AM: Chapter 60

Cheng Xia returned to the apartment that night and received a call from his agent Zhou Yan. “Cheng Xia, I have good news to tell you. Tianxuan has recently opened a training class specifically for newcomers. I signed up for you!”

Zhou Yan had been very puzzled when she saw the notice today. The timing of this class was too coincidental, right? It was just before Cheng Xia’s audition? If it wasn’t for the fact that the training class was for all the artists of Tianxuan, she would’ve mistakenly thought this was specifically organized by President Pei for Cheng Xia.

The moment the notice was sent out, the agents actively helped their artists sign up. Zhou Yan also wisely signed up the four newcomers she was looking after.

Cheng Xia had heard President Pei mention this matter this afternoon and was prepared for it. He immediately asked, “Sister Yan, when does the training start?”

“It’s from May 23rd to May 29th. You’re participating in the audition on June 1st. Go with me tomorrow morning to check-in.” Then she sent Cheng Xia a curriculum schedule. “Take a look at the curriculum schedule first. All the teachers invited to this training class are old actors in the circle. These elders are giving lectures in person and it should be a great help to newcomers.”

Cheng Xia replied, “Thank you, Sister Yan. I will come to the company at 2 o’clock tomorrow afternoon.”

After hanging up the phone, Cheng Xia opened the curriculum and took a look. In addition to the basic etiquette training, the rest were all acting-related classes. There was actually Teacher Cai Yun who was very good at crying. Teacher Cai was the idol of Cheng Xia’s father. Cheng Xia grew up watching her dramas and movies when he was young. He didn’t expect that one day, he would be able to listen to his senior’s lecture face to face.

Cheng Xia excitedly saved the timetable.

Then he opened the chat window with Pei Shaoze and replaced it with a photo of the green forest path that Pei Shaoze had originally sent him. This was the place of their ‘first date’ and it was very memorable. Then Cheng Xia changed the note from ‘President Pei’ to ‘Brother Pei.’

Cheng Xia set up everything and sent a message to Pei Shaoze. [Are you home?]

Pei Shaoze replied, [I just entered the house.] He was changing shoes at the door. Once he saw the message, he sat down on the living room sofa in his slippers and typed. [You suddenly attacked and kissed me while I wasn’t looking?]

Cheng Xia spoke boldly, [You also kissed me while I wasn’t paying attention today. I call this applying what I have learned [shy]]

Pei Shaoze thought of the wonderful experience of kissing this young man in the future and couldn’t help smiling. He sent a gentle voice message. “I don’t mean to blame you. You can continue to ‘apply what you have learned’ in the future.”

The alpha’s voice was low and sexy. Cheng Xia placed his phone to his ear and listened to it. His cheeks became hot and he quickly changed the subject. [Right, the agent just informed me about the training. You actually managed to invite Teacher Cai Yun for the training class. It’s so powerful!]

Pei Shaoze immediately became serious when talking about work. [After all, you’re just a newcomer. Your experience is lacking and your acting is still a bit immature. I hope this week’s training can help you.]

Cheng Xia agreed. [I understand. Folding Paper is just a school drama and the emotional changes in Qin Nian aren’t so fierce. Xu Ziyang is different. I think it will be much more difficult to get the role of Xu Ziyang compared to Qin Nian.]

He paused before sending a guarantee. [Rest assured Brother Pei, I will work hard. [jiayou][jiayou]]

Pei Shaoze’s gaze was fixed on ‘Brother Pei’ and an uncontrollable smile appeared in his eyes. People had never called him like this. His younger sister directly called him ‘Brother’ and people he met at work would respectfully call him ‘Pei Shaoze.’

Cheng Xia was the only one to call him ‘Brother Pei’ and it sounded particularly intimate. He liked this feeling. He was being influenced by Cheng Xia and it felt like sunshine and vitality were being injected into his heart. He wasn’t as lifeless as before.

Pei Shaoze ended the conversation with a moon emoji and the message. [Go to sleep early.]

Cheng Xia had another beautiful dream that night.

In the last dream, the birthday party turned into a wedding scene and Pei Shaoze put a wedding ring on him. At that time, the two of them weren’t officially in a relationship and hadn’t even held hands. Now after kissing, holding hands, and confirming their relationship, Cheng Xia’s dream went further.

He dreamed that he was marked by Pei Shaoze. The process was quite detailed.

Once he woke up, Cheng Xia’s face was red to the point of dripping blood and he hurried to the bathroom to take a cold shower. If President Pei knew that he was so good at imagining things and had strange dreams, President Pei would definitely think he wasn’t a reserved omega at all. Perhaps he would laugh at Cheng Xia’s shamelessness…

At 2:30 p.m., Cheng Xia had adjusted his mentality and came to his agent’s office on time.

Zhou Yan’s four newcomers were all here. She glanced at them and patiently advised, “This week’s training is a closed-door training. You will eat and live at Ronghua Hotel. The teachers the company has found for you will teach at the conference hall on the third floor of the hotel. Every day is full of classes. It might be hard but such opportunities are rare. You must all study hard.”

The four people nodded and expressed their understanding.

Zhou Yan told them, “Bring a few changes of clothes and follow me to report.”

They arrived at Ronghua Hotel and found many Tianxuan Entertainment artists at the scene, most of them newcomers. The training classes organized by Tianxuan were for their own artists. Newcomers from Group A and B could also participate. After meeting Cheng Xia and the others, newcomers from other groups came over to exchange WeChats with them in a friendly manner. Cheng Xia politely added some friends.

The hotel rooms for the artists were arranged on the same floor. Cheng Xia put his luggage down and went to the third-floor conference hall.

There was a class opening ceremony that evening. Pei Shaoze came in person and gave a short speech. President Pei’s speech style was still simple and clear. Cheng Xia sat in the audience and listened very carefully. This alpha belonged to him and it made him feel really proud.

The eyes of the two people met across the crowd and Cheng Xia immediately showed a bright smile toward Brother Pei. Pei Shaoze also smiled slightly. “Okay, I don’t need to say anything else. Acting is the foundation of an actor. I hope you will cherish this opportunity arranged by the company and study hard for the next week.”

There was thunderous applause. Cheng Xia also clapped vigorously. There were too many people present and Pei Shaoze couldn’t talk to Cheng Xia alone. He could only send through WeChat. [I’m going first. Take care of yourself.]

Cheng Xia replied, [Don’t worry!]

Early the next morning, etiquette-related classes were arranged from 8 o’clock. The company invited a professional etiquette team to teach everyone to walk on the red carpet and to stand tall and straight when talking to reporters. These were all the basics. There was also where to put their eyes when talking to reporters and how to smile politely. These were skills to be mastered as an actor.

Two classes passed and Cheng Xia learned how to release an aura. The one he was most looking forward to was Teacher Cai’s crying training class in the afternoon.

In the 90 minutes class, Teacher Cai talked about how to control crying scenes, how to do silent tears without teardrops, how to sob without losing control of the expression, how to affect the emotions of the audience with heartbreaking cries, how to completely release themselves to break down and cry…

Her step-by-step crying tutorial made the newcomers at the scene stunned. It was really worthy of a veteran actor! She could cry as soon as she said she would cry!

She spoke on the stage while tears fell down like broken beads. Her emotional control had reached the level of perfection. Once she performed a crying and running scene, the newcomers at the scene had wet eyes. Cheng Xia couldn’t help shedding a few tears. This was the infectious power of a great actor.

Ye Mingqian’s crying scene was very strong among the new generation but it was too far from a 60-year-old senior. If Cheng Xia had to play against this elder then he would definitely look like crap in seconds.

He was still too weak. He lacked experience and couldn’t manage his emotions freely. There was still a lot of room for him to improve.

After class, Cheng Xia took the initiative to ask Cai Yun some questions. “Teacher, if I want to play a scene where I return home to find all my loved ones are dead, how can I control my emotions? First, I am surprised and can’t believe it. Then after believing it, I collapsed and started sobbing. Later, I calmed down and called the police. I think this type of emotional change is too intense to grasp.”

Cai Yun looked at the serious young man in front of her. His eyes were clear and he looked thirsty for knowledge. She had noticed it just now when giving the lecture. The young man sitting in the front row listened carefully the entire time. She liked this type of motivated newcomer the most.

Cai Yun smiled and taught Cheng Xia some tricks. “If you can’t get into the act as soon as possible then try to use association. Imagine a scene where you see your own parents in a pool of blood. How would you react? If you think about it then the emotions will come.”

Cheng Xia thought about it. “Teacher, when you acted in the later stages, did you associate it like this?”

Cai Yun explained, “Once you really learn to get into the act, you don’t have to associate it at all. You are whoever you want to play.”

You are whoever you want to play?

It was really difficult to reach this level but Cheng Xia was enlightened after hearing it. He smiled sincerely at his senior. “Thank you, Teacher. I have probably found a way! I’ve been watching you since I was a child and I really like you!”

The young man’s eyes were bright and pure. The worship didn’t seem to be fake. Cai Yun patted him lovingly on the shoulder. “I’ve heard many people say this but I know you’re not just flattering me. Jiayou.”

***

In the next few days, Cheng Xia listened seriously. He became the student who asked the most questions when attending class. Then after class, he would ask his seniors more questions. This serious attitude made some newcomers uncomfortable with him and they would secretly say sarcastic things behind his back. Some thought he was deliberately showing off while others thought he wanted to gain a sense of existence with his seniors…

Cheng Xia didn’t care about these private comments. He just listened to all the lectures and took notes. Once he returned in the evening, he would report the day’s gains to Pei Shaoze. Pei Shaoze would also help answer some questions. A week’s training couldn’t make his acting skills improve by leaps and bounds but for Cheng Xia, this training was really rewarding.

How could he show the character’s inner struggles through subtle expressions and small movements? How could he interpret the intense emotions of crying, laughing, yelling, and hatred?

The older generation used their valuable experience to teach newcomers and it was like opening a new world for them. How much one learned depended on their personal understanding.

Cheng Xia previously had no idea how to interpret the role of ‘Xu Ziyang’ but now he had a clear idea in his mind.

Xu Ziyang was a sunny, passionate, and upright trainee criminal investigations police officer. He hadn’t experienced any cruel cases before graduation and was full of hope for life. He always believed that the truth was never absent and that the true murderer wouldn’t be able to slip through the net.

Then his uncle’s family was murdered right under his nose and no clues were left at the scene. The police investigation repeatedly fell into a quagmire and it seemed that it would become an unsolved case where the murderer wouldn’t be caught. The impact on his psychological state and faith could be imagined.

It wasn’t difficult for Cheng Xia to act as the bright trainee. However, it was a great challenge for him to perform the righteousness of a police officer with the breakdown he had due to the death of his relatives and the failure to catch the murderer.

At the beginning of the drama, Xu Ziyang witnessed the tragic death of his uncle’s family of four after returning home. He went from shock, pain, and collapse too quickly calming down, protecting the scene, and calling the police. It wasn’t easy to perform this type of fierce emotional change well.

The audition asked the actors to perform this scene. After repeating scrutiny in his mind, Cheng Xia finally decided how to act it out.

On May 29th, the training class ended, Cheng Xia returned to the apartment and rehearsed the simulated scenes several times in his mind.

For the next two days, the 30th and 31st of May, he simulated and practiced in his apartment from morning to night. He faced the mirror and watched his movements and expressions. He also closed his eyes and recited the script lines seriously. He was like a madman as he turned around and cried loudly or laughed loudly for a while. He disregarded his image and released himself completely to find the most accurate feeling.

After practicing many times, he gradually gained confidence in his heart.

On the evening of the 31st, Pei Shaoze sent him a message. [Tomorrow is the audition. Do you have confidence?]

Cheng Xia quickly replied, [Yes, I’ve practiced it many times these days and know how to act thanks to Teacher Cai’s lesson. I think I should be able to cry at the audition.]

Pei Shaoze, [Very good. Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll accompany you.]

Cheng Xia was stunned. [You’re so busy. You don’t need to accompany me. Sister Yan will be with me.]

Pei Shaoze, [I’m not going with you as the boss but as your boyfriend. Do you still want to refuse?]

Cheng Xia, “……”

There was no way to refuse! This sentence warmed Cheng Xia’s entire heart. It was like attending an important interview. Although he said it didn’t matter, he was still nervous. If his boyfriend was by his side then he would feel more confident in his heart!

Pei Shaoze continued, [Don’t think too much. I will naturally be happy if you’re selected. If you aren’t selected, there are other dramas you can shoot. Relax your mind and perform well. I believe you can do it.]

If Cheng Xia only had 70% confidence previously then Pei Shaoze’s gentle encouragement made his confidence soar to 90% in an instant. He would definitely perform well. He couldn’t let his boyfriend down!

---

Proofreader: Cat