Chapter : 4
The city outside never truly slept.
Even at one-thirty in the morning, the streets of
Shanghai still glowed beneath endless neon lights while distant traffic moved like rivers of gold through the darkness.
Inside a small twenty-four-hour supermarket near the university district, fluorescent lights buzzed softly overhead while exhausted customers wandered through aisles half-asleep.
Behind the register counter, Xiao Chen forced himself not to yawn.
His shift had started at six in the evening.
It was now almost two in the morning.
His shoulders ached horribly.
“Thank you. Please come again.”
The automatic words left his mouth naturally as another customer walked away without looking at him.
The manager shouted from nearby.
“Xiao Chen! Restock aisle three before you
leave!”
“Okay!”
Even exhausted, his voice still sounded bright.
That was simply the kind of person he was.
No matter how difficult life became, Xiao Chen rarely allowed bitterness to stay inside him for long.
Maybe because he had no time for it.
Every day followed the same exhausting routine.
University during the morning.
Part-time work during the evening.
Dance practice at night.
Even if he wasn’t completely sure himself.
Still—
hope was sometimes the only thing keeping people alive.
— —————
Three months later.
Xiao chen get a chance to audition. The role itself was small.
So small that most people inside the waiting room probably would not even glance at the script twice.
Barely a few scenes.
No dramatic entrance.
No emotional monologue.
Not even an official character poster.
Just another forgettable supporting role in a low-budget youth drama that would likely disappear quietly after release.
But to Xiao Chen—
it felt like the beginning of a dream he had been chasing for years.
That alone made it important.
The thin script pages rested carefully inside his hands while he sat alone outside the audition room beneath cold studio lights. Around him, several young actors chatted confidently about agencies, connections, and previous projects.
Xiao Chen stayed quiet.
Not because he lacked confidence completely.
Because his path into this industry had always been different from theirs.
Some people entered entertainment through powerful companies.
Some had wealthy families.
Some were already internet celebrities before acting.
Meanwhile, Xiao Chen still worked late-night supermarket shifts to help pay rent.
Even the white shirt he wore today had been ironed repeatedly because he could not afford another formal outfit for auditions.
Still—
his eyes remained bright.
Hope still lived there stubbornly.
A staff member stepped outside the room.
“Next. Xiao Chen.”
His heartbeat instantly became louder.
Xiao Chen stood up quickly before bowing politely.
“Thank you.”
The audition room itself looked simple.
One camera.
Three producers.
A casting director reviewing paperwork absentmindedly.
Nobody looked particularly interested.
That part hurt the most sometimes.
Not rejection.
Indifference.
As if people decided your worth before you even spoke.
The casting director barely lifted his eyes.
“Name?”
“Xiao Chen.”
“Agency?”
“…Independent.”
A small silence followed.
The producer wrote something down lazily.
Xiao Chen already recognized that expression.
Another unknown actor.
Another hopeful dreamer.
Nothing special.
He tightened his fingers slightly around the script.
No.
Even if the role was tiny…
even if nobody remembered his name afterward…
he still wanted this opportunity desperately.
Not for money.
Money mattered, of course.
His family needed it.
But this role meant something else to him.
A beginning.
A first step.
A chance for someone , anyone—to notice his acting and remember him.
Because Xiao Chen understood something clearly:
in this industry, people could only climb higher after someone finally looked their way.
And he had spent too many years invisible already.
“Whenever you’re ready,” the director said flatly.
Xiao Chen inhaled slowly.
Then he began.
At first, nervousness tightened his shoulders slightly.
But after the second line—
something changed.
The room disappeared.
The cameras disappeared.
Even his fear disappeared.
There was only the character now.
The emotions.
The loneliness hidden beneath forced smiles.
Somehow, Xiao Chen understood those feelings naturally.
Because he lived them every day himself.
His voice softened during emotional lines.
His eyes carried sincerity impossible to fake.
Nothing about his performance felt overly dramatic.
It simply felt real.
And slowly—
the room became quieter.
The casting director finally looked up properly.
One producer stopped checking his phone.
Another leaned back slightly with surprise crossing his face.
Xiao Chen didn’t notice any of it.
He continued acting with complete focus, pouring every exhausting year, every hidden frustration, and every desperate dream into those few short scenes.
When he finally finished, silence lingered inside the room unexpectedly.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Xiao Chen’s heartbeat became uneven again.
Did he do badly?
Was the silence awkward?
Then one producer suddenly asked,
“How long have you been studying acting?”
Xiao Chen blinked.
“…Mostly by myself.”
The man looked genuinely surprised.
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