CH 88

Satisfied

Su Shen looked at Xie Yan somewhat awkwardly as the latter sat there indifferent and saying calmly, “Good things come to those who wait.” 

Su Shen: “……..”

She sat blushing in the corner of the sofa, while the Chinese opera was still singing in a high-pitched voice. Mama Xie glanced at Xie Yan in shock, as if she hadn’t expected that after only a few months of not seeing him, her son would say such corny words. 

Xie Quan also looked at his son strangely before turning to smile at Su Shen. “Xiao Su, you’ve been shooting a film with Li Xun lately, right?”

“That’s right.” Su Shen nodded slightly.

Xie Quan looked a bit older than the photos online, with white hair on his temples and deep wrinkles on his forehead. When looking at Xie Yan, he immediately exuded an aura of authority, like those directors who directed and gave commands without compromise. However, he appeared friendly and kind when he stood up. 

“Not bad. To be able to be chosen by him means that you’re definitely capable.” Xie Quan smiled, picked up the hot tea on the table, and took a sip before continuing, “But I’ve watched your performances, and your acting is too harsh sometimes, which is your biggest flaw.”

Hearing this, Mama Xie couldn’t help but glare at him. “How could you say that? Do you think you’re still directing?!”

“Auntie, it’s okay. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to hear Uncle’s opinions,” said Su Shen in a hurry.

It was rare to have a veteran director give her advice, which was a fortune that she couldn’t get even if she wanted to. Naturally, Su Shen wouldn’t refuse.

Xie Quan glanced at Mama Xie and said, “Do you know what art is?”

With that, Mama Xie coldly snorted and said, “I don’t! You’re super amazing!”

After saying that, she turned around and went out to water the flowers. Su Shen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Some veteran artists could be quite persistent about certain things.  

After seeing her leave, Xie Quan suddenly picked up the remote and switched to Hunan TV. Just at this time, her drama was being rerun. It just so happened to be airing the scene where Su Shen was being chased and driven to the edge of a cliff. The cliff was created through CGI, so Su Shen had to imagine the scene in order to deliver her performance. 

“From a professional perspective, there are no flaws in your performance in this scene, and in the eyes of the general audience, it is indeed good acting. However, on a deeper level, your acting is limited to just that – acting,” said Xie Quan as he switched to a movie channel. Just at this moment, a foreign blockbuster was playing, with the female lead having won an Oscar for her performance. The movie had once swept the world.

“Look at this, where do you think the difference lies between your performance and hers?” Xie Quan asked as he looked at her solemnly.

She noticed that he became very serious whenever he talked about acting. This was a scene where the hero was injured, but the heroine couldn’t go to his aid. The female lead cried very movingly. After observing the female lead in the movie and putting herself into her shoes, Su Shen’s initial thought was to cry even harder. But after being questioned by Xie Quan, she realized that she was making a mistake. She had been too focused on how to act, and not integrating herself into the reality of the scene. If she was the female lead, she would definitely have cried harder and more movingly. Contrastively, the female lead didn’t cry excessively, she just covered her mouth to stop herself from calling out the hero’s name, while tears filled her eyes. Although she didn’t cry hard, her sorrow was conveyed more effectively.

“However, if we truly immerse ourselves with the character, it would be hard to get out of character.” Su Shen’s expression also became serious. When it came to acting, they were now just a senior and a junior.

There were many classic movies both domestically and internationally, but the effort behind each classic was more than what people imagined. Acting was one thing, but immersing with the character was another. Getting out of character was not something that you can just smile and do.

Many comedians were classic on screen, but most had depression behind the scenes. There was an actor in the industry who became famous after winning three Best Actors awards for a single movie, but it was also because he immersed himself too deeply in the role that he often talked to himself in real life. He had to undergo treatment for a long time before finally recovering. However, he has since switched to working behind the scenes. Strong-willed people would know how to adjust their state of mind, but for those who weren’t, immersing themselves too deeply in a role could be harmful to them. In the Republic of China film that Su Shen was currently shooting, every time she immersed herself in the role, she would think of her past life, and there would be a myriad of emotions. At times like this, she felt just like the supporting female lead and really wanted to smoke a cigarette. However, she always sat alone for a while, adjusting her emotions before breaking out of character. It was an unpleasant feeling. As the saying goes, if you play other people’s lives too much, you wouldn’t be able to tell which one was truly yourself.

“If you want to win an award, you must have the heart to bear that award. But, you’re already great. It’s not easy to have such insight at such a young age,” said Xie Quan, smiling as he pushed his reading glasses up. “I’m just falling back on old habits. I can’t direct anymore, but I’ll still be able to make a documentary for when the two of you get married.” 

Hearing this, Su Shen felt embarrassed and looked down, her ears turning red.

Others may not know that she was shy, but Xie Yan knew. He deliberately put his arm around her shoulder before saying softly, “Ignore him. We’ll find someone to film ourselves.”

At that, Su Shen couldn’t help but glare at him and felt that Xie Yan was definitely the biological child of Director Xie.

Seeing that the two of them were still being so lovey-dovey, Xie Quan got up and went to his study. He felt that his son would be able to win his wife home soon. 

Seeing him leave, Su Shen still wanted to say something, but Xie Yan embraced her shoulder tightly and said earnestly, “Don’t listen to his rambling. You can treat acting as a hobby, but not as everything.”

As their eyes met, Su Shen felt that this sentence from Xie Yan contained a deeper meaning, but she didn’t think too much of it and just nodded. Naturally, she wouldn’t put all her energy into acting. After all, she still had other aspects of life to live. 

Xie Yan must’ve been influenced by his dad to enter the entertainment industry, but he didn’t choose to follow the same field as his dad in dramas, instead opting for movies. These two fields were completely different. If he had relied on his dad’s connections, he could have easily picked the best opportunities for dramas, but he chose to enter the film industry. Thus, Xie Yan’s first role was a male lead for a low-budget production. It’s worth noting that he was already under He Hua at that time, and an opportunity like this was ordinary. However, the film unexpectedly became a hit, possibly due to its originality and good box office performance at the time. Afterward, Xie Yan’s resources gradually improved, but he was too lazy and only filmed a maximum of two movies a year. The idol drama he filmed with her last year was an unexpected variable.

During lunchtime, Su Shen helped around in the kitchen, even though Mama Xie insisted that she didn’t need to. However, Su Shen insisted on staying and gradually took over the cooking. After making a table full of food, she went to the living room to call the father and son who were chatting to come and eat. 

“Shen Shen is truly the most talented girl I’ve ever seen. Not only can she cook well, but that piece of Su embroidery was also actually done by her. Goodness, I’ve hired professional embroiderers before and their work wasn’t even as good as hers. I can’t believe she did that herself,” Mama Xie said, her face filled with disbelief as she looked at Su Shen. Despite being shocked, she regained her composure and couldn’t believe that such a perfect girl was her son’s girlfriend. 

Feeling a bit embarrassed by her praises, Su Shen slowly took a bite of rice and smiled. “Auntie, you’re too kind. I usually don’t embroider so well. I outdid myself this time.”

The five dishes and one soup on the dining table smelled, looked, and tasted great. After taking a sip of wine with satisfaction, Xie Quan looked at Su Shen in admiration and said, “When you have time, I would like to have a meal with your parents.”

Hearing this, Su Shen nearly choked on her food. Just at this moment, someone handed her a glass of water. Without hesitation, she took it and slowly took a sip. She then looked at Xie Quan with embarrassment and said, “Um… I’ll let my parents know.” 

Her voice was soft and gentle, and her fair face held a hint of shyness. At a glance, one could tell that she was an innocent child. As Mama Xie looked at her more and more, she became increasingly satisfied. She had never expected her son to find her such a good daughter-in-law. Fortunately, she hadn’t pressured him to go on any more blind dates, or else they might’ve missed out on such a good girl.

“Do you want a drink?” asked Xie Yan, who was beside her and leaned over.

Hearing this, Su Shen simply shook her head and said, “No, water is fine.”

After saying this, she then took another sip of water. Meanwhile, Xie Yan picked up a few pieces of food into her bowl, seemingly worried that she wasn’t eating enough.

Watching this scene, Xie Quan could only shake his head slightly. His son seemed to have changed into another person since he started dating. He used to never make small talk with them, but now, he knew how to show concern for his girlfriend.

Su Shen was forced to eat a large bowl of rice. As she had to return to set in the afternoon, she had to go to the airport early. Before leaving, Xie Quan also left her his phone number, saying that she could come to him if she encountered any problems in the future. Nevertheless, he still had some connections in this industry.

Having been in the industry for decades, he had more than just a few connections. However, Su Shen just smiled and expressed her thanks. She naturally wouldn’t really come to him, but the pleasantries still needed to be said. 

After getting into the car, she was still a little muddleheaded. She felt like she had discovered a secret and wondered if He Hua knew about it.

“Does He Hua know about you and your dad?” Su Shen couldn’t help but ask.

As the car sped on the highway with Xie Yan holding the steering wheel, his expression remained indifferent. “No.”

Hearing this, Su Shen was somewhat still in disbelief. There should be some traces of it, unless Xie Yan never contacted his dad, or maybe they hid it well. If his childhood photos were not leaked, it would be difficult to tell as an adult.

“Are you going abroad sometime in the middle of this month?” Su Shen asked, turning her head and quietly gazing at his side profile.

Hearing this, the latter just uttered a soft “en” as the sunlight outside shone on his face, making his handsome features even more defined.

Su Shen quietly gazed at him for a while before eventually closing her eyes and leaning back to rest.

As the car slowly came to a stop at a red light, Su Shen opened her eyes slightly and saw that the light was red. Just at this moment, Xie Yan suddenly leaned over and grabbed her shoulders. “My parents really like you. What to do?”