Chapter 481: Action!

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

"Because it's like a mother hen desperately spreading her wings, wanting 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 only has one person; he is the 'eagle.' His goal is to break through the mother hen's obstruction and catch the 'chick' at the very end of the line."

"The defensive side also only has one person; that is the 'mother hen.' She spreads her arms, trying her best to protect the row of chicks behind her with her body."

"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 limit to the victory or defeat of 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 is the eagle and who is the mother hen is usually done through rock-paper-scissors."

"The loser can only go and be that lonely, dangerous, and hated eagle."

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

"3, 2, 1."

"Action!"

Two red 100-yuan Hong Kong dollar bills were tossed onto the table littered with plates.

The camera slowly moved up.

Chen Nuo was scooping rice spoonful by spoonful from a plastic lunch box.

But his movements came to an abrupt stop the moment the banknotes hit the table.

His eyeballs stared fixedly at the two Hong Kong dollar bills, blinking forcefully a few times, then his head tilted to the right as if twitching, and the muscles on his face trembled slightly as he asked in a voice with a hint of hesitation: "Mom?"

The camera pushed from inside to outside, slowly giving a panoramic view.

This was a cramped and narrow room, with a low ceiling, walls blackened by oil smoke, an old-fashioned green fan hanging overhead, and clutter piled in every corner. No need for too many words; in the lens, it looked like a place.

And at the near end of the lens, Kara Wai was putting on clothes in front of an old wooden wardrobe.

While tying 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 placed on the table and said in a low voice: "No need, I have money."

"Take it." Kara Wai finished putting on the red dress and walked over. "Prices are so high lately; how can that little bit of money you have be enough?"

Chen Nuo didn't refuse again; he just reached out, slowly pinched the two banknotes, folded them carefully, and stuffed them into his jacket pocket. He said in a low voice: "Thank you, Mom."

Kara Wai looked at him, gave a light "mm," turned around, picked up her bag, and walked toward the door, saying: "Go early, don't let A-Yuan wait too long."

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

Kara Wai was putting on her shoes at the door. "Quit? If I quit, what will I do? What about the money you were cheated out of before? Who will pay the monthly interest?"

Chen Nuo's hand holding the chopsticks instantly clenched into a fist, his eyes staring straight at the empty bowl in front of him, and he said in a muffled voice: "I'll earn the money myself, I'll pay it back myself."

"You'll pay it back yourself?" Kara Wai laughed, finished putting on her shoes, and turned back. "Don't move after you finish eating; just leave it on the table, wait for me to come back from work to wash... buying plates every month. I'm leaving."

*Clang. *

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 portrait on the side, against the chaotic background of the room, looked like an impressionist painting by Gauguin.

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

His movements looked not much different from an ordinary person's, but upon closer inspection, a slight lack of coordination could still be detected. His left leg stepped slightly slower, and his right hand had a slight tremor 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 toward the kitchen step by step.

He walked very cautiously, but just at the moment he was about to step into the kitchen threshold—

"Clang!"

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

*Crack, crack, crash. *

The sound of porcelain shattering 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.

Pang Ho-cheung looked at the dull and lifeless eyes on the monitor, exhaled, and placed the walkie-talkie in his hand in front of his mouth: "Cut! Tell Brother Nuo, the expression is so spot on, I love it so much, I think we can accept it in one take."

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

The walkie-talkie replied: "Received."

Afterward, Pang Ho-cheung turned his head, looked at the sea of heads, and said: "Alright, finished watching, disperse, disperse, go do your own things."

It turned out that a group of people of all shapes and sizes had been standing behind him, but no one made a sound, as if no one was there.

Until he finished speaking, this group of people suddenly came to life, and in twos and threes, they walked out while talking.

"Wow, so awesome, so invested, that look just now, it's like he's really gone silly, completely in character! This is only the first shot, have you guys seen this before?"

"Seen it? Ghost, I felt my heart tighten just watching through the monitor."

"Really, didn't know until now, that slight tremor in his hand is so real, I thought he really had sequelae."

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

"Don't know how this scene will look when edited, but I think it will definitely be very moving; this drama is definitely at the Best Actor level." ===== CHAPTER 482 =====