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

Shen Yu called at eight o'clock in the morning.

Chen Mo was brushing his teeth at that time.

He placed his phone on the sink, the screen lit up, and with a mouthful of foam in his mouth, he pressed the speakerphone button with his left hand.

"Chen Mo."

"Um."

"There's something I need to hear."

"explain."

"Yesterday evening, the investors called Luo Yifeng."

Chen Mo lowered his head and spat out a mouthful of foam.

"and then?"

"That's all." Shen Yu's voice was flat. "Luo Yifeng hung up the phone."

Chen Mo looked at himself in the mirror.

There was still a little foam on his chin, which he wiped away with his index finger.

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"unnecessary."

"Then why did you make this call?"

"I just want you to know that this happened," Shen Yu said. "It will happen again in the future, so you'll know what's going on."

Chen Mo smiled.

After laughing, he said one word.

"it is good."

The phone hangs up.

Chen Mo put the toothbrush back in the cup, turned on the tap, and rinsed his mouth.

The water was splashing.

He rinsed his mouth, straightened up, wiped his face, and looked at himself in the mirror.

She was 24 years old, with a clean jawline and no dark circles under her eyes.

He cut his hair short a week ago.

He looked at himself for two seconds, then turned and left the bathroom.

The production team arranged a meet-and-greet for him at 8:30 in the morning.

The location is the large conference room on the second floor of the film and television base.

Chen Mo left home at 7:40 and hailed a taxi. The driver was a middle-aged man who listened to the radio the whole way and didn't say much.

I arrived at the base gate at 7:58.

Chen Mo got out of the car, paid the fare, and didn't ask for a receipt.

The security guard looked up at him, recognized him, and waved his hand.

"Go straight up to the innermost room on the second floor."

"Thanks."

Chen Mo went up the stairs.

The second-floor corridor was quiet. Several concept posters for "Mountains and Rivers Under the Bright Moon" hung on the walls, with tape stuck to the edges. The door at the end of the corridor was half-open, and a little light could be seen through the crack.

Chen Mo walked to the door.

He didn't go in immediately.

He stood at the door for two seconds, then raised his hand and knocked twice.

"Enter."

A hoarse voice came from inside.

It's not Luo Yifeng.

Chen Mo pushed open the door and went in.

The meeting room was of medium size, with a long table, a dozen chairs, and a window slightly ajar, letting in the morning breeze that lifted a corner of the notice on the table.

A person was sitting at the head of the long table.

He was around fifty years old, with gray hair, a very straight back, and wore a dark blue Zhongshan suit, buttoned up to the top. In front of him was an open script and a glass of water.

He looked up at Chen Mo.

He didn't say anything.

Chen Mo paused at the door.

He didn't go over to shake hands or call him "teacher." He simply bowed slightly in the direction of the old man at the door, then straightened up, walked to the end of the long table near the door, pulled out a chair, and sat down quietly.

It took him eleven seconds from entering the room to sitting down.

He didn't say a single word.

Wang Xueqi glanced at him for two seconds from the head of the long table.

Then he lowered his head and continued reading the script.

His hand, holding a red pen, paused for half a second at the blank edge of the script.

Then the pen tip fell, drawing a line.

The meeting room remained quiet for a long time.

The only sound was the rustling of paper.

Chen Mo took out his script, turned to the first page. He didn't bring a pen, so he just ran his finger lightly across the paper.

At 8:20, the assistant director pushed the door open and came in.

The assistant director was taken aback when he saw Wang Xueqi and Chen Mo sitting one in front of the other.

He glanced at the clock on the wall, then at the two people.

Then he quietly slipped out and closed the door behind him.

In the corridor, the assistant director sent Luo Yifeng a WeChat message.

"Teacher Wang arrived at 7:40."

"Chen Mo arrived at eight o'clock sharp."

Luo Yifeng replied with two words.

"Know."

The meet-and-greet officially began at 8:30.

When Luo Yifeng pushed open the door, there were already more than twenty people sitting in the conference room.

Lead actor, assistant director, cinematographer, art director, martial arts choreographer, costume designer, and script supervisor.

Luo Yifeng glanced around and spoke.

"I'll introduce what needs to be introduced today, and then we'll call it a day. The final assembly will be at 3 PM."

He first introduced Wang Xueqi.

"Teacher Wang needs no introduction, everyone knows him."

The young actors at the table all stood up and greeted Teacher Wang.

Wang Xueqi raised his head, nodded, and didn't say anything.

Then Luo Yifeng pointed to Chen Mo's side.

"This is Chen Mo, who plays Zhu Zhanji."

All eyes turned to them.

Chen Mo stood up.

He didn't say "Hello, teachers" or "Please take good care of me," he just gave a slight bow.

"Chen Mo."

Just those two words.

Then sit down.

After they sat down, several actors at the table had subtle expressions. They were clearly prepared to hear Chen Mo say a long string of polite words, but he only said two words.

Luo Yifeng smiled.

He glanced at Wang Xueqi's side.

Wang Xueqi was still looking down at the script, the red pen in his hand moving slowly across the paper.

But Luo Yifeng saw it.

Wang Xueqi's lips twitched slightly when Chen Mo finished saying those two words.

It's not a laugh.

It's something more subtle.

After the meet-and-greet ended, the actors gradually left.

Chen Mo got up and started packing up the script.

He packed up slowly, waiting for the others to leave first.

This is a habit he developed on set: newcomers should ideally be the last to leave, so as not to steal the spotlight, get in the way, or give the impression that they are in a hurry to talk to someone.

Wang Xueqi was the last to leave the meeting room.

Just as Wang Xueqi reached the door, Chen Mo stood up from his seat.

The two met at the door.

Wang Xueqi glanced at him.

Chen Mo stepped aside to let Wang Xueqi go first.

Wang Xueqi didn't move.

He looked at Chen Mo with the same gaze he used when reading a script, and stared at him for about two seconds.

Then he spoke.

He was referring to the first thing Chen Mo had heard from Wang Xueqi in the past two days.

Your feet are steadyer than your hands.

Chen Mo was stunned for a moment.

Wang Xueqi didn't wait for his reply and turned to leave the meeting room.

Chen Mo stood still.

After about five seconds, he looked down at his feet.

He was wearing a pair of very ordinary black cloth shoes.

He didn't understand what Wang Xueqi meant by that sentence.

He thought for a while.

Then he suddenly understood.

When he came in, Wang Xueqi looked up at him for two seconds, but he wasn't looking at his face.

What I was looking at was how he walked.

From the door to the seat, eleven seconds, seven steps.

Wang Xueqi was observing his stride frequency and foot placement.

An actor's feet are the foundation of their performance. Whether an actor's feet are stable or not indicates whether their body is firmly rooted to the ground when acting.

Actors with floating feet will make everything they do seem floating.

An actor with a steady footing can get into character no matter what role they play.

Chen Mo mentally reviewed the matter.

He smiled.

Then he walked out of the conference room.

It was already past nine in the morning when we left the base.

The sun has risen.

He raised his hand and hailed a taxi.

As the taxi drove away, the security guard at the base entrance looked up and glanced at it.

He worked four hours today.

He had already seen two people enter the base—the old man who arrived at 7:40 and the young man who arrived at 8:00 sharp.

Everyone else either arrived just in time or were late.

The security guard had a simple judgment in his mind.

Those two are definitely going to have a future together.