Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 139: Chapter 132: The Leading Actress

Yang Xiao wasn’t as complicated as they imagined; he simply portrayed the character based on his own understanding. Due to his profession, he often stayed up late refining the script, pondering the psychology of the script’s killer, and now he got to put it to use.

Actually, Yang Xiao’s scene was already finished, but Director Ding hadn’t shouted "cut," and Yang Xiao didn’t dare to move. He maintained his posture until finally, it was the bewildered Yu Mi who inadvertently looked back, meeting Yang Xiao’s gaze head-on.

The two were very close, a proximity that Director Ding and the others couldn’t quite appreciate—the visual impact was jarring, causing Yu Mi to be taken aback.

Seeing someone move, Yang Xiao also breathed a sigh of relief, reining in his smile, and turning his head to look at Director Ding, "Is that okay?"

"Yes, very much so!"

Director Ding excitedly stood up, his expression visibly pleased. As a director who had worked in the film industry for many years, he was well aware that two key factors were crucial for a film’s success.

The first was to have traffic support, either a famous actor or a topical subject. The second was to have a strong performance anchor. In his view, although Yang Xiao was a newcomer, with careful mentoring, his future was promising.

"What do you think of his acting?" Director Ding decided to hold up Chu Xi as an example to encourage everyone to learn how to become competent actors.

"Very good," said Lu Ji.

"I didn’t see the acting; it didn’t feel like he was performing," Luo Zhaoqing said, sitting in his chair, cradling his injured leg, his face filled with confusion.

"What about you?" Director Ding turned to ask a few female actors.

"The first half of the scene was very smooth; he was the one driving the rhythm, and it was very comfortable to play off him," Xiang Xiaolin said. "As for the second half, I don’t know; I didn’t look back, but... but I felt a chill on my back."

"His... his eyes were so terrifying, just for a moment, I thought he was going to devour me," whispered Yu Mi, the only one who had turned around.

Director Ding clapped his hands vigorously, excited, "That’s exactly it! That’s the kind of feeling we want. We’re shooting this scene like a mockumentary. As long as we control the camera well, we’re bound to surprise the audience! It might even become a huge hit!"

After Yang Xiao passed the test, it was Song Yan’s turn to perform. His performance was equally stunning. Unlike Yang Xiao’s destructive madness, Song Yan created a character who was outwardly refined but depraved, a puppet dominated by lust.

His gaze towards the female students was filled with blatant desire, mixed with caution and pity. He was an absolute perfectionist with an unusual obsession with beauty. He didn’t plan to kill these students, but intended to keep them as part of his collection.

If Yang Xiao was a cheetah walking alone in the night, then he was a venomous snake slithering through the dark marsh. Both of them employed their unique interpretations to analyze and perform the role, without distinction of superior or inferior, right or wrong.

Song Yan’s exquisite acting also won approval from Director Ding. Director Ding’s gaze softened as he looked at the two, "Not bad, really good. With you two on board, I believe the tone of this film will be stable. I’ll strongly recommend you two to Ms. Shengnan, a social media influencer and Weibo ’post king.’ With her support, you’ll rise to fame quickly!"

Footsteps echoed from outside the hallway, and Principal Wu pushed the door open, still wearing his beaming smile, "Director Ding, it’s time. We need to lock the main gate. Can you..."

"Alright, alright, we’re leaving," called Director Ding, motioning everyone to gather their belongings. "You go down with Principal Wu first. Chu Xi, Song Yan, you two stay back for a moment."

Principal Wu’s face changed slightly on hearing someone needed to stay behind. "Director Ding, what are you doing? We must lock the gate by 6 PM."

Director Ding waved his hand impatiently, "Don’t worry, Principal Wu. I just have a couple of things to tell them. It’ll be quick."

"We’ll wait for you downstairs," Principal Wu said as he left with Lu Ji, Yu Mi, and the others.

Perhaps because they were too close to Director Ding, Yang Xiao could clearly sense that Principal Wu’s gaze towards the two of them had become more guarded, possibly seeing them as complicit with one another.

This Principal Wu, no, this middle school must have experienced some incident, and that incident must be related to Ms. Shengnan.

Yang Xiao planned to start with the school name. The script’s name was Fu Lin Middle School, but now it had been changed to Ru Lin Middle School. There must be an issue there.

Once Principal Wu and the others had left, Director Ding took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out, put it in his mouth, and lit it. "Want a smoke?"

"Thank you, Director Ding, I don’t," declined Song Yan.

Director Ding nodded, "I kept you back to talk. Your performance was good, honestly better than I expected. I’ll let you in on a secret; I plan to promote you two as the male leads of this film."

"Thank you, Director Ding!"

Director Ding waved his hand, "Don’t thank me just yet. I’m waiting for Ms. Shengnan’s message; she has the script. But by my calculations, she should be able to send it to me by tomorrow. Then we can have a meeting, and I’ll explain everything to you. You can refine the plot. Although it looks okay for now, it’s hard to say if it’ll pass muster during the actual shooting."

"Besides, you don’t need to worry too much about the acting skills of these actresses. I knew from the start that they weren’t up to par. I brought them on just to fill the cast with extras. I have brought two leading actresses with me. You’ll have scenes with them later. Though they are not professional actors, they will definitely be able to handle this movie. This time we’re doing a pseudo-documentary, so realism is the highest priority."

As soon as Director Ding finished speaking, Yang Xiao’s mind immediately conjured the images of those two women on the crew bus, sitting side by side, with masks and baseball caps, silent throughout the journey and not even getting off the bus at the school, mysteriously reserved. It seemed they were the predetermined leading actresses for the film.

"Thank you for your recognition, Director Ding. Do you think it might be possible for us to meet these two leading ladies ahead of time? It would be good for us to get a feel for each other," said Song Yan, very professional in spirit. freewebnovel.cσ๓

"That’s a bit..." Director Ding’s face showed a hint of difficulty, "Let’s not rush this; I’m not familiar with them myself. They were all brought in by Ms. Shengnan."

"We’ll follow Director Ding’s arrangements," Yang Xiao and Song Yan said in unison.

After finishing a cigarette, the three went downstairs where a bus was waiting nearby, along with a gray sedan and a white van.

An elderly man was sitting in the driver’s seat of the white van. Yang Xiao recognized him at a glance as Teacher Meng, who had previously been following around Principal Wu and was one of the three people engaged in a whispered conversation in the first-floor classroom.

"Listen to me, crew staff will go with the school bus. Actors split into two groups. Chu Xi, Song Yan, Yu Mi, and Xiang Xiaolin, the four of you take the van. The remaining four take the sedan."

"Just a heads-up, the town is pretty backward, so don’t expect any decent hotels. It’s good enough if there’s a place to stay, so don’t be picky. Also, get a good night’s sleep and don’t wander around; the public security in town isn’t very good."

"Meet at 8 a.m. sharp outside the inn tomorrow. Someone will come to pick you up. Call me if you need anything; here’s my business card."

Once he had finished giving instructions, Director Ding turned and boarded the school bus. Yang Xiao and the other seven followed his orders, getting into their assigned vehicles and driving out of the campus.

Before long, the three cars split up. About ten minutes later, the van Yang Xiao was in stopped in front of a hotel.

The hotel sported a sign that was neither new nor old, with red lights on it: Yue Lai Inn.

"Everyone get out, we’re here," said Teacher Meng after parking the van steadily. He was the first to walk into the inn.

The inn wasn’t large, only four stories high, and it appeared to be struggling for business. The front desk was manned by a middle-aged man and woman who looked very much like a husband and wife, likely the owners.

"We have two rooms, both double rooms. Men in Room 207 on the second floor, and women in Room 405 on the fourth floor. All the rooms are ready, and here are your keys," Teacher Meng handed out the keys with white tape labels bearing the room numbers written in blue ballpoint pen.

"Can we stay on the same floor?" Xiang Xiaolin asked, not taking the key and affecting a demure stance, "We’re just two girls alone on the upper floor, and it’s a bit frightening."

Upon hearing this, the inn’s owner immediately frowned with displeasure, "What kind of talk is that? Young lady, rest assured, it’s safest to stay here!"

Looking at the muscular, bald owner with gold teeth and tattoos of dragons and tigers on his arms. Not only Xiang Xiaolin was concerned, but even Yang Xiao felt a bit uneasy.

In the end, with no other choice, they reluctantly settled into the rooms that had been arranged for them. Yang Xiao opened the door to find two single beds, a desk and chairs, and an ensuite bathroom. The space was small and decorated in a style not updated for about 15 years, but it was still relatively clean.

"Chu Xi, it seems we really are fated," laughed Song Yan. "We were grouped together for acting and now we’re even staying in the same place."

"Yeah, if you don’t mind, I’ll just call you Song Brother. I’m new to all this and don’t know the ins and outs, so I hope you can give me some tips," Yang Xiao replied graciously, offering Song Yan a bottle of mineral water.

Song Yan inspected the room, especially the doors and windows, for safety before sitting down, "Chu Brother, your acting is really good. Did you study it specifically?"

"This... kind of," Yang Xiao knew this was Song Yan trying to probe him. After observing during the day, he had confirmed that Song Yan was not to be underestimated.

Song Yan, chatting casually, said, "I studied art. I can tell that Chu Brother has a solid foundation. Acting is a highly technical job, requiring control of emotion, a grasp of character, and managing the rhythm of the performance. In all of these, Chu Brother surpasses us by a lot. To tell the truth, I’m just riding on your coattails; I follow your lead in my performance."

"Not really, I just studied a bit... just a little, at Rongcheng Art College," Yang Xiao decided to weave a connection with Song Yan.

"No wonder," Song Yan asked curiously, "May I ask which major? I don’t believe anyone could have such skill in just a year or two."

"Acting Department, class three of the second year. I only attended halfway before I took a leave of absence. My girlfriend... she was worried about me," said Yang Xiao, seeming a bit embarrassed.

At this, Song Yan suddenly laughed, "Chu Brother still doesn’t want to tell me the truth, huh? As far as I know, students from Rongcheng Art College, when speaking about their class to outsiders, never use the grade-and-class designation. They have a different way of referring to it."