Chapter 25
“Did he really learn martial arts?” Miss Lin asked, looking at his silhouette.
Xiao Feifei shook her head, her unblinking gaze fixated on Ye Lingchen.
On the empty field, Ye Lingchen’s eyes were almost closed. Both his fists took on a proper posture, his foot following some unknown footwork. Each step he took was accompanied by a punch.
His body was ever-changing with each punch. One step, one punch. Although plain and simple, without mountains cracking, river flow disruptions or miraculous signs in the sky, it had a perfect sense of harmony.
Looking closely, one can notice that the distance of every step Ye Lingchen made was exactly the same. Each of his punches were executed precisely at the same speed. Every step, every punch, and even the breathing between each punch were perfectly coordinated.
Eventually, the simple punches started changing. Ye Lingchen’s body burst into action. Every move gave off a feeling of artistic beauty.
However, under the effect of such beauty, it started to get intense.
The muscles on his body bulged, causing the audience’s eyes to twitch. He was like a tiger stalking prey, giving off an intimidating aura.
“Beautiful!” Miss Lin looked at Ye Lingchen, compelled to compliment him.
Ye Lingchen’s punches were connected, without missing a beat in between. The entire process seemed natural and was performed with ease.
She had seen others perform their sets, but none were like Ye Lingchen. Natural and simple, artistic yet charged with energy.
Fist with step, steps with Qi, Qi with mind, all combined. Under the sun, Ye Lingchen’s every move was harmonious, as though becoming one with the environment.
Xiao Feifei’s eyes glistened with amazement, the corner of her mouth curled into a smile.
Li Tai, however, had his eyes wide— staring at this amazing talent before him.
He was also one that dabbled in the same field. With one look he could tell that Ye Lingchen’s fist techniques were extraordinary.
His fists were impressive, the whooshing sounds of his punches accompanied him naturally, all well connected. His techniques are comparable to those old masters that spent decades training.
He had a feeling, if Ye Lingchen were to upload a video of his moves online, it would surely trigger another commotion.
An expert in the world of martial arts!
This was what a martial arts expert was like to the general public!
Eventually, Ye Lingchen was surrounded by an air current. Within the gentle breeze, the presence of his Qi spread. The power of his fists was tremendous, raging like waters from rivers and the seas.
In one punch, before the raging wind could disperse, it was pierced through by his fist. Under the tremendous force, the air howled as his fist cracked through the air, causing an explosive sharp sound that strained the eardrums.
If that punch were to hit someone, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The wind screeched, as though complaining of its abuse.
Subduing heaven and earth in one punch, who could possibly withstand it?
Just as the punching force was about to spill over to the ground, Ye Lingchen’s hands exerted control. The raging power, under his control, turned around as he willed. Hundreds of streams returned to their source, the flow reversed. All the energy rushed back into his body, not even a single strand was left.
The breeze flowed gently as if nothing had happened.
All was still.
“Clap clap clap!”
Nobody knew who started it, but eventually, the whole set broke out in a clear resounding applause. Everyone was filled with unconcealed amazement.
“Please forgive my incompetence,” Ye Lingchen held his hands in front of his chest and greeted the crowd humbly.
“That’s not half bad. It looked like the real thing.” Miss Lin remarked at Ye Lingchen through her pouted lips.
“Hahaha, Brother Ye is hiding his real potential. I’m impressed!” Li Tai laughed heartily while responding to Ye Lingchen in a reserved manner.
His attitude was even friendlier than before. If one considered his previous attitude to be due to Xiao Feifei’s influence, at that moment, he did not dare to look down on Ye Lingchen anymore.
This young man is not a simple person!
“Director Li, do you think that was okay?” Ye Lingchen asked.
“Yes, of course that was okay!” Li Tai nodded. “Brother Ye’s movement was the real martial arts. If we screened that, it won’t be something those fancy moves could compare to!”
“Then all is well,” Ye Lingchen smiled. He was the one that started the trouble, it was of course for the best if he could help out. “You just need to find a few young men, I’ll be in charge of the choreography, then all will be settled.”
Li Tai hesitated for a moment, then with a sudden inspiration, stared at Ye Lingchen, “Brother Ye, you have such a good set of moves. It’d be a waste if you don’t film some wuxia films.”
Adding actual martial arts in a kungfu film, that was something worth watching!
“That’s right, Lingchen,” Xiao Feifei stared at Ye Lingchen with gleaming eyes.
Shaking his head, Ye Lingchen laughed bitterly, “Director Li, Sister Feifei, I really don’t like filming.”
“You’re willing to play the role of an extra, yet now, you’re unwilling to listen to Sister Feifei’s words?” Xiao Feifei stared at Ye Lingchen with feigned anger.
“That’s no it, just…” Ye Lingchen’s showed an indecisive expression.
“Hahaha, I know what Brother Ye is worried about.” Li Tai said with a laugh. “Legend of the Heroine has a character that is masked from the beginning to the end. You won’t have to expose your face!”
“Director, that’s the biggest villain in the movie,” someone reminded him from the side.
Be it the scriptwriter or the cameraman, they all gave dubious looks at Ye Lingchen.
With the face covered, it will further test a person’s acting skills. Otherwise, what would one use to attract the audience?
“How would we know if we don’t give it a try?” Xiao Feifei gave Ye Lingchen her full support. She hooked onto Ye Lingchen’s arm, “This character has a lot of shared scenes with me. Lingchen, can you take this as me begging you and giving it a try?”
Li Tai and the rest were all sweating bullets. Who would have thought that Xiao Feifei would be so coquettish with someone?
“That… alright.” Ye Lingchen gave a nod. “However, please do not expose my information.”
He did not want to be stalked by the paparazzi.
With that, everything was settled!
Ye Lingchen put on a black cape, adorned a black iron mask. With his stature, it gave off a slight air of handsomeness.
Perhaps it was due to him practicing martial arts, it gave off a unique aura that made him more attractive than those ‘little fresh meat’ in this generation.
“Not bad,” said Xiao Feifei as she unreservedly evaluated Ye Lingchen from top to bottom.
Ye Lingchen’s role is the villain boss in the TV series. Manipulative and unreasonably powerful, yet somehow— he fell in love with the female lead in the movie, and that would be Xiao Feifei.
The villain falling in love with the heroine. The outcome was set from the start.
In the dark, Ye Lingchen would continuously assist Xiao Feifei, even saving her life multiple times. In the end, he would even sacrifice himself for Xiao Feifei.
The plot was slightly cheesy, add to it the martial arts elements, it was likely to be a hit.
“Lingchen, it’s your turn soon. Don’t be nervous.” Having said that, Xiao Feifei led the way onto the stage.
This scene is where Ye Lingchen and Xiao Feifei first met each other.
Xiao Feifei lost her footing and fell off a cliff. Ye Lingchen at the bottom of the cliff witnessed it and flew over to save her.
Even though it was referenced to as a cliff, it was actually just a little dirt mound that was not even five meters in height. It would be processed at a later stage.
“Brother Ye, are you sure you don’t need a harness?” Li Tai asked worryingly.
“No need.” Ye Lingchen shook his head. “Five meters is not considered tall. I’m fine!”
“Alright.”
“Ready—”
“ACTION!”
With that, Xiao Feifei stumbled and fell from the cliff!
Facing the sky, the sound of the wind rustling, her white skirt waved.
Live, Xiao Feifei was instead lowered slowly with a harness.
At that moment, a masked Ye Lingchen appeared.
He stood at the bottom of the cliff, with a huge electric fan blowing at him to have his cape waving in the air, making rustling sounds!
Right after that, he dashed forward at high speeds, stepping onto the cliff wall, rushing upwards!
The dirt mound was shaped vertically. Ordinary people would have problems climbing it.
Yet, Ye Lingchen traversed the terrain as though flat ground. He then flipped sideways, soaring through the air!
Both hands holding onto Xiao Feifei, both meeting for the first time. They exchanged passionate gazes in a close-up shot, followed by a steady landing!
“F*ck! That’s a wall run!” The camera crew was stunned in surprise.
That move executed by Ye Lingchen was not some special effects that could be edited in during post-production. That stunt was purely of his own prowess!
This scene would definitely be a major highlight of the TV series!
“Feifei, Feifei…” Miss Lin called out softly. Only then did Xiao Feifei come to, blushing as she got out of Ye Lingchen’s embrace.
“Could it be that you were in character?” Miss Lin questioned Xiao Feifei doubtfully.
During the fall, Ye Lingchen and Xiao Feifei had to passionately lock gazes. Surprisingly Xiao Feifei lost herself in the moment.
Xiao Feifei dared not look at Ye Lingchen, “No, I was just surprised. Lingchen’s acting skills are just too good.”
When they locked gazes earlier, Ye Lingchen managed to act out the essence of ‘love at first sight’ for all to see. The passion, contradiction, fear, gentleness, all in one look. That one gaze almost dragged Xiao Feifei into it.
“Show me the earlier scene!” Li Tai urged impatiently.
Everyone looked at the filming screen. The scene had yet to be edited.
However, with one look, their faces were all showing astonishment.
“Brother Ye, did you learn how to act in the past?” Li Tai asked Ye Lingchen.
Xiao Feifei and the rest looked at Ye Lingchen similarly.
His acting skills were just too unbelievably formidable!
From the aura he presented, the minutiae of his movements, to his eyes, they were all spot on.
Normally, with Xiao Feifei being an A-list superstar and Ye Lingchen with his face hidden, the screen should focus on her. However, when looking at the screen, everyone’s eyes would inadvertently deviate towards Ye Lingchen.
At that moment, Ye Lingchen was the villain in the TV series. Ruthless and arrogant, yet gentle and passionate. A set of extremely contradicting qualities. Unless at the level of the best actor, a regular person would not be able to act out and convey such qualities succinctly.
The crowd that was worried about Ye Lingchen’s acting skills was rendered speechless.
“Brother Ye, it is as though you are born for the screen!” Li Tai exclaimed again. If not because Ye Lingchen’s lack of interest in this field, he really wanted to pull him under his wing.
“This scene was done with a single take. Next scene, get ready—”
Li Tai could not wait to explore Ye Lingchen’s acting skills.
“ACTION!”
In this scene, Ye Lingchen was surrounded. Yet he was to appear tyrannical and haughty, fighting his way out of the situation magnificently all by himself!
Ye Lingchen, draped in his black cape, stood amidst the crowd. Even though he was masked, his eyes looked as though they were filled with lights that pierced through the skies, looking down on everything!
“Death to those in my way!”
A shout as strong as rolling thunder, many of the extras around him were felt weak in the knees. Li Tai, despite being outside the field, too felt a tyrannical pressure rushing toward him!
The next moment, Ye Lingchen moved!
His moves did not require any live practice but instead doing as he wished. Every movement was oppressive yet dazzling. Within the crowd, at a level beyond everyone else, his deep mastery of martial arts and an aura of belittling the world were fully displayed through his acting.
“Wonderful! That’s the essence of acting!”
Li Tai shook in excitement, “Cameraman, record from all angles! His eyes, movement, and footwork. Don’t leave anything out!”
…