Chapter 14: Acting Class

Before leaving, Zhang Yi specifically chatted with Chen Nuo about the film academy, promising that he would help him find a reliable acting crash course within the next two days as compensation for the lie he told earlier.

Chen Nuo hadn't brought a suitcase when he went out to film this time, carrying only a backpack containing some daily necessities and a few changes of clothes, thinking at the time that he would be wearing costumes for filming and wouldn't need anything else. The set of clothes he was wearing now was the same one he had worn over ten days ago; he had only washed it once in between, and a faint, stale odor was drilling straight into his nostrils.

If it were the old Chen Nuo, he would have long since found a shop to buy two new sets, wearing one and throwing the other away. But now, he didn't care at all.

The world of the mute had ended, but he felt as if he still couldn't get out of the mute's body. This feeling was quite strange; although Zhang Yi had warned him to get out of character as soon as possible, he was actually quite enjoying this sense of disorientation where he was both himself and not himself.

This feeling lasted until he reached the door of his residence.

"You are the electricity, you are the light, you are the only myth, I only love you, you are my superstar~ You dominate, I worship, there is no better way, I can only love you, you are my superstar~"

The living room of this apartment did indeed have two subwoofers and surround sound, as well as a sound controller and a DVD player, just like the similar set of equipment Chen Nuo had at his home in Xichuan.

Speakers, a television, and a DVD player—this seemed to be the standard configuration for households in this era. Chen Nuo had never imagined that anyone would actually use this equipment to sing karaoke at home, and judging by the sound, it was a chorus. Fortunately, the soundproofing of this apartment building was decent, so it wasn't too noisy even standing at the door.

Chen Nuo hesitated for a moment, but finally turned the key and opened the door.

A wave of sound immediately rushed toward him.

He saw three girls standing in front of the TV wall, holding microphones, jumping and dancing; there were several opened beer bottles on the coffee table, and sunflower seed shells were scattered all over the floor.

Yang Mi stood in the middle, wearing her teddy bear pajamas and pink slippers. Whether from the alcohol or excitement, her face was flushed. She was closing her eyes, tilting her voice, and singing into the microphone: "You are the meaning... you are the sky... you are the earth... you are God's will..."

The short-haired girl to her left was the first to notice Chen Nuo entering the door. She froze instantly, pulling hard on the corner of Yang Mi's pajamas with her right hand.

"Except for loving you... there is no... what's wrong, why are you pulling me?" Yang Mi opened her eyes and turned her head to ask, looking puzzled.

Then she saw Chen Nuo at a glance.

"Ah!" Yang Mi screamed in fright and stammered, "You, you, you, it's you? Why are you back?"

Thirty minutes later, in the living room.

The three girls were sitting in a row on the sofa, behaving properly. The beer bottles were gone, and the sunflower seed shells had been swept clean. Chen Nuo sat to one side helplessly and said, "Actually, it's really fine. You guys go ahead and have fun; I'll go to sleep after I take a shower."

"No, no, it's mainly that I hope you don't misunderstand. I actually just came back yesterday, and seeing that you weren't here, and it seemed like no one had lived here for a while... I just invited them over today to play and celebrate. Here, let me introduce you?"

The two girls beside Yang Mi were about the same age as her, one with long hair and one with short hair. Although they certainly weren't on the level of future stars like Nini or Yang Mi, their looks were above average.

They sat very straight, looking straight ahead.

Chen Nuo had just finished his shower and changed into comfortable casual clothes. His shaved hair hadn't grown back yet, still a buzz cut, making his already angular face look even more rigid. This was actually the contrast Zhang Yi wanted, because the mute was just such a man—masculine on the outside, but soft on the inside.

It should be said that Chen Nuo's appearance wasn't the type most teenage girls liked best, but it depended on who you compared him to. Suddenly having a face that could only be seen on a movie screen appear in one's private space, within arm's reach, definitely had a certain impact.

"This is Lu Siqi, and this is Zhang Jiajia. This is Chen Nuo... Hey, Chen Nuo, why did you cut your hair?" Chen Nuo ignored Yang Mi, whose neural response was a bit slow, and said to the two girls, "Hello, feel free to come over and hang out anytime. I actually quite like it when it's lively."

"Um, oh, okay." The short-haired girl named Lu Siqi said, a bit nervous.

Zhang Jiajia also followed up, "Hello, your hair is very unique."

Chen Nuo touched it, felt the prickliness, and smiled, saying, "My hair was actually quite long before; I only cut it recently."

Yang Mi asked curiously, "Why did you cut your hair?"

"I filmed a movie."

"A movie!?" Yang Mi widened her eyes, looking disbelieving. "Aren't you still in the training class?"

Chen Nuo hadn't fully come out of character yet, smiling foolishly like the mute: "Yeah. Hey, what about you? Did you go home during this time?"

"Not at all, I went to work. I went south to be a model, shot quite a few things, and even filmed an MV. By the way, guess who I met." Yang Mi said mysteriously with a smile.

"Who?"

"Big Brother Cheng Long! I even took a poster with him!" Yang Mi said excitedly, "He is so approachable, not at all like a big-name star."

Chen the Mute looked surprised: "That's amazing. Did you get an autograph?"

"Hehe, of course I did!" Yang Mi said proudly, "He signed three for me, one for each of us, which is why I called them over to celebrate. I just didn't expect it to be such a coincidence that you happened to come back."

Chen Nuo said, "It's fine that I'm back. I'm a heavy sleeper; you guys can make as much noise as you want and I'll still be able to sleep. Alright, you guys continue playing, I'm going in to rest."

Although Chen Nuo said that, Yang Mi and the others couldn't really continue playing. Not long after he entered his room, one could hear the sound of doors opening and closing; it must have been Yang Mi's two friends leaving.

After this interruption, Chen Nuo felt that the mute had moved a little further away from him.

But only a little.

Chen Nuo didn't expect Zhang Yi to act so quickly; he had said he would find him a training class, and the very next day he called.

"I've found it for you, a proper acting class offered by our school, held right inside the school. It was already full and closed for registration, but I sold my old face to get you a spot, and I even got you a discount—original price 3,000, now 2,000. One month, guaranteed to teach and guaranteed to learn, hehe."

"...Really? I haven't even woken up from my sleep yet, don't mess with me."

"Not messing with you, everything is true except for the 'guaranteed to learn' part. I'll text you the address and the contact teacher later; go meet them today. By the way, I'll be very busy with post-production during this time. If you need to find me, send me a text; I might not be able to answer the phone."

"Alright, got it." Chen Nuo muttered and hung up the phone. He originally wanted to sleep a bit more, but after tossing and turning, he realized he couldn't, so he simply got up.

(End of chapter)