Chapter 191: The Dance of Shackles It's rare to see something like this again...
Upon hearing Director Cheng say that they could begin, Li Sishi took a deep breath and exchanged a glance with Ling Chen, who was standing next to her. Without saying a word, they had already transformed into their respective roles.
Watching Li Sishi casually tidy her sideburns while secretly using her little finger to pull down a small strand of hair from her forehead, Cheng Hesheng immediately guessed her intention: the female lead was in a state of despondency due to investment failures during this period, while Li Sishi looked like a sunny and healthy fairy, with an extremely simple low ponytail that exuded youthful energy—so she tried to get close to the female lead's character in terms of "spirit" while also trying to use "form" to enhance the character she created in the details.
It has to be said that Li Sishi's makeup and styling tricks really captured the essence of TBL's veteran stylist. However, such a simple strand of hair pulled down from her forehead, combined with Li Sishi's tired expression, instantly ruined the first impression of the sunny fairy and instead added a sense of weariness and heaviness.
Knowing that her age and appearance were a disadvantage in winning roles, Li Sishi intentionally tried to make herself look more mature. However, this was different from the weathered housewife look of her role as "Yi Sang". Instead, she portrayed a character who was overwhelmed by the heavy burden of life in the big city and had a persistent and unyielding attitude.
But because of the female protagonist's "ambition" to make a name for herself in the big city, even under such a weary pedestal, there is still a flame in her eyes that she will continue to fight hard once an opportunity arises.
Compared to the already legendary character in my memory, this female protagonist's character design, which hasn't been modified because of Shang Lanyu, gives her a bit more room to maneuver.
In the preceding plot, the male and female protagonists were already bound together by their shared struggles in a strange big city, and resonated with each other because they were both far from home and fighting alone. They became a "partner couple" under the guise of "good friends," but in reality, their relationship was mixed with loneliness and lust.
This is a portrait of many people who drift to big cities, coming for their ideals, only to be hit hard by the cruel reality. They then find solace in each other with people who have similar backgrounds and experiences. However, such relationships are often driven by immoral desires, so "love" born from loneliness and desire is generally difficult to last and achieve. It usually only lasts for a specific time and place.
The scene that Li Sishi is going to perform is the turning point of the whole story, and the part that is written in the most detail about the locals' attitude towards new immigrants.
The female lead's personality, as seen in the earlier parts of the story...
They all showcase the shrewdness and sophistication that comes from arriving much earlier than the male protagonist. As a result, the sense of frustration she feels after failing in stock speculation is much deeper than that of ordinary people.
The male protagonist, who works hard and is down-to-earth, has saved some money and wants to buy a gift for his childhood sweetheart and fiancée from his hometown. He asks the female protagonist for her advice.
While looking at the exhibits inside the gold shop through the window, the female protagonist, who usually acts with great poise, hesitated at the door because of her shabby clothes. On the contrary, the male protagonist, who usually has no opinions of his own and just follows the female protagonist's orders, was full of pride and with a kind of simple and straightforwardness that can only be cultivated in the mainland, he pulled the female protagonist into the gold shop.
"What's there to be afraid of? I have money. I really want to go in and buy things." The two of them were acting without any props. They took two steps with Li Sishi's hand and then stopped in front of a table that was temporarily set up as a counter.
The male protagonist he played seemed to still carry the lingering mainland Chinese mindset, believing that no job is superior or inferior. He casually picked out a bracelet while talking about how hard the female protagonist's job as a massage girl was. Hearing this, the female protagonist, who had already followed the crowd and felt that her job as a massage girl was shameful, became even more embarrassed.
Especially since the female protagonist is no longer the same as before, she not only has no savings but is also heavily in debt due to failed investments and is completely lost about the future—suddenly, that self-deceiving "good friend" buys himself a matching gold bracelet while buying a birthday present for his fiancée...
In this scene, there's a saleswoman opposite them while the two are talking.
That's why the female lead felt particularly embarrassed and annoyed.
In situations where there are no physical objects or corresponding acting partners, it is significantly more difficult to portray someone who is emotionally charged yet also has to be mindful of the presence of others and thus deliberately restrain themselves.
However, Li Sishi still performed this short segment with great acting skill, portraying a character who was both embarrassed and annoyed, and almost became furious at the end. Cheng Hesheng felt as if he could see the scene in the eyes of the female protagonist played by Li Sishi—before Liu Beihua's series of public service advertisements advocating for improved service attitudes came out, service industry workers in Hong Kong mostly discriminated against everyone equally...
Not only do they use vulgar language towards outsiders, but they also use foul language towards locals. People unfamiliar with this strange atmosphere might think that these service industry workers are arrogant and roll their eyes at non-locals.
While some of this stemmed from venting frustrations due to overwork, the main reason was that many people at that time did not yet have the concept of "service."
Then came the various scenes where people would start a fight or argument as soon as they opened their mouths.
The female protagonist is clearly the type of person who gets depressed after a setback, and while her thoughts are in turmoil, she also remembers the male protagonist's fiancée, whom he always talks about but has never been able to bring to his side.
The male protagonist's baffling behavior of simply liking his fiancée and her is truly perplexing.
The ambiguous relationship between the two kept the saleswoman gossiping for quite a while.
That smile, tinged with both pity and mockery, made the female protagonist, who felt completely exposed, feel utterly ashamed.
After a surge of emotions including confusion, guilt, and unease, the female protagonist, in a fit of anger, ran into the street and finally uttered the words she had kept hidden for so long to the male protagonist: "Comrade Wei Shaojun, your goal in coming to Gangcheng wasn't for me, and my goal in coming to Gangcheng wasn't for you either..."
This soul-searching questioning ultimately shattered the "friendship" that the two had been intentionally or unintentionally maintaining, bringing their long-avoided, stark reality to the forefront.
Even though many people forget their original goals during the long journey, and matters of the heart are hard to explain, this ambiguous situation is common but not necessarily correct.
Therefore, this scene is the first time that the two, who have been avoiding each other until now, have to face such a complicated relationship, and it is also the first choice that they must make.
As for the female protagonist's inner thoughts, she succinctly expressed her choice in this relationship: to abandon the resonance of souls and return to the responsibility of reality.
The original portrayal of Shang Lanyu was a perfect blend of restrained brilliance and gradual, layered development, culminating in a powerful and ultimately explosive outburst. This seamlessly integrated the character's earlier "restraint," creating a rich and nuanced narrative that ultimately brought to a close, highlighting the female lead's excessive shrewdness and prioritizing reason over emotion.
If she wanted to be on the safe side, Li Sishi could simply copy Shang Lanyu's performance from her memory and add her own unique touch to secure a place in Director Cheng's mind.
However, the reason why Li Sishi did not intend to copy the already written homework from the beginning, but instead went to great lengths to start from scratch and cook a new meal for herself, was because she did not want to become the "second Shang Lanyu" or "copy Shang Lanyu" in the eyes of those people, but wanted to become the independent "actress Li Sishi".
Just like when she studied vocal music with Le Yun, Le Yun first had her build a solid foundation and imitate others. When she reached a certain point, he had her "forget" everything she had memorized before.
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It's okay to imitate others during the initial learning phase, but you can't imitate blindly. Le Yun taught her this at the time: "When you imitate others, even if you absorb their strengths, you will inevitably also absorb their weaknesses."
"For a singer, the most important thing is personal style."
The same applies to being an artist.
Based on your own circumstances, make a plan in the shortest possible time, and then respond to each situation and strengthen yourself.
Therefore, in this audition that belonged only to her, Li Sishi changed her usual safe and conservative approach of gradual imitation and subtle innovation. Instead, she boldly and daringly adopted a dramatic and circuitous approach. While explaining the purpose of their trip to Hong Kong, she also prepared a backup plan for the future.
Compared to a gradual, nuanced performance, Li Sishi's dramatic and contrasting portrayal is clearly more suitable for the current real-life performance setting—moreover, Li Sishi not only performs her movements beautifully, but also delivers a truly compelling emotional performance through her eyes.
With a complex expression that seemed to want to say something but couldn't, it was clear to anyone with eyes that the female lead had feelings for the male lead. However, she forcefully suppressed the impulse to choose him. As a result, those who were previously "deceived" by her tender expression and eyes could feel even more deeply the sincere heart hidden beneath her smooth and shrewd exterior.
Through this layered plot structure, the constant unexpected twists and turns that build up anticipation create a powerful dramatic tension: their feelings are adrift in the tides of time, so no matter how much the female protagonist is moved by this "shady" relationship, much like her massage job, she always understands—
What should she choose, and what should she give up?
Therefore, the final outcome of this argument and decision between the two was that they would each return to their original positions and continue to live and strive according to their original goals.
Cheng Hesheng watched Li Sishi's performance in this scene with great interest and was very satisfied with her performance: to be honest, since the entertainment industry has become increasingly murky, he has rarely seen a newcomer who can still dance so amazingly even while wearing shackles.
How is Li Sishi's acting?
Okay, very good, very suitable for the female lead "Lu Yao" character - even though she is a little young, she can still create a sense of shrewdness and weariness at a young age through her own ideas and performance.
Reason told him that the best course of action was to quickly sign this supernova.
They then rushed to start filming; but for some reason, perhaps in that vague subconscious, Cheng Hesheng had a strange sense of unreality, as if it had come too easily.
So director Cheng Hesheng, who loves art films, started to indulge in his artistic sensibilities, feeling that he couldn't settle on the female lead so easily and wanted to interview more people, hoping to continue to refine his craft...
After hearing Director Cheng say that her performance was good, but the final choice for the role could not be determined at the moment, Li Sishi was not discouraged. She politely bowed as the final conclusion of the audition.
Confirming that Director Cheng was still lost in his own thoughts and had no questions for her, Li Sishi took the initiative to say that she had something to attend to and left first.
Firstly, it would give Director Cheng some space to think, and secondly, she was genuinely busy and needed to continue studying to maintain her academic performance.
Watching Li Sishi's departing figure, Ling Chen, who had already reconciled with some fans and confirmed that he would definitely play the male lead in this movie, secretly stayed at the scene to peek around.
Unlike Li Sishi, who still needs to wait for Director Cheng's final instructions, Lingchen was the first choice for the male lead. If he wanted to stay a while, he would have plenty of excuses.
As someone who acted opposite Li Sishi this time, I could still feel the intensity and effort of her performance, which was constantly pushing the limits of her talent. Especially in the scene just now, because Li Sishi's performance needed to be highlighted, I was almost overshadowed by her all-out effort, thanks to her intentional restraint and the character's persona.
Fortunately, he remained composed and responded to Li Sishi's silent yet powerful gaze with a blank stare. When Li Sishi turned and disappeared into the "sea of people" as she followed the script, his gaze lingered on her retreating figure, revealing an unspeakable sense of bewilderment.
Logically speaking, what else would Director Cheng need to consider for the female lead auditionee who is so talented and has such great chemistry with the male lead actor?
Even though he's always been picky, looking at the current Hong Kong entertainment industry, he'd like to find a contemporary or senior actress who is comparable to Li Sishi in all aspects and whose salary is more reasonable.
That's really hard to find...
As she pondered this, she peeked into Cheng Hesheng's notebook, only vaguely seeing him write Li Sishi's name on the page with the female lead before quickly flipping over.
Then, on the next page where the corresponding character was not clearly visible, Cheng Hesheng also wrote down the name Li Sishi.
However, unlike the previous page where several names were recorded, the lower half of this page, the "selection interface," is completely empty, with only Li Sishi's name on it.
Just as Cheng Hesheng was about to scroll back a little further to see which character corresponded to this page, his cell phone suddenly rang: "Hello? It's me..."
"You mean—Shang Lanyu, who has been retired from acting for two years, is preparing to make a comeback? And she's very interested in the script I gave her before?"
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