Rooney Mara sat cross-legged on the ground, intently watching Lan Li playing the drum kit, without any judgment, just quietly watching the whole practice.

This year, Rooney also decided to take a good break. Last year, she shot five works in a row, all year round, and the connection between one job and one job was also extremely close, she felt that the whole person was overdrawn, and even speaking seemed to be in high spirits, she needed to rest, energy and physical strength.

Recently, Rooney has been in New York, not traveling far or out, just enjoying the ordinary daily life of the city.

Occasionally, Rooney and Lan Li would exchange emails. It's not a text message, it's not a phone call, it's not a handwritten letter, it's an email, it's not trendy or retro, it's something formal in the office, but, in Rooney's opinion, with Lan Li's reply speed, if this is an office, then things have already been yellow.

Last week, Lan Li sent an email saying that he was going to Lincoln Center to see a jazz concert, along with Damien Chazelle, Justin Hurwitz, J. K. Simmons, Melissa-Benoist and many others, each of whom would bring companions, and Lan Li asked Rooney if he would like to attend.

Rooney nodded her head in agreement, but she expressed her surprise and did not expect such an invitation at all, she asked about the jazz concert, and then learned that Lan Li was preparing for the filming of "Burst Drummer".

In order to allow the actors to have a clearer understanding of the style and context of jazz, Lanli took the initiative to pay out of his own pocket and invited the main creative staff to Lincoln Center to experience jazz on the spot——

Damien was ecstatic, in fact, he had always wanted to enjoy a jazz concert in person, but he was too shy to make the trip, let alone pay for the main creators of the crew. To this end, Damien wrote a special email to express his sincere gratitude to Lan Li.

As for Rooney, after learning about the "Burst Drummer", she couldn't help but be curious: what kind of work can make Lan Li burst out of performance/desire/hope again?

To be precise, Rooney's email went unanswered, and her questions went unanswered to this day.

The jazz concert officially began at nine p.m., and they decided to meet up early for a pre-dinner aperitif at the bar and fill their stomachs with a little snack before heading to Lincoln Center together to join the others.

This is also the correct process for watching a concert. Since the concert time often overlaps with the dinner time, they can't go on a full stomach and can't go hungry, so it's best to have some snacks and desserts in advance, and then have a formal meal after the concert.

Unsurprisingly, Lan Li was still practicing the drum kit in Greenwich Village that afternoon. Rooney was not surprised by this, and she also came to the rehearsal room in advance to satisfy her curiosity and take a good look at Lan Li's current work preparation process.

So, this scene appeared.

Rooney was wearing a black evening dress and long dress, but she was not at all ladylike and sat cross-legged on the ground, next to a pair of black high heels, barefoot watching Lan Li's practice, like a punk girl, that uninhibited and stubborn temperament was fully revealed, but her face couldn't help but have a childish smile.

Especially when Lan Li said to himself, "You feel it, right?"

This made Rooney chuckle even more, "Do you want me to comfort you, or do you want me to follow you and complain about you?" did not hide the ridicule, but said his thoughts directly, but revealed a rare sassy and heroic appearance.

Lan Li shrugged his shoulders slightly, his face calm.

Rooney raised an eyebrow, and suddenly realized - apparently Lan Li didn't care at all, "Are you serious? A month ago, you didn't know anything about drum kits? And then in just one month, you've reached such an extent? This is really amazing! Wait, you said it on purpose to show off, right? And then the little girl couldn't help but start screaming?"

Lan Li was still smiling and cast a meaningful look, "I didn't hear the screams. ”

Rooney's expression paused slightly, and then showed a shallow smile, and her white teeth bit her lower lip, "I'm not just an ordinary little girl. ”

"So, why are we talking about this? There are no other girls in the room besides you. Lan Li then said a sentence again, a faint ambiguity and ridicule were revealed, the temperature in the rehearsal room seemed to be quietly rising, and the emotional exchange between the eye waves had a tacit understanding that belonged to them.

In the end, it was Rooney who was defeated, lowered her eyes, interrupted the meeting of eyes, and changed the subject, "I'm serious." I don't know much about the drumming skills, but I know that you're already at a great level and you can't do it in a short period of time if you keep improving, so what are you trying to reach?"

"Buddy Ricky. Lan Li didn't hesitate and confided his name directly.

Rooney didn't hide her surprise and doubts at all, and looked at Lan Li with an incredulous face, "Are you crazy?"

Any long-time fan of jazz knows what a legendary drummer Buddy Ricky is, even if it goes down in history, to be a drummer of his calibre. Of course, everyone wants to be Buddy Ricky, but it took half a century for a Buddy Ricky to appear.

In the face of Rooney's reaction, Lan Li not only did not get angry or refute, but nodded in affirmation, "Haha, you think so too? ”

Lan Li stood up, left the drum kit, walked to the accompanying backpack in the corner of the rehearsal room, found a CD, and put it in the player next to him, "Listen, this is Buddy Ricky's drum beat." I mean, speed, his speed is really amazing, but it's not all ......"

Lan Li came to Rooney's side and sat cross-legged on the floor, not continuing to speak, but quietly began to listen to the melody flowing from the player.

Pure drum beat, no piano, no saxophone, no trumpet, no horn, no superfluous instruments, but the rhythm of the drum does not seem monotonous at all, but it is extremely abundant to support each note. It's definitely a treat, simple and extreme.

Halfway through the conversation, the sound suddenly died down, and both men began to listen to the music intently.

Like Lan Li, Rooney was also born in high society, received an elite education since childhood, and under the influence of her ears and eyes, her appreciation of works of art has formed a rich foundation, even if she knows nothing about the drum kit, she can also say a general outline and context, not to mention, she still knows a lot about jazz.

Buddy Ricky's drum kit is undoubtedly an absolute classic and one that will fascinate you.

Inadvertently, Rooney's gaze caught Lan Li's side face.

At this time, Lan Li has not changed into an official evening dress - to attend a jazz concert at Lincoln Center, you must wear an evening dress, otherwise the security guard at the door has the right to refuse the audience to enter the venue -

To practice, Lan Li wore a light white T-shirt and jeans, simple and unpretentious, and his forehead was covered with sweat, faintly revealing a sense of embarrassment. However, the look of concentration and devotion shining on that face instantly makes people ignore all the details and bloom with a unique charm.

The scene in front of me is so ridiculous and hilarious:

One second, they're still discussing the drums, and the next they're sitting cross-legged on the floor listening to Buddy Ricky's CD.

To make matters worse, they were about to go to Lincoln Center for a jazz concert, and Lan Li had not yet changed her costume, and then she was sitting in a shabby rehearsal room in her evening dress, like Cinderella after 12 o'clock in the night.

That's a lot of fun, isn't it?

At the same time, it's a fascinating thing, isn't it?

Involuntarily, the corners of Rooney's mouth went up, and he sketched a light smile, retracted his attention, and began to enjoy the drum beat again intently.

After a full six minutes of playing, the two of them were not in a hurry or talking, they listened quietly, and after the song was played, Lan Li stood up, walked to the side, and pressed the pause button, and then the two began to discuss, the skills and emotions of this drum beat, especially the control and rhythm under the high-frequency hand speed, are really fascinating.

"If it's just about conveying emotions, I don't think you have any problems, but the problem is that the technique is really difficult, and it takes years to slowly build up. And, objectively speaking, you lack talent. Rooney told the truth.

Without cover-up, no politeness, and no embellishment, Rooney frankly pointed out the most important fact: Lan Li's talent is not above the drum kit, and the current level and ability are basically the limit of Lan Li.

Lan Li nodded in affirmation, "I didn't." But Andrew has. ”

Rooney opened her mouth slightly, and after a pause, she couldn't help but smile, "I can't argue with it. ”

Lan Li spread his hands, "So we always try to achieve our dreams that we can't fulfill in the movie." After saying that, Lan Li paused for a moment and pondered for a moment, "In this way, I suddenly feel that actors are more like losers, living forever in an ethereal dream bubble, refusing to wake up. ”

Rooney chewed on it as well.

There was a moment of silence, and a quiet atmosphere flowed slowly, and finally it was Lan Li who polished the peaceful tranquility with a voice, "If I'm not mistaken, we should set off now." Before I officially head to Lincoln Center, I need to replenish my stamina. ”

"Ha, you finally remember. Rooney came to her senses, blinked, and teased.