Chapter 62: Are girls in the entertainment industry always this proactive?

"The last question: please share your understanding of the character Qin Shutian in the film *Hibiscus Town*, and how you would portray this role?"

Wang Jingsong, the examiner in charge of the final round of the oral examination, posed the last question of the third test to Chen Jin.

Sitting behind him were two grading teachers, whose assessment would determine twenty percent of the oral examination score.

Chen Jin had already answered a wide array of questions, ranging from the simple to the difficult. These included basic cultural knowledge such as classical poetry from middle and high school, the year of the Xinhai Revolution, and so on, which were primarily designed to test a student's cultural foundation.

This current question, however, was relatively open-ended with no standard answer; the grading depended entirely on one's comprehension of acting.

Although Chen Jin had performed brilliantly in the second round—the comprehensive performance and dialogue session—even if he failed to answer this question, it wouldn't significantly impact his final third-test score.

Through the first two rounds of examinations, Chen Jin had basically secured his admission spot.

Yet, to secure the top rank, this twenty percent oral examination component remained quite important.

After a brief moment of thought, Chen Jin began his response.

"When many people mention *Hibiscus Town*, the first thing that naturally comes to mind is the heroine—the Tofu Xi Shi, the hibiscus fairy Hu Yuyin, brilliantly portrayed by Teacher Liu Xiaoqing!"

"Qin Shutian, on the other hand, functions primarily to drive the protagonist's arc forward!"

"Without him, Hu Yuyin might not have survived until the end. Qin Shutian was originally the director of a cultural center; he is educated and understands art. If he were merely an ordinary person, he wouldn't possess that kind of optimism and resilient character!"

"..."

Chen Jin had the system to thank for instilling him with a vast amount of theoretical knowledge.

Furthermore, this classic film directed by Xie Jin was one Chen Jin had watched on videotape, so he retained a clear memory of several plot points.

"If I were to play this role, I would undoubtedly approach it comprehensively through the four pillars of performance: voice, speech, body, and expression!"

"In terms of voice and dialogue delivery, the early stage, the mid-stage struggle sessions, and the later stage of imprisonment—the rhythm and breath must distinctly differ in each phase!"

"As for the physical aspect, much like the voice, even the simplest walking posture changes completely following the struggle sessions and imprisonment. Then there are the demeanor and interpersonal interactions; having lived in a repressive environment for a prolonged period, the remolding is thorough!"

"The ultimate performance is the area that demands the deepest study!"

As Chen Jin spoke eloquently, Wang Jingsong smiled faintly. However, the two grading teachers had yet to hear the specific point they were listening for.

Based solely on the preceding answers, Chen Jin would at best receive a passing grade.

In truth, these were remarks that many students training for art examinations had been coached to say.

"I haven't read the original novel of *Hibiscus Town*, so my first step would be to read it and study the book's background—to understand the environment it was set in—and intensively review a wealth of documentary and cinematic materials from that era!"

"Next, I would study the characters. Not just Qin Shutian, but Hu Yuyin's background, her parents, and so on, all need research because they serve the development of this role in the subsequent plot!"

"This requires immersing oneself in the character's personality, as well as understanding the status, social connections, and networking circles of a cultural center director during that period. Of course, that represents the early Qin Shutian; the transition in the middle and later stages is equally crucial!"

"Once I thoroughly comprehend the script and the character traits across different eras, I would then draw material from real life, synthesizing various elements to form my own personal interpretation of Qin Shutian!"

At this point, Chen Jin raised his head and looked at Wang Jingsong. "Teacher, my answer is complete."

"This research on characters you speak of—is it akin to writing character biographies?" Wang Jingsong suddenly asked.

Many accomplished actors harbored the habit of writing character biographies. The most renowned example was Tony Leung Ka-fai, the chameleon actor, who would sometimes write a hundred thousand words of personal interpretation for a single role—something that even directors found daunting.

"Not quite. A character biography is merely one method used to better inhabit a role!"

Chen Jin scratched his head with a trace of embarrassment. "My answer was primarily inspired by Teacher Shi Hui's *An Actor's Manual*."

"Rooted from the source? Is that it?"

"Yes, the 'Rooted from the Source' acting methodology!"

"Very well. I hope that when you become an actor in the future, you will remember the words you spoke today. You may leave."

Wang Jingsong nodded with great satisfaction. Chen Jin stood up, bowed to the three teachers, took a deep breath, and stepped out of the examination room.

It was over!

The Beijing Film Academy's third examination, which had spanned nearly a month, had now completely concluded.

"He answered quite well indeed."

"As for truly putting it into practice, almost no one can..."

Once Chen Jin had departed, one of the grading teachers couldn't help but remark.

"Haha!"

Wang Jingsong and the other teacher both chuckled.

"This is an exam, not a performance, but the fact that this child knows of Shi Hui already places him a cut above the other art examinees."

"At the very least, he has seriously read relevant acting literature. Even if he can't hope to become a Shi Hui, mastering even a fraction of the 'Rooted from the Source' principle already makes him stand out among his peers."

Shi Hui was a once-in-a-generation talent in China.

Jiang Wen, who played the male lead Qin Shutian in *Hibiscus Town* mentioned earlier, held him as an idol.

He had stated that fifty years on, Shi Hui's acting remained utterly unsurpassable.

To say nothing of Shi Hui himself, Elder Yu Shizhi—Shi Hui's nephew—was already the absolute ceiling for Chinese actors, the Mei Lanfang of the theater world. What he studied was Shi Hui's acting, and Shi Hui's moniker was none other than the Emperor of Stage Drama!

That was the pinnacle of achievement for an actor.

"Yet, personally, I feel this examinee might actually do just that."

Wang Jingsong suddenly addressed the two grading teachers. Since neither of them had participated in the previous two rounds of comprehensive trials, they were unaware of Chen Jin's full performance.

Naturally, each grading teacher was assigned to different evaluation items.

Earlier sessions covered individual items such as physicality and vocalization, whereas the present session was the oral examination.

"His performance in the two examination rounds earlier is the best I've seen among art examinees in nearly a decade," Wang Jingsong noted casually.

In truth, there was one thing he left unsaid: he had only been involved in art examinations for the past ten years and knew nothing of the years prior to 2000. Otherwise, he might have hailed it as the best of twenty or thirty years.

Indeed, Chen Jin's performance had deeply astonished all three chief examiners.

Having never formally studied acting, everything he overflowed with was pure, unadulterated talent.

So much so that even Dean Chen Yi was already preparing to snap him up.

"..."

The two grading teachers exchanged glances, clearly startled by Wang Jingsong's words.

The best art examinee of the past decade?

Over the past ten years, the Beijing Film Academy's Performance Department had produced no shortage of formidable actors.

While that young man's answers just now were indeed commendable, many students performed well in oral exams, whereas theory and practice remained distinct realms.

Yet Chen Jin... seemed to be an exception.

"Send the next one in!"

Ignoring the two somewhat astonished grading teachers, Wang Jingsong looked toward the incoming art examinee and resumed his duties as chief examiner.

***

Meanwhile, having just stepped out of the examination hall, Chen Jin was met with the gazes of countless parents of art examinees sweeping toward him.

Many students who shared his examination room had already finished their tests, yet they lingered, chatting amongst themselves.

Chen Jin was among the last to emerge because his oral examination had lasted longer than those of the others.

"Mom, let's go!"

Knowing no one else, Chen Jin spoke to Su Wan-yu, then called out to Ma Haiyan, Yang Zi's mother, who was standing nearby.

"In such a rush to leave?" Ma Haiyan asked with a smile. Beside her, Zhang Xiaowu hurriedly nudged Zhang Yishan, who awkwardly extended a hand toward Chen Jin. "Hey, master!"

"Master my foot, just Chen Jin."

Chen Jin introduced himself, whereupon Yang Zi brandished her phone and asked, "Are you not in the art exam group chat?"

"What art exam group chat?"

Yang Zi: "..."

This guy truly was an anomaly; no wonder his acting was so impressive.

The circle of art examination students also served as a future networking lifeline.

Naturally, not just anyone could join; the entry barrier was quite high.

"It's for the students of our cohort taking the art exams this year, including those from the Shanghai Theatre Academy and the Central Academy of Drama. We might all be in the same industry in the future, so we can look out for one another!"

As soon as Yang Zi explained this, Chen Jin understood.

A networking circle.

"Come, come, let's add each other!"

Without a word of refusal, Yang Zi opened her mobile QQ, added Chen Jin as a friend, and pulled him into a group chat named "Class of 2010 Future Film Emperors and Empresses"!

"Put your name as a prefix; you can change it once you're admitted to school!"

For instance, Yang Zi's handle was Beijing Film Academy Yang Zi, meaning Chen Jin would obviously have to change his to Central Academy of Drama / Beijing Film Academy Chen Jin.

Dilraba was actually in there too?

There were also Zhu Yuanmanzi, Qin Junjie... quite a few familiar names.

Yang Zi was even an administrator, while the group owner was listed as Chinese PLA Academy of Arts / Beijing Film Academy Hong Yang.

"Who is this guy?"

This group owner clearly possessed a formidable background, testing into the PLA Academy of Arts, able to pull so many people into the chat, and requiring invitations for entry.

"Have you ever watched *Stories of the Cookhouse Regiment*?"

What nonsense, who hadn't watched that?

Scenes instantly flashed through Chen Jin's mind.

"Squad Leader Hong's son!"

Chen Jin: "..."

A second-generation actor, no wonder he could organize this.

"Welcome Chen Jin to the group!"

Yang Zi typed the message while muttering aloud, "Actually, he was in our examination room earlier too. Anyway, my task is complete!"

The very next second, Chen Jin's phone was flooded with countless friend requests.

Along with a screenful of welcomes, greetings to the "great god," and various animated stickers flying about.

It was no exaggeration at all.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

Chen Jin's phone was practically crashing.

"Haha!"

Zhang Yishan and Yang Zi burst into laughter beside him. "We were bombarded with the exact same thing when we joined!"

"Just ignore them!"

Zhang Yishan appeared thoroughly experienced.

Meanwhile, Chen Jin looked at a friend request from someone named "Central Academy / Shanghai Theatre / Central Conservatory / Shanghai Conservatory Xiaodi," and speechlessly shook his head. "That nickname is longer than her damn name!"

There were thirty-two friend requests in total, twenty-seven of which were from girls.

Leaving aside Zhang Yishan and Dilraba, there were Qin Junjie, Zhong Chuxi, Yuan Bingyan...

Several of them Chen Jin had seen in future autobiographical films.

"Are girls in this circle of entertainment all this proactive?"

Chen Jin curled his lip, thinking better of refusing. They were just QQ friend requests, and his principle was to treat everyone equally.

Barring accidents, they would all be mingling in the same circles in the future.

Even an extra might prove useful someday.

Chen Jin had seen plenty of such instances in future autobiographical films.

"Hurry, hurry! There's an audition downstairs—it's casting for Director Zhang Yimou's new film!"

A parent suddenly shouted these words, causing the heads of numerous art examinees and parents who had been chatting to snap up in unison.

Immediately afterward, the entire crowd surged toward the stairs like cats catching the scent of fish.

Even Yang Zi and her mother were no exception.

In an instant, the entire corridor was left with only Chen Jin and Su Wan-yu.

At that moment, Su Wan-yu finally experienced a sensation akin to an electric current coursing through her entire body. So many people were desperate to act in Director Zhang Yimou's new film, yet her own son... had already signed the contract!