Rebirth: A big star falls in love with me

"You acted well." Zhang Yu patted her shoulder. "You got the hang of it during last night's special training. Remember that anger—not the anger of a shrew yelling in the street, but the anger of a noblewoman exposing someone's shortcomings. Every sentence should be elegant, but every word should be like a knife."

Zeng Li took a deep breath and nodded: "I understand."

Filming begins. The family gathering scene is lavishly decorated, with a long table laden with exquisite tableware. The actors, dressed in gorgeous costumes, chat and laugh. Zhou Manli (played by Zeng Li) sits silently at the head of the table, only occasionally picking up her teacup for a sip.

It wasn't until her husband's younger brother (played by a middle-aged actor) started boasting about his business acumen and subtly belittling Zhou Manli's late husband's mismanagement of his estate that things changed.

Zhou Manli put down her teacup; the clinking of the porcelain was very soft, but the whole room suddenly fell silent.

"Are you done talking?" Her voice was calm, eerily calm.

The younger brother paused, then said, "Sister-in-law, I..."

“You said my husband is bad at business, that the businesses he left behind are all losing money.” Zhou Manli stood up and slowly walked up to him. “Then let me tell you, who helped you cover up the hole when you embezzled three million from the company to gamble in Macau last year? And whose name is that apartment under that mistress of the little starlet you’re keeping?”

Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear and forceful: "Also, the contract you signed with the Japanese last month clearly had problems with its terms. Who flew to Japan overnight to renegotiate it for you?"

The entire room fell silent. The younger brother's face flushed red and then turned pale: "You...you're talking nonsense!"

“Whether I’m lying or not, the ledger will tell.” Zhou Manli took out a ledger from her handbag and gently placed it on the table. “This is the account of all the projects you’ve handled, and every single one of them has a problem. Do you want me to read it to everyone?”

Her gaze swept across the room, finally settling on her younger brother's face: "All these years I've been a vegetarian and a Buddhist, detached from worldly affairs, not because I'm stupid, but because I want to preserve some dignity for the family. But since you don't want that dignity, then I don't mind tearing things apart."

Zeng Li's performance in this scene was absolutely brilliant. She perfectly captured the nuances of the character's transformation from restraint to outburst, and the elegance and ruthlessness of a wealthy woman's confrontation.

"Okay! Stop!" When Zhang Yu called for a halt, enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience.

Zeng Li stood there, slightly out of breath, not yet fully detached from the role. Zhang Yu walked over and handed her a bottle of water: "You acted very well, especially that last look in your eyes, it was menacing."

Zeng Li took the water and said with a wry smile, "Director Zhang, was I... too into it just now? I almost really wanted to slap that actor."

“It’s good to be involved,” Zhang Yu said, “but remember to step out of character. Eight o’clock tonight, same place, I’ll help you step out of character.”

Zeng Li looked at him with a complicated expression: "Director Zhang, isn't this too much work for you? Filming every day is already tiring enough, and you still have to give us special training at night..."

“This is my job,” Zhang Yu smiled. “It’s also my choice.”

Filming continued in the afternoon. Liu Yifei also came to the set today; Zhang Yu had specifically asked her to come and observe. She sat quietly behind the monitor, watching the actors' performances with eyes full of admiration.

"Yifei, did you understand it?" Zhang Yu asked her during the break.

"I understood a little bit," Liu Yifei said earnestly. "Sister Zeng Li acted so well. That kind of anger wasn't about shouting; it was about killing with your eyes."

"Very observant." Zhang Yu nodded approvingly. "Anger can be expressed in many ways. The anger of a noblewoman, the anger of a village woman, the anger of a young girl are all different. You need to learn to observe and to distinguish between them."

"Yes!" Liu Yifei nodded vigorously.

At this moment, Shu Chang walked over, holding a script in her hand: "Director Zhang, I don't quite understand that scene tomorrow. Could you explain it to me?"

Which one?

“It’s the scene where Lin Wan’er gets lost in the rain and is eventually taken home by Shen Qingqiu.” Shu Chang flipped through the script. “I think Lin Wan’er should be in a very sorry state at this point, but the script says that although she was soaked to the bone, her eyes were still bright, which is a bit contradictory…”

Zhang Yu took the script and looked at it: "There's no contradiction. Her appearance is disheveled, but her heart is bright. Although Lin Wan'er got lost and was soaked in the rain, she had hope in her heart—she believed she could find her uncle and that tomorrow would be better. So her eyes were bright; they were the light of hope."

Shu Chang suddenly realized: "I understand! Thank you, Director Zhang!"

Liu Yifei, who was listening nearby, suddenly asked, "Director Zhang, what if it were Shen Qingqiu in her teenage years? What would she look like if she got caught in the rain?"

Zhang Yu glanced at her and smiled: "Good question. Shen Qingqiu is a rich young lady. She would feel wronged and angry if she got caught in the rain, but her upbringing prevents her from losing her temper. So she might purse her lips and hold back her tears, but her fingers would be tightly gripping the hem of her skirt. There would be grievance and stubbornness in her eyes, but not the light of hope that Lin Wan'er has—because she has everything, so she is not afraid of losing anything, and therefore will not have that kind of hope in a desperate situation."

Liu Yifei took it all to heart. She discovered that Zhang Yu's way of explaining acting was very special—he didn't just tell you how to act, but guided you to understand the character and the inner world of the person.

As they wrapped up work in the evening, Zhang Yu stopped Liu Yifei and said, "You have an audition tomorrow, playing the younger version of Shen Qingqiu. Go home and prepare well tonight; you don't need to come to the set."

"Okay!" Liu Yifei said happily, "Director Zhang, I will do my best!"

Watching Liu Yifei skip away, Shu Chang walked to Zhang Yu's side and whispered, "Yifei is very talented."

“Yes,” Zhang Yu nodded, “but talent needs to be honed. Her mother is arriving tomorrow and might impose many restrictions on her. We need to find a way to convince her mother that we can protect her.”

Shu Chang looked at him and said, "Director Zhang, you seem to care a lot about Yi Fei."

“Because she’s special,” Zhang Yu said. “There aren’t many girls in this industry as clean and pure as her. I want to protect that purity.”

Shu Chang was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Can you protect her? This industry... is too dirty."

"I will do my best," Zhang Yu said, looking into the distance. "I will do everything I can."

8 PM, Zhang Yu's office.

Zeng Li arrived on time. Today she was wearing a comfortable cotton and linen long dress, her hair was loose, and she wasn't wearing makeup, making her look several years younger than during the day.

"Director Zhang," she greeted him, and sat down on the sofa.

"How did you feel about today's scene?" Zhang Yu poured her a cup of calming tea.

“It felt great,” Zeng Li said honestly. “I got to say everything that was on my mind. Even though it was the character’s line, it felt like I was talking about myself.”

“That’s the charm of acting.” Zhang Yu sat down opposite her. “You use the character’s voice to express your own feelings. But after you’re done, you have to learn to let go.”

Zeng Li held her teacup, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly said, "Director Zhang, you know that Wang Zhongjun is going to reveal my past relationships, right?"

"I understand." Zhang Yu nodded. "Don't worry, I'm already taking care of it."