Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 115 Talent, as beautiful as a late-blooming flower

The Northern Kunqu Opera Theater is located in a corner of the old city of Beijing, hidden among several old locust trees and vines.

Blue bricks and black tiles, vermilion lacquered gatehouse, push open the carved door, and you will be greeted by the charm of an old stage.

There are several yellowed performance posters on the wall, with ink-black calligraphy reading "Water sleeves fluttering with a century-old rhyme, the universe in the song plays with spring", which is obvious at first glance that it is the inscription of a famous calligrapher.

Inside the performance hall, a long suona sound came from the speakers, and the classic Kunqu opera "The Palace of Eternal Life" - "The Small Banquet" was being rehearsed on the stage.

The female role of Yang Guifei is dressed in floral makeup, her white gauze sleeves fluttering, and her posture is as graceful as a newly blossoming lotus. The male role, Li Longji, is draped in a purple python, his eyes full of affection, and his singing voice is melodious and low.

When the song ended and the gongs and drums stopped, the scene fell into silence, as if everyone was still immersed in the old dream of the emperor and his beautiful wife in the deep palace.

As soon as Wu Chen and Liu Yifei walked in, they were seen by Zhang Jiqing who was sitting in the front row.

"Here." Zhang Jiqing smiled and waved at them.

"Teacher Zhang, is this the student you are going to teach this time?" Liu Yuchen, the director of the Northern Kunqu Opera Theater, turned around when he heard the voice, unable to suppress the surprise in his tone.

He obviously recognized the two people.

Wu Chen is currently the most sought-after young director in China;
Liu Yifei is one of the four most talked-about young actresses.

Several people who were talking around also cast curious glances, and Hou Shaokui and Yang Fengyi who were sitting next to him also turned their heads to look over.

"Yes, Wu Chen said he wanted to make a movie about Kunqu opera." Zhang Jiqing smiled and nodded, but his gaze lingered on Liu Yifei for a moment longer. "When he told me this, I didn't expect he would actually invite the four most famous actresses in the entertainment industry to share this hardship."

"Jiqing, judging from her figure, she is in better condition than you were back then." Hou Shaokui said half-jokingly.

"Conditions are secondary." Zhang Jiqing waved his hand, his tone calm but with a hint of rigor. "Whether it will succeed or not depends on whether she's willing to put in the effort."

After that, she stood up and turned to Wu Chen and Liu Yifei and said, "You guys take a look first, there's no rush, we'll talk later."

As the song was about to end, Zhang Jiqing stood up and took the two of them through the corridor to a practice room in the backyard.

The practice room is very quiet, with a light blue carpet on the wooden floor and a mirrored wall on one side reflecting the mottled shadows of the trees outside the window.

The light shone in obliquely from the blinds, and the ground looked like golden water patterns.

"Did you enjoy the performance of 'The Palace of Eternal Youth'?" Zhang Jiqing spoke first, obviously asking Liu Yifei.

"Ah!" Liu Yifei was stunned and opened her mouth. Then she said, "Teacher, I can't see it yet."

"You're quite honest." Zhang Jiqing smiled. "I heard from Wu Chen that you've learned dancing. Let me see how you look."

Liu Yifei was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously glanced at Wu Chen, with a hint of inexplicable shame in her eyes.

Zhang Jiqing smiled when he saw this and said, "Wu Chen, why don't you go out for a while?"

"Ah?" Wu Chen was stunned and pointed at himself. "I'm going out?"

He almost blurted out "I'm the director", but he swallowed the words back.

In this situation, it is obviously not the case that "the director has the final say".

Liu Yifei suddenly smiled and shook her head slightly, "Teacher, no need, I'll get ready."

"Yeah." Zhang Jiqing nodded, stepped aside, straightened his back, folded his hands in front of him, and looked solemn and cautious.

Liu Yifei was seen standing in front of the mirror, closing her eyes, taking a deep breath, and after calming her mind, she slowly raised her hand.

Her dance was not exaggerated, nor did she perform any showy moves; it was more of a natural stretch and flow.

Her toes tapped the floor lightly, the corners of her clothes fluttered as she spun, her figure was graceful, her eyes were clear, and she was filled with unconscious concentration and confidence.

That kind of lightness and unrestrainedness unique to young girls is like the tender green just breaking through the soil in early summer, or like the wind chimes dancing in the afternoon sun.

Zhang Jiqing leaned against the wall, watching quietly, with a hint of contemplation in his eyes.

A few minutes later, Liu Yifei calmed down, gently stood up, and turned to look at Zhang Jiqing. A few strands of hair on her forehead stuck to her slightly flushed cheeks. She was panting, her eyes bright, and she glanced at Wu Chen inadvertently.

"Not bad." Zhang Jiqing smiled at Liu Yifei, then turned to look at Wu Chen, "Wu Chen, I want to communicate more with Yifei."

Wu Chen understood, then stepped back and gently closed the door.

"Teacher, how about my talent?" Liu Yifei asked softly, with some anticipation.

"What do you think of your talent?" Zhang Jiqing asked instead of replying.

Liu Yifei pondered for a moment, then shook her head in frustration. "Probably just average." Then she continued, "Teacher, Wu Chen said you're the Queen of Kunqu Opera, the greatest contemporary Kunqu Opera artist. Are you naturally gifted?"

"Those are all empty names. There's no first in literature, and no second in martial arts. These shouldn't be taken seriously." Zhang Jiqing waved his hand, reminiscing, "But you were wrong about one thing.

My conditions for learning opera were not good. Even after I became famous, some old comrades still joked with me:
Jiqing, according to the current requirements, you will not be accepted as a student of the Kunqu Opera Theater if you apply. No famous teacher will accept you as a disciple. That is because you have "three minorities":
"He has only primary school education, his eyes are too small, his voice is not broad, and his vocal cords are naturally narrow."

"Ah." Liu Yifei was stunned for a moment. It was different from what she thought.

"Wu Chen knows, but it seems he didn't tell you." Zhang Jiqing smiled and looked at Liu Yifei, sighing for a long time, "I'm a bit of a fool. I've only done one thing in my life, which is acting."

"Teacher, me too!" Liu Yifei looked at Zhang Jiqing with her eyes, her eyes revealing the sincerity of a young girl.

"You? You're not stupid. But I have to tell you the rules first. Follow me and don't complain. I don't have any shortcuts."

"I understand!" Liu Yifei's eyes were firm.

"Yeah!" Zhang Jiqing nodded in satisfaction. Just as he was about to leave with Liu Yife, he suddenly thought of something. "Yife, do you know what the core artistic conception of The Peony Pavilion is?"

"Teacher, I know it means 'Love comes from nowhere, but it's deep and lasting.'" Liu Yifei responded cheerfully.

"Ify, do you have someone you like?"

Liu Yifei paused, her ears slightly red, her hair trembling slightly, and she was a little shy: "Teacher, why are you asking this all of a sudden?"

"Nothing, I just asked, now I know."

Zhang Jiqing said vaguely, but Liu Yifei kept asking, "Teacher, what do you know? What do you know?"

When Wu Chen saw the two of them and heard Liu Yifei's words, he couldn't help but feel puzzled, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Liu Yifei immediately shook her head.

"I'll talk to the crew's acting instructor later, and we'll arrange our time accordingly after we finalize the schedule."

Zhang Jiqing started talking about business, and Wu Chen nodded, "Okay, then I'll trouble you, Teacher Zhang."

On the way back, Liu Yifei chattered about a lot of things, and also brought up the topic of talent: "Junior brother, I made a fool of myself today. I couldn't find any evidence online that the teacher is not talented.

Then I thought the teacher was incredibly talented.”

"What's the big deal? Do you think a lack of talent is a disadvantage?" Wu Chen smiled, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. He had to be more careful while driving.

"I think so. He has good talent and everything he does goes smoothly." Liu Yifei said uncertainly.

“This world belongs to the talented, but you have to know that ordinary people make up the vast majority, and those who work quietly also belong to this world;

Perhaps they are not as brilliant as the flowers of gifted people who bloom in a short time, but the late bloomers are just as beautiful."

Liu Yifei nodded repeatedly, her eyes gleaming. "Junior brother, what you said is very similar to what the teacher said."

After that, he looked at Wu Chen doubtfully, "Junior brother, if it were you, which one would you want to be?"

"Well, then I still hope to be the former!"

(End of this chapter)