Huayu: As a child star, I just want to be famous

Chapter 5 Circle
a few days later.

"Xiaofeng, you've caused us so much trouble." Zhao Yuming complained madly to Chen Linfeng while doing his homework.

Ever since the ghost story conference that day.

These days, when he sits on a stool, he must keep his feet on the ground and cannot cross his legs;

Don’t drink water or eat ice cream near an electric fan;
You can only take a bath while sitting down;
If you go out far away and there are cars, you can’t go through and have to wait until there are no cars;

……

"There are other miscellaneous rules, too many to count," Zhao Yuming said angrily, "Give me back my normal parents."

Chen Linfeng burst out laughing, "I'm so sorry, I deeply sympathize with your situation." After saying that, he laughed even more happily.

Zhao Yuming returned to his seat in melancholy. Just as he was about to lean back against the table behind him, he suddenly straightened up again.

"Fuck, I was wrong too."

A week later in the afternoon, Chen Linfeng was reading at home when he heard the uncle of the Liu family at the entrance of the alley shouting excitedly.

"Second son of the Chen family, this is a letter from the Chinese Literature Association. Come out and take a look."

Chen Linfeng walked out the door and saw Aunt Liu gathering around to watch the fun. Chen's mother also heard the noise and came out to see what was going on.

He walked forward and took the letter. On the envelope was written: Dear Teacher Qilin.

The sender was filled in as the Chinese Writers Association, the recipient was Chen Linfeng, and the address was exactly Chen Linfeng's home address.

This is the result of the previous submission.

He quickly opened the envelope and saw a letter and a remittance slip for about 200 yuan.

Aunt Liu came closer and took a quick look to see what was written.

It seemed like he cared more about it than he did.

Open the letter.

Dear Qilin author, it’s nice to meet you. Thank you very much for your manuscript.

Here, we have included your manuscript in the short story section of the Novel Selection Magazine, Issue 106.

At the same time, we are very grateful that you choose to cooperate with us. We are very honored to invite you to participate in our next issue of novel selection submission activity. You are welcome to submit your manuscripts again!
The above is a template commonly used by magazine editors, and below is the editorial department’s general analysis of the article.

The letter praised Chen Linfeng's story, but also mentioned that his writing was immature, and then pointed out some shortcomings. Finally, it said, "Considering that the story is novel and has a warning effect on the world, it will be included and published."

Sure enough, it is still a bit difficult to submit short story selections now. Maybe I should submit to Youth Digest next time?
After reading the letter, Chen Linfeng handed it to his still confused mother, "Mom, I submitted a short story some time ago, and this is the reply and payment from the magazine."

Mother Chen took the letter at a loss, opened it and read it for a while, and it was true.

The crowds watching passed it around and marveled at it.

"You've really made it. You're only a few years old, but you've already become a writer."

"Who says it's not true? He studies well and writes well. He's really rare." Aunt Liu was very envious. Our Xiao Ming played with him every day, but he didn't absorb any intelligence or talents. He just played around every day.

Within two hours, the whole alley knew about it.

In this day and age, although means of communication are scarce, the efficiency of person-to-person communication is sometimes faster than that of text messages in later generations.

The next day, the head teacher even found out about it and announced the news in the class. He also posted his novel on the blackboard at the back of the class as an example of an article.

I don't know how he knew it so quickly.

Tuesday, June 6. Chen Linfeng rarely read other books, but listened to the class attentively.

The final exam is next week and the normal teaching tasks have already been completed. In this history class, the teacher started talking about the legendary story of Qin Shi Huang.

The story contained a lot of unofficial history, probably mixed with content from past TV dramas, but the teacher’s storytelling skills were very high and Chen Linfeng listened with great interest.

After class, the students were still not satisfied and continued to discuss.

Chen Linfeng suddenly got an inspiration and wrote it down in his notebook, planning to try to write a short story later.

"Xiaofeng, what are you still writing after class?" Zhao Yuming walked over. Someone outside was calling people to play vaulting horse, and he wanted to pull Chen Linfeng to join in.

"I have some ideas, just write them down."

"I really envy your ability to write whenever you want." Zhao Yuming's attention was diverted. He lay in front of Chen Linfeng's desk and watched his friend write.

"Your articles can be published, but I can't even write a good composition. Talented people can do whatever they want."

My deskmate Liu Jia heard this and retorted, "You didn't study hard at all. If you had the amount of reading and practice that Xiao Feng did, writing a good essay would be a piece of cake."

"It makes it sound easy. You talented people become more talented the more you study. But every time I write an essay, I have to rack my brains just to get the enough words." Zhao Yuming felt aggrieved when he thought of the scene when he was writing an essay for an exam.

"It's not just language, history and politics too. Where do they get so much meaning and significance? I think about this every day and my head is going bald."

The two people started arguing.

"Talent!" Chen Linfeng exclaimed. In fact, he somewhat agreed with Xiao Ming's statement.

I have a good memory and learn things quickly in this life. In many aspects, the more I learn, the more interested I become.

In his previous life, he was not so studious. He only got into a good second-tier university in Central China Province. He was mediocre and had never understood the world of genius.

Only in this life did I understand that if you are talented, even the pain of learning is much less than that of ordinary people, and you feel a greater sense of accomplishment.

The difficulty of killing monsters is low and the experience gained is high. Who doesn’t like to play such a life game?

Chen Linfeng ignored the bickering between the two men and continued to think with his head down.

He envisioned a time-travel story.

A college student traveled to the State of Zhao during the Warring States Period in a time machine accidentally invented by his professor.

In Handan, Zhao State, he met the businessman Lu Buwei and the Qin hostage Yiren.

Due to some strange coincidence, Qin Shi Huang Ying Zheng was not born, or it was not Ying Zheng who was born.

The above is the background of the story. What he wants to focus on is what China would be like without Qin Shihuang.

After spending some time in ancient Zhao State, a college student traveled back in time and found that everything in the future timeline was messed up.

Due to the lack of a great leader, the Qin State failed to unify the world, and the chaotic Warring States period continued and was delayed in ending.

The Han Dynasty naturally also disappeared, lacking the essential unification of the Qin Emperor and the ideological and cultural unity that the Han Dynasty had shaped over a long period of time.

The Todai region was divided into 15 small countries. For a long time in history, it was no different from medieval Europe, and in modern times it has even lagged behind others.

Fortunately, the professor in this world was just as powerful and also built a time machine, so he traveled back in time to stop his previous self.

At the end of the article, the college student finally returns to his original world.

Staff from relevant national departments came to our door and detected time and space anomalies, and recalled the machine according to regulations.

Before leaving, the recycling worker said to him meaningfully, "We tried our best to prevent outsiders from taking action, but we didn't expect that our own people would almost rob our house." The college student was shocked, "Is there anyone else changing history?"

"How many times do you think China's history has changed? Is China today what it used to be?
Not only have people in history fought for her, but we, now and in our future, are fighting for her all the time.”

The story ends here.

Although the main purpose is to emphasize the importance of Qin Shihuang.

But Chen Linfeng still did something small at the end, using a multiverse setting that is often used in science fiction novels as a small suspense element.

This short story is purely the product of his own imagination. Last time he used the movie story as a basis, and this time he wanted to try it completely on his own.

I don't even want to submit my novel to anthology magazines anymore. The editor also said that he still needs to work on his writing skills, so I might as well try submitting it to Youth Digest.

Reader and Yilin may be more famous, but their reputations became very bad in later generations. In fact, Youth Digest is also in bad shape.

However, considering that it is easier to get manuscripts approved by Youth Digest, don't be too picky.

After school in the afternoon, Chen Linfeng returned home.

I found Shi Xiaolong at home. He went to Zhengzhou to shoot a MV some time ago, and then went to Shenzhen to participate in a China Music Television Grand Prix. He finally came back today.

Chen Linfeng made an ancient bow and said loudly, "It turns out that Brother Long is back. I heard that he won a big prize and returned home in glory. Congratulations."

Shi Xiaolong waved his hand modestly, "It's just a small music video award, not worth mentioning."

He also bowed and said, "I heard that Mr. Qilin's novel was published and people praised it. It is really a great honor for our humble home and a celebration for the whole world."

"Go away, you two brats, you're still acting here." Chen's mother was so disgusted that she told them to wash their hands and eat.

"Mom, Xiaolong is back, why isn't Dad back yet? Didn't he call a few days ago to say that he had finished his business?"

"He went to Hong Kong Island. I heard that he had some friends there to discuss something with him. I don't know where he got so many friends." Chen's mother was very dissatisfied.

After dinner, Shi Xiaolong and Chen Linfeng went to their room to study.

Chen Linfeng was practicing the flute, and the song he played was the famous song of Inuyasha from his previous life - Longing Across Time and Space.

“The flute version sounds nice, maybe it would be good when paired with the guqin,” he thought.

Chen Linfeng has now learned how to transcribe music and make variations.

After he wrote a piece of music, he would try various musical instruments to experience different effects, and sometimes he would ask Shi Xiaolong to help him listen.

For example, this song of longing across time and space, when played with different instruments, gives people a very different feeling.

Although they are both sentimental tunes, the erhu will give people a deep feeling, while when played with the xiao, it will be a little sad with a timeless flavor.

Shi Xiaolong listened to the song quietly and was immersed in the sad atmosphere for a while.

He sighed and praised, "This song is really beautiful."

Chen Linfeng clearly sensed that Shi Xiaolong was in a low mood. Apart from the joke he made with him at the beginning, Shi Xiaolong had been very quiet afterwards, unlike his usual self.

"Let's not talk about the song. Is there anything that makes you unhappy when you come back this time?"

Shi Xiaolong sighed again, with a rare look of sadness on his face, "I've been out filming for the past few years, but this year I suddenly have no movies to shoot, and I'm a little uncomfortable."

"You think I won't have no movies to act in the future?" Shi Xiaolong thought of such a result and didn't want such a thing.

Chen Linfeng didn't expect that Shi Xiaolong, who was always carefree, would also consider this matter.

Yes, no one who has enjoyed glory and glory would want to be sad and lonely.

Chen Linfeng consoled him, "You are now the most famous child star in China. As long as there is a role that suits you, people will come to you first."

"Then why are there fewer and fewer people looking for me to act in dramas in the past two years? I only acted in one movie last year, and I haven't acted in any this year."

Shi Xiaolong suddenly remembered that his brother had not filmed in the past two years, and said embarrassedly, "I'm sorry, I'm not complaining, I just don't understand."

"That's easy to explain. In the past, you were asked to play cute child roles. Now you're ten years old and have become a teenager. You can't play that kind of role anymore."

"Besides, the audience will get tired of the same type of children's comedy after so many films in a row."

When Shi Xiaolong heard that the audience would get tired of it, he said in panic, "Ah, then I won't be able to act in the future?"

"It's not that I'm tired of you, it's just that the market trend has changed a bit. The film market in Hong Kong Island has not been so prosperous in the past two years. But it doesn't matter. Maybe in the future, it will be a mainland company that asks you to film."

"Will it really happen?" Shi Xiaolong was skeptical.

Chen Linfeng reminded him, "You've only stopped for two years. There aren't many child actors in China, and even fewer famous child stars. You have an advantage."

"But when we are 18, there will be a lot of excellent adult actors, and that stage will be difficult."

Chen Linfeng told him about Emily Kensington’s other child stars – Shirley Temple and Brooke Shields, and their transformation into adults, and explained in detail the difficulties of child stars’ transformation.

"What should I do? I can't always beg others to come and ask me to act in a play in the future."

Shi Xiaolong was really getting anxious.

He never cared about it before, but this year he felt the feeling of a slipping status. Now I tell him that it will be more difficult after he becomes an adult. By then he won’t just be slipping, he will probably fall. The pressure suddenly surged.

“First, you have to know that filming is a circle.

For example, your godfather in Taiwan will always come to you if he has a similar role. The production company and director who get along with him will also have a high probability of finding you to act through him. This is the circle of Hong Kong and Taiwan.

So we need to get into as many of these circles as possible.”

Shi Xiaolong asked with interest, "What circles are there?"

"The mainland's film and television industry is mainly divided by region, including the Beijing circle, Shanghai circle, Northeast circle and Northwest circle, and there are also some smaller circles such as film and television academies and drama troupes."

"What about our central region? What circle does it belong to?"

Chen Linfeng smiled bitterly, "The central region is more chaotic, we just follow others."

He further explained, “It’s very difficult to enter a regional circle if you’re not a local, it requires luck, and I’m mainly talking about the academic circle.

The two or three largest film and television academies in China produce most of the practitioners in the country. This is the easiest circle to enter.”

Chen Linfeng looked at Shi Xiaolong seriously, "If you want to take advantage of the help of this circle, you have to get into these two colleges, Beijing Film Academy or the Central Academy of Drama, you have to get into one, so you have to work hard on your studies, Xiaolong."

Shi Xiaolong actually didn't quite understand this part of the conversation, but he had an idea in his mind that being admitted to these two schools would be beneficial to his future development.

My younger brother is really amazing, he knows so much. He nodded blankly to show that he understood.

In fact, this is Chen Linfeng’s purpose.

In his previous life, Shi Xiaolong failed to successfully complete the transformation from a child star to an adult actor. A big reason for this was that he went abroad to study in high school and cut off his own path.

Not only did he not appear in front of the audience for several years, he also failed to attend the two major film and television academies, and he lacked a network of connections for no reason, which was exactly the same reason why Shu Chang's status later declined.

Let him set his goals in advance now to avoid any unexpected problems in the future.

(End of this chapter)