Tang Shuangqin showed a few moments of concern, not able to bear watching, which was quite rare. “By the way, we came late and didn’t see the front; there were quite a few people, right? You earned quite a bit?”
“A little over three hundred!” Mo Sheng said. “Director Tang, you don’t know; it’s all thanks to Teacher Jesse. His performance… his way of attracting the audience is just brilliant.”
Tang Shuangqin became interested; he had been watching Qi Shejiang’s technique earlier. “How did you attract them?”
Everyone looked at Qi Shejiang, clearly wanting to hear him explain.
Qi Shejiang took a while to respond and slowly said, “… Oh, I just barked like a dog.”
Tang Shuangqin: “??? What do you mean… were you trying to be cute?”
Qi Shejiang: “What cute?!”
The two faced each other, both looking confused, not understanding what the other meant.
Qi Shejiang finally realized, “I wasn’t being cute; it was just like this.” He opened his mouth and barked like a dog again; at that moment, two little teddy dogs nearby perked up and raced over here, as if they had seen their family.
Tang Shuangqin: “………………”
The owners of the little teddy dogs probably didn’t see what had happened beforehand and praised, “You’re really good at barking like a dog!”
Qi Shejiang smiled and patted the teddy’s head.
Once the owner walked away, Tang Shuangqin finally reacted, imagining what had happened in the morning. “You were attracting the audience like that in the morning??”
Qi Leyang could no longer hold back and exaggerated the scene of Qi Shejiang performing, “That guy, all of a sudden, dozens of dogs came rushing over, the park was full of chirping birds! Cheep cheep, woof woof!”
Tang Shuangqin: “Are you going to perform again tomorrow? I’ll come to film behind-the-scenes… wait, no, you two.” He addressed Mo Sheng and Qi Leyang. “No matter what method you use, you have two months to learn that bark; I want to include it in the film.”
Tang Shuangqin couldn’t help but look at Qi Shejiang with newfound admiration, patting him on the shoulder. “You… whether as an idol or a crosstalk comedian, you’re just too hardcore!”
Chapter 25 Originally, Mo Sheng and Qi Leyang’s roles were not very important, but after a visit to the park by Tang Shuangqin, he assigned someone to follow them for behind-the-scenes footage starting the next day and wanted to include more of their dog-barking scenes.
In the following days, Qi Shejiang practiced with the two of them again, not only at the park but also at other locations, so that they could face different groups and integrate their skills together.
Qi Shejiang generously shared his techniques for crosstalk and barking like a dog.
Qi Shejiang had grown up under traditional teaching, but seeing the current state of art forms here, which had already become so, with no one relying on crosstalk for money, what would it hurt to teach these two?
However, for Mo Sheng and Qi Leyang, it was different; truly integrating with someone like Qi Shejiang who had come from the old society into the new era while being willing to teach was rare, but there were still plenty of stubborn individuals like Lin Yang around.
They did not know the true background of Qi Shejiang, but even so, a few days spent together were enough for them to admire him greatly. Strict with himself and lenient with others, this phrase could not be more fitting to describe him.
Qi Shejiang would assign them tasks (supporting roles) and, after the task was done, would offer guidance on how to perform it, which was quite different from what they had learned in school; those were valuable experiences gained through the practice of several generations in harsh environments. It was already the last day, and the time Qi Shejiang spent performing tricks was getting longer, “For that opening part, your door gag is better delivered half-revealed. We can discuss it later.”
“Half-revealed” means revealing only part of the secret. When Qi Shejiang suggested using a half-reveal, it implied hiding half while exposing the other half, hinting to the audience that there was some preparation, raising their anticipation.
“Okay, Teacher Jesse,” Qi Leyang nodded vigorously; this was a detailed teaching down to every tone, something one wouldn’t encounter often without seeking a mentor. Having grasped it, they still had to perform it once for Qi Shejiang to hear. After listening, Qi Shejiang nodded, indicating that the tone was acceptable. Just as he was about to say more, his phone rang; it was a call from Zhang Yue. “Hello?” “What are you doing? In class?” Zhang Yue asked from the other end. “I just got back to Beijing today and need to tell you something.” “I’m out on the street performing. Just finished,” Qi Shejiang replied, “over at Tianya Avenue.” “Performing? How come the city management didn’t catch you?” Zhang Yue asked. “Wait, I’m not far, I’ll come pick you up.” His impulsive nature meant that as soon as Qi Shejiang agreed, he had already hung up. Qi Shejiang looked at his phone and then said to Mo Sheng and the others, “A friend is coming to meet me. Do you want to go eat by yourselves, or should I have him take you? I remember you have class this afternoon, right?” “We can go by ourselves, but since it’s not very convenient for you to move, we’ll wait until you meet up with your friend to avoid any trouble,” they replied considerately.
The traffic was pretty good today, and after about ten minutes, Zhang Yue arrived, wearing a baseball cap pulled down low and a mask on his face. Zhang Yue dialed Qi Shejiang while following his directions, and after spotting him, he hung up, “Who are these two?” He scrutinized Qi Shejiang closely, “Almost didn’t recognize you.”
The two looked at Zhang Yue but felt increasingly uneasy. The eyes and voice felt somewhat familiar, as if they had heard them somewhere; a name seemed to almost bubble up to the surface. Initially, it was on the tip of their tongues, but later, they found they didn’t dare to say it. Until Mo Sheng timidly said, “…Teacher, your friend sounds so much like Zhang Yue.” Zhang Yue immediately pulled off his mask, “So these two are your students?”
Mo Sheng and Qi Leyang: “!!!!” Qi Shejiang laughed, “How could that be? These two graduated from professional schools.” The two relaxed a bit, while Mo Sheng and Qi Leyang were nearly scared to death, “So we’ve been duped by the media? You two aren’t rivals?!” “A gentleman has no overnight grudges,” Zhang Yue said lightly.
The two internally complained; anyone could say that. “Alright, let’s go,” Zhang Yue called out. “Wait,” Mo Sheng said, “Teacher Jesse is practicing; his legs are inconvenient. You’d better…” “Ugh! I know, what a hassle!” Zhang Yue pulled his mask back down and crouched down. Qi Shejiang looked at him innocently and climbed up, smiling at Mo Sheng and the others. Zhang Yue wrapped his arms around the back of Qi Shejiang’s knees and mumbled, “Let’s go.” “That…” Qi Leyang called softly and swallowed, “Never mind, just be careful on the road.” Once they got in the car, Mo Sheng nudged Qi Leyang, “What were you just about to say?” Qi Leyang rubbed his face, feeling embarrassed, “I just thought it was that Teacher Jesse said we weren’t his students, and I kind of felt… well, if only Teacher Jesse really were our master…” Even though their ages were similar, Qi Shejiang’s artistic level was miles ahead of theirs; in this field, it only depended on the caliber, not age. Mo Sheng was silent for a moment, then nodded. Qi Leyang murmured, “What a pity.”
He didn’t dare to vocalize it; someone with that level of skill, good family conditions, and backing from big names in the industry wouldn’t just allow them to be his students, would they?
