I'm not mentally ill, I'm a master of a thousand faces!

Chapter 471, The Lower Classes

They were actually just a ragtag "suicide squad".

That should be enough to hold them back with our lives—at least, that's what the original script was.

The tragic feeling is highlighted by the blood of the lower classes. They sacrificed themselves for personal reasons and desires, for a principle they might not "understand".

To evoke emotions.

The groundwork laid earlier.

Everything is geared towards this moment.

Everyone was mentally prepared and had this expectation; it seemed that everyone knew what was going to happen next. So far, the plot has been as expected.

However, one must acknowledge the impressive talent of the all-star cast and director.

At least up to this point, Liu Lili couldn't help but feel heartbroken for their fate, just like the feelings she had before—a feeling called pity.

It's pitiful that these ignorant fools are going to lose their lives for a noble goal.

They died for the sublimity they did not understand.

Even in the script, Chen Shaobai angrily rebuked Li Yutang, saying, "You're sending them to their deaths? What do they know? They know nothing! What a miserable death they'll suffer!"

Compared to the bewilderment of these people, the awareness of the assassin group was quite obvious.

Soldiers should die on the frontier; why should they need to be wrapped in horsehide to return home?

You think I'm just a dog of the government, but students aren't.

This debate between Yan Xiaoguo and Chen Shaobai was both unexpected and eye-opening.

Liu Lili was slightly surprised when she saw this scene. This scene alone could raise the rating of "Bodyguards and Assassins" by one point.

Li Yun and Tony Leung Ka-fai's acting skills were equally impressive.

A debate between students and teachers.

Debates based on differing viewpoints.

The fierce and ruthless man was not reckless; he simply found Chen Shaobai's so-called ideals of saving the country utterly ridiculous.

His ideas can't save the country at all. Do you think they can save the country by walking around the streets and shouting slogans? Teacher, you even faint at the sight of blood. You are simply not suited to charge into battle in this cruel world.

Why don't you just stay in the rear and teach and nurture students? That's what you're good at.

Upon closer examination, it makes some sense. A scholar's rebellion would not succeed in ten years. How could someone who is afraid of blood withstand the bloodshed and sacrifices brought about by revolution?

Idealists are the worst; they always ignore reality.

It seems that, at present, Yan Xiaoguo is the pragmatist, while Chen Shaobai is just a scholar who incites students to shed blood while talking about idealism and being impassioned behind the scenes.

Without the pain of civilization, how can there be the happiness of civilization?

You bring me pain, I'll bring you happiness.

Scholars are probably all like this, but in the later character arcs, something different is presented: Chen Shaobai overcame his fear of blood.

He even used his own body to endure the pain, and he broke free of his shackles in an extreme way.

That is to cut off one's own hand.

This scene wasn't censored; it was presented directly. Who says scholars aren't willing to shed blood and tears?

He was willing to do it. He was willing to bleed.

The most interesting part of this scene is the ideological conflict between Chen Shaobai and Yan Xiaoguo.

Why are some people born masters and others born slaves?

Imperial power is divinely ordained; it has always been so.

This is their biggest disagreement and paradox.

Servant, master.

"They both wanted to save the country, but one thought it was rotten to the core and beyond saving, while the other thought that the other was destroying the foundation of the country. I actually think there is some truth to Yan Xiaoguo's argument."

Liu Qianqian watched, pondering her own thoughts.

Acting skills, script.

At first, Liu Qianqian felt that she might not understand the profound meaning behind the story, but after watching the movie and carefully appreciating the dramatic scenes, she began to understand it.

Yan Xiaoguo believed that the land of China was built upon imperial power, and this had been the case for thousands of years. If it lost the foundation upon which it depended for survival, would China still be China? Or would it just be something else in disguise?

They are all trying to save the country in their own ways.

This is the highlight for Yan Xiaoguo and Chen Shaobai.

After considering the plot, Liu Qianqian couldn't help but be impressed by Li Yun's acting skills. He held his own against Tony Leung in their scenes together.

There was no sense of being at a disadvantage at all.

Instead, it blends into nature.

His acting skills are truly Oscar-worthy, Brother Li.

"Such amazing acting skills! Just based on this performance, he could be a contender for a Best Actor nomination." Liu Lili was secretly amazed as she watched; he was truly a prodigy.

In terms of acting skills, he is far superior to his daughter.

Even Liu Lili, who is always arrogant and proud, has to admit defeat here.

At such a young age, he has already reached this level.

There are also elements such as script and characters.

At least Yan Xiaoguo and Chen Shaobai were portrayed quite well. As for the minor characters used to evoke tears, their backstories were quite touching, so that when they sacrificed themselves later, one's heart wouldn't be unmoved.

that's enough.

In this way, these characters have completed their mission.

It was a mission born out of sacrifice from the very beginning.

From the perspective of their roles, they are just tools, props that can elicit tears. The main conflict lies in the ideological struggle between Yan Xiaoguo, Chen Shaobai, and Li Yutang.

Yan Xiaoguo didn't understand Chen Shaobai's revolution. If even this general, who came from a noble family and had received an education, didn't understand it, then it was even less likely that the people at the bottom of society would understand this principle.

That's how the original story was supposed to go.

At this moment, Liu Lili's opinion of Li Yun was also rising.

I also gave Li Yun a score of 7 out of 10.

At least based on its current performance, this movie can be considered a low-budget version of "The Avengers".

This is quite an achievement; being part of a lower-tier Avengers team is no small honor.

In Liu Lili's mind, the Avengers series is one of the pinnacles of commercial cinema. To be considered a low-budget version of the pinnacle of commercial cinema is quite remarkable.

At least by now, she has become interested in watching the movie, at least interested in seeing it to the end.

until

It's pitiful and tragic that the first to be sacrificed when the operation was just beginning were the tomboy actors.

Her overt motive was revenge, to avenge the 36 people in the theater and get revenge for their blood debts. Her motive was the most reasonable.

She did indeed defeat the assassin, the one who killed her father.

Here she has two choices: retire gracefully, for her mission is complete, her goal has been achieved, and there is no need to do anything more.

But right in front of her was a powder keg, on the only road that Sun Yat-sen's troops could take.

She now has two choices.

One option is to retire gracefully after achieving success, while the other is to sacrifice oneself for righteousness and push away the explosives.

Either choice is correct, at least for this character.

For the sake of the plot, she would sacrifice herself like a tool, pushing away the explosive charge.

Her death would bring sadness and make people lament her tragic fate.

But that's all.

To disappear like a tool—that was the ultimate limit of her fate. Was it meant to be?

At this moment, if this actor were thinking of so-called national righteousness, Liu Lili would actually give him a lower score.

That's how it should be.

But this actress's last thoughts before she died.

I really want to wear a skirt too.

I also long to wear a woman's dress, stand on this stage, and become a leading actress, singing as a woman.

Instead of being obsequious, one can only use a man's body to cover up this humility.

The fate of women in this era was probably much the same. If actors were considered the lowest of the low, then female actors were the lowest of the low, utterly despicable.

Although I do not understand what revolution is.

But I really want to

He embraced the barrel of explosives and died a martyr in the flames.

The flames burned her body, the explosion shattered her internal organs, and she was in agony.

But when in pain, they remain silently composed.

Before she died, many fragments of her memory flashed back: her father, the other members of the opera troupe, and finally herself on the stage, realizing that the play was about to come to an end.

Her death shocked everyone present who were unaware of the script.

Whether they were media professionals or celebrities invited to the screening, they all felt a sense of awe and shock.

"Her name is Fang Hong," Li Yuchun said slowly.

Fang Hong.

This person, who was initially thought to be a tool to be sacrificed, was named Fang Hong, a person with flesh and blood.

He ultimately sacrificed himself out of his own will, rather than simply being used as a tool for emotional manipulation and tear-jerking.

She knew exactly why she made that choice.

Fang Hong was the first.

Wang Fuming, a monk from Shaolin Temple, made a living selling stinky tofu after leaving the temple. He initially chose this path to repay Li Chongguang's kindness.

When Li Chongguang distributed rice, he gave Wang Fuming a few extra bags of rice. Although it was Deng Sidi's decision, it made Wang Fuming feel grateful.

He would give his life for this gratitude.

His thinking is very simple.

I have strength.

But why are they still not enough to eat or wear?

The wine and meat at the master's house have all gone bad, much worse than my stinky tofu. But my stinky tofu is edible, while the stinky porridge at the master's house is inedible.

I have no other thoughts.

I was just thinking about it.

I have so much strength.

A world where people can eat and drink to their heart's content.

There must be a reason why it exists.

Deng Sidi, the Li family's coachman.

From the very beginning, he developed a strong curiosity about reading and writing.

However, due to his lowly status, he was not qualified to study.

For young master Li Chongguang, reading and writing seemed to be a right he was born with, but for Deng Sidi, it required gratitude and deep appreciation for the opportunity given to him by his master and young master.

For this kindness, I would gladly sacrifice myself here.

This coachman used his own flesh and blood to block Yan Xiaoguo. He could have lived, but he chose to die to stop him from getting close to Sun Yat-sen, even for just a second.

He risked his life.

Even before he died, his eyes were incredibly deep.

It wasn't for any so-called favor; at least, that's what he was thinking and murmuring when he was about to sacrifice himself.

People like me.

Do I have the qualifications to read and write?

Gamblers, skilled in martial arts, are willing to sell their dignity for money, shamelessly putting on a fawning smile.

They were able to bend down and pick up the reward money that had fallen into the mud.

Thank you for your generous gift, sir.

He could be the most humble, so humble as to be in the dust.

He was willing to lose his wife and daughter in order to gamble, and even married Li Yutang as a concubine.

A gambler.

The most despicable gambler.

Having squandered his family fortune and everything, he finally sought a path to redemption, which was probably to protect his rival in love with his life.

This incident should have been an irony and an insult to him, but when he bravely faced death, he recalled something far more profound than that.

The reason why he, a master of martial arts, chose to die so bravely, and the emotion that surfaced in his memories, was probably his daughter.

Recalling his time in the mansion, he saw his daughter not even having the right to sit at the table during meals. This wasn't because she was the daughter of a concubine; it was probably the case in his era.

In his time, women generally held a low social status, which was taken for granted.

His daughter was born that way.

They held a lowly status in this era.

I heard that after it became a republic...

Are women allowed to sit at the table and eat? Can they read, write, and even become officials?

The gambler thought so.

As I was dying, a revolving lantern flashed before my eyes.

He was thinking.

If this is what the era after success will look like.

So "republic".

It's really a good thing.

His acting was phenomenal.

The emotional impact is explosive.

Chen Kexin never expected that, from the perspective of the screen, her "script" being modified in this way would produce such a chemical reaction.

These characters, who generously sacrifice themselves, were originally intended as low-level pawns to evoke tears. In the eyes of the audience, the biggest role of the preceding plot might just be to provide one tear-jerking moment after another, to stir emotions and evoke empathy.

Let's make a gesture of resonance.

They died like tools.

The scriptwriters are essentially just tools, and screenwriter Chen Kexin understands this deeply. They have no soul; at least in the initial script, they were not given a soul.

Now Chen Kexin understands the significance of these script changes.

He cried.

Their heroic sacrifice was not as a tool. Perhaps, as Chen Shaobai said, they truly did not understand what revolution or republic meant.

All they knew was that there was a group of people.

We want to make this era a better place.

To leave a better world for our descendants.

They were willing to sacrifice their lives for this.

To establish a republic.

These characters were given a soul.

It was given a soul by Li Yun.

(End of this chapter)