81 Body Language

"Lights and camera in position. Attention all please. Let's get ready to roll."

The director's assistant shouts into a megaphone to the set. When "Action" is called, the camera begins to slowly zoom in. Yuan Ge sits quietly in a chair behind the monitor and watches on.

In the camera lens, Qiuchen is leaning back in a small chaise longue within the set, seemingly tired after having just returned from performing on stage. Liang Zitang is sitting by an oil lamp flipping through the pages of a book, lifting his brush to write from time to time.

Yuan Ge is frowning as he watches Yin Fenghua's performance. After the first few days of conditioning, he has finally stopped pinching his voice to say his lines, and his voice sounds much more natural. However, his eyes are still soulless, without a trace of clarity. Around Liang Zitang, he is neither like a companion nor a lover, always with some inexplicable frivolity.

Yuan Ge cannot bear to look at this scene any longer. The melancholy, affectionate gaze that appeared in his dream keeps flashing before his eyes, and in a trance he could taste salty tears at the base of his tongue. He wants to call a halt to the performance, but considering that it is, after all, an intimate and emotional scene, he is worried that it might affect Stephen's emotion. And is it really possible to train the expression in one's eyes?

As the play progresses, the scene has changed into Liang Zitang trying to get physical with Qiuchen.

"Liang Zitang" can no longer hold back his lust, walks over to the chaise longue and presses his body against the seemingly sleeping "Qiuchen". He mumbles a string of sweet words as he tries to kiss him. "Qiuchen" opens his eyes in horror, his eyes filled with panic and shyness as he trembles slightly, avoiding Liang's intimate advances, a blush appearing on his cheeks.

Stephen's Liang Zitang kisses Yin Fenghua in his arms with slight compulsion; although Yin Fenghua's arms are pushing outwards, his legs, which are pinned under Stephen, have unconsciously parted…

"Cut!"

Yuan Ge shouts in annoyance. He ignores Stephen who has stood up awkwardly, and says sharply to Yin Fenghua, "May I ask why you are changing my script without asking me again! What are you trying to show? Is he willing or unwilling?"

Yin Fenghua looks confused, "What's wrong with my act? Why cut? Isn't it clearly written in your script that Qiuchen is unwilling?"

Yuan Ge lowers his voice and says, "Being reluctant on the surface, but showing willingness in your body language will only make the other person more excited."

Yin Fenghua looks down at his body and cannot see anything wrong with the performance.

"How am I reluctant on the surface, but willing in body language?"

Yuan Ge has no choice but to explain patiently, "Spreading your legs open is an unguarded gesture. Although Qiuchen is the most renowned opera singer in the capital at this moment, he still maintains his chastity. Even in front of someone he likes, he would not express his feelings so unreservedly."

As soon as Yin Fenghua hears this, he immediately acts like a know-it-all veteran and snickers, "If he wants to be chastity, why does he go into someone's bedroom late at night and falls asleep? Isn't this a clear case of seduction? I thought there was something wrong when I first read the script. Today I'm just acting according to the correct interpretation!"

Hearing Yin Fenghua's misunderstanding of Qiuchen, Yuan Ge is actually feeling quite upset. He couldn't bear to see Qiuchen being wronged, even though he is only a character in his film, so he explains again, "Qingqing is infatuated with Liang Zitang and believes too much in his character, and he doesn't know anything about homosexual relationships, so he often visits him late at night when he returns from his stage performance. You could interpret it this way; Qiu Chen is experiencing his pure first love and knows nothing about sex. Your performance should be closer to that feeling. Let's do it again."

With that, he turned around, pats Stephen on the shoulder and returns to his seat.