“I’m completely stuffed. Chen Cheng, Senior Sister, Mimi… you chat first. I still have things to do, so I’ll leave now.”
“I have something to do as well. You all chat.”
“See you later.”
After the meal.
Everyone exchanged contact information.
Yuan Shanshan, Zhang Xiaofei, and Zhang Wei exchanged glances, then kept Chen Cheng, Yang Mi, and Chen Zihan behind.
Senior Sister Chen Zihan no longer bothered with formalities. Looking at Chen Cheng, she said, “Junior Brother, I returned to Beijing Film Academy this time partly because I wanted to see my junior brothers and sisters. But more importantly, there’s actually something I’d like to ask your help with.”
“Senior Sister, please go ahead. If there’s anything I can help with, I definitely will.”
The entertainment industry was essentially a network of interconnected circles.
Not to mention that everyone was classmates.
Just as when the casting was being done earlier, Chen Cheng had recommended Zhang Wei.
Although Teachers Liu Yi and Zhao Guangbin both knew about it, they had not minded in the slightest.
There were far too many things like this in the industry. As long as someone met the requirements, why not recommend one’s own friends and classmates?
“Junior Brother, you’re a real friend.”
Chen Zihan said, “I’m sure you know why I came. The investment in The Return of the Condor Heroes is enormous this time, and a whole host of stars and actors are competing for the various roles. There’s no need to mention the Male and Female Leads. Even the supporting male and female roles are being fought over fiercely. In a few days, The Return of the Condor Heroes will officially begin auditions. I have an invitation as well, but my competitors are not weak either. You’re Director Yu’s assistant, and Director Yu thinks highly of you. For this audition, do you have any advice for your Senior Sister?”
“This…”
Chen Cheng scratched his head and said, “Senior Sister, I’m only a small assistant. I don’t have much authority, so I’m afraid I can’t help you much with the overall direction. But I do have some thoughts. You can hear me out.”
“Senior Sister, you’re auditioning for Guo Fu in a few days, right?”
“Yes.”
Chen Zihan nodded.
Yang Mi, who was sitting beside them, glanced at Chen Cheng and said shyly, “Senior Sister, I actually wanted to audition for Guo Fu before too. Fortunately, Chen Cheng set me straight.”
That was indeed the case.
If Yang Mi had really auditioned for Guo Fu,
just look at the situation now.
Even Senior Sister Chen Zihan was competing for the role, let alone Yang Mi.
Chen Cheng picked up the conversation. “It seems Director Yu has very high standards. With your looks and bearing, Senior Sister, you’d have no problem playing Guo Fu.”
“That’s what people say, but no one can be certain about these things.”
Chen Cheng nodded as well.
If Chen Zihan had no opponents, things might have been easier.
But her competitors were so strong that even Chen Zihan had to do everything possible. That could only mean that securing the role would be extremely difficult.
“That’s true. However, judging from The Return of the Condor Heroes, the several Wuxia dramas Producer Zhang made before were relatively faithful to the original work. So, if you want to successfully play Guo Fu, I think you still need to stay close to the original work, especially regarding Guo Fu’s feelings toward Yang Guo.”
“I understand.”
Chen Cheng did not say much.
But to Chen Zihan, those one or two sentences were enough to enlighten her completely. “Junior Brother, thank you. If anything comes up in the future, call me anytime.”
“You’re too kind, Senior Sister.”
Chen Cheng was delighted as well.
Although his suggestion had been minor and hardly amounted to much,
winning Senior Sister Chen Zihan’s goodwill was well worth it.
Yang Mi, however, only half understood. She asked, “Chen Cheng, Senior Sister, what are you talking about? I didn’t understand any of it.”
Chen Zihan immediately burst out laughing. “Mimi, you’ll understand when you grow up.”
“Huh…”
Yang Mi scratched her head. “Chen Cheng, tell me.”
Chen Cheng also laughed heartily. “Mimi, it’s nothing. Actually, it’s the same thing I told you before. Once you figure out who Yang Guo’s first love was, you’ll understand.”
…
“Chen Cheng, why are you still at school? Aren’t you going to ask for leave?”
“Do you all find me annoying and want me to leave as soon as possible?”
“Of course we find you annoying. You’ve already become a Major director, while we still have to attend class. Seeing you in the classroom makes us uncomfortable all over. Isn’t it like getting your university entrance examination admission notice, then coming back to attend class with us just to tease us?”
Although the investment in The Return of the Condor Heroes was enormous, production was moving very quickly as well.
Although the various roles had not yet been completely finalized, the behind-the-scenes work had already begun.
The Return of the Condor Heroes production crew had also begun to take shape.
As Director Yu’s assistant, Chen Cheng would soon have to go to Hengdian to handle the behind-the-scenes preparations before filming began.
Therefore, over the past few days, whenever Yuan Shanshan and Zhang Xiaofei, who had not been selected for The Return of the Condor Heroes, saw Chen Cheng still at school, they would tease him from time to time.
This left Chen Cheng somewhat helpless. He said, “You can’t just pick on me, can you? Mimi and Zhang Wei aren’t they the same?”
But Zhang Xiaofei said, “How can they compare with you? Even if Mimi and Zhang Wei join the film crew, they’ll still only be students. But you’re a teacher! No, a director.”
“What kind of director am I?”
“You’re a director.”
“All right, all right, I’m a director. I’ll go ask for leave right now.”
There was no way to win an argument against Zhang Xiaofei, the future king of comedy.
Seeing that it was almost time to report to the film crew, Chen Cheng prepared to ask Teacher Zhang Songwen for leave.
As it turned out,
as soon as the leave request was written, Teacher Zhang Songwen took one look at it and laughed. “Oh? Chen Cheng, you’re asking me for leave now. In a while, I’ll have to ask for leave too.”
“Huh?”
Chen Cheng then remembered that Teacher Zhang Songwen had been selected to play Yelu Qi.
Chen Cheng continued, “Teacher Zhang, you’ll definitely succeed. Why not skip asking for leave and just resign?”
“Resign? Don’t even think about it. If I have no roles to act in later, am I supposed to live on air?”
“Teacher Zhang, the timing is excellent right now. The sooner you enter the industry, the sooner you’ll become famous. Once you’re famous, if you return to Beijing Film Academy, you won’t be a lecturer anymore, but a professor.”
“You’re pretty good at painting an attractive picture.”
“Teacher Zhang, I’m telling the truth.”
“Fine, I’ll seriously consider it later. But this time… Chen Cheng, I really have to thank you.”
“Listen to you, Teacher Zhang. I’ll wait for you on the set.”
After asking Zhang Songwen for leave, Chen Cheng packed his luggage.
Zhang Wei snatched Chen Cheng’s bag. “You’re taking the train tonight? I’ll see you off.”
“Yes. But the train is rather late, at midnight. You don’t need to see me off.”
“What’s midnight? Do you remember when we stayed up all night playing Bubble Hall together?”
“Can we not talk about Bubble Hall?”
Chen Cheng was completely resigned to Zhang Wei.
That guy only liked playing Bubble Hall whenever they stayed up all night.
Not only did he like playing it, he also liked dragging Chen Cheng into the game.
And not only did he drag Chen Cheng into playing, he insisted that they share the same computer.
Since Bubble Hall allowed two characters to be controlled with one keyboard, they had actually had quite a good time back then.
“Still, we won’t have many chances to stay up all night together in the future.”
“We’ll still see each other on the set later, won’t we?”
“That’s true. See you on the set, Brother Gouzi.”
…
That evening.
Midnight.
What surprised Chen Cheng was
that Zhang Wei was not the only one who had come to see him off.
Yuan Shanshan, Zhang Xiaofei, and Yang Mi had come as well.
“All three of Beijing Film Academy’s three beauties have come. I’m truly flattered.”
Zhang Xiaofei, however, said, “Of course we have to see Director Chen off. After all, we’ll still need to cling to your coattails in the future.”
“Come, come, come. Give it a try right now.”
Chen Cheng stuck out his thigh.
“Are you being a pervert? Someone’s going to get jealous.”
“Who?”
Chen Cheng was somewhat puzzled.
Yang Mi gave Zhang Xiaofei a slap. “Xiaofei, what are you saying?”
“All right, all right, I won’t say anything.”
Zhang Xiaofei left with a grin. “I have something to do, so I won’t see you off.”
She immediately pulled away the somewhat bewildered Zhang Wei.
“Chen Cheng, did you bring everything?”
“I brought everything.”
“Your Cell Phone, wallet, identity card, and charger?”
“I brought them all.”
“Did you bring any snacks? This trip to Hengdian will take more than ten hours.”
“I did.”
“Then…”
She seemed to have something to say, but Yang Mi suddenly did not know how to begin.
After a while,
Yang Mi suddenly thought of something. “Chen Cheng, there’s something I’ve been forgetting to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“Who was Yang Guo’s first love, the one you mentioned before?”
“Wasn’t I the one who asked you?”
“But I don’t know.”
“Then go back and read the book carefully.”
“I’m stupid. I can’t understand it. Just tell me.”
“I’d like to tell you, but… if I tell you, it won’t be interesting anymore. Why don’t you guess?”
“Guo Fu, right?”
Yang Mi looked at Chen Cheng and answered.