Chapter 12

Xia Xingcheng had drunk a lot, and was slightly tipsy when he sent Huang Jixin off.

He went back to the hotel alone and exited the elevator. Every step of the way, the soles of his shoes would tap on the soft carpet without making a sound. His body was a little shaky, not drunk enough to be incapable of standing stably, but a sliver of excitement in his mind due to the alcohol drove him to walk a little further than usual.

Xia Xingcheng stopped at the door of Yang Youming's room and looked up at the room number.

He had planned to invite Yang Youming out to dinner today. During the shoot, Yang Youming's gentle appeasement properly dispelled any anxiety and lack of self-confidence that had existed at the bottom of his heart, and he even thought that he won't be feeling that kind of anxiety again for the remainder of the shoot.

It was fortunate that Yang Youming was there.

Xia Xingcheng raised his hand and knocked on the door, his knuckles hitting on wood, making a crisp sound.

He knocked twice and stopped, listened quietly for noise inside, but heard nothing. He rubbed his knuckles with his fingers and hesitated before raising his hand to knock again.

Xia Xingcheng felt vaguely uneasy. He didn't know if it would be too abrupt for him to visit Yang Youming like this.

In fact, Huang Jixin was right. He did have a fan filter in front of Yang Youming. In the face of Yang Youming, he was a trembling little fan. He had to take care to speak and do things very carefully for fear of leaving a bad impression on Yang Youming because sometimes, he wasn't like his usual clever self.

Xia Xingcheng thought: Good thing he's not here… why did I even come here?!

He wanted to leave, but before he turned around, he heard footsteps approaching the other side of the door, and then Yang Youming's voice rang out, "Who is it?"

"I-It's me," Xia Xingcheng felt uncontrollably nervous. "Xia Xingcheng."

The door opened. Yang Youming stood behind the door in a bathrobe, his hair still slightly wet. He smiled at Xia Xingcheng. "Looking for me? Please come in."

Xia Xingcheng's mind went blank for a moment. He followed Yang Youming into his room and took the initiative to reach out and close the door.

The layout of Yang Youming's room was similar to that of Xia Xingcheng's, but the room was much cleaner than his, all his daily necessities arranged in an orderly manner.

Yang Youming welcomed Xia Xingcheng, "Have a seat."

Xia Xingcheng sat down on the sofa. Yang Youming sat with his hands on the edge of the bed facing him, and asked, "What can I do for you?"

Xia Xingcheng raised his hand and brushed away at his hair. He found that his forehead was a little hot. In fact, it wasn't just his forehead—his whole face was probably hot. He said, "I just wanted to thank you."

Yang Youming looked down and smiled, then looked up at him and said, "You've already thanked me."

Xia Xingcheng felt inexplicably embarrassed for a moment. When he saw Yang Youming's bathrobe flap slightly open, revealing a strapping chest, he couldn't help but look away, at a loss for words.

Yang Youming probably noticed that he was nervous. He stood up from the bed and asked him, "Would you like some red wine? I just opened a bottle."

Xia Xingcheng looked up at him and agreed, "Okay."

There were two bottles of red wine on the wine cabinet in Yang Youming's room. He picked one of them up, pulling out the cork and pouring the wine into a glass.

Xia Xingcheng looked at his movements and wondered if they were formed by his habits when he was acting. His action of pouring wine seemed to show some elegance.

Yang Youming poured two glasses of wine and handed one to Xia Xingcheng.

Xia Xingcheng's mouth still tasted like beer. He held the glass and took a sip.

Yang Youming stood by and looked at him, asking, "How does it taste?"

Xia Xingcheng looked up and replied, "It's good."

Yang Youming smiled again.

With this glass of wine, the uncomfortable atmosphere finally alleviated a little. Even if the two people didn't speak much, when they sat face to face and drank silently, there seemed to be a kind of carefreeness in the night.

Xia Xingcheng had drunk a lot of beer before he came. His alcohol tolerance was not bad, but he was embarrassed to decline in front of Yang Youming. When he drank this glass of red wine, he felt that the wine filled him up quickly all of a sudden. His originally hot face and forehead seemed to get even hotter.

With the courage of the wine, Xia Xingcheng's demeanour became more and more relaxed as he sat on the sofa. He leaned back, one arm on the armrest of the sofa, the other holding the glass on the knee of his raised leg. He gently swished the wine in the glass and finally admitted, "It's a bit hard for me to adapt to Director He's methods."

Yang Youming sat on the edge of the bay window, staring at him and said, "Really?"

Xia Xingcheng didn't notice that he was slowly slipping from his inhibitions. "Yes, I don't know what kind of mood he wants," he confessed. "I can only act based on my own ideas. If I don't get it within one or two takes, I would feel more and more pressured." He opened his eyes wide and stared at the dim yellow overhead lights in Yang Youming's room.

Yang Youming said nothing. He just held his glass and stared at Xia Xingcheng silently.

Xia Xingcheng thought Yang Youming would say something to him, but he didn't wait for it, so he looked at him and blurted out, "Ming ge, I think you're a little strange sometimes."

This time Yang Youming appeared to smile and asked him, "How so?"

If it were a different time and place, Xia Xingcheng would never have said these words, but now, he actually had an excuse. For example, if he was drunk, it could be understood that a drunken person could wake up next morning without remembering anything. So he looked at Yang Youming and, in a rare careless tone, said, "Just how different you were when you were on set today and when you left the set. As soon as you left, you became cold."

Yang Youming placed his wine glass by the bay window, turned to Xia Xingcheng and said, "Then you may have confused me with Yu Haiyang."

Xia Xingcheng suddenly froze.

Yang Youming spoke slowly, with a slightly low voice. "When I'm on set, I am Yu Haiyang, and you are Fang Jianyuan; when I leave the set, I'm Yang Youming, and you're Xia Xingcheng in my eyes."

Xia Xingcheng's eyes flickered, seemingly at a loss.

Yang Yuming continued, "You have a formal education background. Do you know what experientialism and expressionism are?"

Xia Xingcheng's lips moved. Of course he had learned all these things, but he had never applied them since he started filming. How would he have presumed experientialism and expressionism when he had never really truly acted? His prior performances were nothing more than physical movements and amateurish expressions.

Yang Youming obviously did not want an answer, and only said, "Experientialism by definition is⏤a philosophical theory that experience is the source of all knowledge not purely deductive, formal, or tautological. In fact, I don't completely agree with experientialism, people's lives are limited, and every role is dynamic, it might hurt the body too much. But in your current state, you aren't even qualified to discuss these acting theories. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Xia Xingcheng understood, his face turning red all of a sudden.

Yang Youming said, "Therefore, I suggest that when you leave the set, you continue to maintain Fang Jianyuan's state of mind. Not by imagining or imitating him, but to live as him."

Xia Xingcheng frowned and looked at Yang Youming. "But you said that it hurts too much."

Yang Youming nodded. "I just suggested it because otherwise, in your current state, you'd just hit a wall over and over again the next time you have to act. He Zheng won't tell you how to act. He only has an ideal scene in his mind and not a template. I also can't tell you how to act every single time. After all, you are Fang Jianyuan. Do you understand?"

Xia Xingcheng had sobered up. He stood up and took two steps uneasily, looking at Yang Youming, but he suddenly realized the indifference in Yang Youming's eyes.

He had confused Yu Haiyang with Yang Youming.

The heat on Xia Xingcheng's face faded, and he actually felt that the air conditioner in the room was turned too low. His body felt cool now. He said to Yang Youming, "I see. Thank you for your advice."

Yang Youming still smiled, gentle and polite, "You're very good, be a little more confident."

Xia Xingcheng nodded. "It's getting late. I won't disturb your rest. Good night, Ming ge." With that, he hurriedly turned and walked towards the door.