Chapter 10

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Fang Jianyuan’s family had a small three-story building. The family lived on the second floor, and the third floor was vacant for rent, and the first floor functioned as a store. His dad worked all year round and could only go home during Chinese New Year. In the summer vacation of his freshman year at university, only Fang Jianyuan and his mother were home.

At that time, as summer vacation began, the weather was already hot and stuffy. In the afternoon, his mother went to play mahjong at the mahjong hall next door while Fang Jianyuan tended to the small grocery store alone.

There was a floor fan in the corner, the head swivelling side-to-side, creaking with every turn, and yet the wind couldn’t dispel the heat.

That was when Yu Haiyang appeared in front of Fang Jianyuan for the first time.

Xia Xingcheng sat behind the counter, tidied up the table, spread open the store’s accounts book and pressed on it.

Yang Youming stood by and let the makeup artist fix his makeup. His assistant was a woman in her thirties named Li Yun, who had been working with him for many years. She was currently standing next to him while joking with him.

Xia Xingcheng didn’t deliberately stare at Yang Youming, but in his peripheral vision, he noticed that Yang Youming’s posture was very relaxed. He was probably the only one who felt nervous before the shoot.

Yesterday’s shoot had gone very smoothly, yet it didn’t bring him any relief he expected it would. On the contrary, it made him feel even more pressured. He was afraid that he couldn’t match Yang Youming’s acting, and he was also afraid that He Zheng wouldn’t be satisfied with his performance

Additionally, when he saw Yang Youming now, he felt an unspeakable tension.

He Zheng called out to everyone to get ready to officially begin shooting.

Xia Xingcheng was already looking down at the book until He Zheng’s voice rang out.

“Action!”

The set immediately quieted down, and the sound of the broken prop fan was all the more clear.

Xia Xingcheng, who was looking down at the book, did not hear the footsteps, but felt a shadow cast on the book in front of him, blocking the outside light.

He looked up and saw Yang Youming standing in front of him.

“Do you want to buy anything?” Xia Xingcheng subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva before asking.

Yang Youming put his hand on the counter. He glanced at the shelf behind Xia Xingcheng and said, “Get me a pack of cigarettes.”

Xia Xingcheng hurriedly stood up.

At the same time, He Zheng also called cut.

“You’re too stiff,” He Zheng said to Xia Xingcheng. “He’s currently just an ordinary guest. What are you so nervous about?”

Xia Xingcheng nodded. He took several deep breaths and moved his neck and wrists to show that he was ready to restart the scene.

He relaxed his posture a little.

Yang Youming came in and said, “Get me a pack of cigarettes.”

Xia Xingcheng let out a gentle ‘Mm’, then stood up and turned to the shelf to reach for the cigarettes.

At this time, Yang Youming walked straight past the counter and looked into the small grocery store.

Xia Xingchen’s hand had not yet touched the cigarettes when he looked back, “What kind of cigarettes do you want?”

Yang Youming stopped and asked him, “Do you have room for rent?”

A small advertisement for rent was posted at the door of the grocery store.

Xia Xingcheng said, “Wait a moment.” He went to the door and shouted to the mahjong parlor next door, “Mom!”

When the shoot halted He Zheng reviewed the monitor once and said, “One more time, relax.”

It didn’t go so well.

During yesterday’s passionate scene, Xia Xingcheng was completely led by Yang Youming. When it came to the first scene today, He Zheng still wasn’t satisfied after repeating it several times.

“Right now, you’re acting, but you’re showing too many traces that what you’re doing is acting,” He Zheng said.

He Zheng was an uncompromising person, and he was so demanding that he didn’t mind repeating a scene over and over again, insisting on achieving a final result that would satisfy him.

In this state, Xia Xingcheng was at a loss and only grew more and more uncomfortable.

Yang Youming offered: “Let’s take five.”

He Zheng nodded.

Xia Xingcheng went back to his little recliner and sat down, taking a paper towel and wiping his sweat. After the makeup artist fixed his makeup, he grabbed a small fan and directed it onto his face while reading the script spread out over his leg. What he wanted was to be told how to act, such as the tone of each line and the rhythm of each action, but he was only told to start all over again.

For him, currently, having too much freedom binded his hands and feet. He didn’t dare act freely, because it seemed that no matter how he acts, the director wasn’t satisfied.

However, He Zheng was not the minor directors he worked with in the past, but a major director he was unable to refute at present.

Xia Xingcheng read the contents of the script that was scheduled for today’s filming.

Suddenly, someone crouched in front of him and handed him a bottle of ice water. Xia Xingcheng looked up and found that the man was Yang Youming. His heart jumped and he wanted to stand up immediately.

Yang Youming reached out and pressed a hand on his knee to stop him from getting up, and said, “I told Li Yun to buy it. Have a drink.” With that, he unscrewed the lid of the bottle before passing the water to Xia Xingcheng.

Xia Xingcheng didn’t drink it. He said, “Ming Ge, please sit down first.”

Yang Youming still crouched in front of him, looking up at him slightly as he spoke, “Is it me who’s making you nervous, or is there something else that’s making you nervous?”

Xia Xingcheng was stunned, and he said, “I’m sorry.” Because he was dragging Yang Youming down.

Yang Youming smiled, and his eyes curved with a faint tenderness that words couldn’t express, he said, “I’m Yu Haiyang, you’re Fang Jianyuan, if someone needs to apologize, it’s me to you, not you to me.”

Xia Xingcheng looked at him in a daze.

Yang Youming said: “You’re not Xia Xingcheng playing Fang Jianyuan. You’re Fang Jianyuan, a freshman. How would you react when you meet a strange man coming to buy something, and how would you react when you hear him say he wants to rent a room?”

Xia Xingcheng pursed his lips. “Ming ge, if it were you, what would you do?”

Yang Youming said to him, “If I told you, it would be my take on Fang Jianyuan, not yours.”

Xia Xingcheng held the cold bottle of mineral water with both hands.

Yang Yuming continued, “What do you pay attention to when you act? Where the camera is aimed? Will the fan’s noise affect the sound of the lines? Whether you look good in close-up shots? Is the director satisfied?”

Xia Xingcheng didn’t answer.

Yang Youming said, “You can just look at me. Those things are none of your concern. It’s not your responsibility to worry about whether things will go wrong, it’s his responsibility. There’s only the two of us in this scene, so just look at me. Fang Jianyuan saw Yu Haiyang for the first time. What should you think and say? Put yourself in Fang Jianyuan’s shoes and think again.”

Xia Xingcheng stared at Yang Youming without blinking.

Yang Youming stood up and slightly bent down to pat the top of Xia Xingcheng’s head. “Fang Jianyuan won’t be so nervous when an unfamiliar man comes shopping. He won’t be vigilant until that man starts looking around. It’s only when you hear him asking about a room for rent that you relax again. Think for yourself.”

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⟵ Chapter 9 | TOC | Chapter 11 ⟶

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