Chapter 29

 Chapter 29: Rehearsal

October 4th, Wednesday.

This year's holiday combined the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, resulting in an extended eight-day break. However, for Zhang Yiyang, Yan Wei, and their fellow students participating in the college welcome party, they only had five days off, and they had to resume rehearsals today.

There was no other choice; time was tight, and they had to make the most of it.

It was thanks to Lu Zhixing's two scripts that Zhang Yiyang managed to secure these five days off during the break.

Today, the students participating in the welcome party were already busy, getting back into the groove of rehearsals. Zhang Yiyang and Lu Zhixing temporarily set aside their rehearsal for the song segment to fully prepare for the language-related acts.

Regarding the actors, Liu Bo had successfully convinced Lü Yixiao and Zhao Haoyan to come to the venue. However, bringing the two of them to the scene wasn't based on the "priority of mate selection" reasoning. They weren't particularly interested in that.

What ultimately decided everything was a piece of unfortunate news: All the design drafts in 404 Dorm, except for Lu Zhixing's, had been rejected by Professor He Cheng!

In other words, Lu Zhixing was now the sole survivor in the dorm, and Lü Yixiao and Zhao Haoyan had no choice but to cling to Lu Zhixing's leg and perform "An Ordinary Life" together.

Lu Zhixing explained that this skit and rehearsal were an essential part of the game, and if they wanted to join his group, they had to participate in this skit.

Lv Yixiao and Zhao Haoyan were highly skeptical of Lu Zhixing's story, but they had no other option, so they came to participate.

As for "In Your Eyes," considering the high level of difficulty in performing it, Zhang Yiyang had carefully selected a senior student from the upper class to take on the role.

This senior student had performed exceptionally well in the language-related acts during the previous welcome party, and she was considered the best actress in the entire Game Design College.

As for the character "father" in the script, Zhang Yiyang couldn't find a suitable candidate and had no choice but to step in himself.

"Yu Ping, this is Lu Zhixing, the student who authored both of these scripts. So when we rehearse later, we'll follow his lead. Is that okay?"

The senior student nodded and looked at Lu Zhixing, introducing herself briefly, "Lu, nice to meet you. I'm Zhou Yuping."

She looked Lu Zhixing up and down, a bit curious. She had heard rumors about an exceptionally talented individual among the freshmen who could create original songs and scripts, and who had turned down invitations for talent shows.

She had expected someone incredibly talented and possibly quite eccentric, but upon seeing him in person, she realized he didn't seem as aggressively assertive as the rumors suggested. Instead, he appeared cultured and affable, easy to talk to.

Though Zhou Yuping wasn't strikingly beautiful, she had a gentle and delicate appearance that matched well with the character of the mother in "In Your Eyes." Moreover, she seemed to be a solid actress.

Lu Zhixing was quite satisfied with Zhang Yiyang choice of casting.

"By the way, about the young actor's role, I discussed it with our advisor. I've arranged for his three-year-old son to make a cameo, but it will have to wait until tomorrow," Zhang Yiyang added.

The final part of "In Your Eyes" is presented from the mother's perspective and requires a young actor to portray. Fortunately, this segment doesn't have much content, and the role is relatively simple, so a quick rehearsal will suffice.

"Alright, now that everyone is here, let's go ahead and sign this."

Lu Zhixing spoke as he took out a stack of pre-prepared documents from his backpack and distributed them to everyone.

Zhang Yiyang received his copy with a puzzled expression, "Is this...an authorization agreement?"

The content of this agreement was straightforward. It stipulated that Lu Zhixing would have all the copyrights to the two works, "Undercover Trainee" and "In Your Eyes," while these individuals, as performers, would grant some rights to Lu Zhixing. For example, Lu Zhixing could freely copy and disseminate everyone's performances in various forms without seeking their consent.

Of course, there were benefits for the actors too. The agreement specified that Lu Zhixing would compensate them at the standard rate for actors. This included both rehearsal and performance time, totaling about 10 days, with a one-time payment of 2,000 RMB per person.

Even the young actor, the advisor's son, had a guardian-signed agreement.

Zhang Yiyang said, "Junior, this isn't necessary. You've put in so much effort to write these two language acts, and we're just here to help out and lend a hand. How can we take your money? Besides, the amount is too much!"

The others were equally baffled, not understanding why Lu Zhixing was doing this.

Their reasons for participating in the welcome party were varied. For example, Liu Bo wanted to gain some exposure, Zhang Yiyang had been assigned a task by the Student Union, and Zhou Yuping was helping out purely for the honor of the college.

But one thing was unanimous: none of them had ever considered money.

Regardless of whether it was for creative work or performance, they all operated on a presumption of no financial gain. On one hand, it was because these college students had relatively simple mindsets and were averse to discussions about money. On the other hand, it was because past welcome party acts had little commercial value.

However, Lu Zhixing's works were different; both of these acts had commercial potential, and they would also be used in the game in the future. To avoid any future disputes, it made sense to have a formal agreement in place from the beginning.

Of course, even if any unexpected situations arose, Lu Zhixing had the upper hand. He hadn't used any specialized motion-capture equipment; he had achieved all of this using his "Life Simulation Game" cheat. After collecting the material, he created the models by hand in the editor, adjusted the movements manually in the editor—there was no concrete proof that he had used anyone else's performance.

Even if there were disputes, Lu Zhixing was in an unassailable position.

However, considering the hard work of everyone involved, he decided to provide compensation based on market rates.

Prices for actors and motion-capture performers can vary widely in the market. Some motion-capture companies charge by the hour, and the rates can be quite high. But for extras on set, the prices are much lower. Background actors usually receive a daily wage, often just a little over 100 RMB.

Lu Zhixing provided the actors with payment that exceeded standard rates for extras. However, considering that these college students' acting skills were not even at the level of extras and their working hours did not match the intensity of professional actors, the rate was deliberately inflated. This was done to motivate them to focus and perform diligently.

Liu Bo secretly approached Lu Zhixing and whispered, "Lu Bro, when did you become so generous? You're offering more than 10,000 RMB?!"

Reflecting on the past month, the other roommates watched as Lu Yixiao accepted a side gig as a wedding host, earning 600 RMB, and they all envied him. Now, both Liu Bo and Zhao Haoyan had experienced earning extra income, but they never expected it to come from Lu Zhixing.

Lu Zhixing chuckled, "I've mentioned before, right? You'll soon discover that I have many other talents and gradually get used to it."

Liu Bo's lips twitched slightly, "You even dare to call yourself fat and out of breath. It seems like that buffet last time didn't leave you feeling too distressed. After the welcome party, we have to take you to another buffet, this time a deluxe one with a rating of 98, to mend our emotional trauma!"

Everyone examined the agreement and realized that it was essentially a money grab, with no hidden catches. If the person giving the money didn't mind, why should the recipients?

"Alright, let's sign!" Zhang Yiyang took the lead, and the others quickly followed suit.

After that, they officially began rehearsals.

Lu Zhixing looked at everyone, "Have you all memorized your lines?"

They all nodded.

These college students might not have the best acting skills, but they were highly dedicated and didn't need much urging when it came to memorizing lines.

"Great, let's split into two groups. Senior, you and the senior sister, review the script and rehearse briefly. I'll teach these three for now, and I'll come over later."

Under Lu Zhixing's guidance, the two groups quickly got on track.

At the beginning, Zhang Yiyang and Zhou Yuping were brainstorming various details on their own, but they soon realized that they didn't need to because Lu Zhixing already had every detail in his mind. Even the subtlest expressions and movements had been prearranged.

The moment Lu Zhixing acquired the work, it was presented in its most perfect state, with every performance detail naturally emerging in his mind. By guiding the actors according to this flawless state, the best stage performance could be achieved.

"Lao Zhao, you were a bit stiff just now. Relax. This role is tailor-made for you, and you don't need to think too much about how to act. You just need to tone it down a bit.

You see, in this scene, Lu Yixiao suspects there's an undercover agent among the trainees, so he calls you. You have two lines here:

The first is, 'What? There's an undercover agent among our trainees?' The other is, 'Lao Zhao, is this undercover agent you?'

The first line needs to be serious, but also a bit innocent, with a touch of intimidating aura. The second line shouldn't have too long of a pause; you should say it in a lower voice, showing that you're seriously speculating and being considerate of Lao Da's face without being too loud...

Yes, that's almost the right feeling. Keep it up, practice a couple more times."

"Yuping, in this part, you need to express the complex emotions of the mother. Coming from an ordinary family at a machinery factory, where your father is a worker, the family's financial situation is quite tight. Even some of the snacks you buy for your child are carefully chosen to save money.

However, the parents still manage to allocate funds for your child's piano and art lessons. Even though, during that era, such classes weren't as expensive as they are now, it was still a substantial burden for this family.

You shouldn't understand it as the parents caring about their image or following the crowd. They want to see if their child might have that innate talent. In case their child shows such potential, they are willing to support them wholeheartedly down that path, even if it means making financial sacrifices. They won't let their child's potential go to waste just because of financial difficulties. You can cut back on snacks, but you can't compromise on education. This was a common mindset among parents in those times.

So when you see your child play the piano skillfully, your reaction should be more than just joy; it should express a deeper and more complex range of emotions, including relief."

As Lu Zhixing moved back and forth between the two groups, he constantly corrected everyone's expressions, movements, and lines, making significant progress.

After a day of intensive rehearsal, everyone was exhausted, and the two cases of bottled water had been consumed.

"Alright, we'll call it a day. We'll continue tomorrow."

Lu Zhixing announced, and everyone finally relaxed, taking a deep breath.

Unbeknownst to everyone, Lu Zhixing had gradually taken control of the rehearsal scene, while Zhang Yiyang felt like he was becoming a tool. However, Zhang Yiyang didn't mind at all; he was more than happy to have someone else do the heavy lifting.

Enjoying such an easy victory, and without taking full advantage of this incredible resource, would be a waste. Otherwise, why endure Professor He Cheng's scolding?