Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

"The bad news is that many are vying for it and all are first-tier actresses. Hence, your chance of being selected is slim." He told her matter-of-factly.

"Slim chance?"

She wondered in shock how slim her chance would be.

"Very slim."

"Why do you say that?"

"That"s because the list of candidates includes Han Yuyan and Lin Zhi."

She realized with some alarm how slim her chance was.

There was no need to elaborate further on Han Yuyan"s sky-high status in the industry.

As for Lin Zhi, she had become the most popular and sought-after actress in period drama in these two years; no one could compete with her in this category.

Speaking of her, although she had just debuted three years ago, she had managed to become an award-winning actress with her first movie, "Rose Night". Her status and talent fee rose overnight.

After that, she appeared in many period dramas and was given the t.i.tle of "Imperial Beauty" in the entertainment industry.

She had a face fit for period dramas. With her gentle and stunning profile, she looked otherworldly.

She acted as Xiaolongnü in the remake of "The Return of the Condor Heroes", and this increased her popularity immensely and let her join the first-tier actress ranks.

Despite the fierce compet.i.tion, Qin Zhou had great confidence in her. To him, Yun Shishi had nothing to fear regarding that actress. Her sculpted looks were equally compatible for period dramas; in fact, he believed that she could be better than Lin Zhi.

What he was worried about was the power Lin Zhi and Han Yuyan wielded behind their backs.

Han Yuyan held the position of the number-one actress in Huanyu. Besides, being in the industry for many years, she had a large fanbase. She had the loudest supporters for this role.

In fact, she had postponed her wedding to compete for this role in "Lethal Beauty".

Lin Zhi, who was under Chengguang Entertainment, belonged to the young league of up-and-coming actresses. Even though she was relatively new in this industry and her foundation might not be strong, she came with a powerful background.

When it came to backgrounds, Han Yuyan might have a stronger backer.

The real issue here was that the rights for "Lethal Beauty" had already successfully bought by Chengguang.

Since that company had spent a fortune to buy the copyrights, they would naturally promote their artistes.

The most-renowned artiste in Chengguag was Meng Lan. However, she was partly retired after marrying into a rich family, so she was dropped from the list.

Because of that, that entertainment company showed every intention of cultivating Lin Zhi as the next Han Yuyan. This could be seen in the amount of resources they had poured on her in these two years.

They were out to make her the new "number one".

When Chengguang successfully bought the copyrights of the novel, Qin Zhou speculated that the female lead might have already been predetermined. It seemed to be likely for that actress to take up the lead role.

Today"s TV and filming industry was different from the past.

In the past, directors could decide on their artistes.

Now, artistes were pre-determined by investors. They held the power and directors had no say in it.

This would be the usual case, unless the director had invested in the show or was famous like Lin Fengtian.

Not every director was lucky enough to have the male and female leads of their choice.

Most of the time, investors would arrange for their preferred artistes to appear in the show. It reached a point where the production team had to tailor-make a character for an artiste if there was none.

For a popular original work like "Lethal Beauty", the roles would likely be populated by connections and networks. Even a first-tier actress might only get a supporting role, whereas a superstar might only make a minor appearance within a few episodes.