Jiang Wen pondered for a moment.
To witness Chen Feng’s acting firsthand and to put Teacher Huang in an awkward spot, Director Jiang’s mind churned, and he conceived a scene.
He immediately cleared his throat and said, “Ahem, I’ve got it now.”
“Alright, I’ve thought of a scenario for you two.”
“Chen Feng will play a street Fortune Teller.”
“The kind of charlatan who spouts nonsense.”
“And Teacher Huang will play a person who is overly suspicious.”
“He had a bad nightmare the night before, so the next day, he found a Fortune Teller on an overpass to interpret his dream.”
“That’s the scene; you two can improvise on the spot.”
“Figure out your own lines.”
“How do you portray two distinct and characteristic personalities? This is a lesson you need to teach the students present here.”
“Well, any problems?”
As Director Jiang’s words fell, a prompt sounded in Chen Feng’s mind.
“Ding! Detecting that the host is about to portray the target character ‘Fortune Teller,’ congratulations to the host for becoming a true Fortune Teller.”
“Congratulations to the host for mastering the art of ‘Fuxi Divine Calculation.’”
Chen Feng was delighted.
It’s here!
He loved these kinds of character experience opportunities the most.
Immediately, he looked at Director Jiang and nodded, “Director Jiang, I have no problem.”
“Good.”
Director Jiang smiled as he looked at Teacher Huang.
Teacher Huang also smiled and nodded nonchalantly, “I have no problem either.”
However, he secretly grumbled a few words to himself.
This Jiang Wen is full of bad ideas too.
He had been acting for so many years, and most of the roles he portrayed were very lifelike, typically characters like a ‘father’ figure in a family.
Or some old-era literati images he portrayed in his youth.
They had to be gentle, refined, and appear scholarly.
Now?
What kind of character did Director Jiang set for him?
A person who is overly suspicious.
And superstitious.
He would even go to a Fortune Teller to interpret his dream?
Such a thing would absolutely never happen to him in the real world.
It could be said that this role was completely at odds with his own personality.
Teacher Huang prided himself on being a cultured person.
And he had the persona of a cunning old fox.
He was truly poles apart from someone who would seek a Fortune Teller to interpret a dream after a nightmare.
How malicious.
This Jiang Wen…
Teacher Huang had no choice but to bite the bullet and go with it.
He couldn’t show fear in front of his students.
So, the two of them made simple preparations.
In the classroom.
The students were all excited.
Being able to witness this kind of live acting instruction was perfect.
When it comes to acting, no matter how well you learn theoretical knowledge, it’s useless; it’s not as effective as truly performing on stage.
Sometimes, to transform learned theoretical knowledge into genuine acting skills, you need someone to personally guide you.
Therefore, the students were all very much looking forward to it.
A male student in the back suddenly shouted, “Teacher Huang, you are the best!”
At his shout, the other students also joined in the commotion.
“Teacher Huang, you are the best actor in our hearts.”
“Teacher Huang, show us the acting skills of a veteran actor.”
“Teacher Huang, come on!”
“Teacher Huang, I especially love watching your performances.”
...
Amidst the clamor, strange voices occasionally mixed in.
“Chen Feng, show off again.”
“Chen Feng, don’t act like a beggar!”
“Chen Feng, you teach us a lesson too.”
“Li Dongkai, scram! What are you saying?”
“Exactly, what right does he have to teach us? This is Teacher Huang’s class, Li Dongkai, are you out of your mind?”
...
The classroom was in a chaotic mess.
Director Jiang stood in the front corner, watching everything with great interest.
Soon, Teacher Huang and Chen Feng were ready.
On the stage.
Chen Feng set up a table in the corner.
He somehow found a piece of white paper and wrote a couplet on it.
First line: Fuxi’s divination abode, the Guatai subtly encompasses the secrets of heaven and earth.
Second line: The divine tortoise still faces, the Cai Pond always reflects the ancient autumn.
Next to it, there was a long strip of white paper serving as a banner, also with a couplet written on it.
First line: Explaining fortune, misfortune, fate, and the changes of life.
Second line: Appreciating the six classics, as one wishes, with lofty grace.
In the middle of the table, four pens were placed.
They were crossed together to form the character ‘Yao’ (yao, a divination symbol).
When they saw everything Chen Feng had prepared, Teacher Huang and Director Jiang were stunned.
Huh?
It looks quite authentic.
More importantly, where did he copy those two couplets from?
They didn’t see him looking at his phone to copy them; they only saw him writing intently.
Could it be that he wrote them himself?
Director Jiang and Teacher Huang both prided themselves on being cultured individuals, and they somewhat understood the artistic conception within the two couplets on Chen Feng’s table, finding it quite marvelous.
Chen Feng, however, was completely unconcerned.
He sat down on the chair.
He held a book, pretending to read it.
With such a simple scene setup, the atmosphere was already established.
He really did look like a Fortune Teller.
Mainly, those two couplets added a lot of points.
What about Teacher Huang?
He didn’t really fuss much.
He just changed into a different set of clothes, which he borrowed from a classmate.
It was a very ordinary gray jacket.
He messed up his hair.
He crossed his arms and glanced around, feigning a nervous and worried appearance.
This opening was also quite good.
Interesting.
Director Jiang stood at the edge, shouting firmly at the students below, “Alright, everyone quiet down. The performance is about to begin on stage. Remember, this is live instruction, so open your eyes and watch carefully.”
After speaking, he shouted to Chen Feng and Teacher Huang, “Action!”
...
Scene One.
Teacher Huang was furtive.
He walked onto the stage.
Suddenly, he spotted Chen Feng sitting in the corner, carefully looked at the couplet on the table, hesitated for a moment, and finally walked over.
Hearing footsteps, Chen Feng put down the book in his hand and looked up.
A casual smile appeared on his face.
As Teacher Huang approached, Chen Feng placed the book in his hand on the table.
“Coming to have a look?”
Chen Feng showed a characteristic smile and greeted Teacher Huang, who was walking towards him.
However, after Teacher Huang looked at him, he hurried past him.
The students below stirred slightly.
Why did he walk past?
Wasn’t he looking for a Fortune Teller?
Only Director Jiang nodded, a slight smile on his face.
Teacher Huang still had a grasp of reality, because ordinary people looking for a Fortune Teller are often afraid of being scammed, and sometimes they get close but then worry about being scammed and end up passing by.
He portrayed the conflicted psychology of an ordinary person.
Now, the pressure was on Chen Feng.
How would he perform?
What kind of rhetoric would he use to call Teacher Huang back and close this deal?
Seeing how professional the couplets on Chen Feng’s table were, Director Jiang naturally assumed that Chen Feng must have observed the profession of a Fortune Teller.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to remember such couplets.
What would he do?
On the stage.
Just as Teacher Huang was about to walk away, Chen Feng quietly uttered, “One heaven and earth, two primal forces establish the initial forms; three generate myriad things, four define the patterns of the universe; five elements and eight trigrams, six lines predict fortune and misfortune; seven stars of the Big Dipper, eight characters determine one’s fate; nine heavens of gods and Buddhas, ten directions of the world’s good and evil.”
“Believing in fortune-telling and feng shui are all born of delusion. A person who reads and understands principles finds peace in righteousness and destiny, and thus does not believe.”
“For those who come to me for divination, whether it is effective or not, one must know that words and texts possess miraculous power; they can make things good or bad. In fact, not listening, not hearing, not asking is also an option, but one’s fate will become thinner with more calculations, and one’s luck will decline with more calculations.”
Upon hearing these words, Director Jiang was stunned.
What he said had depth; it wasn’t just randomly made-up lines, was it?
If he himself were walking on the street, looking for a Fortune Teller but afraid of being scammed and about to pass by, if he heard these words, he would most likely turn back.
What’s more, Teacher Huang?
He always considered himself a person who understood principles through reading.
So…
Teacher Huang stopped in his tracks and turned around.