
The entire performance lasted less than a minute, and the room was so quiet you could hear the air conditioner humming.
Director Sarah pushed up her glasses, said nothing, but a barely perceptible look of surprise flashed in her eyes.
The Asian man next to him remained expressionless, but his fingers, which were flipping through documents, paused for a moment.
Rob raised his eyebrows slightly.