Rise To Stardom: My Villainess

"Number 365?! Number 365, you may now come inside."

A woman dressed in a modest business suit comes out of the room. Her glasses, glinting under the artificial light. Her loud voice echoes, snapping Ember out from her daze. The wireless earbuds are long hidden after the beauty gets tired of listening to music. Standing up, she inhales a small puff of air to calm her nerves down before walking to the woman. But of course, before departing, she tilts her head to the lady that kept on bashing her earlier.

She smirks in blatant mockery, stunning that lady in her seat with her rather out-of-this-world features.

"Oh, before I leave, I think that it's in my responsibility to let you know about the worth of my dress. It's nothing like what you said. The woman beside you is correct. My dress is worth hundreds of thousands of yuan."

She then flips her amber hair and walks, leaving the ladies behind to gape at her beautiful back.

The woman who has glasses nods at her, opening the door wide for her to enter. Ember sets foot inside in a calm and elegant manner as if portraying a noble woman from a different timeline. The door closes behind her, and she takes it as a cue to not make any unnecessary mistakes since stepping inside the room is the start of the assessment.

A lot of people mistake the audition as only the analysis of how an auditionee deliver the lines and character, but people tend to forget that the judges also assess the personality of the auditionee before the whole segment starts, the gestures, the clothes, and the whole air about him or her.

Ember stops in the middle of the room. Her posture is proper yet relaxed. She proceeds to introduce herself to the people inside the room.

The judges, whose purpose is to grade the auditionees and find the best person who would suit every important character of the drama 'Across the Stars,' consist of five men and five women, all seated in front of her with folders and pens ready in hand. Some of them Ember immediately recognizes; she politely smiles at them,

"Good morning. My name is Ember Wang, and I'm here to audition for Vhlairre Wu." She bows to the judges in front. The new environment is definitely nerve-wracking, but Ember's already used to this. The thought of dominating such a platform also helps in boosting Ember's drive to succeed.

"Ember Wang?"

The man, who seems to be in his forties, raises his brows. "From what I already know, you're already super famous, on par─ if not more than some of our chosen leads. It's such a surprise that you wanted to audition for Vhlairre Wu. She is a second female lead, a lot different from the female lead roles that a lot of productions might have offered you already. Why have you decided to audition for this?"

Ember looks at his name tag.

Vaughn Chua, it says.

Reading it, she immediately recognizes him as the famed director of this whole production. She calmly smiles as a mysterious air seems to radiate from her form. "I'm forever grateful to the unwavering support of the masses; and because of that, I want to give them the best Ember Wang that I can give them. There's no need for special treatment when one can do their best instead." The judges nod among themselves, seeming pleased by her response.

"Can you give us a short description of who Vhlairre Wu is?" a woman asks.

Ember sweetly smiles. "With p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e. Vhlairre Wu is a noblewoman from the ancient times, a di daughter of the prime minister. Her graceful personality is certainly something, a sight to behold, upon her transmigration to modern times. Sometimes, it even creates a moment of comic relief due to her personality clashing with the timeline. Due to her accidentally transmigrating into the body of the mistress of the female lead's husband, it causes an unintentional conflict between the two female leads. Vhlairre Wu is also mostly thought of the villainess when she's, in fact, also a female lead of the story," Ember gently explains her idea about the character, not too all-knowing but also not too vague to the point that they would think that she knows nothing about the second female lead.

The female judge nods, acknowledging her reply.

"Well, we won't be giving you a script to go by; but since the drama is adapted from a book, you should know the gist of what is happening. Although we changed a bit of the novel, we want you to act out the scene where Vhlaire is trying to push the male lead away. Aurius, that guy over there, will be helping you out, but he won't be saying anything," the director says as he points to the young man with a gentle smile, sitting in the most right side corner of the room.

He wears a suit and some classy shades. He looks a little out of place as he leans his body on the wall that is beside him. Sighing under his breath, he looks like he wants to protest to the old man but then proceeds to play along with the director.

He walks over to Ember and stands there, almost awkwardly, doing nothing as he waits for the woman to do her part.

Ember turns around and takes a deep breath. Slowly, a recollection of memories that have happened in the book resurfaces in her mind. A woman who is clearly in love but has to push away the man she holds dear for his sake and her sake while the man knows nothing of the circ.u.mstances.

Turning around, Ember has disgust and disdain swimming in her golden flecks. The atmosphere turns still and cold. Everyone is quiet while the young man in front of her is astounded by her sudden change in personality.

Her once lovely face expresses a scowl.

"Are you clueless?"

Ember angrily scoffs as she points her finger at the man in front of her. She closed the distance between them as she begins to tap her finger on his c.h.e.s.t multiple times, getting harder in every puncture. "Or are you just downright stupid?" She smiles at him as he looks down at her with an emotionless expression.

His heart seems to beat fast though as she gives him a look filled with mockery, talking to him like he's just a stupid, worthless person in her eyes… in her life.

"Love?"

Ember scoffs as if it's the most ridiculous thing that she has ever heard in her life. "Are you that deprived of love that you easily believe all the lies that I spouted from my mouth. Why would I ever fall in love with someone like you when I could have Zhavier?! You might be more successful than him, but the emotional baggage you have makes me want to puke. Who would even put up with someone like you?!"

She snickers as if to show that the idea of falling for him is nothing but a joke.

"Your mother was murdered, massacred by a still anonymous murderer. Why would I risk my safety for someone like you? You know what?! Your father is right in his decision to despise you. You're an idiot for watching your mother be killed, hiding inside the closet like some cowardly rich brat. I'm surprised that he didn't even disown you yet."

The male lead has a horrible past and life. A dead mother and a father who hates him; it's a subject that is very s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e to the male lead. Ember uses the fact that the male lead only told his deepest secret to the second female lead as a jab to his otherwise forgiving personality in regards to Vhlairre Wu.

It's a topic so s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e; the male lead would surely have a difficult time forgiving her if she uses those words. Otherwise, if she has said anything but that, then the male lead would just surely and effortlessly forgive her.

"You know what! Just get the hell out of here. I don't want to see you. Not now; NOT EVER! You hear me?!" The repulsiveness is clear in her tone. She harshly pushes him away from her, causing the young man to slightly stumble from her actions.

He looks at her in wonder before he turns around to leave and take his seat again. Perceiving that the young man has already departed, Ember's false anger slowly disintegrates. If anything, she's madder at herself. Her eyes are slowly dilating while her body starts to tremble. Her eyes, once full of hatred, starts to become glassy.

She collapses to the floor as she later hugs her knees, close to herself.

She faintly chuckles.

The emotion of brokenness, solemness, and slight affection lingering in her golden flecks, she stares at the empty space in front of her, which was once occupied by the man she loves. She sadly smiles. Tears are almost escaping, but she wipes it away with the back of her hand. Her voice is rather hoarse, she quietly speaks.

"Will you remember me once I leave? Not as the woman who insulted you but as the woman whom you loved and loved you just as much─ no, as the woman who loved you more than you ever did." Her voice cracks as she chuckles for the last time.

She raises her hands and let it fall to the chain on her neck. An expensive ring hangs on the neck, brightly shining with its classic beauty. C.a.r.e.s.sing the ring as if one would to a lover, she closes her eyes, finally allowing the tears to stream down from the corner of her golden eyes. Her head slowly droops as if she is about to succ.u.mb to deep slumber.

"..."

A few seconds pass, and silence reigns inside the room.

No one dares to speak nor do any unnecessary movements that will break the peaceful atmosphere inside the room until the director finally decides to disrupt it with a clap of his hands.

*Clap! Clap! Clap!*

"Well, I didn't expect that!" the director says with a laugh.

He is clearly happy with the performance he just saw. He then turns to the young man who acted with Ember, who is currently staring at Ember with intent eyes. Actually, the old man is surprised that the man took part in the performance when he was just kidding. And to add more, he was acting so stiff, but Ember still manages to accomplish the task so well. Truly a woman that has some potential to be a great actress.

"A job that is done so well. Although there are still things to improve, the performance is overall great, despite the absence of the script," another judge joyfully chimes in.

Feeling happy by the discovery of a new star, the director still attempts to conceal his enjoyment with a mask of stoic professionalism, which he miserably fails. His lips twitch now and then; his eyes twinkle. The judges all look at each other as if engaging in a silent conversation. They all nod their heads in understanding as if already having the final decision.

The director turns to her and smiles.

"Well, Ember Wang, the production will contact you soon for the news, regardless of you being accepted for the role or not. You may leave now. Have a great day!" the director says, ending their inspection with her.

The amber-haired beauty nods in agreement as she sweetly smiles at them. Bowing for the last time, Ember leaves the room, taking it as a cue that she has finally finished her audition.