Shu Yuxiu is lying!
When that wildly audacious conclusion formed in his mind, Xiao He swallowed hard and discreetly glanced at Shu Han beside him.
If... if the script they were reading now was all Shu Yuxiu's lies... then perhaps all their approaches to the performance were wrong!
After all, the starting point for understanding the script would be completely incorrect!
Shu Yuxiu is a liar, a thoroughgoing liar!
He had deceived the police, deceived other people, and even deceived them, the actors!
—But this was only Xiao He's bold hypothesis. From the script on the surface, there was nothing that could solidly prove Xiao He's suspicion; at first glance it just looked like a standard triumphant-male-lead template.
Xiao He sank into deep inner turmoil.
At this stage it was no longer about acting skill, but a contest of who understood the script better!
He had to consider carefully!
There was also another thing that made Xiao He feel uneasy now—if the final segment truly depicted the protagonist Shu Yuxiu being slandered by high-ranking political officials colluding with the police to seize power, could that alone really explain why No Bait had been shelved for more than a decade?
After all, sensitive scenes had appeared in previous years; shows tackling organized crime and corruption were common. With slight adjustments—having the villains face justice—those works could still pass censorship.
Unless the script of No Bait was not that simple...
"Alright, ten minutes are up. Who's going first?"
Just as Xiao He's thoughts were racing, the preparation time had quietly elapsed and Ning Jiaqi on stage asked.
Xiao He pressed his lips together and first looked at Shu Han.
Shu Han met his gaze and volunteered, "I'll go first and give a sample."
Who went first mattered—after all, this test judged understanding of the script. Those who went later could pick up inspirations from earlier performances and gain more script insight.
But Shu Han felt no need to take advantage of Xiao He at this moment. He was the senior and had already familiarized himself with part of the script. Going first would also give Xiao He more time to think.
Xiao He breathed a barely noticeable sigh of relief and nodded slightly. "Alright, thank you, Mr. Shu."
He turned and, on the assistant director's cue, walked to the side to sit and watch Shu Han's performance.
The assistant director dragged a chair to the center, and after Shu Han adjusted his position he sat down. The assistant who shared lines with him also picked up the script.
Once Shu Han sat, his presence shifted dramatically.
When he raised his head again, his face was filled with panic and helplessness—
"This really wasn't me!"
"My partner and I have always loved each other. How could I possibly kill her..."
"You did what? You really don't know?"
As the interrogator's questions sharpened, his expression moved from furious to guilty, then to grief and indignation—a complex array of emotions laid bare—and then he slammed the table in collapse and shouted, "It really wasn't me! I've said it a hundred times, why don't you believe me? Then keep investigating!"
The assistant reading the interrogator's lines spoke purely as text, with no emotion or vocal inflection, like still water. Opposite him, Shu Han poured his heart into the role, voice soaked with tears, portraying the innocent victim to the fullest.
"You're the only ones who can clear my name! Please!"
"Think about it again."
When the assistant finished the last line, he stood and left the center of the audition, mimicking the interrogator leaving the interrogation room, while Shu Han slowly reined in his emotions from the center of the room.
But his performance wasn't over.
Shu Han lowered his head, his gaze flickering; a mocking sneer flashed across his face like an illusion. In the blink of an eye he became the wrongly accused man again, clutching his head in pain and falling silent.
When Xiao He saw that final look from Shu Han, he understood: Shu Han had made the same discovery he had about the script.
Shu Han, too, believed that Shu Yuxiu must have killed his wife.
That made things tricky.
Shu Han's interpretation matched Xiao He's closely. If he performed that way, Xiao He probably wouldn't be able to distinguish himself from Shu Han by much.
What should he do?
No—right now he was actually at a disadvantage. If he couldn't create a gap in script understanding between himself and Shu Han, he might really lose this role—
How should he play it?
As the wrongly accused husband? As the killer covering up the truth? Or... as a liar?
A... liar?
Exactly!
Xiao He's face lit up.
If the audition script they held was Shu Yuxiu's lie, then could it be that the events in the script were the lies Shu Yuxiu was spinning to the investigators in the interrogation room?
Because it was a lie, the script's timeline could be especially muddled and linear; because it was a lie, Shu Yuxiu would conceal everything he actually did and shape himself into an inspirational, luck-blessed protagonist!
If a man could boldly invert facts and spew lies in front of investigators, what would he really be like?
What would his true personality be?
How would the Shu Yuxiu inside the lies differ from the real Shu Yuxiu?
Xiao He already had a plan. He calmly exchanged places with Shu Han, then slowly sat down in the chair—
"This really wasn't me."
Shu Yuxiu raised his eyes, expression resigned and bitter. He neither shouted nor showed any signs of guilt; only when mentioning his partner did a trace of longing and pain appear in his eyes. He spoke the words not as a defense but as if confiding his feelings for his deceased lover to a stranger, devoid of accused anger and instead carrying a resigned despair.
Shu Han beside him looked somewhat serious, puzzled inwardly.
Could this kid have not noticed the script's problem and was still playing Shu Yuxiu as "innocent"? Hadn't his own earlier performance given enough hints...?
The faces of those on stage changed in different ways.
Although Xiao He spoke the same lines as Shu Han, his tone and emotions were completely different—an entirely different interpretation!
Ning Jiaqi's expression remained calm, Zhuang Hongyi's lips twitched into a slight smile, while the assistant who had Xiao He's lines stared at him in a daze, a thought flashing through his mind—he must truly love his wife!
Look at him, how much he's suffering!
Then the assistant remembered he still had lines to read. He hurriedly picked up where Xiao He left off and stammered, "Y-you, what did you do? You really don't know?"
"It really wasn't me. I've said it countless times; why still don't you believe me?"
Shu Yuxiu sighed long and deep, seemingly troubled by the police's suspicions but showing no anger. He accepted the doubt calmly.
He looked at the interrogator, shifted to a more comfortable sitting posture, folded his hands and rested them casually on his knees, eyes honest and open: "Then please continue your investigation!"
"You think we didn't look into you beforehand?"
"I know. I never doubted your ability, so I trust only you can clear my name."
Shu Yuxiu stared at the interrogator, his eyes gleaming with trust. His tone was steady and solemn, as if entrusting his entire fate: "Please!"
Facing Shu Yuxiu's trusting gaze, the assistant felt the burden of responsibility—but then froze. He had come to interrogate Shu Yuxiu, so how did he suddenly become the one relied upon?
"Think about it again."
Shu Yuxiu was extremely good at deception! He couldn't be led astray!
The assistant hastily delivered that line and, flustered, turned away—ending his awkward, manipulated interrogation.