I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

He studied Ye Cheng's variety shows and found that he might not lack acting skills, but rather he was unable to perform naturally.

For example, in variety shows, there are sometimes deliberately designed "accidental" scenes. This is a sophisticated technique for creating a celebrity's persona, making the audience believe that the celebrity has such a personality off-camera, thus gaining fans.

In reality, all of this was pre-planned; what you perceived as genuine emotion was actually just a performance.

Ye Cheng, on the other hand, is the kind of actor whose performance is obviously staged.

Simply put, some people give excellent, seamless performances because they can ignore the audience or the camera and be completely immersed in the performance, bringing out the characteristics of the character. Others have mastered strong acting techniques and are able to show the character's personality to the audience or the camera.

The former may be gifted, while the latter is mostly hard-working.

Ye Cheng is the type who lacks both talent and hard work.

Actually, from Lu Ban's observation, Ye Cheng wasn't exactly the kind of academically weak student who slacked off and didn't work hard.

Many people encounter this during their school years: there are classmates who are diligent, hardworking, and meticulous, doing more problems than anyone else and paying more attention in class than anyone else, but they still don't do well on exams.

Ye Cheng is one of them.

"Director Lu, Teacher Lu, I feel like I can't portray fear. Is it because I'm too brave?"

After being taught by Lu Ban for a period of time, Ye Cheng, who had successfully evolved from a photoshopped emoji into an original emoji, suddenly said.

"Are you that brave?"

Lu Ban didn't quite understand what Ye Cheng meant.

"Yes, I've always been a brave person since I was little. I don't believe in any ghosts or spirits, and I can watch horror movies without blinking. Could that be the reason why I can't express fear and terror very well when acting out emotions? According to Stanislavski's theory..."

Just as Ye Cheng was about to launch into a long speech, Lu Ban interrupted him again.

"I think your poor acting skills might not be due to this reason."

Lu Ban said very seriously, but then he thought about it again. Ye Cheng, this rich second-generation, has had a smooth life and may never have encountered any panic or fear. Just like Lu Ban, he doesn't know what it's like to be ugly. His guidance to Ye Cheng may really be out of touch with reality.

Have you read "The Crying"?

Thinking of this, Lu Ban suddenly asked.

"I haven't watched it yet... No, Director Lu, that's not what I meant. I've just been very busy with my program schedule lately, so I haven't had time to watch it..."

Ye Cheng blurted it out, then hurriedly explained.

"Let's take a look together, so you can get a feel for it."

Lu Ban said.

Although "The Crying" has already finished its theatrical run and hasn't been released on video websites yet, Lu Ban himself has the original film. Ye Cheng's villa has a dedicated home theater. The two went in, closed the door, and Lu Ban started playing "The Crying".

More than a hundred minutes later, Lu Ban turned on the light.

He saw Ye Cheng sitting on the sofa, his face pale. His cheerful expression had vanished, and he was gripping the armrest tightly, as if he hadn't come to his senses yet.

"How about it?"

Lu Ban patted him on the shoulder.

"what!"

Ye Cheng was startled by Lu Ban's slap and suddenly jumped up, curling up in the corner, hugging his shoulders, and trembling.

"Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer!"

His lips were bluish-purple, and his eyes were bloodshot; he looked as if he had truly seen a ghost.

"Isn't this a pretty good performance?"

Lu Ban was quite satisfied with Ye Cheng's performance.

Indeed, methodological, experiential, and performance schools of thought are all theoretical knowledge. Only when people truly experience fear can they express the emotion of fear.

After giving Ye Cheng two glasses of water and letting him calm down, Lu Ban spoke again.

"Now recall the passage you just saw and act out a fearful expression."

"……it is good."

Ye Cheng closed his eyes for a moment, recalling the plot of "Crying," and then opened his eyes.

"You...you stay away!"

His expression was slightly ferocious, his eyes widened, and he genuinely looked somewhat fearful.

only……

"That's not enough."

Lu Ban said, resting his chin on his hand.

Ye Cheng now has some basic understanding of how to express fear, but it is limited to the emotion of being afraid.

Moreover, his performance was too amateurish, and his emotional expression was not up to par. Simply put, unless the audience watches him closely for a while like Lu Ban did, they wouldn't be able to tell that he was afraid.

"The character's fear is an important part of a horror movie. If the character's fear is not portrayed realistically, the movie will not scare the audience. So, your performance is not good enough yet."

Lu Ban pondered, if letting Ye Cheng watch horror movies could improve his acting skills to some extent, then if he were to directly experience terrifying scenes, would that greatly improve his acting skills?

After thinking it over, Lu Ban quickly made a decision.

"Hey, I have a special training method here. It might be a bit difficult, but it should quickly improve your acting skills. Would you like to try it?"

"Of course!"

Ye Cheng answered without hesitation.

"Okay, then, you can stay at my place tonight, and I'll make the arrangements for you."

Lu Ban said.

"Spend the night? Director Lu, are you trying to... to sexually harass me?"

Ye Cheng was completely dumbfounded.

"I think if I were to take advantage of you, you would be the one who benefits in the end."

Lu Ban was very serious.

"..."

Ye Cheng remained silent.

"Anyway, just tidy yourself up, and in just one night, I'm sure your acting skills will improve dramatically, maybe even win you an Oscar."

Lu Ban patted Ye Cheng on the shoulder.

In the evening, Ye Cheng arrived at his apartment complex, following the address given to him by Lu Ban.

Lu Ban strolled around the entrance of the residential area, waiting for Ye Cheng.

"Let's go, let's have a good meal first, so we don't miss out on food later."

Lu Ban casually pointed to a restaurant.

"?"

Ye Cheng didn't understand Lu Ban's meaning.

He wouldn't normally go to these roadside stalls; they're unhygienic and the food isn't necessarily good. But since Lu Ban insisted, he didn't put on airs and ate with Lu Ban.

After they had eaten enough, Lu Ban took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Ye Cheng.

"Please sign this first."

Ye Cheng unfolded the paper and found it was a personal accident notification form, which is usually signed for sports or projects where there may be dangers, informing the person that accidents or incidents may occur.

"Director Lu, is this necessary?"

Ye Cheng smiled, but seeing Lu Ban's serious expression, he still carefully looked at the notification and signed his name.

He felt that this might be Lu Ban's way of laying the groundwork for future teaching. Some variety shows also have similar operations to increase the guests' sense of immersion. As for Ye Cheng himself, it felt quite real.

Then, Lu Ban took out another piece of paper.

"Let's write our will while there's a table here. Nothing else, just in case."

"???"

Ye Cheng was completely baffled.

Chapter 236 You're awake? The training was a success.

"Director Lu, is this really necessary?"

Ye Cheng looked at the "last will and testament" that Lu Ban had given him, feeling somewhat confused.

If it's for the sake of the show, Lu Ban doesn't seem to be joking. But if it's for real, Lu Ban wouldn't put himself in danger, would he?

Surely... no way?

After writing a simple will, Ye Cheng handed it to Lu Ban.

"Don't worry, this is just insurance; it's not usually needed."

Lu Ban comforted her.

"What constitutes an abnormal situation?"

Ye Cheng couldn't help but be curious.

"If something is not normal, then it is not normal."

Lu Ban answered seriously.

"I see... Wait, didn't they say nothing at all?"

Ye Cheng was completely confused.

"Here's the thing, I'm going to create some scary atmosphere for you so that you can experience the fear firsthand and achieve the best possible character portrayal."

Lu Ban put away the suicide note and explained.

How can you put yourself in that shoes?

Ye Cheng was puzzled.

"Is it going to be another horror movie? I feel that apart from your movies, Director Lu, other horror movies are all lacking something and don't scare people at all."