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

After resting for two days.

The voice-over announcement for "Mountains and Rivers Under the Bright Moon" has arrived.

The notification was given by Shen Yu.

"At 10 a.m. the day after tomorrow, Director Luo will be at the recording studio in Yanjing. He will mainly be recording the outdoor scenes of the young Zhu Zhanji. There is a problem with the sound recording; there is too much background noise, so we need to re-record."

After reading it, Chen Mo replied with "Received".

The entire soundtrack of "The Legend of Ming Dynasty" was recorded using the original audio. Luo Yifeng was very particular about this point. He disliked post-production dubbing, feeling that the sense of breath and emotional continuity on set could never be replicated in a dubbing studio.

However, the outdoor scenes featuring the young Zhu Zhanji were unavoidable. The filming location was a wild grassland in Zhangjiakou, where the wind was strong and the recording equipment couldn't handle it. The dialogue recorded was filled with the sound of howling wind and the neighing of horses in the distance. The noise reduction in post-production was also ineffective, so the recording had to be redone.

Chen Mo mentally reviewed the content of those scenes.

As a young boy, Zhu Zhanji followed Zhu Di on his northern expedition, witnessing the cruelty of the battlefield for the first time and facing death directly for the first time. He transformed from a protected grandson of the emperor into a young man who began to ponder the weight of the word "world".

He was very immersed in those scenes, and the emotions came from his body. Now he has to find that state again in the recording studio, say the same words into the microphone, and match the lip movements and expressions on screen perfectly. This is a technical job.

We need to go to Yanjing as soon as possible to prepare.

But before he left, he wanted to visit the set of "Kung Fu Jungle".

The next afternoon, Chen Mo arrived at the film set.

He didn't disturb anyone, standing quietly in the corner by the entrance of the martial arts school, leaning against a pillar.

Wang Bao is in front of the camera.

He was wearing a gray, short-sleeved jacket with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing his strong forearms and bulging veins. His hair was longer than it had been a few days ago, combed back, and his forehead was fully exposed.

He was completely different from the buzz-cut man he first saw on the street.

It's not just a change in appearance, it's a change in temperament.

"Listen to your opponent first, let their words go through your mind, and your reaction will naturally follow."

He got into it.

A smile appeared on Chen Mo's lips.

"Pass."

Zhao Hengshan's voice came from behind the monitor: "One take."

Wang Bao stood up and stretched his legs, which had gone numb from squatting, and a relaxed smile appeared on his face.

The stage manager next to him came over with his notebook to confirm the standing positions for the next scene. Wang Bao listened attentively, nodding from time to time. He even asked again if he didn't understand one of the positions.

The lighting technician was adjusting the lights and struggling to move the light stand. Wang Bao saw this and ran over to lend a hand. Together, they moved the light stand to its position. The lighting technician patted him on the shoulder and said, "Thanks, bro." Wang Bao chuckled and ran back to wait for the next take.

Chen Mo saw all of this.

It's blended in.

He didn't linger any longer and turned to find Xu Zhinian.

Xu Zhinian was squatting next to the monitor, eating an apple. When he saw Chen Mo coming over, he stood up.

"You came without even saying a word."

"Just a quick visit, I'm going to Yanjing for dubbing tomorrow."

"From 'The Moon Over Mountains and Rivers'?"

"Yes, there are problems with the sound recording for the outdoor scenes featuring the young Zhu Zhanji; we need to re-record them."

Xu Zhinian nodded.

"How's Wang Bao doing lately?" Chen Mo asked.

"It's better than I expected."

Xu Zhinian took a bite of apple and mumbled something.

"Don't worry about the action scenes. Director Zhao and Lao Zheng both said that the quality of the action sequences is top-notch for a film of this budget."

"His acting is still lacking, but only to a limited extent. He's improving very quickly, and you can see changes every day. Most importantly, he has a good attitude. If he does a NG, he just does it again. He's never in a hurry. I've never seen a newcomer with such a stable attitude."

"Okay, I'm leaving. Keep an eye on him. He has an old knee injury, so remind Director Zhao to control the intensity of his legwork."

"I know, I know, you worry more than his mother."

Chen Mo chuckled, bumped fists with Xu Zhinian, and turned to leave.

When he left, Wang Bao was filming the next scene and didn't see him come or go.

Chen Mo thought this was just right.

After finishing the last session in the afternoon, Wang Bao sat on the steps at the entrance of the martial arts school and drank water.

Zhao Hengshan walked over and sat down next to him.

Wang Bao quickly shifted his position to make room for him.

"Director Zhao."

Zhao Hengshan took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, took a puff, and exhaled a wisp of white smoke.

"Wang Bao, I have a question for you."

"Please ask."

"What's your relationship with Chen Mo?"

Wang Bao blinked and thought for a moment.

"It's nothing, we just know each other. He bumped into me on the street and asked if I knew martial arts. I said yes, so he brought me here."

Zhao Hengshan glanced at him.

"That's it? Not relatives? Not from the same hometown? We didn't know each other before?"

"No, we didn't know each other before. That day was the first time we met."

Zhao Hengshan took another drag of his cigarette and remained silent for a few seconds.

"Then why would he help you? Is there some kind of vested interest between you?"

"No, there was no conflict of interest. He just saw that I had martial arts experience and said there was a role that would suit me, so he helped me out."

As Wang Bao spoke, he scratched his head, a genuine look of confusion on his face.

"Director Zhao, is Chen Mo very famous?"

This time, it was Zhao Hengshan's turn to be stunned.

His hand holding the cigarette froze in mid-air. He turned to look at Wang Bao's dark, bewildered face, confirming that the kid wasn't joking with him.

"You don't know who he is?"

"Who is he? I think he looks like a teacher, or at least a high-level extra or supporting character."

"A high-ranking extra? A supporting actor?"

Zhao Hengshan nearly choked on his smoke, coughed twice, and paused before speaking.

"Do you know Xiang Yu who went viral online a while ago? He played the role!"

"On the day Xiang Yu aired, his name was among the top three trending topics, making him the best character of the year across the entire internet."

"You know the movie 'Silent Snow,' which was a huge box office hit a while ago? It has a 9.2 rating on Douban and grossed over 400 million yuan. The box office record for art films remains unbroken. He won the Best Newcomer Award at this year's Huabiao Awards and was also nominated for Best Actor. He's 23 years old and has been in the industry for five years. Now, when producers and directors in the industry mention male actors under the age of 30, Chen Mo is the first name that comes to mind."

"Damn, if he's just an extra, then all the extras in the world will be rich!"

Zhao Hengshan finished speaking in one breath and looked at Wang Bao.

Wang Bao's mouth was open, and he couldn't close it for a long time.

He sat blankly on the steps, the water bottle in his hand almost slipping off, his eyes wide open, his mind buzzing for several seconds.

"He...he's that good?"

"You call a Huabiao Award winner 'a pretty good actor'?"

Wang Bao's face flushed red instantly.

He recalled their first meeting. Chen Mo was wearing an ordinary T-shirt when he stopped him on the street. He spoke slowly and without any airs. He asked him to box, took him to eat Sichuan food, and spent two days teaching him acting. Throughout the whole process, he was like a warm-hearted older brother, as ordinary as could be.

He even ordered only one dish of shredded pork with garlic sauce and one dish of shredded potatoes at a Sichuan restaurant.

In front of a Huabiao Award winner, he complained that the food was too expensive and only dared to order the two cheapest dishes.

"I...I even made him treat me to dinner..." Wang Bao's voice trailed off, his face turning red to the roots of his neck.

Zhao Hengshan stubbed out his cigarette and threw it into the nearby trash can.

"He helped you without any conditions? He didn't make you sign anything? He didn't say how you should repay him in the future?"

"no."

Wang Bao shook his head, shaking it very forcefully.

"He had nothing. I asked him what he was going to give me in return, and he only said one sentence."

"What did you say?"

He said that if he played Feng Yuxiu well, he would have made amends.

After hearing this, Zhao Hengshan remained silent for a long time.

He has been in this industry for over twenty years and has seen far too many so-called "mentors" and "helpers." There are no free lunches in this circle; every act of kindness comes with conditions, a binding of interests, an exchange of favors, and a swap of resources. He has almost never seen anyone help a complete stranger cleanly and honestly.

A Huabiao Award winner and a rising star actor met a struggling actor on the street. Just because he saw the actor perform a set of punches, he took him into the film crew, spent two days teaching him acting, and then turned around and left without leaving anything behind or asking for anything.

Zhao Hengshan thought back to when he was twenty years old.

He worked his way up on set, bearing his injuries on his own, with no one to teach or guide him; every step he took was a result of his own struggles.

If someone had helped him like that back then, he might not have had to walk such a long road, and he might not have suffered so many injuries.

"Wang Bao." Zhao Hengshan stood up and dusted off his pants.

"Why."

"You've met a good person. In this line of work, people like you are rarer than your Shaolin kung fu."

After Zhao Hengshan finished speaking, he turned and left.

Wang Bao sat alone on the steps, holding a water bottle, lost in thought for a long time.

The setting sun shone down from the eaves of the martial arts school, casting his long, crooked shadow on the ground.

He took out his phone, scrolled to Chen Mo's WeChat, and opened the chat window.

I typed a line, then deleted it.

I typed another line, then deleted it.

Finally, I typed four words and sent them out.

"Thank you, Brother Mo."

Chen Mo replied quickly.

"Whether it's cheesy or not, just act well, and you'll treat me to dinner when you make money!"

Wang Bao gripped his phone, sniffed, and looked up at the sky over Hengdian.

The clouds on the horizon were burned orange-red by the setting sun, layer upon layer, like the evening sky behind the Shaolin Temple.

When he was at Shaolin Temple, he would sit and look at the sky every day after finishing his training.

Back then, when I looked at the sky, I was thinking about when I could go home.

Now he's thinking about when he'll be able to become a star.