Chapter 1

Mid-December 2003, at the Hengdian Film City.

It was early winter, and the temperature had dropped significantly. Pedestrians on the streets were already wearing thick winter clothing.

The main creators of "Chinese Paladin" were holding an actor selection event at the Film Capital Hotel.

With less than a week until the start of filming, the lead male and female roles, as well as the supporting cast, had not yet been finalized.

Over a hundred actors participated in the auditions, including experienced actors from second and third-tier productions and young, vibrant newcomers fresh to the industry.

Cao Jun, who had graduated from the Beijing Film Academy for over a year, was one of the young actors auditioning.

Ignoring the cold weather, Cao Jun arrived at the dressing room and quickly took off his coat, putting on a loose, disheveled blue outer garment with a patterned belt.

This was the costume for Li Xiaoyao in the show, with a white inner garment and a dual-colored blue and red waistband.

Cao Jun looked at himself in the mirror, and in the Li Xiaoyao costume, he exuded a relaxed and lively aura, looking like a dashing young gentleman.

Dressed neatly, Cao Jun walked confidently into the audition room in his costume.

Inside the room.

During their free time, the four people were drinking tea and exchanging opinions.

Li Guoli, who served as both the producer and director, sighed with a poor command of Mandarin, "This batch of auditioning actors is too ordinary."

Cai Yinnong, the female boss, agreed, "Yes, even worse than yesterday's batch. Not a single one is good!"

Yao Zhuangxian, known as the "Father of Chinese Paladin," consoled from the side, "There are still many more to come. There should be some good ones."

"I hope so, but I doubt it," Li Guoli mused, "It's really hard to find the right actors."

At that moment, the door was knocked on, and the next auditioner, Cao Jun, walked in.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Cao Jun, and I am auditioning for the lead role of Li Xiaoyao..."

The four people stopped their conversation and looked at Cao Jun with a critical eye.

Li Guoli glanced at Cao Jun and then looked down at his resume.

Cao Jun noticed that two of the interviewers had slightly raised their eyebrows, indicating satisfaction with his appearance.

Cao Jun was fairly confident in his looks, otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to audition for the lead role of Li Xiaoyao.

"Good looks, height, and a decent presence," Li Guoli nodded in satisfaction and asked with a smile, "Are you a trained actor?"

Cao Jun replied, "Yes, sir, I graduated from the Beijing Film Academy."

Li Guoli nodded and then asked, "Read a line for me."

As he spoke, Li Guoli handed Cao Jun a script.

Cao Jun quickly walked over, bent down, and took the script from Li Guoli.

"I, Li Xiaoyao, want to be the greatest hero in the world, to fight against the strong and help the weak, to be remembered in history..."

After Cao Jun finished reading a line from Li Xiaoyao's script, Li Guoli said approvingly, "I think it's good. The image and presence are a good match, and the acting skills are solid!"

Cai Yinnong, however, disagreed, "Not bad, but I feel he's not quite what I imagined for Li Xiaoyao."

Li Guoli frowned and asked, "Ms. Cai, what's the problem? Please speak your mind."

It's worth noting that Cai Yinnong was not only the investor of "Chinese Paladin" but also the president of Tangren Media.

When the show was initially planned, to ensure high ratings, Tangren focused on popular idols, as they often used Hong Kong and Taiwan artists in their previous works.

Initially, the candidates for Li Xiaoyao included F4 member Zhou Yuemin, 5566 leader Sun Xiechi, as well as popular Hong Kong and Taiwan stars like Nicholas Tse and Jimmy Lin, and even host He Jiong was a candidate.

However, these stars were busy with other commitments and showed little interest in a web game adaptation like "Chinese Paladin."

With no choice, Tangren had to broaden their search, focusing on actors who fit the roles rather than popular idols.

However, as the producer of "Chinese Paladin," Li Guoli had the final say in casting, and even Cai Yinnong, the boss, couldn't interfere arbitrarily.

Although Cai Yinnong claimed not to interfere with the production, she thought that if no big stars joined, they shouldn't let others benefit.

Clearly, Cai Yinnong preferred to cast her company's signed artists, like Fu Ge or Yuan Hong, in the important role of Li Xiaoyao.

Cai Yinnong looked at Cao Jun carefully, noting his well-defined features, especially his eyes, which were perfect.

After a moment's thought, Cai Yinnong said reluctantly, "He's handsome, but not quite the right fit. He has a bit of a dark side. I think he might be more suitable for the role of Jiang Ming..."

Hearing Cai Yinnong's evaluation, Li Guoli re-examined Cao Jun, noting his lean and handsome face, with sharp eyebrows and piercing eyes.

To be honest, Cao Jun wasn't a typical pretty boy but had a distinct, slightly aggressive look.

In short, he was strikingly handsome.

Simply put, he was too handsome, which might create a distance with the audience and affect his popularity.

After a heated discussion, the four interviewers still couldn't reach a consensus.

After a brief silence, Li Guoli looked at Cao Jun and said, "That's it for now. Go home and wait for news. If there's a suitable role for you, we'll notify you immediately."

Cao Jun nodded and said respectfully, "Thank you, all four of you."

Cao Jun was used to such treatment and wasn't too disappointed, as the acting profession was inherently passive.

Moreover, a role as important as Li Xiaoyao couldn't be decided with just a few words.

As Cao Jun left the audition room, he saw a tall, beautiful young woman walking towards him.

Cao Jun's first impression was that she looked familiar, as if he had seen her before.

After a moment, he recognized her.

Her name was Jiang Xin, who had played Mu Wanching in the CCTV version of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" and later gained fame for her role as Consort Hua in the classic palace drama "Empresses in the Palace."

Jiang Xin was wearing a light purple ancient costume with tassels on the sides, a peach-red skirt underneath, and an irregular hem that revealed her calves, making her look very sharp and decisive.

If Cao Jun's guess was correct, she was auditioning for the role of Lin Yueru, as the costume matched Lin Yueru's combative personality.

In Cao Jun's memory, Jiang Xin had a larger frame, with broad shoulders and a strong build.

However, in reality, Jiang Xin was only slightly chubby, not as full-figured as he imagined, and was even quite slim, with very good skin and a face full of collagen, looking very vibrant.

Given Jiang Xin's acting skills and appearance, she could play the role of the capricious and willful Lin Yueru.

Cao Jun also noticed that she was accompanied by a refined middle-aged man, who saw her off as she entered the audition room.

Was he her agent? Or something else?

Cao Jun didn't think too much about it. After running around several sets, he was quite tired and decided to return to the Galaxy Hotel.

The Galaxy Hotel was one of the more upscale hotels in the area, where many well-known actors and directors had stayed.

However, the relatively unknown Cao Jun wasn't staying at the Galaxy Hotel because he was rich and reckless, but for another reason.

To be precise, Cao Jun had been away from home for half a year, and he had been reborn in this era for over a month.

A month was neither too long nor too short, giving him enough time and a stable mindset to face his rebirth.

Cao Jun, whose courtesy name was Ah Man, was born in 1982 and was from Meizhou City, Guangdong Province. He graduated from the Beijing Film Academy's vocational program.

Although Cao Jun was a vocational student, he was still considered a student of the Beijing Film Academy's 1999 class.

Speaking of the 1999 class of the Beijing Film Academy, there were quite a few famous names, such as Yao Cheng, Lin Xiaosu, Du Chun, and Yang Zhigang.

Cao Jun's relationship with them was neither good nor bad, as they spent little time together, and their statuses and positions were vastly different, making it hard for them to socialize.

In his previous life, Cao Jun had acted in several TV series, but they were all small productions that didn't make much of a splash.

Like many of his classmates from the film academy, Cao Jun, driven by financial necessity, eventually chose to change careers, leading a less than satisfactory life.

Although being a kept man relieved him of material pressure, it wasn't something everyone could handle, especially the physical and mental fatigue, which was exhausting.

As a trained actor, Cao Jun's biggest regret in his previous life was not having a standout role or film, and he had completely abandoned his acting profession.

However, with the memories of his previous life, Cao Jun had secretly resolved to use his "foreknowledge" to make a name for himself in the entertainment industry.

In simpler terms, the money in the entertainment industry was really easy to earn.

The key was to become famous. Once you were famous, wealth would follow naturally.

To achieve this, Cao Jun set himself a short-term goal:

Step 1: Become a popular actor or singer.

Step 2: Take advantage of the fame to make money and accumulate the first pot of gold...

PS: This is my second book about the Chinese entertainment industry. After my previous book "The Platinum Era of Chinese Entertainment" was banned, I haven't written about the Chinese entertainment industry for three years. I hope this new book can gain the support of my readers. Thank you all.