I was just thinking about taking the arts exam and you said I've been playing supporting roles

Chapter 394 Grandma, I miss you!
"Come on, let's take a few takes together to warm things up!"

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Wen Muye quickly greeted them; if he had been worried early in the morning, he was now completely different, filled with a strong sense of anticipation.

The director also enjoys watching performances.

Especially the highlights of Chen Jin's performance when they filmed "Life's Big Events" together, even now, still echo in his mind.

Wen Muye's experience as an embalmer and the process itself led him to develop a deep admiration for Chen Jin as an actress.

In the past, who would admire a young actor?

But Chen Jin is indeed an exception.

Wang Jingchun and the others headed to the dressing room, while Chen Jin, holding the script, pondered the character of A Jin.

Although I've experienced it before and know the plot inside and out, I still need to make some preparations.

The first scene they were going to film was a tomb sweeping ceremony.

It is a Chinese custom during the Qingming Festival to offer sacrifices to the ancestors together with the husband of the maternal grandmother Mingzhu, who is also the maternal grandfather, as well as their parents.

After these scenes were filmed, another tomb-sweeping scene was filmed.

The plot is different this time.

The former is the beginning of the film, setting the tone; while the latter is the ending, the death of the grandmother, a tribute to such a character. Whether in terms of cinematic language or performance, they are two completely different kinds of intensity.

The film set is a film set, and the same thing is tomb sweeping, but the atmosphere, the performances, and the plot that you want to express are all tests for the actors.

"Lights! Camera!"

"Are you ready?"

Wen Muye was there confirming everything. After all the actors were in place, he took out a megaphone and announced, "Actors, enter! Script supervisor, tap the clapper!"

Snapped!
After Chen Jin and her colleagues entered and struck their prophetic poses, the clapperboard was immediately struck down.

Chen Jin's first scene in "Grandma's Grandson" was filmed immediately.

Sizzle—smack!

Chen Jin squatted in front of a cemetery, wearing headphones, playing Angry Birds on her phone, completely absorbed.

Normally, Chinese teenagers wouldn't do this when paying respects to their relatives, but the movie exaggerates it to establish the character's persona.

At this time, Ah Jin was a rather rebellious high school graduate who had failed to get into university and was doing nothing.

His relatives brought him to pay respects to his ancestors, but he didn't even remember what his maternal grandfather looked like.

"All you do all day is play games! This is a grave-sweeping trip!"

Yongmei, playing the mother, scolds Chen Jin, but Chen Jin pretends not to hear her; he is wearing headphones.

"Alright, alright, it's good enough that the child even came..."

Wu Yanshu smiled and looked at Chen Jin, her eyes filled with affection and fondness. This was her favorite grandson. He was very good at exams when he was young and always stuck to her side. Unfortunately, he wasn't as cute as he was when he grew up.

"However, your grandfather was a stubborn old man. If he saw you playing video games in front of his grave, he would definitely hit you with his cane!"

Wu Yanshu then changed the subject, speaking Mandarin with a Shanghai accent.

Yongmei quickly stepped forward and yanked Chen Jin's earphones off, her face stern: "Did you hear that?"

"what?"

Chen Jin looked up and scratched his head.

"What? Tomb sweeping? He's your maternal grandfather. Didn't you see your maternal grandmother setting up offerings? Didn't you even help her?"

"All you do is play on your phone. Your grandma spoiled you rotten when you were little!"

"I only know about the weather one day..."

After a string of complaints, Chen Jin pouted impatiently, put her phone in her pocket, and squatted down to start arranging the offerings.

"Oh dear, no, the roast goose should be facing people!"

"There's no one here, Grandma!"

Chen Jin chuckled.

"Be serious!"

Wu Yanshu patted him on the shoulder and pointed behind her: "The person lying down!"

"Oh~~"

Chen Jin quickly straightened the head of the roast goose. Wang Jingchun, who had a big gold chain hanging from his chest, came to Wu Yanshu's side at this moment and glared at Chen Jin first: "Look at you, you've made your grandma angry again!"

"Mom, let me help you!"

He clung to Wu Yanshu so warmly that Yongmei rolled her eyes at him repeatedly.

"I'll definitely buy you a detached cemetery plot someday, it'll be so cool and impressive~~~"

"Go! Go! Go!"

Wu Yanshu clearly didn't like her second son either, patting his thigh, while Wang Jingchun continued to boast to himself: "I asked about the price, it's really good, detached houses have gone up to more than 20!"

"But 20 is just a drop in the ocean for me..."

"Would you die if you didn't brag?!"

The older brother had just finished a phone call and walked over when he heard his good-for-nothing younger brother bragging.

"What if you take out 20?"

Wang Yanhui spoke very bluntly, dressed like a successful person, in a suit and tie, looking very impressive.

"That's right, when are you going to pay me back the money you borrowed from me?"

Wu Yanshu said something to her second son, Wang Jingchun, who smiled sullenly: "Mom, I've invested all your money, how can I expect to get dividends so quickly?"

"How about I borrow some more?"

Wang Jingchun leaned close to Wu Yanshu and shamelessly said something.

"Stay away from me, you reek of smoke. Didn't you change your clothes today?"

"If your dad were alive, he would have broken your legs!"

Wu Yanshu covered her nose. Just then, Wang Yanhui's phone rang. It was his wife and daughter calling.

"Mom, Xiao Yuan today—"

"Alright, alright, what excuse are you using this year!"

Wu Yanshu really didn't want to answer the phone. Every time, her eldest daughter-in-law would say the same thing: "We only pay our respects once a year, and she's never free. If she's not free, why don't you bring my precious granddaughter?"

"Mom, isn't this..."

Beep!
The phone went dead, leaving the boss extremely embarrassed.

Wang Jingchun, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but laugh.

Chen Jin continued, "Mom, you nag me every day, but when have I not come with you?"

"Yes, yes, should we give you an award?"

Yongmei rolled her eyes at Chen Jin, but Wu Yanshu walked behind Chen Jin, patted his head and said, "At least, A-Jin is still very thoughtful!"

"That is……"

Chen Jin grinned, clearly enjoying her grandmother's praise.

"Mom, when will it be ready? Something's come up at work..."

At this moment, Wang Yanhui asked Wu Yanshu anxiously, but Wu Yanshu didn't even look up and said with her back to him, "If you have something to do, go back first!"

"Your company is more important than your dad!"

The second son, Wang Jingchun, couldn't stand it anymore and sneered, "Your phone hasn't stopped ringing on the way to pay respects to our ancestors. Did you even glance at Dad's tombstone? You didn't even squat down, let alone bow. Is this how you sweep the grave?"

"They've only been here five minutes, and they're already grumbling—"

"Say less!"

Yongmei stepped forward and patted her younger brother's arm. Wang Yanhui put down his phone and stared intently at Wang Jingchun. Seeing that the two brothers were about to start arguing, Chen Jin quickly stood up to try to mediate.

Whoops!

Wu Yanshu, who had been squatting there arranging the offerings, suddenly stood up.

Her back was slightly hunched, and Chen Jin quickly stepped forward to help her up.

"You two brothers, try arguing again here and see what happens!"

Wu Yanshu turned her head, her face carrying an aura of authority that was not angry but dignified. Even though she was an old lady, one could still see some of the demeanor she had when she was young.

"If you want to argue, go outside and argue!"

Wu Yanshu glanced at Wang Yanhui, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes.

Looking at Wang Jingchun again, Wang Jingchun quickly shrank back and grinned shamelessly at Wu Yanshu. "Nonsense..."

"I'll come to pay my respects to Dad separately tomorrow!"

Gritting his teeth, Wang Yanhui glared at Wang Jingchun and stormed off. Halfway there, he couldn't help but turn back and shout at Wu Yanshu, "Mom, I'll definitely bring Xiao Yuan and Xiuxiu over tomorrow!"

"..."

Wu Yanshu didn't say anything and watched her son get into her car.

However, her trembling hands betrayed her anger. Chen Jin, standing to the side, shook his head and shrugged nonchalantly.

Upon seeing this, Yongmei immediately pinched his thigh.

"Sigh~~~"

"Mom, what are you doing!"

Chen Jin jumped up in pain, and Wu Yanshu's energy suddenly burst forth for some unknown reason.

"roll!"

"You all get out of here!"

"mom--"

"mom……"

"roll!"

With tears in her eyes, Wu Yanshu looked at her husband's photo on the tombstone, her eyes instantly welling up with tears.

"..."

Chen Jin stood there helplessly, completely unaware of what was wrong with her grandmother.

Yongmei tried to help Wu Yanshu up, but she pushed her away. Chen Jin frowned, but then he saw Yongmei waving at him, as if asking him to comfort his grandmother.

Chen Jin didn't want to go; what if his anger was directed at him again?

The farce of tomb sweeping and ancestor worship came to an abrupt end.

"Ok!"

After four or five takes, the actors were clearly in character.

Wu Yanshu, in particular, perfectly captured several key aspects of the grandmother's character.

Of course, Wang Jingchun, Wang Yanhui, and the others also performed very well. They captured the personalities of their characters with just a few words, expressions, and actions.

On the contrary, Chen Jin was somewhat overshadowed among these people.

That's not to say he acted badly.

However, in this segment, his performance was indeed not as strong as that of Wang Jingchun and Wang Yanhui, not only because of their personalities but also because of their conflicts.

Chen Jin only needs to portray the personality of her grandson, A Jin.

From this perspective, Chen Jin's performance in this segment was undoubtedly satisfactory.

"very nice!"

"Teacher Wu's performance was truly impeccable..."

Wen Muye watched the playback on the monitor and became more and more satisfied. Chen Jin knew that he was the main character, but he wasn't in this part, so he acted very subtly and didn't try to steal the spotlight. The worst thing about ensemble scenes is that the actors overact.

Wen Muye was also worried about this, but the result was that even under the spotlight of Wang Jingchun and other award-winning actors and actresses, Chen Jin's role was neither too detached nor completely overshadowed.

He portrayed Ah Jin's initial state in the script.

This actually puts the actors to a real test.

The actors who mainly acted opposite him were all very strong, and Chen Jin was able to hold her own and perform normally, which Wen Muye thought was already very impressive.

For a young person of this age to be able to hold his own against Wang Yanhui and Wang Jingchun is already quite impressive.

"Take a break, next game!"

"Teacher Wu can rest now!"

Wen Muye spoke to Wu Yanshu, who laughed and said, "Now I can finally watch my grandson perform properly!"

"Huh? Grandma, you're putting a lot of pressure on me!"

Chen Jin pretended to be Ah Jin as she spoke.

Wu Yanshu smiled and said, "I believe you!"

She was the main character in the previous segment, so she needed to shine, while the other actors played supporting roles; but in the next segment, it's Chen Jin's turn to shine.

Fifteen minutes later, the second and final scene of the tomb sweeping began.

"Xiuxiu, come here and kowtow to Grandma!"

This time, the eldest brother, Wang Yanhui, brought his wife and daughter with him.

The second brother, Wang Jingchun, was still muttering to himself, "I've been saying my whole life I'll win the lottery jackpot, but I never expected Ah Jin to have such incredible luck, actually winning a million!"

"Are you stupid? You're spending a million to buy your wife such a nice detached cemetery plot?"

They are standing in front of the most prominent detached cemetery in the entire cemetery, with flower beds and fences, looking very beautiful and high-class.

Chen Jin smiled but didn't say anything.

In fact, only he knew that this 100 million was the money his grandmother had saved for him every month since he was a child, which she left to him as an inheritance when she passed away; no one else knew that the old lady had left such a sum of money.

At first, she left the house to her second son, but many people, including Ah Jin herself, did not accept it.

He also felt that his grandmother was biased.

He was the one who took care of her until her death, so why did he leave the house to his lazy, good-for-nothing second uncle who only thinks about getting something for nothing?

This guy doesn't have a wife yet.

Now, Ah Jin completely understands.

Because my maternal grandmother was the one who saw it most clearly.

That's why she, as a mother, couldn't bear to hurt her second son; ultimately, no matter how terrible he was, he was still her son.

She was afraid that her second son would suffer after she passed away. Although everyone knows that a leopard can't change its spots, the old woman didn't care that much.

The eldest son has a wife and children, and a successful career; he will definitely be able to support himself in the future.

The daughter also has a son, and there are people to take care of her.

Therefore, the only person she was worried about was her second son.

This is a mother, a great mother.

Grandma~~~

The final shot was a close-up of Chen Jin.

The sunlight shining down from above the cemetery added a halo to his profile; he stood before Wu Mingzhu's grave, solemnly knelt and clasped his hands in prayer, then stood up and smiled slightly in the sunlight.

With tears in her eyes and her eyes reddening, she looked up and blinked slightly, seeing a photo on the tombstone.

As she laughed, tears streamed down Chen Jin's face.

"..."

Ah Jin recalled every little detail about his grandmother before her death. His trembling lips, reddened eyes, and hesitant gaze did not bring him to tears.

But the moment he saw the photo, he completely lost his composure.

He tried to hide his sadness with a smile, but he couldn't hold back any longer and burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably.

The more I cried, the more heartbroken I became, and the more I cried, the more scenes of my grandmother came to mind.

Click!

The final shot freezes on Chen Jin's face, which is crying but smiling.

It was a grief that struck straight to the heart.

The death of a loved one sometimes doesn't make people cry immediately. This is a psychological defense mechanism. The brain buffers the huge impact by denying reality, which manifests as emotional numbness or a blank mind.

But one day, when you see a familiar scene and your habits are suddenly changed, your body will instantly and completely bring out this sadness.

"..."

Chen Jin was crying uncontrollably.

Even after the call to stop, she was still sobbing all over.

clap clap clap!
Wu Yanshu suddenly stood up, her eyes reddening, and clapped for Chen Jin, followed by everyone in the entire crew.

Chen Jin knelt before Wu Mingzhu's grave, weeping uncontrollably.

Grandma, I miss you!
He kept repeating the same sentence over and over in his mind until the emotions of the performance began to subside. Then he wiped away his tears, nodded to the people in the crew who were clapping, and prepared to go to Kunming to visit his grandmother that night!
The passing of a loved one can be a lifelong sorrow for some; the companionship during life is more important than the grief after death!
(End of this chapter)