Huayu: Starting with Xiang Yu, the Hegemon of Western Chu

Chen Daomin was stunned for three seconds.

A full three seconds.

He's been acting for over thirty years; what kind of young actors hasn't he seen?

Those who can act, those who can't, those who are talented, those who aren't, those who try too hard, those who don't try hard enough.

But someone like Chen Mo was truly a first for him.

This kid isn't "performing".

In that instant, he transformed himself into another person.

That person was Xiang Yu.

Chen Daomin didn't speak, but slowly turned his head to look at Gao hope behind him.

Gao hope stood still, motionless.

His brows were still furrowed, but the furrowed brows were different from the previous furrowed brows of annoyance.

The way the wrinkles are now resembles a hunter suddenly encountering a rare and ferocious beast in the jungle.

It's not fear.

It's a vibration.

Then came ecstasy.

Gao hope has been acting for thirty years.

He pondered the question of "what Xiang Yu should be like" countless times in his mind.

He even studied Xiang Yu's personality and logic in detail, writing a thick stack of notes, repeatedly analyzing every point from his decision before the Battle of Julu to his psychology before committing suicide at Wujiang.

In his understanding, Xiang Yu was not simply a "brave warrior".

Xiang Yu was a genius.

But his genius lies not in strategy, but in his imposing presence.

When he stands there, you feel like the world belongs to him.

One look from him and you feel three inches shorter.

This kind of aura cannot be created through makeup, through reciting lines, or through building up blog data.

It can only be something that is inherent in a person's bones.

The young man in front of us, dressed in the armor of a low-ranking Qin soldier, had perfectly embodied this spirit in those five short words.

Gao hope looked at Chen Mo, and his eyes slowly brightened.

He turned to Chen Daomin.

Chen Daomin happened to be looking over as well.

Their eyes met briefly in mid-air.

No language is required.

Chen Daomin nodded slightly.

The meaning is clear: You saw it, didn't you?

Gao hope nodded slightly.

That makes it clearer: I saw it.

Then Gao hope did something that surprised everyone present.

He walked up and circled around Chen Mo.

It was as if they were examining a newly forged weapon.

He looked at him from the front, then from the side, and finally stood in front of Chen Mo, looking up at his face.

Gao hope is a little over 1.7 meters tall, and Chen Mo is 1.83 meters tall.

Gao hope had to tilt his head back to see his eyes clearly.

But he didn't mind looking up.

Because he saw in Chen Mo's eyes what he had been searching for for three months.

"What's your name?" Gao hope asked.

Of course he knew Chen Mo's name; he was the person recommended by Chen Daomin, it was written on the notice.

But he still asked.

Because he wanted to hear the young man speak for himself.

"Chen Mo."

"What have you acted in before?"

Five years ago, "Young Huo Qubing".

"That expressionless general?"

Gao hope asked very directly, without any politeness or beating around the bush.

The staff members present were all worried for Chen Mo.

But Chen Mo's expression didn't change at all.

"Yes, that's the general with the expressionless face."

He admitted it openly and frankly.

Gao hope stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed.

It's the kind of laugh that comes from the heart and can't be suppressed.

"Who taught you that phrase, 'The King of Guanzhong is coming'?"

"Nobody taught me." Chen Mo paused for a moment. "I was reading 'The Biography of Xiang Yu' until 2 a.m. last night, and when I saw Teacher Chen walking over in this outfit today... I just blurted it out."

"Just saying it?"

"Yeah. I feel like that's how it should be said."

Gao hope turned his head and glanced at Chen Daomin.

Chen Daomin stood to the side with his arms crossed, his expression quite interesting.

It's as if she's saying: Don't look at me, I'm just here to try out some makeup, you guys chat.

But anyone could see the hint of a smile in his eyes.

Gao hope looked back at Chen Mo.

Do you know what Xiang Yu was thinking when he met Liu Bang at the Feast at Hongmen?

Chen Mo thought for a moment.

"I don't care."

"Um?"

"Xiang Yu's attitude towards Liu Bang at the Feast at Hongmen was not anger or murderous intent, but indifference."

Chen Mo spoke calmly.

"In Xiang Yu's eyes, Liu Bang was just a middle-aged village head who had slipped into Guanzhong before him and gotten a good deal. He wasn't worth Xiang Yu's attention. When Fan Zeng told him to kill Liu Bang, it wasn't that he didn't want to, but that he felt it was unnecessary. Killing someone he didn't respect would be beneath him."

Gao hope narrowed his eyes.

"So he let Liu Bang go."

"So he let Liu Bang go." Chen Mo nodded.

"Xiang Yu's biggest mistake in his life was not letting Liu Bang go, but that he looked down on Liu Bang from the bottom of his heart. He believed that the world was won by fighting, not by scheming, and he disdained to play those tricks on Liu Bang. But ironically, in the end, the one who won was the very person he despised."

The corridor was extremely quiet.

Gao hope stared at Chen Mo without saying a word, but the pent-up frustration that had been building up in his chest for three months seemed to be slapped away at that moment.

He searched for three months.

I spent three months sifting through stacks of photos and resumes sent by the casting team.

I endured being on the traffic list that the investors forced upon me for three months.

He had been waiting for someone.

He knows at a glance, "That's him."

Today, this person appeared before him, yawning, wearing the tattered armor of a Qin soldier.

Then, with a casual remark, "The King of Guanzhong is here," he brought the Xiang Yu he had been imagining in his mind for three months into reality.

Gao hope took a deep breath.

Then a decision was made.

It was the kind of decision he made many times during his 30-year directing career, but each time he looked back, it proved that he hadn't made a mistake.

"Xiang Yu," Gao hope looked at Chen Mo, his voice not loud, but each word as firm as a rivet, "you play the role."

Chen Mo was stunned.

He's here to play a minor role.

The Qin soldiers in the three scenes.

Xiang Yu?

He opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to say something.

But Gao hope didn't give him that chance.

"Go back and prepare yourself. Come for the audition the day after tomorrow. It's a formal audition." Gao hope finished speaking and turned to leave.

He took two steps, then turned back and added a sentence.

"Read the biography of Xiang Yu again, but this time don't read until 2 a.m., read until 4 a.m."

After saying that, he left without looking back.

My steps were much lighter than before, as if I had unloaded something heavy.

Chen Daomin remained standing there, looking at Chen Mo's dazed expression, and couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.

"What are you standing there for?"

"Teacher Chen, I... this..."

"Gao hope is a good judge of character. If he says you can act, it means you're capable." Chen Daomin's tone was calm, but it carried a touch of the warmth unique to a senior. "Go back and prepare well, and don't let your teacher Wang down."

After saying that, he turned and left.

The opera robes stirred a breeze in the corridor.

That figure from behind was still Liu Bang's figure from behind.

Calm, composed, and unhurried.

It was as if the world was already settled, and all that was left was to return to the palace.

Chen Mo stood alone in the empty corridor.

He was wearing the tattered armor of a Qin soldier and holding a prop spear in his hand.

A breeze blew in from outside the film set, causing the stray hairs around his ears to flutter slightly.

He looked down at his outfit.

Ten minutes ago he was just a nobody.

Is he Xiang Yu now?

Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu?

Xiang Yu, the one whose strength could uproot mountains and whose spirit could cover the world?