Chapter 42: Chen Jin's Talent Show

"Respected teachers and examiners, hello! I am candidate number 0931, height 167cm, weight 50kg!"

"The personal talent I will perform is hip-hop dancing!"

Yang Zi stood on the stage, bowing slightly to the chief examiner and the teachers seated before her.

It was evident that she had some foundation in dancing, but it was merely... some.

Because as she danced on, not to mention Xu Xiaodan, even Chen Jin noticed a slight issue.

At first, her entire hip-hop routine was quite coherent, with decent rhythm and body rolls, but towards the end, it felt as though she got too high into the performance and started improvising a solo... Xu Xiaodan gave a slight shake of her head.

To be honest, many people in the hall had high expectations for her. Leaving aside the other candidates, even the chief examiners recognized her.

However, as for this hip-hop routine of hers, while her physique and stage presence were visible, to say it was exceptionally good—let's put it this way: out of the dozen or so candidates who had already performed and chosen dance as their personal talent, every single one of them danced better than she did.

It was terribly awkward.

Yet Yang Zi's overall demeanor remained very poised, without a shred of nervousness. After finishing, she bowed once more and retreated to stand beside Chen Jin.

"Hoo~~~"

She couldn't help letting out a breath, a miserable look crossing her face: "I'm dead!"

As she danced, she had forgotten the choreography.

The hip-hop routine had been specially choreographed for her artistic entrance examination by a dance teacher her mother Ma Haiyan had hired, but she had completely blanked on the latter half.

Thus, she had no choice but to wing it.

Of course, the talent demonstration wasn't meant for the examiners and teachers to see how well you could dance, but rather to observe the four basic pillars related to acting, primarily physique and performance. From this perspective, Yang Zi naturally had no major issues.

Had this been a specialized dance art exam, she would undoubtedly have been eliminated.

As an acting exam, however, it simply meant she wouldn't receive a top score.

Whether she passed or not would depend on the combined score of the final poetry recitation and the talent showcase.

"Next!"

After scoring Yang Zi, Xu Xiaodan raised her head and looked at Chen Jin, who stood up immediately as her voice faded.

He was also the final student of this round of art examinations.

All four teachers and the chief examiner had witnessed Chen Jin's performance during the poetry recitation, and his rank as number one in the preliminary examination was precisely the reason why they viewed him with special regard. As for the other candidates in the room, their gazes were all focused squarely on Chen Jin as he walked to the center of the stage.

Everyone wanted to see what talent the top scorer of the preliminaries would perform.

Naturally, the talent demonstrations in the acting department examinations boiled down to singing, dancing, martial arts, or traditional opera, highlighting vocal and physical skills.

More advanced options included magic, stand-up comedy, or solo sketches.

Yet in this examination room today, right up until this moment, there had been no high-level displays; after all, art exams called for safety rather than novelty.

Since singing could yield high scores, nobody would opt for more difficult choices like crosstalk or magic...

Yet as it happened, Chen Jin was neither skilled at singing nor dancing.

Let alone martial arts or traditional opera.

Therefore, he had no choice but to continue with acting.

"Respected teachers and examiners, hello! I am candidate number 3198, height 180cm, weight 70kg!"

"The personal talent I will perform... is 'prop-less performance'!"

Acting, of course, was also a talent.

However, almost no students would ever choose it. Not only was the difficulty extremely high, but it also risked making a fool of oneself before experts.

The chief examiner sitting right before him taught acting, alongside four other teachers. Performing your profession in front of professionals was the most unwise course of action.

Even Yang Zi, who had prior acting experience, hadn't dared to do such a thing. The moment Chen Jin uttered those words, while the candidates gasped in astonishment, Xu Xiaodan and the others straightened up in their seats.

Clearly, Chen Jin's courage greatly delighted them.

Those studying acting still needed to possess a degree of boldness.

The so-called prop-less performance referred to acting without the aid of any physical props.

Clap!

Following his introduction, Chen Jin lay flat on the floor in a T-shape, his arms stretched out in a straight line and his feet pressed together.

Originally, he had also considered performing as a mortician, but applying makeup to a prop-less corpse took too much time, and the talent show only allowed three minutes.

Three minutes might just be enough for the setup to barely begin, so over the past few days, Chen Jin had hastily drilled an alternative.

This was a segment frequently practiced by that future version of Chen Jin in his biographical film, humorously dubbed by netizens as a performance worthy of being included in the Beijing Film Academy textbooks.

"Hoo-ch—hoo-ch—"

Chen Jin began to breathe deeply there, his cheeks trembling and twitching slightly, his eyes appearing one large and one small... He turned his head stiffly, as though his neck was locked in place by some object.

He glanced toward his right hand, but seemed unable to turn his head properly, making the movement appear very awkward; immediately afterward, he glanced toward the left.

His feet seemed to be struggling as well.

"Tied up!"

Everyone understood Chen Jin's performance at once.

His hands and feet were tied by someone, and even his head was restrained. Was it supposed to be a kidnapping by criminals?

Several seconds passed just like this.

"Heh-heh-heh—"

Chen Jin's head unexpectedly began to tremble involuntarily, his breathing growing increasingly rapid.

His teeth chattered audibly, and his entire body shook violently.

His eyes darted toward his left arm, yet he seemed too terrified to truly look, as if something utterly horrific lay there.

"Hisss... ho-ho-ho..."

The sound of Chen Jin gasping for air grew louder and more frantic.

His head swayed uncertainly, his gaze fixed straight up at the ceiling, seemingly trying to focus.

At this point, he dared not turn his neck at all; it seemed rigidly fixed in place, with only vertical trembling and an expression of mounting terror.

"Hah—ha..."

Chen Jin suddenly drew in a breath and laughed, his laughter grotesque and terrifying.

His hands remained locked rigidly in place as his body suddenly arched upward, the veins on his neck bulging tautly one by one.

His entire body straightened out rigidly.

"Hoo~~~"

The next second, his body seemed to go limp, and the smile on his face transformed into something liberated and immensely carefree.

His body gradually steadied as well, save for the smile on his face and his abruptly tilted head. He looked toward the right and smiled, his chest rising and falling incessantly... yet the panting from his mouth was as violent as a bellows.

"Hah-ha... hah-ha..."

Chen Jin kept his mouth wide open, panting heavily, his pupils dilated. Even though his hands and feet were immobilized, they continued to shake uncontrollably like a sieve.

This time, the trembling was fiercer and more exaggerated than before.

Every student, along with the teachers and chief examiner Xu Xiaodan, heard the rush of breath issuing from Chen Jin's mouth.

Just listening to the sound was spine-chilling.

It was as though Chen Jin were watching himself being murdered by criminals?!

Yet how had the assailant killed him?

Naturally, Chen Jin executed this performance brilliantly; everyone had been drawn into his exquisite portrayal.

A person on the brink of death who did not want to die, yet appeared... on the verge of perishing now.

"Glulp!"

Following a rapid swallow, Chen Jin cocked his head in a certain direction, his breathing rapid yet laced with laughter and pants. He smiled toward his surroundings, his head turning in a full arc. The smile spread broadly, and the sound of his panting was, of course, deafening.

"Ha... ha... ha..."

After a few rhythmic deep breaths, one of Chen Jin's eyes suddenly drooped shut while the other remained slightly ajar.

The sound of his breath abruptly subsided.

Screech!

Xu Xiaodan leaped abruptly to her feet, bracing her hands against the table and staring down intently at Chen Jin lying before her.

Her focus was entirely on his face.

Chen Jin's breathing had become virtually silent, growing fainter and lower, his body rigid.

His hands hung limply and patted against the floor.

Accompanied by the complete fixation of his pupils, it seemed as though... he had truly died.

A death that felt abrupt, yet entirely logical.

Abrupt because the end came so fast; logical because what Chen Jin had portrayed was precisely the performance of the moments preceding death.

"Are you alright?"

Xu Xiaodan strode out from her seat right up to Chen Jin. Truly, those final few moments of his performance had frightened her considerably.

Several female students even clutched their collars, shielding their eyes and unable to bear watching.

It was too terrifying!

Especially those final moments—everyone experienced a palpable sensation of impending death.

An immersive, visceral sensation of dying.

Every hair on their bodies stood on end!