“Cut!”

Director Xu, who was sitting in front of the monitor, shouted with satisfaction. In the camera, Yan Sheng, who played the leading role, was sweating profusely from the hot lighting and above-level performance, but he felt extremely happy and refreshed. Like drinking a big bottle of cold beer on a boiling hot night and then taking a cold shower.

The makeup artist hurriedly carried their small box over to touch up the makeup for the two of them. Yan Sheng moved his body slightly to face Tao Mu, and said with a serious expression, “The reaction you just gave me was very good.”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Although Tao Mu didn’t speak a single line in the last scene, and even most of his face was hidden in the shadows, Yan Sheng could still feel that Zhou Yuanting was hearing his words from Tao Mu’s expression and minute details of resentment, unwillingness, anger and struggle that followed. The strong emotions even immersed Yan Sheng into the scene. This was also an important reason why Yan Sheng felt that he had broken through his bottleneck after the scene just now finished.

Sometimes if you want to improve your professional level, you would have to study hard and practice hard, and it is useless to scheme against acquaintances or bully those weaker. New and stronger opponents must be actively sought.

This was an important reason why the hero of level-up novels always fights against powerful enemies as if he was always looking for death. Everyone knew that if you put in the effort to jump high, you could pick the fruits of higher places. But a lot of times, not everyone could find the motivation to jump high. Or allow yourself to climb to a higher spot.

At this moment, Yan Sheng squinted his eyes in satisfaction, letting the makeup artist paint over his face. He preferred this kind of play against strong opponents to the relaxed and comfortable steamrolling of weaklings. Especially if he managed to gain the upper hand after the challenging round.

Xu Musen waved to Tao Mu. He was also very satisfied with Yan Sheng’s performance just now. So now, he hoped that Tao Mu’s Zhou Yuanting could maintain the same level. Maybe after the movie was released, this scene would even become a classic.

Yan Sheng looked intently at Tao Mu, who was sitting next to the director, listening carefully to Director Xu’s explanations. He was also analyzing how Tao Mu would perform next. Yan Sheng subconsciously thought in a different position, imagining how to interpret the next explosive scene if he played Zhou Yuanting. Then he thought about how he should respond to Tao Mu’s acting.

He completely didn’t notice Shen Yu, who had eagerly taken the mineral water bottle from the assistant, and then sidled up beside him after the director shouted ‘cut’.

Shen Yu’s disappointment was beyond words. Although he knew that Yan Sheng really liked acting, when he saw Yan Sheng ignore him for acting, he still felt uncomfortable.

“Big brother Yan?” Shen Yu pouted and stuffed the mineral water with a straw into Yan Sheng’s hand: “You must be very thirsty after speaking so many lines just now. Drink some water to moisten your throat.”

After being reminded by Shen Yu, Yan Sheng suddenly realized that he was indeed so thirsty that his throat was practically emitting smoke.

Yan Sheng lowered his head, bit the straw and drank a big half the bottle of mineral water. He thanked Shen Yu with a warm smile.

Being looked at by these affectionate eyes, Shen Yu’s face flushed. He bit his lips in a slightly shy manner: “No need for thanks.”

Yan Sheng looked at Shen Yu thoughtfully. Shen Yu originally thought that Yan Sheng was stunned by his beauty, and was about to tell Yan Sheng not to tease him in front of so many people. When he heard Yan Sheng say very seriously: “You were right before, Tao Mu’s acting skills are really good.”

Shen Yu: “…..?”

Yan Sheng reached out and patted Shen Yu’s shoulder, encouraging: “So you have to work hard. Tomorrow’s scene, don’t let Tao Mu make you look bad.”

Shen Yu was completely speechless now. After joining the crew for so many days, Shen Yu also realized that his acting skills were not at the same level as most of the actors in the crew. Even Du Ze, who had few scenes in the film, could leave him in the dust when he truly began to act seriously. Not to mention others.

Fortunately, Yan Yu, played by Shen Yu, was a naive character with a full sense of justice, which was very similar to his own personality. Shen Yu took advantage of this, coupled with Director Xu’s strict training, he managed to follow until now, if barely.

But pitting his acting chops like how Tao Mu and big brother Yan did just now, wasn’t that making it difficult for him?

Shen Yu suddenly had a bitter face: “I also want to work hard. But I’m so stupid, how could I pit my acting chops with Mu Mu. Big brother Yan, do you think I’m you?”

Shen Yu’s appearance with his white and tender cheeks puffed up, his eyes wide open, and his mouth pouting was really cute. Yan Sheng smiled, and no longer forced Shen Yu to pit his acting chops with Tao Mu. He just said, “Then do your best to be the best you can be.”

Shen Yu nodded obediently. He suddenly smiled proudly as if he was showing off a treasure: “I said before that Mu Mu’s acting is very good. How about it, big brother Yan, I didn’t lie to you, did I?”

On the other side, after listening to Director Xu’s explanations seriously, Tao Mu closed his eyes and thought for a while, then slowly returned to the studio. Yan Sheng also walked over to find a good position. The two regained their previous scene positions before ‘cut’ was shouted.

Yan Qi held the gun pointed at his forehead in one hand and stared at Zhou Yuanting with both eyes. Looking at Zhou Yuanting’s pained expression, the gaze in his own eyes was slightly shaken. However, it soon became firm again. He did nothing wrong. He knelt in front of the grave and promised that he would never let anything bad happen to his little brother. As for others, he couldn’t care that much.

“This is what you want to say?” Zhou Yuanting was very ferocious just now, but when he heard Yan Qi’s words, he wiped away all his expressions. He let Yan Qi stretch out his hand to hold the gun, but still had it raised and pressed in between Yan Qi’s eyebrows, firm and motionless.

“You don’t want your little brother to be thrown into the fire pit, so it doesn’t matter if others live or die. You want to leave a son for the Yan family. But have you ever thought that my parents only have one son——”

“You chose it yourself.”

Zhou Yuanting’s complaints came to an abrupt halt. As the camera moved forward, Zhou Yuanting’s eyes became extraordinarily bright because of his anger. With the cooperation of the lighting board, it exuded a compelling light in the dark shadow.

What kind of eyes were those! Like a trapped beast with many scars forced into a corner. Anger, unwillingness, resentment, struggle, and a madness that was full of desire. Tao Mu progressively revealed several emotions layer by layer, and the interpretation was very full and realistic. Director Xu, who was sitting in front of the monitor, was so excited he nearly floated away.

Just with this look, this scene was as good as guaranteed!

Yan Qi looked at Zhou Yuanting calmly, this young man who succeeded the old Hei as an undercover agent, and now complained about his unfair fate: “It’s you who didn’t follow the rules. On the eve of graduation, you skipped classes and went to the bar, and you even got into a fight, and was arrested. If you violate the rules of the school, even if you don’t come to be an undercover agent, you would have been expelled from the police academy. You forfeited your chance to be a police officer a long time ago.”

“I was expelled from the police station, and I was directly transferred to be an undercover agent. It was a task assigned by the above. I didn’t have a choice. But you had a choice.”

Even if you were expelled from the police academy, you could have changed careers to do other things. If Zhou Yuanting wanted to, he still had a choice. After all, no matter how strict the Hong Kong police were, they would not force a student to accept a task. It was Zhou Yuanting who was not reconciled with his situation, did not want his work to be in vain, and was eager to return to the police station as a superintendent after successfully completing the task. So he accepted the task under the persuasion of the school.

Being an undercover agent was really hard work. All the humiliation and struggle that Zhou Yuanting was facing now, and even the abandonment by his family and friends, were all experienced by Yan Qi a long time ago. He could empathize with the other.

But Yan Qi couldn’t understand Zhou Yuanting’s anger and complaints towards him. As he said before, Zhou Yuanting was different from them, he had a choice.

If it was said that the person standing in front of Yan Qi today was any of his police colleagues. In the face of their questioning, Yan Qi might feel a little guilty. But for Zhou Yuanting, Yan Qi could admit that he did not need to be responsible for another adult’s deliberate choice.

In fact, when Yan Qi was initially informed that they wanted to choose a student from the police academy to replace old Hei as his partner, Yan Qi disagreed. Not only because the initial candidate was his younger brother. The most important reason was that Yan Qi thought this decision was too risky. Police academy students have no professional training, and their minds and wills were not tempered enough. If they rashly accept such a daunting task, accidents are likely to happen.

But Yan Qi had no way to influence the decisions from above. Convincing the above to give up Yan Yu becoming an undercover agent was already the limit of his ability. Yan Qi was only an undercover agent now and couldn’t do much.

However, he felt that there was no need to tell Zhou Yuanting these words. Besides, this was not a place where one could talk in peace.

“As I said before. As a police officer, I had no choice when I was given an order. You are different from us. You still had a choice.” Yan Qi patted Zhou Yuanting on the shoulder and said, “If you really can’t hold on, you can quit. Even if you can’t be a police officer, you can do some small business. Live a peaceful life and provide for your parents in their retirement.”

After saying this, Yan Qi allowed Zhou Yuanting to keep holding the gun, took a step back, and passed Zhou Yuanting. The two stood on the rooftop again because of their previous positions in the scene.

With the cooperation of the lighting and the camera lens, in the screen of the monitor, the two were standing face to face, with the high-rise buildings of Hong Kong in the background. The night was just beginning, the lights were bright and colorful. And against the colorful neon background, the two passed by and walked in opposite directions.

Yan Qi strode to the iron door on the rooftop and was about to open it when he heard a gunshot.

Yan Qi looked at the bullet which had hit the iron door handle, and turned around suddenly.

Zhou Yuanting stood on the spot with a gun. He tilted his head slightly, and habitually curved his lips in a roguish arc, revealing a bright smile that was slightly unhinged. His eyes were also amazingly bright. The wind on the roof was very strong, and the cold evening wind tugged at people’s shirts and clothes fiercely. The dark night dyed Zhou Yuanting’s features even more intensely.

In the scene shown in the camera, Zhou Yuanting was standing on the highest point of the rooftop, and his thin figure was in sharp contrast with the stars in the night above his head. Under the starlight and neon lights, his shadow meandered in sinister veins. In the flickering shadows, there seemed to be some monster struggling to break free.

Zhou Yuanting pointed the gun at Yan Qi’s head, raised his eyebrows, and said with a wickedness: “You are right. You don’t have a choice, but I have a choice.”

Same line. When spoken from Yan Qi’s mouth, it was helpless but also held feelings of recognition and glory for his profession. Although the job of an undercover agent was hard, dangerous and could not be brought to light, as a police officer, his profession required him to take this risk.

In order to allow more people like his little brother to live under the sunshine safely, someone must hide in the dark and carry the burden. To fight against the bad guys who were bathed in blood. Safeguard the world with one’s blood and life.

However, when the same words were spoken from Zhou Yuanting’s mouth it only made people feel a chill from the bottom of their hearts.

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“What mental case are you on!”

In the camera, Yan Qi impatiently moved Zhou Yuanting’s arm on his shoulder. He stood up staggeringly. Judging from his body language, he was obviously drunk. However, when the camera moved to the close-up of the eyes, the were extraordinarily clear and alert.

He stumbled out of the bar all the way, followed by a long camera shot, capturing the bright lights and people dancing in the bar passage from Yan Qi’s perspective, and then turned the corner and followed the dark staff passage directly to the rooftop. There was no one around, except for the sound of the wind.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Yan Qi turned his head angrily: “What kind of crazy were you on about just now in the bar——”

Before he finished speaking, Yan Qi felt a chill on his forehead. The cold muzzle of a shotgun was pressed harshly between his eyebrows.

Yan Qi froze suddenly, and then slowly relaxed: “Ah Ting, what do you want?”

In the monitor, Yan Qi was standing on the rooftop, behind him were the dazzling neon lights of Hong Kong and the stars in the sky. Zhou Yuanting had his gun raised to Yan Qi’s head, and his back turned to the tightly closed door. His whole person was hidden in the dark shadows.

Judging from the composition of the picture, the two people were in a state of face-to-face confrontation. The color on Yan Qi’s side was bright, while Zhou Yuanting’s whole figure blended into the night. Between the two was the edge of part of the building. Visually, it seemed that Zhou Yuanting and Yan Qi were divided into black and white.

“My informant told me that the undercover cop candidate selected by the police was clearly Yan Yu. It was you who firmly opposed it, and it was finally replaced by me.”

Under the close-up of the camera, the slender fingers gently clicked open the safety bolt. With a light click, Zhou Yuanting’s voice sounded from the darkness: “Yan Sir, do you have something to say to me?”

The camera froze, and Zhou Yuanting, whose half of his body was hidden in the darkness, only a vague outline of him could be seen, holding a gun against Yan Qi’s forehead. At first glance, the styles of the two seem to be seventy to eighty percent similar. It was just that Zhou Yuanting’s half of the silhouette which blended into the darkness actually captivated the eyes of viewers more than Yan Qi, whose whole body was exposed to the light.

“Cut!”

The studio was silent. The staff silently left their places and began to arrange the lighting and cameras needed for the next scene. Xu Musen sat in front of the monitor for a long time without speaking.

For the unprofessional layman, perhaps the benevolent sees the benevolent and the wise sees the wisdom. There would even be some brain-dead fans who would close their eyes and blow rainbow fart on their idols. But for those in the industry who rely on this industry to make a living, it was very clear who was superior and who was inferior.

In the scene just now, it could be said that Yan Sheng’s performance was very much in line with his two time film king standard. Even better than usual. However, Tao Mu’s performance, without exaggeration, was simply amazing.

Hearing thunder from the silence.

Even if there was no screaming desperation, not even a single line that was recited with strong emotion, Tao Mu’s interpretation of Zhou Yuanting still gave people a sense of danger before the volcano erupted. It was as if hot magma was rolling just under cold hard rocks. Just a little carelessness, and he would burn the world down indiscriminately around them.

The makeup artist stepped forward to touch up the makeup of the two actors. Yan Sheng looked at Tao Mu with a serious expression.

It was not his illusion. When he was acting with Tao Mu just now, he really felt a sense of suffocation, like facing an iron fist in a velvet glove or a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

This Tao Mu seemed to be very familiar with his acting style. Every time Yan Sheng wanted to break out and suppress the other’s screen presence, Tao Mu could always follow it perfectly and calmly. It was like the Taiji move of using the opponent’s force against them. The moves were round and soft, but steel and velvet went hand in hand. Every time it was Yan Sheng’s turn to respond, it seemed to be easy, but in fact only he knew that it was getting more laborious for him every time. By the time Director Xu called ‘cut’, Yan Sheng could no longer care about suppressing Tao Mu. Instead, he could only focus on trying his best to meet Tao Mu’s acting.

And the acting styles of the two of them were really similar.

No, it should be that Tao Mu had studied his performance style privately, so he could calmly grab the rhythm every time he made a move. It made Yan Sheng feel exhausted.

“Brother Yan, you did a really good job.” Shen Yu held the mineral water bottle with the straw inserted, and stood aside with bright eyes, sincerely praising Yan Sheng’s acting skills.

When Yan Sheng heard this, his face flushed. If it wasn’t for Xu Musen calling cut in time, he would have almost lost his reputation just now.

“My performance was just satisfactory. But Mr. Tao surprised me.” Yan Sheng said, looking at Tao Mu with undisguised surprise and admiration: “I didn’t expect Mr. Tao to act so well.”

Yan Sheng was telling the truth. He could never imagine why someone so young like Tao Mu had such superb acting skills. He had seen many newcomers with talent and presence in the entertainment industry, but Tao Mu was definitely the first person he had ever seen to have such skill at this age. Yan Sheng even felt that when he was nineteen years old, he didn’t seem to have the same level of skill as Tao Mu did.

Tao Mu’s stunning performance made Yan Sheng happy and appreciative. It also aroused Yan Sheng’s competitive spirit.

With Yan Sheng’s family background, he insisted on entering the entertainment industry despite his family’s opposition, so naturally he really loved acting. He was talented, hardworking, and resourceful. One movie after another was filmed step by step, and from each movie he learned from experience and worked hard to improve. Years of hard work had accumulated to this day, only then did he have today’s status.

Therefore, Yan Sheng could put aside other aspects, except for his acting skills, on this he must take seriously.

The feeling of being suppressed while acting with Tao Mu made Yan Sheng feel a little excited after such a long time. Outsiders may not pay attention, but Yan Sheng knew himself. His acting had reached a bottleneck stage. In the past two years, he had made movies and TV dramas. However, the actors in the same crew were either Wang Jinsheng, Luo Daming and other familiar faces who he had cooperated many times with, and have long been accustomed to each other’s performance style, so they have become very tacit when acting together. Or like Shen Yu, although he had some potential, his acting skills were still immature and unable to evoke Yan Sheng’s urge to pit his acting skills against.

But Tao Mu was different. After just acting a scene with Tao Mu, Yan Sheng felt the thrill of meeting an opponent. At this moment, his obsession and liking for acting completely occupied the most important place in his mind. Yan Sheng even left the thought of suppressing Tao Mu’s screen presence behind him. The only thing he thought about was how to continue to meet Tao Mu’s acting and how to continue acting the following scenes unrestrainedly and enjoyably.

Yan Sheng closed his eyes and pondered, carefully pondering the script, recalling the lines, accumulating emotions, and preparing for the next scene. Letting the makeup artist touch up the makeup on his face.

Shen Yu stood aside holding a mineral water bottle, originally wanting Yan Sheng to take a sip of water and take a break. Only to find that Yan Sheng didn’t have the energy to pay attention to him at all.

Shen Yu had no choice but to retreat obediently.

Xu Musen called Tao Mu and Yan Sheng to his side and began to explain to them the scene. The following scene was Yan Qi’s breakthrough scene, and Zhou Yuanting basically had no lines. He was there to just cooperate with Yan Qi’s role. Therefore, the focus of Xu Musen’s explanation was still on Yan Sheng.

For the two-minute monologue, Xu Musen hoped that it would be completed in one go. This was quite a test of acting skills for actors. Fortunately, Yan Sheng’s acting skills have always been above the standard. Moreover, Tao Mu’s performance aroused Yan Sheng’s acting addiction even more. He couldn’t wait.

After a while, the lights and cameras were in place. The clapper loader held the clapperboard and shouted “action” in front of the camera.

Yan Sheng suddenly opened his eyes and looked directly at Tao Mu: “Do you know how many years I’ve been in this business?”

Zhou Yuanting’s hand holding the gun remained motionless, Yan Sheng continued as if speaking to himself, “Ten years. How many ten years can a person have in a lifetime?”

“I entered the police academy at the age of nineteen, and was expelled from the police force at the age of twenty-two. After I was released from prison, I joined the mafia under the introduction of brother K. I have been doing it for ten years. How did I survive these ten years?”

“You can’t stand it after just a little over a year. Have you ever thought about me?” Yan Qi laughed at himself: “I was kicked out of the police force, I couldn’t go back to my family, I couldn’t be accepted by my relatives, and my girlfriend broke up with me. When clearly we are all colleagues, yet they could shout “I’m a policeman” in police uniforms, while we would be handcuffed and forced to squat on the ground to give our statements. In the eyes of the police, we are riffraff, but in the mafia, we are asked to keep in mind that we are policemen at all times. We could never be sincere with our brothers. Do you think you’re the only one?”

“That’s right. Back then, when old Hei was exposed, they wanted to find another partner for me. I didn’t agree with it being my younger brother. In the end, they decided on you. Do you think it’s unfair?”

When Yan Qi said this, regardless of the gun pressed in between his eyebrows, he slowly took a step forward, forcing Zhou Yuanting to take a step back.

In the scene of the camera, Yan Qi stepped forward. With the cooperation of the lighting, the facial features became clearer and the micro-expressions were also visible down to the detail. Zhou Yuanting’s retreat made him melt completely into the darkness.

“You asked me if I had something to say. What do you want me to say? Do I feel guilty?”

“I’ve been undercover for ten years. I’ve been abandoned by all my family and friends. Even when my mother died, I didn’t arrive in time to bury her. My brother completely broke off any relations with me because of this incident. He got into the police academy to put me in jail with his own hands. Old Hei was dead, but they want my brother to be an undercover cop like me?”

“I only have one younger brother. Even if he hates me, he is still my dear younger brother. I knelt in front of my mother’s grave and promised that I would protect him for the rest of my life. But now they want my younger brother to be an undercover cop. To live a dark and hopeless life like I do. How could I possibly agree?”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

When Yan Qi said this, he took another step forward and directly forced Zhou Yuanting to lean against the iron door to the roof.

“Even if all the police in Hong Kong are dead, I can’t let my brother follow the same path as me. At least one of us two brothers in the Yan family must be saved to look after my father in retirement.” Yan Qi reached out and held the gun pressed to his forehead. His eyes were fixed on Zhou Yuanting, as he enunciated word by word.

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