After my divorce, I started to have good luck-Chapter 727 - 394: Competing for the Female Lead

After the audition for the female lead, the interviewers present each gave their opinions.

The department managers spoke first, and most of them voted for the two top actresses. Even Hu Rui, the manager of the artist department, cast her vote for one of them.

Only Xu Wei, the manager of the planning department, voted for Zhang Yuxi. He explained that compared to the other two, her salary was lower, her acting skills were decent, and she was also very attractive.

After the department managers expressed their opinions, it was the turn of the three female executives from Sun Wu and Lu, as well as Zhao Guoqing, the company’s art director.

Zhao Guoqing spoke first. With his understanding and impression of the script’s female lead, among the three, Zhang Yuxi’s personal image was undoubtedly the most fitting. Additionally, her salary was lower compared to the other two.

However, in terms of acting skills, Zhang Yuxi was the weakest, and relatively speaking, she was also the least famous.

Each of the three had their own strengths and weaknesses, but after weighing the options, he still felt Zhang Yuxi was the right choice.

As the company’s art director, Zhao Guoqing’s stance prompted Sun Xiaorui to agree, saying, "I also think Zhang Yuxi is the most suitable. Her acting may not be on par with the other two, but she’s the most beautiful and fits the role well, plus her salary is the lowest."

The remaining Wu Mengting and Lu Sijia exchanged a glance, and Wu Mengting signaled for her to speak first. Lu Sijia didn’t hold back and said directly, "Like Director Zhao said, each of the three has their pros and cons. If it’s about choosing one, I personally lean toward Zhang Yuxi." She paused after glancing at Chen Feng sitting in the center, then continued, "But in my opinion, Zhang Yuxi isn’t the most suitable. We should wait and look a bit more. Let’s send audition invitations to a few more actresses."

Wu Mengting then looked at Chen Feng and asked, "Boss, what do you think?"

Chen Feng thought for a moment and said, "I think Zhang Yuxi is quite good. She offers the best value for money, and her acting skills are decent. I think we can give her a chance. Also, to be honest, her agent contacted me privately, and she’s willing to take an equity stake for her fee; we could discuss the specifics. I believe you should prioritize her."

Investing in the film for her fee was something Zhang Yuxi suggested while discussing the script with Chen Feng the previous night. Beyond her strong desire to land the leading role, she also had high hopes for the drama’s success.

Chen Feng might have been reluctant to let anyone else buy shares, but after thorough communication with her, he believed her sincerity and agreed.

Of course, he had already set the expectation that even though he was the company boss, the ones truly in charge were Lu Sijia and Wu Mengting. If both opposed, he couldn’t overrule them.

Zhang Yuxi was quite understanding. She nodded in agreement with Chen Feng’s difficult position.

With Chen Feng making this statement, it implicitly suggested selecting Zhang Yuxi. Lu Sijia, Wu Mengting, and Sun Xiaorui were not surprised.

However, Lu Sijia insisted, "I think we can still wait. We’ve only auditioned three people so far; we should at least audition three more to consider before making a decision."

Chen Feng glanced at Lu Sijia and nodded, "Alright, then let’s wait a little longer."

Wu Mengting didn’t express a stance, indicating she wasn’t entirely satisfied with Zhang Yuxi either.

Chen Feng didn’t want to appear overly obvious, to avoid suspicion of any personal relationship with Zhang Yuxi.

Once the female lead auditions concluded, Chen Feng wasn’t interested in staying at the company. He handed over the rest of the casting duties, including for the male lead, to Lu Sijia and Wu Mengting to handle completely.

After leaving the company, he immediately went to Zhang Yuxi’s hotel room, which was quite close to their company.

Zhang Yuxi had arranged to meet him again after the audition today. Considerately, she had already sent away her assistant and agent.

"Brother Feng, what did they say?"

As soon as Chen Feng entered the room, Zhang Yuxi hurried over to ask, with a hint of nervousness and anticipation on her face.

It’s no wonder she was like this. Her fame had been declining over the past two to three years. Initially, she focused on her singing career, but with the downturn of the music industry, even the new album she managed to release last year didn’t sell well. She had to rely on advertising endorsements, commercial performances, and occasionally appearing on TV entertainment programs to maintain her popularity.

Overall, she had been living off her past success for the past few years.

She had also tried to transition to acting, and with her company’s support, starred in a costume drama, which achieved decent success.

However, her acting skills were lacking at the time, and combined with limited resources from the company, many opportunities went to other female artists in the company, leaving her without backing.

Some production teams outside the company did invite her to act, but she refused roles that were either attempts to exploit her, had poor scripts, or were for poorly designed secondary characters.

As a result, her acting career was halted.

Now, with Fengmang Film and Television Company’s sudden rise, launching the hit series "Mountain Order" shortly after its founding, and their new urban drama ready to air, they have drawn industry-wide attention.

With Fengmang launching another big production, it naturally attracted interest from many artists, including Zhang Yuxi.

Zhang Yuxi urgently needed a breakthrough in her acting career to boost her fame.

"Among the three of you, the company’s key executives are still leaning toward you. But Lu Sijia is not very satisfied with you, and she’s sent audition invitations to several other leading actresses. They’ll have to see how they do before deciding."

Hearing Chen Feng’s words, Zhang Yuxi was a bit disappointed but quickly held his arm with a smile, asking, "Did you, the boss, express your opinion? Did you tell them what I suggested last night about investing with my fee?"

"Of course, I have expressed my support for you and mentioned your investment proposal. If nothing unexpected happens, I still have the most confidence in you."

"What did Mengting say?"

"Well... she didn’t express a stance, but I think among today’s three auditionees, she still favors you the most."

"That’s... that’s good. Could you speak well of me to her when you go back?"

"Don’t worry. I will certainly do my best to advocate for you. As for those other actresses coming to audition, I’ll definitely help you veto them."

Chen Feng hadn’t promised so much the previous night, mainly because he wasn’t sure of her acting skills then. But now, assured of her skills and considering their relationship and her investment, who else could he choose?

"Brother Feng, you’re really good to me."