Chapter 346: Chapter 346

"I heard that Director Sean Nash is really intense. He often scolds actors to tears on set. Once he gets into it, he doesn’t care if you’re a man or a woman, a big star or not, his insults are quite nasty. These directors all have bad tempers; maybe it’s because they’re into the arts and have some weird issues." Mary spoke while worrying about Anna, who’s about to audition.

Mary knew Anna’s acting was good, but the person she’d be acting opposite was Zoe Bowen...

Thinking about it, she gave her hand a hard slap, and couldn’t resist pinching it twice.

Anna Thornton stopped Mary from turning her own hand into a pig’s trotter, and tilted her head, "Quinn Locke must be an exception!"

But don’t even mention Quinn Locke; just bringing him up gives Mary a heartache.

Anyway, the topic shifted smoothly.

"Ha! That exception relied on your investment to finish the film, then turned around and used Marilyn Ford as a stepping stone, what’s up with that?"

Mary has blacklisted that person, planning never to deal with him ever again. Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on novel⦿fire.net

Mary, as a manager, should be smooth and social, building networks, and Quinn Locke has made a name for himself in the film industry. There might still be opportunities for collaboration.

Mary actually felt a bit of regret blacklisting him in a moment of anger.

But to re-add him, she felt a blockage in her heart.

Given that Mary, who’s usually single, finally had some emotional fluctuation, let her be willful for once.

The second group of auditions ended in less than three minutes as well.

Mary and the other managers couldn’t sit still, getting up to peek inside the door frame to see what was happening inside.

Anna Thornton had already finished reading the script and took out her phone to take a selfie, as today’s social media update had yet to be decided.

She just posted a satisfying selfie with the caption, [Waiting for audition].

The moment it was posted, there was a like from Quinn Locke.

The second like came from Conrad Sterling.

President Sterling even left a comment with two words of encouragement: [Keep it up!]

Recently, every one of Anna’s social media posts has been liked by President Sterling.

It felt like he was constantly watching her; isn’t he supposed to be really busy?

Anna Thornton found Conrad Sterling irksome, and even seeing his avatar appear under her posts annoyed her.

It felt the same way Concubine Jean felt after returning to the palace, towards the Emperor, that pig-headed man.

So she just blacklisted him!

Coincidentally, Quinn Locke sent her a message: [Anna, why can’t I see Mary’s posts anymore?]

Quinn Locke wasn’t good at socializing before, and even after gaining some popularity, he stayed the same.

He had very few friends, only a few people he deeply collaborated with on the last film.

Quinn Locke didn’t like posting on social media himself, but he loved giving likes, especially to Anna Thornton and Mary, because they loved posting.

But lately, Quinn hadn’t seen Mary’s posts for days. He even searched his friends list and couldn’t find Mary’s avatar.

[Oh, it might be because she blocked and blacklisted you.] Anna Thornton replied.

[Mary blocked me? Why?]

If Quinn Locke liked using memes, the panda head with a confused face would suit him well right now.

He hadn’t realized what the issue was and found it hard to believe!

Anna: [With your reaction time, no wonder you’re still single!]

The third group of auditions went even faster than expected, and this time Mary and the other managers peeked through the door cracks to see how fierce Director Nash’s scolding was—it was brutal!

The managers’ faces turned grave, trembling for their artists.

Looking back, Anna Thornton was playing on her phone, and Mary asked, "Aren’t you going to look over the script more?"

"The script has nothing much; I just have one line," Anna Thornton replied.

Concubine Jean returned to the palace and met her former good sister, who also got her banished to the cold palace, Concubine Elara, under the palace walls and said, "I’m back, sister, are you well?"

Just that one line; Zoe Bowen had already rehearsed this line over and over again, trying with different emphases to find the most expressive emotion.

But Anna Thornton was busy replying to Quinn Locke’s WeChat, "Director Locke, he’s asking why you blocked him?"

Mary was already anxious for Anna, and at this moment, hearing that Quinn was disturbing her, made her even more furious, "This guy is so clueless, don’t bother with him, you need to get in there."

Mary grabbed Anna Thornton’s phone and confiscated it, urging her to go into the audition.

She looked down to see Quinn Locke’s last message: [I might really not know how to interact with people. From childhood to now, you few are the only friends. Suddenly missing one makes me anxious! Why did Mary block me? If she’s mad at me, can I apologize and make amends? Please advise!]

Mary typed ’go away’ in pinyin, then deleted it.

After thinking, she replied for Anna: [Of course, apologize! Mary is free tomorrow night, try to find a chance to invite her to dinner. Make sure your attitude is sincere and apologize in person."

Quinn Locke: [Tomorrow night won’t work. Miss Marilyn said she wanted to discuss some script comments with me, asking for my advice. Maybe the day after tomorrow?]

Inside the audition room were five people.

Among them, three were judges, and two were staff responsible for filming and recording.

Sitting in the center was Director Sean Nash. To his left should be the casting associate director, and on his right sat a gentlemanly middle-aged man who looked quite wealthy, Mason Hawthorne, the investor of "Step by Step."

Having seen three auditions just now, the director wasn’t satisfied.

When Anna Thornton entered, Mason Hawthorne’s eyes lit up instantly.

The previous actresses were already considered top beauties in the industry, but when this one appeared, the others seemed like mere clouds.

Mason Hawthorne had been with many actresses, but only when he saw Anna Thornton did he truly understand the term "worldly beauty."

Earlier, Director Nash would harshly scold any poor performer, bringing the actresses to tears.

Mason Hawthorne thought, if Sean Nash tries to scold this one, he’d have to step in and protect her.

He had already decided, no matter what, he wanted to keep this one.

Even if Director Nash is as stubborn as a rock, he wouldn’t be able to resist the money from the capital.

Thus, Mason Hawthorne softly called Director Nash and gave him a glance.

Director Nash looked at him and understood at once.

This actress, the investors wanted to endorse.

Director Nash had high standards for choosing actors, but this investor was not ordinary, with Hawthorne capital in the emperor, few dared to disrespect them.

Everyone knows what Third Master Hawthorne is like, why invest heavily in a harem drama? It’s all about selecting concubines like the emperor, picking women for himself to play with.

Director Nash couldn’t disrespect him and had to bury his discontent.

Fine, since President Hawthorne liked her, they could include this actress in the cast.

But he wouldn’t let her play a lead role, just casually assign her a vase role to make do.

Anyway, with Director Nash’s show being so popular, even playing a supporting role could greatly increase her exposure, she should be content.

However, because of the reverse psychology driven by capital, Director Nash’s impression of Anna Thornton wasn’t good even before the audition began.