Young Master Fei, who pushed the door and walked in, was taken aback. This teacher looked quite young, about the same age as him.
As for who the teacher was, he had no prior knowledge.
He remembered the book did not mention any character acting as an acting teacher, so as long as it wasn't a character from the book, it didn't matter who the teacher was.
However, she wore a mask, and he wore a mask too. The room didn't even have five facial features combined, making it look like a secret organization holding a rendezvous.
He grumbled silently in his heart, walked in, and sat opposite the teacher. "Hello, Teacher. My name is Zhao Jinfei. I originally thought the person teaching me would be some senile professor. I really didn't expect you to be so young, completely different from what I imagined!"
Because Fei Yangyao's name was too famous in South City, he had no choice but to borrow the name of his subordinate, Zhao Jinfei.
After all, "Fei Yangyao" was a synonym for a profligate in South City. It didn't matter if he failed to maintain that reputation with Jiang Anran—that side was already a lost cause—but he had to maintain it in front of outsiders.
There is a theory that the number of people separating any person in the world from any complete stranger is no more than six, let alone that South City was just a city. Although this teacher didn't have much of a role in the book, he still had to be slightly cautious; heaven knows what important characters she might know.
"Mr. Zhao is joking. You can address me as Liang Xuejin. I am only a few years older than you, so don't call me Teacher. Just call me Miss Liang." Liang Xuejin was her stage name.
Upon their first meeting, "Zhao Jinfei" made a good impression on her. Out of mutual respect, she did not report her real name either, using her stage name from the film and television circles instead.
Back then, to avoid letting people know she was the eldest princess of the Xiao Family of South City, she used this stage name when she entered the film and television industry.
"All right, Teacher Liang. When do we start?" Young Master Fei decided to get straight to the point.
"...She didn't expect this "Zhao Jinfei" to be quite respectful of his teachers, and her impression of him improved a bit in her heart.
Originally, even though she taught private lessons, most of the students who came were profligate scions. What they wanted to learn wasn't acting, but flirting techniques—some even wanted to learn PUA techniques!
"No rush. I must ask you first, why are you taking this class?" Xiao Luobing stared at him with sharp eyes.
She wanted to know his true purpose for taking the class. If it really was for the sake of acting, she would definitely not let this tuition fee go to waste and would try her best to teach him well. If it was just for play, or even for flirting, then there was nothing more to say, and he could get lost as far as possible.
For the sake of a meager tuition fee, she wouldn't stoop to defiling her former dream. At worst, the company's development would stall for a period of time.
"Ah? There's a pre-class quiz too?" Young Master Fei was dumbfounded. He cursed his luck inwardly. He had never attended cram schools as a child, nor had he ever encountered private tutors as an adult. Suddenly running into this, he truly hadn't prepared a script.
Why take this class?
Because he transmigrated into the book and had to play the role of the "villain Fei Yangyao"?
Saying that would definitely get him sent to a psychiatric hospital as a lunatic.
"Teacher Liang, can I not say?" Young Master Fei found it very difficult.
"No, whatever the reason is, you must tell me, otherwise I won't teach this course. However, you don't need to explain in too much detail, just give me a rough idea. I will never reveal it to the outside world either, rest assured."
Xiao Luobing thought to herself: That's what I said, but if the reason doesn't satisfy me, I haven't said I will continue teaching either.
Hearing her put it that way, Young Master Fei had no choice but to say vaguely, "To play a certain role well."
"Are you an actor?"
"Yes!" Young Master Fei never doubted this point.
Although he wasn't an actor in his past life, coming here meant acting day and night; it could be said the work intensity was even higher than that of professional actors.
"Oh, so you mean you came for further study for that scene? Tell me about that role in detail."
Seeing that she already believed him, Young Master Fei went with the flow and simply introduced the role of the "villain Fei Yangyao": "I am playing a villain set up as a wicked profligate. He mainly has the following settings: a goddess's simping dog, with this as the highest priority; valuing the spirit of contract; having a terrible reputation; and turning dark after the goddess follows the protagonist..."
Of course, he omitted some traits that too obviously pointed to his identity.
"I understand. So what problems did you encounter?"
"How should I put it? I feel like I didn't act well, and the female leads saw right through me at a glance. One of the female leads even gave me an evaluation like 'expressions and words can deceive, but the tenderness in the depths of your eyes cannot'."
"Teacher Liang, listen to this. Saying I'm not ruthless enough, is that even reasonable?"
"And that goddess, saying my attitude toward her wasn't like a simping dog, but like a rigid puppet."
Young Master Fei still felt indignant talking about it. What Jiang Anran said, he could still understand, but over on Gu Xiyue's side, almost half the blame wasn't his at all! At that time, he had only just met her for the very first time.
"If you put it that way, I can roughly understand. But I still need to watch you act, and evaluate based on your specific performance."
She thought for a moment before continuing, "Well, pretend I am your goddess, and act out that scene when she called you a 'puppet'."
"Okay."
Young Master Fei omitted and simplified his identity information. Aside from that, he copied his performance from back then without changes, explained Gu Xiyue's scene to Xiao Luobing so she could match it, and recreated the original scenario.
After all, he also wanted to know where exactly his problem lay.
Thirty minutes later. (Not padding word count, this plot is in Chapter 7)
"...
Xiao Luobing supported her forehead powerlessly; she could finally tell where the problem lay: "It really does look like a puppet. When you look at the goddess character, your eyes are hollow and devoid of spirit. It feels like you aren't looking at the goddess, but at another stranger."
Despite wearing a mask, a character's gaze is one of an actor's souls. Xiao Luobing could tell from his gaze that he hadn't gotten into character at all!
"Uh..." Young Master Fei was left speechless.
When he first transmigrated into the book, he thought this was just a novel world and figured acting according to the script would finish the job. He hadn't expected the characters inside to be so vivid and real, immediately producing negative feedback the moment something felt off.
Wait, that wasn't right though. Even if his acting was a bit poor, Gu Xiyue should have at most ignored him.
How could there be such a huge reaction?
It was as if she had suffered enough grievances beforehand.
That wasn't my fault earlier!
"Do you have no feelings for the goddess character?" Xiao Luobing knew from his appearance that this was a mistake frequently made by rookie actors, and even some veteran actors. When encountering a play they fancy or a character they like, they can spark brilliance and deliver a wonderful performance; when encountering an unappealing play or a character they feel nothing for, they are as devoid of emotion as a cold puppet, torturing dozens of people on the set.
"That's really it, but if I feel nothing, I feel nothing. I can't imagine feelings for her." Young Master Fei felt he had already tried his best; he could not imagine something that didn't exist for him.
"You can try imagining her as your girlfriend."
"Teacher, I don't have one..." Young Master Fei had lived two lives and was still a blank slate in matters of the heart.
"...My apologies."
Observing half a second of silence for the non-existent girlfriend, Xiao Luobing acted as if nothing had happened and continued, "Then which female character do you have feelings for?"
Before you continue