Chapter 154: Crying Scenes Best Showcase an Actor's Upper Limit

"May I observe?"

Mu Xing raised her hand like a student asking a question. She was also curious about Chen Fang's acting skills. However, she had her own expectations in mind. Since Chen Fang had never acted before, his acting might be a bit lacking. But given that *Three Lives Three Worlds* was an idol drama, as long as Chen Fang could memorize his lines and keep his facial expressions under control, it would be considered acceptable.

"Chen, lad, do you mind?" Xi Dong asked.

Chen Fang shook his head. "I'm fine with anything."

That being the case, Xi Dong didn't stand on ceremony anymore. "Then I'll call the major cast members of the crew to the room. You can give a simple performance to give everyone a baseline."

Observing with one person was observing. Observing with two people was also observing. Might as well let all the actors from the crew come over. Of course, Xi Dong would only summon the actors with significant roles in the script to observe in the room.

"You and Mu Xing go have lunch first, rest in your rooms for the afternoon, and I'll send you a message tonight when everyone gathers in my room," Xi Dong instructed.

Chen Fang and Mu Xing took their respective room cards and headed back to their rooms. Xi Dong went off to busy himself with his own matters.

Chen Fang didn't feel like moving. After sitting on a coach bus for four hours, his body felt somewhat exhausted. Lying on the bed, Chen Fang first called Ji Mei to let her know that he was also in Hengdian. However, Ji Mei couldn't come over for the time being because she had been dragged out shopping by Su Murou. Hengdian was not only a filming location but also quite a tourist attraction, where people could take photos with actors they happened to run into. It seemed Su Murou's state of mind hadn't been too severely affected.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Fang called the front desk and asked them to send up a lunch.

A shower. A meal. Sleep.

By the time Chen Fang opened his eyes again, it was already five o'clock in the afternoon.

"Riding in a car is actually more tiring than making love. Ridiculous!"

Chen Fang and Ji Mei could stay awake all night without feeling this tired, yet a four-hour bus ride had actually worn Chen Fang out.

After simply washing his face, Chen Fang received a text message from Xi Dong. Before long, Chen Fang arrived at Xi Dong's room.

At this point, there were already quite a few people inside the room. These individuals were actors with relatively substantial roles in the *Three Lives Three Worlds* television series, but Chen Fang only recognized Su Murou and Mu Xing; the rest were complete strangers to him.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Xi Dong clapped his hands. "The purpose of calling everyone here today is for a script reading and to check out Chen Fang's acting skills."

Everyone's gaze shifted to Chen Fang.

Amidst the crowd, Su Murou's eyes held an expression of profound shock. Chen Fang had actually come to act, and what's more, he was playing opposite her in the drama... Why had Boniu never mentioned this to her?

The rest of the people knew a thing or two about Chen Fang. They remained silent, but Chen Fang knew clearly that everyone in the room held a sense of contempt toward him, believing he had secured the male lead role through connections and holding zero expectations for his acting abilities. Even Su Murou shared this mindset.

Because of this, everyone's standards for Chen Fang were exceptionally low. As long as he could remember his lines and avoid reciting numbers like one-two-three-four-five during filming, it would suffice.

On the contrary, Mu Xing, who had just met Chen Fang today, cheered him on, "You can do it, Brother Chen!"

Chen Fang smiled indifferently.

You've got to be kidding me! His acting skills might not have been much to speak of in the past, but he was a man who cheated the system. With the help of the Junior Acting Skill Card, playing a male lead in an idol drama like *Three Lives Three Worlds* was more than enough.

Su Murou's eyes flicked slightly. *Boniu! Do you see this?! The man of yours came to Hengdian World Studios on his very first day and started flirting with a young girl!* Yet somehow, Ji Mei remained extraordinarily confident in Chen Fang. Who knew where that silly Boniu got her self-assurance, actually believing Chen Fang could resist the alluring temptations of different women?

Xi Dong flipped open the script and selected a crying scene. The plot was simple: the female protagonist is injured and on the verge of death, while Chen Fang, playing the male protagonist, rushes over at the very last moment but fails to save her, having to watch her die in his arms. Of course, the female protagonist couldn't truly die. After death, she enters the cycle of reincarnation, and the plot progresses to her next lifetime.

"Chen, lad, why don't you act out this crying scene?" Xi Dong gave Chen Fang ten minutes to prepare.

Hearing this, everyone looked somewhat surprised. Xi Dong's expectations for Chen Fang didn't seem low at all.

Crying scenes actually put an actor's skills to a rigorous test. Depending on the scenario in the script, a character needs to express different emotions through crying. It wasn't simply a matter of squeezing tears out of one's eyes; rather, it required subtle changes in facial expression and the infectious power of one's gaze to imbue the tears with special meaning. Even actors who had been in the industry for a long time lacked the confidence to nail a crying scene.

Yet now, Xi Dong was asking Chen Fang to perform a crying scene. Moreover, right off the bat, it was a supreme tragedy of life and death involving intense grief. Could Chen Fang handle those emotions properly?

Involuntarily, everyone in the room exchanged glances.

After some hesitation, Su Murou spoke up, "Director Xi, wouldn't it be better to change to a different scene? There are basically no crying scenes in the earlier plot; the later ones can be practiced gradually."

The actors present could all produce tears on command within three seconds. After all, they were professional actors, so forcing tears wasn't overly difficult; the hard part was delivering the appropriate emotions while crying.

But Chen Fang couldn't! Chen Fang had never acted before!

"Let the lad give it a try. I want to see where his upper limit is." Xi Dong had no intention of changing the scene. Crying scenes best reflected an actor's raw talent and their ability to interpret the script and plot.

Chen Fang took a deep breath. "I have no problem with it."

Hearing this, Xi Dong smiled with satisfaction. Setting aside how Chen Fang's performance would turn out shortly, just this attitude of daring to challenge himself without showing timidity was already fantastic.

Chen Fang lowered his head to look at the script. To be honest, he had already read this script many times. He was very familiar with the plot, but these ten minutes weren't meant for him to review the story—they were for him to interpret the character within the narrative and recreate the character's emotional state in that specific scene.

The demands placed on an actor could be high or low. Even if one couldn't remember the lines, one could still act; at worst, the post-production editing team would dub the lines in for you. But if you wanted to become a powerhouse actor who values substance, or even win awards and honors, you couldn't just coast by in the crew.

The foundation to deliver lines effortlessly upon command, the performance techniques of precise facial expressions coupled with rich emotions, authentic character immersion devoid of falsehoods, and even the flash-of-inspiration script modifications and emotional outbursts during filming—these were all essential abilities required to become a seasoned, skilled actor.

Since he was going to act, the goal Chen Fang set for himself was unquestionably that of Best Actor. He had a system; as a man armed with cheats, he naturally had to set all his goals to the absolute highest level.

And if he wanted to become the Best Actor, Chen Fang needed to calm his mind and slowly figure out the inner workings of acting bit by bit.

Silence filled the room. Everyone remained wordless.

Ten minutes passed in a flash.

Chen Fang slowly closed the script, his eyes brimming with intense confidence. "I'm ready."

Then, let the performance begin!