Huayu02 started by making films.

March 28, 2002, the seventeenth day of the first lunar month.

The second day of school.

A public lecture, jointly given by the 01 undergraduate and vocational students of the Department of Literature at Beijing Film Academy, was held in a lecture hall.

On the blackboard, the five chalk characters for "History of Chinese and Foreign Cinema" were written in a vigorous and upright style.

The lecturer was radiant and spoke eloquently on stage, while the students below sat up straight, completely focused.

Han Yi sat quietly in the corner of the classroom, looking at his familiar classmates and the teacher giving the lecture, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Yes, he was reborn. This past winter break was his first vacation after his rebirth.

In his previous life, after graduating from the literature department, he plunged into the entertainment industry, starting as a screenwriter on set.

A screenwriter on set is like a brick in the production crew, moved wherever needed.

Stars want more screen time, directors want adjustments, investors want to add people, and the script can be overturned and rewritten at any time. He is the one who stays up all night every day, stuffing the wishes of all parties into the lines.

I worked on projects at noon and submitted materials to Huanrui. My days were spent revising scripts endlessly and staying up all night.

Who would have thought that after just climbing to the position of assistant director, he would be spending the night in a hotel studying with a female contestant? The next morning, Han Yi was reborn back to 02, during his first winter break in college.

What to do? Just accept your fate.

So, in a daze, I passed the Lantern Festival, ate some glutinous rice balls, picked up my schoolbag, and went back to school.

……

"Okay, that's all for today's lesson."

On the podium, the lecturer closed his lesson plan, picked up the thermos filled with goji berries, and...

"get out of class dismissed. Han Yi, come to my office."

Pulled back to reality by Teacher Dai's last words, Han Yi stood up and walked out of the classroom with the flow of people.

A murmur of conversation came from behind me:

"Is Teacher Dai specifically criticizing me?"

"Who is this Han Yi?"

"He's an undergraduate student, and he's quite handsome."

"Is he handsome? If so, why doesn't he go to the performing arts department?"

"I won't talk about it..."

Inside the office, Teacher Dai sat in a chair, took off his glasses, and wiped them with his head down, speaking without looking up:

"Han Yi, is it because school just started and you haven't gotten over the New Year's atmosphere yet? I've noticed you've been spacing out in class these past few days. You can talk to the teacher if there's anything you need to say."

Han Yi felt a slight warmth in his heart. The teacher Dai in front of him was his class teacher for four years in his previous life. He graduated with a master's degree in literature in 00 and stayed on to teach at the university. He was a simple and kind person who was always kind to his students.

"It's alright, Teacher Dai."

Han Yi shook his head, his tone hesitant: "I just feel that our literature department is always talking about 'film theory' or doing 'script analysis,' and we might not even have the chance to make a film ourselves before we graduate. It's pretty boring."

"What's wrong? Don't you want to study anymore?" Teacher Dai put on her glasses and looked over through the lenses.

"How could that be? It wasn't easy for me to get in."

Han Yi scratched his head. "What I mean is, can we stop just talking about theory and let us try it out ourselves?"

"Young people are impulsive and act on a whim." Teacher Dai laughed and pointed:

"Do you know how many steps it takes to make a movie? Director, cinematographer, producer, art director, post-production... I won't go into the script, that's our specialty."

Even if all of these issues are resolved, do you know how much it will cost? Young people shouldn't be so overly ambitious.

"Can I say that I probably know more than you do now?" Han Yi silently added in his mind.

"Teacher, that's not how it works. Although I've only been in the department for half a semester, I've already met the people in the directing department. They're all incredibly arrogant. They haven't even made a short film themselves, yet they're already criticizing the script. Many of the senior students' scripts have been sent back for rewriting, with them saying this isn't right and that's not correct."

"well,"

Teacher Dai sighed, her tone tinged with helplessness, "We have different roles, that's just reality."

"Isn't Section Chief Jia also a graduate of our literature department? His films still win awards."

"So what do you mean?"

"I want to make a film."

The four resolute words came out of Han Yi's mouth, and in that instant, he felt a lightness all over his body and his mind refreshed.

Having been reborn, why bother studying so hard? Wouldn't it be better to just make movies?

"Okay."

Teacher Dai stood up and slowly replied with four words, "Do you have money?"

"have."

Before returning to school this time, Han Yi mortgaged the three-bedroom apartment his father had bought for him in the city, which he had originally intended to use as his wedding home.

The full 300,000 is now lying in the savings account.

He had already calculated that it would be more than enough to make a short film. If the department was willing to put in some effort, it wouldn't be impossible to go straight to a feature film.

"How much?" Teacher Dai asked, puzzled.

Han Yi gave an "OK" sign and said softly, "Three hundred thousand."

"Where did you, a student, get so much money? You didn't do anything wrong, did you?"

Seeing that Teacher Dai was about to press for details, Han Yi quickly made up an excuse: "Teacher Dai, I haven't told you before, but my family... is actually quite well-off. We raise cattle."

Teacher Dai nodded, not pressing the matter further: "So, do you have a specific plan?"

Han Yi composed himself and explained his ideas one by one.

After a long pause, Teacher Dai listened and then said thoughtfully:

"Okay, go back and make a detailed budget first, then refine the script and bring it to me for review. I'll help you check it out."

"Okay, thank you, teacher!"

Han Yi nodded quickly, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke somewhat shyly:

"Well... if the script is okay, could we rent a camera from the school?"

"Can."

Upon receiving an affirmative reply, Han Yi beamed with joy and walked briskly out of the office. Seeing that the corridor was empty, he realized that it was already past lunchtime and quickly ran towards the cafeteria.

After a simple lunch, Han Yi took a walk on the campus of Beijing Film Academy to digest his food.

It was the start of the new school year, and the school was bustling with activity. Students who had gone home for the Lunar New Year were returning to school to register, and there were people coming and going everywhere.

Wang Luodan, who is in the same grade as Han Yi, Nai Liang, who hasn't prepared a celebratory drink yet, Huang Shengyi, who hasn't starred in "Kung Fu", and Bian Xiaoxiao.

A few years ago, there were "Goddess Dragon" Dong Xuan, Yao Dazui, Hong Shixian who later became the king of memes with the phrase "You're so sexy", and Dan Chen, who was hailed as the "most beautiful Chang'e".

Han Yi had more or less dealings with these people in later years.

The entertainment industry is ultimately a small circle; you end up with people who were classmates, became brothers-in-law, or are like-minded. As for those relationships that are even more complicated, there are even more of them.

"Pah, pah, pah."

Han Yi stopped, curled a sliver of lean meat from between his teeth with his tongue, spat it lightly on the ground, and turned to walk back to his dormitory.

He strolled leisurely back to dormitory building number three, climbed to the fourth floor, and pushed open the door to room 404.

A complex odor wafted over. The salty aroma of instant noodles, the lingering smell of smoke, and the stench of socks that had been accumulating for days, all mingled and solidified in the cramped space.

"Cough, cough, damn it, Lao Du, don't you know how to open the balcony door in your dorm?"

Han Yi held his breath, strode to the balcony, opened the door, and turned to the person lying on the bunk bed, saying...

"This smells so bad you could pickle vegetables! How can you sleep?"

The person in the bed is named Du Zhe, a photography major. Room 404 is a four-person room, and the other two roommates, both from the directing department, are not here at the moment.