Chapter 6: Running in the Alley

Chen Nuo chose a Chinese restaurant that looked somewhat upscale. Zhang Yi looked up at the door curtain, said nothing, and followed him inside.

After entering, Chen Nuo asked the waiter for a private room and sat down with Zhang Yi at the large round table inside.

After the waiter finished pouring the tea, Chen Nuo raised his teacup and said, "Teacher Zhang, I'll use tea instead of wine to apologize to you once again."

Zhang Yi nodded slightly, picked up the teacup in front of him, and took a sip. "Fine, let's let it go."

Chen Nuo smiled and said, "Thank you. Teacher Zhang, please order the dishes."

While looking at the menu, Zhang Yi asked, "Are you planning to apply to the Film Academy? The acting department?"

"Um... I suppose so."

"What do you mean 'suppose so'? Are you here to mess around, or are you here for real?"

"For real, but... anyway, I just want to go to university."

Zhang Yi looked at him carefully again, pondered for a moment, and said, "With your looks, it would be a waste to study anything else. Studying acting is the right choice."

Next, the two of them asked the waiter to take away the menu. Zhang Yi fiddled with the teacup in front of him, looking thoughtful, and Chen Nuo did not disturb him.

After a while, the food was served, and the two began to eat.

Both were men, so there was no need to worry about their image. Chen Nuo hadn't eaten breakfast and had been hungry for a long time. He and Zhang Yi polished off the dishes almost as soon as they were served. Before long, they had eaten most of the four dishes and one soup.

"Teacher Zhang, should we order a couple more dishes?"

Zhang Yi shook his head, rubbed his stomach, and said, "Forget it, I'm stuffed."

Chen Nuo said, "Then shall I go pay the bill now?"

"Wait, let's sit for a while longer." Zhang Yi pressed his hand down and said with some hesitation, "Let's talk about some serious business. Right now, I really do have a film in preparation. I wrote the script myself, the funding is secured, and the rest of the crew is mostly found, but I'm just missing a male lead; I haven't been able to find a suitable one. How about it, are you interested?"

Chen Nuo hadn't expected that this matter wasn't over yet, and he hesitated for a moment.

Actually, he really wanted to try it in his heart, because he was also very curious about what his supposedly good talent would look like in front of a professional. However, he still deliberately stammered, "...Uh, I don't know how. By the way, Teacher Zhang, why don't you act in it yourself?"

Zhang Yi smiled. "With my looks, what the hell would I act as? Besides, I'm from the directing department; what would I be acting for?"

"Ah?" Chen Nuo was truly surprised. "You're a director? But... aren't you teaching our acting class?"

"Does teaching an acting class mean I have to know how to act myself? Can't a director teach?" Zhang Yi sneered. "Your crappy school only pays three hundred yuan per class; what do you expect? That they could hire some big shot from the acting academy to lecture you? Only poor devils like us who study directing would settle for this kind of money... Forget it, let's not talk about that. Are you interested or not?"

Chen Nuo understood; Chen Bi had indeed been ripped off regarding the school matter.

"Teacher Zhang, it is my honor that you think highly of me. However, I'm afraid that since I don't know anything, I'll hold you all back."

"I know. Actually, I'm afraid too." Zhang Yi nodded slightly. "How about this, do you have anything to do after school this afternoon?"

"...No."

"Alright then, come with me later, and we'll go do a screen test."

The afternoon class was a line-delivery course. Before class started, Ma Yanran said mysteriously to Chen Nuo, "Did you go eat with Teacher Zhang at noon?"

Chen Nuo played dumb. "What Teacher Zhang or Teacher Li?" "Stop pretending. It's the Teacher Zhang who teaches us acting. I saw you both; don't try to deny it."

"Wow, are you stalking me?"

"Pfft, don't flatter yourself. I'm not that bored. When I went to eat at noon, I saw you and Teacher Zhang standing at the door talking... Hey, what were you talking about?" Ma Yanran stared straight at Chen Nuo.

"Oh, it's nothing. Teacher Zhang said he has a film to shoot and asked me to play the male lead."

"Heh, I'm being serious. You two knew each other before, right?"

"Yeah, we know each other. And then he asked me to play the male lead, but I didn't want to, so he was trying to persuade me at noon."

"Heh, forget it if you don't want to tell me." Ma Yanran's face turned cold, she rolled her eyes at him, and stood up to leave. She didn't come to find him for the rest of the afternoon.

After school in the afternoon, Chen Nuo followed Zhang Yi to a nearby alley called Dongmianhua Alley.

A young man who looked about the same age as Zhang Yi and had a mohawk was standing there waiting for them. "My goodness, it really is him!" As soon as he saw the two, he exclaimed, giving Zhang Yi a thumbs-up. "That's decent of you. You're just letting it go like that? And you're even asking him to act?"

After saying that, he frowned and looked Chen Nuo up and down. "How did this guy catch your eye? I don't see anything special about him."

Zhang Yi waved his hand and said, "Hey, enough. Chen Nuo, this is Li Xiaotian, the producer of my film. Now I'll tell you about the scene, and you perform it here for us to see."

Zhang the Mute is a poor kid who grew up in a Beijing alley. His father died when he was young, his mother went crazy, and he grew up eating food from a hundred families. He had a childhood sweetheart named Xiaozhu. As they grew older, feelings blossomed, and they started dating in private. However, Xiaozhu's father was determined to have Xiaozhu marry a rich man so they could move out of Mianhua Alley and into a tall, bright apartment building.

On this day, unable to resist her father's demands, Xiaozhu broke up with Zhang the Mute to his face.

"Come on, you are Zhang the Mute now. Xiaozhu just broke up with you, and you just walked out of her house and are walking out of this alley. Understand?"

Chen Nuo looked at Zhang Yi, then at Li Xiaotian, who was watching coldly from the sidelines, clearly preparing to see him make a fool of himself. He nodded and said, "I think I understand. Let me try. If I don't act well, Teacher Zhang, please don't take offense."

Zhang Yi said, "I won't take offense, but you have to be serious. Can you do that?"

"Yes."

Having shot so many short videos in his previous life, he knew how filming worked.

However, short videos were definitely different from movies, and they were certainly different from what Zhang Yi wanted to see him perform right now.

If he tried and Zhang Yi said he wasn't good enough, then he could recognize his own limitations sooner; that whole "camera presence" thing would just be an illusion. He should change careers as soon as possible; after all, that "guaranteed learning and passing" thing was definitely a lie. If he couldn't act, he would learn to sing; if he couldn't sing, he would learn to dance or paint. In any case, he should hurry up and find another path while there was still time.

So, how should he act? Chen Nuo pondered as he walked into Mianhua Alley.

First, it definitely couldn't be as exaggerated as before.

Second, it required concentration. Just like what Zhang Yi said today.

Empty your mind of distracting thoughts and focus entirely.

Third...

What about third?

After thinking for a long time, fortunately, the scene Zhang Yi described to him was very familiar. He had seen it many times growing up.

Then, for the third part, he should just follow the way it was in his memory; that should work, right?

(End of chapter)