This director is vindictive.

Chapter 270 My wallet is lost, my life is shattered.

The outside world's disturbances did not affect the filming of "The Silent Truth".

Because every character in this play is incredibly heavy.

It was so heavy that even acting it out was incredibly difficult.

The character Jiang Yang, in particular, is arguably the one with the most explosive character arc in the entire film.

The scene we're filming today is arguably the most challenging scene in "The Silent Truth," and also one of the most memorable and iconic moments in the series.

The scene where Jiang Yang loses his wallet!

Chen Mo did not communicate with Bai Yu before filming this scene, because Bai Yu was already fully immersed in the role.

To portray the weakness of a lung cancer patient, he only drank plain porridge for three days before filming began.

The person's overall condition has reached a critical point.

Chen Mo took this scene very seriously, and Bai Yu did the same.

This scene can be said to be the most brilliant and most heart-wrenching scene for Jiang Yang's character in the entire series!

The main reason Chen Mo didn't communicate with Bai Yu before filming was because he didn't want to disrupt his current state of mind—a state of complete immersion.

But Bai Yu ignored him and sat there quietly, waiting for the scene to start filming.

The challenge of this scene lies in how to create an explosive moment.

He didn't break down immediately when he was looking for his wallet, but he broke down as he talked, especially when he mentioned that he needed to replace his bank card and ID card.

This scene requires a sense of layering, a progressive sense of layering.

This kind of scene is actually the most difficult because you can't be too abrupt at that point; you have to present a natural effect.

Why did Jiang Yang break down? Why did he cry?
This was something that Chen Mingzhang and Zhu Wei, who were present at the time, did not realize! Jiang Yang felt that his true hope had been ignored by his two friends, and he could not say anything. Therefore, he had unspeakable suffering. Coupled with the hardships and grievances of the past years, he finally broke down at that moment!
The deeper metaphor lies in the program!

Overturning a case requires going through procedures, and so does getting replacement documents. The wallet didn't have much cash, but it was the trigger that ignited his inner turmoil. Jiang Yang kept muttering to himself, overwhelmed by the sight and sound of the scene, recalling all the hardships he had endured over the years. He then huddled in a corner and burst into tears. After a violent coughing fit, blood gushed from his mouth, causing him to faint on the spot.

Several hundred yuan, an ID card, and a bank card. These things all have metaphorical meanings. The bank card can be interpreted as Jiang Yang's job and stable income; the ID card as his reputation and social status; and the money as his contributions to his family and his responsibilities as a husband and father. The once-glorious prosecutor, now returned destitute from prison, is like a sunflower under the sun, dragged down into the mud.

So, while Jiang Yang appeared to be crying because he lost his wallet, he was actually crying because he felt like he had lost his life. Losing the wallet was just the last straw that broke the camel's back. While he could find temporary solace in drinking and chatting with his two friends, the loss of his wallet immediately brought him back to reality, causing him to break down.

Besides the fact that he had "lost everything," one of Jiang Yang's beliefs was also crumbling, which may also be one of the reasons that led him to cry.

Before being wrongfully imprisoned, Jiang Yang adhered to a simple belief in justice: that the truth could be revealed and the victims' grievances cleared through proper procedures. However, when he had exhausted all the procedures and tried every possible avenue, only to find that they were all blocked and impassable, Jiang Yang's conviction crumbled. After losing his wallet, Jiang Yang remarked, "I'll have to reissue my bank cards and ID card later."

This line was arguably the final straw that broke him!
In short, Jiang Yang is an ordinary person, not a superhero.

Chen Mo glanced at Bai Yu and nodded to his brother-in-law.

Fan Chenchen, the brother-in-law, immediately picked up a megaphone and shouted, "All departments, take your positions!"

Chen Mo watched from the monitor.

Jiang Yang, played by Bai Yu, was about to put the red envelope into his wallet when he suddenly froze as he touched his pocket—he abruptly stood up.

He pulled out a chair to check if his wallet had fallen on the floor.

His two friends, Chen Mingzhang and Zhu Wei, were both taken aback when they saw him.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" Zhu Wei asked, his chopsticks trembling as he picked up some food.

Bai Yu, who plays Jiang Yang, hunched over and looked at his two friends, whispering in a voice that sounded like it had been rubbed with sandpaper: "I think I've lost my wallet!"

"no."

"I put it in my pocket!" he said, continuing his search.

"Is there a lot of money?" Zhu Wei asked.

"Not much, just a few hundred yuan!" he said, his hands still inside his pockets as he continued to feel around.

"Where did you put it?" Chen Mingzhang asked.

At this moment, the two friends still didn't think it was a big deal.

"No, don't worry!" Zhu Wei reached out to comfort him.

"No, I just put it in my pocket!" Jiang Yang insisted.

"It's in my pocket!" he repeated, then continued his frantic search.

But Zhu Wei thought he was exaggerating: "Is that all? Boss Chen reimbursed you, is that alright?"

“Of course, no problem!” Chen Mingzhang said immediately.

However, the two of them sounded incredibly relaxed, which was in stark contrast to Jiang Yang!

"Look, come on, come on!"

Jiang Yang finally sat down again!

“Then let’s not think about anything else, let’s eat and drink as we please!” Chen Mingzhang said.

Jiang Yang, however, was completely distracted.

"I'll have to replace my bank card and ID card later! I'm so..." Jiang Yang said, his voice already trembling with a hint of tears.

“That’s what I do at the police station. I’ll take care of everything for you, okay?” Zhu Wei still didn’t understand his old friend’s feelings, thinking it was just a matter of the wallet.

"I still lost my wallet!" Jiang Yang sat there, not looking for his wallet, but his voice already carried a hint of despair.

"My wallet is gone! My wallet is gone!"

He suddenly covered his face, suppressed sobs escaping through his fingers: "My wallet is still here."

The two friends panicked and quickly gathered around. Just as Chen Mingzhang's hand touched Jiang Yang's shoulder, they heard a heart-wrenching cough.

"Cough! Cough cough! Pfft—"

Blood spurted from between Jiang Yang's fingers, splattering onto the mottled wall. Like a puppet with its strings cut, he fell heavily into the corner, his forehead hitting the floor with a dull thud.

The entire set was completely silent; even breathing could be heard clearly.

"Cut!" Chen Mo's voice was a little hoarse: "Passed."

No one moved, no one spoke. Bai Yu remained curled up on the ground, not getting up for a long time.

It took me a long time to come to my senses.

Everyone was startled, because Bai Yu was still in tears at that moment.

In fact, at this moment, it wasn't just him who was in tears; many people in the crew had red eyes, and many were secretly wiping away tears.

Watching this single scene alone won't evoke much emotion, but when viewed in the context of the entire play, it's a completely different story.

An adult's breakdown can happen in an instant. "Are you alright? To be honest, you scared me just now!" Tian Xiaojie, who plays Chen Mingzhang, asked.

Bai Yu wiped away the tears that were still streaming down her face and said, "I'm fine! It's just..."

"Amazing!" Zhao Yang exclaimed. "I was really shocked when you cried just now. It was so real!"

"I almost cried just now, but I managed to hold it in," Zhao Yang said.

"Come and see, this scene was really well acted. I thought we'd have to film several takes, but we got it in one go!" Chen Mo said at this moment.

He was truly prepared to fight to the death in this scene today.

But he didn't expect Bai Yu to act so well on the first take. Chen Mo watched the replay several times and felt that it would be difficult to film a better result.

So, he didn't even mention anything about protecting one or two.

"Tsk tsk, this is it! To be honest, I was really scared just now. Teacher Bai, how did you do that? It's not as simple as just crying like that!" Tian Xiaojie pointed at the scene of Jiang Yang covering his face and breaking down in tears as he watched the monitor replay.

"Wait a minute, I don't remember Teacher Bai ever acting in a scene where you cry your heart out!" Fan Chenchen suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

Bai Yu nodded and said, "Let alone in the play, even in real life, I have never cried out loud. In fact, before filming this scene, I didn't think I would cry out loud. I tried to prepare myself for a long time, but I just couldn't cry."

"I was worried that I would get scolded by Director Chen for this scene, but I didn't expect that I would get into the mood and cry uncontrollably."

Bai Yu rubbed her somewhat stiff face and said.

"I feel like I'm crying for Jiang Yang, he's suffering so much!" Bai Yu said with a hint of bitterness.

Everyone nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

Anyone who reads the script will understand Jiang Yang's suffering.

“Jiang Yang is just an ordinary person like us. When the most difficult moment in life comes, when the last straw breaks the camel’s back, maybe everyone wants to cry their heart out without caring about appearances. So, I just cried. When the feeling came, I couldn’t stop it!” Bai Yu said again.

Bai Yu's words brought a brief silence to the set. Chen Mo stared at the monitor, his fingertips lightly tapping the back of his chair, before finally speaking: "The emotions in this scene are too real... so real that it doesn't seem like acting."

He looked up at Bai Yu, his eyes filled with rare approval: "You're right. Jiang Yang's breakdown wasn't a dramatic outburst, but rather the instinctive reaction of an ordinary person being crushed by reality."

In fact, Chen Mo didn't make any specific requests for this scene, such as when to cry or when to vomit blood.

The script only mentions that the character coughs violently to the point of vomiting blood, but it doesn't go into detail about how it's portrayed. It even uses ellipses throughout the script.

Therefore, it left room for the actors to improvise, which is why Chen Mo felt that this scene would probably take a long time to film.

After all, the original scene left a very deep impression on Chen Mo.

He never expected that Bai Yu would act so well, and that he could get it right in one take.

Of course, Chen Mo didn't directly include the details of the original scene in his earlier work because he was worried that if he did, the actors would just follow it exactly, and it wouldn't be as natural.

As it turns out, he was right! Bai Yu's performance right now almost perfectly replicates that scene.

At this moment, Tian Xiaojie rubbed his arms and said with a wry smile, "I still have goosebumps. Teacher Bai, how did you design the scene where you coughed up blood and fainted at the end? The script only said 'cough violently until vomiting blood,' but you acted it out until you fainted, and even the sound of you hitting the ground sounded real."

Bai Yu shook her head: "It wasn't designed. At the time, I just felt a tightness in my chest and a metallic taste in my throat... It was probably because I was too immersed in the role and my body just followed the character."

He paused, then lowered his voice, “Jiang Yang has late-stage lung cancer, so coughing up blood is normal for him. But in this scene, the blood is more like a symbol of the collapse of his life – getting replacement documents requires procedures, overturning a case requires procedures, but procedures can’t save him, and he’s almost being drained of his life.”

Fan Chenchen suddenly interjected, "The most heartbreaking thing is that sentence, 'The wallet is still lost.' Chen Mingzhang and Zhu Wei clearly wanted to comfort him, but the more relaxed they were, the more desperate Jiang Yang became... It was like he was the only one in the world standing on the edge of a cliff."

Chen Mo nodded and pulled up a close-up of Jiang Yang covering his face and crying on the monitor: "Look here. He's not crying about the money, but about the helplessness of 'losing everything.' Bai Yu's fingers are trembling, and the sobs leaking from between her fingers sound like she's being choked—these details aren't something acting skills can embellish; it requires her to truly embody Jiang Yang." He turned off the screen, looked around at everyone, and said, "Let's call it a day. This scene is worth everyone's time to process."

As the film crew wrapped up, everyone busied themselves cleaning up while discussing the shock they had just experienced.

"You were all crying just now!"

"Didn't you cry too?"

"I couldn't help it, I suddenly remembered some things from the past, and I just couldn't help it!"

"What came to mind?"

"When I first entered this industry, I remember following a senior craftsman to film sets. I would do any dirty or tiring job, but I was paid the least. However, when a scene went wrong, even though it wasn't my fault, I was still pushed to take the blame."

I felt really wronged at the time, but I didn't cry.

The next day, I was eating a steamed bun on my way to the film set when a car suddenly drove by and splashed mud all over me. The bun was covered in dirty water. I don't know why, but I just broke down at that moment!
Perhaps this is what they mean by an adult's breakdown happening in an instant?

The lights on set gradually went out, leaving only a few scattered work lights on, casting long shadows on the ground in a dim, yellowish light.

Bai Yu sat on a folding chair in the corner, holding a cup of hot water in his hands. The steam rose, but he didn't drink it. His eyes were still red, and his fingertips unconsciously stroked the cup, as if he hadn't completely detached himself from Jiang Yang's emotions.

Tian Xiaojie walked over and handed him a clean towel: "Wipe your face, your makeup is all messed up."

Bai Yu took the towel, whispered a thank you, but just held it in her hand without moving it.

"Still thinking about the scene from earlier?" Tian Xiaojie sat down next to him, her tone tinged with emotion. "To be honest, in all my years of acting, I've rarely seen an actor who 'gives in' himself like you."

Bai Yu was silent for a while before slowly speaking: "Jiang Yang... suffered too much. He was not a hero, he had no halo, and even his belief in 'procedural justice' was crushed by reality in the end. What he lost was not just his wallet, but the dignity, hope, and even the meaning of life that had been gradually taken away over the years."

Tian Xiaojie nodded, his gaze falling on the staff packing up equipment in the distance, and his voice softened: "Actually, the most heart-wrenching thing about this scene is that even though the audience knew that Jiang Yang's breakdown was foreshadowed, when he actually cried, they were still caught off guard—just like those seemingly insignificant 'last straws' in life."

Bai Yu finally looked up and forced a smile: "Director Chen is right. An adult's breakdown is never a premeditated outburst, but rather a moment when they 'can't hold on any longer.' Jiang Yang has been holding back for too long, so even his crying seems to be squeezed out from between his bones."

At this moment, Chen Mo walked over, holding a storyboard in his hand, his expression much gentler than usual: "Tomorrow we're filming the scene where Jiang Yang commits suicide. Do you... need to adjust your mindset?"

Bai Yu took a deep breath, pressed the towel against her face and wiped it vigorously. When she put it down, her eyes were much clearer: "No need, Director Chen, I'm ready!"

Chen Mo nodded: "Get some rest! You're a veteran actor now, a role is just a role, don't get too immersed in it!"

To be honest, Chen Mo was a little scared. Although there are quite a few actors who have gone crazy in their acting, he felt that Bai Yu was going a little too deep into the role of Jiang Yang this time.

Although from a director's perspective, it's certainly desirable for actors to be as involved as possible, because the more involved they are, the better they will perform, Chen Mo still doesn't want any problems to arise during filming.

Of course, the main issue is the role itself; not every role can make it difficult for an actor to break character.

Because Jiang Yang's character is based on reality, and his experiences are so tragic, to the point of collapse.

He was no superhero. His experiences—wrongfully imprisoned, his beliefs collapsed, and he suffered from terminal lung cancer—were incredibly realistic and tragic. For an ordinary person, just one of these experiences would be devastating, let alone the fact that he went through it all. The despair he felt was just as Zi Jinchen said: it would have been the greatest cruelty to him if Jiang Yang hadn't died.

This is also what Chen Mo is most worried about.

For actors, immersing themselves in a role requires exploring the character's psychology, which makes it easier to resonate with the character.

Because people generally have a hero complex, but this character ends up committing suicide to die for his cause. So, even though today's scene is crucial, what Chen Mo is most worried about is tomorrow's suicide scene.

Therefore, Chen Mo even invited a psychologist, planning to have Bai Yu see him and provide psychological intervention after filming ends tomorrow.

If an actor gets into trouble because of a role, then that's a big problem.

For performance-oriented actors, there might not be much to worry about, but Bai Yu is clearly a method actor in this role.

(End of this chapter)