The birth of an actor

Chapter 8 Learning to Be a Dog
"Director He, would you like something to eat?"

Hearing the girl's words, He Xiuqiong glanced at the shumai on the table and shook her head without hesitation:
"I have no appetite... Shall we go?"

"Okay. Go ahead, light some incense, and say hello."

Anxin wiped her mouth and stood up:
"Director He, do you even have the strength to walk?"

"Have."

"Okay, then... Fan Bing, go and tell the others to get ready to leave. By the way, Uncle Meng, how much does Er Shen'er want?"

"Oh yes."

Guide Meng quickly said:
"They didn't ask for much, just a hundred yuan was enough."

"...?"

He Xiuqiong was stunned, and asked in a hoarse voice:

"How many?"

"One hundred yuan."

After Meng repeated himself, he noticed the absurd expression on Director He's face.

He seemed to understand something and quickly explained:
"Director He, An Xin just said that whatever they ask for is what we'll accept, no bargaining..."

"That's not what I meant. What I meant was... such a small amount, could it be a scam?"

"..."

"..."

An Xin and Guide Meng were both speechless.

That sounds really awkward.

It seems like you've got it backwards, hasn't it?

But Anxin still said:
"It's alright, I'll go take a look over there and see. Let's go."

As he spoke, he put the soul-sending banner and the exorcism talisman into a plastic bag and then opened the door.

A dozen minutes later, two Toyota Prados and a Santana that the hotel had arranged drove out of the Chifeng Hotel together, heading towards Ershen'er's house under the guidance of Guide Meng.

He Xiuqiong didn't say a word the whole way, but leaned back in the back seat and dozed off.

Anxin, sitting next to her, remained silent, recalling the content of "Six Lectures on Acting" and analyzing the meaning of passages in the two identical "diaries".

The car drove for less than an hour, and after leaving CF City, it turned into a village and stopped at the entrance of the village where a few elderly people were sitting in the shade.

After asking around, Meng, the guide, continued driving towards the village.

Finally, we arrived at the door of a very ordinary single-story house.

Anxin got off the bus immediately, glanced at the house, and nodded to Guide Meng:
"Yes, there's a branch here, you've come to the right place."

"Phew...that's good."

Guide Meng breathed a sigh of relief and went up to knock on the door.

After He Xiuqiong was helped out of the car, the gate to the courtyard was opened, and a very robust-looking old man came out.

After opening the door, the old man looked at the scene before him and wanted to say something, but when his gaze fell on the weak He Xiuqiong, his brows furrowed.

First look at the person, then at her eyes, and finally his gaze fell on the string of Buddhist prayer beads on her wrist.

A sentence came:
"How did I get involved with this buried gutai thing?"

He didn't know who he was asking this to, but as soon as he said it, everyone who heard it realized... this old man seemed to have some skills after all.

Otherwise, they wouldn't say such a thing without evidence.

At this moment, Anxin stepped forward and opened the plastic bag:

"I was provoked by what's in here."

The old man glanced inside, but didn't understand, and asked:
"What?"

Upon hearing this, An Xin already knew what was going on.

The spirits of this Ershen's family shrine probably don't have particularly deep spiritual cultivation.

"Things from Southeast Asia, made from dead people's bones..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

The moment he opened his mouth, everyone's expression changed, including He Xiuqiong's.

Dead body...bones?
He Xiuqiong's face was completely drained of color. The thought that she had worn it for several years sent a wave of nausea rising within her.
"Ugh~"

Anxin turned to look at her, then said helplessly to the old man with his brows furrowed:

"She doesn't know anything, she's probably been scammed. If it were something ordinary, I wouldn't have asked you to borrow the hall and move the pole. I can deliver the smoke spirit myself, but this stuff needs to be kindled."

Hearing this, the old man looked at the triangular cloth bag in the child's hand, and without hesitation, nodded:
"Okay. Come inside, I'll heat up the kang (heated brick bed) when it gets dark."

"it is good."

After the two finished communicating, the old man opened the door and began to open both doors wide.

Anxin waited until both doors were fully open before leading the way inside.

After walking through the courtyard and entering the bungalow, a strong smell of secondhand smoke mixed with the aroma of citrus fumes hit me right in the head.

A few people who were not used to it had already frowned, but Anxin seemed to have gotten used to it long ago.

The old man's name was Sun Huaijun, and he lived in a three-room bungalow. The kitchen was right inside the entrance, and the doors to the left and right of the kitchen led directly to the bedrooms and the incense shrine.

Old Sun pointed to the room with the kang (heated brick bed) and said:

"The guests can rest in that room."

An Xin glanced eastward and, seeing the shrine housing several porcelain statues, said to He Xiuqiong:
"Director He, come with me to offer incense."

Strangely enough, He Xiuqiong seemed to be in better spirits after entering the house. Upon hearing this, she followed Anxin into the east room without needing anyone's help.

Anxin accepted the incense offered by Old Sun, lit it first, bowed, and whispered a prayer:

"Incense smoke rises to the heavens before the hall, drifting ethereally to the southern seashore. Red light surges three thousand feet high. Disciples welcome the deity before the hall, invoking the compassionate master on the white lotus platform, spreading the command with handfuls of fragrant incense..."

He recited a poem about horses, word by word.

After placing the three incense sticks, he observed them for a while, then turned to He Xiuqiong and nodded slightly.
"Kneel and offer incense."

The female director from Taiwan Province didn't dare to be negligent and quickly lit the incense and put it into the incense burner.

Old Sun, who had been standing to the side, also looked at the incense and said:

"Since the old immortal has received the incense offering, there shouldn't be any problem. Shall we wait until tonight?"

"Well, wait until tonight."

With a relieved nod, He Xiuqiong stood up, her body feeling somewhat weak.
"So what should I do now?"

"Just go and rest in that room."

Pointing to the west room, he finished speaking and suddenly yawned.

"Ha... um."

He rubbed the back of his neck, which was starting to feel hot, and thought to himself, "She really misses me."

I haven't even invited you yet, and you're already coming by yourself...

……

In the time that followed, Anxin seemed to have vanished.

When Fan Bing came out to buy water, she found him sitting in a daze next to the old men playing chess at the village entrance.

"What are you doing here?"

She walked over to Anxin with a puzzled look on her face.

Waving hand dismissively:
“I’ll stay outside for a while. If I go back inside, the old spirit might come up. It’s okay, don’t worry about me.”

"Uh……"

Fan Bing thought for a moment, nodded slightly, went into the only grocery store at the entrance of the village and bought a few bottles of drinks. She handed one to An Xin first, and then carried the plastic bag to Grandpa Sun's house.

After a while, she returned, carrying a bottle of Da Bai Li (a type of pear blossom wine), and sat down next to An Xin.
"Uncle Meng took Grandpa Sun to buy dinner."

"Okay, go ahead. Remember to return the bottle to them after you finish drinking."

"I know."

Fan Bing responded, glanced at the old men playing chess, and then asked in a low voice:
"I saw that Director He had fallen asleep again, but Grandpa Sun said it was nothing."

"Ah."

Anxin seemed somewhat absent-minded.

Seeing this, Fan Bing remained silent and continued drinking her sweet pear juice.

Surprisingly, she quite likes this flavor.

And all of this today felt to her like... no, it should be said that it was a strange experience with a bit of a horror movie atmosphere, which was quite novel.

As she was pondering this, she suddenly heard Anxin ask:
"Why can't I understand those two books?"

"?"

The girl's eyes turned to her:
"Why can't I understand?"

"Well... I thought it was about teaching people how to act, but after reading it, I realized it wasn't. Both books are like diaries, recording how they watched others perform and then interpreted how others should act from their own perspective. It's quite strange."

"Well."

The girl thought for a moment and said:

"Do you think that acting should be like solving a math problem, with a set of formulas or theories?"

“…Yes, we should at least start from scratch and teach others how to perform, right?” “Haha, it’s not that complicated.”

Fan Bing smiled and shook her head:
"Hey, you're imitating a puppy."

"..."

Anxin's lips twitched:
"At this?"

He meant that the old men were still playing chess.

"Look at you, didn't I tell you? The first lesson for an actor is to learn to be shameless."

"..."

Well... to put it another way, Anxin definitely understands what he means.

But why is it so strange?

Seeing his pained expression, the girl put down her glass soda bottle, clenched her fists, raised them, and stuck out her pink tongue at Anxin.
"Ha~ Ha~ Ha~ Woof woof~ Woof woof~"

"..."

Anxin felt her face suddenly heat up.

I don't know if it's cuteness or shyness.

Even though he had been reborn and knew that the person in front of him was just a minor, the fact that the person's appearance in his previous life overlapped with his current appearance still stirred a feeling in him.

not to mention……

It's really pretty.

Even if it's a minor...

"Hey, don't turn your head, look at me."

Fan Bingbing panicked.

I'm telling you right now, my eyes are completely empty. If you believe me, that's all that matters.

Why am I looking at you?
"I told you, don't be shy. Look, I'm a dog. Woof woof woof~ Awooo~~~~"

Now, even the old men glanced in this direction.

Anxin was also stunned. Looking at her howling and screaming, she thought that if she didn't know she was performing, she might have thought that something evil had possessed her.

And it's a husky.

Seeing his absurd expression, Fan Bing shrugged slightly:

"Look, this is what acting is all about. Tell me, do I look like a dog?"

Whether it looks like it or not is not a question.

girl.

You're a real dog.

Seeing his silence, the girl explained:

"Performing is actually that simple. Look, let me ask you, after watching my performance just now, how old of a dog do you think I looked like?"

After thinking for a moment, Anxin tentatively said:

"Quite young, like a puppy."

"Yes, how about this?"

This time, instead of clenching her fists, she placed her hands on the bench where the two of them were sitting together.

Anxin instinctively leaned back slightly to maintain a suitable distance.

But I could still detect a peculiar fragrance.

But Fan Bing didn't care about any of that. She propped herself up and whispered to An Xin:
"Woof! Woof woof woof!"

"...Big dog?"

"That's right. Puppies can express themselves in a cute way, but big dogs have to do it this way."

She sat up straight again:

“Acting is actually that simple. Of course, by simple I mean… in another sense, it’s very difficult to act well, but… how should I put it, for example, if you’re playing a dog, as long as you’re acting, you’re performing. As for whether it looks good or not, that’s… uh…”

"A technical issue? A hierarchical issue?"

"Yes, yes, that's right. Our teacher said that performances can be good or bad, but beginners don't distinguish between good and bad in the initial stages. That's why our first lesson is to unleash our natural instincts..."

"Isn't that shameless?"

"Screw you!"

The girl slapped him on the back without saying a word:

"I'm teaching you. If you don't want to learn, I'm leaving!"

As she spoke, she gestured towards Anxin with her lip:

"It's your turn."

"……I?"

"Yeah, I've already performed. Acting classes are basically in pairs, so you'll definitely be coming too."

"This……"

Seeing that he was still hesitant, the girl said directly:

"See, you've forgotten everything I just told you? Don't worry about whether you can act well, the more important thing is whether you're willing to act. Come on, little dog, you do it!"

"...Does it have to be here?"

"Oh, stop being so dramatic. There are only a few people here. Think about it, when you're acting in a play, there are hundreds of people in the audience. When you're acting in a TV series, tens of thousands of people watch!"

Hearing this, An Xin stopped caring whether she had misunderstood the number of cable TV subscribers nationwide at this critical juncture in 96.

He simply took a deep breath.

Liberating your true nature, right?
Shameless, huh?
……OK.

I have no shame.

Ok?
Isn't there a saying: "I have no money, I have no shame"?
It seems to be lyrics?
Wow, that's so apt!

Coincidentally not.

I really don't have any money.

Well... buddy, that would be really shameless!

Dog, right...?

Ok.

Dog...dog...dog...

His heart began to churn, and for some reason, he suddenly remembered the dog he had when he was a child.

That "dog" that I picked up by chance while grazing in the mountains and raised for three years...

When the image of "Little Grey" appeared in his mind, his facial features unconsciously began to distort.

All the facial muscles, as if given some kind of command, converged toward the T-zone of his face.

Gathering, twisting, wriggling.

Finally, he grinned and looked at the girl next to him.

"Shh!"

The next second, Fan Bing, who had instinctively stood up, was stunned.

Anxin was also taken aback:
"What are you doing?"

"...?"

The girl's eyes were filled with surprise and speechlessness:

"Are you going to bite me?"

"?"

"..."

After staring at each other for a moment, the girl unconsciously rubbed her thumb and forefinger together a couple of times.

It's cold.

She was genuinely scared just now.

I have this feeling that the other person is going to rip me out any second...

But when she came to her senses, she realized that Anxin was a human, not a dog.

It's not a dog that's... possessive of its food.

But precisely because she understood this, she suddenly stared at An Xin, who looked puzzled, and asked:
"Were you... guarding your food just now?"

"Yo?"

Anxin's eyes lit up:
"My acting was very convincing? How did you know? Did you sense it?"

"..."

Looking into his sparkling eyes, Fan Bing's eye twitched.

For some reason, a sentence came to mind:

"What I need is a hungry person, not an actor pretending to be hungry."

She didn't understand before.

Now she understands.

(End of this chapter)