Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 265, Section 263: "A Little Thing Called First Love" (Part 1)
Friday, November 5, 1999.

In late autumn in Beijing, the sky is a hazy gray, a color between light and dark. The dry, cold air, when inhaled, carries a chilling clarity.

For the Chinese film market, this day marks the return of an era and a silent test—after months of "domestic film protection month," Hollywood blockbusters, the behemoths that were briefly kept out, have once again stepped into this recovering land.

"Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace," carrying the prestigious reputation Lucasfilm has built up over many years and the fervent anticipation worldwide, has landed in mainland Chinese theaters.

However, compared to the viewing frenzy it sparked in North America and other regions, Star Wars 1 seemed somewhat "unsuited" in China at this time, or rather, encountered real-world obstacles.

This "discontent" and "barrier" do not stem from cultural barriers—while the fact that Star Wars culture has not yet taken root in mainland China is certainly one reason—the more direct and rigid constraints come from hardware.

As a representative of top Hollywood industrial standards, "Star Wars: Episode I" made extensive use of CG special effects, which placed extremely high demands on cinema projection equipment, especially the sound system.

Dolby Digital Surround Sound and DTS were high-end audio systems at the time, essential for experiencing the grandeur of the space opera and the intense sound effects of lightsaber battles.

However, in 1999 in China, apart from a very few top cinemas in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, the vast majority of screening units, even the leading cinemas in provincial capitals, were far from having the equipment to perfectly present the audiovisual effects of "Star Wars: Episode I".

Many cinemas are still using old-fashioned analog stereo equipment, and the film prints they project are not of the highest quality.

This has led to an awkward situation: theater managers know that Star Wars 1 has a great reputation and is a powerful tool to attract young audiences and movie fans, but they are willing but unable to screen it on a large scale.

On the one hand, the number of theaters that meet high-standard screening conditions is limited; on the other hand, poor screening results may lead to audience complaints and affect the theater's reputation.

In contrast, another film released on the same day, "First Love," seemed much more "approachable."

This youth romance film, produced by Shengying Media, supervised by Wang Sheng, and starring Gao Yuanyuan and Huang Xiaoming, has almost no special requirements for projection equipment.

A standard 35mm film print with standard stereo sound is sufficient to perfectly present its fresh and delicate picture quality and moving songs.

More importantly, its subject matter is close to real life, and its target audience is clearly defined—the vast number of students and young workers in the city.

During this lull when imported blockbusters are temporarily "too highbrow and too niche," "A Little Thing Called First Love," with its precise positioning and successful pre-release promotion, has almost taken over the screening schedules of hundreds of ordinary cinemas across the country in a "rural-to-urban" manner.

The situation is particularly pronounced in Shanghai, a city filled with universities and office buildings.

At nine o'clock in the morning, the area in front of a cinema near Xujiahui was rather deserted.

On the huge poster for "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace," Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and a young Anakin Skywalker stand solemnly against a backdrop of interstellar warships, creating a magnificent scene. Yet, they seem to be separated from the office workers and students hurrying by, carrying soy milk and fried dough sticks, and wrapped in wool coats or down jackets.

Next to the poster, a slightly smaller but more exquisitely and refreshingly designed poster for "First Love" stands out.

On the poster, Gao Yuanyuan's early image as "Xiao Shui," which was deliberately made to look "ugly" yet still couldn't hide her beauty, contrasts sharply with her later transformation into a confident and beautiful woman. The tagline next to her, "A nationwide crush, a thrilling release," is like a soft feather, gently scratching the softest corner of the hearts of young people.

A girl wearing a beige short down jacket, a light gray cashmere scarf, and black-rimmed glasses stood alone in front of the poster, looking up at it.

Her name is Lin Xiaoyue, a native of Shanghai.

She is the girl who watched "Flying Colors" in Shanghai that summer, was deeply moved, and ultimately decided to repeat her senior year to pursue her dreams again.

Months of studying late into the night left her with an undeniable weariness on her delicate face.

Just yesterday, she ended a short but intense relationship.

The other person was a classmate in the repeat class. Both of them were locals in Shanghai. They had studied together in the library and promised to get into their ideal universities together. However, the pressure of the upcoming college entrance examination, personality clashes, and reckless words spoken in youthful impetuosity ultimately led to the hasty end of this relationship, which did not end gracefully.

The bitterness of heartbreak, like the damp chill of a winter in Shanghai, seeped into her relentlessly.

Coupled with the uncertainty about the future, she inexplicably ended up at the movie theater on this Friday morning when she should have been studying at a cram school.

She needed to escape this suffocating reality, she needed some warm comfort, or perhaps, she simply needed a dark space where she could cry freely without being disturbed.

Star Wars? That's too far away. Jedi Knights, the Force, interstellar wars... those grand narratives couldn't soothe the fine, needle-like pain in her heart at this moment.

What she needs is to see the story within her own heart.

Her gaze eventually fell on the poster for "First Love".

"First love...is it just a small thing?" Lin Xiaoyue murmured to herself in Mandarin with a soft Wu accent, a bitter smile playing on her lips. To her, the relationship that had just ended felt like the sky over the alley had collapsed.

She took a deep breath; the damp, cold air made her nose sting. Then she turned and walked toward the ticket window.

“One sheet, ‘First Love,’ the earliest one.” Her voice was a little hoarse, with the soft and gentle quality unique to women from Jiangnan. Even when she was feeling down, that underlying quality couldn’t be erased.

The ticket seller glanced at the time: "The 9:30 show, Hall 3, is that alright?" "No problem."

Receiving that thin movie ticket with the seat number printed on it felt like Lin Xiaoyue had grasped a lifeline.

Stepping into the theater, you'll find it to be a medium-sized hall.

To her surprise, the occupancy rate was quite high, roughly 60-70%.

Most of the people there were young people around her age, some couples, talking quietly in Shanghainese or Mandarin; many more were girls like her who came alone, sitting quietly in their seats; and a few seemed to be classmates who came together.

A faint, sweet aroma of popcorn and a sense of anticipation filled the air.

Lin Xiaoyue found her seat in the middle-to-back corner. She took off her down jacket, scarf, and glasses, and sank deeper into the soft seat.

The theater was well-heated, dispelling the chill brought in from outside.

[Movie Plot Begins]

The story takes place in a high school in a northern city.

Xiao Shui (played by Gao Yuanyuan), a first-year high school girl, is an unremarkable girl with black-rimmed glasses, braces, and tanned skin from helping her family with their small business outdoors. She has average grades and is generally unremarkable. Like countless ordinary girls lost in the sea of ​​people on campus, she is quiet and even somewhat insecure.

Her life was like the slowly flowing river in the city, calm and undisturbed.

Until one day, a transfer student arrived at the school—senior A-Liang (played by Huang Xiaoming).

Senior Liang is tall, handsome, and has a sunny smile. He is a key player on the school basketball team and has excellent grades. He almost perfectly matches every girl's fantasy of a prince charming.

His appearance was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples in the heart of the little water.

The cinematography is delicate and restrained, showcasing the innocent, budding crush through Xiaoshui's perspective: secretly watching him run on the basketball court; pretending to casually pass by his classroom just to catch a glimpse of his serious profile; her heart racing and her mind racing all day because of a single glance or a fleeting encounter with him.

Gao Yuanyuan's performance was extremely convincing. She vividly portrayed Xiao Shui's rusticity, introversion, and the deep-seated, humble affection in the early stages of the story.

Especially those eyes hidden behind thick glasses, always following Ah Liang's figure, filled with cautious joy and unspeakable bitterness.

Lin Xiaoyue watched quietly in the darkness. Xiaoshui's little thoughts and actions on the screen seemed to be a reflection of her own yesterday.

The sweetness and bitterness of unrequited love were so familiar that they made her nose tingle slightly.

Xiao Shui has several good friends of different heights and builds, and she has a lively and cheerful personality.

They discovered Xiaoshui's secret and encouraged her to confess her feelings.

"If you like someone, you should let them know!" my good friend said.

But Xiao Shui just shook her head vigorously, burying her head even lower.

She felt that she was too ordinary and insignificant, like a speck of dust, how could she be worthy of such a dazzling senior like A-Liang?

The turning point came after an inter-school basketball game. Senior A-Liang twisted his ankle during the game and sat alone on the sidelines.

Xiao Shui mustered all the courage she had ever had and bought a bottle of water and a pack of band-aids. But when he looked over, she panicked and shoved the things into the hands of a passing classmate, asking him to pass them on. She then ran away like a startled rabbit.

This scene was both heartbreaking and real, and a few suppressed laughs and sighs echoed in the theater.

Lin Xiaoyue couldn't help but smile, though tears welled in her eyes. Hadn't she also had such awkward yet sincere moments?
This "failed" attempt at care did not make Xiaoshui give up; instead, it inspired an unprecedented power within her.

She began to want to become better, good enough to match that sunlight.

She secretly signed up for the school's drama club, even though she was so nervous on stage at first that she didn't know what to do with her hands and feet. She started paying attention to skincare and tried to take off her glasses and put on contact lenses (a process that was both comical and arduous). She begged her cousin to teach her how to dress and tried to make her image less "unfashionable". She even studied hard, hoping that her ranking on her report card could be closer to his.

The process has not been smooth sailing.

She made a lot of jokes, was ridiculed by her classmates, and experienced the frustration of having her efforts seem to be in vain.

But she didn't give up. The motivation hidden deep in her heart, called "liking," supported her transformation little by little.

(End of this chapter)