Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 236, Section 234: "The Bottom-Tier Hot Girl" (Part 1) (Revised)

Friday, August 6, 1999, Shanghai.

The weather forecast tells people that this will be another hot and humid summer, firmly controlled by the subtropical high.

The sun had turned scorching early on, baking the asphalt road and sending up distorted ripples in the air. The occasional chirping of cicadas from the alleyway sounded weak and listless, as if the sweltering heat had drained their energy.

Lin Xiaoyue sat at the desk by the window in her own attic room, staring blankly at the gray-blue sky outside the window, which was divided into squares.

In his hand was a copy of the "Shenjiang Service Guide," slightly damp with sweat. The entertainment section devoted a small amount of space to reporting the release of a domestic film called "Flying Colors" that day.

The newspaper was delivered yesterday by Aunt Wang from next door. She said there was a job posting in it and asked her to take a look.

She couldn't find a suitable job posting, but this movie advertisement inexplicably caught her eye.

"Hot girl..." Lin Xiaoyue silently murmured this somewhat unfamiliar word in her mind.

She didn't quite understand what it meant, but it seemed to describe fashionable, bold, and perhaps rebellious girls.

The term became popular in China probably because of the influence of the British girl group "Spice Girls" from last year or the year before. I think the entertainment section of the newspaper mentioned them, and they were translated as "Spice Girls Choir".

In 1997, the Spice Girls went to Hong Kong and Taiwan for promotional activities. Their works were also pirated and flowed into the mainland, where they became well-known.

But the girl on the movie poster, wearing a baggy school uniform, with messy hair and a stubborn look in her eyes, doesn't seem to have much to do with "spicy".

What attracted Lin Xiaoyue was the small print below: "A miracle of a poor student's comeback, dedicated to all of you who never gave up."

And an even more eye-catching tagline: "Watch 'Flying Colors' and rediscover the courage to pursue your dreams!"

courage?

A bitter smile appeared on Lin Xiaoyue's lips.

She had just taken the college entrance exam in 1999, and failed.

The score is still far below the lowest undergraduate admission line.

It was expected, yet hard to accept.

Three years seem to have vanished into thin air.

Her parents were ordinary workers. Although they didn't show much blame on their faces, their helpless sighs were more painful for her than any scolding.

Repeating a grade?

Her family's financial situation and her own lack of confidence made her hesitant to speak up.

Work?

With a high school diploma, what decent job can you find in Shanghai, a rapidly developing megacity?

Go work as a waitress in a restaurant, or as a factory worker in a textile factory?

Lin Xiaoyue was unwilling to accept this, but she couldn't see any other way out.

Life seems to have been suddenly put on pause, frozen in this sweltering, sticky summer, with a bleak future ahead.

She desperately needed something, even just a little bit of illusory comfort, a glimmer of light that seemed distant, to tell herself that there might be other possibilities in life.

Even if it's just a story in a movie.

The newspaper also noted that students could enjoy a 50% discount on daytime sessions by presenting their college entrance examination admission ticket.

five yuan.

She touched the crumpled coins in her pocket; these were her saved-up pocket money.

Is going to the movies a luxury?
maybe.

But at this moment, she desperately needed to escape this suffocating reality, even if only for two hours.

Having made up her mind, Lin Xiaoyue changed into a light blue dress, picked up the admission ticket that bore the mark of failure, and walked out of the house.

……

At this time, after years of development, the Shanghai film market has formed a vast network with Shanghai Film Distribution and Exhibition Company (referred to as "Shanghai Film Distribution") at its core, and a number of well-known cinemas such as Cathay, Da Guangming, Heping, Hengshan, and Shanghai Cinema under its umbrella.

Shanghai Film Distribution and Exhibition Company has a subsidiary, Shanghai Yongle Co., Ltd.

Founded in 1993, the company was initiated by Shanghai Film Distribution and Exhibition Company, which spun off and restructured its core business and high-quality assets, and together with several other entities, jointly established Yongle Co., Ltd., the predecessor of Yongle Cinema Line.

This company is similar in nature to New Film Union, the son of Beijing Film Distribution and Exhibition Company; both are preparing for possible future cinema chain reforms.

Among the several entities that jointly established Yongle Co., Ltd. with the Shanghai Film Distribution and Exhibition Company, one of them is called Oriental Film Distribution Co., Ltd., which is the distribution company invested by Shanghai Film and Television Company (headed by Zhu Yongde).

In fact, the Shanghai Film and Television Company and the Shanghai Film Distribution and Exhibition Company have long formed a more united local film and television force than the Forbidden City Film Company in Beijing.

The 800 million yuan reported to Beijing Film Studio for the last distribution of "30 Days" was money Zhu Yongde obtained through Oriental Film Distribution Co., Ltd. from Shanghai Film Distribution and Yongle Film & Television.

In short, driven by Han Sanping's "market rescue proposal" (to crack down on smuggling), major cinemas in Shanghai have launched promotional activities.

Lin Xiaoyue chose the "Cathay Cinema," which wasn't too far from her home.

This old cinema, located on Huaihai Road, was built in the 1930s and has a strong Art Deco style, holding a special place in the hearts of Shanghai residents.

Lin Xiaoyue felt a little uneasy as she walked into the slightly dimly lit but well-air-conditioned ticket hall.

She rarely goes to the cinema, and in her memory, movie tickets are always very expensive.

The handwritten sign hanging above the ticket window clearly reads: "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time: 10:00, 14:00, 16:00... Half price for daytime screenings, 5 yuan, with college entrance examination admission ticket."

She handed over five yuan and her exam admission ticket. The ticket seller skillfully tore off a pink ticket stub, which was printed with the words "Cathay Cinema", "Flying Colors", "10:00", and "Row 12, Seat 8 downstairs".

"Is there anything else you'd like to order?" the ticket seller asked casually.

Lin Xiaoyue hesitated for a moment, then looked at the price tag on the shelf next to her: "One bottle... Zheng Guanghe soda."

This is a well-known local brand in Shanghai, especially its salted soda, which is a summer staple for many Shanghainese. But today she wanted the orange flavor.

Holding the ticket and the soda, the cool glass bottle dispelled some of the sweat from my palms.

She followed the signs and entered Hall 1.

Cathay's cinema isn't particularly large; this particular theater can probably accommodate around 500 people. It has red velvet seats with a moderate slope.

By this time, the hall was already quite full of people, mostly young men and women around her age. Many of them had complex expressions on their faces, having just finished the college entrance examination and waiting for their fate to be decided or already knowing the results—some were relaxed, some were bewildered, and some, like her, had disappointment and unease hidden between their brows.

The air was filled with youthful energy and the hum of hushed conversations, mixed with the sweet smell of popcorn and soda.

Lin Xiaoyue found her seat and sat down; it was a little towards the back of the middle.

The view is good.

She unscrewed the cap of the soda bottle, took a sip, and the cool, sweet taste, along with the bubbles, slid down her throat, calming her slightly nervous mood.

The lights gradually dimmed, the screen lit up, and the scene gradually quieted down.

"Flying Colors" has begun.

The film opens in the summer of 1998 in Beijing.

The visuals have a nostalgic, warm yellow hue. The female protagonist, Wang Xiaojia (played by Fan Xiaopang), has slightly frizzy brown-yellow hair (obviously against school rules), her school uniform jacket loosely tied around her waist, and Walkman headphones in her ears as she walks down a dusty street.

She fell asleep in class and was woken up by the teacher hitting her with a piece of chalk; during breaks, she would sneak away and hide in a corner of the teaching building with a few other girls who were dressed somewhat outrageously, clumsily lighting a cigarette, only to be caught red-handed by the dean of students who suddenly appeared.

"Wang Xiaojia! It's you again! You never learn! This time, we must call your parents!" The head of the teaching department's furious face filled most of the screen.

A few low snickers sounded around Lin Xiaoyue, as if some audience members were mocking the "bad student's" disheveled state.

Lin Xiaoyue frowned slightly. She saw something deeper in the girl's seemingly indifferent eyes—numbness and a sense of resignation after being labeled.

The following family scenes are even more suffocating. A cramped apartment room, dinnertime.

The father, a taxi driver who had been laid off, looked tired and impatient. He gave the only chicken leg to his young son, not even glancing at his daughter's report card, and just muttered, "What's the use of girls studying so much? It's more important for them to start working early and help support the family."

The mother (played by Song Dandan) tried to ease the tension by putting food in her daughter's bowl, but was glared at by the father and timidly lowered her head.

Under their father's deliberate tutelage, the younger brother is a promising table tennis player at the youth sports school. He boasts about his training results at the dinner table, which only makes Wang Xiaojia seem utterly useless.

"Look at your brother, how successful he is! And you? Your grades are at the bottom, and you even smoke! You've completely disgraced me!" The father's roar seemed to penetrate the screen and strike Lin Xiaoyue's heart.

She instinctively gripped the soda bottle, as if she could feel Wang Xiaojia's unvented grievances and anger.

Although her family wasn't as extreme, she deeply understood the pressure of hoping her son would become a dragon and her daughter a phoenix, which ultimately turned into disappointment.

The turning point came when Wang Xiaojia's mother insisted on taking her to an after-school tutoring institution called "New Hope".

Tutor Cheng Dongqing (played by Wang Zhiwen) makes a unique entrance: he wears a plaid shirt, faded jeans, and messy hair. He has a somewhat cynical smile. The classroom is covered with various inspirational slogans and photos of famous schools, and there is also an old-fashioned projector.

Instead of criticizing Wang Xiaojia, he conducted an academic test.

The result was disastrous; Wang Xiaojia's knowledge level remained at the fifth grade level.

Just as Lin Xiaoyue and Wang Xiaojia were both dejected, Cheng Dongqing looked at the exam paper and his eyes lit up: "Wow, it's a perfect... blank paper! That's great!"

Wang Xiaojia and her mother, along with many other audience members in the cinema, were stunned.

Cheng Dongqing pointed to a fourth-grade arithmetic problem and said excitedly, "Look, you can at least do addition and subtraction! This shows that your basic logic is fine! From now on, your goal is not to catch up with your classmates, but to surpass yourself as you were yesterday! How about we start with the fifth-grade textbook?"

(End of this chapter)