Chapter 22: Ruthless
She had, after all, come in through the back door. Not a formal actress, just a temporary one. And the daily pay wasn’t much. But she needed this job, even if it was temporary; she wanted to do well. She wanted to be closer to Nangong Ying. Seeing her friend drift further and further away, she felt increasingly uneasy. She also wanted to push herself forward.
The days of rehearsing the play weren’t long, but the performance was scheduled for a week later. Yu Linna worked hard to get into character, rehearsing with everyone. But it was always unsatisfactory; it was impossible to go through a rehearsal without stopping a dozen times.
During breaks, Yu Linna would personally consult Shen Wenwen with the script. Her role wasn’t big, but it served to advance the plot, so she took this performance seriously. As long as she performed well, her opportunities would increase. She had gotten in through the back door; if she didn’t cherish this opportunity, she might not have another one.
“You’re always deliberately imitating other people’s acting styles. Your performance just now seemed to be imitating a famous comedian. Trying too hard to imitate others makes your performance unnatural. And don’t you think your performance is awkward?”
“Then what should I do?”
“Be more natural. Don’t empty your mind; you’re a whole person. You need to enter the character’s inner world and understand who she is. Don’t deliberately act like a fool; that kind of performance isn’t good.”
As a senior, Shen Wenwen diligently guided her. She knew this girl had never acted before and patiently taught her. What surprised Shen Wenwen was that this girl who came in through the back door wasn’t as lazy as she imagined. On the contrary, she worked hard to learn new things.
Although the girl’s acting was terrible, devoid of emotion, her determination to work hard made Shen Wenwen not dislike her.
Yu Linna was troubled. She didn’t know how to immerse herself in acting; she only knew how to follow the script. She played the character as written, but her performance was too artificial, always feeling like herself.
This worried her.
How could she act effectively? How could she portray the female lead’s sidekick in a comedic way? She had to be both annoying and funny, a true test of acting skills. Was the person in charge deliberately making things difficult for her because she was new?
“Alright, rehearsal time, come over.”
With a call from the stage, Yu Linna had to go back to rehearsing. She would come to practice every day after school. Fortunately, they rehearsed until the evening, so she had enough time. And her role was small, not requiring her to be on stage for long; most of the spotlight was on the male and female leads. This prevented the rehearsal from slowing down too much.
Yu Linna got into character, forgetting her own identity, following Shen Wenwen’s guidance, trying not to imitate, and performing naturally.
“Sister Zhuzi, that Qian Beisha is clearly match-fixing, why don’t you expose him? You’re not that kind of person!”
“Xiao Yu, stop talking, I know what I’m doing.”
During the official rehearsal, Shen Wenwen, playing the female lead, and Yu Linna were acting opposite each other, reaching the middle of the story. In this scene, the female lead started to develop feelings for the male lead, having evidence but choosing not to expose his match-fixing. Naturally, her sidekick became suspicious.
“Sister Zhuzi, could it be that you’re…”
“Xiao Yu, don’t talk nonsense! How could I like that jerk?! Impossible!”
“What, you like him?”
“Ah… no, no, no! I said I don’t like huntun (dumplings in soup)! They taste awful! By the way, what were you saying just now?”
“Oh, it was huntun. Sister Zhuzi, are you not exposing Qian Beisha because he threatened you? It’s okay, I’ll ask my dad to deal with him. My dad is the mayor of Tomato City…”
“What, your dad is the mayor?!”
“…The mayor’s assistant.”
“…”
This part of the rehearsal was a comedic scene, heavily relying on the actors’ improvisation. Because their main task was to make the audience laugh, it demanded high-level acting skills.
Shen Wenwen’s performance was not bad, naturally bringing out the comedic effect. But Yu Linna still had major problems. Despite being a comedy, her performance was still awkward. She forced herself to act silly, deliberately playing the fool. She tried hard for comedic effect, but the result was neither fish nor fowl, the difference between her and Shen Wenwen stark.
“Stop, stop, stop! Xiao Yu, what are you doing?! You’re playing a character, not a lunatic! Don’t act like a crazy person, be normal!”
The person in charge was so angry after the rehearsal, not knowing what she was doing. As expected of a temporary actress who came in through the back door, she had no talent at all.
“If you don’t have the skills, if you can’t act well, you should just leave. If it weren’t for Miss Huang, I wouldn’t even want you here! You’re infuriating!”
The person in charge angrily sat down on a chair. When he got angry, he would blurt out things he shouldn’t say, showing how upset he was. The performance was approaching, but the rehearsal was still a mess; how could he not be angry? If this were the first day, it would be fine, but the problem was that Yu Linna had been here for three days and still acted like a clueless fool.
Although it was her first time acting, she didn’t even have a decent stage presence; what could he show the audience? It was truly infuriating. When Huang Jinglin called him to take in a girl as a temporary actress, he thought he had found a treasure, as he was short of actors at the time. But he truly didn’t expect Yu Linna to be so useless, unable to do anything right. Although she was pretty, her appearance outstanding, the problem was that she couldn’t act! Without acting skills, stage presence was meaningless!
Yu Linna, repeatedly criticized, felt discouraged. Was she really not suited for acting?
Thinking that she wanted to follow Nangong Ying’s path and not live a mediocre life, she gritted her teeth and persevered. After all, only hard work could be her way out. She had nothing and wanted to climb high; it was impossible without putting in the effort. She wanted too much, didn’t want to live in poverty, so when the opportunity came, she seized it without hesitation, just wanting to climb up quickly.
But was her hard work truly useful?
“Xiao Yu, he just speaks without thinking, don’t take it to heart. Come, let me teach you again. You’ll get used to it gradually, don’t worry.”
Seeing her like this, Shen Wenwen couldn’t help but soften. Yu Linna’s helpless and powerless appearance, unable to retort, reminded her of herself when she first graduated.
Upon graduating, Shen Wenwen went to Beijing to pursue her dream of becoming a star. She worked hard, going from one film crew to another, starting as an extra, everything from scratch. She was scolded by directors countless times, unable to do anything right, unable to retort. She could only endure, silently bear it. But even so, opportunity didn’t favor her. No matter how hard she tried, how desperately she worked, she still couldn’t climb up. During her most difficult times, even paying rent was a problem.
Later, she left Beijing, no longer striving in that big city. Not because she gave up on her dream, but because she realized that even with hard work, it was useless. Good resources were only given to others; an actress without money or connections like her had no chance. She came to South China, joined a drama troupe, and became a theater actress. Her dream was still alive, but she knew that she couldn’t return to Beijing anytime soon. She had to start from the bottom in the drama troupe, waiting for the day she could shine.
Precisely because of this experience, she felt more sympathy for Yu Linna. This young girl, harboring a glimmer of hope, came here with more than just a playful attitude. Judging by her attitude, she was at least sincere. Although Shen Wenwen felt that this girl had no acting talent at all, she still didn’t want to discourage her.
After all, they were both dreamers.
“Sister Shen, please teach me again, I’ll work hard. Please, give me a chance.”
Yu Linna quickly recovered; she knew she couldn’t afford to be discouraged. She had to climb up, didn’t want to be abandoned, she was afraid. Therefore, she cherished every opportunity.
“Get ready, start rehearsal!”
After several attempts, Yu Linna remained humble and eager to learn, asking questions whenever she didn’t understand, striving to improve herself. However, sometimes, hard work wasn’t enough. It didn’t mean that effort would always be rewarded.
The person in charge watched for a long time. Yu Linna’s performance was truly terrible. She had no comedic timing, and her attempts at humor were awkward. If it were a drama, it wouldn’t be a problem. But they were doing a comedy, which heavily relied on acting skills. Without acting skills, it couldn’t be called a comedy.
Time flew by, and the performance was fast approaching. Yu Linna spent a week rehearsing, practicing diligently, studying the script at home, analyzing the character’s inner thoughts, all to better portray her role. Although she lacked talent, everyone could see her hard work. Initially, they thought she was just someone who came in through the back door and didn’t think much of her, but seeing her constantly asking Shen Wenwen for advice during breaks, even pulling Mario and others aside after rehearsal, her serious attitude towards acting, like her approach to studying, showed her dedication.
The day before the performance, Yu Linna specifically took a day off to rehearse at the theater, reading the script and practicing her lines early in the morning. She worked incredibly hard to play her role well, even surprising Shen Wenwen, who realized that this girl was truly dedicated.
But…
Was all this effort truly useful?
“Xiao Yu, come here for a moment.”
“What is it, sir?”
Called by the person in charge, Yu Linna didn’t put down her script but held it as she approached him. Seeing the serious expression on his face, she sensed something was wrong, but she hoped she was just overthinking it.
“The performance is tomorrow, and your acting is still not up to par. I’ve thought about it, and it’s better that you don’t go on stage tomorrow. You’ll just be wasting time.”
“…What… what are you saying…?”
These words stunned everyone present. Shen Wenwen even put down her script, unable to believe what she just heard.
She had been here for so long and had never seen the person in charge dismiss an actor.
“I’ve borrowed someone from the sketch comedy troupe to replace you tomorrow. You’re really not suitable for the stage; you don’t have the talent. Thank you for your hard work these past few days. Since you were recommended by Miss Huang, I’ll compensate you. Your time this week wasn’t wasted. I’ll ask my assistant to give you the rehearsal fee. You can go home now, you don’t need to practice today.”
Perhaps, as they said, Yu Linna was simply not cut out for acting. She wasn’t meant to shine on stage, simply because she lacked her own unique qualities.
But wasn’t this also good? She still got paid. Yu Linna smiled, but it wasn’t a happy smile.
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