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

Zhang Qilin picked up the thermos next to him and walked to the door of dressing room number 2.

He knocked gently on the door.

"Come in," came Teacher Yang Lixin's voice.

Dressing Room No. 2 is one of the three large dressing rooms in the Capital Theatre, and it is spacious and bright.

Zhang Qilin pushed open the door and entered, smelling a faint scent of oil paint in the air.

Teachers Yang Lixin and Pu Cunxin each sat in front of a makeup mirror.

Teacher Park Cunxin has changed into the old, patched cotton robe from the third act.

Looking at his own face in the mirror, he held a paintbrush and focused on drawing the traces of time at the corners of his eyes.

Yang Lixin saw Zhang Qilin in the mirror and asked with a smile:

"What's wrong?"

Zhang Qilin held up the thermos in his hand:

"Let me add some hot water for the two teachers."

Yang Lixin nodded and said gently:

"Okay, thank you for your thoughtfulness."

Zhang Qilin walked quietly to the coffee table and refilled the cups of the two teachers with hot water.

After doing all this, he did not rush to leave, but quietly retreated to the corner by the door and stood there holding his breath.

As Park Cunxin was drawing wrinkles, he saw Zhang Qilin reflected in the mirror.

His pen paused slightly as he was about to turn his head.

"Brother Park," Yang Lixin's voice rang out at that moment, "how do you think my wrinkle is drawn?"

Park Cunxin turned his gaze to Yang Lixin.

Yang Lixin held a paintbrush in her hand, looking at him with a gentle smile in her eyes.

Park Cunxin was silent for a moment, then replied in a low voice:

"Well enough."

After saying that, he turned back to face his mirror and continued to trace the lines of time on his face.

His movements were slow and meticulous, each stroke extremely careful, as if he were not applying makeup, but completing a traditional Chinese painting depicting the vicissitudes of life.

Yang Lixin drew two deep nasolabial folds next to the corners of her mouth.

That's not the loosening of aging, but the mark of clenching your teeth and enduring something.

Then, he dipped his fingertip in some dark paint and gently blended it under his eyelids, a shadow left by years of exhaustion and sleepless nights.

As he drew, he muttered to himself:

"Makeup is about getting into character. Every line and wrinkle on the face represents the character's spirit and energy. You have to know why you're doing it this way, and what the audience can feel when they see it."

"By this point, Qin Zhongyi had lost his business and his ideals were shattered, but he still had a lingering sense of pride. So these wrinkles couldn't be loose; they had to be 'tight,' the creases he had clenched through gritted teeth."

He pressed his thumb firmly on the vertical lines between his eyebrows that he had just drawn:

"When the audience sees this, they know that there is still a hidden force in this person, even if that force has long since lost its way."

Park Cunxin glanced at Yang Lixin in the mirror, his pen still moving.

Yang Lixin continued:

"Master Chang is different. He is a gun that would rather break than bend. But this world is the only one that can punish all kinds of dissent. In the end, the gun is still there, and the soul is still there, but the spirit of resistance has been worn down to the last bit. It has been ground into powder and mixed into the tea dregs. If you drink it, it will be bitter. You can't spit it out, and it can't be dissolved."

"So his old age isn't about how tight his skin is," Park Chun-hsin squinted at the old man in the mirror. "His spirit has dissipated, not in the sense of disintegration, but in the sense of having seen through things and becoming indifferent. That spirit has dissipated from his seven orifices, leaving only an empty shell, still holding up the air of a Manchu."

Zhang Qilin understood why Teacher He Bing had asked him to come and watch the two teachers put on their makeup.

To bring a character to life, you must first understand their life.

The process of applying makeup is not only about immersing oneself in the role step by step, but also about silently conveying one's understanding of the character to the audience through every wrinkle and every shadow.

By this time, Yang Lixin had finished her preparations.

He picked up the cane, the tool for maintaining his dignity.

It was Qin Zhongyi's instinct to use this cane to uphold his last shred of dignity, even in his downfall.

Park Cunxin has also completed the final step.

He picked up an old, tattered handkerchief from the corner of the table. Instead of wiping his face, he folded it and stuffed it into the inconspicuous pocket inside his old cotton robe.

The handkerchief bulged out in a small, stiff shape.

That might be all his possessions, or it might be nothing at all.

It was just an old man's unconscious habit of giving himself a tangible feeling during his long, hopeless years.

"Act 3 actors are waiting to go on stage," the stage manager's voice clearly pierced through the door.

……

As the final scene ended, the three old men, Wang Lifu, Chang Siye, and Qin Erye, scattered paper money, and in a desolate self-commemoration, the curtain slowly closed.

Thunderous applause swept from the audience and lasted for a long time.

The curtain rose again, and all the actors went on stage to take their final bow.

From the main actors Liang Guanhua, Pu Cunxin, Yang Lixin, Feng Yuanzheng, and He Bing, to every supporting actor and extra, they all took their turns to take their final bows.

As Zhang Qilin and the other tea drinkers bowed, he clearly heard applause from the audience, applause celebrating the entire play.

He bowed, looked up, and the lights were so dazzling that he couldn't see the faces of the audience below the stage.

Unbeknownst to him, a pair of captivating eyes in the audience had been watching his every move.

After the curtain call, the actors returned backstage.

Feng Yuanzheng gathered all the interns together and clapped his hands:

"Everyone did a great job today. You've worked hard all night. Go home and get some rest. See you in the rehearsal room at 5:30 tomorrow morning."

Upon hearing Feng Yuanzheng's words, the intern inwardly groaned once again.

It's already 10:40, and I won't get home until at least midnight.

No one complained; they simply nodded silently, packed their things, and left.

It was almost 11 o'clock when Zhang Qilin walked out of the theater.

He walked towards the alley where he was from.

I had only taken a few steps when I suddenly heard two car horns behind me.

Zhang Qilin turned around and looked.

A Volkswagen Beetle was slowly approaching from the roadside a few steps behind him.

Zhang Qilin searched his memory but couldn't find anyone he knew who drove this car.

The car stopped beside him, and a small head popped out of the window:

Hi~ We meet again.

Zhang Qilin looked at the other person with a puzzled expression:

"Excuse me, are you sure you haven't mistaken me for someone else?"

Dong Qiyu's smile froze instantly.

She blinked her beautiful peach blossom eyes, opened the car door, and the small Beetle swayed slightly.

She stood by the car and looked at Zhang Qilin:

"We met in Ms. Chen Xiujie's studio, and you even promised to do me a favor."

Zhang Qilin smiled and looked at Dong Qiyu:

"Beautiful lady, you are very pretty."

Dong Qiyu gave an elegant bow:

"Thank you for the compliment."

Don't get your hopes up too high.

Dong Qiyu's hand froze in mid-air, and the smile on her face froze again.

She really wanted to tear off Zhang Qilin's smiling face.

She realized that Zhang Qilin recognized her and was just playing a trick on her.

Since the soft approach wasn't working, they decided to try a hard one. Dong Qiyu took out her phone and waved it at Zhang Qilin.