DCFRP Chapter 100

TL: Hua

---

Qi Xiaoyu has a good reputation. Even if some people are not optimistic, the way they express their opinion is still tactful.

Under the revelations, someone replied, “No offense, but Qi Xiaoyu’s choice is really a bit hard to understand.”

Others said, “This little brother has a good personality, good temper, good looks, good popularity, and good acting skills. I also like to watch the movies he acted in in the past, but is he really going to act in Peking Opera? And even directing himself? To be honest, I’m a little worried.”

Someone else made an objective analysis from a professional perspective: “Although Qi Xiaoyu’s eyes are big and bright, they are a bit like puppy eyes.

This kind of eye is characterized by a drooping tail, which is cute, yes, but in the Peking Opera look, the tail of the eye must hang up to look good. He has no inherent advantage in this look, and I’ve never heard of him singing opera before. Peking Opera requires at least 7-10 years of basic skills. Is it too late for him to learn to sing opera now?”

Someone else advised him, “I heard that he has a lot of good scripts, which should be enough for him to choose. I’m really optimistic about this little brother’s development. Don’t make the wrong choice when your momentum is good.”

Some people are dissatisfied with the above statement, “He has such a rich husband and runs his own company. He can do whatever he wants. It’s okay to make the wrong choice because he’s young and has a long way to go. Maybe he really likes Peking Opera. Can you not make empty comments right away?”

Then someone replied, “Upstairs, your words are not very nice. We are also worried about our little brother, ok? People can’t always listen to compliments without listening to well-intentioned advice. Do you think you are the internet police? You’re too nosy.”

Another person replied below, “Add your ID number. Although he sings well, he’s very professional in fighting scenes, and his body is excellent, but he’s only now exposed to Peking Opera and started learning. Can he make a good movie? I hope he will take fewer detours and not be arrogant. Singing opera is not that simple. And he also wants to play a famous female role, which is much more difficult than his previous roles.

Qi Xiaoyu’s fans also had very complicated and subtle feelings after hearing this news.

On the one hand, they naturally want to see their baby unlock a different look, and the Peking Opera look is indeed beautiful, and when portrayed well, it will become classic.

But most people can’t control public opinion. There are so many nitpicking audiences and keyboard warriors now that even the slightest problem can be magnified a thousand times.

But looking at Qi Xiaoyu’s resume, it really has nothing to do with Peking Opera.

Although they unconditionally support their baby, they are also worried that Qi Xiaoyu will be ridiculed.

When other people in the circle heard the news, they didn’t dare to express their opinions carelessly.

If Qi Xiaoyu wanted to shoot some other subject, with his current popularity and appeal, it is estimated that there would have been a number of actors, agencies, and investors to contact him to join in.

But now, they all want to wait and see; after all, this theme is difficult to shoot well, and it is really not popular and not profitable.

At the same time, Qi Xiaoyu was indeed in the Peking Opera Theater as rumored on the Internet.

But he wasn’t here to learn to sing opera but to discuss cooperation.

Qi Xiaoyu took Yu Xiaosheng and the story script written in the past few months to find Zhang Guohui, the vice president of the Peking Opera Theater, to find some students and teachers from the theater to participate in the movie.

After all, this movie tells the story of a troupe, and he can’t be the only one who can sing opera in it. He hopes to find suitable actors from the theater to play his master, senior sister, and a group of his fellow apprentices.

Zhang Guohui is about 60 years old, 1.75 meters tall, thin, with all white hair cut into a buzz cut. Although he looks old, his eyes are exceptionally bright.

He received Qi Xiaoyu in his office and prepared tea. He looked like an easy-going old man, but he didn’t express his opinion immediately after hearing about Qi Xiaoyu’s purpose. He first accepted the script, took out a pair of reading glasses from his glasses case and put them on, saying that he would decide after skimming through the script.

It appeared he didn’t trust Qi Xiaoyu yet.

In fact, this is normal. In recent years, many people in the entertainment industry have asked him to cooperate. He has also been tempted a few times and released some people from his theater. However, the results are not satisfactory—not only did they not produce anything decent, but they also made these theater kids wild and restless, unwilling to sing well anymore, and eager to move towards the entertainment industry, which failed his cultivation for so many years.

Seeing how young Qi Xiaoyu is, he felt that the other party just wanted to play around, or was curious for a while, or did this on a whim. In the end, it would turn into a mess.

Qi Xiaoyu handed the script to Zhang Guohui with both hands and then sat obediently in the chair opposite, waiting while glancing around the layout of the entire office with his peripheral vision.

There was a row of cabinets on his right, filled with various books and trophies.

Zhang Guohui was quickly browsing the script in his hand, and it seemed that it would take a while.

Qi Xiaoyu asked if he could take a look.

Zhang Guohui thought that this young man looked a little immature but well-mannered, so he nodded, letting him look at anything he wanted.

With Zhang Guohui’s permission, Qi Xiaoyu stood up and walked to the cabinet to see what books were inside.

The books in the cabinet are a mix of old and new, all theater-related stuff, literature, theater theory, and a variety of scripts.

Qi Xiaoyu picked out a historical book on the outermost side and read it. It talked about the origin, changes, development, and modern interpretation of Peking Opera.

He flipped through it for a while, and a piece of paper fell out.

The piece of paper was a bit old, with the edges curled up. Curious, Qi Xiaoyu opened it and found that it was a score sheet—a Peking Opera score written in Gongche. It was arranged vertically with the words He, Si, Yi, Shang, Chi, Gong, Fan, Liu, Wu, Yi, etc., which was very different from the simplified score currently circulated. There were also some notes on it, which seemed to have been transcribed by Zhang Guohui from other places to study here. Judging from the degree of curling, he probably studied it often.

Qi Xiaoyu hummed softly while reading the score.

Zhang Guohui, who was concentrating on reading the script, pulled his eyes down to his nose and looked at the young man in surprise.

Even though he had studied the score for a long time, he still couldn’t determine the tone, but this young man could sing while reading it!

And according to his previous research, this young man sang it basically without any mistakes! Especially those parts that he had previously struggled with, it immediately became much smoother after he hummed it out.

Zhang Guohui was surprised by the subtle description of the troupe when he read the script, but he thought it was a story written by the screenwriter for Qi Xiaoyu.

Now, after hearing Qi Xiaoyu hum a few lines, he couldn’t help but look at him in a different light.

Gongche notation was the most commonly used folk music score in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Later, after the introduction of simplified notation, it gradually replaced the use of gongche notation.

Therefore, very few modern people who are used to using simplified notation can understand gongche notation.

Qi Xiaoyu is completely different from the people here. When he first came to the troupe to learn opera, he started with gongche notation. He doesn’t know simplified notation, but he’s very familiar with the former.

Zhang Guohui pricked up his ears to listen to Qi Xiaoyu humming a passage. When he finished humming, he finally couldn’t help but stand up and look at Qi Xiaoyu with interest, “Can you read gongche notation?”

Qi Xiaoyu closed the book and smiled, “I learned a little from my master before.”

Zhang Guohui became more interested. “Oh, then may I ask who Mr. Qi’s master is? Which school did he graduate from?”

Qi Xiaoyu said vaguely, “My master sings for fun. He isn’t a professional. Dean Zhang probably doesn’t know him.”

Hearing this, Zhang Guohui didn’t pursue the matter any further but instead asked with interest, “Then can you read all the gongche notation?”

Qi Xiaoyu said modestly, “I’m somewhat familiar with it. There should be no problem.”

Zhang Guohui didn’t care about anything else for a moment. He immediately took out the score from earlier and hurriedly put on his reading glasses again. He pointed to a place and asked, “I just heard you sing ‘do’ in this place, but shouldn’t it be ‘mi’?”

Qi Xiaoyu said, “This song has new scales in many places, but some places are mixed with ancient scales. Here, the ancient scales are used, so it is sung in ‘do’.”

Zhang Guohui showed an expression of sudden enlightenment and then clapped his hands and laughed, “So that’s how it is. Mr. Qi, you’re so young but are actually more knowledgeable than us. It’s really like the waves of the Yangtze River pushing forward the waves of the past[mfn]The new generation surpassed the old generation.[/mfn].”

Zhang Guohui praised Qi Xiaoyu and patted his shoulder like a close friend while saying, “You want to make a movie, right? Come on, I’ll take you to meet people in the theater. Whatever help you need, just tell me.”

Zhang Guohui personally took Qi Xiaoyu to meet the students and teachers of the theater. He was in high spirits all the way, smiling as if he had discovered some great treasure.

There were about fifty teachers and students in the theater; some were rehearsing, and some were watching. When they saw Zhang Guohui bringing Qi Xiaoyu in, they all stopped what they were doing and looked Qi Xiaoyu up and down, with mixed emotions in their expressions, including envy, disdain, and jealousy.

Qi Xiaoyu was about the same age as the students in the theater, but he was already very popular in the entertainment industry. Now Zhang Guohui’s non-stop praise only heightened the envy surrounding him.

Among them, standing at the center of the stage, a young man with a clean-cut and thin look bumped into the person next to him, “Why has Dean Zhang become like this? It’s just a popular star; why does he have to be so attentive and enthusiastic? Isn’t he ashamed?”

The person beside him gave him a quick look, held his sleeve to his lips, and whispered, “I heard that he’s not only famous but also has a strong background. Not to mention Dean Zhang, even Dean Long has to do this when meeting him. Hey, be careful and don’t talk nonsense.”

The handsome man pursed his lips and said nothing more.

Zhang Guohui clapped his hands to gather everyone’s attention, then briefly introduced Qi Xiaoyu to everyone and explained his purpose. His words were full of praise and appreciation for Qi Xiaoyu: “If you are fortunate enough to make this movie with Mr. Qi, you must seize the opportunity to learn about the theater play from Mr. Qi and ask him any questions at any time.”

The people present didn’t quite understand Zhang Guohui’s words. They had learned about the theater for many years. Do they still need to learn singing from a star who knows nothing?

Qi Xiaoyu felt that he was adept at teaching the people here, but he maintained a humble attitude on her face. “Dean Zhang, you’re too kind. Don’t mention teaching; if I am lucky enough to make a movie with you, I hope we can learn from each other and make progress together.”

After Qi Xiaoyu finished speaking, a young man immediately expressed a little dissatisfaction to the person next to him, “Make progress together? So pretentious.”

 

---

Please consider supporting me on Ko-fi if you like what I’m doing. Thank you for reading! (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)

If you notice any mistake or error, comment or contact me on discord –> huarricane