Huayu: Reborn in 97, transferring to the Central Academy of Drama's star-studded class

Jiang Lai lay on the earthen kiln at the entrance of the village, scratching the frizzy wig on his head, feeling particularly itchy.

Director Feng was still making preparations, saying something about the lighting being wrong, but he couldn't understand it, so he simply lay down and counted ants out of boredom.

Well, this one is called Xiao Hei, this one is called Xiao Hong, and this one, let's call it Zhang Ziyi.

He watched the three ants working together to carry grains of rice, then suddenly grinned and, with a mischievous grin, pinched out the ant and placed it some distance away.

The zhangziyi circled around in confusion for a few moments before running towards its two companions.

Jiang Lai pinched again, and Zhang Ziyi ran away again; he was having a great time.

After playing with Zhang Ziyi for a while, Jiang Lai felt even more bored. He pouted, looked around, and discovered a hole where ants were gathering.

He simply picked up Zhang Ziyi, Xiao Hei, and Xiao Hong together and threw them into the hole.

"You're welcome."

Jiang returned to his position on the earthen kiln and casually flicked away the grains of rice that the three ants had been carrying for half a day.

"Little Jiang, stop playing around! Get ready to film!" Director Feng shouted through a megaphone.

Jiang Lai gave an OK sign, then tucked his hands into his sleeves and buried his face in his arms.

"Action!"

Upon hearing the instruction, Jiang Lai slowly raised his head, imagining a car approaching from the front, and imagining that he had been looking forward to this car for a long time.

"Click!"

Jiang Lai was just getting into the swing of things when Director Feng abruptly called "cut."

"Little Jiang, come down first."

Jiang Lai quickly ran down the slope.

"What's wrong, director?"

Director Feng looked Jiang Lai up and down, and said tactfully, "You're still too clean."

Jiang Lai thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Understood, Director."

He squatted down on the ground, smeared dust on his hands, and started wiping it on his face.

"Hey, you're too honest, kid." Director Feng quickly pulled him up.

Jiang Lai curled his lip inwardly with disdain. "I've licked the stinky floor of the rehearsal room, why would I care about your little bit of dirt?" He felt a little smug thinking to himself. "What a dedicated guy!"

Director Feng then added, "We can do makeup!"

Jiang Lai: "..."

Why didn't you say so sooner!

The makeup artist came running over with her case, and didn't waste the little bit of dirt on Jiang Lai's face. She used a brush to spread it evenly, and then used some yellowish stuff to touch up the color.

Director Feng observed for a moment, then asked him to add two more tufts of mustache and glue a full beard onto his chin before nodding in satisfaction.

"Done, lie back down now."

Jiang Lai scurried back to the earthen kiln and lay down.

"Action!"

Jiang Lai slowly raised his head, pursed his lips, and scrunched up his face.

"Click!"

Director Feng looked up from behind the monitor and raised the megaphone: "Xiao Jiang, your emotions are off, your expression is too much."

Jiang nodded and resumed filming.

This time, he thought for a moment before slowly raising his head, trying his best to portray a feeling of seeing hope, his lips trembling as he turned down.

"Click!"

"Little Jiang, that's still not right. Think about it, this person is really pitiful. He's finally met his savior, and it's from the inside out. Come on, let's start over."

Jiang Lai lay down, and filming resumed.

"Click!"

"Click!"

"Click!"

After several takes, Jiang Lai's expression became stiff.

Left with no other option, Director Feng suggested taking a break and called Jiang Lai down.

"Little Jiang, look at him. This man hasn't had meat in so long. As the saying goes, it's hard to go from luxury to frugality. Just think how hard it is for him. He's stolen all the chickens in the village, and he hasn't even spared the rats. Look how miserable he is. So when he sees the car coming to pick him up, it's like a desperate person seeing hope!"

Director Feng gestured and explained the scene to Jiang Lai, who listened attentively but felt increasingly unsure of how to act.

Looking back at the roles he's played, the dirty pig was one he'd seen while eating at a farmhouse restaurant. He found it amusing and lingered in the pigsty for a while.

Black Soil, well, you just have a ready-made template in your mind, you just need to imitate it in that direction.

The role I'm playing now is the same; I've seen too many spoiled rich kids, so I can play any role easily.

But the problem is that now we have to create a sense of contrast.

He may have some talent in acting and be able to capture the essence of a character, but he is completely unable to portray the inner world of a character.

He has never experienced hunger or despair. Asking someone who has never suffered to act out the feeling of suffering will either result in a haphazard and superficial performance, or it would be better not to act at all.

Director Feng talked for a long time, then sighed and thought he would try again, so he had Jiang Lai lie down again.

"Action!"

Jiang Lai's movements became even more stiff, and his face remained expressionless.

Director Feng frowned, wondering if he had placed too high expectations on Jiang Lai. This was not as good as the previous ones. He was considering whether it was acceptable to just move on.

Jiang Lai stood up abruptly and silently walked down from the earthen kiln.

He didn't want to just act randomly, so he chose the third path.

That means he wants to truly come, to really experience hardship, and to truly immerse himself in the role.

"Are you really sure?" Director Feng asked seriously.

"I've made up my mind!" Jiang Lai replied.

Jiang Lai decided that he would really live in the village for a period of time, abstaining from meat and eating only coarse grains and wild vegetables.

Director Feng looked at Jiang Lai's serious and earnest expression and nodded in agreement.

"Alright then, we'll go back first and come pick you up in three or four days at most."

"Okay, take my phone and wallet back with you."

......

Dongcheng District, near Nanluoguxiang.

Zhang Ziyi wandered around here with a numb expression.

She came out to do the summer homework assigned by Teacher Changli, which was still an observation journal, but she had no intention of observing at all now.

Since that night, her brother Zhang Zinan offered to give her his room and sleep in the living room himself.

But she refused outright; what she wanted was never charity or temporary possession.

Speaking of Zhang Zinan, aside from the occasional lapse in judgment that might cause trouble for his sister, he is actually quite good to Zhang Ziyi, after all, they are siblings.

With his younger sister's career prospects uncertain, he quit his secure job, obtained a broker's license, and took charge of his sister's business dealings. Not many people have that kind of courage.

He just didn't do a very good job, which caused a lot of negative impact on his younger sister.

But if I had to say when I wouldn't betray my sister, it would be when I stopped her from marrying that guy in leather pants.

Unfortunately, it didn't work.

In a daze, Zhang Ziyi wandered to Shichahai.

This was a place that Class 96 loved to go in their spare time. It was close to the school, had nice scenery, and wasn't as crowded with bars and singers as it would be in later years, so it was quite quiet.

Zhang Ziyi sat on a bench by the lake, staring blankly at the water.

"Zi Yi?"

A voice sounded from behind her. She turned around and looked surprised.

"Gao Feng?"

In mid-August, Director Feng and his crew were filming a scene where Xu Fan, playing the star Tang Lijun, was surrounded by onlookers at a supermarket.

In this era, there are many foreign supermarkets or other brands. Some of these brands require Chinese people to become members to enter, but foreigners can enter freely. Some even do not allow Chinese people to enter at all. Strangely enough, the people in charge are all Chinese, which is quite intriguing.

Off topic.

Director Feng watched as Xu Fan got out of the car in the shot, and the extras surrounded him asking for autographs. He bit his finger and frowned secretly.

He couldn't help but say to He Bing beside him, "You know, we even have Mercedes-Benz W14s in our show, and this big star is only riding in a car worth a few hundred thousand? Isn't that a bit too cheap?"

He Bing blinked.

"This is considered subpar? Why don't we rent a better one?"

Director Feng pondered for a moment, then hesitated before speaking, "How about we ask Xiao Jiang to borrow another car for his family? They should have a luxury car."

"Sure, Xiao Jiang isn't a bad guy. It shouldn't be a problem for him to appear on camera for a bit. Hey, where's Xiao Jiang?"

The two of them were stunned at the same time.

Director Feng slapped his thigh, "Oh no! I completely forgot about him!"