"Is everyone here?" The director shouted over the quiet muttering. Everyone was gathered at one of the gym rooms. Xiulan was standing near the corner and avoided all contact with others. He was still traumatized from what happened before.

People around him were slowly starting a conversation and tried to find someone to get along with. The muttering stopped once the director yelled again and everyone started paying attention.

"I'd like all the lead actors to step to the front, can we do that? Ladies first, Shi Hua Ling plays the female lead character, Li Feng. Here she comes!" The director, a tiny woman in her late forties with messy bun and glasses clapped. Others hesitantly joined until Hua Ling didn't appear in front of them.

"Thank you very much. I'm very grateful for this opportunity. I'll be in your hands." She bowed politely.

Xiulan gave her a quick look before losing interest. Her looks weren't something that would make him excited nor surprised. Skinny figure, long, black hair and pretty face. He's seen hundreds like her. 𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴. He thought to himself, already getting into his role.

"Her boyfriend Chao Zhen is none other than our Wen Xiulan!" The director only continued to hype the other thirty people in the room. Xiulan hoped they won't introduce everyone like this.

He made his way to the front while looking around and wondering which one was the other male lead.

"I'm very glad to be part of this project and see so many young and talented actors. Thank you." He bowed slightly while having a sincere expression. There was big applause while some asked if it really was that Wen Xiulan.

"The last one of the trio is Li Haoran, brother of Li Feng played by Jian Lan!"

There were a few awkward claps that echoed in the room after a short while. Nobody in the room reacted when the name Jian Lan was called.

"Where is he?"

"I think I just saw him... maybe he panicked and left?"

Muttering and gossip started almost immediately.

"Quiet, please! Is Jian Lan present?" The director asked while fixing her glasses. Everyone looked around but the main lead wasn't in the room.

𝘛𝘴𝘬, 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘶𝘵𝘴. Xiulan thought while forgetting he also came late by a few minutes.

"Director, I have his phone number, should I call him?" Someone asked from the crowd.

"Yes, please do so. He might be lost."

Before the number could be dialed, the main door shot open and a teenage boy with a baby face appeared.

"I'm sorry for being l-late..." he breathed heavily as if he just ran a marathon. "I had to take the stairs and got a bit lost."

"Jian Lan! Here you are, we were about to call you." The director sighed in relief. On the other hand, Wen Xiulan's eyes widened.

𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦... 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥?! His mouth would pop open if he didn't regain his composure.

Their eyes met for a brief moment but Jian Lan quickly broke the contact and blushed. He must have remembered the scene in the elevator he witnessed.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. Xiulan looked him up and down carefully which seemed more like a hostile glare.

He was shorter than Xiulan but only by 4-5 centimeters. His body was rather slim, without many muscles on his arms nor shoulders. His hair and eyes were black, that made him resemble the actress playing his sister. Xiulan frowned while looking at the clothes he was wearing. Simple blue jeans and a white t-shirt with 'Los Angeles' written on his chest in cursive wasn't giving a good impression.

Everything together gave off a vibe of a teenager that got lost while being on vacation with his family.

"Excuse me, director, but the other male lead should be 22 years old. What's going on?" Xiulan asked impatiently, wondering if this is all a prank. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘴.

"Ah, yeah. You're right, I sent you the detailed report about the cast..." the director fixed her glasses out of habit. "It shouldn't be a big deal even though there was a small error, should it?" She shrugged her shoulders.

"I didn't tell them my birthday so they assumed I'm still 22 even though I turned 23 yesterday." Jian Lan laughed awkwardly while scratching the back of his head. "I'm surprised you know this..." He said the last sentence more to himself than others.

23?! 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘺-𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 4 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳?!

Wen Xiulan was at a loss of words.

"Okay everybody, let's get things done." The director clapped to motivate everyone but there could be a strange mood sensed from Xiulan's direction. "Every session will start with a little dance to warm up. We've got our professional trainer here today, Jix, who will show you the steps. Follow her and try to learn it!"

A loud and rhythmic song was played in the background while a young and enthusiastic woman danced to the front. A few rows were formed, Xiulan hiding in the very back, while everyone awkwardly imitated the dance figures.

𝘖𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘯, 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. Xiulan thought while he accurately moved to the music. He didn't mind exercise but he couldn't stand being sweaty.

Once he got the grip of the few repeating steps, he started looking around.

Everyone in the room was giving it their best and even the director joined in. The one who caught his attention was Jian Lan, coincidentally standing in front of him. Even though he wasn't facing him, the picture of Los Angeles printed on the back of the shirt was a clear sign.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨? Xiulan thought while observing his movement for a while. 𝘐𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘭𝘦?

Jian was surely struggling with the dance that showed on his funny facial expressions. Xiulan wasn't the type that laughed at someone's struggle but he didn't know how to help him either.

Once the dancing was finally over, everyone was out of breath and sweating. The one who wasn't drenched in sweat was also the one who did the poorest.

"Jian Lan, was it?" Xiulan called for him.

"Yes?" He turned around when he heard his name.

"I saw you dancing. It wasn't very good. Try harder next time, to the point you will sweat." Xiulan commented. This was the best he could come up with to help him and give him such advice. A small sparkle in Jian's eyes darkened for a moment.

"Yes, I understand. Thank you." He smiled politely. "I'll go get a drink." He bowed slightly and walked off. He felt embarrassed about being scolded on the first day, by his senior on top of that.

Wen Xiulan thought none of it since he didn't comprehend how his words sounded. He also didn't realize how sensitive could some people be. He didn't have many friends, after all.

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𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘂𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀:

(Name = drama name (role))

(Shi) Hua Ling = Li Feng (girlfriend of Chao Zhen [Wen Xiulan] and sister of Li Haoran [Jian Lan]

Jian Lan = Li Haoran (in love with Chao Zhen)