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

As soon as December arrived, it snowed in Beijing. The snow wasn't heavy, just intermittent, like a persistent urination.

Jiang Lai couldn't help much with Uncle Panshan's rehearsals; he could only watch. He only went a few times before stopping, but he learned a lot from watching their performances.

Fortunately, the proposal passed the review, since the theme is positive and uplifting.

Jiang Lai also met Teacher Cui. At this time, Teacher Cui was full of vigor and had not yet become the tired-looking Old Cui of later generations.

I remember him saying, "I said goodbye to good people, I became more and more slick, and God helped me, I got sick."

Luo Dayou comforted him, saying, "Xiao Cui, don't be afraid. It's not that we're sick, it's that this era is sick."

Jiang Lai didn't care what was wrong with this era; he just wanted to do things he liked and wanted to do.

For example, he discussed with He Qingkui about adding Zhang Ziyi and Liu Ye to the scriptwriting team, since they were also involved in putting together the script.

However, he plans to tell the two of them after the Spring Festival Gala airs, as a surprise.

Christmas Eve, which was a Wednesday, was the last class of the afternoon for Class 96, which was a public film appreciation class.

An elderly man with half-gray hair played "In the Heat of the Sun" on the projector. After all, the director and lead actors were from the Central Academy of Drama, so he was bound to appreciate it more.

The old man would pause from time to time and then explain, saying that this was a youth ode to a generation enveloped in hormones, a profound reflection on memory, history, and narrative, blah blah blah.

When he got excited, he would spit out his saliva, as if he wanted to tell the whole world that the Central Academy of Drama had a lot of talented people.

Meanwhile, the students from Class 96 below the stage were passing notes around like crazy.

"Shall we meet at the school gate after class?"

"Absolutely!"

"Would you like to bring something in to eat?"

"You can't buy it at the theater's concession stand anymore."

"That's fine. I'll treat everyone then, and after we finish watching, I'll treat everyone to a meal."

"Boss Jiang is so generous!"

"Bring an extra layer of clothing for tonight; I'm worried it might snow again."

Today is the release date of "The Dream Factory," and the students had already made plans to go see it together. They were all very excited and their minds were no longer on the classroom.

Although the teacher noticed the misbehavior of Class 96, he was too lazy to say anything. After all, it was a general education course with students from other departments. Besides, the reputation of Class 96 as a problem class had already spread far and wide, so it was good enough if they didn't skip class.

At 6 p.m., the students went back to their dormitories, put on an extra layer of clothing, and gradually gathered at the school gate.

Everyone was wearing cotton-padded coats, but Liu Ye was the most exaggerated, waving over in a military overcoat.

The girls burst into laughter, saying that he was already dark-skinned, and now he looked even more like an old farmer getting ready to work in the fields.

Liu Ye replied dismissively, "What do you know? This kind of clothing is the warmest."

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Jiang Lai smiled and stepped forward, saying, "Let's go, let's set off!"

A large group of people walked towards the nearest theater.

Although the term "cinema" already existed at this time, many older theaters were still called "theaters," and older generations were used to saying "theater" rather than "cinema." If someone wanted to say "Let's go see a movie," they would probably say something like, "Come on, let's go to the theater to see a movie!"

Upon arriving at the convenience store inside the theater, Jiang Lai bought a bottle of Coke for each of his classmates. The glass bottles cost three yuan each, while they sell for two yuan outside, which is a bit pricey.

He bought a bunch of sunflower seeds and peanuts and distributed them to everyone. At that time, popcorn was not the standard for watching movies; sunflower seeds and peanuts were.

Upon reaching the ticket counter, Jiang Lai said to the ticket seller, "Give me sixteen tickets for the movie 'The Dream Factory'."

Actually, there are seventeen people in Class 96 now, but one student with small eyes said he had something to do tonight and didn't come.

"Okay, the total is, um, four hundred and eighty yuan. Please pay first."

The ticket seller calculated the price and gestured for Jiang Lai to pay first, because they all used manual ticket machines to issue tickets, and if he didn't pay after the ticket was issued, the ticket would be invalid.

Jiang Lai took out five hundred-yuan bills and handed them over. The ticket seller gave him twenty yuan back and quickly went to issue the tickets.

Jiang Lai did the math in his head: a ticket cost thirty yuan. Although it wasn't as expensive as in later years, it was still quite pricey in this era.

Soon, sixteen tickets were handed to Jiang Lai. Looking at the tickets, he couldn't help but complain in his heart, "They're all colorful and look like ration coupons."

Jiang Lai distributed the tickets to his classmates. After spending a long time together, his classmates knew that Jiang Lai was rich, so they accepted the tickets without hesitation. Even so, they would always try to return the money, such as not letting him pay for meals or bringing him some local specialties from his hometown.

After summer vacation, Liu Ye sent Ya a sack full of white fungus, black fungus, and hazel mushrooms—no, wait, hazel mushrooms. They were smooth and tender, with a great texture and rich nutrition.

Soon the movie was ready to start, and everyone checked their tickets and entered the screening room. Everyone tacitly arranged for Jiang Lai and Zhang Ziyi to sit together.

The two sat down side by side, their shoulders touching, but quickly separated, only to lean back together again a moment later, like an unspoken ambiguity, sparks flying in the air.

Jiang Lai turned her head to the side. In the dim environment, the white glow of the screen reflected on Zhang Ziyi's face, adding a hazy beauty to her appearance.

Jiang Lai's gaze swept over her fair neck, delicate chin, rosy lips, and exquisite nose, finally settling on her eyes, which were clear and bright, like sparkling gems in the darkness.

This small face wasn't stunning, but it made Jiang Lai's heart race more and more the more he looked at it.

Seemingly sensing the gaze of the person beside her, Zhang Ziyi's eyelashes trembled slightly, she turned her head to meet Jiang Lai's eyes, and smiled shyly.

"What are you looking at? The movie has started."

"Okay, let's watch a movie."

Jiang Lai sighed. There were just too many third wheels.

Director Feng understands very well what ordinary people want to see when they go to the cinema. Either it's full of special effects and endless fighting where no one dies, or it's something lighthearted and entertaining. That way, audiences will feel that their ticket was worthwhile when they leave the theater.

Director Feng can't make special effects blockbusters, so he can only let the audience have some fun.

The movie "The Dream Factory" perfectly incorporates this kind of down-to-earth humor, making the audience laugh from the bottom of their hearts.

When Jiang Lai appeared on screen, Liu Ye couldn't help but shout, "Jiang'er's out! He's really showing off!"

"Hush!" Other audience members booed in dissatisfaction.

This guy quickly shut up and raised his hand to rub the buzz cut of the guy Jiang Lai was standing in front of him.

Zhang Ziyi also looked at Jiang Lai in surprise, not expecting him to act so well. Jiang Lai raised his eyebrows smugly.

Soon the plot moved to the scene where Director Feng was picking up General Manager Jiang.

On the earthen kiln covered in yellow soil, Jiang Lai struggled to sit up, tears suddenly streaming down his face.

Later, the second uncle said that he hadn't even spared the mice, which made the audience laugh instantly and start whispering among themselves.

"Hahahaha, poor little Jiang, he's been forgotten for the past two months and has been eating mice because he's starving."

"You know what, the actor's performance in this scene was really good, it's just that his acting at the beginning was so annoying."

As the saying goes, experts can see the details, and the students were all surprised that Jiang Lai could act out this crying scene so well.

Zhang Ziyi felt a pang of sadness watching this. She had heard from Jiang that he had been forgotten in the village for half a month during this scene, barely eating anything for the sake of the character, and even ended up in the hospital.

Although Jiang Lai spoke in jest, when Zhang Ziyi saw the disheveled man on the screen, tears streamed down her face.

She could tell that the appearance wasn't from makeup, but from years of neglecting her appearance. She couldn't imagine how much Jiang Lai had suffered during that time.

If only I could have been by his side back then.

As Zhang Ziyi thought to herself, she looked at Jiang Lai with teary eyes.

Jiang Lai was still gloating over his performance when he turned around and saw Zhang Ziyi crying. He was stunned for a moment.

A soft little hand reached out and grasped his; he could feel the warmth of that hand and the fine sweat on its palm.

He clenched his fists tightly behind his back, his fingers interlocked.

The movie continued playing, and Jiang Lai also saw the scene that Director Feng had mentioned that needed to be carefully polished.

Director Feng, Ge You, He Bing, and Liu Bei sat around a table for dinner, laughing and joking, every sip of wine and every cigarette they smoked was so natural and so full of tension, but in the end, everything returned to calm.

A day trip to a dream: what is a dream, and what is reality?

After Yang Lixin, who plays a middle-aged man who has lost his wife, walks out of the Good Dream Building, Uncle Ge says, "It was truly an unforgettable night."

The same applies to Jiang Lai.

After being reborn, I have friends, things I like to do, and people I like.

Everything is just right.