Huayu 2004: Starting with The Return of the Condor Heroes

For the next nine days, Lin Hao and Huang Shengyi spent almost all their time in that classroom.

They arrive at nine in the morning and leave at eight or nine in the evening.

Apart from meals and rest, the rest of the time was spent practicing.

Li Hao comes to teach for one to two hours every morning, and the rest of the time they practice on their own.

He would occasionally come in for spot checks, and if he saw anything wrong, he would stop and correct it.

After nine days of intensive training, the results were quite noticeable.

Lin Hao's progress can only be described as "terrifying".

His singing style has evolved from the initial "beginner level" to the "proficient" level.

Although there is still a gap between him and professional Huangmei Opera actors, this level is enough to shock anyone in the industry, especially considering that he has only studied for ten days.

His progress in body movements is even more obvious. He has mastered the basics of the four fundamental skills: finger techniques, body movements, footwork, and water sleeves. The fluency and coordination of his movements are getting better day by day.

Although the system's small boost could only provide limited support, it couldn't compensate for his practice of more than ten hours a day.

Quantitative change leads to qualitative change, and by the ninth day, the accumulated effect was already quite considerable.

Huang Shengyi's progress wasn't as dramatic as Lin Hao's, but it was still steadily improving.

Her dance background helped her with her physical training, and the beauty of her movements has always been one of her strengths.

Although her singing style is still lacking, she has at least improved from being "out of tune" to being "basically in tune".

With her skill level, it's not shameful for her to perform on stage.

As for being amazing... don't expect it.

The day before I went on stage, in the evening.

The two completed their final full rehearsal.

Li Hao sat to the side and watched the whole thing, then stood up after a moment of silence.

"Alright, have confessed everything you need to."

He looked at Lin Hao first.

"Xiaolin, just perform normally tomorrow. At your current level, if you can reach this level within ten days, I can't find anything to criticize. Keep your singing steady, don't be tense, and follow the rhythm with the music, and you'll be fine."

Lin Hao nodded.

Then Li Hao turned to Huang Shengyi.

His tone softened slightly, carrying the concern of an elder for a younger person.

"Saint Yi, I have something to say to you, don't take it personally. You haven't been quite right these past few days."

Huang Shengyi was taken aback.

"You were quite lively during practice a few days ago, and you talked a lot. You also had good chemistry with Kobayashi. But lately, why have you been talking less and less? You don't seem to have much energy during practice, and your eyes are always wandering."

Huang Shengyi lowered her head.

She knew, of course, that something was wrong with her.

Ever since that day in the cafeteria, her roommate's words have been churning in her mind.

Lin Hao heard everything clearly: "rich second generation" and "the one you mentioned, Saint Yi".

She wasn't concerned about her roommate's teasing itself, but rather what impression those words would leave on Lin Hao.

Huang Shengyi has a crush on this junior.

It's hard to say what kind of feelings it is, but it definitely goes beyond the scope of "ordinary junior."

He's only seventeen, and he's already acted in a major production directed by Yu Min. Next, he'll audition for the lead role in another production.

So young, so quick to learn, so dedicated to everything he does, and so good-looking.

In a place like the Beijing Film Academy, where handsome men and beautiful women are everywhere, there are very few people who can even catch her eye.

People who can make her care about "how the other person sees her" are extremely rare.

But as soon as her roommate said those things, she started to overthink.

Will Lin Hao think she's the kind of gold digger who gets pursued by rich second-generation heirs? Will his impression of her worsen?

She wanted to explain, but felt that their relationship hadn't reached that point yet.

Explaining too much only makes it seem like you're trying to hide something.

If I don't explain, I feel suffocated.

I struggled with this for several days, which distracted me during practice, and naturally affected my performance.

"Whatever the reason," Li Hao continued, "when you're on stage tomorrow, you have to put all that behind you. The audience won't care what you're thinking; they'll only look at your performance. Don't be afraid, don't get stage fright, just sing as you normally would. Okay?"

Huang Shengyi nodded. "Okay."

"Okay." Li Hao clapped his hands. "Go back and get some rest. See you tomorrow."

After saying that, he packed his things and left.

There were only two people left in the classroom again.

Huang Shengyi stood by the window, watching the sky gradually darken outside, and remained silent for a while.

Lin Hao didn't rush to leave; he sat down in a chair and started organizing his things.

He sensed that Huang Shengyi's emotions were somewhat complicated, but he didn't have the energy to guess what a girl was thinking right now.

Tomorrow is the day he'll be on stage, so he needs to focus all his attention on the performance.

......

the next day.

A black minivan was driving on the road leading to the Capital Theatre.

There were three people in the car: Liang Shengquan, Huang Weiming, and Wang Shaojie.

Liang Shengquan sat in the passenger seat, flipping through a document in his hand.

"I looked into that kid's background." He glanced back at the two people in the back seat. "His name is Lin Hao, he's seventeen years old and still in high school. He hasn't attended any performing arts schools, and he hasn't even taken the entrance exam for arts programs yet."

"Seventeen years old?" Huang Weiming raised an eyebrow. "A high school student?"

"Yes, he played Zhen Zhibing in Yu Min's 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' before, and I heard his performance was good. But that's his only film and television work so far. His resume is almost blank."

"What about Huangmei Opera? Have you studied it?"

"No, he's never been exposed to this before. These ten days are the first time he's ever learned it."

The car was quiet for a few seconds.

Huang Weiming spoke first: "He's never studied Huangmei Opera before, and he dared to perform at the Capital Theatre after only ten days of intensive training? This kid has some nerve."

"Being bold is one thing," Liang Shengquan said. "The key question is, what can you expect from a high school student with no background in traditional opera? I think this performance is unlikely to be very good."

Huang Weiming nodded in agreement: "You're right. Learning a completely new performance style in ten days is bound to be tough. But their focus isn't on the opera performance itself; they're looking at the person's attitude and potential."

Wang Shaojie hadn't said anything until now, when he finally interjected.

"Don't have such high expectations. He's not a professional opera singer. What can you expect from him? Even if the three of us went, we still wouldn't be able to sing well in ten days."

"That's true."

"So today we're mainly looking at two things: first, attitude; second, comprehension. Whether you sing well or not is secondary."

The three chatted all the way to the theater, and the car came to a smooth stop at the side entrance of the Capital Theater.

The opera performance began at 9:30 a.m.