Chapter 61: The Real Test of Quality is Comparison

Clap, clap, clap!

Dean Chen Yi took the lead in applauding. It was obvious to all the examinees that this was meant for Chen Jin.

The guy was still caught up in the emotional state of that character. Originally, Cui Xinqin wanted to continue with the next test prompt, but she had no choice but to pause for a moment.

In truth, none of the teachers and examiners present had ever imagined that this prompt could be performed in such a manner!

In any previous year's artistic entrance examinations, the comprehensive vocal and physical group examination usually lasted for half an hour and was divided into two types of prompts. One was random performance—just like the one Cui Xinqin had just given, involving concepts like pain, joy, cold, hunger, and so on.

After just a few minutes of performance, the teachers would immediately move on to another word. For example, Cui Xinqin had originally intended to say fear.

What was being tested was the physical and vocal changes of each examinee under the influence of these vocabulary words.

However, Chen Jin, this kid, opened up the very first word with such massive intensity that it completely disrupted the rhythm of the examination room.

The continuous sequence of performances came to a sudden halt.

Yet what could Cui Xinqin and Chen Yi say?

Being forced into this situation was simply because Chen Jin's performance just now was genuinely exceptional.

Not only exceptional, but also very...

"High-level!"

Xu Xiaodan whispered to Cui Xinqin beside her. As both of them were instructors of performance courses, they naturally had the right to speak on Chen Jin's performance just now.

Some actors would follow the script and deliver a mediocre, by-the-book performance of a scene.

Other actors, however, would use their own performance to directly sublimate the scene.

This was the actor's imagination, creativity, and expressive power—collectively known as the five powers of performance. These were qualities lacking in many actors, and they represented pure talent.

They were also what separated a good actor from an ordinary one.

Take "pain," for instance. Aside from Chen Jin, all the other examinees had only thought of physical pain. In fact, when the teachers devised the prompt, they hadn't thought that deeply either; they simply wanted to observe the physical reactions to bodily pain.

Yet Chen Jin portrayed a completely different kind of pain—not just physiological, but the extreme agony of psychological and spiritual torment.

And he did it as a deaf-mute person.

Sign language, the wordless cries uttered by a mute—all of this completely transcended the established boundaries of the examination prompt.

Yet could anyone say his performance was wrong?

Certainly not. On the contrary, in the minds of all the examiners and teachers present, Chen Jin's performance appeared exceptionally high-level, lifting him far beyond the standards of a routine exam question.

What is pain? It is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience!

Only afterward is it accompanied by actual or potential tissue damage.

It is an awareness perceived through subjective consciousness.

Therefore, emotional pain comes first.

Of course his portrayal was not wrong.

As for why Chen Jin interpreted the word in this manner, he had to thank the future version of Chen Jin.

In order to transition from an extra to a major supporting actor, he had privately imitated many classic film segments—such as the death row inmate he had performed earlier. This deaf-mute character was similarly destined to be a god-tier, legendary performance from a future film.

*Abang Adik*, a Malaysian film. Wu Kangren played this role; although his personal life had issues, his performance possessed a truly unique brilliance.

The instant Chen Jin heard the word "pain," he performed it without a second thought, complete with a few simple lines of sign language.

He had crammed a few clips right before the third-round examinations.

He only knew those three lines, whereas the actual personal monologue was quite lengthy.

Even so, this was already enough to make all the chief examiners look at him with newfound respect.

"Go take a rest over there. The second round will begin immediately!"

Cui Xinqin suddenly said to Chen Jin, leaving him momentarily stunned.

What on earth? A rest?!

Just as he was preparing to continue performing, a scoring teacher stepped directly forward and pulled him off to the side.

"If you keep acting, it'll be impossible for us to grade the other students!"

My fault, then?

Chen Jin: "..."

Indeed, just now many teachers had kept their eyes fixed on Chen Jin while ignoring the other students. Cui Xinqin's action was clearly because Chen Jin had already passed this stage, allowing them to shift their attention to the remaining examinees and continue grading.

Just like that, after a little over ten minutes, the comprehensive physical and vocal examination entered the second round of assessment.

The previous phase had merely served as a warm-up and a formality for the examinees, whereas what followed constituted the true test.

The assigned-prompt performance.

Chen Jin returned to his seat. Both Yang Zi and Zhang Yishan looked at him with somewhat different expressions.

From that very first performance alone, the two of them felt a distinct gap between themselves and him.

How could this guy's acting skills be so ridiculously powerful?

How did he even pull that off?!

"Alright, listen up clearly!"

"This is the final test prompt. Once it's finished, we'll move on to the next item: the comprehensive performance and dialogue examination!"

Wang Jingsong sat up straight, his voice carrying clearly through the classroom loudspeaker into everyone's ears.

"Please use your physique and voice to portray any animal in the zoo!"

"Did you hear that? Portray an animal in the zoo, any animal at all. Begin!"

Good grief, wasn't this a freebie question?

The moment Chen Jin heard this question, he thought he had misheard.

Animals?

Thud!

A sudden sound startled several people.

Yang Zi suddenly dropped flat onto the ground, instantly capturing the gaze of all the chief examiners and teachers.

"Roar~~~!"

She let out a cry imitating a tiger, simultaneously leaping up fiercely and slamming her knees heavily back onto the ground.

A tigress.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yishan, off to the side, was scratching his ears and cheeks while squinting his eyes, looking left and right—evidently portraying a monkey.

The entire examination room was filled with people acting like monkeys, perhaps because most of them were born in 1992, the Year of the Monkey.

Monkeys were hopping and jumping everywhere, bringing a smile to the faces of several examiners.

However, one particular monkey appeared remarkably quiet.

First of all, his sitting posture: while many people were standing, he sat right there in a rather ungraceful manner, propping up one leg while stretching out the other, occasionally scratching himself and giving a sudden, sharp twitch.

His body would execute sudden turns, yet his neck was extraordinarily flexible. He remained completely still when resting, but moved with sudden bursts of motion.

Cunningly alert.

Slap!

He swiftly struck the air, his teeth suddenly baring and parting as he emitted a ferocious hiss: "Hsss~~~!"

It looked as though someone was trying to snatch food from him. His eyes widened into a fierce glare while his neck shrank inward, and his hand suddenly lunged forward with a sharp grab.

Crunch! Crunch!

He stuffed something into his mouth, baring his teeth as he chewed furiously.

"Haha!"

Even Cui Xinqin burst out laughing, while Chen Yi beside her couldn't help his eyes lighting up.

This monkey—his acting was simply too lifelike.

Vivid and animated.

Compared to him, the other examinees acting like monkeys looked like clowns invited by the monkeys of Mount Emei.

They were all just awkward imitators of greatness.

You don't worry about not knowing the goods; you worry about comparing the goods!

Chen Jin seemed to have truly transformed into a monkey, whereas the others failed to capture the essence at all.

That was the difference.

"It's hard to find a student with such exceptional observation skills even once in a decade!"

In Wang Jingsong's view, Chen Jin clearly must have spent a great deal of time observing monkeys to be able to morph himself into one so completely.

"More than that—his eight powers and six senses are already more than half mastered!"

Chen Yi narrowed his eyes, leaning forward to watch. Chen Jin was already walking away, bounding and skipping; the swaying amplitude and rhythm of his body, viewed purely from the back, made him look exactly like a living, breathing macaque on the move.

"Haha, fascinating!"

Chen Yi subconsciously glanced at several of the grading teachers.

Not a single teacher bothered to look at the other students; their gazes were entirely locked onto that single monkey sitting in the patch of sunlight, scratching its fur.

That cozy, fur-scratching posture almost made one feel the warmth of the sun...

The tension and impact of this performance were likewise exceptionally formidable!