Chapter 59

Being selected, Kim Tae-yeon and Lim Yoon-a were overjoyed, with Kim Tae-yeon even standing in a daze. She never thought she would be chosen, as she felt her performance during the interview was not very good. She was so surprised that it felt like a pie had fallen from the sky, almost knocking her out.

It wasn't until others congratulated her with envious looks that Kim Tae-yeon finally came to her senses and thanked everyone. Although she was very happy inside, she didn't want to show too much excitement in front of the four who were not selected, as that would be like stabbing them in the heart.

The four who were not selected also congratulated the chosen ones, but they couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed.

After announcing the list, Xia Hou Zhongying sighed in relief. No matter how difficult it was to say, it was finally over.

"This time, because of Hyo-ri's participation, some of you were not selected. I didn't expect this either, and it is indeed my fault," Xia Hou Zhongying said seriously to the four women who were not selected. "Next time when we shoot other movies, we will make it up to you. I will definitely reserve roles for you."

"Thank you, Brother Zhongying." The four women who were not selected quickly thanked him, feeling much better. They lost this opportunity, but there would be another chance.

While comforting the four women, Xia Hou Zhongying also comforted the three assistants. After the audition, the three assistants had already given up hope of being selected, so they didn't care much. However, Xia Hou Zhongying also let them stay with the crew during the shooting to observe others' performances and learn more acting skills. The three readily agreed.

After lunch, Xia Hou Zhongying told everyone that he had to interview people from DSP Company in the afternoon, so he let everyone go back first while he headed to DSP Company.

The audition process for DSP Company's trainees was similar to the morning audition for Jeong Seo-yeon and others, also requiring a performance of a scene.

Each person who was notified to come for the audition was visibly excited, as this was a chance to act in a movie with senior artist Lee Hyo-ri.

At the same time, they were also curious about Xia Hou Zhongying, who was sitting in the director's seat. Was he the genius who had made the company president so angry? He looked so young, younger than some of the trainees, who were secretly wondering.

Although Xia Hou Zhongying was young, the DSP Company trainees did not dare to be disrespectful to him. The director had the power to decide who would be selected, and DSP Company had many other trainees. No one knew who would be chosen, so everyone carefully followed Xia Hou Zhongying's instructions.

In the afternoon, Xia Hou Zhongying only gave instructions, as he was the director, but he didn't care much about who was selected. He had no personal connections with any of them, so as long as they didn't perform too poorly, it was fine. The final selection was left to Lee Hyo-ri and two others from DSP Company.

Among the DSP Company trainees, a girl named Park Gyu-ri performed the best, satisfying Lee Hyo-ri and the other two. She was immediately chosen. Xia Hou Zhongying heard that she had previously participated in TV drama productions, playing a young girlfriend of a character in "Today Is a Good Day" in 1995 when she was 7 years old, and a young servant in "Women of the World" in 2001.

In the end, the four selected girls were Park Gyu-ri, Han Seong-yeon, Kim Sung-hee, and Lee Soo-jin. The two selected boys were Kim Hyun-joong and Kim Kwi-jong.

With the entire cast now determined, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Zhongying, our president asked me to ask you if you have any opinions on the press conference for the new film," Lee Hyo-ri said as she walked out with Xia Hou Zhongying.

"About that, I have no objections," Xia Hou Zhongying replied, knowing that Lee Hyo-ri's participation had already caused a media sensation. This time, it was a real sensation, not like the school report he had given before. DSP Company had to hold a press conference to explain the reasons for this move and guide the media's reporting in a favorable direction.

Although DSP Company had temporarily stopped the media from conducting interviews, they couldn't prevent the media from reporting the news. The media had already reported on DSP Company and Lee Hyo-ri's seemingly crazy move, speculating on their motives, which had left DSP Company in a difficult situation. Therefore, the sooner the press conference was held, the better, to stop the media's wild speculations.

"That's good. Our president said the press conference will be held tomorrow morning at the Westin Chosun Hotel. Your team should all attend, and it would be best if the school also sends someone," Lee Hyo-ri said.

Xia Hou Zhongying nodded. The film's production costs were funded by sponsors, so he couldn't leave them out, as they had sponsored him for advertising purposes.

"Mr. Xia, someone is looking for you. They've been waiting for two hours," a DSP staff member said as Xia Hou Zhongying and Lee Hyo-ri walked out.

"Someone is looking for me?" Xia Hou Zhongying was surprised. If someone came to DSP Company to find him, it must be something urgent. Who could it be?

"Yes," the DSP staff member replied, pointing in a direction to indicate where Xia Hou Zhongying should look.

Xia Hou Zhongying followed the direction and saw a fat man walking towards him, smiling warmly and greeting him, "Zhongying, I didn't expect you to be so busy. It's really hard to see you."

"Uncle, it's you," Xia Hou Zhongying said with a strange expression, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"Oh, Zhongying, don't call me uncle. I'm not that old. Call me brother," the fat man said, who was the owner of the company that had agreed to rent camera equipment to Xia Hou Zhongying at half price. He spoke warmly, almost melting Xia Hou Zhongying with his enthusiasm.

However, the fat man looked older than Xia Hou Zhongying, making it feel awkward to call him brother.

"Ah, Miss Lee, hello, hello. I'm Jiang Rongying from Rongying Camera Equipment Company. Here's my business card. I'm your super fan. Could you sign for me?" The fat man, Jiang Rongying, smiled so much that his eyes almost disappeared, running up to Xia Hou Zhongying and Lee Hyo-ri and respectfully handing over his business card.

"Who is this?" Lee Hyo-ri asked Xia Hou Zhongying, puzzled.

"Sister, this uncle, er, brother is the owner of the company that agreed to rent us camera equipment at half price," Xia Hou Zhongying said, feeling awkward about calling Jiang Rongying brother.

"Oh, Zhongying, what half price? It's free, completely free. Additionally, I will sponsor you with 20 million won," Jiang Rongying said with a puffed-up expression, as if Xia Hou Zhongying would not consider him a friend if he didn't agree.

As the owner of a camera equipment company, although his company was small, Jiang Rongying had some connections with directors. He didn't know how he got the news, but when he heard that Lee Hyo-ri was participating in "Green Apple Paradise," he remembered that the script the little boy who had come to seek sponsorship was called "Green Apple Paradise." He immediately became interested and found out that it was indeed Xia Hou Zhongying.

Jiang Rongying was shocked. He didn't expect the little boy to not only bring in Lee Hyo-ri but also the sponsorship from the Yiren Group. After realizing this, his first thought was that the world had gone mad, and his second thought was that this was a great opportunity to advertise for his company. Normally, he would never have the chance to get Lee Hyo-ri to advertise for him. If he didn't seize this opportunity, he wouldn't be a businessman.

Jiang Rongying immediately panicked. He regretted not agreeing to provide the equipment for free instead of at half price. With Lee Hyo-ri joining the cast, the influence of the film would be much greater. He didn't know how many companies would rush to offer sponsorships, but it would definitely be a lot. What if they excluded him?

Thinking about this, Jiang Rongying quickly took out his phone, but then realized he didn't have Xia Hou Zhongying's contact information. He was so regretful that he almost wanted to bang his head against the wall.

Jiang Rongying remembered that Xia Hou Zhongying was a student at Kent School, so he drove to Kent and asked the students for information about Xia Hou Zhongying's whereabouts.

At Kent School, everyone knew Xia Hou Zhongying, and when the fat man said he was a sponsor for "Green Apple Paradise," the students were very enthusiastic and directed him to Class 1-5. After finding Class 1-5, with the help of Lee Yisoo, he finally found DSP Company.

At that time, Xia Hou Zhongying was interviewing DSP Company's trainees with Lee Hyo-ri and others, so Jiang Rongying waited inside DSP Company, leading to this scene.

"Hey, big... okay, brother, you only agreed to rent us the equipment at half price. Why now..." Xia Hou Zhongying realized that this was all because of Lee Hyo-ri's name. However, being able to use the equipment for free and receive an additional 20 million won in sponsorship made him very happy. He quickly thanked Jiang Rongying.

After understanding the relationship between the two, Lee Hyo-ri smiled and took out a pen, asking, "Where should I sign, Mr. Jiang?"

After Lee Hyo-ri signed for Jiang Rongying, Xia Hou Zhongying thought for a moment and said, "Brother Jiang, we will hold a press conference at the Westin Chosun Hotel tomorrow morning. The sponsors will also attend. Please come as well. The time is 9:00 AM in the hotel's conference hall."

No matter what, excluding the school's sponsorship, Jiang Rongying was the only one who supported Xia Hou Zhongying, even if it was just at half price. Xia Hou Zhongying was grateful to him and would not forget his support. Even if Jiang Rongying hadn't increased his sponsorship or come to find him, Xia Hou Zhongying would have notified him to attend the press conference later.

Jiang Rongying was overjoyed. He had come to seek this opportunity, and it seemed he had come at the right time. He thanked Xia Hou Zhongying and Lee Hyo-ri profusely.