The light in the movie theater dimmed. Amidst the relaxed and melodious orchestral music, black subtitles fluttered, listing the names of the crew. However, the representatives of the cinemas didnât pay much attention to this. The only thing that got their attention was the name Zhang Xiuming.
Zhang Xiuming is a movie emperor.
Even more prominent than Zhang Xiumingâs name was the scriptwriterâs name, enlarged and written as âXian Yuâ. This name had transitioned from unfamiliar to well-recognized in the film industry after two movies.
The orchestral music abruptly stopped.
Simultaneously, a slightly naive off-screen voice vibrated: âXiao Ba is very mysterious. No one knows where he came from. Maybe from a dog shelter, maybe from someoneâs car, maybe from an airport, or maybe from an unknown small cityâ¦â
The darkness gradually faded.
In the gradually clear picture, a rosy-cheeked child was narrating on the stage, behind him, on the blackboard, were four skewed characters:
Hachiko.
The camera swiftly shifted.
A blue truck appeared on the road. Many cages were placed on the truck, and on the top level, there was a young dog. As the truck sped, the scenes on both sides whizzed by.
Close-up of the puppyâs eyes.
Pure innocence.
The childâs voice was very serious: âOn that rainy night, Xiao Ba appeared at the train station of the small town where my grandfather lived. We didnât know where Xiao Ba came from, but we knew where Xiao Ba was headed â¦â
The camera switched.
A wet railway station, bustling under the dim light.
On a moving freight train, a dog cage suddenly fell to the ground. The weak cage door broke open, and the dog inside escaped through the small hole.
No passerby paid attention to this dog.
The dogâs eyes were filled with confusion and panic.
This description might sound strange since itâs usually hard for people to tell a dogâs emotions through its eyes.
But for some reason, when everyone saw this puppyâs eyes, they definitely felt a slight panic and confusion.
In an instant, a lot of people felt an inexplicable affection.
The puppy ran about aimlessly, seemingly trying to avoid the crowd, but suddenly halted in the shadow of a lamp post.
A pair of legs appeared on the camera.
The camera panned upwards, revealing a handsome and mature face. This man was on the phone.
âNo need to pick me up, Iâll walk ⦠I miss you too.â
All the cinema representatives knew, this actor is Zhang Xiuming, but nobody broke the storyline.
When Zhang Xiuming appeared in the movie, he seemed to naturally fall into the role.
Thatâs the talent of a movie emperor, naturally making the audience forget reality.
Ending the call, a man and a dog, face to face â¦
âItâs a drama movie as expected.â
In the eighth row in front of the big screen, Ye Hongyu slightly raised her eyebrow: âFrom the opening music to the camera work, they are all trying to create an atmosphere.â
âWhat kind of atmosphere?â
âYang An quietly asked.
Ye Hongyu smiled: âAn emotional atmosphere. If things go as anticipated, this movie will suddenly switch to melodramatic mode at some point. The scriptwriter and director will use all their tricks to try to move the audience.â
Usually, Ye Hongyu wouldnât talk during a movie.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
But considering Yang An is a newcomer who needs to be mentored, so she explained a bit: âIf you end up being moved, the movie is considered successful.â
Yang An confidently said: âI have high tear threshold.â
Ye Hongyu did not comment.
In terms of tear threshold, she was professionally trained.
No matter how touching the film might be, she could remain unmoved.
Unlessâ¦
Meanwhile, between their conversation, the movie was continuing its undramatic narrative.
The male protagonist played by Zhang Xiuming tried to hand the dog over to the station security but was rejected. The security guard explained:
âIâm sorry, but Iâm a bit allergic to dog fur. You can take the dog home for now, and if anyone comes looking for it, Iâll let Professor An know.â
Turns out, Zhang Xiuming was playing the role of a professor.
Professor An, reluctant to abandon the dog, could only bring him home, leading to his wifeâs dissatisfaction.
In this process, whether it was the dogâs natural cuteness, or the interaction between Professor An and his wife, everything brought about a rather warm feeling.
It was clear this was a loving couple.
Their love was so deep that even though the wife didnât like dogs, she still allowed Professor An to temporarily keep the dog at home, waiting for the owner to claim it.
However, the woman had one requirement; she wouldnât allow the dog to stay inside the house.
Helpless, Professor An could only raise the dog outside.
Some audience members noticed that there was a deserted dog house in Professor Anâs yard.
Why was there a dog house?
The cinema representatives had no idea, it seemed like a foreshadowing.
After much fuss, Professor An finally refurbished the dog house and settled the dog there.
As he turned around to go back inside, Professor An heard the dog softly whine.
He paused, turned around and looked at the dog, only to find traces of grievance in the dogâs eyes.
Grievance?
For the second time, the audience was deeply moved by this strange feeling, their hearts seemed to be melting, wishing desperately to hold the dog and console him.
They could not understand how they could see emotions in a dogâs eyes.
At the railway station, the dogâs eyes were filled with confusion, panic and a hint of fear.
At that time, everyone thought it was a wonderful coincidence formed by the directorâs management of the lighting and usage of the camera.
However, at this moment, the hint of grievance in the dogâs eyes could not deceive anyone, and everyone realized that maybe the emotions conveyed by the dog were not just the coincidences of camera and lighting effects.
The little guy is really upset!
Familiar representatives of the cinemas quietly exchanged words:
âI canât believe Iâm seeing acting skills in the eyes of a dog. This dogâs acting skills are even better than many young actors!â
âWhere did they find this dog? Itâs perfect, I want to keep a dog like this.â
âA dog like this could naturally gain the audienceâs affection.â
âIâm sure a dog would not understand acting, perhaps itâs genuinely expressing its emotions.â
âWhat should I do, itâs too cute!â
âI really like this dog.â
ââ¦â
In the ninth row, Yi Chenggongâs mouth curled into a slight smile.
Just as he anticipated, the audience fell in love with Xiao Ba in record time.
However, these people could never guess that the dogâs superb acting skills were all down to Xian Yuâs credit.
If the crew hadnât witnessed it in person, Yi Chenggong would also find it hard to believe that someone could get a dog to cooperate for a performance.
âIâm sorry, youâll have to bear with it tonight. I hope someone comes to pick you up tomorrow.â
Professor An apologised to the dog with a bitter smile, then turned and went back to his house.
The camera turned to grayscale.
This was the dogâs perspective. He huddled in the doghouse, looking out from the doorway.
In the lonely yard, there was only the moon hanging high in the night sky, and the faint chirping of unknown insects in the darkness.
At this moment.
The audience started feeling strong sympathy for the dog, and dissatisfaction towards the uncompassionate mistress.