Therefore, a group of people surrounded Ding Ning with excitement, expectation, amusement, disdain, contempt, and even schadenfreude. They smiled and looked at Ding Ning, who was like an old monk with his eyes closed, especially Diba, who smiled so brightly that even his eyes narrowed into slits, waiting to see Ding Ning make a fool of himself.
"Time's up!"
Pan Yigang counted the time. When 20 minutes were up, he shouted without hesitation, but his eyes were fixed on Ding Ning, observing every subtle facial expression.
Hearing his shout, Ding Ning immediately opened his eyes. His expression and behavior were indifferent and calm, and he did not fluctuate because there were more spectators.
"You have five minutes to perform. I will count to three, and then we will officially start. One, two, three, start!"
A touch of appreciation flashed across Pan Yigang's eyes. Although Ding Ning had no acting experience, he had the potential to become a good actor based on his calm demeanor even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of him.
Ding Ning took a deep breath and calmed his emotions.
It was impossible to say that he was not nervous. After all, this was an audition, not an inspection of the army on the podium. But this degree of nervousness was completely controllable, and he could just ignore others.
As Pan Yigang said "start", Ding Ning's facial expression immediately began to change. The corners of his mouth were slightly raised, showing his inner joy.
He walked forward with cheerful and steady steps. When he was about to enter the reserved performance area, his footsteps suddenly became heavy, and the curve of the corners of his mouth suddenly disappeared. He gently bit his lips, revealing a complicated expression of nervousness, uneasiness, excitement, fear, hesitation, and hesitation.
Most of the people present were acting experts. They put away their previous contempt and disdain, and their faces became solemn.
They had found a treasure this time.
A touch of excitement flashed in the eyes of Pan Yigang and others, and they secretly cheered in their hearts.
They did not expect that Ding Ning could vividly portray the feeling of homesickness of a teenager who had run away from home because of rebellion by slowing down his footsteps and changing a few subtle expressions on his face. This was not a performance that a person who had never acted before should have.
Ding Ning ignored everyone's "covetous eyes" and immersed himself in role-playing. After hesitating for a moment, he showed a determined look on his face. He plucked up his courage and reached out to gently knock on the nonexistent door. He listened carefully but did not get any response.
Ding Ning frowned slightly and showed a hint of confusion on his face. He knocked harder on the door again, but still did not get any response.
The doubt on Ding Ning's face began to spread, and his breathing became slightly heavy. His brows furrowed more tightly, and a touch of anxiety, worry, and uneasiness appeared in his eyes. He clenched his fists and began to pound on the door.
Good!
Cheng Wenhai stared unblinkingly at the subtle changes in Ding Ning's expression and almost couldn't help but exclaim.
After Su Mubai came back from learning, he plucked up his courage to knock on the door with the feeling of homesickness, but he did not get any response. He must have realized that something was wrong. Anxiety, worry, and uneasiness were definite, but the slight wrinkling of his nose and sniffing, which was a human's instinctive reaction to uneasiness from the bottom of his heart, played the role of the finishing touch in this scene, and completely interpreted his inner uneasiness and anxiety.
He secretly glanced at Pan Yigang and could not help but smile. At this moment, Pan Yigang did not look lazy at all. He leaned forward slightly, clenched his fists tightly, and stared at Ding Ning attentively, not letting go of the slightest change of expression.
There was a dead silence on the scene, and an invisible sense of oppression made everyone stop smiling. They looked at Ding Ning's every move solemnly and nervously.
Ding Ning's expression changed again from worry, anxiety, and uneasiness to irritation and fear. His whole body trembled slightly, and he took two steps back. With a short run-up, he heavily knocked on the nonexistent door with his right shoulder.
The door was easily knocked open. After all, Su Mubai was no longer what he used to be. He was already a strong cultivator.
After the door was knocked open, Ding Ning staggered forward a few steps due to the inertia, and then he steadied himself.
Pan Yigang frowned and glanced at Cheng Wenhai. According to the setting of the script, Su Mubai was already a strong cultivator, and staggering was not in line with his skills. Ding Ning's performance seemed to be flawed.
Cheng Wenhai showed a thoughtful expression. Judging from Ding Ning's current performance, he had already understood the script, and should not have acted unreasonably here. But why did he act like this?
Immediately, Cheng Wenhai seemed to think of something, and his eyes suddenly widened, showing a look of sudden realization. A bitter smile hung on his face. "It is not Ding Ning who is wrong, but me who is wrong."
Su Mubai was indeed a strong cultivator now, but it was related to the safety of his family. At this moment, his heart was in a mess. Under irritation, anxiety, and uneasiness, he knocked on the door and staggered, which was what a person should do.
Pan Yigang and Producer Wang seemed to think of this at the same time. Their tense bodies suddenly relaxed, and their eyes sparkled with excitement and expectation. "This is challenging the setting of the script!"
For many years, even the Best Actor did not dare to challenge the authority of Cheng Wenhai's script. This was a taboo in the circle, and it was also the most abhorrent behavior for directors and screenwriters.
But Ding Ning changed the setting of the script during the audition. But this change seemed more reasonable and humane, so they could not find any fault at all.
At this moment, Ding Ning moved again. He looked around with blank and frightened eyes. Looking at the weeds growing on the ground that were taller than a man, he slowly lifted his legs as if they were filled with lead and walked forward slowly.
There was no extra expression on his face, and he looked extremely calm. But he clenched his hands so tightly that his knuckles turned white because of the force, and his body trembled slightly. His pace became faster and faster, but it became heavier and heavier.
Everyone's eyes lit up. They did not know whether it was an illusion, but they all felt an extremely heavy sense of oppression shrouding them at the same time, so that they did not even dare to breathe, and their heartbeats began to accelerate uncontrollably.
Ding Ning used his body language to perfectly express the feeling that he had expected the possible disaster but was unwilling to believe it, making everyone feel as if they were there, as if they were in a barren cemetery full of unknowns. The contradictory feeling of eagerly wanting to know the result but being afraid to face the result made people feel heavy in their hearts and breathless.
Finally, Ding Ning pushed aside the weeds and found the first skeleton buried in the grass. This discovery made him tremble, and the fear that his guess had come true spread rapidly. He squatted down, trembling, and carefully examined the skeleton. When he confirmed that it was not the skeleton of his parents, he seemed to be relieved, but his mood became heavier.
The fear that his parents would also be killed made him stand up and raise his head. Everyone was shocked to find that his eyes were bloodshot at some point.
Before the crowd could exclaim in surprise, Ding Ning began to stumble and run quickly, searching and identifying the skeletons one by one. The expression on his face gradually changed from fear and panic to numbness, but the bulging blue veins on his forehead and neck kept squirming, letting people clearly feel that his heart was not calm.
Awesome!
Pan Yigang himself did not realize that at this moment, he was standing straight, trying to lean forward, holding his breath, and not blinking his eyes, for fear of missing any expression or movement of Ding Ning, but he was exclaiming with ecstasy in his heart.
At this moment, with Ding Ning's performance, he could have passed the audition long ago, but he wanted to continue to watch and see how Ding Ning would perform the most difficult scene.
Finally, Ding Ning searched the entire courtyard and found the corpses of his parents hanging on the hanging flower tree planted by his parents when he was born.
"Ow!"
Ding Ning knelt on the ground with a thud, uttered a sorrowful wail that did not sound like a human's voice, and knocked his head heavily on the ground. His body trembled like a pendulum, and he knelt on the ground, uttering extremely suppressed low sobs like a wounded beast.
This wail was heart-wrenching, and everyone only felt that their scalps were numb, and they had a layer of goosebumps all over their bodies. They trembled all over as if they had been electrocuted.
Then, a great sorrow kept rising in their hearts, especially when they saw Ding Ning kneeling on the ground, exuding a strong sorrow and despair. Everyone's eyes suddenly turned red.
In particular, Xiaoyao, Ye Huan, and the other girls looked at their lover's sorrowful, desperate, and painful look as if their hearts were grasped by an invisible big hand. Their noses were sour, and they could not help bursting into tears. They covered their cherry lips and uttered a slight sob.
Even Yang Mi, Diba, and the others, who had been acting all year round, could not help but have their eyes turn red, and tears kept swirling in their eyes. At a glance at Ding Ning at this moment, they felt distressed and could not help but lower their heads, not daring to look at him again. They kept reminding themselves that this was just an act and was not real, but the invisible sorrowful atmosphere still made their chests feel like a huge stone was stuck, and they could not breathe.
Pan Yigang, Cheng Wenhai, and Producer Wang all trembled all over, and their eyes were red as they looked at Ding Ning, whose shoulders were slightly shaking and who was heartbroken. They wanted to laugh, but they could not. The expressions on their faces were extremely weird, and huge waves were surging in their hearts.
Ding Ning did not read the only line as in the script, but they felt that the line was too superfluous in this situation. A sorrowful wail, kneeling on the ground, twitching shoulders, and silent weeping could perfectly interpret the extreme mood of sorrow, despair, and sorrow with only his body language.
"I didn't expect him to be an evildoer. Has he really never learned acting?"
Pan Yigang secretly wiped his tears and muttered to himself in an inaudible voice.
Cheng Wenhai and Producer Wang obviously couldn't hear what he was saying, but they nodded at the same time as if they understood what he was saying. Their red eyes were full of amazement and admiration.
Up to this point, Ding Ning's performance had completely exceeded their expectations. He used his wail and body language to form a strong rendering power, affecting the emotions of all the onlookers. Even the Best Actor could not do that. They could already foresee that with Ding Ning's participation, The Legend of the Sword and Fairy Companion would inevitably become a classic, and the audience rating would not be a problem at all.
Producer Wang said with deep emotion, "I originally thought the company was playing the lute randomly. I didn't expect the company to have such a good eye and dig out such a treasure."
Cheng Wenhai touched the sparse beard on his chin and shook his head with a bitter smile. "When I think of how we tried so hard to persuade him to quit, I feel my face burning."
"This guy is giving us a loud slap in the face with facts."
Pan Yigang also said with a bitter face.
"Announce the end. If we still can't pass such an audition, we are really old and dim-sighted."
Cheng Wenhai said somewhat gloomily and excitedly, "He is Su Mubai, and Su Mubai is him."
"No, wait a little longer."
Pan Yigang stared at Ding Ning. "I always feel that he will give me a bigger surprise."
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