Chapter 314 (Combined with 3142)
314:
Despite some doubts, Luo Xiao still smiled and said gently, "Hello."
"I watched your performance at the World Championship opening ceremony, and you sang very well."
"Thank you," Ye Qingxi said.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" Luo Xiao asked him. "Like, can we go over the lines together? Or rehearse the scene?"
After saying that, he realized that the child in front of him was only seven years old and not yet in their circle, so he might not know what rehearsing lines and acting meant. He added, "Rehearsing lines and acting means that we practice in private so that we can be more skilled when filming later."
Ye Qingxi smiled and said, "Okay."
He said, "Uncle Luo, I've acted in movies."
Luo Xiao was somewhat surprised. Had he acted in movies before?
“Xiao Xi and I acted together in Director Feng Que’s ‘Summer’ before,” Mu Shaowu answered his question.
"I see," Luo Xiao nodded.
"When do we start?" Luo Xiao asked him.
"Either is fine," Ye Qingxi said.
"Let's do it now."
That way, if Ye Qingxi has any problems, he can help correct them.
"Okay." Ye Qingxi had no objections.
"Then you guys keep working on it, I'll go check out the set design."
After Director Xu finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the area where they would be filming later.
Luo Xiao and Ye Qingxi then went to the area where Mu Shaowu usually rested.
Both of them were already very familiar with their lines in the play, so they didn't even need a script and started reciting their lines directly.
Upon seeing this pair, Luo Xiao keenly realized that the child in front of him seemed to be more professional than he had thought.
His lines were actually pretty good!
Unlike typical child actors who, due to their young age, don't fully grasp the emotions in a play and thus deliver lines in a somewhat flat or monotone manner.
Ye Qingxi's lines, whether in terms of emotion or pauses, are very appropriate.
It was a pleasant surprise.
"Great job!" Luo Xiao couldn't help but praise, "Teacher Mu, your son's lines are excellent!"
Mu Shaowu chuckled. This is just the beginning. It's only the official start of filming. His son usually only uses less than half of his skills. When the official filming begins, that's when he'll really shine!
Don't be too surprised when the time comes!
Soon after, the director finished checking the set and was ready to film.
He had Ye Qingxi do his makeup and styling.
Sun Jian is a very ordinary man, and his wife is also very ordinary, so Ye Qingxi's current appearance is somewhat too beautiful for the couple.
“He needs to be made to look more ordinary,” the director said. “Otherwise, he won’t look like their child. But don’t put on black makeup or make him wear glasses.”
This scene depicts the child's suffering, and paleness undoubtedly amplifies that suffering.
Glasses, however, can obscure the emotions in one's eyes.
Makeup artist: ...Aren't you making things difficult for me?
Or you can do his makeup?
The makeup artist looked at the pretty face in front of him and racked his brains to make him look less stunning, just more delicate.
"Is it okay now?" she asked the director.
She really did her best!
The child only has two scenes to perform; she can't possibly cut someone else's hair, can she?
They weren't allowed to wear black makeup or glasses, and under these circumstances, they still had to make him look very ordinary. It really tested their skills!
Director Xu looked at Ye Qingxi's face in the mirror, then turned to look at the real person in front of him.
“Okay,” he replied.
That wouldn't work either, as it would be too ugly, which would be bad for Ye Qingxi's image and also for the audience.
"That's fine then."
The makeup artist breathed a sigh of relief and quickly had his assistant take him to the dressing room to change clothes.
After Ye Qingxi changed her clothes, Sun Jian's son, who had no name in the play, was born.
She was even more pretty and charming than the director had imagined.
However, she appeared much more ordinary than Ye Qingxi usually.
The director called him and Luo Xiao over and explained the scene to them.
Ye Qingxi listened attentively, and after listening, she and Luo Xiao walked into the filming area.
Although Luo Xiao already knew that he had acted before, he considered that he was with Mu Shaowu at that time. He and Mu Shaowu were father and son, so they were closer and more natural with each other. Unlike himself, who was not only an outsider but also someone he had just met, the child would definitely feel unfamiliar and might be a little nervous.
"Just do what we just said when we rehearsed the lines, don't be nervous," he said, trying to reassure Ye Qingxi.
"I'm not nervous," Ye Qingxi smiled.
"Okay, good luck!" Luo Xiao patted him on the shoulder before going to stand in his own spot.
Ye Qingxi sat down on the gray sofa not far away.
"Three, two, one, action!" the director shouted.
Ye Qingxi's eyes glazed over instantly, and she lowered her head, staring blankly at the ground.
Luo Xiao turned around, seemingly only then noticing the child sitting on the sofa.
“That’s our son,” Sun Jian’s wife said.
Luo Xiao looked at the child in the distance, whose body was filled with loneliness, and slowly walked over.
He knelt down in front of Ye Qingxi.
As if sensing that the light was being blocked, the child in front of them slowly raised his head.
It was a very delicate face, yet one filled with deep sorrow, a sorrow so profound it was almost deathly still.
He looked at him, his eyes devoid of any light, dull and lifeless, like a bird with broken wings.
Luo Xiao was somewhat surprised, not expecting Ye Qingxi to show such an expression.
Director Xu was even more surprised than him!
That look in his eyes! That expression!
Good heavens!
This kid is such a good actor!
What's wrong with this cameraman?!
Why not push a close-up at this point?!
Should we wait for him to come and help push it?!
Director Xu quickly spoke up, instructing the camera to zoom in and give Ye Qingxi a close-up.
"You..." Luo Xiao looked at the child in front of him, wanting to say, "Don't be too sad," but then felt that such a statement was a bit like "Why don't they eat meat porridge?"
He paused for two seconds, then changed his tune, "We will definitely catch the murderer who killed your father, I promise you."
"Really?" the child in front of me asked.
"real."
"What if we can't catch them?"
"We won't fail to catch them," Luo Xiao said firmly.
The child in front of him looked at him, steadily and quietly, and after a long time, a layer of mist filled his eyes.
“I used to watch a lot of TV dramas with my dad where the police catch bad guys. In the dramas, they always caught the bad guys in the end. You will be like them, right?”
His voice was very soft, like a transparent, almost weightless soap bubble floating in the air, which could be popped with the slightest touch.
“Yes,” Luo Xiao affirmed.
The child nodded, then looked down at the grape-flavored lollipop in his hand.
"My dad bought this for me," he whispered, tears falling unexpectedly onto the purple-wrapped lollipop.
He raised his hand and handed over the lollipop.
"This is for you." The child in front of her forced a smile, tears still welling up in his eyes. He was smiling, but there was sadness in his eyes.
"Thank you for helping me catch the bad guy who hurt my dad."
Looking at his innocent little face, at the smile on his face and the tears in his eyes, Luo Xiao slowly and silently took the lollipop from his hand.
His movements were gentle, but his mood was heavy.
"I will definitely catch him," he assured the child in front of him again.
must!
"Cut!" the director shouted.
He put down the walkie-talkie in disbelief and ran quickly to Ye Qingxi.
Ye Qingxi had wiped away her tears and returned to her usual state.
Seeing the director approach, Ye Qingxi proactively said, "Want to do another take? I feel like I didn't act well just now."
Director: ? ? ?
Luo Xiao: ? ? ?
The two asked in confusion, "Where did they not act well?"
Isn't this great?
Completely exceeded their expectations!
It even made them unable to believe it!
“That tear was supposed to fall in the middle of the lollipop,” Ye Qingxi said, “but I didn’t do it right just now, it didn’t fall in the middle, it was a little off.”
Director: ? ? ?
He doesn't recall his script having such a horrific design?!
Forcing the child actor to fall in the middle is making things too difficult for him!
Luo Xiao also doesn't remember.
"The script only says that the tears fall on the lollipop, it doesn't say that they have to be in the middle."
Ye Qingxi nodded, because he thought this would look better from a compositional point of view.
He was a little embarrassed. "I designed this myself. I think it's better this way. Uncle Xu, let's do another one."
Director: ...You're really dedicated!
No, you're only seven years old!
How could you possibly design such details yourself?!
Director Xu couldn't help but applaud him, "You're really amazing."
Luo Xiao also thought he was amazing.
At least, he certainly didn't have this acting skills or mindset at seven years old, and he didn't even at seventeen!
Is this what they call a naturally gifted person?
He's really seen something new!
Finally, the director went along with Ye Qingxi's wishes and did another take. Sure enough, this time, he noticed that Ye Qingxi's tear fell precisely into the middle of the lollipop.
director:……
Is this really the second time filming?
How could this be someone who has only filmed one movie before?!
Look at those eyes, look at that expression, look at those lines, look at the way those emotions are expressed.
Judging by any angle, this must be the work of a veteran actor who has been acting for over ten years. His skill is superb, and he can control his emotions with ease. In fact, in this particular scene, Ye Qingxi's performance was even better than Luo Xiao's!
Director Xu found it unbelievable no matter how he thought about it.
At seven years old, in his second movie, he could already act like this?
He even filmed it only once!
Director Xu: ...
After filming, Director Xu couldn't help but lean over to Mu Shaowu and ask, "Your son has only ever worked with you on one film before, 'Summer'?"
Mu Shaowu nodded. "Mm."
"Nothing else was filmed?"
"certainly."
"His talent is just too high!"
"Director Feng said the same thing."
Haven't you considered nurturing him in this direction?
Mu Shaowu said, "You've heard him sing at the opening ceremony of the World Championships, and the admissions office of the music school even advised me to train him in that direction."
Director Xu: ...That's true.
It's a real shame that he doesn't sing with that kind of voice.
But with his acting skills, it would be a shame if he didn't act!
"Sigh, she sings well and acts well, it's really hard to choose."
Mu Shaowu said quietly, "His academic performance is also quite good."
Director Xu: ? ? ? !!!
Director Xu: ...
"That's going too far! You're just making people envious!"
Mu Shaowu smiled and said, "I'm just stating the facts."
"Look how smug you are."
That's normal, though. If this were his son, he would be even more proud than Mu Shaowu.
"Let's get down to business," Director Xu said with a smile, looking at the person next to him. "His acting is so good, I'd like to add a few more scenes for him. What do you think?"
Mu Shaowu: ...Well, let him tell us.
"Anyway, he'll definitely be going back on October 7th; he has classes on October 8th!"
"That's right." The director nodded. "I also know my limits."
Mu Shaowu: ? ? ? Really?
As it turns out, Director Xu was indeed very sensible.
He only added four scenes for Ye Qingxi.
It didn't add much, and it didn't even affect Ye Qingxi and Mu Shaowu's trip on October 4th and 5th.
Ye Qingxi was very happy about this, and kept calling Director Xu "Uncle Xu" on set, which made Director Xu very happy. So much so that before he even left, Director Xu had already found a role for him in his next film.
“Director Yan called me yesterday and talked about his next film. He said that everything else was easy to arrange, but there was a child role that was difficult to find, as it required a high level of acting skills. I immediately recommended Xiao Xi to him. Director Yan was quite surprised. He and I both thought that Xiao Xi could only sing.”
Director Xu smiled and looked at Mu Shaowu, "Think about it."
Mu Shaowu: ? ? ?
I'm not the director, I'm the real actor!
My son only acts part-time!
He doesn't need film contracts!
It's me!
I need your recommendation!
"I'll think about it," Mu Shaowu said.
The main issue is that he doesn't have a say in this matter; its success or failure depends on his son and his father's ideas.
Sure enough, two days later, Mu Shaowu received a call from Director Yan.
Upon hearing his words, Mu Shaowu immediately understood why he had said that the role of the child was difficult to find.
Because the kids in this movie are a bit of a shady character.
He wasn't entirely bad, but he certainly wasn't a good person either.
In addition, the amount of screen time involved naturally raises the bar for acting skills.
Mu Shaowu: ...
In a sense, Mu Shaowu didn't really want Ye Qingxi to play this kind of role.
He was afraid it would have a psychological impact on Ye Qingxi.
They were also worried that the character might not be very likable, which would affect Ye Qingxi's image in everyone's mind.
However, since it concerned Ye Qingxi, he didn't make a decision directly.
Instead, he frankly told Ye Qingxi about the matter, the character's personality, and his views on the matter.
So, are you interested in this play?
Ye Qingxi shook her head.
Seeing this, Mu Shaowu was afraid that his attitude had influenced him, so he quickly said, "I'm not suggesting it just because of my own considerations. I don't really recommend it, but if you like it, you can tell me and we can discuss it. Maybe I'll think what you said makes sense and change my mind."
Upon hearing this, Ye Qingxi laughed.
His father is really democratic and respectful of him.
Even though she didn't like it, she was afraid that his current answer was because he was compromising.
He truly lives up to his father's reputation.
That's how good it is.
“I don’t like it either,” Ye Qingxi said. “I wanted to film ‘Summer’ before because I was filming with you, Dad. This time, I’m making a cameo appearance because you’re here, and my role is very small, so it won’t interfere with my school.”
“But Dad, the new movie you mentioned doesn’t include you, and it’s going to take a long time to film. I’m worried it will interfere with my schooling. Besides, I like playing good kids, not bad kids,” Ye Qingxi said.
He's acted in so many dramas, and he's played this kind of shady, fun-loving character two or three times.
So the novelty of the role doesn't really appeal to him. To put it bluntly, apart from being too young, he hasn't played any romantic roles. He's basically played every kind of role available on the market, whether it's a family drama or a storyline.
Therefore, Ye Qingxi did not find this challenging, nor did she feel it was necessary for her to take on the challenge.
He still prefers to study and go to school.
He wasn't in a hurry to act, nor did he want to get too involved.
If he had to play the role, Ye Qingxi would prefer a simple and adorable child like Qiao Tian.
This will make it easier for his friends and older people like Mr. Kang and Mr. Feng to watch the movie.
His somewhat rebellious image might be very attractive to teenagers in their rebellious phase and some adults, who might find it cool. However, it could be quite damaging to his friends and the elderly.
Ye Qingxi was afraid that they wouldn't like it when they saw it.
Mu Shaowu was already worried that this kind of role would affect his psychology and growth—after all, he was only seven years old. No matter how mature he usually appeared, he was still a child whose values were not yet fully developed and who was still exploring and figuring out the world.
Mu Shaowu hoped that his world would be filled with sunshine, flowers, and agate, pure and flawless, and bizarre and wonderful.
Rather than malice, scheming, or framing.
So now that he saw that Ye Qingxi really didn't want to act, he felt relieved.
"Then Dad will help you refuse Director Yan."
"Mm." Ye Qingxi nodded.
After another day, Ye Qingxi's National Day holiday came to an end, and it was time for him to go back.
"Dad, I'll come see you again next time," Ye Qingxi said to him.
Mu Shaowu patted his head, "Maybe Dad will come home to see you before you arrive~"
“That works too.” Ye Qingxi said with a smile.
He waved to Director Xu and Luo Xiao one by one, saying, "Goodbye Uncle Xu, goodbye Uncle Luo~"
"Goodbye." Director Xu and Luo Xiao looked at him with smiles.
"Remember to come again when you have time~" Director Xu teased him.
“Mm,” Ye Qingxi replied.
Mu Shaowu took him and Mu Shaoting to the airport, and after returning, he was called over by Director Xu.
"I heard you rejected Director Yan?"
"Hmm," Mu Shaowu replied, "Thank you for your kindness, but Xiao Xi doesn't really like this role."
Director Xu understands.
He felt a little sorry for him—not for Ye Qingxi, but for Director Yan.
He photographed Ye Qingxi for several days, and the more he asked her to take photos, the more amazed she became, and the more he felt that she was incredibly talented.
Director Xu felt that it was almost impossible for anyone to have better acting skills than him at this age.
Therefore, he felt sorry for Director Yan.
But that's how directors are; not every director can get the favor of the actors they want.
"Looks like Director Yan isn't as lucky as me," Director Xu chuckled.
Mu Shaowu laughed as well, "Director Yan will have his own luck. Who knows, the other person's acting skills are also very good."
"I hope so," Director Xu said sincerely.
Around mid-October, Feng Que finally finished post-production on "Summer" and caught the last train of the Golden Phoenix Film Festival, submitting the film for approval.
When Mu Shaowu found out, he was somewhat surprised, "Will this work?"
"Whether it works or not is not up to me to decide," Feng Que said casually. "You'll know whether it works or not in November."
Mu Shaowu: ...
Mu Shaowu was a little nervous for a moment.
The movies he made before were mostly like ticket sellers. Directors only used him because they valued his popularity and hoped that his fans would buy tickets for him. Therefore, they were unwilling to give him any roles that were too profound or complex; they were all just simple decorative roles.
This is the first time he has played a leading role in a movie, and the first time his character has a rich backstory and storyline.
Mu Shaowu couldn't help but pray: Heaven and earth spirits, his movie will surely work!
Whether it was his prayers that worked or not, in early November, "Summer" was among the nominees for the Golden Phoenix Awards.
With "Summer" nominated for Best Film, Mu Shaowu was automatically nominated for Best Actor.
In addition, Phoenix Palace was also nominated for Best Director.
Of course, none of these things excited Mu Shaowu the most.
What excited him the most was that Ye Qingxi had also been shortlisted!
He was nominated for Best Newcomer for his outstanding performance in "Summer".
Mu Shaowu was overjoyed and immediately called Ye Qingxi.
Ye Qingxi had just gotten out of school when she received his call. Before she could even call him "Dad," she heard his joyful voice, "Baby, you've been nominated for the Golden Phoenix Best Newcomer Award!"
Ye Qingxi was surprised; the shortlist for the Golden Phoenix Award had already been released?
"And what about you?" he asked with concern.
Mu Shaowu was a little embarrassed, "Summer was nominated for Best Film, so I was nominated for Best Actor as well."
"Wow!" Ye Qingxi exclaimed enthusiastically, "Dad, you're so amazing!"
Upon hearing this, Mu Shaowu felt even more embarrassed.
He was still very self-aware and felt that this was entirely due to the movie. With his acting skills, winning Best Actor was just a joke.
Moreover, he carefully watched the other nominated films, and each of the male leads in those films, in terms of the depth of their works and the acting skills they had previously demonstrated, could repeatedly outperform him.
Therefore, Mu Shaowu didn't actually have many unrealistic fantasies about his inclusion in the shortlist.
He felt that his son had a better chance of winning Best Newcomer than Best Actor.
However, Mu Shaowu did not tell Ye Qingxi this, fearing that if he gave him hope now, he would be disappointed later.
He simply said, "Baby, you're amazing! You're so young, and you've already been nominated for Best Newcomer! You're practically the youngest nominee in the history of Golden Phoenix!"
Ye Qingxi smiled. Although she wasn't as excited as when she was fourteen years old and nominated for the Golden Osmanthus Award for Best Newcomer, she couldn't help but feel happy.
The Golden Phoenix is one of the three major international film festivals, ranking alongside the Golden Rose, for which he previously won Best Actor, and the Golden Bauhinia, for which he has never had much of a connection.
Now that he's been shortlisted for the Golden Phoenix Award, Ye Qingxi can't possibly be unhappy.
However, he is no longer a newcomer, so the joy of winning the newcomer award was somewhat diminished for him.
Unlike when he was fourteen, when he was a true newcomer and had never stood on such a high stage before.
So I really hope I can win an award.
Take that golden laurel trophy.
Ye Qingxi is now more at peace with herself and takes awards in stride.
He felt he deserved to receive it.
It's normal if you can't get it.
After all, he is still very young.
When he won the Best Newcomer Award at the age of fourteen, he truly surprised everyone.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have become so popular later on, suddenly becoming the most popular star of that year.
Now, he's only half the age he was back then. To be fair, even if he were the judge, he probably wouldn't give the trophy to himself at this age.
Therefore, Ye Qingxi was so calm about this matter that she was even a little too indifferent.
However, while he remained calm, netizens could not.
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