Seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune, I became a legend in the entertainment industry by avo

Chapter 121 Blending with the World

6:00

The audience outside the theater began to enter.

Meanwhile, in the VIP section, some industry veterans invited by the Beijing People's Art Theatre and senior executives from Huayi Brothers took their seats one after another, and they chatted in hushed tones.

19:25

The lights in the theater gradually dimmed, and the audience's conversations slowly subsided.

All the light and attention were directed toward the stage, which was shrouded in a deep red curtain.

The performance is about to begin.

Backstage.

The bell rang a second time.

The stage manager raised his hand, making a ready gesture.

Yu Zhen took a deep breath and stepped onto the stage.

The spotlight came on, and his figure disappeared behind the curtain.

Zhang Qilin stood still, waiting for his turn to take the stage.

until----

"Xiao Shunzi, wait in the wings," the stage manager's low voice came.

Zhang Qilin stood in the shadows of the side curtain, taking one last breath.

He draped the faded old blazer over his shoulder.

The rough texture of the fabric came through the thin costume, and in an instant, he felt the curvature of his spine change.

He had the hunchback from years of pulling a cart, yet he also possessed the slippery gait unique to young cart drivers.

Zhang Qilin.

No, it's Xiao Shunzi.

He peeked out from the left side of the stage.

His movements were extremely light, his toes touching the ground first, then his heels, like a wary cat, with a touch of the cautiousness of a teenager before a prank.

His eyes darted quickly to Tiger Girl's back before darting back down to stare at the ground, trying to sneak past her when she wasn't looking.

Before he even opened his mouth, his desire to avoid giving money at a wedding was already evident in his body language.

The audience below the stage watched Xiao Shunzi's somewhat comical movements and let out a few knowing laughs.

Why are actors from Beijing People's Art Theatre recognized by so many people?

The most important point is that once you step onto the stage, you don't need to say a word; just a few steps are enough for the audience to know what role you are playing.

"Little Shunzi!"

Tiger Girl seemed to have eyes in the back of her head. She suddenly turned around and her voice was so loud it could shake the dust off the roof beams.

Xiao Shunzi shuddered, his feet rooted to the spot, and the sling on his shoulder almost slipped off.

He wore a sheepish grin, as if he'd been caught red-handed, but his eyes darted around, avoiding looking at Tiger Girl.

"What about yesterday's car allowance?" Tiger Girl took a step closer and stretched out her hand.

Xiao Shunzi blinked twice, his eyebrows raised in confusion: "Huh?"

His expression was as innocent as if he had just woken up, as if he didn't understand what those two words meant at all, and even carried a hint of innocence as if asking, "Have you mistaken me for someone else?"

This is the essence of feigning ignorance.

It's not that I'm stupid, it's that I deliberately use stupidity to defend myself.

"Don't play dumb," Tiger Girl wasn't buying it, her finger almost touching his nose. "You haven't paid yesterday's car allowance yet."

"Um—um—" Xiao Shunzi raised his hand, not to take out money, but to scratch the back of his head, as if the answer was hidden in his messy hair.

He spoke with a drawn-out tone, his eyes darted around, and he unconsciously took a half-step, a strange posture of wanting to escape but being forced to suppress it by reason.

"Yesterday at the 'mouth' —"

He paused, and the word, pronounced in a somewhat colloquial tone, seemed to carry a particularly lingering meaning.

"I wasted the whole night soaking in the water, ————"

He shrugged, his shoulders drooping, revealing a lazy, helpless look that said, "There's nothing I can do about it."

It's not that I don't want to pay, it's that I genuinely don't have the money.

The helplessness and slight roguishness of the lowly rickshaw puller, worn down by life, are perfectly captured through his subtle gestures and changes in tone.

"I don't care," Tiger Girl glared, "If you don't pay the car fee, don't even think about touching the handlebars today."

"Not driving?" Xiao Shunzi was really anxious this time, and his feigned slickness was instantly washed away by genuine anxiety.

He took a half step forward, his voice unconsciously rising, carrying the clear and anxious tone unique to young people, and pressed his empty stomach with one hand: "What should I eat? My stomach is still empty this evening."

He spoke these words hastily and quickly, conveying genuine grievances and a desperate need to survive.

Many audience members, especially the older ones, showed understanding and sighs on their faces.

This is the most direct pain of the lower class in the old society, which this young man shouted out with the simplest lines.

Seemingly unable to resist the nagging, or perhaps genuinely afraid of going hungry, Xiao Shunzi reluctantly pulled out a few crumpled bills from his pocket and counted them out to Hu Niu with extreme reluctance.

The moment he paid, the corners of his mouth twitched down, a genuine expression of heartache on his face.

But as soon as the money left his hand, the sorrow on his face was instantly replaced by a gossipy and mischievous excitement, as if by magic.

He leaned closer to Tiger Girl, lowered his voice, and his eyes gleamed, especially the kind of light that comes from sharing secrets that might upset her.

"Tiger Girl, I have some good news for you, do you want to hear it?" He kept her in suspense.

Tiger Girl snapped, "Spit it out!"

"I ran into Xiangzi last night!"

"Where?" Tiger Girl's attention was indeed drawn.

"Overpass," Xiao Shunzi said with certainty.

He then imitated what he had done back then, standing on tiptoe and cupping his hand to his mouth: "I shouted, I said, 'Xiangzi, you're so unpredictable! Why don't you go back to Renhe Factory?'"

Then he paused deliberately, glanced at Tiger Girl's face, suppressed a laugh, and said in an even more exaggerated tone, "Tiger Girl misses you so much, she's almost going crazy with longing!"

He imitated the last line in a high-pitched, exaggerated, and comical voice.

A burst of laughter erupted from the audience.

The more he imitated her, the more he revealed Tiger Girl's unspoken thoughts in public.

Tiger Girl's face flushed red instantly, a red of embarrassment and anger: "Hmph! You're asking for it!"

Xiao Shunzi had anticipated this move. Before she finished speaking, he had already slipped away half a step like an eel, but he wouldn't let it go, continuing to add fuel to the fire: "Guess what Xiangzi said?"

He cleared his throat, straightened his back, and tried to adopt Xiangzi's straightforward and stubborn demeanor. He said in a rough voice, "He said it's that ugly woman. She misses me, but I don't miss her. It's all one-sided love. Let her stop dreaming."

The moment the words "ugly monster" were uttered, Tiger Girl completely lost it, grabbed the feather duster from the table, and chased after him.

Xiao Shunzi cried out "Ouch!" and started running around the eight-immortal table.

He escaped nimbly, like a wild boy weaving through the alleyways, occasionally turning back to make a face and shouting, "That's what Xiangzi said! Not me!"

But the tone of his voice clearly conveyed the smugness of "What can you do to me?"

The two chased and fled, circling twice in the small stage space, vividly portraying the kind of street squabbling.

Finally, relying on his agility, Xiao Shunzi broke free from Hu Niu's grasp and jumped two steps away.

Feeling safe, he grew bolder and yelled at her across the table with the defiant spirit of a teenager arguing: "You're something else! You'll never find a mother-in-law's house even if you live to be thirty, you piece of trash!"

He shouted the word "damaged goods" crisply and loudly.

It had a ruthless edge that came without thinking, but there wasn't much real malice in his eyes. It was more like a verbal retaliation after being chased and beaten and getting back at the top.

Without waiting for Tiger Girl's reaction, he darted out through the "door".

Her figure disappeared into the side of the stage, leaving behind only a furious Tiger Girl stomping her feet and the joyful laughter and applause of the audience.

Inside the side curtain, Zhang Qilin was breathing slightly, the light shifting away from him and becoming part of the background once again.

In those few short minutes, it felt as if Xiao Shunzi's soul had truly possessed him.

The audience erupted in clear laughter, followed by applause.

He knew there was a hurdle at the beginning, and he overcame it well.

The real show is yet to come.

He quickly calmed his breathing, walked to his designated spot, and prepared to go on stage next time.

The stage lights remained blazing, illuminating the joys and sorrows of those on stage.

Meanwhile, in the VIP section on the second floor of the theater, several pairs of eyes from Huayi Brothers executives were fixed on the quick-witted young figure from before, until he disappeared into the darkness.

At the front desk, the plot is unfolding.

The entanglement between Xiangzi and Huniu, Master Liu's scheming, and the hardships of the other rickshaw pullers—

The stage lights and shadows shift and change, and time flows amidst the tension of the drama.

Zhang Qilin received another prompt to go on stage during a group scene.

As the most active gossipmonger and atmosphere-maker in the rickshaw depot, Xiao Shunzi needs to interject with jokes and banter between the other rickshaw pullers' complaints, Xiangzi's silence, and Hu Niu's flamboyance.

Or it can spread some rumors that are hard to distinguish between true and false, adjust the pace, and deepen the atmosphere.

Xiao Shunzi leaned against the door frame, reciting his lines.

According to the original rehearsal positioning and rhythm, Zhou Baocheng should have sighed, slowly stood up, rubbed his waist, and said the next line.

But Zhou Baocheng was a beat ahead; he stood up the instant Zhang Qilin finished speaking and was about to finish his sentence.

Furthermore, the movement of his waist-pounding motion was slightly larger than usual, and his delivery of lines was noticeably faster: "Sigh, these days, strength is worthless, and life is worthless too!"

The sudden acceleration and slightly exaggerated movements clearly startled Zhang Qilin.

Here, he didn't make the small, helpless head-shaking gesture that he was supposed to make, and his lines came out a bit rushed.

To avoid making a mistake, he sped up his speech: "If this continues, we won't even be able to get any porridge."

"6

A subtle stagnation and a sense of urgency appeared in the rhythm.

Ordinary viewers might not be able to perceive this feeling, but the actors on stage and those in the audience who truly understand the craft can sense a kind of disharmony.

Moreover, the other two rickshaw driver actors had clearly received some kind of hint or reached a tacit understanding.

In group scenes, they used this kind of fast-paced approach that was less likely to be criticized by the audience, but made the co-stars uncomfortable, so that he couldn't keep up.

The pressure was put on Zhang Qilin.

If he rushes to interrupt, Xiao Shunzi's lazy yet clever spirit disappears.

If he follows the original rhythm, he will appear sluggish and out of sync.

Zhang Qilin was prepared. With a thought, he activated the "Harmony with Light and Dust" talisman.

An invisible energy emanated from Zhang Qilin's body, connecting him with all the actors on stage.

That invisible energy was not forcibly pulled or controlled.

It's more like a skillful harmonization, guiding the breath, rhythm, and even the "stage" of the performance of all the actors on stage into a state of harmonious resonance.

Zhang Qilin seemed to blend seamlessly with the other actors; every movement he made and every glance he exchanged was perfectly in harmony with the atmosphere of the entire group.

Zhou Baocheng's rhythm, which was half a beat ahead and his exaggerated movements, gradually returned to its original rhythm under the influence of the talisman's power.

The rhythm of Zhang Qilin's responses also subtly changed accordingly.

The originally fast-paced ensemble performance was restored to a stage rhythm with a sense of life and a natural, rhythmic feel.

The other rickshaw driver actors, who had originally intended to follow Zhou Baocheng's rhythm and increase their intensity, also found their breathing unconsciously following the now stabilized "scene".

Their lines and reactions returned to the natural interplay of rehearsals.

The performance on stage became fluid again.

In the audience, those who truly knew their stuff gradually relaxed their brows, which had been slightly furrowed by the change in rhythm, and their eyes were filled with admiration.

They keenly noticed the subtle changes on stage and were amazed by Zhang Qilin's ability to quickly adjust the rhythm and integrate into the group performance.

While the average viewer didn't notice the earlier pacing issues, they were completely immersed in the captivating performance.

Attracted by the actors' vivid performances, bursts of knowing laughter and enthusiastic applause could be heard from time to time in the theater.

No one knew that a silent confrontation had taken place on stage just a few minutes earlier.

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