Chapter 360: Holding Your Hand

As actors of the National Theatre of China, Luo Chun and the others spend much of their time on stage play tours, in addition to participating in film and television works.

Much of the time, stage plays are about showcasing the tension of a performance.

Because it is a live performance and uses original sound, one often has to act with abandon, sometimes even acting a bit exaggeratedly.

But in film and television acting, especially in movies, you must learn not only how to "release," but also how to "restrain."

It is precisely for this reason that the ability to restrain and release at will is considered by many to be an extremely high realm of performance.

Within this lies great difficulty, and it is a true test of an actor's understanding of their character.

Under the call of Luo Mo, the cast of Nirvana in Fire held script reading sessions for a full week.

All the main characters participated, reading the script together to understand their own characters as well as others.

These days, many traffic-driven dramas don't even have the real actors show up, relying on cutout techniques to insert them, let alone spending time on script readings.

For someone like Tang Shiyu, this was her first time participating in such a long-lasting reading session. Moreover, every day she could see a bunch of actors debating fiercely, with all kinds of clashes.

However, the results of this were immediate.

Luo Mo's Requirement was simple: you must not only understand the character you are playing, but also the characters you are acting opposite.

Therefore, everyone present at the reading knew the character design of the male lead, Mei Zhangsu, and understood his personality.

Whether it was his gaze or the micro-expressions on his face just now, Luo Mo made people feel deeply immersed in the scene.

One must know that the former Lin Shu was also the brightest youth in Jinling Cheng.

He was a high-spirited young man.

With the spring breeze blowing, the horse's hooves are swift; in one day, one sees all the flowers in the city.

But now, not only is he frail and sickly, but he has also changed his appearance and is living under an assumed name.

This makes old acquaintances fail to recognize him, and loved ones fail to acknowledge him.

He can only hide in the shadows, using devious means to stir up the winds and clouds.

Perhaps he also recalls and misses the days of the past.

Therefore, the Great-Grandmother's simple sentence: "And you, whose family are you from?"

Would inevitably break his defenses!

"I am Lin Shu, I am Xiao Shu, Great-Grandmother." This is his inner voice.

But it can only be an inner voice.

If the pain of this moment were acted out externally, it would actually be too simple.

But because of this character's forbearance, it must be acted with restraint, which tests the handling of the details.

The reason Zhou Tong and the others felt it was impossible for Luo Mo to do it in one take was because the difficulty here is extremely high, requiring the actor to immerse their entire body and mind into the character.

They believed that the current Luo Mo had this ability, but that he would still need to shoot a few more takes to fully sink into it.

It is laughable to say, but Luo Mo has always been very worried about Ding Xiaoyu becoming a "drama maniac," yet the path he is currently taking is also that of a semi-Experience School actor.

Watching Director Luo's performance, Tang Shiyu thought to herself: "I actually feel a bit uncomfortable watching this, a bit heartbroken..."

This is inherently a character that would make many viewers feel uncomfortable.

It is precisely for this reason that after Nirvana in Fire aired, a Weibo account named 【The _th Day Since Mei Zhangsu Left】 appeared, posting one Weibo every day; the second to last one was "The 2081st day since Mei Zhangsu left."

More than 2,000 days, every single day.

The Weibo bio reads: Longing for you is like a lonely lamp, one night, one heart dies.

At this very moment, the people around the Empress Dowager turned to look at Mei Zhangsu, and someone said: "This must be Su Zhe, Mr. Su."

The Qilin Talent Mei Zhangsu is currently using the alias Su Zhe, having arrived in Jinling.

Mei Zhangsu immediately bowed and said: "Commoner Su Zhe."

"Oh—," the dim-sighted Empress Dowager looked at him from afar and said: "Get up, get up quickly."

Then, she said: "Come here to me."

"Hehehehe." The old woman laughed like a young child, looking at the person slowly walking toward her; her eyes were already a bit blurry, and her mind was becoming increasingly confused, so the Empress Dowager called out—"Xiao Shu."

This is not the 'Su' of Su Zhe and Mei Zhangsu.

This is his true identity—the 'Shu' of Lin Shu!

"Xiao Shu, come, come here to Great-Grandmother," the old woman said with kindness.

In an instant, everyone, including Princess Nihuang and the Chang Gongzhu, looked at each other.

The Chang Gongzhu smiled with Kindness, while Nihuang lowered her eyes, memories of the past surfacing in her heart.

Everyone felt that the old woman was truly senile.

But this taboo name made it impossible for everyone to forget.

Mei Zhangsu stopped in his tracks after hearing this halfway there.

"Come here," the old woman smiled and beckoned again, so kindly.

With the nod of the others, Mei Zhangsu stepped forward and knelt beside the old woman.

The white-haired old lady leaned in to look at him, opened her mouth, and said with concern: "Xiao Shu, you've grown thin."

Mei Zhangsu, who had been keeping his head down, could not help but slightly lift his head.

The Empress Dowager is senile.

She cannot remember whose children these people are.

She cannot even remember those who came to pay their respects two days ago.

But.

But!

Mei Zhangsu stared blankly at the old woman, his whole person appearing as if frozen.

The Imperial Concubine smiled from the side and said: "Mr. Su is a world-renowned great talent; it is only you, Empress Dowager, who calls him 'Little Su' the moment you meet, look at how you've stunned Mr. Su."

The Qilin genius; obtain him, and you may obtain the world.

Everyone in the inner palace is currying favor with her; who wouldn't want him to assist their own son?

The Great-Grandmother smiled, as if she also did not understand what she was saying.

"Come, Xiao Shu." She raised her hand, picked up a piece of pastry, and said, "Eat, this is what you like to eat most, come."

She has forgotten so much, yet she still remembers what you like to eat.

During this part, Luo Chun and the others were watching from the sidelines, feeling anxious on Luo Mo's behalf.

From the beginning, it was evident that Luo Mo had completely immersed himself in the character.

When immersion is deep, there is joy, Anger, sorrow, and happiness. Many people playing Script Kill, when they reach emotional scenarios, will immerse themselves in the character and cry their hearts out, let alone when acting.

At such times, everyone as a bystander feels moved and teary-eyed, and it is also relatively easy for the Actor to break down.

Luo Mo only raised his palms, keeping his head lowered to receive the pastry.

Then, he closed his hands together, covering the pastry. Next, he moved them slowly downward, his movements sluggish and with extremely subtle tremors, tucking the pastry into his sleeve and using his sleeve to hide his trembling palms.

—How could he bear to eat it.

……..

……..

"He caught the scene," Luo Chun and the others whispered.

The old lady was acting too well, so well that it was impeccable.

This old lady playing the Empress Dowager is one of the seniors with the highest seniority in the circle.

Even Luo Chun has to call her 'Sister'.

When a person gets old, their eyes will appear cloudy.

Yet in her cloudy eyes, besides confusion and muddle, there was also kindness and childlike innocence.

This scene sparked immense discussion after it aired on Earth, with everyone debating whether the Great-Grandmother had truly recognized Lin Shu.

If she had, she would be the first person in the entire drama to recognize that Mei Zhangsu is Lin Shu!

At the script reading, everyone also discussed this question.

Under normal circumstances, Luo Mo does not express his opinions at script readings; he likes to watch everyone use divergent thinking and spark ideas, so he did not come forward to state his understanding as the screenwriter.

Everyone held their own views, but there was one point they were unified on.

That is, the old lady must have mistaken others for Lin Shu before, which is why those around her were not surprised.

Because she kept it in her heart, she alone could not forget.

Lin Shu had been the apple of the Empress Dowager's eye since he was small.

It is just that this time... Xiao Shu has truly returned.

The pastry she picked up is actually one of the biggest challenges of the entire sequence.

If Luo Mo could receive the pastry in a good state, it would be equivalent to catching the scene.

Zhou Tong even specifically picked up the script Luo Mo had placed in the director's chair to take a peek, seeing that the action he had just performed was not in the script.

"That action wasn't there," he said.

Luo Chun is old, but he loves to joke, like an old urchin, and said with a laugh, "Hey, being so lazy when writing your own scenes?"

This was naturally said in jest; the script for *Nirvana in Fire* is very thick and full of details.

There was a very high probability that Luo Mo improvised on the spot.

Of course, he is the screenwriter and also the director, so it is also possible he had designed it in his heart long ago.

But regardless, the handling was very brilliant.

"This young Director Luo is becoming more and more like a mature, good Actor," everyone felt with emotion.

Earlier on, they had also heard that Luo Mo came from a variety show of the 【Idol training】 type.

At that time, this group of veteran actors did not understand why young people nowadays were still doing idol training; what was the point of that?

But they had seen Luo Mo's progress bit by bit. From *Classics in China* to the stage play tour, and now to filming together.

Speechless, it actually feels quite satisfying to watch!

At this moment, the Empress Dowager raised her head again, glanced at Princess Nihuang to the side, and said, "Come, you come over too."

Nihuang stood there stunned, and the old lady urged again, "Come over."

Nihuang hurriedly knelt down and said, "Empress Dowager."

The old lady took the hands of Mei Zhangsu and Princess Nihuang, looking at the two of them with a smile, her face full of satisfaction.

"You two are both good children."

"When are you two getting married?" she asked with a smile.

She even remembered the engagement between Lin Shu and Nihuang.

As the old lady spoke, she also placed their two hands together, making Nihuang and Mei Zhangsu hold hands.

The people on the side smiled and said, "It's all our fault for making the Empress Dowager confused."

A group of people chattered on the side to explain, saying that Princess Nihuang is currently discussing marriage and has not yet chosen a husband, it is not the child in front of you.

The old lady looked bewildered: "Hasn't chosen yet?"

"You two, didn't you get engaged long ago?"

Like a child who had done something wrong, she slowly withdrew her palms that had been encircling their hands.

At this very moment, Mei Zhangsu's hand was still covering the back of Nihuang's hand.

Her palm was trembling as she was about to withdraw it.

Mei Zhangsu, who had been looking down at the ground the whole time, committed a "bold and transgressive act."

He grabbed her hand firmly in one go!

(PS: Second update, requesting monthly votes. "The Star" has actually become the book with the highest word count I've ever written, how gratifying and worth celebrating.)

(Speaking of which, that "braggart" who said such-and-such if this book could reach 1.2 million words actually, damn it, deleted his own post!)

(End of this chapter)