Even the assistant who had personally arranged everything was a little horrified by the sight. The cleaning lady next to her was so frightened that she almost fainted—the hotel's cleaning staff were not tight-lipped, so Shang Yechu had her assistant hire a reliable cleaning lady from outside.
After settling into his lodgings, Shang Yechu began to study the expressions and actions of ancient people and immortals with great dedication, neglecting sleep and meals.
At first, she simply watched, gazing at them day and night. Sometimes, she became so engrossed that she wouldn't even blink. Pairs of eyes met her gaze across millennia, pairs of hands waved to her across millennia, feet strode towards her across millennia, and characters, one by one, were read aloud from her mouth across millennia. Shang Yechu wandered before each painting, memorizing each person. The majesty of emperors, the compassion of immortals, the joys and sorrows of the common people. Shang Yechu stood before millions of people, looking up at the walls adorned with countless beings. This civilization spanning millions of years!
Whether he was asleep or dreaming, with his eyes open or closed, these people were always floating before Shang Yechu's eyes.
Once, Shang Yechu saw an old woman, dressed in tattered clothes, starving to death by the roadside. The image of Grandma Hu's face flashed into his mind, and a pang of sorrow gripped his heart.
Once, Shang Yechu saw a picture of the Goddess of Fertility and suddenly saw Yang Huanyi's shadow. When she rushed over to look, the Goddess's features were different from Yang Huanyi's; it was just that the sunlight made her face blurry.
Once, Shang Yechu was looking at a picture of the emperor leading his officials on a procession. Because he was sleep-deprived, his vision blurred, and he saw Ji Juntao's face in the emperor's full-bearded face. He was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat and slapped himself.
On another occasion, Shang Yechu unexpectedly saw Sheng Wenzhi's name. In a blink of an eye, he realized it was a copy of the calligraphy of "Dian Lun": "For literature is a great undertaking for governing the country and an immortal achievement."
On the last occasion, Shang Yechu walked to the corner, lowered her head and pondered. Suddenly, she noticed a child sitting in the painting in the corner.
The little child, with his hair tied in a small topknot, was chubby and wearing a bib. He was sitting on a small earthen slope by the river, curiously watching the flowing water at his feet.
This corner was too secluded, and Shang Yechu rarely came here. This day, however, was the first time she had seen this little child. A few strokes outlined an innocent and pure smile on the child's face, and chubby little hands dug into the soil, grabbing a handful of dirt.
At that moment, Shang Yechu actually cried.
Tears welled up unexpectedly and streamed down her face, even startling 103, prompting the usually silent and cold system to ask, "What's wrong?"
Shang Yechu didn't answer. She squatted on the ground, in front of the painting, and cried for a full half hour. Finally, her legs became sore and numb, and she simply sat down on the ground, silently shedding tears.
The next day, when Shang Yechu attended the reading session, her eyes were swollen as if she had just had cupping therapy, and even heavy makeup couldn't cover them. Everyone glanced at her, and even Shao Guangji, after looking at her a few times, lowered his voice and didn't argue with Shang Yechu all day.
At lunchtime, Shang Yechu received a grand reception. In addition to Director Shao, his colleagues from the reading session all came to offer their condolences and greetings.
Most people assumed she was brought to tears by Shao Guangji's scolding, given their strained relationship. Nina Meier believed Shang Yechu must be struggling to understand the difficult script (she herself had recently hit a roadblock), causing her to cry. Ai Xiaodong patted Shang Yechu on the shoulder, simply saying, "That's enough," before leaving.
But how can we stop when we've gone too far?
The anger at being powerless to change the status quo, the pain of losing Yang Huanyi, the hatred of his own incompetence, and the ambition to climb the social ladder tormented Shang Yechu every moment. If she had to know when to stop even in this illusory dream of acting, wouldn't she have to abandon the city and flee at every other moment in her life?
After "seeing" comes imitation.
Imitation sounds harder than "seeing". But for actors, especially for Shang Yechu, it's not a difficult task anymore.
This time, Shang Yechu didn't look at every single painting. She carefully selected several paintings and calligraphy works, covering clothing, food, housing, transportation, sleeping, sitting, laughing, scolding, singing, and weeping... She imitated them meticulously and practiced them again and again.
The script reading session was coming to an end, and everyone took a day to rest before filming began the next day. Shang Yechu's first day of imitation happened to be the last day of the script reading session.
During the reading session, Shao Guangji stared at Shang Yechu's hand, looking back and forth no less than thirty times, his gaze seeming as if he wanted to chop off Shang Yechu's fingers.
Shang Yechu seemed oblivious, continuing to change the movements of her hands on the table. One moment she was making delicate, orchid-like gestures, the next she was calculating, and then she was making other movements. It was as if her hands had a soul of their own.
After the reading session ended, Shang Yechu stayed in the meeting room and kept asking Shao Guangji many questions. While speaking, her hands were still constantly moving. Shao Guangji stared at her for a long time but ultimately said nothing.
In Ye Chu's eyes, he saw neither himself as the director, nor anyone else in the world. There was only the reflection of a madman—Ye Chu himself.
Communicating with such a person is a complete waste of breath.
After the reading session ended, everyone rested for a day. Ye Chu didn't leave the house all day. Apart from the food being eaten as usual, there was almost no trace to prove she was alive.
The rest of the crew dared not go into Shang Yechu's room to investigate. Even the lively Nina only knocked on the door, and after confirming that Shang Yechu's vital signs were not in danger, she quietly left.
Many people agree that the lead actor has been driven to madness by the director.
The following day, filming officially began for "The Heavenly Emperor".
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