In late December in Beijing, a cold wind blew and snow fell. On the streets, everyone wore thick padded jackets, bundled up like rice dumplings.
It was a little past ten in the morning, and inside the Central Academy of Drama's junior performance class, future stars like Zeng Li, Yuan Quan, and Liu Ye were looking troubled.
Their next class was an evaluation class. Chang Li had told them yesterday that in the upcoming session, everyone had to perform a short solo piece centered on the theme of sadness.
As they were frowning, a young man around one-meter-eighty-seven tall, fair-complexioned, with eyes full of a sparkling, starry brilliance, walked in through the back door.
"Good morning, my brothers and sisters," the young man shouted with a smile and a wave.
Startled by the loud voice, everyone gave a collective start, turned around, and rolled their eyes at him. Liu Ye was so angry that he cursed, "Zhang Tiancheng, can't you damn well not scare people!"
"Hey, Liu Ye, I was just being friendly and saying hello. Why do you have to say I'm scaring you?"
As he spoke, the young man, Zhang Tiancheng, walked further in and sat down at the window seat in the back row.
Liu Ye rolled his eyes and ignored Zhang Tiancheng.
Once seated, Zhang Tiancheng reached out and tugged at Zeng Li's braid, who was sitting right in front of him.
Zeng Li immediately turned around, her eyes full of tenderness.
"What?"
"Let's go to the movies after class. When I was walking over just now, I saw a poster outside the cinema—Jackie Chan's movie Rush Hour is out."
Just as Zhang Tiancheng finished speaking, Qin Hailu, who sat next to Zeng Li, turned her head and bantered, "Tiancheng, you don't mind me being a third wheel, do you?"
Zhang Tiancheng rolled his eyes. "What do you think?"
"I think you two won't mind," Qin Hailu said with a grin.
Qin Hailu had a loud voice, and Yuan Quan, sitting right in front of her, heard it. Turning around, Yuan Quan smiled, "I'm coming too. I heard before that Jackie Chan's first English-language movie shot in Hollywood, Rush Hour, is about to be released, and I want to see it."
Zhang Tiancheng's eyes widened in sheer dissatisfaction.
After staring for a few seconds and seeing that Qin Hailu and Yuan Quan were still all smiles, he could only sigh helplessly, "My two big sisters, please spare your little brother. The break is about to start—won't you just let Lizi and me spend some time alone together?"
"No way, we're coming along," Qin Hailu said carelessly.
At that moment, Chang Li, in her fifties with graying hair, walked in. Everyone hurriedly shut their mouths and sat up straight.
Stepping onto the platform, Chang Li swept her gaze across the room and announced, "This class is an evaluation class, and the topic is sadness. Whatever the kind of sadness, as long as you can show it, that's enough. Solo performances, no more than one minute each. Liu Ye, you go first."
Liu Ye froze for a moment, then pulled a wry face and stood up to go to the front.
Chang Li stepped back to the side of the stage, ceding the platform to Liu Ye.
Liu Ye stood blankly for a long time before turning to address the empty air with a trembling voice, "Why? Why do we have to break up?"
Then, Liu Ye's big eyes with their long eyelashes began to turn red.
"That silly boy Liu Ye is actually acting pretty well," Qin Hailu whispered to Zeng Li.
"Liu Ye's acting has always been good, otherwise director Huo Jianqi wouldn't have taken one look at him last year and cast him in A Time to Love," Zeng Li said, lowering her head slightly.
"Still lacking a bit. Too little body language, not enough layers in his gaze. There's sadness in his eyes, but he hasn't expressed what he's sad about."
The sudden interjection made both Zeng Li and Qin Hailu pause.
"Isn't he showing that he's sad because of a breakup?" Qin Hailu turned and asked.
Glancing toward Chang Li, Zhang Tiancheng said in a low voice, "Acting is a combination of lines and expression. The sorrow of a breakup isn't the same as the grief of losing a family member. If you use a single expression for sadness, it stays superficial. But it can't be helped—the time is too short, and Liu Ye isn't someone who gets into character very quickly. You have to give him time to build it up gradually for him to do a good job."
Qin Hailu was taken aback, exclaiming, "Impressive! You've secretly learned a lot without making a sound. But you're a future film director from the Directing Department—why are you studying acting?"
Qin Hailu's voice was a bit loud, and coupled with the fact that Liu Ye had just finished his performance, it caused everyone in the classroom to look over in their direction.
"Big sister, can you please watch your volume?" Zhang Tiancheng said helplessly.
With an awkward, sheepish laugh, Qin Hailu quickly turned her head back.
On the stage, Chang Li raised a hand to signal Liu Ye not to step down yet, then shifted her gaze to Zhang Tiancheng.
"Zhang Tiancheng, for the past two years, whenever you've had time, you've come to audit my classes. Over two years, you must have learned quite a bit. Let me test you now—how do you think Liu Ye performed?"
Slapping his forehead in resignation, Zhang Tiancheng stood up. "Professor Chang, Liu Ye performed very well. I was quite amazed."
Chang Li chuckled dryly, having vaguely caught what Qin Hailu said just moments before.
"Zhang Tiancheng, even though the Central Academy of Drama has never stopped students from other departments from auditing, if I were to refuse you entry, you wouldn't be able to set foot in the Performance Department from now on."
Zhang Tiancheng froze, then said helplessly, "Professor Chang, Liu Ye's performance is a bit formulaic. If you ignore the lines and just watch his expression, you can tell he's sad, but you can't tell *why* he's sad."
Everyone was struck dumb with shock. They hadn't noticed that detail just now and had thought Liu Ye did a great job; but once this auditing student from the Directing Department pointed it out, they suddenly realized there really was a flaw in Liu Ye's performance.
The next second, they realized something else: it wasn't that Liu Ye's acting was flawed, but rather that the level of performance Zhang Tiancheng was talking about was simply too difficult—only a handful of people in the entire entertainment industry could pull it off.
Chang Li was deeply surprised as well. She hadn't expected Zhang Tiancheng to pick up on that. A thought immediately popped into her mind.
"Zhang Tiancheng, it's been two years and I've never seen you perform. Come up on stage."
"Big Sister Qin, you've killed me," Zhang Tiancheng muttered under his breath in complaint to Qin Hailu as he walked toward the stage.
As soon as he reached the platform, Chang Li said, "Liu Ye, partner up with Zhang Tiancheng. Play the man who violated his daughter."
"Ah?!" Liu Ye's face went blank with confusion.
Zhang Tiancheng was equally bewildered. He was only twenty-two years old, yet Chang Li was asking him to play a middle-aged man—a middle-aged man with a daughter, no less.
"Is there a problem?"
Liu Ye hurriedly shook his head. Even if there were a problem, in front of Chang Li, he wouldn't dare say so.
After a moment of thought, Zhang Tiancheng asked, "Professor Chang, are there any other requirements?"
"None," Chang Li replied, shaking her head.
Zhang Tiancheng immediately looked at Liu Ye. "Yezi, lie down."
"Lie down?!" Liu Ye's eyes widened, as if to say, are you playing games with me?
"Right, lie down, close your eyes, and leave the rest to me."
Liu Ye realized that Zhang Tiancheng was worried he would hold him back.
Still, he didn't say anything; the two of them were good friends, and he could just make Zhang Tiancheng treat him to a big meal afterward.
Disregarding the fact that he was wearing a white down jacket, Liu Ye simply lay down flat on the concrete floor.
Taking a deep breath, Zhang Tiancheng closed his eyes.