Chapter 596 The Dispute A poet named Browning, upon learning that his latest poetry collection was a bestseller before his death, blurted out his last words:
"It's so pleasant and satisfying."
In his autobiography, comedy master Charlie Chaplin wrote:
"The audience burst into laughter as soon as they saw me appear in the film, before they even saw what I did, which made me very proud..."
The laughter and applause of the audience are the greatest affirmation for a comedian, just like a bestselling book for an author.
After Shang Yechu asked that question, Shao Guangji didn't respond. Shang Yechu didn't need his answer and continued speaking:
"You think comedians are inferior. Teacher Shao. You think being a comedian is a cheap trick, and you think that comedians like Song Yuchen must be forced to do comedy because of their physical defects; if they were even slightly normal-looking, they would switch to another genre and abandon their dark side."
"You think she must be feeling sorry for herself and completely unwilling. Because in your eyes, why would she do such a lowly job if she wasn't forced to?"
Shao Guangji stared at Shang Yechu's face, his expression unreadable.
Shang Yechu didn't look at him, but turned her head to look in the direction of the film set: "Why are comedians sad? Why are they powerless? Why are they desperate?"
Shao Guangji slowly stroked the walkie-talkie.
Just then, the assistant director walked over, saw the scene, and abruptly turned back. For some reason, he felt there was an undercurrent of tension between the lead actor and the director, as if they were arm wrestling through thin air.
Shang Yechu looked at Shao Guangji. Normally, seeing Shao Guangji's cold expression, as if a loved one had died, she would wisely turn back home and not provoke him, lest she get a beating.
But today is different; she wants to ask for answers on behalf of her past self.
In her previous life, comedian Shang Yechu was also asked to perform in the same way by Shao Guangji. However, unlike Song Yuchen, comedian Shang Yechu didn't have any retakes and got it right in one take. Although she felt something was off back then, just like she does now, her rich acting experience allowed her to find a balance between joy and sorrow and complete the scene.
In addition—ironically speaking—at that time, Shao Guangji, out of consideration for Shang Yechu's intelligence, did not demand too much of her.
Shang Yechu didn't even need to organize his thoughts; his opinions poured out as if they possessed a will of their own.
"Was her sadness, despair, and helplessness because she felt she could no longer make the audience laugh? But if she felt she could no longer make the audience laugh, she would have chosen a place to die quietly, without letting any audience see her. Because we comedians only make the audience laugh, we don't force the audience to come and mourn us! Since she chose to perform in front of the whole world, she had to make this performance a success. She came to broadcast her comedy performance live, not to broadcast her death live; death was just a part of the performance; what was supposed to be a grand farewell performance turned into an online memorial service—if she loved comedy more than anything, in front of the audience, she would have thought about how to make them laugh, not how miserable she was, how much she loved and hated the world, how tragically she fell, or how she would be watched after her death; if she loved herself more than she loved comedy, she wouldn't have been a comedian in this new era that doesn't need art!"
The assistant director was stunned.
Shao Guangji had never heard Shang Yechu speak so much in one breath, and was momentarily stunned.
Shang Yechu's mouth was parched, yet his chest felt incredibly relieved. He had finally exhaled the breath he had held in for two lifetimes.
Charlie Chaplin once stood at the back of a theater with a group of people to watch his own film, *City Lights*, listening to the audience erupt in "continuous laughter." In his autobiography, he wrote, "That was enough. I left there satisfied, and then, to calm myself down, I wandered around New York City for four hours..."
The new era is the end times for art. All resources are allocated by AI, and humans no longer need to perform to make a living. An actor who persists in comedy under these circumstances has no other explanation than love for it. However, how could an actor whose love for comedy borders on "fearless obsession" fill their final performance with sadness, helplessness, and despair?
The root cause of this contradictory situation is that Shao Guangji looks down on comedians. He subconsciously feels that she is in a inferior position, full of self-pity and self-deprecation. He sees the comedian's leap as an outlet for her anger and revenge against the audience, rather than a "performance" for them.
Shang Yechu said in a slightly hoarse voice, "In the plot, you set the comedian as the last artist of mankind, but in your heart you still feel that she is a pitiful clown."
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