Chapter 00241: The Smile
# The Smile
Chapter 241
Novel: 1979 Golden Age
Chapter 241: The Smile
"Ah Chun, open your mouth!"
"Ah!"
"Wider!"
"Ah!"
"Too wide!"
On the outdoor set, a flipped-over car lay on its side, and a dummy (dressed as a British nun) lay in a pool of fake blood.
Tsui Hark was filming some minor shots.
Not far from them, Chingmy Yau was holding a hammer smeared with blood, her clothes and face also stained.
She sat obediently across from Chan Kei, receiving her master's guidance.
"Tilt your head down slightly, look up from below, stretch your lips open—don’t move, don’t move!"
Chan Kei reached out and pinched her cheeks, pulling them outward.
Her lips instinctively stretched into a grin until it reached the perfect curvature.
"OK! Now, make your eyes look evil—imagine Yuan Jieying is right in front of you, and you’re about to kill her… Yes, yes! Just like that, hold it!"
He quickly grabbed the camera and snapped a photo.
Then, like molding clay, he began shaping her face again.
Chingmy Yau was annoyed but didn’t dare protest, letting him manipulate her expression.
Finally, he molded her face into a sweet, innocent smile and took another photo.
"Once I develop these photos, practice them until they’re perfect—down to the tiniest detail. You need muscle memory."
"What’s muscle memory?"
"It means no matter when or where, if you want to smile, you can instantly make this exact expression."
"Oh~"
Chingmy Yau nodded, not bothering to ask why.
She already knew the answer he’d give: With your education and IQ, you wouldn’t understand even if I explained it.
She had been humbled enough times these past few days to accept it.
Chan Kei had designed two smiles for her—one sinister, one sweet.
There was a scene in the film where she would be walking innocently, passing through shifting light and shadow, her expression transforming from angelic to demonic...
A shot like this could elevate the film’s quality, leaving a lasting impression on the audience.
Think of Zhang Zifeng’s eerie smile in Detective Chinatown.
Chingmy Yau couldn’t naturally pull off such a performance, so Chan Kei had to mold her like clay, manually shaping her expressions before making her practice.
Fortunately, she was obedient and hardworking, doing whatever he asked without complaint.
He was growing more and more inclined to nurture her talent.
"Ah Chun, you’re up!"
Tsui Hark called from the set.
Chan Kei nudged her encouragingly.
"Go on. You’re doing great now. Remember how you felt that day you cried after being bullied? Pretend that dummy is Yuan Jieying—hammer her hard!"
Yuan Jieying wasn’t even on set, yet she was still making invaluable contributions…
"Action!"
At Tsui Hark’s cue, Chingmy Yau crouched down, staring at the dummy on the ground.
Then, gripping the bloodied hammer, she started smashing it—bang, bang, bang!—each strike growing fiercer.
As she kept going, it was as if she really was imagining Yuan Jieying.
The corners of her lips curled up, her expression shifting into one of twisted delight.
She actually started laughing.
"Yikes!"
Both Tsui Hark and Chan Kei shuddered.
Weren’t they just acting? Why was she turning method all of a sudden?
…………
"Master, see you tomorrow!"
"See you tomorrow!"
That night, Chingmy Yau waved goodbye, watching as Chan Kei flew off (presumably to fight Ultraman) before heading inside.
She was always the last one home these days.
Her parents had already finished work, and as usual, they had left food for her.
After washing her hands, she sat down and wolfed it down.
Midway through, she noticed her parents flanking her on either side.
"What’s this, a kidnapping?"
"Ah Chun, be honest—what’s going on between you and that Mr. Chan? He’s been dropping you off for days now."
"He’s my master!"
"And nothing else?"
"What else would there be…?"
Chingmy Yau froze.
She was in secondary school now—she knew what they were implying.
"That’s ridiculous! I’m only 13! My master is a good person—are you seriously treating him like some creep?"
"Aiyah, we’re just worried! There are all kinds of monsters out there, especially ones who prey on young girls like you!"
"But if nothing’s wrong, then fine. Since he took you as his disciple, has he given you any special treatment?"
"Yeah, he teaches me acting every day."
"That’s it?"
"What else?! You two are acting so weird today. Stop bothering me while I’m eating."
Her parents slunk away, disappointed.
Truthfully, they just wanted to know if Chan Kei had given her any extra filming bonuses or maybe better meals on set.
After finishing dinner and washing up, she lay down on her cramped little bed—only for her younger siblings to suddenly climb in with her.
"Why aren’t you two asleep yet?" she whispered.
"Fifth sis…"
Her sister’s voice was even softer as she whispered into her ear, "When can you bring back that beef rice again? We really want to eat it."
"Yeah, that beef rice was sooo good," her brother chimed in.
"That was a treat from someone else. I don’t have money to buy it myself."
Chingmy Yau hesitated, then remembered—she had been sold for $15,000. "Mom should have money now. Ask her to buy it for you."
"We already did. She said no—she’s saving it for Big Brother’s wedding," her siblings mumbled dejectedly.
"..."
She fell silent for a moment before comforting them, "It’s okay. Once I start earning money, I’ll buy you all the good food you want. Beef rice is nothing—I’ll take you out for Western food, even get us a fancy house…"
Her siblings perked up immediately.
Her sister asked, "Fifth sis, what kind of movie are you filming, anyway?"
"I don’t really get it either. Mostly just scaring people, I think."
"Eh? How do you scare people?"
"Well, like… like this!"
Chingmy Yau messed up her hair, letting it cover the sides of her face.
She couldn’t quite replicate the expression yet, so she pinched her own cheeks, forcing them into a rough approximation of that eerie smile before suddenly grabbing her siblings.
"Juuuuust—like—THIIIIIS!"
"WAAAH!"
The sound of children wailing echoed loudly in the middle of the night.
…………
Meanwhile.
In the Great Wall Company dormitory, under bright lights, Chan Kei was reading Gong Xue’s letter.
The letter mentioned that Mom, Love Me Again was about to start filming.
The scumbag male lead had been cast—a relatively unknown actor named Wang Yongge, a 1978 graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, three years younger than Gong Xue.
He was classmates with Zhou Lijing and Zhang Tielin.
Actors in this era generally avoided roles with moral flaws because audiences often conflated the character with the actor.
Villains were different—they were purely evil, clearly the antagonists.
But a morally flawed character—say, a successful man who was kind to colleagues, filial to elders, and good to children… but also cheated on his wife—wasn’t a villain.
He was just… morally questionable.
Most actors nowadays didn’t want to touch such roles.
Unlike in later years.
So, after much deliberation, Wang Haowei settled on Wang Yongge, who had acted in a few films in the '80s before immigrating to Canada.
Mom, Love Me Again was set in Guangdong, since the male lead abandoned his wife and child to marry a rich heiress—one with business ties to Hong Kong, where he later moved.
Guangdong’s strong folk religious culture also fit the plot, where the mother would kowtow step by step to pray for her child’s recovery.
After finishing the letter, Chan Kei wrote a reply, packed a set of autumn-winter clothes and shoes he had bought in Hong Kong, and included some gifts for Wang Yang, planning to mail everything together.
Then, he spread out his draft papers, habitually organizing his work plans for the year.
(End of Chapter)