Huayu02 started by making films.

On the evening of May 23, Han Yi and Teacher Dai went to see Director Jia's "Ren Xiaoyao".

The film tells the story of two unemployed workers' children who discover that real life is completely different from the world shown on television, feel deeply lost about the future, and spend their days riding motorcycles around until they meet the female protagonist...

Although Section Chief Jia was banned, his name will forever remain in the Department of Literature.

After the screening, Section Chief Jia introduced Han Yi to several distributors—from Britain, France, and Japan.

Several film distributors were very interested when they heard the title "I'm glad you're dead now" and agreed to watch it together the day after tomorrow.

Han Yi returned to the hotel in high spirits, thinking that it would be his turn after tomorrow. He tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep, so he decided to sneak off to the "Mahjong Parlor" to watch a movie and relieve some stress.

When Han Yi ran into Robert during the day, he mentioned that today was a special day for Italian women. Han Yi thought to himself: Italy is great, a direct practical exercise.

Upon arriving at the location, Han Yi saw Section Chief Jia sitting inside with Zhao Tao, watching a movie.

Han Yi cursed inwardly, "Old Jia is treating me like a fool!"

But to be honest, the section chief is only ten centimeters taller than Pan Zi. After all, good things come in small packages.

Han Yi found a corner to hide in, watched two movies, and then left, thinking that he couldn't let these two see him, otherwise it would be too embarrassing.

Back at the hotel, Teacher Dai was still nowhere to be seen.

Han Yi went straight to bed, reminiscing about the Italian women's movie, when Chenchen's little face suddenly popped into his mind, and he fell asleep without realizing it.

Early the next morning,

Han Yi woke up with a start. He opened his eyes and saw that the bed next to him was empty; Teacher Dai hadn't returned yet.

He thought to himself, "As expected of France, this is an old tree finally blossoming."

Suddenly, he remembered that in his previous life, the Palme d'Or for Best Short Film at Cannes was won by "After the Rain".

Han Yi stood up and started rantring at thin air: "Comparing the 25-year-old Palme d'Or to the 02 Palme d'Or, the odds of winning aren't even that high!"

After saying that, he got out of bed, took out paper and pen, and scribbled on the table: "After the Rain: The editing is exquisite, the shots are average, the metaphors are insufficient, and the length is too short."

"I'm glad you're dead now": Exquisite editing, explosive metaphors, and ample runtime.

Looking at this self-evaluation, Han Yi muttered, "From my perspective, it's fine, but I need to add an extra layer of insurance. There's a host interview segment after the short film, and I need to think of a way to completely kill 'After the Rain'."

He continued writing on the paper: "Dimensional attack, breaking boundaries, reshaping the landscape, deep penetration, far ahead (scratch this)..."

"My name is Han Yi. I grew up in abject poverty, with nothing to my name. My mother told me that children from poor families mature early. I did it all for my dream of making movies..."

Han Yi spent the entire day in his hotel room pondering and refining his speech for tomorrow, determined to give a significant edge over the usual interview segments at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

"Bang bang bang!"

A knock sounded at the door. Han Yi opened the door and saw a short, middle-aged man with a gray jacket, dark trousers, and a crew cut standing next to Teacher Dai.

"Why is Han Shanping here? Could it be that he's having an affair with Teacher Dai?" Han Yi wondered.

After the two entered the room, Han Yi asked Teacher Dai, "Teacher Dai, where were you last night? And who is this?"

Teacher Dai introduced, "Han Yi, this is General Manager Han from China Film Group. He's in Cannes to select and buy films. I talked with him too late last night, so I didn't come back."

Han Yi's heart tightened: Could Han Shanping be trying to steal my thunder? I heard he likes to invest in young directors, but I don't want to sell my film to China Film Group. They can only afford to pay a small amount.

On a whim, he immediately stepped forward to shake hands warmly: "Oh my, I've long heard that General Manager Han of China Film Group has an extraordinary demeanor, but I've never had the chance to meet him. Meeting him today, I can confirm that his reputation is well-deserved."

Han Shanping was different from most people; he wasn't swayed by flattery. He looked at Han Yi and asked directly, "How exactly does he possess an extraordinary air?"

Han Yi was speechless for a moment—this is different from what was written in Huayu Wen! Isn't it always the case that a college student director slams the script on the table, and Shan Ping is amazed and immediately invests 100 million?

After thinking for a moment, he forced himself to continue, "President Han's presence in Cannes this time is like 'a great wind rises and clouds fly high.'"

Teacher Dai chuckled and joked from the side, "Wrong, President Han is younger than Liu Bang."

"Then... his strength could uproot mountains and his spirit could cover the world!" Han Yi quickly corrected himself.

Looking at the eighteen-year-old Han Yi before him, Han Shanping made a judgment: this kid is definitely not on the same wavelength as Lu Taro. If Jiang Wen hadn't mentioned it, they would have almost missed out on such a promising talent. Right now, the domestic film industry is in dire need of rebuilding; this is truly a critical moment of survival...

Han Shanping smiled and said, "Han Yi, why don't you hire China Film Group for your films? If I hadn't seen the news, I wouldn't have known your short film was nominated for Cannes."

"Oh, not at all, I was just lucky." Han Yi waved his hand, but in his heart he thought: Han Shanping is up to no good.

After another round of commercial flattery, Han Shanping got straight to the point: "Han Yi, I came to Cannes this time for two reasons. First, to select films for import, and second, to see if you have any plans for your next film—China Film Group can invest in it."

Upon hearing this, Han Yi looked at Teacher Dai, his eyes asking about the "Selaginella". Teacher Dai shook his head slightly.

Han Yi understood immediately and said, "Mr. Han, to be honest, my short film will only be screened for the first time tomorrow, and no distributors have inquired about prices yet. I'm feeling quite anxious..."

"I wonder if you could buy my short film? If not, you could recommend a few film companies!"

He thought to himself, "Where did China Film Group get the money? It's probably all gone to those old men. I wonder if they've even started investing in Kai's 'The Promise' yet. If they have, they probably don't even have a million in the books right now."

Otherwise, he wouldn't have dragged Jiang Wen along to Venice in September to sell "The Missing Gun." Was he trying to freeload off me?

Han Shanping remained calm and composed: "We'll have to see the film to judge its quality. How about this, I'll bring a few friends from the film industry to support you tomorrow."

"This is exactly the effect I wanted." Han Yi was secretly delighted and quickly thanked him, "Thank you so much, Mr. Han! Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, Buñuel Hall, see you there!"

Then came a barrage of flattery, leaving Han Shanping dizzy and disoriented, before finally sending the person away.

Han Shanping returned to his room, feeling that something was off: Was Han Yi really eighteen years old? Why was he so slippery? He'd have to ask him about his family's generation later, to see if they were related. He seemed to be about the same age as his daughter.

He glanced at his phone and dialed Jiang Wen's number. As soon as the call connected, he asked, "Jiang Wen, how's the quality of Han Yi's short film? Aren't you the lead actor?"

Jiang Wen immediately knew that Han Shanping hadn't gotten the better of Han Yi, and replied, "I'm not the director, I haven't even seen the finished film. I'm just the second male lead in the crew, not even the first male lead..."

"Aren't you always the one nitpicking on set? You've made Lu Taro cry so many times, why are you so well-behaved in Han Yi's group?"

Jiang Wen's face darkened on the other end of the phone: "Don't mention that little brat, it's boring. Just consider it me giving Jiang Wu face, after all, he and Han Yi are both from the Beijing Film Academy..."

"Isn't Lu Taro also from Beijing Film Academy?... Beep... Feed?" The phone was hung up.

Han Shanping looked completely bewildered.

Inside the room, Han Yi was quite satisfied with the story he had just made up. He reviewed it from beginning to end, extracted the essence, and planned to focus his efforts on being the most dazzling person in the room tomorrow.