Reborn in the Hong Kong entertainment industry in the 1980s

The passing of his lover is the most heartbreaking scene in Zhao Zhenchuan's play, and also the scene in which Song Yan'an invests the most emotion and gets deeply involved.

So much so that even though his performance was over, he remained immersed in it and couldn't get out of it.

Sitting with Hu Xiaoxiao now, looking at her vibrant self, and talking to her can at least help him pull himself out of his immersive world.

However, he looked at Hu Xiaoxiao and saw that she resembled Xie Weihua, yet she was not Xie Weihua.

Song Yan'an observed Hu Xiaoxiao for a while longer and asked her, "How did you get out of character? When you were playing Xie Weihua, I noticed that you were also immersed in the role."

So how did Hu Xiaoxiao recover so quickly? Why was Xie Weihua completely unaffected by her?

Song Yan'an really wanted to know.

After drinking a glass of juice and ordering a few snacks from the menu, Hu Xiaoxiao said to Song Yan'an, "My understanding of Xie Weihua is that I empathize with her personality and temperament, and try to understand the behavioral logic of someone as intelligent and well-connected as her. As for emotions..."

Hu Xiaoxiao thought for a moment, hesitated for a second, and then met Song Yan'an's inquiring gaze before saying, "Actually, you should have noticed when filming that even the most dangerous stunts, I can get right in one take. But it's during emotional scenes that I'm most prone to NGs."

She nailed the dangerous stunts on the rooftop scene almost perfectly in one take, and even did it in one continuous shot. However, when the two were talking under the moon, Hu Xiaoxiao had to do two takes.

When Xie Weihua died, and she wanted to say "I love you" to Zhao Zhenchuan, the intense emotions she felt—a love mixed with sadness and regret—made Hu Xiaoxiao film several takes before a satisfactory shot was finally captured.

That's right, it's just passable, unlike the car chase scene which surprised and delighted the director.

She relies entirely on the techniques she learned from teacher Xia Qing when filming emotional scenes, or on imitations she made while experiencing life.

“Brother An, I’m not very good at deeply understanding certain emotions, especially very sad and painful ones.”

Or rather, she doesn't deeply empathize with the pain and sorrow in people's emotions; she can only understand them, but she can't imagine projecting them onto herself.

On the contrary, she is very good at experiencing happiness and is easily infected by it.

She had endless delicious food and fun activities every day, which made her extremely happy. She couldn't understand why she should be sad or upset; wasn't her life quite blissful?

Even when she's building up a sad mood while acting, the thought of going out for a delicious meal after work immediately breaks her act.

So after she finished playing Xie Weihua and ate a roast chicken, she forgot about the intense emotions Xie Weihua had before her death.

Song Yan'an was unaware of Hu Xiaoxiao's actual situation, but he could see her happiness—carefree—from her untroubled eyes.

Although she was carefree, her happiness was infectious, like sunshine that instantly brightened his mood. He said to Hu Xiaoxiao, "You're a naturally optimistic person."

Hu Xiaoxiao thought for a moment, her eyes crinkling with laughter, "It seems so. Don't overthink it. If you're unhappy or upset, go find something delicious to eat. Eating something good will make you feel really, really happy."

Song Yan'an laughed along, "Delicious food can indeed affect a person's mood."

"Want me to take you to eat something delicious? I know a lot of great restaurants, all recommended by my friends." One restaurant after another, and she found out about quite a few places.

Song Yan'an nodded and said, "I will try to find pleasure in food."

However, he was not optimistic; if food could solve his problems, he wouldn't be so trapped by his roles.

After moving on from that topic, the two talked about their future plans.

When talking about her plans, Hu Xiaoxiao said, "I've filmed a lot of martial arts dramas and few romance dramas. I plan to take on some romance dramas, but romance dramas are not easy to act in. Brother An has filmed a lot of romance dramas and his reputation is good. Does he have any tips to teach me?"

She filmed several martial arts dramas, which made her famous. Once she gained recognition, she was able to choose her roles based on her own preferences and had the right to select which dramas to work on.

So now, she has the confidence to try to develop in multiple areas.

Maybe if she films a lot of romantic scenes, she'll gradually become able to empathize with those sad and painful emotions.

Song Yan'an smiled helplessly and said, "I don't have much to teach you. My method isn't good, and I don't want you to learn it. I completely immerse myself in the script, living as the character in the script. Sometimes after filming, I don't even know if I am myself or he/she. My mind keeps splitting. You're fine as you are now, with your own personality. There's no need for you to imitate others. However, if you really want to know the joys and sorrows of love, maybe you can try dating. You're at the age where you should be dating. If you find a suitable person, you can give it a try."

Hu Xiaoxiao shook her head and said, "If I have to find someone to date and experience emotions just to film a romance movie, then if I want to film a murderer in the future, wouldn't I have to kill a few people to get a feel for it?"

Song Yan'an was amused by her words and said, "So, I don't have much to teach you. However, if you don't have very high expectations for yourself, you can practice your skills. Your current approach to handling emotional scenes is quite good. Enrich your life a bit more, observe more people, especially go to crowded places."

Although Song Yan'an said he didn't teach Hu Xiaoxiao much, he still taught her quite a bit, such as sending her to places with more everyday life, like the vegetable market or other crowded and lively places, to observe the various aspects of life.

Only in everyday life can we see more primal emotions.

If you stay in a glamorous world all the time, you won't learn much about emotions, because people in this world have long since learned to hide their feelings and thoughts. The persona they show you is the person they want you to see.

Hu Xiaoxiao nodded thoughtfully.

No wonder it's always so interesting to chat about gossip with my grandparents.

The two chatted until the afternoon, enjoying a delicious meal before leaving the restaurant.

Song Yan'an hadn't been sleeping well these past few days and was feeling unwell, so he hadn't driven over and was planning to take a taxi back.

Hu Xiaoxiao said, "Why would you need a taxi? I ​​drove here. Take my car, and I'll give you a ride."

Song Yan'an hadn't slept well, her head was throbbing, and she forgot that she had told herself she would never ride in Hu Xiaoxiao's car. In a daze, she got into Hu Xiaoxiao's car.

The seaside restaurant was far from the hustle and bustle, with wide roads and few cars. As soon as Hu Xiaoxiao started driving, he sped along at breakneck speed, and Song Yan'an felt as if he were flying as soon as he sat down.