The Entertainment Industry in Turmoil: Young Actresses All Want to Rise to the Top

The Spring Festival Gala stage allows no room for ambiguity.

Shen Mo dialed Gao Du's number directly, Li Yitong's former teacher.

Thanks to his previous connections at the Beijing Dance Academy, Gao Du readily agreed to help find a senior choreography professor.

At the same time, Gao also helped to contact and invite several of the school's top students to serve as backup dancers, which can be regarded as giving these female students a chance to make their faces on the Spring Festival Gala.

Three days later, Professor Zhang, a retired professor from the Beijing Dance Academy and a master of classical dance, arrived as scheduled in the familiar rehearsal hall of Mohen.

The elderly man was over seventy years old, with silver hair that he combed meticulously.

"You're Li Yitong?"

Professor Zhang's voice was gentle, but his gaze was sharp as he scrutinized the young girl in front of him.

"Hello Professor Zhang, I am Li Yitong."

Li Yitong bowed respectfully, her heart pounding faster than usual. She had heard of this old professor's reputation back when she was still in school; the professor was the one who wrote the choreography textbook for the Beijing Dance Academy.

Professor Zhang nodded slightly.

"Gao Du said you are a gifted child. Come, let me see your 'The Drunken Beauty'."

As the music started, Li Yitong took a deep breath, rose to her feet, raised her hand, and turned around.

In her three-minute solo dance, she completely immersed herself in the world of Yang Guifei.

Under the moon in the deep palace, drinking alone without relatives, his drunkenness reveals endless loneliness.

After the music ended, the rehearsal hall was quiet for a few seconds.

Professor Zhang slowly stood up, walked to Li Yitong, and suddenly reached out to gently lift her chin, carefully examining her face.

"Their eyes are expressive, that's good."

Professor Zhang said slowly, "But the posture is not relaxed enough. The concubine's intoxication is not true intoxication, but intoxication of the heart and emotions."

"Look—"

Professor Zhang suddenly demonstrated a movement. Although he was quite old, his raised hand and his glance back truly exuded the charm of "a smile that could launch a thousand ships".

Everyone was stunned.

"The look in your eyes needs to be a third more hazy, and your fingers should be like this, see?"

"It's like trying to grasp something, but you can't grasp anything at all."

Professor Zhang gestured carefully in front of Li Yitong's eyes.

"The Imperial Concubine's sorrow at this moment is not simple, but complex."

"One must have resentment towards the emperor, dissatisfaction with one's fate, and a clear understanding of one's own situation."

"Most importantly, knowing all this, she still pretended to be drunk."

Li Yitong felt enlightened and nodded repeatedly.

In the days that followed, Professor Zhang appeared in the rehearsal hall on time every day.

She not only adjusted the choreography, but also helped Li Yitong to analyze the character's psychology more deeply.

Sometimes, she would adjust Li Yitong's simple arm-raising gesture dozens of times.

Sometimes, she would stop dancing and focus on conveying the subtle nuances of being "seven parts drunk and three parts sober" through her eyes.

"You need to let the audience see through your eyes the true loneliness of a woman behind the magnificent curtain of the Tang Dynasty."

Meanwhile, Shen Mo's preparations were also in full swing.

He personally flew to Suzhou and Hangzhou, found the most representative intangible cultural heritage costume restoration team, and discussed the design of dance costumes with them.

"The cuffs here need to be widened by another three centimeters. There will be sleeve-flicking movements in the dance, so there must be enough space."

"And the waist area, it can't be too tight, it has to be enough to make sure she can do a backbend and a rotation."

The team leader was a master craftsman in his fifties, who pushed up his glasses.

"Mr. Shen, if made according to the style of the Tang Dynasty, the gold thread embroidery on the imperial concubine's robe would take at least three months."

"There's only one month left until the Spring Festival Gala."

Shen Mo said it with absolute certainty.

"I'll increase the budget fivefold. You can allocate as many staff as you need, but it must be completed within twenty days."

The experienced craftsman looked at the determination in the young man's eyes and finally nodded.

"I made my apprentices work in three shifts."

Meanwhile, Wang Sulong was preparing for his new album when he received Shen Mo's call.

However, after hearing Shen Mo's idea of ​​a seamless connection between "The Drunken Concubine" and "The Years", he immediately became interested.

"This idea is very bold, directly transitioning from the subtlety of classical opera to the narrative of modern pop music."

Wang Sulong paused.

"I really enjoy this challenge."

"Give me three days, and I'll produce a demo of the arrangement."

Three days later, Shen Mo and Li Yitong heard the first version of the arrangement in the recording studio.

As the final, sigh-like note of "The Drunken Beauty" gradually fades away, a ripple of harmonics from the guzheng spreads out, then transitions into the prelude to "Rings of Time".

The sense of time and space shifting instantly gave Li Yitong goosebumps.

"That's pretty good."

"But adjustments are still needed," Shen Mo frowned slightly.

"The transition was a bit abrupt. I wanted it to be more natural, like melting, like ink dripping into water and spreading naturally."

Wang Sulong rubbed his temples and smiled wryly.

"Shen Mo, your demands are even more stringent than my producer's."

But he nodded, turned around, and made further modifications.

It wasn't until the tenth revision that the three of them finally nodded in satisfaction.

Li Yitong's rehearsal intensity is getting higher and higher.

The four female dancers from the Beijing Dance Academy who were rehearsing with them were also suffering terribly. During a break after lunch that day, they gathered in a corner of the rehearsal hall and started "complaining".

"To be honest, when I first got this job, I was a little..."

Lin Xiao, with her hair in a high ponytail, opened her mouth, then cautiously stopped and lowered her voice.

"It seems like they're here to help carry this senior's sedan chair."

Chen Yue, with her straightforward personality, nodded vigorously.

"Isn't that right? I heard that Sister Yitong signed with a company to act right after graduation, and hasn't been on stage properly for three years."

"When it comes to dance, if you don't practice for a day, you'll know it; if you don't practice for two days, your teacher will know it; and if you don't practice for three days, the audience will know it."

Su Qing, who had been listening quietly, nodded.

"Moreover, 'The Drunken Beauty' is a classic among classics. Many predecessors have danced it their whole lives but still dare not say they have mastered it."

"Professor Zhang has such high standards, I'm really worried she won't be able to keep up."

Tang Guo, the youngest of the four, bit into an energy bar and mumbled something.

"I actually really like Tong Jie's performances in 'My Love from the Star' and 'The Journey of Flower,' but acting and dancing are really not the same thing."

"When I first met her, I felt that she lacked a certain dancer's aura."

Lin Xiao took a sip of water and then changed the subject.

"But these past few days, my prejudice has been thoroughly humiliated."

She pointed to the back of her practice clothes.

"Look at what I'm wearing, and then look at what Sister Tong is wearing. Which of her practice clothes isn't wet and dry repeatedly? She only changes them when they're absolutely unbearable to wear."

"I counted the day before yesterday, she changed three outfits."

Chen Yue got excited and sat up straight cross-legged.

"Let me tell you, yesterday afternoon, I was so tired that I couldn't even lift my arms. I was stealing glances at Sister Tong."

"She's still practicing that getting-up motion in front of the mirror over and over again."

"That movement really strains your core muscles!"

"She did it more than twenty times until Professor Zhang couldn't stand it anymore and told her to stop. Only then did she lean on the barre, panting. I saw that her hands were shaking."

Su Qing's eyes were filled with heartache and admiration.

"Not only that."

"The night before last, we had all left. When I came back to retrieve my phone, I found the lights in the rehearsal room were still on."

"Peeping through the crack in the door, I saw that it was just Sister Tong alone. She wasn't playing any music; she was just practicing her eye movements and expressions in slow motion in front of the mirror."

For a moment, everyone fell silent.

You can faintly hear Li Yitong and Shen Mo practicing their songs in the next practice room.

Lin Xiao sighed, her tone completely changing.

"I now realize that we might have been a bit narrow-minded before."

"Who says you can't be a true dancer if you leave a dance troupe and go into the entertainment industry?"

"Sister Tong's enthusiasm is even greater than when we were preparing for the performance at the National Centre for the Performing Arts."

"Have you noticed that Professor Zhang, who is usually so strict, is looking at Sister Tong with increasingly gentle eyes? That means he truly approves of her."

Chen Yue scratched her short hair, looking a little embarrassed.

"And she has absolutely no airs."

"I couldn't do the rollover properly yesterday, and she came over to me during her break and told me how to find my center of gravity based on her own experience."

"And she didn't act superior at all. She said something like, 'I graduated a long time ago, so I have some clumsy methods. Please don't mind them.' Ugh, that made me..."

Su Qing smiled slightly.

"Yes, our senior sister's sincerity is genuine."

Tang Guo suddenly lowered her voice and said mysteriously.

"I heard from her agent that Sister Tong turned down several fashion event invitations and devoted herself entirely to this one program."

"In order to appear on the Spring Festival Gala, artists have given up all the most important exposure and money-making opportunities at the end of the year."

Tang Guo gave a thumbs up and gave it a big thumbs up.

"I truly admire you."

Chen Yue clenched her fist.

"We also need to step up our efforts. We can't hold Tong-jie back, and we can't bring shame to Beijing Dance Academy."

"Professor Gao went to great lengths to find us a chance to perform on the Spring Festival Gala, we can't lose it just because we don't perform well."

"Um!"

The girls put their hands together and touched them lightly, as if to signify their understanding.

Besides practicing singing with Li Yitong, Shen Mo also had to handle company affairs.

But he would always bring warm, nourishing soup to the rehearsal room.

He didn't say much, just sat quietly in the corner, his eyes following Li Yitong's every move.

While she rested, he would bring her soup and then gently wipe her wet temples with a towel.

Of course, Shen Mo would occasionally offer some opinions from the audience's perspective.

Li Yitong naturally accepted them all.

The day of the first rehearsal has arrived.

Inside CCTV's Studio One, celebrities and big names from all walks of life gathered, and the air was thick with tension.

Li Yitong was waiting on the court in simple training clothes, her palms slightly sweaty.

"Don't be nervous, just treat it like a regular rehearsal."

Shen Mo squeezed her hand and found it was icy cold, so he wrapped it in his own hands and gently rubbed it.

When it was their turn to go on stage, Li Yitong took a deep breath and stepped onto the stage that countless artists dream of.

The moment the lights came on, she suddenly stopped being nervous.

At that moment, she was no longer Li Yitong; she was Yang Yuhuan, who had been drinking alone by the Chenxiang Pavilion a thousand years ago.

The dance went very well, and the song "Rings of Time" was also performed well.

But when they stepped off the stage, the director still looked serious.

"The overall time is a bit long; you need to shorten it by at least 45 seconds."

Li Yitong's heart sank.

Professor Zhang meticulously designed several paragraphs, almost every one of which was her favorite.

That evening, back in the rehearsal hall, Li Yitong bit her lip and trembled as she crossed out movements in the choreography book. With each movement she crossed out, her heart ached.

"This part can't be deleted," she pleaded, looking at Professor Zhang.

"This is the key point of emotional turning point."

Professor Zhang remained silent for a long time before finally sighing.

"Then let's compress the drunken walk section; we can only condense these emotional depths through your eye acting."

However, misfortune never comes singly; even greater challenges follow.

During a rapid spinning motion, Li Yitong's attention was finally distracted due to days of fatigue, and she twisted her ankle.

"Sister Tong!"

Fortunately, Lin Xiao, who was standing nearby, caught her in time, but she still felt a sharp pain in her ankle.

In that instant, memories of my past life flooded back like a tidal wave.

Fractures in her toes and spine forced her to abandon her dance career and reluctantly switch to the entertainment industry.

At this moment, Li Yitong's face was ashen; she didn't want to go through the same thing again.

"Don't move!"

Shen Mo's voice rang in her ears, and he rushed to her side immediately, kneeling down to check her ankle.

Although his brows were furrowed, his movements were unusually gentle.

"Get an ice pack, I'll take you to the hospital."

Fortunately, after a thorough examination at the hospital, I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Fortunately, it's just a minor sprain, and the ligaments weren't damaged."

"But you must rest for at least 48 hours and absolutely cannot exercise."

Back home, Li Yitong lay on the sofa with ice packs wrapped around her ankles, staring at the ceiling without saying a word.

Shen Mo felt a pang of heartache when he saw her like this.

He sat down beside her, took her hand, and noticed that her hand was trembling slightly.

"Are you scared?" he asked softly.

Li Yitong turned her head, her eyes already red. She nodded, then shook her head.

"I'm not afraid of pain..."

"Amo, what I fear is history repeating itself."

"I'm afraid of fracturing my bones again, I'm afraid of having to say goodbye to the Spring Festival Gala again..."

She couldn't continue, and glistening tears silently slid down her cheeks.

Shen Mo gently wiped away her tears with his thumb and cupped her face in his hands.

"Listen to me, Yukiko."

"This time is completely different from the last time."

"You have the best team and the best medical care."

"Besides, I'm right here with you."

He paused, then reached out and gently scraped her nose.

"Besides, you are no longer the person you were in your past life."

"Now you are physically stronger, more mature, and know how to protect yourself."

"This accident isn't a big problem; it's just a reminder to pay attention to your pace."

"Don't push yourself too hard."

Li Yitong sniffed.

"But time is running out..."

"There is enough time."

Shen Mo kissed her forehead.

"We don't need perfection; what we need is a complete and vibrant performance."

"As long as the emotion is genuine, it will definitely touch people's hearts."

He got up, walked to the window, and drew back the curtains: "Look, it's snowing."

Following his gaze, Li Yitong saw fine snowflakes falling outside the window, fluttering and swirling, like a dream.

Do you remember watching the Spring Festival Gala when you were in elementary school?

With his back to her, Shen Mo said, "It's snowing in Jinan too. Tell me, you want to dance on the Spring Festival Gala stage on TV someday."

Li Yitong was stunned, her memories being pulled back to her childhood.

"You didn't jump as well back then as you do now."

Shen Mo turned around, a gentle smile curving his lips.

I've always known about your passion for dance.

"Yukiko, don't let a small sprain make you doubt or deny your efforts and growth."

Tears welled up in Li Yitong's eyes again. She struggled to sit up, and the ice pack slipped off her ankle.

Shen Mo hurriedly tried to stop her, but she directly grabbed his hand.

"You're right, I'm not the same person I used to be."

A fire reignited in her eyes.

"I can't dance, but I can still practice my upper body movements, my eye contact, and I can practice singing with you."

Looking at the woman who had regained her spirits, Shen Mo felt an indescribable sense of pride welling up inside him.

By the third day, her ankle had mostly healed, and the doctor allowed her to begin light training.

Li Yitong stood in the center of the rehearsal hall again, starting with the basic movements to regain her balance.

For the final dress rehearsal, Li Yitong wore the imperial concubine dance costume that Shen Mo had custom-made for her, which took more than twenty days to complete.

Adorned with a gold hairpin, dressed in a red Tang suit pomegranate skirt, with a flower decoration between her eyebrows and a faint blush at the corners of her eyes, she truly embodies the charm of "a beauty that could topple kingdoms and bring joy to both."

Are you nervous?

Shen Mo whispered in her ear.

Li Yitong smiled slightly.

"I'm not nervous with you here."

On the stage, the lights dimmed and then brightened again.

A spotlight shone on her, and music flowed like water.

From "The Drunken Beauty" to "The Years," from the deep palace of the Tang Dynasty to the passage of time, the performance is like a dream that transcends a thousand years.

As the last note faded, the entire audience fell silent for a moment, then erupted in enthusiastic applause.

The director stood up from the control panel, a bright smile spreading across his face.

"Shen Mo, Yi Tong."

"You've given us a wonderful surprise!"