Chapter 15: Li Er

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

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

Before leaving, he checked the full-length mirror by the door. In the mirror, the young man wore a light-colored plaid shirt inside, layered with a dark brown wool coat, and simple jeans with sneakers on the bottom. It didn't look like the current style, but rather like something from 20 years later.

His height of 180 cm wasn't particularly tall, but it wasn't short either. Perhaps because of his 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 used to himself like this; he had always been called a "century-level warm man" by many girls, hadn't he?

It was probably still the fault of The Mute.

He flashed a smile at the mirror, opened his mouth wide to relax the muscles in his face, and used his fingers to lift his eyebrows and the corners of his eyes... After filming for over a month, he had become quite skilled at this basic technique of adjusting expressions. Sure enough, the cold, stern face in the mirror now became much softer.

Chen Nuo left the house, bought two steamed buns on the road, ate while walking, and walked all the way to the Film Academy like this.

The person Zhang Yi introduced was surnamed Yang, and his office was on the second floor of a U-shaped building, with a sign for the Admissions Office hanging at the door. 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, "Professor Li, a new student for the training class. Could you please come out and receive him?"

Before long, a woman in her forties walked out.

She wore tortoiseshell glasses and was slightly plump. Although she wasn't young, she was very 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 tall boots on her lower body.

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

"Why is there another one?" she asked, looking somewhat displeased. "Teacher Yang, the acting class has already been in session for several days; why are you still recruiting students?"

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

That Professor Li sized Chen Nuo up, turned her head, and said, "This really is the last one. If anyone else comes, Teacher Yang, you can teach them yourself."

"Yes, yes, yes, absolutely no more. Sorry, Professor Li. Please talk to the student; I’ll be going now."

After Teacher Yang left, Professor Li looked Chen Nuo up and down, nodded, and said, "Come in with me."

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 a film school," Chen Nuo added. "I filmed a movie a while ago; I don't know if that counts as a foundation."

"A movie? What movie?"

"It's 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? As the male lead?"

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

"Yes, it's finished."

"How long did it take to film?"

"A month or so."

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

Five minutes later, the woman told him to spin in a circle where he stood.

"What was your name again?"

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

Chen Nuo felt a bit like laughing. When filming The Mute, 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 what exactly was good about it because the style was too different from when he filmed short videos.

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

Sure enough, Professor Li's attitude softened, "I am Li Er, Er as in 'well-known far and wide'. You can call me Teacher Li. I am the main person in charge of this pre-exam training class, and I am also the teacher who teaches your acting class. Our classes are from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM every day. They are divided into acting, body movement, lines, and vocal music. I will make a copy of the schedule for you in a moment. In principle, our classes are free to attend, but what you learn is your own, so I hope you won't be late or leave early every day. 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 over there, so he could go downstairs to walk around the campus and come back at 10:30. The next class was her acting class, and she would take Chen Nuo over then.

Chen Nuo didn't actually want to walk around at all; he really wanted to sit on the sofa Li Er had been sitting on to rest, but it was clear that the other party 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 keep it from me, don't you? Using my name to swindle people outside every day, and even this little thing you have to do behind my back..."

"Forget it, I'm too lazy to lecture you today. Is your movie finished? ...Send me a clip of what this Chen Nuo acted... Ha, your crappy movie has such a strong sense of confidentiality..."

"It's not anything else. A Hong Kong director came to Jingcheng a while ago 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."

"...Yeah, that's what I thought, 'the fat water shouldn't flow into outsiders' fields.' I think this Chen Nuo's appearance fits, so I wanted to see how he looks in front of the camera... 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 or not depends on him..."

"Mm, as soon as possible."

(End of chapter)