Under One Person: God Profiler

Ye Chenglan was about to say something more when she was interrupted by an old voice.

The old man stood hunched over at one end of the dark stage, gazing at the empty audience below. He looked somewhat forlorn.

However, Ye Chenglan felt a chill run down her spine.

When did this old man start standing there?

Then he stared directly into Xia Changhe's eyes: "Excuse me, are you from the other side of the circle?"

Chapter 2 Second Master Xia Liuqing

"Industry? Sorry, I'm not in the entertainment industry. I'm actually a cameraman."

"If there's nothing else, we'll be going now."

Xia Changhe thoroughly cleaned the greasepaint with a makeup remover pad, smiled slightly at Ye Chenglan, and then pulled his son toward Xia Huaisang.

“Mr. Ye, don’t be disappointed. We have plenty of actresses in our orchard. There’s no need to be sad over one of them.”

The soldier in the yellow robe ran up to Ye Chenglan and fawned over her.

Ye Chenglan glanced at the soldier and said indifferently, "If you focus more on the play, you won't be an extra."

After saying that, he left.

........

"Dad, you just lied, didn't you?"

On the muddy path, Xia Linyuan looked up at Xia Changhe and asked, his clear black and white eyes sparkling.

Xia Changhe was slightly taken aback. He picked up Xia Linyuan and said gently.

"When did Father lie?"

"When we talk about circles, we also talk about cameramen."

Xia Linyuan pointed at Xia Changhe and said very seriously, "You can't lie, sir, or you'll get caught by the monkeys."

"Hahahaha...cough cough."

Xia Huaisang, who was walking to the side with his hands behind his back, suddenly laughed. Perhaps he laughed too hard, because he started coughing violently.

Xia Changhe quickly put Xia Linyuan down on the ground and gently patted Xia Huaisang's back to help her catch her breath. He said with concern, "Father, you're getting old. Please be more careful."

Xia Huaisang laughed for a while before saying to Xia Changhe, "Changhe, your acting skills have regressed. You need to practice more."

Xia Changhe's face stiffened, and after a moment of hesitation, he said, "Yes, Father."

Then Xia Huaisang looked at Xia Linyuan, whose little face was filled with worry: "Linyuan, how did you know your father was lying?"

Seeing that his grandfather was alright, Xia Linyuan relaxed and returned to his lively self, proudly saying, "Grandpa, didn't you say that to act well in a play, you must first act well as a person? You have to observe people's joys, sorrows, fears, and happiness. Only by understanding them thoroughly can you act well. If you want to make the play vivid, you have to act it out. You have to understand the other person's thoughts and behaviors..."

"When Dad was speaking, his eyes were clearly not looking directly at Uncle Ye, but rather at the makeup remover wipes behind Uncle Ye. This is obviously illogical. How could my dad, such a polite person, do such a thing?"

"There's only one answer. My dad has something to hide, doesn't want to talk about this topic anymore, and wants to get away as soon as possible to avoid this issue."

"So, I think my dad lied."

Xia Huaisang and Xia Changhe stared in shock as Xia Linyuan finished speaking.

Especially the summer locust and mulberry trees.

He did say that, but it was just a fussy request he made. He never expected his grandson to actually do it.

After a moment of stunned silence, Xia Huaisang smiled, a truly joyful smile. She crouched down and affectionately nuzzled Xia Linyuan's head with her face.

"Yes, our family used to be in Nuo opera, but unfortunately Nuo opera declined and we couldn't make money from it. That's why we started singing and acting. We can do all kinds of plays. We've never produced a cameraman. Look at your dad, he even went abroad to attend some top-tier university. In the end, he still has to make money by singing opera. Don't you think so, Lin Yuan?"

Xia Changhe's face showed bitterness, but he was powerless to refute it.

Xia Huaisang rolled her eyes at Xia Changhe, then continued to say to Xia Linyuan, "Linyuan, do you want to act in the future, or do you want to go to school?"

Xia Changhe's expression changed: "Father!"

"I'm asking Lin Yuan! Don't interrupt!"

Xia Huaisang shouted loudly with an unfriendly expression.

This terrified Xia Linyuan.

In that instant, he saw many expressions, but he didn't understand why his grandfather and father had those expressions. He felt there was something he didn't know about them.

Facing his grandfather's expectant gaze, Xia Linyuan declared loudly, "I want to act!"

Grandpa was overjoyed, but Father was furious.

Xia Linyuan noticed these emotions, but he didn't understand why.

Xia Linyuan was young, and although he was smart, he wasn't cunning or scheming. All he had was pure family affection.

"I want to perform in major operas, make a lot of money, and buy a big house in the city. That way, we won't have to keep running around!"

As soon as these words came out.

Whether it's grandfather or father.

Their facial expressions all became the same.

Ashamed.

..........

As the setting sun faded, leaving the last crimson hue in the sky, the distant, undulating mountains surged like waves. A dilapidated mud house still had its light on.

"One hundred, two hundred, three hundred..."

Xia Huaisang took the money out of the envelope, moistened his fingers with saliva, and began to count it.

500 yuan. Xia Huaisang nodded in satisfaction. Not a small amount.

Xia Linyuan also leaned over the table, looking at the bright red paper money, and asked, "Grandpa, you can earn so much from one play? Am I going to be rich in the future?!"

Xia Huaisang chuckled: "Your dad only gave you a little more because he was saving the day. Normally, the highest he'd get for a performance is 200 yuan."

"Ah~ half is missing."

Xia Linyuan said with a pained expression.

"200 yuan is still the price of a first-class actor."

Xia Huaisang added another blow with a wicked grin.

Unexpectedly, Xia Linyuan confidently declared, "I will be a top-notch entertainer in the future!"

"That's ambitious!" Xia Huaisang praised. He rummaged through an old, yellow cabinet and took out a stack of books, placing them in front of Xia Linyuan.

"You must memorize these books and engrave them in your mind."

Xia Linyuan took out a book titled "Sun Wukong Borrows the Banana Leaf Fan Three Times," "Havoc in Heaven," "Chenxiang Saves His Mother," and "Erlang Shen's Wondrous Way of Purity"...

So many...

Xia Linyuan felt a little scared...

"What? Giving up? To put on a good show, how can you empathize with someone if you don't know their experiences?"

Xia Huaisang was prepared to patiently guide him, but seeing Xia Linyuan's expression, Xia Huaisang's eyes darted around, and she said with great regret, "Sigh, forget it, I knew you definitely couldn't memorize it. Sigh, as for acting, I think you shouldn't bother learning it."

Xia Linyuan burst out laughing. He looked at Xia Huaisang as if she were an idiot. "Hehehe, Grandpa, your provocation was so fake, hahaha."

Xia Huaisang immediately felt embarrassed, picked up a handful of his beard and pointed it at Xia Linyuan: "Ah! How dare you laugh at your grandpa! Watch me tickle you with my beard..."

The grandfather and grandson started playing around, and accidentally bumped into the corner of the table. The table wobbled, and a copy of "The Mysterious Way of Qingxu Erlang Shen" fell off the table.

A black and white photograph popped out of the book and fell to the ground.

Xia Linyuan, quick as a flash, picked up the photo. The photo showed two people, one tall and one short, against a backdrop of a desolate Gobi Desert. Looking at the photo, Xia Linyuan exclaimed to Xia Huaisang, "The tall one is the young grandfather! So handsome! Who's the short one?"

Xia Huaisang's smile gradually faded. She said indifferently, "He, well, let's just call him your second grandfather."

Xia Linyuan became excited immediately, never expecting that he had a second master.

"What's his name?"

"Xia Liuqing".

"Where is he?"

"All of humanity".

Chapter 3 Opera Performances in the City

"Let's go find him at Quanxing!"

"Don't go."

Xia Huaisang flatly refused, but Xia Linyuan's heart remained burning with desire, filled with longing for this Second Master. However, he couldn't understand why he didn't go to him.

"Why not go? We're family."

Xia Huaisang pouted but said nothing. Seeing that his grandfather didn't answer, Xia Linyuan casually examined the photo carefully. He could vaguely make out another person in the photo.

"Grandpa, who's behind you?"