DCFRP Chapter 101

TL: Hua

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“Xiaodong, do you have anything to say? Come to the front and say it.”

The young man’s voice was low, but there were not many people in the theater. Although Zhang Guohui didn’t hear clearly what he said, he could tell from his tone that he had an opinion.

Luo Xiaodong shook his long sleeve and took a step forward, standing on the stage looking down at Qi Xiaoyu from a high position. “Dean, we have a performance the day after tomorrow. Everyone is busy rehearsing, so how can we have time to make a movie?”

Their theater does have a performance the day after tomorrow, and the scale is quite large. The name of the performance is the 25th National Peking Opera Exchange Performance. Although it’s not an official performance, many amateurs in the circle will come to watch it.

After listening to Luo Xiaodong’s words, the others also nodded in agreement.

Seeing this, Qi Xiaoyu immediately turned around and smiled at Zhang Guohui,”My business is not urgent. We can talk about it after all the teachers finish their performances.”

Seeing that Qi Xiaoyu was quite reasonable, Zhang Guohui nodded, “Okay, then in a few days we will talk about this matter in detail.”

As Zhang Guohui spoke, Qi Xiaoyu’s gaze swept across the stage, thinking that it was no wonder that when he came in, he saw everyone gathered in the theater. Some were rehearsing in costumes, while others were watching below to give opinions. It turned out that the performance was about to take place.

This reminded him of his days in the troupe. Before every performance, all the brothers and sisters rehearsed and discussed together.

When he first went on stage, he was always scolded by his master because he was nervous and often made mistakes. His sister and several close brothers always reminded him secretly and gave him special treatment at night.

Thinking of such a scene across the vast sky and earth, he still feels warm.

This scene made him sentimental, and he was reluctant to leave. He took another look at the costumes of the characters on the stage. The actors didn’t wear head decorations or makeup, but the colors and patterns of the clothes clearly distinguished the roles they played. Qi Xiaoyu asked, “Are you teachers rehearsing Spring Boudoir Dream[mfn]Spring Boudoir Dream is a Peking opera play that tells the story of Wang Hui, who was forced into the army and left his new wife, Zhang, shortly after their marriage.[/mfn]?”

Zhang Guohui immediately said, “Yes, that’s right. Do you want to stay and watch it?”

Qi Xiaoyu had this idea and agreed immediately, “May I?”

Zhang Guohui nodded immediately, “Of course, Mr. Qi. And if you have any opinions, you put them forward so that they can improve them as well.”

“Okay,” Qi Xiaoyu agreed and said to Zhang Guohui, “Dean Zhang, you don’t have to be so courteous. Just call me Xiaoyu in the future.”

“Haha,” Zhang Guohui chuckled twice, his favorable impression of Qi Xiaoyu growing. “Okay, come, watch their rehearsal with me.”

Qi Xiaoyu agreed and sat directly in the middle of the first row. Zhang Guohui sat on his left, and Yu Xiaosheng sat on his right.

The rest of the people on the stage were quite dissatisfied with Zhang Guohui’s words, especially Luo Xiaodong, who cursed Qi Xiaoyu in his heart as a bootlicker. Then he walked back to his position with disdain and continued the previous rehearsal.

“Last year, the flowers on the road were like brocade, and today the willows on the roof are green again.

Poor me, waiting in the boudoir, the crabapple blossoms have not bloomed until now.”

Luo Xiaodong played the Huadan[mfn]In Peking opera, the Huadan is a young female role that typically portrays a woman with a lively or bold and unrestrained personality.[/mfn] role, Zhang-shi[mfn]Shi is not her name. In the old days, it was added after the surname of a married woman (or before the surname and then the husband’s surname) as a title.[/mfn], in the Spring Boudoir Dream.

He held his breath in his heart, like a male peacock, wanting to showcase his best and most magnificent side, far surpassing Qi Xiaoyu.

“The decapitated head remains open-eyed, and the dead must still be frozen.

Who will question the widow and the helpless son? These tens of thousands of skeletons are all nameless.”

His voice is clear, and his singing style is melancholic and sorrowful. His sleeves are fluttering, and his posture is graceful, which complements his role.

After the song, the other people in the theater who were watching the show applauded and praised him.

“Xiaodong, you rehearsed well this time. Keep it up the same way the day after tomorrow.

“The dean is here. Your performance is really different. Great.”

Only Zhang Guohui and Qi Xiaoyu’s expressions didn’t change significantly.

Luo Xiaodong held the sleeves in his hand and looked at Zhang Guohui with expectation.

Although Zhang Guohui was the vice dean, he had the highest seniority and financial status in this theater.

Luo Xiaodong certainly wanted to get Zhang Guohui’s praise and recognition.

Zhang Guohui’s first reaction was to ask Qi Xiaoyu, “Xiaoyu, what do you think of this part?”

Qi Xiaoyu didn’t say whether it was good or not, but just smiled and replied, “I’ve been to the theater to listen to Spring Boudoir Dream in the past. It turned out that this teacher sang it.”

Luo Xiaodong tried his best to keep smiling, but he couldn’t hide his pride. In the Peking Opera House, he was also considered the number one Huadan. At least, no one could sing Spring Boudoir Dream better than him.

Qi Xiaoyu continued, “From the two performances I heard, this one is better than the last one.”

Luo Xiaodong slightly curved his lips but didn’t respond. What he was thinking inside was, “You are really good at pretending. You can tell the good from the bad?”

Zhang Guohui laughed twice, “Xiaoyu, don’t just pick the good things; tell me what you really think.”

Because it was Zhang Guohui who asked, and Qi Xiaoyu was not deaf or blind, he could naturally see how Luo Xiaodong treated him. He had sharp ears and heard the two sentences Luo Xiaodong muttered before, so Qi Xiaoyu thought about it, looked up at the stage, and answered slowly word by word, “Since the dean insisted, I’ll venture a few words, and I apologize if they may not all be correct.

I see three aspects of the problem.

First, the clothes worn by the character are too bright. Although Zhang is young, she is not frivolous. If the actor can carefully grasp the emotional state of the character, it would be better to change the clothes to light yellow or lake blue, which are peaceful colors.

Second, some actions are too frivolous. Zhang misses her husband, not other men. This longing should be heavy, and the actions should be consistent with the singing style. However, the teacher’s actions are obviously not in place. For example, the squatting action in the middle is too low and not dignified enough.

Thirdly, besides sadness and grief, Zhang’s emotions should also include sudden surprises in her dreams, long unseen anger, and beautiful expectations for the future, followed by the disappointment and sadness of waking up from her dreams. However, in the singing segment just now, only sadness is reflected, so it’s slightly insufficient.”

Qi Xiaoyu paused here and finally concluded, “If this teacher can change these three aspects, the effect should be better.”

After Qi Xiaoyu finished speaking, the huge theater fell silent instantly.

Everyone originally thought that Qi Xiaoyu was an amateur, but his words were very clear and logical and hit the nail on the head! How could an amateur say that? Even people like them who have been singing for many years can’t have such an understanding!

It really makes people look at him with new eyes!

Only Luo Xiaodong froze there, his eyes red with anger. He didn’t listen carefully to Qi Xiaoyu’s words. His mind was full of Qi Xiaoyu’s calm expression when he spoke word by word, the teachers who kept asking questions, and the stunned looks of others. He wanted to say, If you are so pretentious, then you should sing.

But he held back.

At this time, Zhang Guohui spoke up, “Xiaoyu, you’re right. I once thought about changing the color of the costume, but over the years, the character Zhang has been wearing pink clothes, so I acquiesced…”

Zhang Guohui said a lot, and while he was talking, others were also thinking silently about the points Qi Xiaoyu said.

Everyone present felt that listening to a word from the emperor is better than reading ten years of books[mfn]Proverb. It means that the other person is knowledgeable and has profound insights, and you benefit a lot from the conversation.[/mfn], and even the way they looked at Qi Xiaoyu was completely different.

After Zhang Guohui finished speaking, he said to Luo Xiaodong, “What Xiaoyu said just now is very reasonable. Xiaodong, after you finish rehearsing today, you can also think about it carefully and strive to perform better the day after tomorrow.”

Putting aside Luo Xiaodong’s temper, whether impulsive or arrogant, he really put a lot of effort into learning opera.

He looks good, delicate and handsome. Even in the entertainment industry, full of handsome men and women, he doesn’t have to worry about not developing well.

However, he started learning Peking Opera at the age of 8, and now he’s 25 years old. He has always been focused and has never had other thoughts. A lot of Huadan and Xiaosheng[mfn]Young male role in Peking Opera, mostly scholar.[/mfn] of the same age as him have abandoned Peking Opera and gone to other industries.

Diligent effort naturally leads to good results. Since he started singing Huadan two years ago, he has been a signature figure among Huadan in the theater. Except for Zhang Guohui, who occasionally gave him some suggestions, no one has ever said anything bad about him, let alone Qi Xiaoyu listing one, two, three, or four points like this.

Qi Xiaoyu’s tone was actually very calm, but in Luo Xiaodong’s ears, it was all sarcasm.

He was angry to begin with, and after Zhang Guohui said this, the anger he had been holding back suddenly came up, and he subconsciously retorted, “Since he knows so much, let him come up and sing.”

The hall went quiet again.

Everyone could hear that Luo Xiaodong was talking in anger, but saying those words in front of so many people really showed that his emotional intelligence wasn’t very high. Besides, Qi Xiaoyu was a guest, so he seemed very rude and aggressive.

Zhang Guohui also frowned and reprimanded him, “Xiaodong, watch your attitude! Take back what you just said and apologize.”

Chi Qiu, who was singing Xiaosheng next to Luo Xiaodong, had been comforting him. After listening to what Qi Xiaoyu said just now, he also pulled Luo Xiaodong aside and said, “Don’t make a fuss. What he said just now is very reasonable.”

It would have been better if Chi Qiu hadn’t persuaded him. After he did so, Luo Xiaodong became even more angry and frustrated.

Luo Xiaodong got choked up. In his rage, he had no way to think about whether what Qi Xiaoyu said just now was right or wrong.

What made him even angrier was that he found that not only Chi Qiu but also other people looked at him differently than before and even advised, “Mr. Qi’s words make sense. You shouldn’t just focus on singing yourself. It’s always good to listen to more opinions.”

Luo Xiaodong gritted his teeth and looked at his colleagues and friends, who actually doubted his professionalism just because of a few words from an outsider.

He looked at Qi Xiaoyu in the audience again. The other party was talking to an assistant and didn’t even look in his direction. In Luo Xiaodong’s opinion, this was simply a demonstration.

Zhang Guohui was still asking him to apologize, “They can all hear that Xiaoyu’s words are neutral; why are you so angry?”

Everyone’s voices all sounded like fuel on the fire to Luo Xiaodong.

Then, before others could react, Luo Xiaodong did something very impulsive. Not only did he not take back what he had just said, but he also threw away his pink costume, snorted, and turned to leave the stage. “Who doesn’t know how to make a fool of himself with his mouth? If you’re so capable and competent, you can sing in the play the day after tomorrow!”

 

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