Chapter 367 - 365: Back to School and Another Audition

「Lorcain Film Academy.」

Lily Sterling officially returned to school today, and first thing in the morning, she went to her instructor’s office to cancel her "on-set leave of absence."

Among last year’s incoming class of freshmen, her arts exam ranking wasn’t the very best, but her raw talent put her in the top tier. Her career had also gotten off to a smooth start; her first production was as one of the main leads. Even at the Film Academy, it was rare for a freshman to have such a strong debut.

That’s why the teachers at the school had a particularly strong impression of her and were very optimistic that she would shine as a representative of the Film Academy’s new class in the entertainment industry.

"You’ve fallen behind on a lot of your specialized courses, but don’t worry too much. The first year is all foundational classes. The practical experience you gained on set is actually much more useful than what we can teach you here. You can consider all the senior actors on set as your teachers. Just getting to watch them perform a few scenes on location is an opportunity many people would kill for."

Her academic advisor spoke with earnest gravity as he processed her return from leave.

Lily Sterling stood there looking well-behaved and nodded. "I understand, but I’d still like to catch up on the classes I missed as soon as possible."

Seeing how eager she was to learn and improve, not at all arrogant or restless despite her high starting point and excellent resources, the advisor was very pleased. "Returning to school is for studying, after all. Just do your best, and if you run into any problems, communicate with your teachers right away."

"Okay, thank you, sir. I’ll head back to my dorm now!"

The teachers in the office almost unanimously watched Lily Sterling’s retreating figure as she left.

The moment she was gone, they couldn’t help but start discussing her.

"Mr. Marshall, that kid, Lily Sterling, really has what it takes."

"She has the look of a star. She’ll be famous one day."

"I think so too. She has the air of one of those ’pure and innocent’ classic actresses. The industry is really lacking that type right now. The ones who are popping up all have similar faces and play similar roles. It gives you face-blindness; you can’t remember any of them."

Mr. Marshall smiled and nodded. "That’s not all. The main thing is her personality seems very steady. She comes across as down-to-earth. She’ll have a great future!"

The other teachers showed their approval. They were, after all, professional instructors at the Film Academy. For all of them to be optimistic about the same student showed that Lily Sterling was truly one of the more outstanding freshmen in their eyes.

Just as Lily Sterling got back to her dorm, she pushed open the door to find Hannah Warner excitedly about to head out.

"Lily? You’re back!"

"Are you going out?" Lily Sterling blinked, a little surprised.

Hannah Warner grabbed her hand. "There’s a crew holding auditions in the small theater. I was just about to go. Why don’t you come with me?"

Lily Sterling processed this and nodded. Although she didn’t plan on joining a new production for now, she could go with Hannah to support her.

As the two of them went downstairs, they noticed that a lot of people from the girls’ dorm were leaving at the same time, all clearly heading for the audition.

Hannah Warner had been quite excited, but seeing so many people competing, she was instantly crushed by the pressure.

"Don’t worry. Just focus on your own performance and do your best."

At that moment, Lily Sterling gently squeezed her hand, giving her some support and strength.

For Hannah Warner, Lily’s company was crucial at this moment. She also psyched herself up internally. ’Even landing the smallest bit part today would be worth it!’

When they arrived at the small theater, Lily Sterling and Hannah Warner found some empty seats and sat down. Her appearance undoubtedly attracted many curious gazes.

"Hey, is that Lily Sterling? She’s back?"

"I heard yesterday she was back. Is she here to audition for another role?"

"She’s already played a main character. Does she really need to compete with us for these small roles?"

"Who wouldn’t want the opportunity? Besides, when she auditioned for *Heavenly Destiny as Phoenix*, she tried out for the maid but ended up getting the role of the young mistress!"

"Exactly. Opportunity is a mysterious thing, but you have to be proactive. If you’re not proactive, you’ll never get a chance."

Everyone had their own thoughts, but most of them assumed Lily Sterling was there for a role.

Suzanne Sawyer was no exception.

She arrived a little late and sat a couple of rows behind them, from where she could see Lily Sterling in the front.

Her feelings toward Lily Sterling weren’t as simple as they used to be. At first, she had purely hated and envied Lily; all her emotions were negative.

But after what happened on set, she had genuinely thanked Lily, and her gratitude was real. If Lily hadn’t helped her, she couldn’t imagine what would have happened that day.

However, these two completely contradictory emotions—gratitude and jealousy—hadn’t reconciled in her heart. Instead, they existed side by side, each in its own territory.

When she thought about Lily Sterling’s resources and talent, she still felt jealous.

But when she thought of Lily as a person, she felt grateful.

In short...

She was completely torn!

"Suzanne, Lily Sterling is here too?"

Her roommate, who had overheard people discussing Lily, couldn’t help but whisper a reminder. In the eyes of her friends, Lily Sterling was Suzanne Sawyer’s arch-nemesis.

"So what if she’s here? It’s not like Suzanne is afraid of her, right?" another roommate said, looking at Suzanne Sawyer with a fawning expression. "Suzanne is the star of our freshman class right now. She’s aced several auditions and landed important roles in all of them. She’s not any worse than Lily Sterling, is she?"

There was nothing wrong with what she said. With Lily Sterling gone from school for so long, Suzanne Sawyer had indeed been in the spotlight. And when it came to acting alone, Suzanne genuinely had skill.

But the classmate’s tone was a little too arrogant, causing several people in the rows ahead to turn around.

One of them, seemingly unable to stand the other’s gloating, retorted with disdain, "Should I get you a megaphone so you can broadcast it to the whole world?"

Hearing this, the person’s face fell, and they turned away in embarrassment.

Suzanne Sawyer said nothing, but her competitive drive was ignited in that moment. ’This time, I absolutely cannot lose to Lily Sterling again.’

’I have to prove myself!’

Before long, a teacher from the school walked onto the small theater’s stage with a microphone. After tapping it a couple of times, he began, "Alright students, there are a total of twelve roles available for you to choose from today: seven female roles and five male roles. In a moment, the specific character profiles and information for these twelve roles will be displayed on the screen. Each role has an audition piece set in a specific scenario."

"Use your phones to take pictures of the information for each character so you can look it over carefully. Pick the one you feel most confident about. You’ll have twenty minutes to prepare. After that, the casting directors from the production’s team will personally conduct the auditions. Good luck, everyone!"

As soon as the teacher finished speaking, the male students in the audience immediately erupted in groans.

"What? How come there are more female roles than male ones again?"

"Seriously! Last time there were ten for women and only three for men!"

"It was the same the time before that, too! The competition for male roles is insane!"

"And it’s always either a guard or an attendant. Nothing new. I’d even be willing to play a monk for a change!"

"You won’t get to play a monk. This is a modern drama!"