Reborn as a comedic artist

After a few minutes

As Cheng Ming approached the heavy mahogany door to the principal's office, he took a deep breath, adjusted his posture, and raised his hand.

"Knock knock knock".

The knocking was steady and calm, without a trace of panic about impending success or failure.

"Enter....."

Cheng Ming pushed open the door and entered.

An aroma wafted towards me, a mixture of tobacco tar and the rich, sweet scent of goji berry tea.

Behind the desk, a middle-aged man nearing fifty, wearing glasses, was staring intently at the documents in his hands with a furrowed brow.

His hair was thinning drastically, and the trend toward a receding hairline was unstoppable; it even reflected light under the overhead lamp.

His slightly plump figure is the result of the combined effects of age, alcohol, and social gatherings.

In the thermos cup on the corner of the table, with its paint chipped, was a thick layer of goji berries, their bright red color almost glaring, as if proclaiming the last stubbornness of a middle-aged man.

Zhao Zhiqiang is nicknamed "Shu Yin Qiang" (meaning "Strong with Sichuan accent").

As his name suggests, he was a man of strong will throughout his life.

In the Shuyin region, he possessed a remarkable aura, a magnanimous spirit, and swift and decisive methods.

Compared to Old Li from the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, who held half the power in the region, he was much easier to talk to and had a more江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) air about him.

Upon hearing the door open, Zhao Zhiqiang did not immediately look up; instead, he drew sharp lines on the document with his pen.

Only when Cheng Ming stood in front of the table and the smell of red medicine wafted into his nostrils did he slowly lift his eyelids.

The two thick eyebrows that were originally tightly furrowed relaxed the moment they saw Cheng Ming's appearance.

Yesterday, he carefully studied Cheng Ming's four masterpieces.

To be honest, it wasn't until Zhao Zhiqiang studied him carefully that he realized Cheng Ming was indeed a talented young man.

Although the methods were abstract and a bit unorthodox.

However, the Shuyin IP has now reached new heights of popularity. Not to mention art colleges, if it continues to be popular, its recent popularity can rival that of Tsinghua and Peking Universities!

Seeing the person involved act so recklessly, Zhao Zhiqiang now understands just how dedicated this young man is to art.

It's true, those who appear noble in public suffer in private.

............

"sit."

Zhao Zhiqiang pointed to the chair opposite him, his tone revealing neither joy nor anger. His eyes, which had seen countless people, were hidden behind his glasses, making it impossible to discern his true feelings.

Cheng Ming didn't stand on ceremony. He pulled out a chair and plopped down, even adjusting himself into a comfortable position, showing absolutely no remorse as a student who had made a mistake.

The scent of red medicine permeated the office, which was kept at a constant temperature of 26 degrees Celsius.

He then pulled out a heavily edited version of "A Better Tomorrow" that he had recorded and edited the night before.

Their main focus is on letting their strength speak for itself, employing a two-pronged approach.

"Principal, please take a look first..."

After Cheng Ming finished speaking, he adjusted the volume and clicked play.

As the video slowly unfolds.

The vivid image quality instantly caught Zhao Zhiqiang's eye.

The dim lights reflected the night scene of Chengdu, and the camera focused on Xiao Ma, played by Cheng Ming, and Hao, played by Wang Shuo.

The graininess of that film-like texture and the perfectly low color temperature instantly transported Zhao Zhiqiang back to the 1980s and 90s when video arcades were everywhere.

The two actors' pitiful appearances and realistic acting skills immediately captivated Zhao Zhiqiang.

Especially Cheng Ming.

In the video, he has a half-smoked cigarette butt in his mouth, his leg dragging on the ground, and with each step, the shrug of his shoulders and the slight trembling of his facial muscles are perfectly coordinated.

The desolate feeling of being down on one's luck and fallen from grace reached the depths of Zhao Zhiqiang's heart through the screen.

As the background music of "The Way We Were" gently began to play, accompanied by the melodious harmonica, Zhao Zhiqiang witnessed the two men's dedication to art.

Especially the moment when Cheng Ming, who plays Little Ma, turns around.

His eyes held fire, tears, and resentment, but not resignation.

That instant.

The film "A Better Tomorrow" almost brought tears to the eyes of this fifty-year-old man; he was very familiar with it.

Men are boys until they die; who hasn't been a bit immature at some point?

He was young once too, he once wore a trench coat and imitated Chow Yun-fat, and he once ran wildly at the school gate after school for the sake of so-called loyalty.

That was his youth, and the passion of a generation.

The video is very short, only three minutes long.

The office remained deathly silent until the screen froze on the final line, "I'm not waiting for an opportunity, but because I don't want to lose to this world."

..........

The lid of the thermos in Zhao Zhiqiang's hand made a "creaking" sound as he unconsciously squeezed it.

Even the fabricated proposal doesn't need to be deliberately mentioned; the acting skills, videos, and achievements have already proven everything.

In this era where traffic is king, content is justice, and strength is the passport.

Zhao Zhiqiang took a deep breath, took off his glasses, and rubbed the bridge of his nose, seemingly trying to hide the moisture in the corners of his eyes.

He put his glasses back on, and his gaze toward Cheng Ming held a newfound scrutiny.

"Was this film rushed out of production, or was it something you planned in advance...?"

Zhao Zhiqiang's hairstyle speaks volumes about his exceptional intelligence.

Seeing the true colors of a hero, and recalling the art of Sichuan music, and even the "bombshell" that Lao Wang intentionally or unintentionally revealed at the end of June, as well as the "Proposal (Draft) on Building a Benchmark for University Cultural Output Based on New Media Platforms".

Even he couldn't help but admire Cheng Ming's talent after seeing this series of actions.

"I have them, but time is tight and conditions are limited. I only have one mirrorless camera, so we'll have to make do..." Cheng Ming shrugged helplessly.

Zhao Zhiqiang laughed in exasperation, pointing at the screen: "Make do? You call this make do...?"

With acting skills like that, and that mastery of lighting and shadow, you can't pull it off without talent and ten or eight years of diligent practice. That old geezer Wang Jianhua called you a genius, and I thought he was just protecting his own, but now it seems he was being conservative. You're simply a prodigy...

"Principal, you flatter me. These are just some random photos I took; they're nothing special..."

"Alright, stop trying to fool me..."

Zhao Zhiqiang leaned back, and the boss's chair creaked under the weight.

"You've made such a big fuss, with all this melodrama and all this overtime, tell me, what do you want...?"

No university president is an easy person to deal with, and Cheng Ming's methods naturally did not escape Shu Yinqiang's notice.

"Principal, since you've put it that way, I won't beat around the bush..."

Cheng Ming got straight to the point, holding up three fingers with a determined air.

"I've now set up a studio and assembled a small team, and I'm ready to seriously treat this as a career."

But as you know, I'll be leaving in a couple of days after taking my graduation photos, but my team still has students who will be juniors soon, and there are courses, attendance, and all sorts of other things to take care of at school...

Zhao Zhiqiang picked up his thermos, blew on the goji berries floating on top, and looked at him with a half-smile: "You want me to pull some strings and give you the green light...?"

"It's not just a green light, it's a safeguard."

Cheng Ming leaned forward, his hands resting on his knees, his expression solemn, each word spoken with conviction: "In my team, besides my roommate Wang Shuo, there are three girls: Lin Yiyi and Zhao Yufeng from the Music Education Department, and Gu Xiao from the Music Performance Department..."

Upon hearing these names, Zhao Zhiqiang paused in his drinking.

The thermos was suspended in mid-air, its steam rising and obscuring half of his face.

He was familiar with Wang Shuo's name, after all, he had starred in two short videos in a row. He played Cheng Ming's roommate and best friend, that fat guy who was as strong as a bear but had a natural comedic charm. His acting skills were indeed quite talented...

Gu Xiao from the Department of Music Performance was a promising student, ranking at the top of her class in her major courses and frequently appearing on various award lists. He had heard of her before; she was the face of the Department of Music Performance this year and also Li Baoguo's darling.

As for Lin Yiyi, also known as Sister Panda, she was so fooled by Cheng Ming that it would be hard for her not to know him...

As for Zhao Yufeng...!

Zhao Zhiqiang's lips twitched uncontrollably.

Even now, he's still shaken by the experience, let alone in the video!

That girl, who was 1.76 meters tall, walked with a powerful stride, and was even more fierce than the boys, broke the record for shot put at the school sports meet. The arc of the shot put almost hit him on the podium. She was a remarkable woman who was just as capable as any man.

..........