Chapter 43: The Unexpected Audition

"I'm fine!"

Chen Jin suddenly let out a long breath and regained his composure, though it felt as if all his physical strength had been entirely spent during that performance.

Therefore, he could only lie there and rest to recover a little bit.

"Would you like some water?"

Xu Xiaodan suddenly picked up a bottle of water and unscrewed the cap.

Chen Jin nodded, without the slightest bit of politeness, and raised his head, reaching out to take it.

"Let me help you!"

"That was a great performance!"

As Xu Xiaodan supported him, Chen Jin took a couple of heavy gulps of water, and only then did he seem to fully come back to himself.

"A death row inmate, huh?"

Who was Xu Xiaodan? The future vice dean of the Beijing Film Academy's Performance School, an undergraduate acting instructor at the academy, and the author of numerous books on the art of acting.

Works like *Basics of Acting Training*, *Theory of Performing Arts*, and others were penned by her, and many of today's hottest actors were her students.

Examples included Yang Mi, Yao Dazuig, Yang Zhigang, and so on.

Yet, even someone of her stature had to admit that Chen Jin's piece just now was exceptionally well performed.

Many students in the undergraduate classes might not even be able to reach such a level of performance.

This was no joke; Chen Jin's portrayal of a death row inmate's final moments was filled with meticulous details that felt completely real.

This student was somewhat terrifying.

"Yes, just a glimpse of a death row inmate's final moments!"

At this moment, Chen Jin held the bottle of mineral water, stood up, and said to Xu Xiaodan, "Thank you, Teacher!"

"Have you ever witnessed an execution in person?"

Xu Xiaodan retreated back to her seat as the chief examiner, suddenly feeling very intrigued by Chen Jin's recent performance.

"No, I watched documentaries."

"Are documentaries that detailed nowadays?"

Xu Xiaodan felt a tinge of skepticism, though she didn't probe further. Indeed, legal channels sometimes aired videos of death row executions.

However, they usually weren't this detailed, out of concern that viewers might find them too frightening.

And they truly were terrifying, especially lethal injection, where one watched oneself die—an absolute extreme torture to the psyche.

Of course, Chen Jin's sequence hadn't come from a documentary at all, but from a future film titled *The Dead End*.

In the future, Chen Jin had watched it countless times and constantly imitated it. It was a god-tier scene of a character played by Deng Chao right before his execution.

"Alright!"

"That concludes the secondary examination!"

Xu Xiaodan clapped her hands, couldn't help casting another glance at Chen Jin, primarily to make a note of his contact information.

This student was definitely someone worth focusing on.

Being first in the preliminary examination indicated a solid foundation, but this secondary examination... was far more than just a solid foundation.

His acting foundation was immensely strong, and that piece just now was certainly not something taught by cram school teachers.

Because no teacher would ever teach such a thing; this was undoubtedly Chen Jin watching some documentary over and over, studying it repeatedly, and then practicing it himself.

This was unequivocally a super-strong acting talent.

After all, imitation wasn't something anyone could pull off; some people tried to imitate a segment only to make it awkward and riddled with faults, adding unnecessary complications.

Meanwhile, other people's imitations could even surpass the original actors.

It all depended on an individual's comprehension of performance.

This candidate hadn't even studied systematic acting, yet he could grasp the essence of performance. He was undeniably born to be an actor.

And not just an ordinary actor; even if he didn't achieve widespread fame in the future, he could still make it big in stage plays.

Xu Xiaodan's judgment of students was usually quite accurate.

"Chen Jin..."

"Let's hope he hasn't applied to the Central Academy of Drama!"

Xu Xiaodan murmured to herself, though a slight sense of foreboding had already begun to take root in her heart.

...

"Oh my god, your acting was so fierce!"

"You can act like that just from watching documentaries?"

As soon as they stepped out of the examination hall, Yang Zi gave Chen Jin's shoulder an exaggerated slap.

It was simply too over-the-top.

This guy's final talent performance had genuinely startled her.

A master!

This was definitely a master!

Having worked on so many film sets, Yang Zi honestly hadn't seen a peer with such terrifying acting skills. Even Teacher Pan Yueming, whom she worked with while filming the movie *Boys and Girls*, probably wasn't this formidable.

She had been completely drawn into the performance earlier.

Chen Jin's pre-execution sequence made her heart race with tension, ultimately leaving her with a suffocating sensation of restricted breathing.

It felt as though she were facing that exact scenario herself.

"It's alright!"

"I just watched more movies and learned from them!"

Chen Jin maintained his persona of a movie enthusiast, while Yang Zi curled her lip and shook her head. "It's not that easy. The acting teacher at my academy said that for the exact same role, different people performing it will give completely different feelings!"

"Imitation is just blindly copying..."

"Ah, oh!"

Seeing Yang Zi chatting with Chen Jin as they walked out, Ma Haiyan hurriedly stepped forward to greet them.

Ma Haiyan was Yang Zi's nickname; her real name was Yang Niao, given to her back then in the hope that Beijing's Olympic bid would succeed.

Such political awareness was truly beyond the reach of ordinary families.

"..."

Upon hearing her mother's voice, Yang Zi's face instantly fell. She quickly tugged at Chen Jin's sleeve and whispered, "Whatever you do, don't mention my art exam to my mom!"

"What art exam?"

Seeing Chen Jin put on an act of playing dumb, Yang Zi mentally gave him a thumbs-up. *Right, nothing happened at all!*

She assumed Chen Jin hadn't noticed that she had blanked on her street dance routine, which meant her personal solo must have been a huge success!

"Haha!"

Yang Zi instantly felt much more at ease inside, while Ma Haiyan looked at the two of them, first turning to Chen Jin. "Little Jin, you must have done really well in this secondary exam!"

"Mom, how do you know?"

Yang Zi was clearly overflowing with a strong desire for survival at the moment, quickly wrapping her arms around her mother's arm.

"Wasn't he the only one the chief examiners applauded for the poetry recitation?"

Ma Haiyan glanced at Yang Zi, who made a comical grimace. "Nothing gets past you!"

"Nonsense, I was standing right outside the door listening!"

"But Mom, let me tell you, his talent show was even more amazing!"

Yang Zi whispered into Ma Haiyan's ear. By now, Ma Haiyan was convinced of Chen Jin's talent, so she didn't look particularly surprised. "Well, looking at it this way, you probably bombed again, didn't you?"

"Uh-ha, who knows!"

"..."

Ma Haiyan shook her head. How could she not know what Yang Zi's expression represented?

Needless to say, her performance was mediocre. No one knew Yang Zi better than her mother; she understood her daughter's personality all too well.

"Don't end up failing to get into the Beijing Film Academy altogether!"

Ma Haiyan fiercely poked Yang Zi on the forehead. Yang Zi rubbed the sore spot, lowering her head while making a series of muttering, funny faces.

Meanwhile, Su Wanyu had also walked over to Chen Jin's side.

She didn't ask too many questions. Seeing her son getting along so well with Yang Zi actually brought her a sense of relief.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

Chen Jin's phone suddenly rang. Naturally, mobile phones weren't allowed inside the examination hall, so he had left his phone with Su Wanyu.

It turned out to be a text message from Fu Lulu.

"Little brother, is the art exam over?"

"Just finished!"

Chen Jin replied casually. Nearby, Ma Haiyan took Yang Zi by the hand and waved to Su Wanyu and Chen Jin.

The mother and daughter were getting ready to leave.

"Yeah, see you next time!"

Chen Jin also raised a hand to wave. At that moment, Ma Haiyan suddenly gave Yang Zi a look, prompting Yang Zi to quickly say, "Chen Jin, let's exchange contact info, shall we?"

"Oh, sure!"

Chen Jin didn't think much of it and rattled off his mobile number.

The two of them exchanged numbers, and Fu Lulu's reply came in quickly: "Got time? Come over for an audition!"

Good grief, is it this sudden?!

"Right now, Sister?"

Chen Jin hurriedly replied. Dang it, he had also made an appointment with Bao Jingjing to purchase the copyright for *Love Is Not Blind*.

The meeting was set for noon, and there wasn't much time left.

"Whenever. Now is fine, or this afternoon works too. Send me a message when you get here, and I'll have someone come pick you up!"

Today, the open auditions for *The Hawthorn Tree* at the Beijing Film Academy were scheduled to run all day.

"Right at the multimedia building next to the director's building at the film academy!"

"Alright, then... let's make it the afternoon!"

To be on the safe side, Chen Jin decided he should head back first and use a trial card beforehand.

With that thought, he immediately sent a text message to Bao Jingjing: "I'm so sorry, something came up at the last minute. Can we reschedule our meeting to 4:00 PM?"