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

Chapter 88 Chen Mo's Sense of Crisis

5:00 AM

Before it was fully light, Zhang Qilin sat up in bed.

At this moment, he wasn't called Zhang Qilin; he was Xiao Shunzi, who had just opened his eyes in the car factory.

He felt the morning chill, stretched, and muttered his plans for pulling the cart today.

After washing up, I pushed open the door and went out.

He deliberately lowered his center of gravity, bent his knees slightly, and took steady and fast steps—the kind of walking style that Xiao Shunzi had practiced running around the streets and alleys, as if he was ready to shout and run away at any time.

The breakfast stalls were already bustling with activity.

He picked an empty stool and sat down, but his eyes were not idle. He quietly observed the diners' clothes and expressions, and observed each person's economic situation, such as how much money they would pay for transportation.

After finishing his meal, he stood up and, mimicking the motion of pulling a cart, jogged towards the theater.

Passersby would glance at Zhang Qilin's strange actions.

But Zhang Qilin ignored him and continued to do as he pleased, immersing himself in the role of Xiao Shunzi.

After running to the theater, he did not go in immediately.

Instead, he stood at the theater entrance, adjusted his breathing, and calmed his breath.

Just like Xiao Shunzi, when waiting for customers, he also tries his best to look energetic.

Upon entering the rehearsal hall on the first floor, I saw that teacher Feng Yuanzheng was already inside.

After exchanging greetings, he went to the window and started singing.

After warming up his voice, he learned the shouts and calls that the old people had taught him to attract customers.

Feng Yuanzheng turned his head and glanced at him, immediately understanding what Zhang Qilin was doing.

He continued to teach other students how to vocalize.

During his break, he began to ponder Xiao Shunzi's behavioral habits in different situations.

For example, when Xiao Shunzi was arguing with Hu Niu at the car factory, he would subconsciously scratch his head, his eyes showing a hint of fear but also a refusal to back down.

When reporting to Master Liu, he leaned forward slightly, showing a respectful yet humble attitude.

Zhang Qilin practiced these movements repeatedly, allowing his body to gradually adapt to these postures and expressions.

During lunch, I received a call from Sun Yu: "Brother Lin, it's all arranged. We'll be filming at the Huairou Film and Television Base tomorrow afternoon around four or five o'clock. They'll send a car to pick you up."

"You told them to arrive at five o'clock, which was when I finished rehearsing."

"OK"

Afternoon, 1:00 PM

Zhang Qilin arrived at the rehearsal hall on the third floor.

The rehearsal hall was empty at the moment.

This allows him to practice on his own.

Zhang Qilin walked to the stage set that had been set up.

He was going to practice the scene in the first act where he tried to sneak away from Tiger Girl to ask for his share of the money.

He took his notebook and walked to the door.

I remember that when people pull carts, they first check the height of the threshold before entering a room; it's a professional habit.

Xiao Shunzi, who was just coasting along at the car factory, wouldn't walk in as freely as the customers. He had to squeeze in close to the door so as not to block other people's way.

Zhang Qilin tried walking it three times. The first time, his movements were too furtive, making him look like a thief with ill intentions.

The second time, he seemed overly humble and submissive, like a servant who obeyed orders without question.

The third time —

He practiced just the movements of entering the door for almost an hour.

As time went on, more and more people entered the rehearsal hall.

When Chen Mo pushed the door open and came in, he still had his usual friendly smile on his face, and was about to greet the others.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of what seemed to be a figure moving on the stage.

He instinctively turned his head to look over.

The smile on his face froze instantly.

He saw the scene he least wanted to see: Zhang Qilin was practicing intently in front of the set again.

Seeing this scene, his heart skipped a beat.

Last time I saw Zhang Qilin practicing his blocking on the set.

He was blinded by greed and ran over to give instructions.

As a result, he created a formidable competitor for himself.

Zhang Qilin is practicing there again. Has this kid found the right direction again?

A strange sense of crisis quietly spread through his heart.

Seeing Zhang Qilin's serious expression made him increasingly uneasy.

Despite feeling a little flustered, Chen Mo forced himself to remain calm.

I tried to make my smile look natural again, but it looked a bit stiff.

While greeting the people around him, he kept glancing at Zhang Qilin out of the corner of his eye.

Watching Zhang Qilin completely immersed in his practice.

Every movement and every expression is repeated over and over.

He could tell that Zhang Qilin's body was not yet fully coordinated, and his movements gave people a stiff feeling.

It seems the idea is there, but the body hasn't caught up yet.

But he knew even better that the awkwardness wasn't clumsiness, but rather a search for the right posture.

Once Zhang Qilin finds the right posture, he will undoubtedly pose a greater threat to himself during rehearsals.

Thinking about this, he could no longer sit still.

As Zhang Qilin was practicing, a voice came to his ear: "What time is it now? If you keep practicing like this, you'll go astray."

Zhang Qilin stopped what he was doing, turned around and saw that it was Chen Mo.

Chen Mo stood beside him, her face showing a seemingly worried expression.

Zhang Qilin wiped the sweat from his face: "Teacher Chen, I'd like to give it a try."

Chen Mo shook his head: "I won't say anything if you want to try it out normally, but there are only four days left until the rehearsal. You're not practicing the correct method and you're still experimenting. Aren't you worried about being eliminated?"

If you didn't know who Chen Mo was, you would really think he was considering the newcomers just by listening to his words.

Unfortunately, Zhang Qilin was fully aware of Chen Mo's scheming.

Zhang Qilin said with a smile, "Teacher Chen, I came here mainly with a learning mindset, and I didn't think too much about the role."

Hearing this, Chen Mo cursed inwardly.

I believed your lies.

If you really have a learning attitude, can you memorize and master all the movement techniques in one day?

Such words can only be used to coax children.

Although he thought this in his heart, he still maintained that concerned expression on his face: "Young man, I have to criticize you for this. How can you give up so easily before the results are in? Practice according to the method I taught you, and I guarantee you will have a chance too."

Zhang Qilin felt a surge of joy.

If I were to actually learn from you, that would be a dead end.

But he said, "No, Teacher Chen already helped me last time. I can't be so inconsiderate and waste your time again—"

The two argued back and forth, each sticking to their own version of events, and neither was able to convince the other.

Finally, seeing that he couldn't persuade Zhang Qilin to change his mind, Chen Mo said with a regretful expression, "Take my advice, it's not too late."

After saying that, he sighed and turned to walk towards the seating area.

It seems they really feel sorry for the younger generation.

As he was about to return to his seat, his eyes subtly glanced in one direction.

Shortly after, Director Gu Wei walked into the rehearsal hall and announced the start of the rehearsal.

Today, Xiao Shunzi is played by Zhang Qilin.

The first act begins with Xiao Shunzi's entrance.

Zhang Qilin walked out through the left door, tiptoeing as he tried to slip out from behind Hu Niu.

Director Gu Wei's eyes lit up when he saw Zhang Qilin step over the threshold.

The moment Zhang Qilin stepped over the threshold, his perfectly measured caution made it seem as if Xiao Shunzi was trying to avoid Hu Niu's gaze and sneak out.

This single action perfectly captured Xiao Shunzi's cautious and meticulous demeanor in the car factory.

This earned Gu Wei's secret admiration; Zhang Qilin's attention to detail was truly remarkable.

However, Zhang Qilin's actions after entering the room made Gu Wei frown.

That subtle mindset of trying to do something underhanded behind Tiger Girl's back, yet being afraid of being discovered.

However, due to his lack of coordination, he failed to convey the message accurately through his performance.

Director Gu Wei coughed lightly, interrupting the rehearsal: "Qi Lin, your state after entering the room is not right. Xiao Shunzi's character has been in the car factory for so long, he should be very good at this kind of sneaking out, and his body should be relaxed and flexible."

"Your movements are too tense right now. You've completely lost the slickness and cleverness that Xiao Shunzi had. You need to maintain the state you had when you entered the door."

After hearing this, Zhang Qilin quickly nodded and said, "Director, I understand. I'll try again."

He knew in his heart that it was because his body couldn't keep up with his mind's actions.

However, the director's affirmation of the entrance action proves that his direction is correct.

Only by coordinating his body can he perfectly portray the character.

Chen Mo, sitting in the audience, heard Director Gu Wei praising Zhang Qilin's entrance.

My face felt burning.

He had just advised Zhang Qilin not to waste his time, but in the blink of an eye, Director Gu praised the action.

This made him feel quite uneasy.

After the first act ended, the director announced a short break.

Zhang Qilin sat down to replenish his fluids, and Li Xuehai and the other two gathered around.

Li Xuehai patted him on the shoulder with a smile: "Not bad, after so many days, Director Gu finally praised you. It seems you've finally figured it out."

"It's still a long way off," Zhang Qilin said politely. "I'm still practicing, just letting my body get used to this feeling."

Sun Zhenhai asked worriedly, "Qi Lin, I saw you practice just the entrance move for almost an hour. Xiao Shunzi has quite a few appearances throughout the play, and there are only four days left until the final rehearsal. Is that enough time for you to go through the whole play?"

Before Zhang Qilin could speak, Zhao Qing said, "Actually, you don't need to perfect every movement. Just use the movements to truly immerse yourself in the role of Xiao Shunzi, and everything will be natural."

Zhang Qilin said with a smile, "I haven't found a direction yet; I'm still testing it out."

The three people's words, on the surface, seemed to express concern for him, but in reality, they all carried traces of cajoling.

He didn't know which of the three was Chen Mo's accomplice, so naturally he wouldn't tell the truth.

After listening to Zhang Qilin's words, the three of them also helped him analyze how to get into character as quickly as possible.

Zhang Qilin also joined in the discussion in a seemingly serious manner until the director announced the start of the second act.

In the evening, Zhang Qilin returned to the courtyard. After practicing his lines for several hours, he read the character biographies for a while before going to rest.

Instead of resting casually in bed as usual, he imagined Xiao Shunzi having a long and tiring day.

Exhausted yet satisfied, I lay on the simple bed, feeling the soreness in my body, and thinking about how to attract more customers and earn more money tomorrow.

He tried to match his breathing rhythm with the character's, imagining Xiao Shunzi's state of mind in that situation. Slowly, he seemed to really enter Xiao Shunzi's world.

The following afternoon at 5:30

The Republic of China Street at Huairou Film and Television Base.

Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, it exudes an ancient and slightly weathered atmosphere.

The streets are lined with retro buildings, wooden doors and windows, mottled walls, and iconic rickshaws, as if pulling time back to that turbulent era.

Zhang Qilin and Sun Yu arrived at the scene and saw the staff busily setting up the filming location.

Zhang Qilin saw that Editor-in-Chief Zhou was talking to a photographer not far away, so he went up to greet him.

When Editor-in-Chief Zhou saw Zhang Qilin, a satisfied smile appeared on his face: "Mr. Zhang, you've arrived. Today's shooting theme is divided into several scenes: driving out in the early morning, soliciting customers on the street, driving a beautiful woman, and returning home at sunset."

"Each scene has different styling and atmosphere requirements. The stylist prepared three outfits for Zhang Qilin. Is that alright?"

Zhang Qilin nodded in response, "Don't worry, Editor-in-Chief Zhou, I will do my best. Shall we start filming now?"

"Wait a minute, there's another girl who's supposed to be with you. She seems to be late. You can start putting on your makeup first."

Zhang Qilin followed the makeup artist to the make-up room.

After a while, he finished his makeup and went outside.

As soon as he stepped outside, a figure suddenly bumped straight into his chest.

She staggered back a step, instinctively grabbing the door frame for support. When she looked up, her face still showed the panic of being late.

Zhang Qilin looked closely and saw that it was a petite girl.

She has a baby face, big eyes, and looks very cute.

Zhang Qilin was taken aback when he saw that face.

He never expected to run into her here.

"I'm so sorry, I was stuck in traffic—" She recognized the person in front of her, paused for a moment, and whispered to confirm, "You are—Zhang Qilin?"

Zhang Qilin asked curiously, "Do you know me?"

The girl rubbed her head: "I've seen your picture."

Just as Zhang Qilin was about to say something, he heard Editor-in-Chief Zhou's voice: "Zhao Liying, hurry up and put on your makeup, you're wasting time."

Zhao Liying quickly replied, "Editor-in-Chief Zhou, I'll go right away."

After saying that, she smiled at Zhang Qilin and hurriedly went into the dressing room.