Chapter 91: Zhou Xiaoxue's Acting Debut

  "No way, your acting just now... was too much." In the room, Zhou Xiao and Nagata Kotomi were rehearsing a play together.

  Tomorrow is the last scene of the film, Zhou Xiao and Miyazaki Aoi's most important opponent scene. In the past two days, Zhou Xiao has been trying hard to get into that situation, but maybe it's because he attaches too much importance to it, which makes him unable to enter the state. Nagata Kotono and Miyazaki Aoi are also working very hard with him on this scene.

  "It's not that you have to cry so hard, your expression and actions just now would make people feel more fake. You've known about Aya's illness for many years, although it's approaching farewell, the crying and heartache over the years haven't been completely unrelieved, and you yourself have also been prepared for Aya's problem for a long time. So, you will be very reluctant, want to cry, but don't let yourself really burst into tears, one or two tears, whether they flow out or not, are already enough." Nagata Kotono said to Zhou Xiao.

  "So, is it that kind of desperately trying to hold on but ultimately can't help but shed a few tears?" Zhou Xiao asked.

  "That's right."

  "......Alright, I'll try again."

  Zhou Xiao and Miyazaki Aoi continued their performance...

  "It's still not working, you haven't fully grasped the male lead's psychology, and by the end it's already showing some overacting. Since you decided to use the method of immersing yourself in the role, you must like the girl in front of you, like Miyazaki Aoi, like Aya, then think about Aya's illness, think that she is about to leave this world, think about her attachment to worldly things, and most importantly, think that you are standing in front of her now but can't help her at all!"

  "Once more!"

  "Yes."

  Zhou Xiao got up and walked to the door. He turned around and looked at Miyazaki Aoi on the bed, a painful expression appearing on his face.

  Nagata Koto slightly shook her head. Zhou Xiao's performance was still a bit too superficial, no way, he hadn't received professional training and didn't have the innate acting skills of Miyazaki Aoi, so it was already a huge improvement that he could express his emotions correctly without laughing awkwardly after two days of hard work.

  At the door, Zhou Xiao looked at Miyazaki Aoi on the bed, and after a moment of contemplation, she opened her mouth to speak, but at this time, Miyazaki Aoi did not play the supporting role for Zhou Xiao as before. Instead, she started performing on her own initiative.

  The girl grasped the pen with difficulty, trying to open her diary with a twisted posture, but as soon as she picked it up, it fell back down. With great effort, she slightly lifted her body and looked at the diary on the ground, revealing an extremely complex emotion on her face, wanting to stretch out her hand. Her upper body tilted a little, but under such circumstances, it was clearly impossible for her to touch the diary.

  With a sigh of relief, Miyazaki Aoi lifted her face and looked in another direction. The three were currently in a hotel room, and the direction she was looking at was actually empty, but if it were to be filmed, there would be a window there, through which you could see the gloomy winter weather. Zhou Xiao and Nagata Kotone could clearly feel the emotions expressed by the girl's eyes as she gazed out the window, the longing and love that couldn't be let go of, all conveyed through just one glance, one expression, and one gaze.

  "Acted really well." Nagata Koto praised in her heart.

  "Ah... Ah also..." Looking at the girl's appearance, Zhou Xiao felt a pang in her heart, and the tears that welled up in her eyes, although not yet falling, had already begun to fill her entire eye socket.

  "Alright, I'm in the zone now......!" Nagata Kotone turned around and saw Zhou Xiao's appearance, and couldn't help but cheer.

  "Thank you."

  Ten minutes later, Nagata Koto was the first to walk out of the room, leaving behind two young boys and girls who had not yet wiped away their tears. Zhou Xiao walked forward to help Miyazaki Aoi get up from the bed, but Miyazaki Aoi gently pushed him away.

  "How is it, so deeply into the play?" The girl asked, and she sprang up from bed with agility.

  "Oh? I really forgot!" Zhou Xiao patted his forehead, he had just finished acting and hadn't yet come out of the plot, seeing the girl in front of him getting up, conditioned reflexively took her as Ah Ye who couldn't move.

  "Just this once, you performed well." said Miyazaki Aoi.

  "Thanks for leading me through this earlier, I'm really sorry to trouble you today, I'm actually a bit clumsy." said Zhou Xiao.

  "It's not like that, I'm happy to shoot like this too. And if you're stupid, then there might not be any smart people in the world, don't forget that this is something you wrote!" Mika said with a wave of her script.

  "But as for acting..." Zhou Xiao trailed off.

  "I'm begging you, it's already good enough! Just spare us!" Mozaki Aoi raised her hand and made a pleading gesture.

  "What?" Zhou Xiao was puzzled why the girl would say this.

  "Look at what you've done since your debut! Singing, acting in dramas, filming commercials, making movies... and just the other day, I heard you're even going to start working on a manga. You've done so many things and excelled at every single one of them. Don't you think it's about time you did something that wasn't quite as good? If you can make movies this well and win awards overseas, earning money in Japan... then what's the point of us, your peers, even existing?" Maki Miyazaki said with exaggeration.

  "That's an exaggeration."

  "How is it an exaggeration? You don't know, my friends are all envious when they hear that I'm acting with you, they really like your songs and that Toshiba commercial, and also... " Mizuki Miyazaki suddenly stopped.

  "What else did you say?" Zhou Xiao asked.

  "And I'll definitely go see your movie too," said Miyazaki Aoi, gathering her things and leaving the room with Zhou Xiao.

  But actually, her classmates also said they would definitely go see the movie, but it's clear that what was just said wasn't what Miyazaki Aoi really wanted to say. What she wanted to say was... those friends also said... such a great all-around guy, you have to grab onto him!

  With the help of Miyazaki Aoi and Nagata Kotone, Zhou Xiao finally managed to complete the performance with a bit of effort on the second day of formal shooting, and finally finished the most important scene for herself and the entire film. After completing this scene, "One Litre of Tears" was already nearing its end, with only a small part of the indoor scenes left to be re-shot. As for the outdoor scenes, they would be shot after all the indoor scenes were completed.

  In order to save money as much as possible, the crew also greatly reduced outdoor filming and put most of it in indoor studios. However, there were still several scenes that needed to be filmed outdoors, and Zhou Xiao finally felt again how difficult it was to film.

  Especially in the recording part, sound engineers and recordists are like facing a great enemy when shooting outdoors. At that time in 2000, under the circumstances where high-noise-reducing microphones were not particularly advanced, the surrounding environment, especially wind noise, still had some impact on outdoor scenes.

  Following the entire crew running around, Zhou Xiao once again fell from the male lead to a scene runner. During this time, Zhou Xiao, who was always cheerful and without airs, made the atmosphere of the crew much more relaxed than at the beginning, and everyone worked in a relatively harmonious environment.

  Finally, when the time entered November, after the last play ended and Director Nagata Kotaka shouted out the final "cut", Zhou Xiaoyu's first film shooting participation since birth was completely finished.

  The applause erupted on the scene, and Zhou Xiao also responded with a smile and gratitude as he looked at everyone laughing and relaxing. Over the past few months, they had worked together, eaten together, and learned a lot from each other.

  The film still has a lot of work to be done, such as music, editing, and promotion. These things may not involve the actors anymore, but for Zhou Xiao, who is both a producer and an investor, his work is far from over.

  "2000 is going to pass... " Zhou Xiao looked at the calendar's November and thought with some emotion.

  ps：

  Finally can be issued now two chapters tonight three chapters