Chapter One: Unfulfilled Ambition

  Qian Zhong felt like he couldn't even breathe in the air.

  "How is this possible?! If he had such great acting skills, why didn't he bring them out before?!" He glared venomously at Lin Xiao's figure, his teeth almost grinding to dust.

  "This backgroundless moron! How can he possibly achieve in a short time what others take years or even decades to accomplish!"

  But however he tried to remind himself that this was all an illusion, everything before his eyes told him it was real.

  Gao Lan Chun turned his head and saw that the fake beard was almost scared off.

  Even he doesn't dare say "entering the play at any time", a newcomer actually fully entered the play in front of him?!

  "Good!" His old eyes burst out with strong fighting spirit, and he walked into the scene without saying a word.

  "Director Chen, hurry up!"

  Chen Jialin immediately adjusted the camera. For a director, the fierce performances of two top-notch actors are the most inspiring, and he has encountered such scenes only a handful of times in his career! He cherished this moment immensely!

  "Old Chen, it seems your romantic notions are going to be sent packing." Yao Chang'an smiled as he looked at Chen Jialin, who was flushed with excitement, knowing that he wasn't listening, and simply shrugged his shoulders.

  “A！”

  Lin Xiao stood up and exchanged a glance with Gao Lan Chun. Without saying a word, the two returned to their original positions.

  Gao Lan Chun's eyes were no longer disdainful, but extremely solemn. He wouldn't ruin his own reputation.

  The play is going exceptionally smoothly, and Gao Lan Chun has also completely exploded. Every subtle movement tells everyone that I am Ming Xiang. Even some of Ming Xiang's daily habits can be seen from some small actions.

  Of course, this has a lot to do with Chen Jialin's sensitive camera work, and all of this happened in less than three minutes!

  Finally, Lin Xiao knelt down in front of Gao Lan Chun once again.

  "Get up... get up and speak..." This time, Gao Lan Chun's eyes were slightly red, but everyone could see that this was a "forced smile", excited for having done something great, and reluctantly shedding crocodile tears to match the scene.

  "It's no wonder he's an old theatre veteran." Lin Xiao's body couldn't move on its own, but his eyes were clear and bright. At this moment, he was like a person whose soul had left his body.

  "In such a situation, I myself would definitely not be able to cope." He thought to himself, and made an even greater effort to absorb the wonderful acting in front of him.

  Gao Lan Chun slowly sized up Lin Xiao, then let out a sigh "It's fine as long as nothing happened...... it's fine as long as nothing happened......"

  He omitted the previous inquiry, because Lin Xiao's acting at this moment was something that anyone could see that he was a defeated general.

  But he didn't ask, Lin Xiao continued anyway.

  "We encountered an ambush by Gerdan's troops, all of our officers... except for me... were..."

  He choked with sobs, his face scrunched up, and two bright red eyes squeezed out tears.

  Although it's not the first time seeing him cry, but a newcomer shooting a crying scene still caused quite a stir and praise. Wang Yitian and Li Hongtao were even shocked to the point of being speechless.

  "Genius..." The same thought flashed through both of their minds.

  Gao Lan Chun didn't say a word, helped Lin Xiao up, slightly furrowed his brow and sized him up, patted his shoulder "The Emperor is in the front camp, you... should go see the Emperor first..."

  Lin Xiao nodded and took a few steps forward, but behind him, Gao Lan Chun's expression had changed to one of extreme hesitation. Finally, he let out a long sigh and called out in a not-too-loud voice, "Big Brother, please wait."

  "Beautiful!" "More energetic than before!" "A perfect reflection of the inner world!" The director and several old actors all gave their thumbs up.

  "Indeed, it's quite brilliant. Lao Gao is also unlucky and hasn't become an emperor yet. Otherwise, with this acting skill, how could he still be a first-line actor?" Chen Jialin both praised and regretted "This is much better than what was written in the script! Mingzhu's hypocrisy, not wanting to stay too long and fearing trouble, finally hesitated and stopped, an ordinary encounter mixed with intrigue, at least this scene, Mingzhu has come alive!"

  The assistant next to him asked in confusion, "So many, can the audience understand?"

  "You don't know this." Yao Chang'an said with a smile, "Filming is not just for the audience to watch."

  The assistant was completely confused this time.

  "There are also film critics, various awards, film magazines, old movie fans, you have to take care of them. Otherwise, your film will not have depth. Without depth, various awards will not buy it. If ordinary audiences account for 80%, then the remaining 20% is a more persuasive group than this 80%."

  "They will study the play, they will study the actors, especially if a film with inner drama is well-made, it can 'raise your price' in the circle."

  After saying that, he turned his head to look at Lin Xiao, what's next? This newcomer who suddenly burst out with a movie emperor-level performance, how is he going to do it?! How can he shine under Gao Lan Chun Tian's flawless acting skills?

  Lin Xiao turned his head around in a daze. Mingzhu, played by Gao Lan Chun, supported him, so she had to remind him.

  The two of them just silently stared at each other, one with flickering eyes, obviously still shaken by the defeat in the previous battle, while the other seemed calm but was secretly harboring various thoughts.

  After a few seconds, Gao Lan Chun finally walked over, holding Lin Xiao's hand, and suddenly became as gentle as an elder seeing a promising younger generation.

  "Your Highness, I've thought about it for half a day and you must have already guessed, but I still want to say one more thing so as not to let Your Highness be misled."

  Newcomers are amazed, no wonder some people say that those who can act are born actors. The attitude changed so quickly and was so casual, it has already exceeded the scope of "acting" by a lot.

  "Please speak clearly." It's not yet Lin Xiao's breaking point, he has performed all that he should have, and is accumulating and waiting.

  The next time it was his turn to speak, he completely exploded!

  "This time you suffered a defeat, when you see the Emperor, no matter what, don't say that you were caught off guard due to your own 'aggressive advance'. Just tell the Emperor that someone betrayed us and leaked our military route. And...” Gaolan Chun's eyes suddenly gleamed like a knife, his hand made a chopping motion, and his tone became abruptly stern “That person has already been executed by Your Highness' military law. At this time, Galdan's great army is pressing at the border, Your Highness fought several battles to the death before barely escaping."

  In front of the director's chair, no one made a sound. Everyone was an old hand at acting for many years, and in a short time, they changed their expressions three times, each one more vivid than the last, making them feel even more thrilled than watching a brilliant movie!

  "It's all up to that kid now."

  Chen Jialin's camera had already turned away, and all that could be seen was Lin Xiao's whole body shaking slightly, his eyes suddenly changing from being devoid of any spirit to shock, then a hint of fear appeared on his face.

  "Beautiful!" Four voices of admiration sounded at the same time, and if Lin Xiao's body language last time still made them suspect that it was a flash in the pan, then this time his subtle facial expression told them that this young man who had just turned twenty really had the ability!

  Chen Jialin's face was flushed with excitement, and in less than a second, he made several gestures. The lights shone on him, and the camera zoomed in immediately. The camera moved around Lin Xiao at the scene.

  "This can't be true?!" Qian Zhong almost vomited blood on the side! He had been a prop manager for so many times, how could he not recognize the goods? He even pinched his thigh hard, and the thin pants immediately transmitted a sharp pain, making him almost scream, thinking of the high-level officials concentrating on the side, he endured it again.

  "A newcomer with acting skills on par with a movie emperor?! Am I going blind or have today's movie emperors become too cheap?!"

  The one I feel most deeply is Gao Lanchun!

  He could hear his own heartbeat skip a beat at this moment, and such perfect facial expressions were like a battle declaration!

  "Checkmate!" With his acting skills, no flaws could be picked out, and the blood in his body that had been stagnant for a long time finally boiled with excitement as he met his match!

  "Ming Xiang... you... me... this is a great crime against the king!" Lin Xiao's expression was frozen in incredulity, except for the first declaration of Ming Xiang which was shouted out, immediately afterwards he tightly grasped Ming Zhu's hand.

  "Shot! Hand!" Chen Jialin exclaimed excitedly, his feelings were like a martial arts fan suddenly seeing Jin Yong's latest work, so thrilling. Even countless ideas about this shot, how to edit, inspiration burst in his mind like sparks!

  The camera froze on the two hands clasped together, with Lin Xiao's hand showing bulging veins, clearly using a lot of force.

  A sharp pain shot up from Gao Lan Chun's hand, but he didn't feel it at all. If the previous whispered conversation was a declaration of war, then the last words, that faintly trembling voice, because of the shocking sudden rise in tone, and then immediately alerting to lower the alarm, was opening this declaration of war! And on it was written his name!

  He stared intently at Lin Xiao, his other hand also reaching out, his body slightly leaning in, narrowing his eyes as he said "If the Emperor were to find out that it was Your Highness's 'ambition' that led to the entire army being annihilated, Your Highness's position..."

  He didn't finish speaking because Lin Xiao had already furrowed his brow thoughtfully, his eyes wandering around in a daze that matched his current mood.

  Gao Lan Chun asked himself, if he were to act, it would be nothing more than this level. This feeling of being in a play with oneself is a bit strange, but more exciting! The excitement of meeting a kindred spirit over wine!

  "Charge!" Lin Xiao shouted again, his body leaning forward slightly, his cheek muscles clenched tightly. This time, although there was still a slight tremble, in Gao Lan Chun's ears it had already become firm.

  What a monster! He thought to himself, with no flaws in either his voice or expression.

  "As no one knows..." Gao Lan Chun said as she began writing with her hand.

  "Camera! Hand!" Chen Jialin shouted again, he wanted to go up and take the shot himself, feeling that the cameraman was one step too slow.

  "One doesn't act! Two doesn't rest!" Lin Xiao's eyebrows slowly relaxed, neither quickly nor slowly, not feeling out of place at all.

  Just then, Gao Lan Chun felt his hand lighten up, Lin Xiao's hand with bulging veins earlier had turned into a light grip, and the four hands of the two were placed together.

  "Thanks to Ming Xiang's comfort." Lin Xiao let out a breath, smiling warmly, his voice didn't give away the slightest hint that they were just discussing deceiving Kang Xi. This scene could only make people think it was an ordinary conversation between the prince and his subject.

  "Your Highness is being too serious, let's go see the Emperor first," Gao Lan Chun also said with a smile. "The Emperor doesn't have any news about you and has been worried sick."

  "CUT! That's a wrap!"