Huayu02 started by making films.

Han Yi smiled and said, "Sister Hua, I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush, let me finish."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Chen clicked the mouse, and a line of text appeared on the screen: "Gong Li and Maggie Cheung—What do these Best Actress winners have in common?"

Han Yi looked at the two women and said loudly, "These two are a Venice Film Festival Best Actress and a Berlin Film Festival Best Actress. Do you know what their biggest thing in common is?"

Fan Xiaopang shook his head, then nodded, looking completely bewildered. Sister Hua, on the other hand, frowned, deep in thought.

Han Yi continued, "First, the films in which they won awards are all female-centric films—meaning that the characters they played occupied more than two-thirds of the entire film."

Secondly, the roles they played all focused on marginalized groups in society or emphasized the fate of women, prompting reflection on political and cultural levels. This is true for both "Ruan Lingyu" and "The Story of Qiu Ju".

Third, and most importantly—

Han Yi paused deliberately, walked to Chen Chen's table, picked up her thermos and took a sip, glancing at the audience out of the corner of his eye.

Fan Xiaopang eagerly pressed, "What else? What's the third one?"

Sister Hua seemed to suddenly understand something, and her brows relaxed: "Professor Han, please continue."

"Don't rush."

Han Yi said casually, put the lid back on the table, and whispered to Chen Chen, "Add some lemon next time. I've been a bit irritable these past few days."

Chen Chen gave him a disdainful look.

"Okay, let's continue."

Han Yi returned to the podium, ruler in hand: "The most important point is the directors of these two films—their filming techniques differ; one leans towards realism, the other focuses on biography. And me, Han Yi—"

He turned off the projector, looked directly at the two people in the audience, and said in a calm and clear voice: "First-year students in the Department of Literature, eighteen years old, and their first short film has been shortlisted for Cannes. The short film stars the brothers Jiang Wen and Jiang Wu."

Jiang Wen wouldn't dare nitpick in my film crew, and Jiang Wu is convinced I'll be the best director Beijing Film Academy will ever produce. Tian Zhuangzhuang, who will be teaching directing next semester, has already secured my place in the graduate program. Most importantly, my directing style is already established.

As Fan Xiaopang heard the names Jiang Wen, Jiang Wu, and Tian Zhuangzhuang, each one a resounding success, her heart surged with excitement. She almost felt that Han Yi in front of her was her Zhang Emo and Guan Jinpeng (director of "Ruan Lingyu").

She walked up to Han Yi, grabbed his arm, and said in a coquettish tone, "Han Yi... Director... I want to be the female lead in your new film, I don't even need a fee..."

Hua Jie silently pondered, "I'll have to call Jiang Wen later to confirm."

Chen Chen, who was sitting down, felt a slight throbbing in his forehead veins and cursed inwardly, "What a vixen."

"How many times have I told you, call me Instructor Han in the classroom!"

Han Yi gently pushed her hand away: "I wasn't planning on paying you anyway. Chenchen, take the script to Sister Xiaopang."

"Okay, Han Yi." Chen Chen took out a copy of the script "Selaginella" from his bag and handed it to the two of them.

Fan Xiaopang and Sister Hua sat down again and started flipping through the pages.

After a while, the two finished reading the script, their expressions differing. Fan Xiaopang confirmed that it was indeed a female-centric drama with a significant amount of screen time; Sister Hua, however, worried that the script wouldn't pass censorship and spoke first:

"Professor Han, I'm afraid this manuscript won't be easy to pass the review?" Her tone was tentative.

"This is not your concern. Tian Zhuangzhuang will be the producer of this film. Even if it fails to pass censorship, it will be the director who gets banned," Han Yi replied.

"Director Han, are you trying to emulate Jiang Wen?"

Han Yi laughed: "You're overthinking it." He looked at Fan Xiaopang and got straight to the point: "Sister Xiaopang, are you sure you want to act in this script?"

Fan Xiaopang nodded emphatically: "Mentor Han, I want to act."

After saying that, she looked at Sister Hua and added, "Sister Hua, I don't want to be overshadowed by other actresses anymore. Even if I don't win the Venice Film Festival Best Actress award for this film directed by Han, just getting a nomination will put me ahead of 80% of actresses in China."

Sister Hua could only nod: "Alright, it's your decision."

She turned to Han Yi and said, "Director Han, how about we give you a little bit of payment, just as a token? It'll sound good to others."

Han Yi laughed upon hearing this, "This is an art film. How much do you want in terms of pay? Go ask Zhang Ziyi and Gong Li how much they earned when they first started out acting in art films. If that doesn't work, I'll go to the schools. If you don't want to act, there are plenty of other people who will."

Fan Xiaopang quickly interrupted, "Director Han, I don't want a fee. Just tell me what preparations I need to make."

Sister Hua was rendered speechless by the rebuttal and could only give up in frustration.

Han Yi was a little annoyed—the plan was only half completed, and he hadn't expected Sister Hua to come today. He gave Chen Chen a wink:

"Chenchen, take Sister Hua to try our dinner at the Beijing Film Academy. I need to go over some character details with Sister Xiaopang."

"Okay."

Chen Chen pulled Sister Hua toward the cafeteria, then turned back and asked, "Han Yi, what do you want to eat? I'll get it for you."

"Apple-fried mooncakes".

After the two left, Han Yi asked Fan Xiaopang, "Are you signed with Huayi Brothers now, working with Sister Hua, or are you going solo?"

Fan Xiaopang was startled: "How did Han Yi know about my company with my friends? Isn't he a student?" She adopted a gentle, feminine demeanor and said softly:

"That's nonsense. She's working like a slave for Huayi Brothers now, and she can't even get a lead role in a movie. Luckily, Director Han, you have a discerning eye." As she spoke, she leaned closer to Han Yi.

Seeing her like this, Han Yi simply dropped the pretense: "Little Fatty, stop pretending with me. You said it yourself, I'm the only director who invited you to be the female lead."

He pulled Fan Xiaopang, who was trying to get closer, into his arms, nudged Grapefruit with his elbow, and chuckled, "My dear sister, how about you tell me what's going on with TaoMei Company?"

Fan Xiaopang jerked free from her embrace, the warmth of her hand still lingering on You's skin. Her eyes welled with tears, and she asked in surprise, "How did you know so much?"

Han Yi leaned back in his chair with a smile and said lazily, "When I went to the business bureau to register my studio, I accidentally saw a woman had registered this name. When 'Selaginella' was looking for actresses, I checked the information of all the domestic actresses around twenty years old."

I just happened to see your parents' names. Little Fatty, aren't you afraid of breaching your contract with Huayi Brothers by doing this?

Fan Xiaopang then took a closer look at the man in front of her. Behind the gold-rimmed glasses, she couldn't see the depth of Han Yi's eyes, so she decided to just go with the flow.

"Director Han, why are you, a director, paying so much attention to a weak woman like me? You can't possibly be looking to borrow money from me, can you?"

"Huh? You guessed that?" Han Yi replied.

Fan Xiaopang looked distressed: "Huh? I'm not asking for any payment, and you still want to borrow money from me?" She suddenly changed the subject:

"Director Han, you don't mean... you don't have the money to make 'Selaginella', do you? If it really comes down to it, I can invest!"

Han Yi said in a deep voice, "I still have enough money to shoot an art film. The thing is, I need to register a studio for accounting purposes, and I'm a little short on funds."

He looked at Fan Xiaopang and earnestly reminded him:

"I don't know what your studio does, but I still want to remind you: always be a law-abiding citizen and never evade taxes. You've heard about what happened these past few days, right? We still don't know what the outcome will be. Remember, learn from past mistakes."

"Thank you for your concern, little brother. Just tell me how much you need, and I'll take care of it for you," Fan Xiaopang assured, patting his chest.

Han Yi thought to himself, "I wonder if Fan Xiaopang had three million in 2002, but I guess he had about that much."