Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 424 Such a Person in a Play

This tall guy, over 1.8 meters tall, suddenly pushed over a mountain of gold and a jade pillar like that.

Chen Nuo really didn't expect this.

He didn't know whether to call this person a tiger or a dog. But in any case, there's a Chinese saying that you don't hit a smiling face, let alone someone who's kneeling and talking to you.

Of course, I couldn't bring myself to say those words.

However, he was self-aware.

He's certainly skilled at "training" actresses. But he's utterly incompetent with men. His techniques and methods are both flawed, so it's best to refrain from doing so and avoid misleading anyone.

Lin Gengxin walked out of the dressing room with a bitter expression.

Before going in, he was completely resolute, like a turtle eating a heavy weight. After a morning of internal struggle, he was determined not to give up until he achieved his goal.

But, alas, just now when he heard someone tell him to stand up, he didn't know why, but... alas, he stood up.

Why is it so useless?
He does whatever he's told to do; he's so obedient. Although everyone called him "Lin Dog" in college, he wasn't actually born in the Year of the Dog, right?

Lin Gengxin was extremely annoyed.
As soon as the results came out, he saw Jiang Jinfu standing not far away, staring at him in a daze.

Jiang Jinfu glanced at him, then at the door to the dressing room behind him, her eyes visibly widening—

"Fuck you..."

No matter how Lin Gengxin explained afterward, Jiang Jinfu no longer believed him.

"Brother, from now on you are my brother."

"How could that be, bro? Stop messing with me."

"No, no, no, from now on you can just call me Xiao Jiang."

Lin Gengxin looked helpless, but it was too embarrassing to even mention becoming an apprentice, so he absolutely couldn't bring himself to do it.

Fortunately, at that moment, someone suddenly shouted, "Filming is on! Chen Nuo is here to film!"

The set suddenly erupted into chaos. People who were squatting down scrolling through their phones, eating breakfast, or chatting in groups all looked up and, without a word, hurried over there.

Lin Gengxin and Jiang Jinfu did the same; they immediately took off running.

……

……

Having not acted in a TV series for a long time, Chen Nuo still felt a bit of a sense of novelty.

It had been a long time since he had experienced wearing wigs and heavy makeup. When he put on the ancient costume, he even felt like he was back in the world of "The Return of the Condor Heroes".

Upon arriving at the scene, director Li Guoli was taken aback for a moment when he saw him, and then, for some reason, immediately burst into laughter.

Although he didn't understand what was so funny, he smiled at the other person and said, "Director Li, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Li Guoli shook his head and said, "No, no."

After saying that, he looked him up and down, stroked his mustache, and smiled, "Then I'll call Shishi over. Let's talk about today's play first, what do you think?"

Chen Nuo readily agreed and nodded, saying, "Okay."

Liu Shishi, who was waiting in the rest area under the palace eaves, heard the assistant director call her name and knew that he was ready. She stood up and said, "President Cai, I'll go over there then."

Cai Yinong, who was next to her, nodded and said, "Okay, go ahead."

Liu Shishi had only taken two steps when she heard Cai Yinong calling her from behind, "Shishi." Turning around, she saw Cai Yinong giving her a fist bump and saying, "Go for it!"

Liu Shishi smiled back at her and nodded: "Mm!"

As a result, Liu Shishi found herself even more nervous.

Before filming, she usually goes over the scenes she'll be acting in her mind, but right now, her mind is filled with what Cai Yinong just told her: "the best opportunity of her life," "the whole world will know her," "a meteoric rise," and so on.

This is how to do?
She walked into the side room where the director's monitor was located. There were already quite a few people around, including several assistant directors, executives, lighting and art directors, as well as costume and makeup artists, including Tang Yan, Lin Gengxin, and Jiang Jinfu. Only Hu Ge was nowhere to be seen.

A man in armor, with long hair half-down, stood with his back to her, his posture upright. He was slightly turned to the side, his hand on the hilt of the prop sword at his waist, talking to Director Li, who had a full beard.

When she walked in, many people looked over, including Li Guoli, who immediately waved to her.

She smiled in response, lifted her skirt, and took two quick steps in that direction.

At that moment, the man in armor turned around and looked at her.

Liu Shishi stopped abruptly.

She finally understood what the people around her were looking at, what they were whispering about, and what they were excited about.

A raised eyebrow, a raised eye.

In that instant, her previously blank mind suddenly recalled a passage she had recently read in a script.

It's not from today's scene, but rather from six scenes added by the screenwriters in the revised script. The first of these scenes is about the first meeting between the characters.

The screenwriters wrote:
"In the darkness, a group of soldiers appeared out of nowhere and surrounded Jingchou and his companions."

A figure on horseback stepped out from the crowd and demanded, "Who are you? Where do you come from?"

Chen Jingchou (forcing himself to remain calm): 'What's it to you? And who are you?'

The agile figure didn't speak, but tightened the reins and squeezed his legs, causing the horse beneath him to run a few more steps closer.

Then, in the red glow of the campfire, he revealed an incomparably handsome face, causing everyone present to hold their breath, thinking: How could there be such a man in the world?

The knight on horseback did not speak.

Tuoba Yu'er: "Who exactly are you!?"

The soldiers behind him began to shout in unison.

The frenzied voices echoed through the vast, dark wilderness.

The sky is vast and blue, the wilderness is boundless and green.

Iron armor, cold moonlight reflects its sharp edge.
A battle against the winds, and the land is shattered.

The chosen one of heaven, Helian Cang!

Upon hearing the final words, Jingchou and Yu'er's expressions changed drastically. So, he was the renowned Helian Cang. They hadn't expected him to be so young.

When Liu Shishi was reading this part of the script, she kept imagining how she would act as Helian Cang so that she could amaze the audience as soon as she appeared on stage.

This question has now been answered.

The answer was surprisingly simple.

There's no need to act.

Some people, just by standing there, embody a thousand years of romance and ten thousand years of beauty; they are like characters in a play.

……

……

Chen Nuo played the role of Helian Cang in "Xuan-Yuan Sword III".

A descendant of the Xianbei people, he took command at the age of 17. Though aloof and taciturn, he possessed immense battlefield prestige, commanded his troops with strict discipline, and fought ruthlessly. He helped the Sui Dynasty turn the tide of battle at Liuchi Pass, decisively defeating the Turkic vanguard and thus gaining widespread fame.

However, while outwardly loyal to the Sui Dynasty, he harbored ambitions to restore the country. After encountering Chen Jingchou and Yu'er, he was drawn into the chaos at Jiuyi Terrace, gradually wavering in his original aspirations.

In the end, to help Bao Jingchou and the others break through the encirclement, he fought the Demon Lord alone and died in the snowy night of Black Wind Ridge in the north. His warhorse was overturned, his long sword was still in his hand, and his body did not fall for three days.

—After that battle, Helian Cang's name spread far and wide, and he was hailed as a hero of the human race, but that was the end of his fame.

In this version of the script for "Heaven's Scar," the writing team, led by Deng Liqi, ultimately assigned Chen Nuo this role.

It's completely fabricated and entirely original. It has absolutely nothing to do with the game "Heaven's Scar". Similarly, its appearance is very abrupt, without any beginning or end. It appears in episode 34, right after Yu'er is infected with the Heart-Eating Gu and Jingchou goes to Kunlun alone to seek medicine, before the finale.

The original plan for this episode was that Jingchou was attacked by the remnants of the demon race on his way and was nearly seriously injured.

As a result, it was changed to the story of Jingchou, Yu'er, and Yuwentuo, who had just escaped their predicament, being ambushed in the wilderness. Helian Cang led his troops to appear, forcefully suppressing the entire scene and capturing all three of them.

The scene we're filming today is about Helian Cang kidnapping Jingchou, Yu'er, and others, taking them back to his own military tent.

Yu'er was still recovering from her injuries, having been wounded in the previous fight, and remained unconscious. Helian Cang learned of Yu'er's identity from Jingchou and came to visit her.

In the scene, the tent is dimly lit, with an oil lamp holding a red wick. Several military maps are spread out on the table, and a few broken arrows and bloodstained shoulder guards are scattered in the corner.

Chen Nuo stood tall and elegant, his armor still intact and stained with blood. A strand of long hair fell across his face, and his eyes, as dark as ink, gazed intently at the unconscious woman in the tent.

The heavy animal-skin curtains blocked the howling night wind outside, but they couldn't block the chill in people's hearts.

He stood there, like a lifeless statue.

Li Guoli, standing in front of the monitor, said to Liang Shengquan beside him, "He has a handsome and refined appearance."

Leung Shing-Kuen is from Hong Kong and has collaborated with Sugar Man many times. He is also very familiar with Li Kwok-Lam. Upon hearing this, he laughed and said, "Yes, if they were to cast him in 'Scarlet Heart'..."

Li Guoli imagined it for a moment, laughed twice, shook his head, and said, "I dare not think about it, I dare not think about it."

After he finished laughing, he turned his gaze back to the monitor, staring at the man on the screen who seemed to be perfectly natural, without any unnecessary movements, and for a moment he was a little dazed.

—What is a sense of acting?

This is called a sense of theatricality.

This is what is inherent in the most talented performer in China in the last 50 years, as recognized by many. It is something that no one can imitate.

He learned that the girl he had injured was actually the second princess of the Xianbei Tuoba tribe.

Chen Nuo stood before the bed, his face as cold as frost, gazing at it for a long time.

During this process, he remained completely still, as if petrified. In close-up shots, only his eyes could be seen moving extremely slightly.

Then, Chen Nuo bent down and slowly took off Liu Shishi's cloak, tucked her in, and then casually touched her temple with his fingertips.

This action startled Liu Shishi awake. She grabbed his wrist, her eyes full of wariness, just as she was about to deliver her lines.

at this time.

She heard a "Cut!" Li Guoli finished speaking into the walkie-talkie, and a series of "whooshes" came from behind him, as if the onlookers had been holding their breath and were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Li Guoli didn't take it to heart. After all, he was in the same boat. He turned to Shi Shi and said, "Why don't you go and talk to Shi Shi about the play?"

Liang Shengquan said, "What did I say?"

Li Guoli thought for a moment and said, "Just say... she has to act out the reaction after being seriously injured, right? When she grabs, be gentle, slow, and don't be so energetic."

"Great."

Liang Shengquan agreed and left.

Li Guoli turned around and was somewhat surprised to see that, in addition to the original actors, Hu Ge, who hadn't been there before, had also arrived at some point and was standing alone to one side, watching from a distance.

Li Guoli understood why this person was behaving this way.

Since the car accident, I've undergone countless surgeries, but the scars around my eyes still haven't faded, and no amount of makeup can completely hide them when I'm on camera. Therefore, my expression was somewhat unnatural when we met before. It's quite an achievement that I've overcome my feelings of inferiority and made it this far.

His gaze then swept over Lin Gengxin and Jiang Jinfu beside him. He saw Jiang Jinfu talking non-stop, while Lin Gengxin remained expressionless.

Li Guoli's opinion of the two differed from Cai Yinong's; he didn't think Jiang Jinfu was better than Lin Gengxin. He felt that the latter, over the past few months, had shown a genuine pursuit of acting skills. Jiang Jinfu, on the other hand… seemed too driven by ambition. He had argued with Cai Yinong about this several times, but she remained stubborn, and he couldn't do anything about it.

He waved and said, "Geng Xin, Xiao Hu, Xiao Tang, come here."

As the young actors who made sugar figurines gathered around, Li Guoli said, “Look, a young man with lofty ambitions to restore his country, no matter how patient and resourceful, no matter how domineering he may seem, is still just a young man. If he unintentionally hurts the princess of his beloved homeland, he must be feeling lost and bewildered, unable to express his feelings. Look at how he handles this.”

"There's nothing superfluous, just the right amount of emotion in your eyes."

"I didn't teach him; I don't have that ability. He figured it out on his own. He'd only had the script for a short time—just an hour—and he already knew how to act it out. That's truly amazing."

"If you want to develop your careers in film, these are the basics. This is also a rare learning opportunity. Think about it, when will you want to see him on set again?"

"So all of you, whether you have a scene or not, come to the set these next two days and watch it here. Learn as much as you can, understand?"

"Yes!" Tang Yan, Lin Gengxin, and Hu Ge all answered quite seriously.

Jiang Jinfu only murmured something, without making a sound, his eyes fixed on the screen, filled with envy.

……

With a shout of "Begin!"

The second round of filming for today has begun.

"See that? See that!" Li Guoli said, pointing at the screen. "There's an extra movement here, which makes it even better than the first time."

"Why, Director Li?"

"Finish reading first."

Soon the two actors were back to the same scene. When Liu Shishi opened her eyes, tremblingly reached out and grabbed Chen Nuo's arm, Li Guoli blinked hard and called out, "Cut!"

Looking at Liang Shengquan, he said, "Director Liang, could you please go and tell Shi Shi not to be so nervous? It's the feeling of being injured, not the feeling of an 80-year-old woman."

"Great."

Liang Shengquan went again.

Only then did Li Guoli turn to Tang Yan and say, "This is the difference between movies and TV series. In movies, less is more, but it's different in TV series. First, the audience is different, and second, the concentration of the audience is different..."

The third shoot.

Li Guoli was pleased to see that Liu Shishi had made some progress, and that she was now at a passable level.

But he didn't hesitate at all—"Cut!"

if not?
This opportunity was bought for 4300 million.

There are only 6 scenes in total.

This person's fee for each scene is as high as 700 million!

He only needed two or three takes to get it right.

That's practically a crime!
Why was there no other work scheduled this morning, and why was this one scene filmed all by herself?

They were determined that all six scenes had to be perfect! Not for him, but for their own actors.

Li Guoli said, "Director Liang, I'd like to trouble you to give a talk this time. Relax, make Shishi relax even more. Her expression is too tense, it's uncomfortable for me to watch on the monitor."

Liang Shengquan: "Great!"

the fourth time.

Liu Shishi has made even greater progress; she has finally become more natural and relaxed.

"Card!"

"Director Liang, would you please go and explain it to me?"

"Great."

the fifth time.

This time, we finally got past the hurdle of finding a foothold.

However, after the ensuing conversation, Li Guoli remained unyielding: "Cut!"

"Director Liang, why don't you go and give them a talk?"

"Great."

the sixth time.

"Card!"

"Director Liang, are you going?"

"Great."

Seventh time.

"Card."

"Director Liang?"

"Great."

The eighth time.

"Card!"

"..."

"Great."

“…Wait, Director Liang, where are you going? I think that’s about it, what do you say?” Li Guoli said.

Liang Shengquan turned around and asked, "Is that enough?"

Li Guoli nodded and said, "Yes. What do you think? I feel that Shishi has made great progress."

Liang Shengquan grunted an "oh," thinking to himself, "What's the difference?" He sat back down on the stool and chuckled, "It is quite big. So, is that all? That's enough?"

"Okay, let's move on."

……

"Never experienced this before?" Chen Nuo said with a smile to the woman in front of him.

"No, no," Liu Shishi forced a smile.

"No wonder."

"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting. I really am sorry," Liu Shishi said earnestly.

Chen Nuo waved his hand and said, "It's okay, it's just filming, there are plenty of takes. It's only been a few times, you'll get used to it."

Liu Shishi was about to ask how she was getting used to it, but Chen Nuo said goodbye and turned to leave.

She watched the man's retreating figure.

Honestly, although it was her first time doing eight takes in a row, she didn't find it difficult to endure.

Even though she filmed eight times in a row, and even though she could clearly sense her mistakes, nervousness, and awkwardness each time, under the man's guidance, she didn't feel embarrassed at all, and didn't even feel the shame of "messing up" that she usually did.

Because he is too stable.

It's not just about the stability of movement, but also the stability of emotions.

Although Director Liang never said anything when he came over, it helped her learn more and more how to act.

This was the first time that she, an actress with a dance background, felt the joy of acting.

……

However, when she talked about this feeling with a friend on the phone that night, she did not receive the response she expected.

A deep voice came from the other end of the phone, tinged with sarcasm: "A truly great actor wouldn't need so many takes. They'd guide you, like when we worked together before. If you didn't know how to act, I'd guide you, and you'd get it right quickly. He made you film so many takes and you still praise him? Are you blind?"

瞎？
The other person had always been gentle and refined in front of her, so Liu Shishi felt a little uncomfortable when he said such a thing.

The person on the other end of the line was still saying, "You're still young, you don't understand what a truly good actor is. If you ever have the chance to come to Taiwan, I'll show you what a truly great actor is..."

Although Liu Shishi was gentle and never competitive, she couldn't help but interrupt at this moment: "The really capable one? Li An? But Chen Nuo isn't a director! Which Taiwanese actor has ever won an Oscar? Okay, I'm sleepy, going to sleep. Goodnight!"

"Hey, wait a minute, Shi Shi!"

Liu Shishi hung up the phone and immediately put it on silent.

The man she initially thought was quite nice had made her hesitate. Had she really seen right through him? Or was she truly blind?
As Liu Shishi pondered these thoughts, she drifted off to sleep.

Although I knew that tomorrow would be an even longer ordeal than today, I still felt a faint sense of anticipation just before going to sleep.

(End of this chapter)