Chapter 481: Action!

"In our village, we call that game 'Eagle Catches the Chick'."

"Because it's like a mother hen desperately spreading her wings, trying to protect the children behind her from being snatched away by a fierce eagle."

"The rules are very simple."

"The children are divided into two teams: offense and defense."

"The offensive side has only one person, and he is the 'eagle'. His goal is to break through the mother hen's blockade and catch the 'chick' at the very back of the line."

"The defensive side also has only one person, the 'mother hen'. She spreads her arms and uses her body to shield the row of chicks behind her as much as possible."

"The chicks hold onto the clothes of the person in front of them one by one, hiding behind the mother hen, dodging left and right."

"There is no clear boundary for winning or losing the game. Every time the eagle catches a chick, the game proceeds to the next round, until the last chick is also taken away."

"Sometimes, the mother hen is also caught."

"That means all the children are gone."

"We used to play this game often."

"Choosing who gets to be the eagle and who gets to be the mother hen is usually decided by rock-paper-scissors."

"The loser has no choice but to be that lonely, dangerous, and detested eagle."

"But after growing up, I realized that everyone likes to be the eagle—yet in this world, some people are chicks their entire lives."

……

"3, 2, 1."

"Action!"

……

Two red 100-Hong Kong dollar bills were tossed onto the table, which was cluttered with messy plates.

The camera slowly panned upward.

Chen Nuo was scraping rice from a plastic lunch box, one spoonful at a time.

But his movements stopped abruptly the moment the banknotes hit the table.

His eyes stared fixedly at the two Hong Kong dollar bills, he blinked hard a few times, then his head twitched to the right as if in a spasm, the muscles on his face trembling slightly, and he asked in a slightly hesitant voice: "Mom?"

The camera pulled back from an interior shot to give a slow panoramic view.

This was a cramped, narrow room with a low ceiling, walls blackened by cooking fumes, an old-fashioned green fan hanging overhead, and clutter piled in every corner; without needing many words, it looked like a slum in the lens.

At the near end of the frame, Hui Yinghong was getting dressed in front of an old wooden wardrobe.

As she fastened her belt, she said: "Today is A-Yuan's birthday, take this and buy her a birthday cake."

Chen Nuo looked at the two banknotes on the table and said in a low voice: "No need, I have money."

"Take it." Hui Yinghong finished putting on the red garment and walked over. "Prices are so high lately, how can that little bit of money you have be enough?"

Chen Nuo did not refuse again; he simply reached out, slowly pinched the two banknotes, folded them carefully, and stuffed them into his jacket pocket. He whispered: "Thank you, Mom."

Hui Yinghong looked at him, gave a soft 'mm', turned to pick up her handbag, and walked toward the door, saying: "Go early, don't keep A-Yuan waiting too long."

"Got it." Chen Nuo rubbed his eyes, looked at Hui Yinghong's back, and said: "Mom, when are you going to quit your job?"

Hui Yinghong was putting on her shoes at the door. "Quit what? What would I do if I quit? What about the money you were cheated out of before? Who's going to pay the monthly interest?"

Chen Nuo's hand gripping the chopsticks clenched into a fist; he stared straight at the empty bowl in front of him and said sullenly: "I'll earn the money myself, I'll pay it back myself."

"You'll pay it back yourself?" Hui Yinghong laughed, finished putting on her shoes, and turned back. "Don't move after you finish eating, just leave it on the table, I'll wash it when I get off work... buying plates every month. I'm leaving."

Clatter.

The door closed.

Chen Nuo sat in front of the table, stunned for a while.

The mottled wooden table, the bowls and chopsticks, and the figure at the side, against the chaotic background of the room, looked like an impressionist painting by Gauguin.

After a few seconds, he lowered his head, scraped the remaining mouthful of rice into his mouth, chewed twice, swallowed slowly, and then stood up.

His movements looked no different from an ordinary person's, but upon closer inspection, a slight lack of coordination could still be detected. His left leg stepped a bit slower, and his right hand trembled slightly when raised.

Chen Nuo slowly stacked the plates on the table, then placed the plastic lunch box and chopsticks on top. He carried the tray with both hands and walked step by step toward the kitchen.

He walked very cautiously, but just as he was about to step over the kitchen threshold—

"Clang!"

His left hand suddenly shook, his index finger twitched uncontrollably, and the plate stacked on top and the plastic lunch box instantly slipped from his hands and fell to the ground.

Crash, clatter.

The sound of shattering porcelain was particularly harsh in the cramped space.

The young man stood there blankly, looking at the white porcelain shards scattered all over the floor.

For a long time, he didn't say a word.

Peng Haoxiang looked at the dull, lifeless eyes on the monitor, let out a breath, and put the walkie-talkie in his hand to his mouth: "Cut! Tell Brother Nuo, the expression is so spot on, I like it so much, I think we can wrap it in one take."

After finishing, he paused and asked again: "But does he want to do it again? If he feels unsatisfied, we can roll again."

The voice on the other end of the walkie-talkie replied: "Received."

Then Peng Haoxiang turned his head, looked at the sea of heads, and said: "Alright, it's over, disperse, disperse, everyone go do your own things."

It turned out that a group of people of all kinds had been standing behind him the whole time, but no one had made a sound, as if no one was there.

Only when he finished speaking did this group of people suddenly come to life, walking out in twos and threes while talking.

"Wow, that's really intense, so immersive. That look just now, it was like he was really mentally impaired, totally in character! This is only the first shot, have you guys seen this before?"

"Seen it my foot, even watching through the monitor, my heart felt twisted."

"Really, you wouldn't know if you didn't say it, that tiny tremor in his hand was so realistic, I thought he really had aftereffects."

"And that falling plate, it fell just right, the camera angle was perfect, the timing was just explosive."

"Don't know how this scene will look when edited, but I think it will be very moving. This dramatic acting is definitely at the level of a Best Actor."