Stephen perched on the table, resting, when suddenly a tapping sound echoed by his ear.
Stephen looked up and saw Cecilia, startling him so much he jumped to his feet.
"What are you doing?"
"Are you alright?"
"I was a bit heavy-handed, apologies."
"If that table hadn't been in the way of my leg yesterday, I might not have lost to you."
Cecilia said, "I'm not here to fight you, I'm here to learn acting from you."
Stephen turned to leave.
"You can go!"
Cecilia tossed several large red banknotes onto the table.
Stephen slammed a racket down, pinning the bills.
"For some good friends who are enthusiastic and share the same aspirations, we can certainly discuss and research together."
"Wait for me here."
With that, Stephen grabbed the bills and turned into the room.
Inside, he began counting the money, one bill at a time.
This was the first tuition fee he had earned since he started teaching acting.
He stood by the window, looking out.
He could see Cecilia smoking and playing with children.
At this moment, Stephen was perhaps a bit smitten with Cecilia, so he specifically tidied himself up.
He changed into a clean and neat Western suit and even put on a tie.
"Do you need that long to put on makeup?"
"That tie of yours, it's high-end stuff…"
Stephen replied, "Thank you."
"Having taken your money, I should be fully prepared."
"There are too many people here, please come over to that side, alright?"
"Okay."
Stephen and Cecilia found it very comfortable to act together.
"I am Yien Tin-sau, may I ask your name?"
"Liu Piu-pui~"
They shook hands.
"What do we need to research?"
"It's about how to coax a rotten man."
"The so-called first love feeling of a schoolgirl actually starts from the most basic steps."
"You can treat me as a customer now and greet me first."
"Hey! Boss, wanna play a few rounds of rock-paper-scissors!"
Cecilia called out to Stephen as soon as she spoke.
Stephen said, "Don't call me boss, your identity now is a schoolgirl."
"You can say good morning, sir, or sir, good morning."
Cecilia said casually, "Sir, good morning!"
Stephen said earnestly, "Try lowering your head, be a little shy. When the other person lifts your chin, then you speak."
Cecilia did as Stephen said, lowering her head shyly, then said, "Sir, good morning."
"Your eyes are too stiff, try again."
"Give me a blink."
Cecilia blinked her eyes repeatedly as he instructed, her eyelids twitching like spasms.
"Sir, good morning."
"You're blinking too frequently, try again."
Next, Cecilia’s eyes fixed, rigid, like a dead fish.
"Sir, good morning."
"This is called being dead with eyes open, never do this, it's frightening to death."
"Try again."
"Be more natural…"
When Cecilia looked up, her eyes were filled with tender affection, a look of deep feeling.
"Sir, good morning."
The medium shot showed Cecilia leaning against a tree stump, Stephen with his left hand in his pocket, his right hand extending a finger to lift Cecilia's chin.
"Good!"
"Now let's discuss body language, for example, hugging…"
"Hug me in your way."
Cecilia took a drag of her cigarette and blew out a ring of white smoke.
The entire process was cool. She went forward and hugged Stephen.
The close-up upper body shot was perfectly fine, appearing as a very natural embrace between two people.
But the full medium shot was a complete reversal (check the movie yourself for details).
Stephen was startled.
"Hug me normally, you'll scare people like this."
"Actually, as a schoolgirl, you don't necessarily need to be so forward."
"What you need is restraint, you should make some shy expressions so that the other person will hold you."
Immediately after, Stephen struck an extremely peculiar pose, with his legs splayed, hands clasped together.
It looked particularly awkward.
"Oh… like a quail, right?"
Cecilia said disdainfully, mimicking a quail.
Stephen, with a solemn expression, said, "Exactly."
"When the other person sees you like a quail, they will hold you."
He then stepped forward and embraced Cecilia.
"And now you can rest your head on their shoulder."
Following this, Stephen’s eyes widened.
Cecilia gave an embarrassed smile, "Sorry, occupational hazard."
"I need to change."
"That's all for the superficial part."
"If we go deeper, it's about your mindset during your first love."
When the word "first love" was mentioned, Cecilia’s reaction was clearly different.
"I don't have a first love."
"Everyone has a first love."
"I said I don't!"
"Then you must have some unforgettable memories?"
"No!"
"Perhaps you've heard some unforgettable lines?"
"No!"
"Or maybe you've had some unforgettable experiences?"
"No!"
By this point, Cecilia was in tears, completely overcome.
Why did Cecilia cry during this scene?
It was entirely because her first love was not a good memory.
Because of her first boyfriend, a scumbag, she ended up working as a prostitute.
Stephen said, "You can treat me as your first love now."
Cecilia wiped her tears, and in her eyes for Stephen was filled with anger and hatred.
"Slap!"
She slapped Stephen hard across the face and turned to leave.
It was this slap that once again laid the foundation for their subsequent romantic entanglement.
"Cut!"