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

Chapter 143 Taking on a Critical Mission

Zhang Qilin looked at the monitor on the wall.

In the scene, He Bing, who plays Yuan Guozhong, is slowly walking towards the front of the stage.

Suddenly, his foot slipped, and he fell forward violently.

In that instant, instinct made him reach out his hands to try and brace himself against the ground.

The bottle in his hand shattered with a crack, and his hand landed squarely on the broken glass.

Sharp shards of glass cut his wrist, and blood gushed out, splattering onto the stage.

The actors on stage were stunned.

Song Dandan instinctively wanted to call a halt, but saw He Bing slowly stand up, turn to the other actors, and gesture with his eyes for everyone to continue.

His face was turning pale at a visible speed.

At this moment, the audience below the stage also noticed something was wrong, and all eyes were focused on He Bing.

Despite the excruciating pain from his wound, He Bing continued his monologue.

His voice remained steady, and his lines remained powerful.

Blood flowed continuously down his arm, dripping onto the stage and staining it a dark red.

But He Bing seemed oblivious to the pain, completely immersed in his role.

His performance became increasingly immersive, vividly portraying Yuan Guozhong's helplessness, struggle, and resentment in the face of life's hardships.

Inspired by He Bing's dedication, the other actors quickly adjusted their mindset and continued to cooperate with him to complete the final performance.

At this moment, the backstage area is in complete chaos.

Some people rummaged through the first-aid kit, while others anxiously dialed 120 (the emergency number).

Zhang Qilin looked around, grabbed a clean towel, and rushed to the edge of the side curtain.

He Bing was still delivering his final lines on stage.

Zhang Qilin clutched a towel in his hand, though he desperately wanted to rush over and help He Bing stop the bleeding.

But the curtain hadn't been drawn, and the actors were still performing on stage. Even though he was anxious, he could only wait behind the curtain.

As He Bing finished his last line, the sound of a baby crying and the melodious sound of a harmonica came from the stage.

The audience erupted in thunderous applause, which not only recognized the performance but also praised He Bing's professionalism.

As the curtain slowly fell, the actors gathered around He Bing, anxiously inquiring about his injuries.

"Quickly, medical team, gauze, tourniquet!" Director Lin Zhaohua's urgent voice came from the backstage corridor, his voice filled with an unprecedented urgency.

Zhang Qilin rushed to He Bing's side and tightly wrapped a towel around his wrist.

The towel was soaked in blood in the blink of an eye, warm and sticky.

He asked anxiously, "Teacher He, your injury is quite serious. Let me carry you to the hospital right away."

He Bing's face was starting to turn pale, but a smile still lingered on his lips as he whispered reassuringly, "It's alright, it's alright, just a superficial wound—"

But how could that be a superficial injury?

The blood, the speed at which it gushed out—

Everyone quickly helped He Bing backstage, gave him some basic first aid to stop the bleeding, and then rushed him to the hospital.

After emergency treatment by the doctor, He Bing's wrist wound was finally brought under control.

While skillfully stitching up the wound, the doctor said, "The wound is quite deep. Any deeper and it could have damaged the tendon. Fortunately, it didn't cause any functional damage, but you'll still need to rest well. You can't do any strenuous exercise with this hand for a while."

Hearing the doctor's words, everyone's anxiety subsided slightly.

After a while, the doctor came out of the ward and said to everyone, "The patient is much better now, but he needs to stay in the hospital for observation for a while. You can go in and see him, but don't stay too long. Let him rest well."

Zhang Qilin followed the others into the ward.

He Bing was lying in the hospital bed, his face still somewhat pale.

But seeing everyone arrive, he managed to force a smile.

Director Lin Zhaohua walked to the bedside and comforted her, saying, "Don't think too much about it. Your health is the most important thing. We will find a way to arrange tomorrow's performance. Just focus on recovering. Once you're well, there will be many more and better opportunities waiting for you."

He Bing looked at Director Lin Zhaohua gratefully and nodded.

At this moment, Dean Zhang Heping led a group of leaders into the ward to express their condolences to He Bing and inquire about his condition.

Upon learning that He Bing needed to rest and would be temporarily unable to perform on stage, Vice Dean Wang looked at Lin Zhaohua and asked, "Director Lin, have you arranged a replacement?"

Lin Zhaohua glanced at Zhang Qilin in the corner, feeling somewhat hesitant.

Although Zhang Qilin rehearsed with the crew for more than three months, he has never acted in a leading role in a film.

If they suddenly pull him into office, I wonder if he can withstand the pressure.

This year, because the theater has so many plays scheduled, talented actors are playing leading roles in various productions.

I haven't had time to come to "Wotou Guild Hall" to rehearse for several months, and I still can't perform on stage.

Following Lin Zhaohua's gaze, Vice Dean Wang saw Zhang Qilin, then turned back to look at Zhang Heping.

Zhang Heping didn't answer directly, but turned to He Bing on the hospital bed: "Do you have any suggestions for candidates?"

He Bing straightened up slightly, thought for a moment, and said, "Dean Zhang, I think Zhang Qilin is perfectly capable. I've watched him grow little by little during these past few months of rehearsals. He's put in a lot of effort for the role of Yuan Guozhong."

Upon hearing He Bing's words, Song Dandan and the others exchanged glances.

I was both surprised and felt it made sense.

Surprisingly, He Bing dared to directly recommend a newcomer to take on the main responsibility at this time.

What makes sense is that "Wotou Guild Hall" is a new play that was only staged last year.

Unlike the classic plays that have been performed in the theater for decades, there is no mature reserve team.

He Bing was in his prime, and last year he won first place in the number of performances in the entire academy. Who would have thought that he would have such an accident?

Now that He Bing is injured, only Zhang Qilin has been rehearsing with everyone for three months and has a good working relationship with them.

If we don't let him play, who will?

Zhang Heping then looked at Lin Zhaohua: "Director Lin, you know Xiao Zhang better, what do you think?"

After a moment's thought, Lin Zhaohua said, "Zhang Qilin has indeed performed exceptionally well these past few months. He has a strong understanding of the role. If the leadership of the institute is willing to give him a chance, we will do our best to help him prepare."

Zhang Heping looked around and finally looked at Zhang Qilin in the corner.

"Then it's settled. Tomorrow night, Yuan Guozhong will be played by Zhang Qilin," his voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable weight. "Zhang Qilin, do you have confidence?"

Zhang Qilin was stunned.

He always thought he would be watching the show backstage until the end of the entire cycle.

He never expected things to turn out this way.

Moreover, seniority has always been a very important factor in the selection of actors for roles.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have ended up without any good film crews to work with after finishing "Rickshaw Boy".

He was suddenly asked to play Yuan Guozhong, and he didn't react for a moment.

Song Dandan gently nudged him, and he finally snapped out of his daze.

Seeing everyone staring at him, he took a deep breath and said in a loud voice, "Dean Zhang, I have confidence."

Dean Zhang Heping nodded: "Good, young people should have this kind of spirit. We'll see how you perform tomorrow."

After saying this, he comforted He Bing a few more times before leaving with his men.

At this moment, the nurse came in and said, "It's getting late, the patient should rest."

Upon hearing this, the group began to walk outside.

He Bing called out to Zhang Qilin, who was walking out.

Zhang Qilin turned back to the bedside and asked softly, "Teacher He, is there anything you need?"

Once only the two of them were left in the room, He Bing slowly said, "Xiao Zhang, your understanding of Yuan Guozhong is already very good. Today, I'll teach you one last thing: the highest level of crying scenes isn't how emotionally you cry; that's what ordinary actors like to do."

"A good actor is one who can make the audience cry even when he doesn't cry. Ge You's portrayal of Fugui in 'To Live' and Forrest Gump's words at Jenny's grave in 'Forrest Gump' are examples of this. Many times, the actor doesn't cry, but the audience is already in tears."

"This is when you present the character's inner world with the utmost sincerity and restraint. The audience will be caught off guard and have their psychological defenses broken through. This is true empathy and the highest level of being moved. If you understand this, you can play Yuan Guozhong well."

Zhang Qilin listened attentively: "Teacher He, I think I understand a little. Just like Yuan Guozhong, he has experienced so much hardship. Under the heavy pressure of life, he probably wouldn't use crying and making a scene to vent his emotions."

"Instead, he hides all his pain deep inside and faces it with a seemingly calm demeanor. But it is precisely this restraint that allows the audience to feel his inner torment, right?"

He Bing smiled with satisfaction: "That's right, that's exactly what I mean."

Zhang Qilin stood up and bowed: "Thank you, Teacher He."

He Bing waved his hand: "Go back and think about it yourself. You can definitely act well."

After Zhang Qilin got home, he checked the time: 10:30.

He washed up and went to bed.

He never thought he could play the lead role in "Wotou Guild Hall".

Therefore, his understanding of Yuan Guozhong has not yet reached the point where the audience can truly empathize with him.

The reason he was unwilling to experience the reincarnation of Qingyi was because he was very worried about the side effects.

But I can't worry about that now.

Teacher He Bing recommended him to play Yuan Guozhong, which was a sign of his trust in him, and he couldn't ruin Teacher He's performance.

No matter how difficult it is to break character, he must get into character to ensure a successful performance.

To prevent the audience from feeling that the performance was diminished by the change of actors.

He silently chanted in his heart, "Activate the reincarnation of the woman in blue."

Following Zhang Qilin's command.

His consciousness lost its support and plummeted uncontrollably.

The feeling was comparable to a high-speed drop tower ride.

The surrounding scenery flashed by rapidly: the bed, the night, and faint sounds outside the window—

It vanished like a rapidly fading ink painting.

The moment the eyes see the light again.

The world is like a slowly unfolding scroll painting —

The next morning, 8:00

The hotel where the preparatory team for the film "1911 Revolution" stayed.

Zhang Li is busy arranging her work for the day.

Last night, Zhang Heping called him and said that Zhang Qilin would be playing the male lead in "Wotou Guild Hall" tonight.

He didn't expect it to happen so suddenly.

Therefore, he tries to arrange all his work in advance and free up his evenings to go to the theater to watch a performance.

Let's find out how good Zhang Qilin's acting is and see if the script needs to be revised.

At this moment, a man with a large nose walked up to him: "Director Zhang, filming will start in a little over a month. I heard there are still some actors who haven't been cast?"