Generation Z Artists

Chapter 300 The World Reflected in My Heart
"Good directors are all devils..."

Amidst this beautiful scene, Steven Soderbergh instinctively straightened his posture and crossed his arms over his chest.

Sure enough, the warmth was short-lived, followed by another abyss.

The crazed Wei Lai was no longer satisfied with slapping Chen Nian's beautiful face; instead, she cut off her beautiful hair while slapping her.

Liu Yifei's character Chen Nian is different from Little Yellow Duck; her everyday look isn't a bob cut, but rather long hair that almost reaches her waist.

She usually wears her hair in a high ponytail, with a few wispy strands left out in the front and on the sides.

Occasionally, she would use a hair clip to pin her long hair back, revealing her entire face and forehead.

The former is innocent and well-behaved, while the latter is like a little princess with a glamorous air.

But in this scene, her once beautiful hair was cruelly cut off.

This means an ultimate collapse.

To prepare for the scene, Fang Xinghe took Liu Yifei to the water torture platform.

Therefore, the nuance she couldn't portray before, when it was finally revealed, was like a sharp knife, deeply piercing the hearts of the audience.

"No...get away!"

At first, it was a fierce fight, but the physically weak Chen Nian was quickly pinned down by the fat girl and the glasses.

With her hands tightly gripping the scissors, Wei Lai's eyes gleamed with intense excitement and triumph. She breathed heavily and chuckled like a true pervert.

"I'll teach you to be so slutty! Let's see how you seduce men now!"

Chen Nian kicked her legs in vain, very fiercely, but as the first strand of long hair was cut off, her pupils dilated to the extreme, her neck arched back to the extreme, and she squeezed out a hissing breath from the deepest part of her throat.

The fat girl and the glasses were shaken by her near-death struggle and gradually began to sway uncontrollably.

However, as Wei Lai threw that long hair at Chen Nian's face, Chen Nian's body froze completely.

The stiffness is the second part of this performance.

Chen Nian's expression was initially one of disbelief and incredulity, then her body went limp and she collapsed completely, her expression turning into extreme sorrow.

Large tears welled up in her wide eyes and streamed down her cheeks like a tap that had been turned on.

But instead of bursting into tears, she whimpered very briefly, as if something was stuck in her throat—a breath stuck just above her chest and directly below her throat.

As more and more of her long hair was haphazardly cut off, her body convulsed more and more violently.

It's a natural reaction of suppressing intense emotions, unable to cry out loud.

In other words, the body's convulsions are not caused by control, but by controlling the air in the chest cavity, blocking it and causing sobbing, which in turn induces the limbs to convulse naturally.

This is already a master-level performance.

But the key feature is Chen Nian's eyes, which are mostly visible through her wispy hair.

Close-up shots are used to advance the video.

Chen Nian let the stubble prick her eyelids, her eyes twitching naturally, but her gaze was unfocused, empty like a black hole.

Bloodshot whites of the eyes, dilated pupils, and constricted corners of the eyes together form a walking corpse in the throes of utter collapse.

"Oh my God!"

Similar cries echoed throughout the hall.

The limited language of Westerners left them at a loss for words, only able to utter "Jesus" and "Oh my god" repeatedly.

Meg Ryan sniffed as she heard a pitying sob behind her.

She fought back her grief and wrote in her notebook—

"This performance was so real, so nuanced, and so moving. Logically speaking, it would be difficult for someone her age to deliver such a layered performance. I don't know how that girl did it, but without a doubt, she is a gem in the performing arts! The greatest discovery of this year's Cannes Film Festival!"

Jiang Wen was also taken aback.

"Holy crap! Where the hell did they find this actor? Amazing! He portrayed the breakdown and despair so realistically, yet without sounding hysterical; he remained restrained. That's fucking amazing!"

Yes, its most impressive feature is its restraint.

When normal people are in despair, it's not impossible for them to cry loudly and become hysterical; in reality, all sorts of things happen.

However, in movies, if the performance is too unrestrained, it will appear noisy, chaotic, pretentious, and crazy, thus diverting the audience's emotional impact.

It is precisely this deeper, more restrained despair that Liu Yifei portrays, ultimately leading to a deathly silence, that allows the audience to empathize most deeply and remember her vividly.

Ordinary viewers don't know how good Liu Yifei's performance was; they just empathize with her, wiping away tears and muttering, "So pitiful."

Some people also criticized Wei Lai for being too despicable—the mistress was not at all lacking in this regard, and contributed results that exceeded expectations.

Therefore, Chairman Patrice Sherlow found Fang Xinghe more incredible.

"Unbelievable! SR's eye for talent is amazing. There are so many talented actors in China..."

If Fang Xinghe heard this evaluation, he would probably laugh himself silly.

Geniuses? The two of them?
They stacked together don't even equal a small rubber duck!

But the truth is, the film was presented exceptionally well; the two of them together delivered a spectacular performance that is etched into the hearts of the audience.

The value of a master of heretical arts is at its peak at this moment.

……

Chen Nian staggered back to Zhang Xiaobei's courtyard like a walking corpse.

It's time for another repair.

Zhang Xiaobei tried clumsily to cheer her up, but to little avail.

But sincerity eventually brings comfort. He found a pair of scissors, silently looked in the mirror, and cut off his half-length hair.

"I'll accompany you."

Simple language, yet more moving than any love words.

Chen Nian slowly raised her head, and a glimmer of tears gradually appeared in her empty, lifeless eyes.

In the small room, the young boy and girl, like a pair of small, lonely geese separated from their flock, huddled together.

They trimmed each other's hair, clumsily trying to make the hairstyles neat and pleasing to the eye.

A warm atmosphere filled the air, and the audience held their breath, letting tears well up in their eyes.

Finally, the highlight of the entire story arrives—

Zhang Xiaobei accidentally shaved a hole in the sides of his buzz cut, and no matter how he tried to fix it, there was still a bald patch.

Chen Nian, disapproving of the sight, snatched the razor and said, "I'll do it."

As if guided by some unseen force, she followed the mark and scraped a "Z" shape on the side of Zhang Xiaobei's head. The letter was crooked and twisted, like a bolt of lightning.

But Xiao Bei was overjoyed, as if she had found a treasure, and kept praising herself in the mirror: "So handsome! You're awesome! How did you think of that? It's so cool!"

Chen Nian pursed her lips and smiled, her eyes curving like crescent moons.

Xiao Bei grinned back, giving her a goofy smile. Their eyes met, sparking a glimmer of hope for the future...

The next morning, while Xiao Bei was washing her face, she suddenly stopped and looked at herself in the mirror from left to right.

Chen Nian, who was packing her schoolbag, felt a sudden tightness in her chest and her eyes became uneasy.

As a result, Xiao Bei took the opportunity to wash his hair, happily muttering to himself, "It's so convenient and makes me look handsome. Now I'm the coolest guy on the whole street!"

Watching Xiao Bei lather up her hair with soap, Chen Nian couldn't help but smile, her eyes brimming with joy.

……

The audience sighed deeply amidst this unique and beautiful scene, feeling as if all the pent-up emotions in their hearts had been instantly released.

However, the dog director didn't give them any room to relax at all.

The plot quickly moves on to the next segment—

During the day, Xiao Bei found an opportunity to climb over the wall into the school and cornered Wei Lai and her two companions in the smoking area.

He was very restrained and did not take any action; he only warned them.

"I just want to protect Chen Nian so she can finish her college entrance exam. After that, you go your way and we'll go our own way. We'll never see each other again."

I, Zhang Xiaobei, am a worthless person, but I'm capable of anything when I'm in a rage. You all have a long and promising future ahead of you, so don't force me to completely break off all ties.

If you understand, go back and study hard. There are only a few days left. Just get through it smoothly; it's better for everyone.

Zhang Xiaobei thought his approach was the most correct, but he simply didn't understand the little girl.

If the target is an adult, then this subtle threat will definitely be effective.

But Wei Lai was just a little girl blinded by jealousy. She believed that only she deserved Zhang Xiaobei's level of love, and she was also angry about this kind of love.

She was so jealous of Chen Nian that she was going crazy.

So, with Fatty and Glasses already backing down, Wei Lai went to find Chen Nian alone.

Because of Zhang Xiaobei's previous education and influence, Chen Nian understood the importance of resistance, which led to her outburst.

The original version handled this part somewhat abruptly and hastily, but in Fang's version of "Young You", Chen Nian had an argument with Zhang Xiaobei because of his desperate knife swing. Zhang Xiaobei's words brought about a subtle psychological change in her.

"If you don't teach these bullies who pick on the weak and fear the strong a lesson they won't learn, they'll keep bothering you. How much time will you waste on them? I only have one head and two hands, how many times can I protect you?!"

That night, Chen Nian tossed and turned, planting a seed of resistance in her heart.

Now that Wei Lai has appeared alone, without any help, the seed has finally sprouted.

However, her first act of resistance was so intense that it led to extremely dire consequences.

Wei Lai was accidentally pushed down the stairs and died on the spot.

The plot twists and turns are smooth, but Chen Nian's fate is once again pushed to the brink of despair.

Next, Zhang Xiaobei naturally accepted all of this.

“You and I are different. You still have hope, but for me, my only hope is you.”

Like a weed, Zhang Xiaobei resolutely decided to take the blame for Chen Nian.

He busily staged the scene, and Chen Nian was manipulated by him like a puppet.

This part of the plot leaves the audience with no breathing room, and the audience feels like puppets being manipulated by Fang Xinghe.

However, Zhang Xiaobei was still too young and inexperienced. Gong Li, who played the criminal police captain, quickly discovered the flaws between the scene and the confessions.

Chen Nian was summoned to the police station, which was next to Zhang Xiaobei's. The two were separated by an opaque glass window, facing the most difficult choice of their lives.

This was an extremely intense interrogation, but Chen Nian and Zhang Xiaobei displayed amazing teamwork and willpower. No matter how the police tried to coerce or entice them, or even create the illusion that they had already confessed, they stuck to their original statements.

Even when the police deceived Chen Nian by saying that "Xiao Bei may be sentenced to death," they could not break down Chen Nian's psychological defenses.

"You're lying to me. It was just an accident. It should be considered manslaughter."

In the new version of "Young You", Fang Xinghe's handling of this plot is more reasonable and smoother.

Because Wei Lai had actively pursued Zhang Xiaobei, as both Fatty and Glasses could testify, Zhang Xiaobei didn't need to deliberately create an exaggerated "attempted rape resulting in accidental murder" scenario. He simply "was impatient with Wei Lai's harassment and accidentally pushed her downstairs."

This may seem to reduce the intensity of the conflict, but it actually creates the best environment for the profound portrayal of human nature that follows.

Chen Nian was completely unresponsive until the police captain, played by Gong Li, had no other choice but to "reach out and get to her heart."

"Chen Nian, I know you didn't do it on purpose, and I know what you're up to. Xiao Bei is taking the blame for you, so you can focus on your college entrance exam. With your grades, you can definitely get into a good university. By the time he gets out, you'll have been working for a long time and earned a lot of money. He's saving you now, and you'll embrace him in the future. It's a good idea, but..."

Gong Li's voice suddenly sharpened: "Naive!"

Chen Nian's eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of panic and confusion in them, before quickly hardening into a determined expression.

"I do not know what you're talking about."

She denied it word by word in a particularly hoarse voice and at a rather slow pace.

She regained her determination while enunciating.

Gong Li's voice softened again, and her eyes held pity, regret, and above all, heaviness.

“Chen Nian, I don’t necessarily want you to turn yourself in. I’m not doing this for personal gain. I don’t need to do anything to benefit you two poor children. Really, I just want to tell you one thing—human nature is much deeper, darker, and more terrifying than you think.”

Chen Nian tilted her head, not understanding why she said that.

"What will happen if Xiao Bei goes to jail and you go to college?"

The camera focuses on Chen Nian's face, while Gong Li's long monologue becomes a voice-over.

That overwhelming heaviness gradually eroded the resolve on Chen Nian's face.

"You went to a new place and gained complete freedom, and gradually began to experience all kinds of joy, while Xiao Bei lived in a small cage, enduring every minute with only a little hope."

Can you imagine what kind of people these two completely different environments will shape in ten or fifteen years? At first, you think about him constantly, you think about him no matter what you do, you worry about whether he's doing well, whether he's eating enough, whether he's being bullied...

So you kept writing a diary entry every day, and on the weekend you put them all in an envelope and sent them to him with high hopes.

But as time goes by, life becomes more exciting, and studies require more and more energy—I'm not saying you'll be ungrateful, but the fact is you're flying forward with heavy shackles, and fatigue gradually accumulates, yet you can't stop.

Whenever you fall into a low mood because of something, Xiao Bei can't comfort you in time, and he doesn't even know it. On the contrary, your new friends can provide some down-to-earth warmth.

You might doubt yourself and wonder why you're still persisting.
Resentment breeds in these repeated acts of hard labor.

How tiring is it to carry someone on a journey? You don't know yet, but it's obvious that many adults can't bear it and give up, like your parents..."

"You bullshit!"

At this point, Chen Nian's emotions completely collapsed.

Her roar was filled with intense anger, and her eyes revealed a deep sense of guilt and fear. When she mentioned her irresponsible parents, her pupils shrank to pinpoints, and she was extremely afraid of that outcome.

Gong Li calmly shook her head: "You know very well that I'm not talking nonsense. I didn't even mention the most terrible possibility..."

Chen Nian's pupils suddenly dilated, and her body trembled slightly, as if in disbelief.

What kind of ending would be more terrifying?
Gong Li suddenly appears in the frame, sitting opposite Chen Nian, staring intently into the girl's eyes, and slowly utters the ultimate darkness.

"Let's assume you overcome all the negative emotions, grit your teeth and swallow your blood, carefully enduring these 10 years, and finally reunite with Xiao Bei. But he has become sensitive, fragile, irritable, and easily angered. You reach out to him, but he looks at you with suspicion..."

Chen Nian's eyes widened, her lips trembling violently.

And that demonic voice kept drilling into her ears.

"Actually, he loves you even more than he does now, because he has nothing else to do but love you, and he can only use his longing for you to support his heart, which is on the verge of collapse."

You want to rebuild trust with him, and he wants to too, but he just can't do it because life in prison is just too grueling. He tries his best to endure it, but he simply can't.

Even adults can't handle it, let alone such a pitiful teenager?

In reality, you can't rebuild trust. The Xiao Bei in your memory died long ago from the long torment, while the Chen Nian in his heart remains stuck at the age of 17, transformed into a symbol that is no longer human...

You missed each other's entire youth; one of you lived in the beautiful university campus, while the other rotted in a cold and desolate prison.

You think you can persevere for ten years, but what makes you think he can too?

The real torment will officially begin the moment of their reunion.

At that time, you will definitely destroy each other completely, and also destroy all the beautiful things that made you persevere to the very end.

Believe me, that would be a far more tragic outcome than what we have now…

Gong Li's portrayal completely shattered Chen Nian's beliefs.

She slammed her hand on the table twice and let out a groan that sounded inhuman from deep in her throat.

"what!!!!"

"Woo..."

As the wails turned into muffled sobs, Gong Li felt a pang of pity and turned to leave the room.

Before leaving, she reminded him, "Xiao Bei is being interrogated right next to you. He's very stubborn. Your fates are in your hands. Think it over carefully."

Chen Nian suddenly looked up at the deep, soundproof glass.

On the other side of the glass, Zhang Xiaobei's expression was mechanical, his eyes anxious, repeating the same thing over and over again.

“I killed Wei Lai. It has nothing to do with anyone else. I am sorry for her. I am willing to plead guilty and…accept punishment.”

The word "并" is paused slightly, and "接受罚罚" is pronounced softly with a slight tremor, carrying a subtle hint of fear.

However, the crisp and clean ending of his voice also revealed his determination.

The boy was naturally afraid, but his heart was as firm as iron.

Chen Nian watched this scene from afar; she couldn't see it, but she knew what Xiao Bei was doing.

Chen Nian's body trembled slightly. She clenched her fists so tightly that the veins bulged, but she couldn't hold back her tears.

Large tears streamed down her face, her lips twitched uncontrollably, and her eyes held a profound despair.

But her mind was still racing; she was contemplating the terrifying possibilities that Gong Li had described.

Despair arises from this.

She doesn't understand much beyond academics, but at such a young age, she has already witnessed the darkest aspects of human nature.

All the groundwork laid by the director beforehand has become the resources for her evolution at this moment.

She began to believe the ending Gong Li described, and despaired as if she were drowning.

The experience on the waterboard was perfectly integrated into my body and my mind at this moment.

Liu Yifei had completely forgotten about acting; she was simply experiencing the terror that felt like it was dragging her into an abyss.

The infectious energy emanating from Chen Nian is overwhelming.

Loud sobs filled the theater; the audience finally couldn't hold back anymore.

Liu Xiaoli held her daughter tightly, unable to believe that this was a performance she could make, and deeply saddened by Chen Nian's passing, sobbing uncontrollably.

Yang Xiaomi covered her mouth tightly, completely immersed in the tragedy she had created.

She cried as she thought: I'm such a bad person... Waaah, how could I be so wicked!

Nenxian didn't think Xiaomi was bad. She was slightly lost in thought—her main consciousness was high above, scrutinizing the details of the performance, while her subconscious was trembling and cheering wildly for the final performance.

this is me?
This is me!
An indescribable yet overwhelming sense of satisfaction arose spontaneously.

She was no longer the little girl who knew little about acting; she knew very well what a remarkable thing she had done.

……

The movie continues.

The camera pans, transitions, and cuts to Gong Li and her apprentice in the corridor.

"Master..."

"Xiao Yi," Gong Li interrupted, "Do you think the truth is important?"

Zheng Yi hesitated for a moment: "Sometimes...it's important, isn't it?"

Gong Li chuckled and said, "Sometimes it's not that important, is it?"

Zheng Yi was once again caught in a dilemma.

His duty as a police officer prevented him from expressing such a stance, but his inner feelings compelled him to side with the poor girl.

“I really don’t necessarily have to bring her to justice.”

Gong Li took a deep drag of her cigarette, then forcefully waved her hand to disperse the smoke she exhaled.

"only……"

Her voice was heavy and her tone was low.

"They can't keep making this mistake."

"That……"

"Let her choose for herself."

……

The camera pans back to the interrogation room, focusing on Xiao Bei.

In a moment, Xiao Bei suddenly sensed something and turned to look at the glass wall.

He had a strong feeling that Chen Nian was there.

Chen Nian was indeed there.

The two stared at each other for a full five seconds, one filled with sorrow and despair, the other with tender longing.

In the montage, the two figures coexist in the middle, their gazes intertwined.

This scene was so moving that the sobs in the theater rose four octaves.

suddenly……

The trembling hadn't stopped, and the tears were still flowing, but Chen Nian grinned, a smile through her tears.

At the same time, her desperate gaze calmed down, replaced by a hint of determination.

The image freezes on the serene smile on her face.

……

In the next scene, Chen Nian and Zhang Xiaobei change into prison uniforms and have a brief meeting in the detention center.

The boy and girl looked at each other with tearful eyes through the railing.

"We agreed..." Zhang Xiaobei began, her voice trembling, "that you would protect..."

You protect the world, I protect you.

But Chen Nian smiled and waved, interrupting Zhang Xiaobei.

"You protect me, I protect you, we safeguard each other, and together we illuminate this world."

The girl's eyes were bright and determined; the gloom of the past had completely vanished.

The boy's eyes were filled with surprise and emotion; his former aloofness and coldness had completely transformed into resolute tenderness.

The naive and ignorant love and needs were completely sublimated at this moment.

……

At the end of the film, the environment suddenly changes, the filter warms up, and it's many years later.

Chen Nian, who has grown her hair long again, works at a children's tutoring center, explaining English grammar to the children in a gentle and intellectual voice.

After school, she squatted down in front of a little girl and asked, "Xiao Ai, where's your mom?"

Xiao Ai replied in her childish voice, "Mommy is busy today and can't pick me up from school. Teacher Nian, could you take me home?"

"Of course." Chen Nian smiled and took Xiao Ai's hand. "Let's go then."

Xiao Ai skipped along beside Chen Nian, innocently asking, "Teacher Nian, will someone take you home later?"

In the close-up shot of her face, Chen Nian's expression froze, and her eyes became filled with a sense of reminiscence.

"A long time ago, someone would walk the teacher home every day..."

The audience's hearts skipped a beat, panicking terribly—what does "a long time ago" mean? Where is Zhang Xiaobei? Did the two of them ultimately not end up together?

Chen Nian led the little girl towards the setting sun.

This is a beautiful long shot, starting from an overhead angle, then following, then lowering, and finally fixing on the roadside, watching Chen Nian lead the little girl uphill, walking further and further away, gradually merging into the sunset.

Just as the audience was completely disappointed, with a thud, a foot wearing a leather shoe stepped into the ground-level shot.

The background music volume increased, and the rhythm suddenly became more intense.

That foot, along with the lower half of the body, completely entered the frame.

The camera zooms out, as if looking up, and the mysterious person's back gradually comes into full view.

Leather shoes, dress pants, long legs...

Above that was a clean and simple white shirt.

The cuffs of the shirt were meshed up, revealing muscular, tanned forearms.

The entire audience instinctively held their breath.

The camera pans and zooms out, but never shows the person's profile. Finally, it focuses on the back of his neck and up to his temples.

"WOW!"

A burst of excited shouts erupted in the theater.

The man had the familiar buzz cut, and a clean-shaven Z-shape on the side of his head was locked in the center of the camera, and was frozen in time during the most intense part of the background music!

The screen hadn't completely gone black yet, but the theater was already erupting in applause and cheers!

A profound and moving feeling filled the hearts of all the audience members and judges. They applauded wildly and shouted for a long time.

Fang Xinghe did not turn around; he simply closed his eyes and listened intently.

The fiery world was reflected in his heart.

**************
Is it a really long chapter?
(End of this chapter)