TRYMBPIETM 18: The Ancient Tree’s Deep Shade(12)

Fans of Chi Qingning and some antis were jumping around, but Chi Qingzhou merely lifted his eyelids and wasn’t angry.

The more malice there was, the more medicine there was to cure him.

If it weren’t for needing to be wary of Zhu Yantong, he would actually welcome these discussions.

The shadow beneath Chi Qingzhou’s feet flickered, and the black energy in the live stream poured in like a stream. Many people paused, confused, and raised their hands.

What were they just doing?

While they were puzzled, the guests had already gathered in the main courtyard of the farmyard and started the next game segment to exchange ingredients through completing tasks.

Considering that the two special guests were here to promote a new film, the director chose a game where everyone would draw lots to perform scenes. All the scenes were from movies and TV shows that Song Yuzhi and Ling Jiao had starred in previously.

Song Yuzhi and Ling Jiao wouldn’t perform, but they would give on-site humorous comments, and their comments would serve as the topics for the next round.

The guests were puzzled by this rule and kept asking what the next segment would be, why they had to watch comments as well.

For the sake of hype, the director refused to reveal any details of the next segment and quickly hid in the live-stream van, leaving Lu Man alone to handle the guests.

Lu Man felt helpless and could only host the game with the guests’ disapproving looks on him.

Among the six fixed guests, apart from Chi Qingning and Tang Qichen, the others had little to no acting experience.

Although Chi Qingzhou said he debuted as an actor, Lu Man and Tang Qichen found that his debut MV wasn’t selected, and the singer finally used a different version, so both were a bit concerned about Chi Qingzhou.

With live cameras around, they couldn’t show their concerns too clearly and could only ask a few questions during the lottery.

Chi Qingzhou wasn’t worried at all.

“It’s fine, the scene I drew isn’t that difficult.”

Tang Qichen: “Really?” He leaned over to look at the piece of paper in Chi Qingzhou’s hand, then relaxed. “You’re acting with Brother Liang, so it’s no problem.”

Chi Qingzhou had watched the MV before and his acting was on point.

Liang Ji was a professional variety show host and didn’t have acting skills on the same level as Chi Qingzhou, so Chi Qingzhou shouldn’t be too troubled.

Meanwhile, Liang Ji, who was looking at his own paper: “???”

First of all, I didn’t provoke any of you;

Second of all, Tang Qichen, is this how you treat your brothers?

Tang Qichen quickly glanced away and picked up his paper, pretending to mutter and walk off.

“Ah, this role is a bit difficult. Sister Zhong, let’s discuss how to perform it?”

The camera zoomed in straight on the two of them, causing a burst of laughter from the audience.

Chi Qingning was facing away from them, head down, reading the paper, hiding the indifference in his eyes.

…

The first group to perform was Tang Qichen and Zhong Lingshu.

The two of them drew a classic movie scene from Song Yuzhi’s film Eagle Strike. The male and female leads, due to family opposition and social turmoil, decide to break up and unhesitatingly go their separate ways to where they are needed.

Zhong Lingshu had been through an unspeakably complicated marriage, so she felt a little emotional about the scene. Under Tang Qichen’s guidance, the performance turned out surprisingly well.

Tang Qichen brought even more surprises. He portrayed a passionate and righteous young man who never forgot his country, and he didn’t simply mimic the original performance; it was evident he had developed his own deep understanding of the character.

Song Yuzhi clapped enthusiastically, and Ling Jiao also gave a pretty good review. The two successfully secured a chicken and some side ingredients.

The second group was Chi Qingzhou and Liang Ji.

The scene they drew was from a historical drama starring Ling Jiao. Chi Qingzhou played a villainous military strategist, and Liang Ji played the strategist’s colleague, a close confidant of the main antagonist.

The confidant’s outward identity was that of a merchant, while the strategist was sickly and rarely appeared in public.

Although he had the ambition to serve his country, even though he was extraordinarily talented and had passed the imperial exams with the highest honors, he couldn’t fulfill his aspirations due to the foolish emperor thinking he was “too ill to be of use.”

After years of frustration, he ultimately sided with the main antagonist, the regent, making things difficult for the male protagonist.

This role could be easy to perform poorly but difficult to make outstanding.

The audience was initially watching the game with a relaxed attitude, but when Lu Man shouted “start,” everyone was shocked.

Chi Qingzhou, who had been sitting casually, suddenly tilted his body slightly. His face turned pale, and his lips lost all color.

He didn’t make any exaggerated motions like frowning or clutching his chest, but his sitting posture and gaze became sickly, and even the arm resting on his stomach gave off a sense of weakness only someone chronically ill would have.

Liang Ji was startled by Chi Qingzhou’s sudden change, forgetting that they were acting. He rushed over to him and asked repeatedly if he was feeling unwell.

Chi Qingzhou raised his hand, calmly delivering his lines from the drama: “Old problem, no worries. How did you do with the matter His Highness ordered?”

Wow!

The guests all looked stunned.

Chi Qingzhou’s tone and voice had completely changed.

He didn’t deliberately cough, but his words came out quickly, with a slight wheeze in his voice, suggesting a possible lung issue.

His acting was unexpectedly good?!

They had no idea he could act like this!

The live-stream viewers were also in awe.

【Wow, he really made it look convincing.】

【I thought Chi Qingzhou’s acting wouldn’t be great since he didn’t have many works, but I totally underestimated him!】

【I think he really scared Liang Ji just now.】

【Chi Qingzhou really looked like he was dying, I was almost about to grab my phone to call an ambulance.】

【Seriously, with this acting and looks, why hasn’t anyone cast him in movies?】

【Haha, Liang Ji was completely caught off guard, totally forgot this was just a game.】

Some fans reminded him, “It’s your turn to deliver the lines now!”

Liang Ji snapped back to reality and quickly continued the scene.

As they performed, the guests grew more and more impressed. Song Yuzhi, feeling a mix of emotions, hesitated for a moment but still gave a round of applause.

Before coming here, he genuinely thought Chi Qingzhou was only good at riding on others’ popularity and had no real skills.

But in fact, Chi Qingzhou was not only good-looking, talented, and strong, but also had excellent acting.

Song Yuzhi glanced at Chi Qingning, who was looking slightly dazed, and for some reason, felt a bit frustrated with himself for his past undervaluing of talent.

During the months working together on Wanxiang, Song Yuzhi and Chi Qingning had interacted frequently and grown fond of him. He had even thought about pursuing Chi Qingning.

He knew that Chi Qingning and Chi Qingzhou didn’t get along, so to win Chi Qingning’s favor, he should be indifferent to Chi Qingzhou.

But he just couldn’t bring himself to do it, unable to abandon his bottom line and professionalism.

Song Yuzhi closed his eyes and gave a very fair review. Ling Jiao also gave a polite compliment.

It was obvious to everyone that her relationship with Chi Qingning wasn’t bad, so she maintained a cold attitude toward Chi Qingzhou.

Chi Qingzhou, however, seemed oblivious to their coldness, smiling and thanking them, then going forward to collect his ingredients with Liang Ji.

Chi Qingning stood up, smiled at Song Yuzhi, took off his jacket, and walked to the center of the courtyard.

Xu Xinxin followed him and began to perform.

They drew a scene from Song Yuzhi’s newly submitted movie Spring Breeze Turns to Rain, where Chi Qingning played one of the two male leads, a blind young man, and Xu Xinxin played the young man’s older sister.

Chi Qingning had clearly received training for similar roles, and his performance was good, while Xu Xinxin, a girl group idol, couldn’t keep up with his acting. In just five minutes, she forgot her lines three times.

This was the result after Chi Qingning deliberately restrained himself.

After the performance, Xu Xinxin looked embarrassed and could only join her hands in a prayer gesture and bow repeatedly, asking everyone to be lenient.

Song Yuzhi and Ling Jiao, of course, didn’t make things difficult for her, offering only brief comments before turning their praise to Chi Qingning.

Especially Song Yuzhi, who almost wrote a little essay praising Chi Qingning, then turned to the camera and firmly said: “Qingning has great talent and spirit, he’s an actor I’m really looking forward to.”

Chi Qingning’s fans were thrilled and flooded the live stream with comments like 【Ah, ah, ah】【Brother is amazing】【Best Actor certified, future is bright!】. Chi Qingning bowed slightly to thank Song Yuzhi for the praise, and some shipping fans began to surface.

Zhong Lingshu glanced at the two of them, raising an eyebrow: “Looks like Xiao Song really appreciates and understands Qingning. You two really didn’t know each other for long before?”

Song Yuzhi hesitated for a moment, then saw this as a good opportunity to highlight Chi Qingning and answered openly: “We met on the Wanxiang set, but we clicked right away.”

Zhong Lingshu didn’t respond, but Ling Jiao picked up on it and playfully said, “So, Song Ge is finally willing to share how he became friends with Qingning? You’re so slow to warm up, but you clicked with Qingning right away. We’re all so curious!”

Song Yuzhi smiled: “It’s just that I was a little embarrassed to say at first.”

The process of Song Yuzhi and Chi Qingning becoming friends was actually very simple.

Song Yuzhi had starred in many award-winning films, but the ones he appreciated the most were three films that flopped horribly, one even never making it to the screen.

In those films, he played a demonic god of death, an East Asian godfather, and a mentally ill patient with 42 personalities.

Because the editing was fragmented and the plot was strange, these films had poor box office and awards. Even his die-hard fans could only reluctantly praise his acting.

Chi Qingning, however, greatly appreciated two of these characters and understood Song Yuzhi’s fondness and regret over those films.

“I see. You two actually have similar tastes,” Ling Jiao said with a smile. “Maybe this is what they call a soulmate?”

The live stream quickly filled with comments like 【High mountains and flowing water】【A soulmate for life】【No wonder they clicked so quickly】. Not only were the excited shipping fans talking, but even many of Song Yuzhi’s fans were starting to feel good about Chi Qingning.

Veteran fans knew that very few people truly appreciated those three films, and just for that, they were willing to give Chi Qingning more credit.

Song Yuzhi accepted the “soulmate” label, and even corrected a small detail.

“Not exactly. Qingning really liked the Death God and Godfather roles, but he didn’t quite agree with the character with 42 personalities.”

“At the time, I was a bit regretful, but later I realized he was right.”

That character was a top-tier showcase of acting skills, perfectly demonstrating his acting ability, but Chi Qingning said that it was the biggest flaw of the movie.

Song Yuzhi looked at Chi Qingning, his gaze full of unhidden admiration and affection.

“Qingning said something that I still remember clearly.”

Ling Jiao was curious. “What did Qingning say?”

Song Yuzhi smiled: “Qingning said, a good film, a good performance, not only shapes a character but also shapes the story. In the movie, I was performing someone else’s life, but I only portrayed his exterior, not his soul.”

“The character’s story in the film was fragmented and incomplete, but the film failed to express his shattered world.”

“I was detached from the story and his distorted world, not truly elevating the story.”

Song Yuzhi’s smile grew even gentler.

“He convinced me. This is also why I’ve always found him full of talent and insight.”

Ling Jiao couldn’t help but admire, while Tang Qichen was taken aback, not expecting Chi Qingning to have such a profound view.

The live stream exploded with excitement, with even passersby and most of Song Yuzhi’s fans praising Chi Qingning’s insightful comments.

Only a few of Song Yuzhi’s hardcore fans were shocked, stunned, and angry, posting a long string of【???】.

【??? This evaluation was said by Chi Qingning? Song Ge, are you serious?】