msmithbooks Chapter 23: Auditing Classes at Beijing Film Academy!
Chapter 23: Auditing Classes at Beijing Film Academy!
"Sister Xiaotong?"
The hotel was exceptionally quiet in the early morning.
Xu Lang's arm was a little numb. He opened his sleepy eyes and saw that the sweet girl Mao Xiaotong was curled up in his arms, sleeping soundly.
Looking closely at her slightly chubby cheeks and long eyelashes, she was incredibly cute.
How could he not understand Mao Xiaotong's constant hints these past few days?
It's not that Mao Xiaotong isn't good enough, but that he himself doesn't dare to accept the challenge.
The entertainment industry is a big melting pot.
He returned with memories and ambitions from his past life, believing he would find it difficult to remain faithful and fearing he would betray her.
He really wasn't ready for such a cute and sweet girl.
Lifting the blanket, I saw that both of their clothes were intact, and I couldn't recall the scene of their "fight" last night.
I breathed a slight sigh of relief.
It should just be a simple nap.
Carefully pull your arm out—
"Don't move!"
I finally woke up!
Mao Xiaotong didn't open her eyes, but grabbed Xu Lang's arm that was about to pull away with both hands, and pressed her head down slightly.
"I haven't slept this comfortably in a long time, stay with me and sleep a little longer."
She still hadn't opened her eyes, speaking sleepily.
Xu Lang smiled wryly, trying hard to recall everything that happened last night; it was she who served him to sleep.
"Sister Xiaotong, I was drunk last night, I didn't do anything to you, did I?"
He tried to ease the awkwardness with a teasing tone, a forced smile on his face.
"Of course not." She immediately denied it, opening her eyes and staring at him with bright, sparkling eyes:
"Even if something happens, it'll be me doing it to you."
The two lay on their sides, facing each other, with only ten centimeters between their noses, almost able to feel each other's warm breath.
An ambiguous atmosphere is spreading!
Xu Lang smiled, and the atmosphere eased a bit:
"Sister Xiaotong, that's not necessarily true. After all, we're much bigger than you. When we slaughter pigs for Chinese New Year, I can easily hold down those hundreds of pounds of pigs. You, on the other hand, are less than a hundred pounds..."
"Go to hell, you're the pig!" Mao Xiaotong pouted, threw off the covers, got out of bed, and glared at him.
"See? He's dressed perfectly, just taking a nap. Don't overthink it!"
Xu Lang also got up, got out of bed, put on his shoes, and turned to walk towards the bathroom:
"Sister Xiaotong, thank you for taking care of me last night. Yelü Qi has finished filming, but our friendship will never end. Feel free to call me anytime if you need anything."
I entered the bathroom and began washing up.
Friendship
Mao Xiaotong muttered those two words to herself, feeling a little down, as she listened to the sound of water coming from the bathroom.
Can't you just confess your feelings to me?
I took care of you all night and even slept with you. Wasn't that an ambiguous atmosphere? Wasn't the implication obvious enough?
Am I just imagining things?
My mind was racing, filled with all sorts of possibilities, when suddenly my phone rang.
I glanced at it and saw that it was Zhang Xinyu calling.
Let's invite her to the film set together!
"Xu Lang!" She arrived at the bathroom door, looked at Xu Lang with foam all over his mouth, and said:
"I have to go to work first. Even though you've finished filming, we're still friends. You're not allowed to ignore my calls anymore. If I ask you out, you have to come if you're not busy, understand?"
Xu Lang turned to look at her and nodded solemnly.
She hesitated for a moment, then spoke again:
"If you... if you start dating someone, you must tell me... I won't bother you."
After saying that, she left quickly without waiting for Xu Lang's response.
Xu Lang shook his head with a wry smile.
This silly girl, she's still on the shore, yet she's already fallen for him.
After he finished washing up, he went straight to Yang Chaoyue's dormitory building to pick her up.
Then the two headed to the airport.
Xu Lang originally planned to take her to a short-term performance workshop near Hengdian to attend a class.
Then I thought about it and decided that I should let her experience a real acting course, so I flew her straight to Beijing.
She was very excited throughout the trip, saying it was her first time in Beijing and she was curious about everything she saw.
Xu Lang patiently answered all her questions and exclamations, which made her admire him even more.
Xu Lang was quite adept at auditing classes at the Beijing Film Academy; he and Bai Lu often did this in their previous life.
When the two arrived at Beijing Film Academy, it was already past ten o'clock.
Looking at the energetic students in front of me, full of youthful vitality, their faces radiant with the unblemished marks of time, clear and clean.
Xu Lang didn't immediately take her to a class to audit. Instead, he led her along the school's paths to observe their surroundings.
Under the sycamore trees, groups of students gathered to read the script; at the corner of the Red Building, someone was practicing camera movements with a Steadicam; and even in the small theaters along the way, the explosive sounds of lines from "Thunderstorm" could be heard.
Yang Chaoyue was like a mouse that had fallen into a rice jar, rubbing against this side and listening to that side.
She tugged at Xu Lang's sleeve every now and then: "Brother Lang, what are these 'three elements of action' they're talking about?"
"What kind of machine is that black box?"
At fifteen, she was full of curiosity about the world. Xu Lang simply accompanied her, following behind her without disturbing her.
It's like taking care of a little sister!
Time flies!
The two had a simple lunch in the cafeteria.
For the afternoon class, Xu Lang chose "Character Analysis and Shaping" for the undergraduate acting class.
The two of them crouched down and slipped into the back of the classroom.
Xu Lang glanced around and saw a bright-eyed girl sitting in the front row by the window, taking notes.
Mencius's Art.
The "most beautiful candidate" of the 2013 class of Beijing Film Academy was signed by a talent agency before she even enrolled. She is a typical "talented player".
In her previous life, she rose to prominence with her role as Wen Qing in "The Untamed," but later she frequently made headlines due to controversies surrounding her acting skills—her talent was both her strength and her weakness.
The classroom fell silent the moment the teacher arrived.
The teacher was an elderly professor with gray hair, highly respected in the field. He didn't say anything superfluous and went straight to the point.
Yang Chaoyue listened attentively at first out of curiosity, but after more than twenty minutes, she began to doze off.
Xu Lang gave a helpless, bitter smile.
She wasn't academically inclined; I just wanted to bring her here to experience the atmosphere of the film academy.
On stage, the old professor had just finished analyzing a case:
"So, why do we say that acting skills and audience appeal are sometimes two separate things? In today's market, how can an actor balance artistic pursuits and commercial positioning?"
His sharp gaze swept across the students below the stage, then suddenly stopped on Xu Lang:
"You, boy in the back row, yes, you!"
Xu Lang felt his gaze fixed on him as he pointed at himself in disbelief.
This scene never occurred in the previous life.
He stood up, startling Yang Chaoyue, who was dozing off next to him. Did he have to answer questions just to audit the class?
She broke out in a cold sweat. If she were called on, she definitely wouldn't be able to answer, and that would be incredibly embarrassing.
"Not bad looking!" the old professor said, looking him up and down.
"Come on, tell me your thoughts. For example, if you were to play a character with an unlikable personality, or even a scumbag, how would you portray him?"
All eyes in the classroom turned to the back, fixing on the handsome but somewhat unfamiliar boy.
The students in the performing arts department could tell at a glance that he was there to audit a class, as students who audit classes usually have poor basic skills.
Some people were worried for him, some were waiting to see him make a fool of himself, but Yang Chaoyue, who was standing next to him, looked worried.
This problem seems simple, but it is actually one of the core challenges in performance theory.