Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 367 Dance Troupe Arrives in Tianjin
It was also the afternoon of June 5th.

Li Xiaoran also pulled her suitcase out of the dormitory of the Oriental Song and Dance Troupe. She looked back at the place where she had lived for more than half a year, but she didn't feel much reluctance. All she felt was relief.

After all, she had grown tired of dancing since she was 12 or 3 years old, and in the following years she only managed to persevere by gritting her teeth at her parents' insistence.

And then, finally, the time came when birds could fly freely in the sky and fish could leap freely in the sea.

Without hesitation, she arrived at the street corner and waited for about ten minutes. Then, she saw a 21-seater Iveco van with the "Dream Come True" logo slowly pull up to the side of the road.

Li Xiaoran quickly picked up her luggage and got into the car, only to find it empty except for the driver and Wang Yan sitting in the front.

Li Xiaoran was hesitating whether to sit down with Wang Yan when Wang Yan stood up and said, "Xiaoran, let me help you put your luggage on the shelf."

This Iveco is the high-roof version, and it comes standard with a roof rack.

The two of them worked together to put the luggage on the overhead luggage rack, and Li Xiaoran naturally sat down next to Wang Yan.

Although they knew each other before, they were at most nodding acquaintances. But from now on, they can be considered 'comrades'—at least before they start vying for status.

After sitting down, Li Xiaoran couldn't help but ask Wang Yan, "Senior, how difficult is it for us dancers to switch careers and become real actors?"

"It's definitely easier than for ordinary people."

Wang Yan looked at Li Xiaoran's porcelain-like skin with envy and said, "We dancers are exposed to the wind and sun all the time, how come your skin is so fair?"

"I don't know, maybe it's innate."

Li Xiaoran wore an innocent expression. Countless people had asked her this question since she was a child. After all, fair skin can cover up a hundred flaws, and who wouldn't want to have such fair and radiant skin?
Wang Yan secretly rolled her eyes, thinking that this girl's emotional intelligence probably wasn't very high.

But this is good, it saves us from having to scheme against each other all the time.

"Senior."

Then Li Xiaoran asked curiously, "What do you think acting classes teach?"

"There's a lot to learn, like positioning, lines, and letting your true nature shine. We only provide basic training. The real skills can only be honed on set. Of course, some people are just naturally gifted and can deliver great performances right from their debut."

The two dancers got into a lively conversation, discussing nothing but issues related to the actors.

Only when the Iveco stopped outside the gate of Beijing Electric Power University did the two of them quickly stop showing off their limited knowledge.

Jiang Wu led the way, and the four actors signed by the Beijing Film Academy boarded the bus one after another. Unlike Wang Yan and Li Xiaoran, they basically didn't bring any luggage.

Wang Yan and Li Xiaoran are mainly changing jobs, while they still need to attend tomorrow's housewarming ceremony before returning to school to continue their studies.

After exchanging greetings, the two sides formed small groups to continue chatting until Huang Zhizhong and Shi Lanya from the Central Academy of Drama got on the bus, breaking the isolation between them.

"Li Xiaoran and Wang Yan? So you're going too!"

Huang Zhizhong greeted Li Xiaoran and Wang Yan warmly as soon as he arrived, and judging from the order in which he greeted them, it was clear that he was most concerned about Li Xiaoran.

Although the future "Qing Gege" will be quite pretty, Huang Zhizhong, who has spent three years at the Central Academy of Drama, has long since moved beyond the vulgar stage of judging by looks. He is now more concerned about figure and bra size.

In this respect, Li Xiaoran clearly has a natural advantage.

Only after the car started moving did Huang Zhizhong reluctantly lean on the back of the seat and sit down near Jiang Wu, casually slapping a few newspapers over: "Brother Jiang, this will keep you entertained on the road."

Jiang Wu took the document and immediately saw the headline: Zhang Yimou and Gong Li, along with the "To Live" team, flew to France and received a warm welcome from French film fans.

"Is Ge You carrying the main role in this drama?"

As Jiang Wu distributed several newspapers to his classmates, he complained, "These newspapers nowadays are just like those in Hong Kong and Taiwan. They only praise whoever is the most famous, regardless of whether you're the main character or not!"

He abhorred this behavior because after the movie he starred in won an award, many newspapers would specifically add a prefix when mentioning him: Jiang Wen's younger brother.

Huang Zhizhong didn't respond to that, but instead chuckled and said, "When we graduate and go to fulfill our dreams, we might be able to meet Director Zhang and Gong Li—oh right, and also Rosamund Kwan, who is known as the number one beauty in Hong Kong!"

Upon hearing this title, Shi Lanya, Xie Lan, Yuan Li, and others all showed expressions of disdain and envy.

Jiang Wu asked curiously, "How do you know? Is there some inside information?" "I have a relative who runs a small restaurant next to the film and television base. When the staff went to eat there, they said that Zhang Yimou's new movie would be filmed at the film and television base."

Sin Ki-ran's film is being touted as Zhang Yimou's new work; clearly, it's not just the media, but ordinary people also like to pick on big names to say that.

"real?!"

Yuan Li exclaimed from the back seat, excitedly clinging to the back of Jiang Wu's chair and asking, "Can we get some minor roles or something?"

When others heard about Zhang Yimou's new play, they all looked at Huang Zhizhong.

"I'm definitely open to being an extra, but there's not much fun in that, is there?"

As Huang Zhizhong spoke, he secretly checked the other person's figure. Hmm, he was also his type. It seemed that he and President Zhang and President Chen had the same idea.

After hearing what he said, Yuan Li also felt that playing minor roles was not very meaningful, but she didn't have much confidence in "moving up" further.

At this moment, Xie Lan sighed, "As everyone knows, Gong Li is the leading actress in Zhang Yimou's dramas. What can we do besides playing minor roles?"

Hearing this, the actresses were somewhat discouraged.

Jiang Wu's eyes darted around, as if he had other opinions, but he didn't want to say them in public.

Before long, students from the Beijing Dance Academy boarded the bus, bringing the total number of passengers to eight, including Zhang Yunfeng, the dance director. The Iveco van was soon filled to more than half full, and the atmosphere became much more lively and cheerful.

More than an hour later, the car arrived in Tianjin city.

The group was put up in the same hotel where Li Xue had stayed before, and the boys naturally took care of Wang Yan and Li Xiaoran's luggage.

The two of them were mingling in the Beijing Dance Academy's group, following a staff member who was helping them realize their dreams, as they walked upstairs. Suddenly, Wang Yan touched her jeans pocket and exclaimed, "Oh no, I left something in the car!"

Li Xiaoran hurriedly said, "I'll go back with you to get it. The car shouldn't have left yet."

They told Fei Yangyang, who was carrying the luggage, to put the suitcases at the door of the room first, and then they hurriedly ran out of the hotel.

Fortunately, the Iveco van hadn't left. The driver was peering out the window, chatting with another staff member who had also fulfilled their dream.

Wang Yan breathed a sigh of relief and slowed her pace.

As Wang Yan approached the car door, she was about to greet the driver when she heard him say something with a grin: "The head maid has been promoted; from now on, she should be called the second concubine. Sure enough, you need connections to rise quickly."

Wang Yan didn't pay much attention, tapped on the door with her finger, and said with a smile, "I left something in the car, I..."

Halfway through his sentence, the driver turned around in astonishment, looking completely shaken: "You...you're back?"

Li Xiaoran felt completely bewildered. Wang Yan had clearly told him the reason right away, so why was he still asking?

At this moment, the driver realized what had happened and quickly stood up, saying, "What did you leave behind? Let me help you look for it."

As he spoke, he ran to where the two of them had been and began searching, his movements seeming even more urgent than Wang Yan's own.

Even Li Xiaoran could see that he was trying to hide his panic.

"Then what..."

Sure enough, when the two of them went over to look for it, the driver said awkwardly, "What did you guys hear just now?"

Wang Yan calmly countered, "What should we be hearing?"

"Uh~"

The driver was stumped by the question, and after some internal struggle, he finally retorted in a defiant manner, "Anyway, I'm not the only one saying this. You'll all find out later!"

With that, he stopped helping to find the things and sullenly sat back in the driver's seat.

Wang Yan and Li Xiaoran looked at each other, Wang Yan vaguely guessed something, while Li Xiaoran was purely curious. In any case, they both secretly kept this matter in mind.

(End of this chapter)