Huayu02 started by making films.

His stomach was churning, but he wasn't about to vomit. He shook his head, rubbed his face vigorously, got out of bed, poured himself a glass of hot water, and then went into the bathroom to take a shower.

Five minutes later, Han Yi walked out of the bathroom feeling refreshed, picked up the glass of warm water on the table and drank it all in one gulp. He then plopped down on the edge of the bed and stared blankly out the window.

After a while, he turned to Du Zhe on the next bed and called out, "Old Du, where's the film? Where did you put it?"

Du Zhe was still half asleep when he pointed to his suitcase, which had a small lock on it. Han Yi took the key out of his coat pocket, opened the suitcase, and carefully checked it.

It wasn't that he was being overly cautious, but in the film era, film stock was always the most important element of filmmaking. For a 90-minute film, considering the 1:5 loss ratio between actual shooting and editing/developing, the cost of film stock alone would be around a million dollars, not including any other expenses.

别觉得1:5的损耗率夸张，这是正常导演的平均水平。或许有控制得好的能压到1:3、1:4，但大多数导演只会消耗更多。至于姜文…他拍电影，胶片都是论车拉的。

Looking at the six reels of film in the box, Han Yi's emotions were in turmoil. These films were about thirty minutes long in total, and he had to use a 1:2 ratio to cut out a twelve-minute short film.

"The road ahead is long and arduous..."

……

The following morning, the group said their goodbyes at the hotel entrance. Du Zhe, Da Gao, and Xiao Zhao returned to Beijing with their equipment, film, and Jiang Wu; Han Yi, as usual, took Chen Chen and Zhao Ke back to school.

Jiang Wen said he had been approached to star in a feature film called "The Barber," so he bought a ticket and left immediately.

"It seems like this film angered the director so much that he had a stomach hemorrhage, and filming was eventually halted," Han Yi thought to himself.

Standing on the platform of Tanggu Station, watching Jiang Wen's receding figure, he muttered to himself, "What's that director's name again? Of all things to do, why did he have to make movies? And to make movies, well, let's not forget to hire Jiang Wen, especially for a feature film. No wonder he's causing trouble on set. Does he think he's some kind of director?"

Chen Chen, who was standing nearby, handed over a clean apple: "Director Han, the car has arrived at the station, let's go."

At 2 p.m., Han Yi returned to Beijing Film Academy. As soon as he got off the car, he rushed to the Beijing Film Studio workshop—the processing room and editing room were waiting for him there.

Pushing open the workshop door, a pungent, acidic smell hit him. Han Yi endured the odor and walked to Du Zhe's side, asking in a low voice, "How's the washing going?"

He then joked with the operator of the washing machine, "Master, please keep your hands steady. These few rolls of film you're holding may not be long, but my life is on them."

The masked craftsman replied in a muffled voice, "Don't worry, I've washed all of Brother Kai's 'Yellow Earth'."

Hearing this, Han Yi felt a little more at ease. He called Du Zhe outside and gave him some money: "Go buy two packs of cigarettes, and some food and drinks."

Although Teacher Dai gave us instructions, we still need to show our appreciation. I estimate I'll be finished washing by evening, but we'll have to stay up late tonight to edit the film.

Du Zhe nodded quickly: "Okay, Brother Yi."

The work kept them busy until the early hours of Tuesday morning. Finally, the editing was finished. Han Yi, fighting off sleep, ran the film through the machine to make sure everything was okay before going back to rest.

"Now all that's left is the background music..." These were the last words that flashed through his mind before he lay down on the bed.

In the afternoon, Han Yi was awakened by the afterglow of the setting sun filtering through the curtains. After a quick wash, he locked the door and walked back to Beijing Film Academy from the Jimenli residential area, buying a jianbing (Chinese crepe) for lunch on the way.

"Pah, it's definitely not as good as the ones from Tianjin Port." After taking the last bite at the school gate, he threw the packaging bag into the trash can.

Han Yi retrieved the film from the post-production department and headed straight for the Sound Academy. He spent three hundred yuan to persuade two senior female students to help him complete the final mixing and subtitle translation.

In the final mixing room of the film studio, Han Yi stood behind the dubbing control console, with "I'm glad you're dead now" playing on the screen directly opposite him. Two female students sat in the chairs in front of him, adjusting the mixing equipment.

Han Yi began to give instructions: "Let's start with some suspenseful background music... Yes, that's it. Wait a minute, that's enough, otherwise the suspense will be too strong, and this isn't a crime drama."

For the scene at the dock, I wanted a sense of melancholy yet also a feeling of relief, with a flute melody... Yes, that's the feeling.

After nearly two hours of work, the dubbing and subtitles for "I'm glad you're dead now" were completed, and the film was finally finished.

Han Yi took the film from the projector and carefully put it into his suitcase. He glanced at his phone: it was exactly four o'clock in the afternoon, school hadn't let out yet. He picked up his suitcase and headed towards Teacher Dai's office.

bang bang bang-

A knock came at the door. Han Yi called out from outside, "Professor Dai, my film is finished!"

"Come in, there are no outsiders here."

Han Yi pushed open the door and went in. He saw three people sitting in the office: Yuan Jiaping from the Photography Department, Teacher Dai from the Literature Department, and a fifty-year-old man.

He is Tian Zhuangzhuang, a leading figure of the fifth generation of directors that cannot be ignored in any Chinese entertainment novel, regardless of the time period or whether it involves time travel or rebirth.

"In my memory, Teacher Dai shouldn't be familiar with Tian Zhuangzhuang at this time, so why is he here..." Han Yi muttered to himself.

He placed his suitcase on the table and greeted the three teachers one by one. When it was Tian Zhuangzhuang's turn, the fifty-year-old man looked at Han Yi with a scrutinizing smile: "Do you know who I am?"

Han Yi replied cheerfully, "Professor Tian, ​​who in the national film academy doesn't know you? Why did you suddenly come back to the school? I remember... it was this year, right? Your directing ban ended, wasn't it?"

"Hehe, it seems the young people still care about us old guys." Tian Zhuangzhuang's hearty laughter echoed in the office.

Teacher Dai, unable to contain himself, spoke up: "It's like this, Han Yi. Jiang Wen called Senior Brother Tian and said that the Literature Department of Beijing Film Academy has produced a very talented student director, asking Senior Brother to pay more attention to him when he returns to teach at the school in the second half of the year."

Tian Zhuangzhuang nodded with a smile: "Just two nights ago, I was sleeping at home when he called and said he was filming a really awesome short film. The director is a freshman in the literature department named Han Yi. I happen to live nearby, so I came over to take a look."

Han Yi suddenly realized—on the day of the wrap party, he, Jiang Wen, and Jiang Wu drank too much Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) and walked back to the hotel arm in arm, calling each other brothers. On the way, Jiang Wen shouted that he wanted to become sworn brothers with him, and Jiang Wu also chimed in.

Although Han Yi had also drunk quite a bit, he was young after all, and a quick trip to the bathroom sobered him up considerably. He escorted the two brothers back to their room and poured them a glass of hot water. As for the sworn brotherhood talk, he dismissed it as drunken ramblings. He hadn't expected Jiang Wen to actually care about him; he probably called Tian Zhuangzhuang after waking up in the middle of the night, which led to this scene.

After clarifying the ins and outs, Han Yi immediately switched to "rainbow flattery" mode:

"Teacher Tian, ​​you've gone to so much trouble, making such a long trip. I just made a short film that can't even be shown in theaters. How could I possibly deserve such a prestigious director like you to make this special trip?"

As he spoke, he opened the box: "Look, this is just the beginning."

Tian Zhuangzhuang blushed slightly at his words and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "No trouble at all, it's just a short walk. Anyway, I'll be going back to school to supervise graduate students in the second half of the year."