I entered Huayu Entertainment in 2016.

Chapter 135 Li Yunxiao

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The morning's shooting proceeded like a calibrated machine, moving forward methodically.

In the afternoon, the atmosphere on set relaxed a bit. Old Li was squatting next to the monitor, drinking strong tea and reviewing the footage from the morning. Several girls were sitting on the edge of the stage, swinging their legs and drinking water.

Wang Zian stood in the center of the stage, holding the storyboard script in his hand, and was discussing the lighting positions for the next scene with the lighting technician, Lao Yang.

Then the wooden door of the theater was pushed open.

The afternoon sunlight streamed in through the doorway, casting a long, golden strip of light across the floor.

Wang Chunzai walked in, followed by a girl.

The silhouette in the backlight was slender and upright, and the proportions from the shoulders and neck to the waist were outlined by the light into a smooth arc. The silhouette alone was enough to make people want to take a second look.

Wang Zian immediately jumped off the stage, put the storyboard script on the prop box next to him, and quickly went to meet him.

Zhou Ye put down his water bottle and slid down from the edge of the stage; Tian Xi tugged at Liu Haochun's sleeve, and the two of them turned their gaze toward the door.

"Teacher Wang, who is this?"

"Let me introduce you. This is Li Yunxiao, the leading actress of the Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe." Wang Chunzai stepped aside to let the girl behind him pass.

Wang Zian carefully examined Li Yunxiao, who gave him a generous smile.

She has a perfectly oval face, with relaxed eyebrows and long, soft eyes. When she smiles, the corners of her eyes curve naturally, making her a highly recognizable classical beauty from Jiangnan.

Years of experience in Yue Opera have given her a dignified and gentle air that is hard to replicate. She looks bright and graceful, like an orchid nurtured by the rains of Jiangnan.

She wore a simple black tight-fitting short-sleeved shirt without any extra decorations, but even that most ordinary black T-shirt couldn't hide the figure sculpted by opera training on her.

Zhou Ye and the others looked at her curiously. This charming and beautiful young lady was a rare sight; she seemed to have stepped out of a calendar poster from the Republican era.

Li Yunxiao was being stared at by several pairs of eyes at the same time, and the smile on her lips froze slightly.

She subconsciously took half a step closer to Wang Chunzai, then tried to relax her expression again.

"Yue Opera?" Wang Zian withdrew his gaze, his tone carrying a hint of surprise and delight, but more so, confusion.

He wanted a Kunqu Opera teacher, so why did he get a Yue Opera actress?

Wang Chunzai rolled her eyes at him, and the eye roll was quite rude.

"In such a short time, where am I supposed to find any Kunqu opera masters for you? They're either teaching students in their troupes or rehearsing new plays. Do you think they'd bother with a small, unopened theater crew like yours?"

"Don't underestimate Yunxiao. She's been learning opera since elementary school, and her basic skills are more solid than any teacher you've ever met. Besides, what you need isn't Kunqu opera singing, but rather opera movements and action instruction, right?"

She happened to be performing with her teacher recently, so I was able to borrow her these past few days because she was available.

If you miss out on her, I really don't know who else I could find.

Hearing Wang Chunzai introduce himself like that, Li Yunxiao smiled shyly.

When she spoke, her voice was clearer than I had imagined, with a soft, gentle quality characteristic of people from the South, but her pronunciation was extremely accurate, as if each word had been weighed on the tip of her tongue.

"Kunqu Opera is the ancestor of all operas, and I can sing it too. When I was a child learning opera, I specifically studied the basics with a Kunqu Opera teacher for two years; I learned some of the singing, recitation, acting, and acrobatics."

She paused slightly at this point, as if afraid of making too much of a claim, and added, "I wouldn't dare say I'm an expert, but I should be able to teach you the basic postures and gestures."

"Really? That's wonderful." Wang Zian's brows relaxed, and he couldn't hide his surprise and joy.

"Our play doesn't actually require much singing; it mainly focuses on action."

All I need is for my actors to look like a makeshift troupe on stage.

If someone can't even do the basic orchid finger gesture correctly, the audience can immediately tell they're an amateur.

Li Yunxiao nodded. "May I ask who wants to learn?"

Wang Zi'an waved his hand at the group, saying, "It's the four of us!"

Li Yunxiao's gaze swept over the group one by one, observing their posture, the lines of their shoulders and necks, and their facial features and eyes.

"You all have excellent physiques. You all show signs of dance training, with well-proportioned frames and outstanding looks." She turned her gaze back and nodded solemnly. "I am confident that I can teach you."

Seeing that Li Yunxiao had agreed, Wang Zian immediately pulled Lao Li aside to start adjusting the afternoon's shooting schedule.

We will temporarily split into two groups.

One group consists of Zhou Ye and Tian Xiwei. Most of their scenes together take place in the backyard of the theater and on the street, requiring little operatic movement.

The other group was himself and Liu Haochun. Their scenes included a lot of stage movements and close-ups of gestures. Taking advantage of Li Yunxiao's presence, they worked out the most crucial shots first.

Li Yunxiao was equally decisive.

She asked Lao Li to clear a space on the stage temporarily, and then stood in front of the four young actors, demonstrating a few basic opera movements to assess their basic skills.

A delicate gesture with a pinky finger, a cloud-like hand gesture, a graceful catwalk step.

Four students took turns going up to imitate.

The results are obvious.

Wang Zian and Liu Haochun, who had trained, stood out even more, followed by Zhou Ye, and finally Tian Xiwei, who claimed to have trained in weightlifting and martial arts.

While the girls were practicing their orchid finger gestures around Li Yunxiao, Wang Chunzai pulled Wang Zian to the side of the stage curtain.

"What's wrong, Teacher Wang?"

"Do you know who Li Yunxiao's master is?" she asked in a low voice, just enough for the two of them to hear.

Wang Zian shook his head.

He wasn't familiar with the Yue Opera circle; he only knew that Xiaobaihua was one of the most famous Yue Opera troupes in Zhejiang, and that was about it.

"Mao Weitao is one of the top masters in the Yue Opera world." When Wang Chunzai said that name, there was an unadorned solemnity in his tone. "I showed her the script you wrote."

"Teacher Wang, you're amazing! You managed to find such a brilliant person!"

"Come on, you can't possibly be that clueless!" Wang Chunzi rolled her eyes at him.

"After her teacher read the script, he said he wanted to meet you. He said that Yue Opera and Kunqu Opera are not lacking in good stories or old stories, but what they lack is the kind of new stories that young people are willing to sit down and watch."

"They're also pursuing a transformation!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Zian quickly explained, "Teacher, I don't have time! I'm already overwhelmed with so many things to do, and besides, I can't always write a script at this level."

"This batch of scripts is the culmination of a long period of accumulated inspiration. I don't even know where the next batch will come from. If I go to meet people now and set such high expectations, it will be counterproductive if I can't deliver anything in the end."

"So, I turned it down for you; I only said that he'd give his disciple a chance to perform well in the future." Wang Chunzai looked him in the eyes, his tone calm and steady; "Do you understand what I mean?"

She wanted Wang Zian to understand that in this industry, sometimes resource exchange is necessary, and you can't hog everything.

Wang Zian looked at her and nodded seriously.

"I understand, that's what I was thinking too. When the company grows bigger, and film and television productions need so many roles, we definitely can't use all our own people; we'll have to look outside. Rather than scrambling at the last minute, it's better to pave the way now."

As he spoke, an idea suddenly came to him: "How about I get a small role for Sister Yunxiao in this drama?"

"The script happens to feature a famous theatrical artist who was forced to come by a Japanese colonel. He performs a piece and is then killed. He doesn't have many scenes, but he's memorable enough."

"No need." Wang Chunzai raised his hand to stop him, his tone firm. "The core conflict and emotional shifts in your drama have already been determined, and the pacing of each scene is perfectly synchronized."

"Remember this: never add a new character just to repay a favor, even if it's only for one or two scenes. It will make the whole thing feel bloated. Sacrificing the quality of the work to repay a favor is the stupidest thing you can do."

"And it's too small, that's not good either, it makes people feel like you're looking down on them."

"I understand, then forget it." Wang Zian immediately took back what he had just said.

Wang Chunzai paused for a moment, then pointed at him with her finger, "Slippery!"

"You never intended to add that role, right? You said it on purpose so I would say it for you."

Wang Zian neither admitted nor denied it, but simply smiled.

"It's good that you know what's going on." Wang Chunzai unscrewed the lid of the thermos, took a sip of tea, and switched his tone from serious to a more casual admonition.

"If you have the chance in the future, remember to maintain this connection. Don't just give them a small role and send them away. People from Jiangsu and Zhejiang are very wealthy. You'll need their capital sooner or later when you're making movies and TV series."

"I understand!"

Wang Zian was extremely grateful to Teacher Wang.

They taught him acting, helped him choose roles, found him opera instructors, and are now helping him build connections and teaching him about interpersonal relationships within the industry.

She was no longer fulfilling the duties of an admissions officer; she was treating a student who hadn't even enrolled yet as her personal disciple, nurturing him.

I don't know how to thank her enough!

You can't keep picking on just one sheep; maybe you should switch to Dean Wang.