HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 33 [033] You Don't Understand Daiji's Happiness

Qi Yuan's last day in the capital.

The long-awaited system notification has arrived.

[Zhang Tong, a student at the Central Academy of Drama, has made significant progress with your help, and you can now draw 1 more time.]

Sure enough, it came.

Qi Yuan had always been curious about which person his album would help improve, and now the system had confirmed it was Zhang Tong, so everything was settled.

Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense. The music video for "The First Time" had the most investment and was the most outstanding.

This music video was broadcast on CCTV-3's "Opera & Music" channel and also aired on Beijing TV, giving Zhang Tong a huge boost in exposure.

A few minutes after the system gave the prompt, Qi Yuan received a call from Zhang Tong.

"Qi Yuan, a film crew has approached me to act in a movie called 'Love Will Carry On to the End,' and they want me to play the third female lead."

Even over the phone, Qi Yuan could feel Zhang Tong's excitement.

In his memory, Zhang Tong had very poor resources in his previous life.

Because she only started acting after graduating; the 96 class of Beijing Film Academy and Central Academy of Drama were both star-studded classes.

At the beginning of the century, resources were limited. She was a step behind, and then she fell behind at every step.

As far as I can remember, apart from Daiji in "The Love Story of Tang Dynasty", Zhang Tong's next memorable role was in "Rouge Snow" in 2008.

"Rouge Snow" is a TV series invested and produced by Fan Xiaopang Studio.

Zhang Tong plays the sharp-tongued and mean-spirited eldest daughter-in-law, a villainous role.

Qi Yuan's music video changed the course of her life, leading to her receiving the role in "Love Will Carry On" during her sophomore year of college.

If Qi Yuan remembers correctly, this drama premiered on CCTV and was quite popular; it can be considered the ancestor of mainland idol dramas.

The director is Zhang Yibai, the male lead is Li Erpeng, and the female lead is Xu Jinglei.

In short, getting this role is a very good start for Zhang Tong's acting career.

"Congratulations, congratulations! I feel like a shining star of Asia is about to rise before me," Qi Yuan congratulated.

It's quite fulfilling to subtly change the course of someone else's life.

Qi Yuan seemed to remember something and asked, "Aren't freshmen and sophomores at the Central Academy of Drama not allowed to take on acting roles? You can secretly accept my music video role, at most you'll get a minor reprimand. But is it really okay to take on a film role?"

“Strictly speaking, no. My roommate Meiting recently got a role in a movie called something like ‘Story,’ where she plays the lead role. She asked Aunt Chang for leave to film, but Aunt Chang wouldn’t allow it. Guess what? She just dropped out of school.”

Zhang Tong thought that secretly applying to be a member of the performing arts corps and to the Beijing Film Academy showed that she was quite independent, but she didn't expect that Mei Ting was even bolder than her.

However, Mei Ting has the right to be willful. She grew up in a compound and performed on the Spring Festival Gala with sketch comedy kings Chen Peisi and Zhu Shimao in her early years, participating in the sketch "The Great Transformation of People".

Meiting is confident that she can do well even without a Central Academy of Drama resume.

“I told the director that I couldn’t film because I was a sophomore in college, and he said that the film would start shooting next March or April, and my scenes could be filmed later. When it’s my turn, I will have just finished my sophomore year and be on summer vacation, so filming then won’t be considered breaking the rules. I told Aunt Chang, and she tacitly agreed,” Zhang Tong added.

Qi Yuan understood; this approach did not violate the rules of the Central Academy of Drama.

"No matter what, I have to thank you for getting this role. Without your music video, I would never have caught the director's eye, let alone been chosen by him. Where are you? I'd like to treat you to a meal."

"Wait for me at the school gate, I'll pick you up in my car."

……

A dozen minutes later, Qi Yuan drove to the entrance of the Central Academy of Drama and could see a girl in a white coat waving at him from afar.

Today, Zhang Tong wore dark blue jeans with a white coat, exuding a fresh and refined elegance, like a pear blossom in early spring, pure yet graceful. She also wore beautiful makeup, and every smile and gesture captivated those around her.

"What are you looking at?" Zhang Tong rolled her eyes at Qi Yuan with a hint of smugness.

"Is it wrong for people not to look at someone who is beautiful? I not only want to look, I want to look openly and honestly."

"Wow, becoming a big star really makes a difference; you're even driving a car now."

Qi Yuan said casually, "It's alright, just over 400,000. If I wanted, I could buy something more expensive."

Qi Yuan felt that cars depreciate as soon as you get them, and new models are released every year, so you can never keep up with the trend.

Once he has his first pot of gold, he plans to buy several houses and wait for their value to appreciate.

He's just an ordinary person. Aside from being in the entertainment industry, he doesn't know anything about business or investment. The only thing he can think of to hedge against devaluation is buying a house.

"You get all cocky after I just said a few words of praise. I don't want to treat you to dinner anymore. I'll only get 20,000 yuan for this role. Compared to you, I'm a penniless wretch."

Zhang Tong deeply resented Qi Yuan's nouveau riche attitude, and even more so, she resented that this nouveau riche wasn't her.

Qi Yuan drove Zhang Tong to Donglaishun, a very famous old restaurant in Beijing.

It is said that He Daqing, the father of Sha Zhu in the TV series "Full House of Love", once worked as a chef here.

"Are you really going to treat me like a pig to be slaughtered?" Zhang Tong's expression was almost tearful.

Does she earn money easily? Treating Qi Yuan to this meal today will probably cost her a fortune.

Qi Yuan didn't care about anything else. After sitting down, he ordered whatever he thought looked good without even looking at the price. He acted like a spendthrift, which made Zhang Tong, who was sitting next to him, feel like his heart was bleeding.

"Mmm, it tastes really good, no wonder it's a century-old brand." Qi Yuan ate the hot pot lamb and thought it tasted really good.

"Eat, eat, eat until you die," Zhang Tong muttered.

After eating and drinking her fill, Zhang Tong went to pay the bill, fully prepared to bleed out thousands of yuan.

The person at the counter told her that Qi Yuan had already paid.

She then realized that she had been tricked by Qi Yuan.

"You can pay me back for that meal you owe me when you've made a lot of money in the future. How about coming to the next stop with me? The record company rented an apartment for me. It's a big apartment with a CD player and lots of Hong Kong and Taiwan DVDs. Aren't you going to take on a role? It's a good opportunity to learn how Hong Kong and Taiwan actors act."

Qi Yuan offered a suggestion.

Zhang Tong hesitated for a moment, then agreed.

For an actor, watching DVDs and learning from other actors is indeed one way to improve their acting skills.

Qi Yuan's apartment is indeed very large, about 70 or 80 square meters, which is quite spacious for him to live in alone.

Qi Yuan came out after taking a hot shower, just as Zhang Tong finished watching a movie and was about to change the disc.

She looked at the disc, which had no text or images on it, and asked Qi Yuan curiously, "What kind of disc is this?"

"I don't know, you'll know once you put it in and see." Qi Yuan didn't take it seriously at first.

After Zhang Tong put the disc into the CD player, he suddenly realized something was wrong. Could it be that disc?
"Peach Ripening? What movie is this?" Zhang Tong sat back down next to Qi Yuan, somewhat puzzled by the title.

An hour later, the two walked from the sofa to the bedroom.

Zhang Tong finally understood what it meant for a peach to be ripe.

Qi Yuan was certain that the peaches were indeed ripe, and Dai Ji was indeed radiant... Dai Ji's happiness was something most people couldn't understand.

(End of this chapter)