Song Lin had some experience on film sets. She had worked with quite a few productions and had seen firsthand how harsh and hierarchical the industry could be. Sometimes seniority alone was enough to crush people. On a film set, a director wasn’t necessarily the one who had the final say.
So when Chi Ying told her she wanted her to play the female lead, Song Lin was overwhelmed. But when Chi Ying said she planned to bring in their senior schoolmates to help, it immediately made sense to her.
Chi Ying showed her the crew list she had prepared.
“I know a few of these people myself,” Song Lin said as she circled several names. “I can contact them directly. No need to ask anyone else.”
“We shouldn’t bring this list with us,” she added. “I’ll memorize these names first.”
That made Chi Ying laugh.
She really was a wonderful person. She was considerate of others in every little way, never wanted to inconvenience anyone, kept her mouth shut, and could be trusted with important matters. She was so afraid that a moment of carelessness on her part would ruin Chi Ying’s plans that she was acting like an underground operative.
“Don’t be so nervous,” Chi Ying reassured her. “When those Fifth Generation directors made their first films, they didn’t have anything either. Some of them couldn’t even afford to go home by the end. And those films became classics. We have funding and we have people. We’ll definitely pull this off.”
“It’s just that the investment I’ve secured isn’t that much, so I can’t offer you a very high salary,” Chi Ying said apologetically.
“Are you kidding?” Song Lin exclaimed. “Chi Ying, I get to make a movie! That’s something I wouldn’t even dare dream about! I’d do it even if you didn’t pay me!”
“Alright, alright. Let’s eat first. I’m starving.” Chi Ying waved her hand with a smile.
It hadn’t been long since graduation, and many of their classmates were still in Beijing, so everyone came as soon as they were invited.
Chi Ying and Song Lin chose a small restaurant near the film academy. This time, they managed to reserve a private room with air conditioning.
Before long, almost everyone they had invited had arrived. Tan Yi came a little later than the others, but he looked to be in pretty good spirits.
Originally, Chi Ying had intended to pay for the meal, but Song Lin insisted that since they were gathering under the pretense of thanking everyone for helping her, it was more appropriate for her to treat them. The boys had indeed done her a huge favor, so she felt she ought to be the one paying. Seeing how determined she was, Chi Ying stopped arguing.
The person Chi Ying most urgently wanted to reach was Lu Wei, a cinematography senior who had graduated two years before her.
A couple of years earlier, they had still kept in touch. The first short film Chi Ying had ever won an award for had been shot in collaboration with Lu Wei while he was still a student.
But after Lu Wei graduated and joined Sichuan Film Studio two years ago, they had practically lost contact. Combined with everything Chi Ying herself had gone through, she no longer had any way of reaching him and could only ask the boys if they knew how to contact him.
Chi Ying vaguely remembered that Lu Wei had originally been eligible for an assignment to Beijing Film Studio. But there were simply too many talented people in the capital. Lu Wei felt that, as a newly graduated student, even with formal training and outstanding grades, he might not get the chance to shoot any films there. So he chose to return to his hometown and joined Sichuan Film Studio in Rongcheng instead.
In her previous life, Lu Wei wouldn’t begin making a name for himself until more than a decade later. He eventually became one of the industry’s more renowned cinematographers, so Chi Ying was determined to recruit him into her own team.
Once everyone had more or less arrived, Song Lin briefly explained that today’s gathering was simply to thank everyone for helping her the day before and to take the opportunity to catch up. Nobody asked any further questions, and soon the table was filled with food, drinks, and lively conversation.
Taking advantage of a lull during the meal, Chi Ying asked the boys if anyone was still in contact with Lu Wei from the cinematography department.
After asking around, the answer unexpectedly came from Tan Yi. Even more surprising was the fact that Lu Wei wasn’t in Sichuan at all. He was back in Beijing.
According to what Tan Yi knew, after Lu Wei joined Sichuan Film Studio, things hadn’t gone as he’d imagined. The studio followed the old system and assigned him a veteran mentor.
That so-called mentor taught him practically nothing but constantly criticized everything he did. As a professionally trained university graduate, Lu Wei naturally looked down on those old-fashioned methods. The two had a huge argument and parted on bad terms.
When the studio learned what had happened, they demanded that Lu Wei apologize to his mentor. Furious, Lu Wei resigned on the spot and returned to Beijing, where he was now shooting music videos for a record company.
Among people in their line of work, those who made films looked down on television directors, television directors looked down on people who shot music videos, and Lu Wei was only one step away from falling to the very bottom and shooting commercials.
But judging from Tan Yi’s tone, Senior Brother Lu had gradually lost much of his drive. Living in Beijing was expensive, so survival had to come before everything else.
Chi Ying sighed inwardly and took the opportunity to ask for Lu Wei’s contact information.
After everyone had had a few drinks, Chi Ying turned to Tan Yi.
“How have things been for you lately?”
Tan Yi shook his head with a faint smile, though there was a trace of bitterness behind it.
“The usual. Going to audition after audition…”
Chi Ying downed a mouthful of beer and casually asked another question.
“Tan Yi, if someone offered you the lead role in a film right now, do you think you could carry it?”
The question caught him completely off guard. He had never considered it before, and it struck him as rather strange.
He had lost count of how many auditions he’d gone to lately. Forget films—even television productions didn’t want him. At this point, he didn’t care what role it was or how few lines it had. As long as he could get cast, he’d take it. Yet despite lowering his standards so far, he still hadn’t landed a single role.
Even so, he kept those frustrations to himself.
At that moment, Liu Xiaojun, Tan Yi’s roommate sitting beside him, jumped into the conversation.
“Hey, don’t underestimate our Old Tan! During our graduation production, a film director wanted him to play the male lead, but Old Tan turned him down. Just yesterday that same director contacted him again and asked him to come over!”
Chi Ying was genuinely surprised. She had absolutely no recollection of Tan Yi starring in any film right after graduation.
Tan Yi looked somewhat embarrassed. He nudged Liu Xiaojun before saying to Chi Ying, “Don’t listen to his nonsense…”
“How’s it nonsense? Didn’t we go meet that director together yesterday? The discussion went really well…”
Seeing that Tan Yi refused to talk about it, Chi Ying turned to Liu Xiaojun and asked which director he was referring to.
The moment she heard the director’s name, everything suddenly clicked.
She finally understood why, in her previous life, Tan Yi had remained obscure for ten whole years before finally resurfacing.
At the root of it all, it was probably because he had eventually acted in that director’s film.
The man was famous within the industry, but he had always liked to start shooting first and worry about securing approval afterward. And more often than not, he never managed to get that approval at all.
With that in mind, Tan Yi’s bizarre career path in her previous life suddenly made perfect sense.
Chi Ying’s expression darkened.
When she fell silent, everyone around the table grew awkward. The lively atmosphere disappeared almost instantly.
She held herself back again and again, but in the end, she couldn’t stop herself from asking Tan Yi.
“Do you understand the risks involved?”
Tan Yi looked uncomfortable and said nothing.
Seeing how awkward things had become, Song Lin immediately stood up and poured everyone more drinks to smooth things over.
“Come on, come on. Let’s eat first. We can talk about everything else later… Bottoms up!”
Chi Ying’s thoughts were in complete disarray after that, and she spent the rest of the meal thinking about the issue.
She had originally planned to bring Tan Yi into her own production, but now that she knew he had another opportunity in front of him, she found herself hesitating.
Opportunity and risk always came hand in hand.
Although that director had little success domestically, he was still highly influential overseas.
For an actor like Tan Yi, who had already proven himself in the academy’s graduation production as the unquestioned male lead, his professional skills and appearance made him an incredible bargain for directors with limited casting options.
Tan Yi was at a low point in his career because of a string of unfortunate circumstances after graduation that had prevented him from landing any work. But his overall ability spoke for itself. Once he established himself in the industry a few years later, that director probably wouldn’t even have a chance to hire him anymore. That was why the director wanted to lock him in now.
Chi Ying couldn’t guarantee that joining her to make commercial films would lead to a better future than following that director.
Since Chi Ying remained silent for the rest of the meal, Song Lin had no choice but to keep the conversation going herself, casually chatting with the boys and gathering information on the people Chi Ying wanted to know about.
By the time the dinner ended, neither Chi Ying nor Tan Yi had spoken much.
Still, when everyone parted ways, the other boys insisted that Tan Yi escort Chi Ying and Song Lin back to their dormitory.
When they reached the building, Song Lin sensed that Chi Ying wanted to speak to Tan Yi alone. Tactfully, she quickened her pace and said she was heading upstairs to boil some water.
Seeing they had arrived safely, Tan Yi was about to say goodbye and leave when Chi Ying called out to him seriously.
“Tan Yi, I really don’t think you should join that production. The risks are genuinely huge. And you won’t stay in this slump forever. You’re too talented. More opportunities will definitely come your way… I think… just wait a few days for me. Just give me a few days.”
Tan Yi smiled after hearing her words. He didn’t ask what she meant, nor did he ask how many days she needed. He simply nodded.
He could tell that Chi Ying was sincerely worried about him.
She was now working within the state system, so perhaps she believed he would be walking into enormous danger. That was probably why she kept repeating, somewhat incoherently, for him to wait a few days.
“Alright. I won’t join that production. I’ll wait a few days for you.”
At that moment, Chi Ying also realized what she was asking of him.
She was asking him to give up what seemed like an excellent opportunity.
Quietly, she made up her mind.
“If you don’t have anything important to do over the next few days, go spend some time around Computer Village. Observe those IT professionals and see how they live their lives every day…”
After returning to her dormitory and closing the door, Chi Ying finally realized how utterly nonsensical her request must have sounded in the heat of the moment.
What she had really meant was for Tan Yi to start familiarizing himself with the life of the character in advance.
But she had never actually told him what role she wanted him to play.
She hadn’t even told him that she intended to cast him at all.
Tan Yi really was remarkable.
He hadn’t asked a single question before agreeing.
Chi Ying knew that if she had taken it upon herself to block one path in his life, then she had an obligation to offer him another opportunity of equal value in return.
She was going to cast Tan Yi as the male lead in her own film.
…
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