Chapter 153: Bianji in a Grey Frock
Translator: Lan Editor: Efydatia
Qin Guan picked several primary books on Buddhism and some buddhist stories. He had no intention of becoming a monk. Bianji was focused on having intercourse with a princess in the play after all.
There was an accomplished martial artist at his college, Mou Xiaoliu. According to Huang Jiajia, Mou was the student of a master who engaged in Xing Yi Fist. Learning a little from her would have to be enough.
When Qin Guan appeared at the door of Mou Xiaoliu’s classroom, even the tutor could not control the students. They all started screaming.
The tutor had taught Qin Guan the year before. She waved at him to go away, shouting, "Qin Guan, you troublemaker! Stay away from my class! There are still ten minutes left!"
During the last ten minutes, Mou was completely distracted. She couldn't hear what the tutor was saying. All she remembered was Qin Guan gesturing at her that he would be waiting for her outside.
As soon as the bell rang, Mou ran out of the classroom with her bag without telling her friend.
Qin Guan smiled at the girl with puppy eyes. "Could you help me, Mou Xiaoliu? Are you good at fist fighting? Could you teach me? I’ll pay you!"
Mou nodded. "No problem. I’ll do it for free!"
Qin Guan didn’t listen to her. He would be taking up as much of her time as a part-time job, so he had to compensate her. Mou asked Qin Guan seriously, "Do you want to formally acknowledge someone as your master?"
Qin Guan shook his head. "I just want to learn some fixed patterns. The basic skills are not important to me."
It would be simple. Without any further questions, Mou made a short introduction in a clearing of trees.
"I am a student of Xing Yi Fist. My ancestor had Li Cunyi as his master, and he inherited the Big Frame School in Hebei Province. The basic techniques of Xing Yi Fist are three body stances, five fist patterns, and twelve shapes. I have to prepare for our lessons. We can start this weekend. Is that alright?"
Qin Guan nodded happily.
At Teacher Rong’s command, Sister Xue had made several Tang suits for him, including a kung fu costume, which had cost her a lot.
If I practice martial arts on the tree path at the Fayuan Temple in that costume, I might turn into Buddha on the spot.
Several days later, Qin Guan picked up Mou in his Cherokee to go meet Sister Xue. Their expenditure was supervised by Sister Xue, but Qin Guan also majored in accounting, so the extra money for tuition had to be considered a reasonable expense. His agent had to approve of his teacher though.
Qin Guan took Mou to Professor Li's hall. At the beginning, Sister Xue seemed doubtful because of Mou’s age, but Mou shocked her by showing them the first fighting pattern.
She demonstrated a series of fist movements before them. Her moves were simple yet practical, performed with irresistible force.
Mou finished her performance and waited for praise with shining eyes. Itching to try, Qin Guan said, "It’s my turn!"
He imitated Mou’s performance almost perfectly, which shocked both Sister Xue and Mou. Although Qin had just copied the pattern, not her force, it was still enough for the film. Sister Xue felt assured. Qin Guan was thinking about his gift of extraordinary retentive memory, which was usually more practical in memorizing documents.
He could copy the simple movements, but he was still inferior compared to students who had been practising for a long time.
Still, Qin Guan was getting better and better at Xing Yi Fist. Sister Xue was quite satisfied with Mou. She was a very hardworking, simple girl.
She proposed that Mou become Qin Guan’s temporary assistant during the summer holidays, and Mou accepted with extreme pleasure. Qin Guan didn’t even express an opinion.
Mou would have to find a part-time job in the summer anyway. What would be better than staying close to her prince? They made the decision right before it was time for Qin Guan to audition for "Romance During the Tang Dynasty."
It was the final audition before shooting started. Actually, the actors had basically been selected, but because of the promotion of Li Shaohong, the assistant director of "Romance During the Tang Dynasty" had decided to give Qin Guan a chance to try for the role of Bianji.
The crew had taken advantage of the props from the "Daming Palace", saving a large amount of money, so it made sense that they give him a chance to audition.
Qin Guan was wearing a green Tang suit with loose cuffs and trouser legs. The suit looked like a frock from a distance, and in combination with his short haircut, he looked almost like a real monk.
He put his palms together devoutly and greeted the assistant director, who recognized the extreme beauty of suppressing sensual passion.
He was the one in charge of the casting. Excited, he took Qin Guan to Director Gong and the head scriptwriter, who were explaining the plot to a handsome young man with fake eyelashes.
The assistant director didn't think much of him. There were many actors there for the audition after all. He pushed Qin Guan toward Director Gong and said, "This is Qin Guan. He was recommended by Director Li. Isn’t he more handsome than the others?"
The director had originally thought that the young man standing before him was a cute boy, but compared to Qin Guan, Nie Jin looked like an inferior being.
The scriptwriter looked cheered up. The romance was obviously fabricated, unofficial history focusing on love and legends. Bianji, who had been a nobody in history, was the main character of his script.
The role had to be interpreted three times, during three periods of the man’s life, childhood, adolescence, and youth. Qin Guan was the most devout and refined actor he had seen for the part.