Chen Siku had already prepared how to teach this class, so she had prepared three copies of the script. After giving one copy to each of the two girls, she said, "You two go and go over your lines first, and then tell me what you're going to say. I'll give you some questions!"
They weren't children anymore; the simplest way was to do it directly, then find the mistakes and improve based on them. After Chen Si finished speaking, she left the practice room, leaving only the two of them in the large room.
"What are you doing here?" Zhou Huai asked impatiently as soon as Chen Siku left.
"Shh—" Ji Anxi gestured for her to be quiet, "There are surveillance cameras around here."
"...Of course I know there are security cameras, don't try to change the subject!" Zhou Paihuai pinched her fingers. "Didn't you tell me you were working on your graduation project? You still have two months until graduation, what are you doing here?"
"Can't you tell? I'm an artist at Genesis now, just like you. We'll be colleagues from now on." Ji Anxi said, her eyes slowly filling with a little pride. "Besides, I finished my graduation project a long time ago. That was no challenge for me at all!" Her eyes sparkled, like some kind of little animal seeking petting.
Zhou Paihuai felt a little itchy to touch it, but she resisted the urge to do so and said, "Who asked if you finished your graduation project? I remember you didn't study acting. What are you doing in this industry?" And you even joined such an unreliable agency as Genesis.
“Who says you can’t enter the entertainment industry if you’re not a performance major? There are so many award-winning actors and actresses in this industry, how many of them are formally trained? Didn’t they all get in by chance?” Ji Anxi didn’t quite agree with Zhou Paihuai’s statement. “Besides, you’re not formally trained either, but aren’t you in this industry now?”
"So you can see how bad my acting is, and you can see how badly others have slandered me!" Zhou Paihuai stated the facts to her, but as he did so, he suddenly realized, "No, that can't be the truth. Tell me, why did you come to Genesis?"
Ji Anxi had never realized that Zhou Paihuai was so difficult to deal with. She suddenly looked into Zhou Paihuai's eyes and said, "Okay, I'll tell you the truth. Actually, I got into the entertainment industry because of you!"
"Because of me?" Zhou Paihuai felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze.
"Yes, it's all because of you!" Seeing that she believed him a bit, Ji Anxi continued, "You forgot that you told me before that if I was capable, I should act myself. Of course, I couldn't stand it, and I think there's a good chance that I can surpass your acting skills, so I came to Genesis!"
Hearing what the hater said, Zhou Paihuai vaguely recalled the times he had chatted with her before. Sometimes when they got into a good chat, they would tease each other. He had said things like "If you're so good, then you do it." He never expected that she would actually take it to heart.
"That was just a joke, why would you risk your future like that?"
"I'm not joking about my future. How can you be so sure I can't do well in this industry?"
Zhou Paihuai then realized that her thinking was wrong. If it were up to her true nature, she would never have entered the entertainment industry; things had only come to this point by a twist of fate. But other people's thoughts were ultimately different from hers, and if this was the little hater's own choice, she should respect it. "You're right. I believe you're not someone who acts on impulse. Besides, Teacher Chen Siku is very experienced. If you learn acting from her, with your talent, you should be able to make a name for yourself."
"You actually believe in me that much?" Ji Anxi was immediately delighted by her words. "Then do you think I have talent?"
“… …” Zhou Paihuai held up the script in his hand, “Talent or not, let’s work hard first! Hurry up and choose a role, the two of us will go over the lines!”
"good!"
Although Zhou Paihuai doesn't have much talent for acting, she has a good memory and has recently been studying acting systematically for a long time, so her delivery of lines is not bad.
However, Ji Anxi struggled when she first started practicing her lines. She stumbled and stammered as she read from the script, and even broke into laughter frequently.
"Stop laughing!" After a few times, Zhou couldn't help but make the request.
“No, no…” Ji Anxi waved her hands repeatedly, “It’s nothing, it’s just that when I see you, and think about having to recite these lines to you, I can’t help but laugh.”
"..." There was really no way to deal with the awkwardness of meeting an acquaintance, and Zhou Paihuai was also unable to resolve it.
"Are you two done yet?"
Chapter 62 Zhou. Without emotion. Hesitating.
Zhou. Feelingsless. Hesitant.
The quickest thing to do during class is to daydream, but the most painful thing after daydreaming is when the teacher comes in, and you might even get a quiz.
Zhou Heihuai had been with Chen Siku for a long time, so the two of them were quite familiar with each other. So she smiled and said, "Teacher, this is just the beginning. Please give us some more time!"
Chen Siku frowned slightly. It had been almost half an hour, and they still hadn't gotten into character. She said firmly, "No, it's been so long. No matter how well they've practiced, start rehearsing now!"
“... ..."
“... ..."
After exchanging bewildered glances, Zhou Paihuai and Ji Anxi had no choice but to pick up their scripts and begin rehearsing their lines.
Actually, it wasn't as bad as I imagined. The main thing is that the two of them had learned something during this time, and they could immediately evoke the necessary emotions when they saw the lines. So, they were able to read the lines out of the script.
After reciting his lines, Zhou Paihuai deliberately nudged Ji Anxi with his elbow and whispered, "You just stole my lines. How could you steal my lines?"
"Huh?" Ji Anxi didn't even notice. Taking advantage of Chen Siku's inattention, she quickly said, "Where? Which line did I steal from you?"
Zhou Paihuai pointed to a line in her script and said, "This is it. I should be reading it twice, but you stole my lines!" The most outrageous thing is that afterwards, we kept going back and forth, and somehow we got back to each other. I don't know if the teacher even noticed. I hope she didn't.
Ji Anxi tried hard to recall, and it seemed that she had mixed up her lines. But... but since Zhou Paihuai didn't go over the lines with her, but instead kept asking her all sorts of questions, it was already a miracle that she hadn't become a stutterer.
"Overall it's not bad!" Chen Si didn't mention the two of them messing up their lines, whether she really didn't notice or didn't hold it against them, "but Zhou Zhou, you should express your emotions more strongly, instead of sounding like you're reading a textbook. Even if your pronunciation isn't very clear, your emotions need to be on point."
Zhou nodded coldly, seemingly unmoved. If she really couldn't even pronounce words clearly, how could she possibly have any emotion? However, she considered herself to be on par with Ji Anxi in reciting lines, so how could she tell that she lacked emotion?
Not satisfied with just a nod from her, Chen Siku said, "Tell me, what kind of emotion should you have when you recite these lines?"
The script Chen Siku gave him was from an old movie. Because of its age, the picture quality wasn't great, so even though Zhou Paihuai had watched it twice, he hadn't really grasped its essence. The plot was novel and unique for its time, but it seemed rather cliché by today's standards. However, the lines were very memorable, and many films and TV series still use lines from it.
The scene where Zhou Paihuai and Ji Anxi exchange lines is the most classic scene in the movie. Two friends who were once very close have had their feelings fade over the years, but the tacit understanding they developed since childhood remains. This line is a reflection on life that comes from within after their completely different destinies have matured.
After listening to Zhou Paihuai's evaluation of the film, Chen Siku nodded and said, "If you, as a viewer and a third party, can say these words, it means you truly understand the film. But Zhou Zhou, you must understand that you are a character in the play, and you should never do things that only outsiders do. A true character in the play has a bursting belief in their heart, which becomes clearer and clearer little by little, and there will be a process of dispelling confusion." But Zhou Paihuai did not. Perhaps she was too familiar with this line, or perhaps she was too familiar with the characters in many of the films she had made, but she did not live up to that character; rather, she saw through the character from outside the play.
Chen Siku had long said that compared to Zhou Paihuai, whose mindset was already fixed, teaching her would be far more difficult than teaching Ji Anxi, who was like a blank sheet of paper, unless she herself could break free from this fixed mindset.
"I understand, let me think about it some more." Zhou Huaihuai seemed to understand something after hearing Chen Siku's heartfelt teachings, yet he also seemed to understand nothing at all.
"I'll give you some more time to think it over. If it's about time, we'll move on to the next match."
After Chen Siku left again, Ji Anxi saw Zhou Peihuai looking conflicted. She advised her, "Teacher Chen was mainly praising you. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."
“I didn’t put any pressure on myself!” Zhou Paihuai shook his head gently. “I’m just wondering what you were thinking when you were reciting your lines just now?” In order to find the feelings he had lost for so long, Zhou Paihuai asked without hesitation.
"...Actually..." Ji Anxi hesitated for a moment before choosing to tell the truth, "I was just too nervous, so I didn't think about anything. When I saw the lines, I didn't think much about them either, and just started reading them. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been so eager to steal your lines."
"Didn't I think about anything?" Zhou Huaihuai muttered to himself, but in his heart he was thinking: Could it be that I was thinking too much when I was reciting my lines, and that's why I felt this way?
Ji Anxi nodded and said, "Actually, I think what Teacher Chen said makes some sense. I don't know if you've noticed, but when I criticized you the most before, although your acting was criticized by many people, at least you brought something different to each character. Although sometimes your emotional grasp wasn't quite there, in the later characters, you always seemed a bit detached from the role." Like that stunningly beautiful "white moonlight" character before, she always felt out of place in the whole drama. However, that character's screen time was too short, and Zhou Paihuai's appearance was too beautiful, so not many people criticized that character. But that doesn't mean her acting has improved.
To put it bluntly, he lacks a sense of immersion. Zhou Huaihuai feels that he can immerse himself in the role quite well, but he doesn't know why he can't seem to fit in and feels out of place in every role.
“Let’s practice some more!” Zhou Paihuai called to Ji Anxi. “Although, according to Teacher Chen, your emotion is enough, it’s best to avoid interrupting with lines too often. Otherwise, you might offend people when you join the crew.” In fact, Zhou Paihuai hadn’t acted in many productions, but he was quite familiar with the unspoken rules of film crews. As for her inability to connect emotionally with her lines, there was no real concern. After all, in her current state, she didn’t really have a chance to act anyway.
Zhou Paihuai and Ji Anxi still preferred to rehearse their lines without a script, so they spent some time memorizing their own and each other's lines, and then they started rehearsing the lines over and over again, pointing out which lines the other person pronounced incorrectly or not well enough.
You can't actually hear what the people inside are saying through the glass door, but Chen Si could sense their sincerity from outside, which made her very gratified. All teachers aren't worried about whether their students can learn, because that's a teacher's responsibility; they only care whether the student is willing to learn.
"Old Chen, how are the two of them getting along?" Cheng Minxin took a moment to come over and check on them.
Chen Siku pointed inside and said, "They have a very good relationship. They are both good kids and not difficult to get along with."
"You think too highly of them!" Cheng Minxin thought to herself. Putting aside Ji Anxi, this young lady, and Zhou Paihuai, who always keeps a distance from everyone, the fact that the two of them can get along so well can only be attributed to fate. If she were to ask Ji Anxi to help Zhou Paihuai in the future, her chances of success would be much higher.
"It's good that they get along. How are they doing with their studies lately?" As their manager, Cheng Minxin had to ask about their progress.
Speaking of this, Chen Siku was still a little worried: "To be honest, Anxi is a good prospect. He has the talent to perform and is willing to work hard. Although he entered the industry a little late, it doesn't matter. He can take on some good scripts to hone his acting skills and he will definitely have a bright future."
After listening to Chen Siku's explanation of Ji Anxi, Cheng Minxin was very happy. She also had high hopes for Ji Anxi, not only because of her background, but also because she could see that the child had talent and hoped that she could cultivate an artist with good acting skills and a good reputation under her wing. "Then, what about Zhou Zhou?"
“Zhou Zhou is a very hardworking child, and she is also very quick to learn, but…” Chen Si sighed and shook his head, “She is indeed not very suitable for the path of acting, unless she suddenly unlocks her full potential.”
"..." Cheng Minxin was in the mood of an old mother. Her beloved son was being criticized for not having talent, and she felt really unwilling. But Chen Siku was right, and she couldn't even refute him.
Chapter 63 Refusing an Exhibition Match
Time passed quickly. Zhou Paihuai and Ji Anxi went over their lines again and again until they could find no fault with each other. Only then did they go out to find Chen Siku and ask their teacher for guidance.
This time, Chen Siku was very satisfied after listening. Although only half an hour had passed, Zhou Paihuai's comprehension was different; it was truly remarkable that she could deliver the lines so well.
"Very good. Your performance today surprised me greatly. I am very satisfied!" Chen Siku praised without reservation. "If this pace continues, it won't be long before Anxi can join a regular production." By joining a production, Chen Siku meant that Ji Anxi would at least get a role as the second or third female lead, a very significant part in a TV series, instead of playing a minor role like she is now.
Zhou Paihuai was very happy for Ji Anxi. Originally, the two of them were joking around, and she really thought that Xiao Heifen was just trying to spite her. But when they were rehearsing their lines, Zhou Paihuai noticed that there was a light in Xiao Heifen's eyes. She really loved acting, just like the original owner of this body.
The acting class wasn't over yet when Chen Siku received a phone call and had to leave. Since her learning tasks for the day were complete, she simply told the two of them to leave as well.
"Are you busy later?" Ji Anxi asked her tentatively while packing her things.
"Hmm?" Zhou Paihuai glanced at her. "Are you inviting me to dinner?"
"... ...You guessed it right the first time, what's the point?" Ji Anxi was extremely bored. A conversation should have a back-and-forth exchange to go on, but now, she could understand even half of what she said. "You're not a psychology student!"
Zhou Paihuai chuckled. Ji Anxi's little thoughts were all written on her face; even if she wasn't a psychology student, she could see through them. She said, "If you really want to have dinner with me, we can't find a good place right now. This place is quite close to my house, why don't you come home with me?"
“Okay!” Ji Anxi agreed without hesitation.
Zhou Paihuai quickly thought about the remaining ingredients in her kitchen. It seemed like she only had some vegetables left. If Ji Anxi was really going to eat at her place, she would definitely have to go to the supermarket. However, she heard from Sister Cheng that Xiao Heifen had already filmed a few dramas. She wondered if she could make an appearance at the supermarket.
"What are you searching for?" After answering, she saw that Zhou Paihuai ignored her and instead started searching for something on his phone.
"No, nothing." Zhou Paihuai turned off her phone. She wouldn't tell anyone that she'd gone to check the news about Ji Anxi to see if her face was safe to appear in the supermarket. Fortunately, Ji Anxi's name hadn't appeared in any encyclopedia entries yet, so it should be safe for her to go to the supermarket now. "Let's go, we're almost out of food at home, let's go on a supermarket shopping spree!"
"Are you really going to cook for me?" Ji Anxi sensed from Zhou Paihuai's words that he intended to do it himself. "Actually, we can order takeout."
"Eating takeout every day is so unhealthy! Today I'll show you how to cook!"
Ji Anxi listed all the dishes she liked to eat, and Zhou Paihuai started buying groceries according to the menu. He bought two large bags full of ingredients at the supermarket before he had prepared all the ingredients.
After arriving home, Zhou Paihuai threw his things on the ground and couldn't help but collapse onto the sofa. He then invited Ji Anxi to sit down with him, saying, "Come and rest. I'm exhausted from tidying up all this stuff later."
Ji Anxi wasn't much better off. Although she was walking the whole time and not running at all, it was still more tiring than running 800 meters in her school physical fitness test.
"Your phone!" The cell phone on the table suddenly rang, and Ji Anxi reminded her to answer it.
Upon seeing that it was Cheng Minxin calling, Zhou Paihuai answered the phone without hesitation.
"Sister Cheng—"
“... ..."
"What exhibition match? I'm not going. If I were to participate in an exhibition match now, I'd definitely get targeted and killed. I wouldn't have any gaming experience at all. I'm not going."
"...This is...a great opportunity!"
"But I really don't want to go, Sister Cheng. Please send my message back for me. I really won't go!"
“... ..."
Cheng Minxin tried to persuade Zhou Paihuai for a long time on the phone, but he wouldn't budge, so she had no choice but to agree. After hanging up, Cheng Minxin was still somewhat unwilling. Zhou Paihuai hadn't appeared in public for over half a year, and he already had very little audience appeal; now it was practically gone. Even if she were asked to go out and act now, probably very few people would accept her. Now, she finally got an invitation to an exhibition match; even if she wasn't as good at the game as before, her looks alone could attract some fans. But she was as stubborn as a mule!
"Why didn't you go to the exhibition match?" Ji Anxi asked after she hung up the phone, then added nervously, "I didn't mean to listen to your call, I was just talking too loudly!"
"It's just... I don't really want to go!" Zhou Huai smiled at her. "You know I'm very competitive when it comes to games. I always feel like I'll lose badly in the exhibition match, so to avoid getting upset, I'd rather not play!"
She's lying! That was Ji Anxi's first thought upon hearing Zhou Paihuai's words. Zhou Paihuai had probably forgotten that she often played games with Xiao Heifen, and that she had said during those games that she didn't play for food or clothing, but simply for fun and enjoyment, putting winning or losing last. Now she was saying she had a strong competitive spirit? Did she think she was stupid?
Even though she noticed Zhou Paihuai talking, Ji Anxi didn't expose her, so she didn't say anything.