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

The morning of the third day after moving to the new house.

The alarm clock rang at 5:30.

Chen Mo opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling of the new room for two seconds.

I almost forgot I'd already moved.

The new ceiling is whiter than the previous one.

Not bad.

I got up, washed up, changed into sportswear, and went out.

The park near the new residential area is much larger than the previous one, and it has a rubberized running track around the lake, which is about 800 meters long.

There were already people in the park at six in the morning.

People practicing Tai Chi, square dancing, walking their birds, walking their dogs, and walking their children.

There was also an old man cracking a whip by the lake. The whip cracked loudly in the air, sounding like firecrackers.

Chen Mo has a habit of not wearing headphones when he runs.

He enjoys listening to the sounds around him.

This is a habit I developed at the Central Academy of Drama.

Wang Zhiping once taught him a method: A good actor must always be sensitive to the environment. Every sound you hear, every expression you see, and every detail of movement you observe may come in handy in a future role.

So Chen Mo was "collecting" data while running.

Today he noticed an uncle selling pancakes at the park entrance.

He was in his fifties, short and stout, wearing an apron stained with grease.

He made the pancakes so fast it was like he was on double speed.

He picked up an egg with his left hand and cracked it onto the hot plate. Before the egg yolk had even finished flowing out, his right hand had already spread out the batter.

Sprinkle scallions, brush on sauce, flip, add crispy biscuits, roll it up—the whole process is smooth and quick, taking no more than forty seconds from start to finish.

But the most ingenious part isn't the hand gestures.

It was his shouting.

"Jianbing guozi! Add egg, add sausage, add everything! No girlfriend, no homework!"

A mother who was buying breakfast with her child nearby was amused.

The uncle added, "Don't worry, Auntie, my pancakes are all handmade, no technology or fancy techniques. I guarantee your child will get into Tsinghua University after eating them."

What if you don't pass the exam?

"If you fail the exam, I'll refund your pancake money."

Chen Mo couldn't help but laugh as he ran over.

He stopped and bought a pancake with an egg but no sausage.

"Young man, don't you want sausage? Sausage is delicious! Mine is real meat sausage, not made of starch."

"No need, thank you, uncle."

The middle-aged man looked him up and down.

"You look familiar, young man. Haven't I seen you somewhere before?"

Chen Mo smiled. "Probably not."

"Wait a minute." The middle-aged man put down the spatula, squinted at him for several seconds, then slapped his thigh. "I remember now! Aren't you the one who played Xiang Yu? I saw you on TV the other day! The one with the 'I can take his place' thing!"

Chen Mo was stunned for a moment.

"My wife loves watching your show, she follows it every day, and she even cried on the day of the finale." The middle-aged man's expression suddenly became enthusiastic. "You live around here?"

"We just moved here."

"Hey, come again sometime! I'll give you a 20% discount on your pancakes from now on!"

"Uncle, no need for a discount."

"You absolutely have to get a discount! You're a big star!"

"I'm not a big star. I'm just an actor."

"Actors are stars too! Anyone who appears on TV is a star!"

Chen Mo smiled and shook his head, took the pancake, and thanked him.

took a bite.

Mmm, delicious.

The outer layer is crispy, and the egg is soft.

He ate as he walked, silently memorizing the uncle's actions and manner of speaking.

The relaxed feeling of chatting with people while working, the enthusiasm for life, the humor and vitality in the everyday atmosphere.

If I ever have to play a lowly, ordinary person, all of these things will come in handy.

He mentally labeled it and stored it in his "resource library".

The pancake vendor is fifty years old, short and stout, moves nimbly, speaks humorously, and has a strong sense of local life.

This resource library has been accumulating for over four years.

Hundreds of such labels come from all sorts of people he has encountered in his life.

Each label represents an expression, an action, a way of speaking, or a state of life.

All of these together constitute an actor's most valuable arsenal.

After running five kilometers and eating a pancake, I slowly walked home.

I passed by a convenience store at the entrance of the residential area, and there was a newspaper rack at the door.

He glanced at today's newspaper headline.

"The ratings for 'Legend of Chu and Han' have surpassed 2, and Chen Mo's portrayal of Xiang Yu has been voted the most popular character of the year by viewers."

There was also a subheading: "Renowned director Feng Xiaogang commented on Chen Mo in an interview: This young man has real skills."

Feng Xiaogang.

The significance of this name within the industry goes without saying.

He started out with Lunar New Year comedies, and later transitioned to making several serious works that garnered both critical acclaim and box office success.

He rarely makes public comments about young actors.

In the past ten years, no more than three people have been able to make him say "you have real skills".

Chen Mo glanced at it for two seconds, then decided not to buy a newspaper.

It's not that I'm unhappy.

I just don't want to care too much.

The hype came and went quickly.

The person who praises you today may change their tune tomorrow.

He only believes in one thing.

the work.

When I got home, I took a shower and cooked a pot of rice.

After the rice was cooked, he heated up a bowl of leftover tomato and egg soup from last night, poured the soup over the rice, and stirred it.

I'm eating at the desk I just got yesterday.

Sunlight streamed in through the window and fell directly onto the desk.

The Records of the Grand Historian is on the left, Chen Daomin's old script is on the right, and in the middle is that blank notebook.

He ate his rice porridge while looking at the notebook.

The first page reads "Next Role".

The bottom is still blank.

He recalled Chen Daomin's words.

"You have a long road ahead of you. Don't rush."

Hmm, no rush.

But we can't just wait around.

Opportunity favors the prepared mind.

He needs to stay in shape.

Just then, my phone rang.

Chen Mo glanced at the caller ID.

Unknown number.

Numbers starting with 010 are landlines in Beijing.

He pressed the answer button.

"Hello, are you Mr. Chen Mo?"

"it's me."

"Hello, this is Xiao Zhang, the assistant at Director Zhou Mu's studio. Director Zhou recently watched your performance in 'The Legend of Chu and Han' and greatly admired it. He would like to meet with you to discuss a role in a new project. Are you available recently?"

Zhou Mu.

Chen Mo's spoon stopped at the rim of the bowl.

Zhou Mu.

Zhou Mu, who has won three major awards at international A-list film festivals.

Zhou Mu, whose status in the domestic film industry is comparable to that of a godfather.

Zhou Mu, who never actively seeks out actors, but whose actors always line up to beg him.

His studio called him proactively.

Chen Mo looked down at the last mouthful of rice porridge left in the bowl.

The tomato broth had completely soaked the rice, making it bright red and soft.

He finished that bite of rice.

I chewed it twice and swallowed it.

Then he answered.

"Convenient. Convenient anytime."

"Then it'll be 2 PM the day after tomorrow at Director Zhou's studio. I'll send you the address via text message later."

"Okay. Thank you."

I hung up the phone.

Chen Mo put his phone on the table and washed the empty bowl in the sink.

Then I went back to my desk and sat down.

I picked up a pencil and wrote two words under "Next Role".

"Zhou Mu".

After he finished writing, he stared at the two characters for a long time.

The corners of his mouth slowly curved upwards.

The bend is not significant.

But it's a little bigger than usual.

The locust tree outside the window is in bloom, with clusters of small white flowers hanging from the branches, rustling down when the wind blows.

Sunlight streamed through the flower branches, casting dappled patterns of light on the desk.

The light spots fell on the notebook, on the two characters "Zhou Mu," one bright and one dark, like breathing.

Chen Mo took a deep breath.

A new story is about to begin.