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

The person curled up on the sofa was not a child; her name was Zhou Xun.

At this moment, her face was pale, her eyes were dim, and she hugged her legs, adopting a defensive posture to protect herself.

Jiang Lai glanced at her and quietly asked Lou Ye beside him, "What's wrong with her?"

Lou Ye sighed, and just as he was about to answer, Zhou Xun stood up and said, "Director, I'll head back now."

She kept her head down, her eyes darting around, and her voice was hoarse.

"Okay, Xiao Xun, you should go back to the hotel and rest first," Lou Ye said softly.

Zhou Xun didn't reply, but kept looking down at the ground. She nodded to Lou Ye and Nai An and then walked out. Halfway there, as if she remembered something, she turned back and nodded to Jiang Laiye.

Jiang Lai quickly stood up and nodded in return, after which the other person left.

Jiang Lai was completely baffled. The girl he remembered as full of spirit seemed to have lost her soul. He looked at Lou Ye and the other person with a puzzled expression.

"Xiao Xun, oh right, her name is Zhou Xun, she's the female lead in our movie, she should be..." Lou Ye hesitated for a moment before continuing, "She should be frightened."

"Scared?" Jiang Lai asked, puzzled.

Lou Ye hesitated, unable to speak, and Nai An, seeing this, became anxious and spoke directly: "It's the male lead of our movie. He told you on the phone that he can't act anymore because he was filming on set when he suddenly had an erection, and his ferocious appearance scared her."

"Oh—" Jiang Lai nodded as if he understood but not quite.

"Young man, we've already filmed more than half of the movie and spent half the budget. Suddenly, the male lead can't continue, and we can't find anyone else to play the role. We really have no choice but to call you over," Nai'an said embarrassedly.

Lou Ye covered his face in shame. He had initially refused to let the other person act, but when he went to the cinema and found that the other person's acting was good, he regretted that they couldn't work together. Now, he was calling the other person over because he couldn't continue filming, as if he looked down on the other person but had no choice but to call them over. He was so ashamed that he wanted to disappear.

"I'm fine with anything, but if I'm not suitable, don't force yourself. I'll definitely make up the difference in funding," Jiang Lai said nonchalantly.

Upon hearing this, Lou Ye quickly jumped in to explain, "Absolutely not President Jiang! I said before that I really didn't think you were unsuitable, especially after seeing your portrayal of the young President Jiang, I thought you were perfectly suited. Please don't overthink it!"

Jiang Lai smiled and suddenly realized that Lou Ye was not only artistic, but also quite cute.

"Okay, then I'll play the motor. Let's work together happily." He extended his hand.

Lou Ye breathed a sigh of relief and quickly grasped it.

"It's a pleasure working with you."

Thus, Jiang Lai was officially confirmed to star in "Suzhou River" as the male lead, Ma Da.

That day, I received a call from Nai An. They said that the original male lead could not continue acting, and that half of the funds had already been used. However, they did not want to give up on the movie, and their implication was that they hoped Jiang Lai could play the male lead.

Jiang Lai, considering that Teacher Chang Li had said not to take up school time for filming, and with the start of school just around the corner, declined the offer, only saying that he could make up the difference in funding.

Nai'an quickly said that she could communicate with the teacher and really hoped that Jiang Lai could come and perform. Jiang Lai could only reply that he would wait for the teacher's call.

That very day, Teacher Chang Li called Jiang Lai, saying nothing else but asking him one question: "Do you want to be a star or an actor?"

Jiang Lai answered without hesitation, "I want to be an actor."

Teacher Chang Li smiled and said, "Go ahead, I'll only give you one month."

Since the teacher had spoken, Jiang Lai had no reason to hesitate. He met Zhang Ziyi, explained the situation, and then set off with his small backpack.

Before Jiang arrived, the crew was filled with anxiety. Everyone knew that a movie that couldn't be filmed halfway through was doomed to fail. Now that the investor had arrived, everyone felt reassured.

Lou Ye told the crew to take a two-day break, firstly to give Jiang Lai time to think about the character, and secondly to let Zhou Xun recover her condition.

He was actually quite uncertain right now. Thanks to Jiang's advance funding, he had more time for the original male and female leads to work out better. They were really getting into the swing of things and filming was going smoothly when this suddenly happened.

All of the male lead's scenes that were filmed before had to be deleted and reshot. Even though he had confidence in Jiang Lai's acting skills, he couldn't guarantee that he could get along with Zhou Xun in a short period of time.

Not to mention that Zhou Xun's current condition is really not optimistic.

Lou Ye, exhausted from arranging the filming schedule in his hotel room, let out a deep sigh.

night.

Jiang Lai was packing his small backpack in the room. There wasn't much to pack, just a few clothes. He would buy whatever he needed locally.

After tidying up, he started flipping through the script when he suddenly felt bloated, probably from eating too much at the restaurant that afternoon.

Ever since filming "The Dream Factory," he has been eating very quickly, which has left him with a minor lingering effect.

He simply got up and decided to go for a walk to digest his food.

As he stepped out of the room, he was surprised to see a small, thin figure standing by the window at the end of the corridor—it was Zhou Xun.

Jiang Lai thought about it for a moment, then walked over.

"What are you doing here?"

Startled, Zhou Xun trembled and quickly turned her head. Seeing that it was Jiang Lai, she relaxed and looked out the window again.

"It's nothing, just enjoying the scenery."

Jiang Lai also looked out the window curiously. A few dim streetlights dotted a bridge, and below the bridge was the Suzhou River.

Even at night, cargo ships still paddle along the river.

This river is strange. Although it is water, it does not have the lightness of water. The shimmering light on the surface of the river makes it appear very viscous.

Jiang Lai couldn't understand what kind of scenery this was.

Do you believe in love?

A sudden question nearly scared Jiang Lai to death. He thought for a moment and figured it was just some random question from someone having emo days, so he replied:

I believe you.

"Then do you know about love..." Zhou Xun stretched out her small hand with hazy eyes, her fingers spread but not clenched, "Does it burst like a bubble?"

She made a foam bursting motion with her hand.

Jiang Lai hesitated before saying, "Uh, should I say I know or I don't?"

"Pfft." Zhou Xun laughed, his gloomy expression instantly dissipating.

"Do you even know why you're asking me?"

"Isn't that the question you asked?"

Jiang Lai was a little annoyed, finally understanding why Lou Ye had chosen her as the female lead. An art film with an art director and an art actress—it was amazing.

"Okay, let's get to know each other formally. My name is Zhou Xun."

"My name is Jiang Lai."

Two people, one tall and one short, held each other's hands, one large and one small.

"This movie is very special, and I hope we both do our best and don't let it down." Zhou Xun said with a serious and earnest expression.

Jiang Lai raised an eyebrow and said half-jokingly, "We won't talk about work during break time."

Zhou Xun's lips curved into a smile; she smiled again.

"Okay, let's not talk about work then. Did you bring any cigarettes?"

How did you know I smoke?

Zhou Xun wrinkled her nose and pointed, saying, "I can smell it."

Jiang Lai, slightly surprised, took out a cigarette and said, "Your nose is pretty sharp."

A small foot suddenly stepped on his foot, and although the force wasn't great, he still pretended to be in a lot of pain.

"Ouch—ouch, it hurts!"

"Alright, stop pretending, I didn't even use any force."

The other person's charming expression finally regained a semblance of what Jiang Lai remembered.

He smiled, opened the cigarette pack, flicked the bottom of the pack with his finger, and a cigarette popped out.

Zhou Xun's eyes lit up, and she asked curiously, "Hey, how did you do that?"

"Oh, just like that, tap the bottom of the cigarette pack with your finger." Jiang Lai demonstrated again.

"I'll give it a try!"

Zhou Xun snatched the cigarette, tried to pop it with her fingers several times without success, and her fingers hurt from the effort. She put the cigarette in her mouth and said, "Why isn't it working?"

"You can't just force it." Jiang Lai took the cigarette back. "You have to use a trick. Look, aim for the middle, and give it a quick, precise, and forceful push. Hey! It's out."

Zhou Xun watched with great interest, then snatched it back and tried to pop it out of the cigarette pack several times, finally managing to get one out.

"Hahaha! I did it! I did it!"

She jumped around excitedly, yelling and screaming, looking even more thrilled than if she had won the lottery.

Jiang Lai was completely dumbfounded. What are you so happy about?

The door to the room next door was suddenly pulled open, and a bald, burly man walked out.

"What are you yelling about! I've listened to you guys babbling on and on! Aren't you going to sleep or not?!"

The two quickly bowed and apologized.

With a bang, the big man slammed the door shut.

The two exchanged a guilty glance, then, abandoning their cigarettes, tiptoed back to their respective rooms.

After washing up, Zhou Xun lay in bed, blinking her eyes and unconsciously smiling.

Back in his room, Jiang Lai touched his pockets.

Where are my cigarettes?