After getting off work that day, Chi Ying skipped the cafeteria and headed straight back to her alma mater. Professor Liu had invited her over for dinner.
When she was almost at the university, she stopped by a large supermarket nearby to buy some fruit. She knew Professor Liu wouldn’t care, but as a student, it just didn’t feel right to show up empty-handed.
After looking around, she found that the regular fruit wasn’t particularly appealing, so she wandered over to the imported fruit section instead. They had just stocked fresh mangosteens, which looked excellent.
In her previous life, Chi Ying had already tasted the fruit, but at this point in time it was still considered something exotic. The sales clerk enthusiastically explained how to eat it. She picked out a few other imported fruits as well, paid, and left.
The moment she stepped into Professor Liu’s home, she was warmly ushered into the living room. Professor Liu’s husband was bustling around in the kitchen preparing dinner. Both husband and wife were from Shanghai, so they were perfectly accustomed to the husband being the family chef.
“You came, that’s enough. Why did you buy fruit too? I’ve never even seen this before. It’s imported, isn’t it? It must have been expensive!”
“I thought the other fruit didn’t look very good. The supermarket clerk recommended these, so I figured I’d let you try something new…”
“Those salespeople only recommend outrageously expensive things to boost their sales. They know young girls like you are too polite to say no. You just started working. Your salary isn’t much, so save your money!”
“Oh my, it’s only been a few days. How did you lose so much weight? You looked perfectly healthy when you were filming…”
During the intensive filming period, Professor Liu had frequently visited the set to check on the production since it was nearby.
Back then, she thought Chi Ying had been in excellent shape. She couldn’t understand how she’d suddenly become so thin, and it pained her to see it.
“I’ve been traveling around with everyone on the promotional tour, going nonstop. I also get a little carsick, so… this happened. It’ll get better once things settle down,” Chi Ying explained.
Professor Liu nodded. There wasn’t much that could be done. Her student was only just beginning her career, so she had to handle everything personally. Now that the film had become a hit, the road ahead would be much smoother.
Professor Liu was thoughtful when it came to these things. Besides inviting Chi Ying over for dinner, she had also invited several colleagues who had participated in making the film. It was a private way of thanking everyone while giving them a chance to get together.
“Professor Liu, you really didn’t have to go through so much trouble. Professor Zhao and the others will be attending the celebration banquet organized by Huaying Group anyway. You didn’t need to go shopping and cook such an elaborate meal…”
Seeing Professor Liu’s husband still busy in the kitchen despite having already prepared a table full of dishes, Chi Ying immediately understood the professor’s intentions. A simple dinner invitation really didn’t require such fanfare.
“You don’t know. The celebration banquet your company is holding will be far too formal. All the senior executives will be there. They wanted a chance to spend more time with you privately. They all have a few ideas in mind.”
Professor Liu winked at her.
Just then, Professor Zhao arrived first, right behind Chi Ying.
She had come alone.
Professor Zhao had already taken on a new class that year, but she hadn’t found any students she particularly favored yet.
The moment she entered, she grabbed Chi Ying and began complaining.
“Chi Ying, let me tell you, these new students just aren’t cutting it. They have no patience at all. They’ve only just started their freshman year, and they’re already thinking about filming this drama or that movie. As if opportunities just fall into your lap!”
“I keep telling them that freshmen and sophomores should stay in school and build a solid foundation. Master all the basics first, then start filming during junior and senior year…”
Chi Ying and Professor Liu both laughed.
Teachers at the Film Academy still held to those principles now. A few years later, though, the students would become impossible to manage. Wait until junior or senior year before acting? They’d practically stop attending classes altogether and just scrape by with a diploma.
Of course, Chi Ying couldn’t possibly say any of that out loud. No one would believe her anyway.
“Students like Tan Yi, who went all four years without filming anything, are probably rare now,” Professor Liu remarked to Professor Zhao.
“I’m not expecting them to avoid acting their entire time in college. That comes with its own risks too. If Tan Yi hadn’t happened to meet Xiao Chi this time, he’d probably still be struggling. But at the very least, they should study properly during their first two years!”
While grumbling, Professor Zhao couldn’t resist gossiping.
“Chi Ying, I heard the Movie Channel is planning to interview Tan Yi and Song Lin?”
Chi Ying nodded.
The entertainment industry was actually very small. News traveled quickly. Back then, being invited for an exclusive interview on the Movie Channel was still considered a prestigious honor.
“They’re still on the promotional tour. Once they’re back, they’ll probably do the interview. This film has attracted quite a bit of attention this year.”
“What do you mean ‘quite a bit of attention’? It’s exploded! We’ve really made a name for ourselves this time. At this rate, the box office should surpass thirty million yuan…”
Professor Zhao was visibly excited.
“It already has. Before I came back from the tour, Huaying had already sold the overseas distribution rights. Columbia bought them for worldwide distribution. They paid seven hundred thousand U.S. dollars, which comes to about five million yuan.”
Professor Zhao slapped her thigh.
“No wonder I can lecture those little brats with confidence now. As long as they polish their skills, they’ll get their chance sooner or later!”
She was genuinely delighted.
“Our class has finally made it. I always said we had plenty of talented students. Look at Lian Yuxin. She’s still quite popular in television and has already played the female lead several times.”
Still, Professor Zhao had one small regret.
After all, this was the Film Academy. In their eyes, starring in films still carried more prestige than television. That was simply how professionals thought, and that was the reality of the industry.
In Professor Zhao’s opinion, Li Yuxin could have handled the female lead in Wedding, Wedding just as well. Unfortunately, her favorite student hadn’t been given that opportunity.
In the end, as the saying went, everyone had their own fate.
Song Lin had never seemed particularly outstanding at school, yet she had stumbled into such an incredible opportunity. With just this one film, she had opened the door to the movie industry.
Although Song Lin had appeared in several television dramas before, she had still been a student at the time. Most of the roles had been minor supporting parts in relatively unknown productions, and audiences hadn’t remembered any particular character she played. Publicly, those experiences could simply be described as internships during college, which wasn’t a big deal.
A little while later, Professor Yu knocked on the door and came in by himself. He quickly joined everyone’s conversation.
Quite a few students from his class had actually participated in the film as well, but today’s gathering was intentionally small, so he hadn’t brought them along.
Besides, those students would be attending the celebration banquet in a few days anyway. Since they had taken part in Wedding, Wedding, that kind of event would be far more beneficial for their future careers.
Professor Yu was in an excellent mood these days.
Several of his students had gained valuable industry experience and had successfully gotten their start. They now had a bit of recognition. Word had spread throughout the industry that they had worked on this hugely successful film, and opportunities were gradually beginning to come their way. It was worlds apart from the days when no one paid them any attention.
Finally, the last two professors arrived.
Just as Professor Liu had predicted, each of them brought two students.
Clearly, these were the students they valued most in their respective classes, one male and one female, four young people altogether.
Professor Zhao shot Professor Yu a meaningful look.
Professor Yu simply smiled.
So it really did pay to shamelessly make the first move.
His students had already gained the advantage. Bringing more students over now wouldn’t accomplish much.
No one knew when Chi Ying’s next film would happen.
Besides, in the film industry, directors generally preferred working with people they already knew. Although Professor Yu’s students hadn’t played leading roles, they had spent the entire production on set and had become very familiar with Chi Ying.
When she made another film in the future, they would naturally be the first people she thought of, rather than these unfamiliar faces.
The students greeted everyone enthusiastically.
After their professors introduced them, they affectionately addressed Chi Ying as “Senior Sister.”
Wanting to show respect for her professors, Chi Ying immediately exchanged contact information with them and promised that if any opportunities arose, she definitely wouldn’t forget her junior brothers and sisters.
Just then, her pager suddenly went off again.
Looking down, she saw it was Zhou Yan.
He was one of their own, so she couldn’t pretend she hadn’t seen it.
After apologizing to everyone, Chi Ying borrowed Professor Liu’s home telephone and returned the call.
On the other end, Zhou Yan sounded rather embarrassed.
The ending theme he had written for Chi Ying’s film, Faraway, had become incredibly popular and was being sung everywhere. Because of that, someone from CCTV had invited him to perform at the Spring Festival Gala.
Chi Ying immediately replied excitedly, “That’s wonderful! What’s there to hesitate about? Go! You absolutely have to!”
Back then, appearing on the Spring Festival Gala was an extraordinary opportunity for nationwide exposure.
Besides, it was already November. Preparations for the Gala usually began around June each year, with the first round of auditions held in July or August.
The fact that someone was only now approaching Zhou Yan with an invitation even surprised Chi Ying.
The reason Zhou Yan had called her was because he felt guilty.
In his view, although the song had been written for Chi Ying’s film and she had only purchased the usage rights, if he was going to perform it at the Spring Festival Gala, he still felt he should let her know first.
To Zhou Yan, the song was also the product of Chi Ying’s creative vision. And the only reason the Gala producers had even noticed it was because the film itself had become such a massive hit.
Sensing his awkwardness, Chi Ying hurriedly urged him, “You should go! This is an incredible opportunity. It’ll raise your profile even further and take your career to the next level. There’s nothing to think about.”
Zhou Yan was reluctant to pass up such an opportunity anyway.
“So… if you really don’t mind, then I’ll accept?”
“Why would I mind? We already agreed that the copyright belongs to you. While you’ve got this opportunity, think about opening your own studio or something. Be your own boss. Hire people to help produce music. Who knows? Maybe next year you’ll be back on the music charts again.”
The idea instantly lit up Zhou Yan’s eyes.
Recently, his former record company had started contacting him again, calling every day and asking him to renew his contract. Their attitude was completely different from how dismissive they had been before.
Everyone knew the song had become a hit.
Now there were even rumors that it would be performed at the Spring Festival Gala.
His former manager was practically losing his mind. He had even started waiting outside Zhou Yan’s courtyard, hoping to persuade him to sign again.
But Zhou Yan had been deeply scarred by his previous experience.
He didn’t want to go back to a system where every aspect of his career was tightly controlled.
This time, this song had become popular.
But what about next time? If he wanted to experiment with something new or pursue a different musical direction, would those people simply shelve him again?
“You need your own career plan. You’ve been in this industry for years, so you already have your own connections. Pay for your own recordings, then find a distribution company to handle the release. With this song being so popular, there’ll definitely be plenty of companies willing to do that.”
Her words genuinely moved Zhou Yan.
“I’ll think it over carefully. Thank you. Honestly, I’d never considered that before…”
“What are you thanking me for? I’ve said it before. I hope we can all help each other succeed. We’re on the same side. I’m counting on you to compose the music for my future films.”
After another long round of encouragement from Chi Ying, she finally hung up.
When she turned around, she realized no one was chatting anymore.
All the professors were staring at her with wide eyes.
“Uh… it was the singer who performed our film’s ending theme. He said CCTV invited him to perform at the Spring Festival Gala…”
She figured she must have been speaking too loudly, which was why everyone was looking at her like that.
Professor Liu smiled.
“That’s wonderful. Young people really should have their own career plans.”
“I was only helping someone fulfill his dream. What would I do with his song’s copyright? Even if I took it, it still wouldn’t truly be mine.”
Professor Liu couldn’t have been more satisfied with her student.
She was clear-headed, honorable, and someone others could always rely on.
…
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