Reborn as the Villain's Wife, I Shine in 80s

The audience looked at the woman in front of them and couldn’t help but gasp. It could be said that everyone here, whether they were already in the industry or aspiring to join it, had seen their fair share of beauties. But the beauty standing before them was different. At first glance, she gave off an immediate, stunning visual impact. Her delicate and radiant features didn’t come across as aggressive. Instead, she had a beauty that simply made people feel at ease.

It was common knowledge that strikingly beautiful people often exuded an overwhelming aura, even when doing nothing at all. Yet Tian Sangsang was the complete opposite—there wasn’t a trace of that feeling to be found in her.

What captivated people even more was her aura. It was vibrant and full of life, pure and untainted, with not a hint of pretense. She exuded composure, confidence, and natural elegance.

"I admit I do judge people by their appearance," Zhao Chun stared at her in astonishment. "Since you’re actually fair-skinned, why did you pretend to be dark-skinned?" He carefully patted his chest as though calming his heart. Did she know how startling this was? Seriously, she nearly scared him to death.

Tian Sangsang’s smile grew even more vivid. "Maybe I just wanted to show that even without relying on my looks, I could make it with my talent. Of course, it’s all thanks to your discerning eye, Director Zhao—for recognizing the brilliance in the ’dark-skinned’ me and plucking me out of the crowd."

What an audacious woman! Yet she was so confident that no one present could bring themselves to refute her.

As the saying goes, scholars belittle each other—and so do beauties. The friend Ji Yao’er had brought along now felt even more irritated, rage blazing in her otherwise lovely eyes.

Zhao Chun’s lips twitched. "Well, figure things out properly. Even with talent, without good acting skills, you’ll still get eliminated."

Tian Sangsang nodded, then obediently went to sit down in an empty chair, coincidentally next to Ji Yao’er. She even nodded politely at her.

Ji Yao’er’s impression of Tian Sangsang remained stuck on what Shui Lian had said earlier—that she casually flirted with men back in the village. Adding to that what she herself had witnessed on the road earlier, her opinion of Tian Sangsang only became more entrenched. Even her coming to participate in the audition today seemed, in Ji Yao’er’s view, to be nothing more than a way to make it easier for her to attract men after becoming prettier.

"Tian Sangsang."

Tian Sangsang didn’t seem to hear the gritted-teeth tone and instead asked calmly, "What’s the matter?"

"You haven’t returned to the family compound these past few days, so you probably don’t know. Rumors are spreading like wildfire there. Don’t you plan to explain yourself? I’m curious—Captain Jiang has returned, so what would he think if he heard these rumors?"

"He trusts me, so of course, he wouldn’t think anything of it," Tian Sangsang turned her head to look steadily at her. "I’m genuinely curious, though—what exactly are these rumors?"

"Oh, what else? That you’ve been sleeping around with men," Ji Yao’er retorted in a low voice, though her tone was full of disdain. "Don’t do it if you can’t own up to it!"

"Director Zhao and I go way back. Over the past few days, I’ve only been in contact with him for the audition. Are you saying I ’slept around’ with him? But from what I’ve heard, it’s you who’s dating him."

"’Go way back’?" Ji Yao’er let out a derisive laugh. "You clearly hit on him on the street! He didn’t even know you! And you’ve been in contact with Zhao Chun these past few days?"

"That’s right. Who else would I contact?" Tian Sangsang smirked at her. "I’ve known Zhao Chun longer than you have. Just because he hasn’t mentioned me doesn’t mean we aren’t old acquaintances."

With that, she focused intently on her script, completely ignoring Ji Yao’er’s murderous glare. In reality, Ji Yao’er dating Zhao Chun had little to do with her—she had neither the right to meddle nor any intention of sabotaging their relationship. But since Ji Yao’er had provoked her, she wouldn’t let it slide.

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While she wasn’t good at actual combat, she was an expert at verbal sparring.

Zhao Chun had selected a scene for everyone to act out: a sudden rainstorm while touring Lushan, leading to an interaction between the male and female leads as they sought shelter under a pavilion.

While everyone else was perusing their lines for inspiration, Tian Sangsang closed her eyes to rest and entered her own mental space. Opening her phone, she pulled up a pre-downloaded video, fast-forwarding to this exact scene to watch it carefully.

As always, the key to this segment, like the movie as a whole, was capturing the emotions. This wasn’t one of those films that delved into human nature or critiqued society; there was no demand for highly nuanced acting. The level of detail where even your eyebrows and hair convey emotion—that was too stringent a requirement, one only film legends could meet.

In simpler terms, this was a rather artsy film. As long as you performed decently, you’d likely be well-received.

The audition continued. Zhao Chun occasionally snuck glances in Tian Sangsang’s direction. He thought his gaze was subtle, but Ji Yao’er, who was watching him, caught it immediately.

His gaze was pure, the kind of look one would give their leading lady. Clearly, he was holding out hope that Tian Sangsang might surprise him—maybe her acting would prove just as vivid as her singing.

"No, next one."

The sound of Zhao Chun’s voice snapped Tian Sangsang back to reality. So the audition for the female lead had ended, and they were moving on to the acting portion.

Without revealing her thoughts, Tian Sangsang subtly sized up her surroundings. There looked to be twelve girls in total, herself included—these were the ones who had made it through so far.

They all seemed quite fresh-faced, appearing to be around twenty years old, radiating the innocence unique to this era. Their attire also had a distinctly vintage vibe.

Tian Sangsang felt a bit dazed. Even though they were likely of similar age, she was already a mother. Not that she lamented her inability to date again, but among a group of seemingly unmarried girls, she who had already given birth couldn’t help but wonder—could she really convincingly play someone pure and innocent?

Then again, it wasn’t like she herself had given birth—it was the original owner of this body. At her core, she was still a chaste young woman. Yes, you have to look past the surface to see the essence of things!

Scene location: Lushan Imperial Stele Pavilion

The girl currently in the center began her performance.

"Ah!"

It started raining. The rain grew heavier, transitioning from a light drizzle to fat, pelting drops.

The girl acting as the female lead clasped her hands over her head and ran in small steps into the pavilion. Her jet-black hair cascaded behind her, and she wore a white dress. Once under the pavilion’s shelter, she dusted off her dress.

Zhao Chun frowned slightly as he watched—he wasn’t too pleased right from the outset. In the rain-avoidance scene, the girl’s clasped-hands-over-head gesture seemed inelegant, and her facial expression carried a trace of sorrow.

In his vision, the female lead shouldn’t be sorrowful. Even in the midst of rain, she should retain a sense of pleasure in life. She should be smiling—without fail, smiling.

Since this was an improvised assignment, with no male lead present, everyone was acting against thin air.

The imaginary male lead entered the pavilion to avoid the rain, saw that only the female lead was there, and turned to leave.

At that moment, the female lead stopped him, saying, "Hey, didn’t you notice it’s pouring outside?" But her facial expression was overly serious—she looked as though she were scolding a student instead of speaking to the male lead.

Zhao Chun shook his head in disappointment. What kind of acting was this? She couldn’t even grasp the basics of emotional expression. "Next one."

Next up was Ji Yao’er’s friend. Tian Sangsang thought this girl actually fit the image of Zhang Yu quite well. She had a more refined look, with a fuller and oval-shaped face.