Chapter 15

Yang Mi's bedroom door was tightly shut; she wasn't up yet. After all, it was only a little past 8:00 AM; no one around 18 years old would be up at this hour, unless some clueless middle-aged person called them.

Chen Nuo felt that since he was going to see a proper teacher, and it concerned whether he could get into university, it was better to tidy up. So, after washing up, he went back to his room to change his clothes.

Before heading out, he checked the full-length mirror by the door. The young man in the mirror was wearing a light-colored plaid shirt inside, layered with a dark brown wool coat, and simple jeans paired with sneakers on the bottom. It didn't look like the current style, but rather like one from 20 years later.

A height of 180cm wasn't too tall, but it wasn't short either. Perhaps because of the hair, Chen Nuo felt the gaze of the person in the mirror was a bit cold.

Was it just because of the hair?

Chen Nuo wasn't quite used to himself like this. He had always been called a "century warm man" by many girls, hadn't he?

It probably had to be blamed on the mute.

He flashed a smile at the mirror, then opened his mouth wide to relax the facial muscles, and used his fingers to lift his eyebrows and the corners of his eyes... After filming for over a month, he was already quite skilled at these basic techniques for adjusting expressions. Sure enough, the originally stern face in the mirror now became much softer.

Chen Nuo went out, bought two steamed buns on the way, and ate while walking, making his way all the way to the Film Academy.

The person Zhang Yi introduced was surnamed Yang, and the office was on the second floor of a U-shaped building, with an admissions office sign hanging at the entrance. Teacher Yang was about 30 years old and looked cheerful, but he was likely very busy; he didn't say two words before asking Chen Nuo to pay. After the payment was made, he took Chen Nuo to an office next door and called out, "Li Jiaoshou, a new student for the training class, please come out and receive him."

Before long, a woman in her forties walked out.

She wore tortoiseshell glasses and was slightly plump. Although not young, she was well-maintained; only faint fine lines were visible on her face, her makeup was exquisite, and her hair was in natural waves. She wore a well-tailored dark blue sweater, the collar and cuffs of her skirt were embroidered with delicate patterns, and she wore loose black trousers and long boots.

Since his rebirth, this woman was the most fastidious female Chen Nuo had ever seen.

"Why another one?" She seemed a bit displeased. "Teacher Yang, the acting class has already been in session for several days, why are you still recruiting students?"

Teacher Yang was a bit embarrassed and chuckled, "The last one, the last one."

That Li Jiaoshou sized Chen Nuo up and turned to say, "This really is the last one. If anyone else comes, Teacher Yang, you'll have to teach them yourself."

"Yes, yes, yes, absolutely no more. Sorry, Li Jiaoshou. Then please talk to the student; I'll be going now."

After Teacher Yang left, Li Jiaoshou looked Chen Nuo up and down and nodded, "Follow me in."

Chen Nuo followed her into the office.

"How old are you? Do you have any foundation? What is your purpose for studying?"

She sat on the sofa in the office and gestured for Chen Nuo to sit opposite her.

"18 years old, no foundation. The purpose of studying is to get into film school." Chen Nuo added, "I filmed a movie a while ago, I don't know if that counts as foundation."

"A movie? What movie?"

"Just a graduate student from the directing department here, named Zhang Yi, he..."

Before Chen Nuo could finish, the woman interrupted him, "Zhang Yi's movie ended up casting you? The male lead?"

"Ah, yes." The woman frowned and said, "He didn't like the ones I introduced to him, and he ended up choosing you? So, is your movie finished filming now?"

"Mm, finished."

"How long did you film for?"

"A month or so."

The woman looked at Chen Nuo with a scrutinizing gaze and said, "Now I'll give you a prompt to test your basic skills. Hmm, you play a middle-aged man in his forties who is dissolute and unrestrained. Today is his mistress's birthday, but his wife asked him to go shopping, so he called his mistress to make an excuse. What you say on the phone and how you say it is up to you. Begin."

Five minutes later, the woman told him to spin around in place.

"What was your name again?"

"Chen Nuo, Chen as in 'ear-east', Nuo as in 'promise'."

Chen Nuo felt like laughing inside. When filming *The Zhang Zhang Yaba*, although Zhang Yi and the crew said he acted well, he always felt strange when watching himself on the monitor. He couldn't find the feeling of why it was good, because the style was too different from when he filmed short videos.

However, just now, when Li Jiaoshou asked him to play a cheating middle-aged man, he was extremely confident—it was basically a performance of his true self.

Sure enough, Li Jiaoshou attitude softened, "My name is Li Er, 'Er' as in 'well-known far and wide'. You can call me Li Jiaoshou. I am the main person in charge of this pre-exam training class, and I am also the teacher who teaches your acting classes. Our classes are from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM every day. It is divided into acting, body movement, lines, and vocal music. I will photocopy a schedule for you in a moment. In principle, you are free to come and go, but what you learn is your own, so I hope you won't be late or leave early every day, and don't let your parents' hard-earned money go to waste."

After Chen Nuo nodded in agreement, Li Er said that classes were already in session, so he could go downstairs to walk around the campus and come back at 10:30. The next session was her acting class, and she would take Chen Nuo over then.

Chen Nuo actually didn't want to walk around at all; he really wanted to sit on the sofa Li Er was sitting on and rest, but it was clear that she didn't want him staying in the office to be an eyesore. Chen Nuo had no choice but to say okay and turn to leave.

After Chen Nuo left, Li Er picked up her phone and dialed a number.

"Zhang Yi, don't you know classes have already started? And you're still recommending students to Old Yang... You just want to hide it from me, don't you? Using my name to go around swindling people every day, and even this little matter has to be done sneakily..."

"Forget it, I'm too lazy to lecture you today. Your movie is finished?... You cut a clip of this Chen Nuo's performance and show it to me... Ha, your crappy movie has quite a strong sense of secrecy..."

"It's not anything else. A while ago, a Hong Kong director came to Jingcheng looking for actors and found me. I recommended a few to him, but he didn't think any were suitable. In the last two days, I heard he actually wants to find someone from the Korean side to act."

"... Right, that's what I thought too, charity shouldn't go to outsiders. I think this Chen Nuo's appearance fits quite well, so I just wanted to see his effect in front of the camera... Heh heh, a small production can find me? Let me tell you, a blockbuster with a budget of tens of millions..."

"Of course it can't be the male lead. They haven't officially announced the specific details, so I can't tell you either. Anyway, it's a big director and big production from Hong Kong, a super cast..."

"He doesn't need to treat me to a meal. I'm just saying a word; whether it works out or not depends on him..."

"Mm, as soon as possible."

(End of chapter)