The birth of an actor

Chapter 56 Liu Qiangdong

Anxin remembers clearly that when he entered university, it was the last year before the school's military training was formalized.

That's not quite right... The country actually required every university to conduct military training for its students starting in the 1950s. It's just that the process was far more complex than the half-month-long training sessions of later generations.

The military training he participated in lasted only two days.

And the process was quite shoddy.

The following year, after Hong Kong's return to China, the country introduced a new regulation mandating military training. As a sophomore, he found a group of freshmen squatting on the playground for half a month, looking miserable... They came in fair-skinned, but by the end of the training, they were tanned like niggers.

At the time, I even felt lucky.

But... anyway, he finally started school.

Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar gates of Renmin University, a hint of melancholy once again surfaced in his eyes.

This situation didn't last long. Soon, he suppressed the churning memories, picked up his luggage, and walked into the school gate.

As he brushed past several girls walking out of the school, they turned their heads and glanced at him several times, their eyes full of surprise, without An Xin seeing them.

The registration for new students was uneventful; apart from the relatively high number of people turning their heads to look at them, everything else was negligible.

However... when he finished the formalities and received his dormitory room number, he frowned.

In his previous life, he also arrived on August 30th, in the morning.

But... his dormitory number was not the same as the 217 room number in his hand.

"..."

He tried to speak, but seeing how busy the people handling the procedures were, he could only sigh slightly and join the large group of student council members welcoming new students.

Actually, nothing else really bothered him. In his previous life, he and his dorm buddies were all freshmen. Even if they didn't see each other in the dorm, they could still see each other in class. Their relationship wasn't difficult... but this change left him speechless.

As is customary, freshmen live on higher floors, while the second floor is usually occupied by third- and fourth-year students.

After all, it's more convenient to go up and down the stairs this way.

How did I end up here?
With a hint of speechlessness, he followed the still-immature freshmen towards the dormitory building, guided by the student council.

He was very familiar with his alma mater, so he paid no attention to the other person's introduction and was only thinking about how to make his second important choice.

Time... seems to be running out.

Although he has resigned from "Fashion Dress" magazine, he will be joining a film crew in half a month to prepare for his role. Sister Hua also said that she might find him an advertisement shoot in the next few days... It seems a bit unrealistic for him to go back to Dong Ge's shop to work as a dishwasher.

not to mention……

Recalling Fan Bingbing's expression when she arrived that morning, like a puppy waiting for its owner to come home...

And the fact that she treated him to ramen last night, and the promise he made that "I will definitely come back often," gave him a headache.

And so, he made his way to his dormitory.

The senior students from the student council told them to put their luggage away, and then go downstairs with them to pick up their textbooks and get their meal tickets.

Unlike his classmates who had to climb the tall buildings, he followed the signs to the dormitory entrance of room 217 after reaching the second floor.

After knocking politely a few times, I heard someone inside say "Come in."

He was stunned when he pushed open the door.

Liu... Liu Qiangdong?

? ? ? ?
He was stunned.

what?
ah? ? ? ?

Please wait a moment...

ah? ? ? ? ?
He subconsciously turned his head to glance at the house number.

217... That's right.

Liu Qiangdong?
Four bunk beds made of angle iron, with several wooden tables piled up in the middle, covered with books, lunchboxes, chopstick holders... and an old-fashioned 486 computer...

And sitting in front of the computer was Liu Qiangdong.

The other person was wearing a loose tank top and shorts, with their legs crossed, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

"Who are you looking for?"

Liu Qiangdong looked at the guy in front of him, who looked like a TV star, with a puzzled expression.

At the same time, I have to admit to myself, this guy... is really handsome.

Why is the way she's looking at me so creepy?

Upon hearing this, An Xin instantly snapped back to reality. Although he didn't understand why Liu Qiangdong, who should have already graduated this year, was here, he still immediately said:

"I've been assigned to this dormitory."

"what?"

Liu Qiangdong was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening:

"Oh~~~~ You're a freshman this year?"

"Yes, you're a senior?... Hello senior, my name is An Xin, and I'm a freshman in the Journalism Department this year."

Listening to An Xin's explanation, Liu Qiangdong smiled and nodded:
"Hello. My name is Liu Qiangdong, I studied sociology, and I've already graduated."

"Uh……"

Upon hearing this, Anxin followed his words and asked:

"Then what are you doing here?"

"what."

Liu Qiangdong smiled and pointed to the other shops:
"All seven of us are planning to take the postgraduate entrance exam. Our school has a rule that five or more postgraduate students who have obtained their exam admission tickets can apply to the school for a dormitory for postgraduate exam takers... By the way, are you a freshman? How did you get assigned to this dormitory for postgraduate exam takers?"

Hearing this explanation, An Xin finally understood why he was there.

But why was he assigned here...? He shook his head slightly:

"I'm not entirely sure either. This is the address I was given when I registered."

As he spoke, he handed over the note in his hand.

When Liu Qiangdong took a look, it was indeed true: the name was An Xin, the major was journalism, and the dormitory number was "217" filled in by hand.

That's not wrong.

So he didn't dwell on it, but stood up and said:

"Then this is your bed."

He arrived at the wooden bed by the door, which was piled with washbasins, beverage bottles, and sneakers. It was right next to the area where the broom and mop were kept.

In terms of dormitory bunk beds, this lower bunk is clearly the worst in terms of conditions.

At this moment, Liu Qiangdong explained:
"The unspoken rule among college students is that after being assigned to a dormitory, it's first-come, first-served, and everyone chooses their own bunk. There are seven of us in our dormitory who are taking the postgraduate entrance exam together, and you are the eighth, so it's finally full."

"Uh-huh."

An Xin naturally understood this rule, and in fact, he had already seen the only empty bed when he came in.

He wasn't picky... after all, this wasn't his original dorm anymore, and besides... he even saw the multiple-choice questions.

They even kindly helped me clean my berth.

If this were ten years from now...

"Yeah, let me tell you, Liu Qiangdong once made up a bed for my buddy."

Oh~
It could at least be considered a trending topic... Oh wait, Weibo didn't exist back then, so you had to wait twenty years to get on the trending list.

As he pondered this, he heard Liu Qiangdong continue:
"But there's one advantage to you moving in: we're all your seniors, so feel free to ask us anything you don't understand. We know our school pretty well."

"Thank you, senior."

"Ha, it's nothing."

Liu Qiangdong smiled and shook his head:

"They haven't come back yet. Make your bed first, then go get your textbooks and meal tickets. That's all for today. Tomorrow you'll see your journalism department counselor, and then it'll be military training... It'll only be a day or two, no big deal."

"Mmm Good."

As he was speaking, his pager suddenly went off.

"Don't worry, call back, He."

It's news from He Xiuqiong.

Seeing this, he rummaged through his things and pulled out the IC card, casually asking:
"Senior, can the phone on the second floor be used with an off-campus IC card?"

Dongfeng Building, which is the school's dormitory building, has only one telephone on each floor, but Anxin has forgotten whether it is an internal IC card or an external IC card that can be used.

Upon hearing this, Liu Qiangdong casually pulled out a mobile phone from next to the computer case, in a blind spot where An Xin couldn't see it:

"You can use mine. We have campus cards, which need to be purchased separately."

"Uh...thank you."

In those days, a phone call in the city cost 40 to 60 cents a minute, while long-distance calls were even more expensive, costing around 1.2 yuan. 40 cents was enough to buy a meal and a vegetable dish at the canteen.

From this perspective, he is quite generous.

Anxin took the mobile phone and dialed He Xiuqiong's number:

"Beep beep, hey, don't worry."

"Hello, Sister He."

"Yes, you've finished reporting?"

"Not yet. What do you need me for?"

"Remember to come over next Thursday for the makeup and photoshoot."

Today is September 1st, Sunday.

Next Thursday, September 5th.

Hearing this, Anxin responded with a soft "Yes."
"Okay, got it. Are we going directly to the Beijing Film Studio?"

"Yes, go straight over there."

"So, does this mean I'll have to shave my head this time? Will I shave it myself, or will the crew do it for me?"

Liu Qiangdong, who was fiddling with his computer, was taken aback.

Crew?

"The production crew will handle it for you. You can just come over when the time comes."

"Oh, okay, I understand. Is there anything else?"

That's all. Enjoy your college life.

"Haha, thank you, Sister He. I'll hang up now."

The phone call was quite expensive, and he didn't want to keep taking advantage of the other person, so it was best to end the call within a minute.

After hanging up the phone, Liu Qiangdong subconsciously looked at An Xin and asked curiously:
"Film crew?"

"Uh... a Taiwanese film crew is taking costume photos next Thursday and they want me to go there. It's a Qing Dynasty drama, so I have to shave my head."

"...???"

Liu Qiangdong was stunned. He looked at An Xin's face, which was many times more handsome than his own, and asked curiously:

"Are you an actor?"

"Sort of, but I've only filmed one music video so far, which is Xie Dong's 'Smiling Face'."

"????"

Liu Qiangdong was even more bewildered.

This freshman is actually an actor? And the lead actor in that song, "The book says that lovers can share the moon even if they are thousands of miles apart"?
Good guy.

For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

After all, sharing a dormitory with an actor is something that, no matter how you look at it, seems like a fantasy in this era... or rather, in any era.

A sense of curiosity began to well up in his heart.

This junior who just joined the 217 "family"... left a deep impression on him.

However, he still remembered the important matter at hand. Seeing that Anxin had made the bed, he didn't ask any further questions, but instead said:

"Go and get your textbooks now."

"Okay, thank you, senior. I'll go now~"

"Row."

After watching An Xin leave, Liu Qiangdong's gaze fell on his computer.

The curiosity in his eyes lingered for a long time.

(End of this chapter)