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

For the rest of the time, Jiang Lai kept reminiscing about his performance, feeling quite pleased with himself, completely ignoring what the other students were doing.

After the last student finished performing, Teacher Chang Li checked her watch and said:

"That's all for this class. In the last few minutes, I'll talk about the schedule for this semester. Just like last semester, there will be a skit every week, with a final performance on Friday night."

"Ah~~~~"

The students below were complaining bitterly.

"Quiet!"

Teacher Chang Li glared at her, and the students immediately fell silent. She glanced at Jiang Lai and continued:

"As for the group assignments, Jiang Lai, you'll be in a group with Zhang Ziyi and Liu Ye."

Jiang Lai turned to look at the two of them and nodded, saying:

"Okay, teacher."

"Kids, this semester will be just as high-standard and high-quality as last semester! Don't blame the school for its strict rules; if you fail your final exams, pack your things and go home."

After saying that, Ms. Chang packed up her things, took her water cup, and left the rehearsal room.

The students instantly became restless.

"Holy crap, this is terrifying. I'm almost developing performance phobia."

"Who can argue with that? Another skit every week, where are you going to find so many shows?"

"Stop talking and hurry to the cafeteria, or you won't be able to get any food."

Zhang Ziyi let Zeng Lai go first, while he himself went to Jiang Lai and Liu Ye.

Liu Ye, on the other hand, was in a good mood and was now quite carefree, showing no signs of the depression she had felt when she was scolded in class.

"Congratulations on adding another great general to our bottom duo!" This guy immediately gave Jiang Lai a bear hug.

Zhang Ziyi playfully punched the girl and said, "What are you saying? I wasn't at the bottom of the class at the end of last semester."

"Hey! Almost right!"

These two had always been comrades-in-arms in the same trench and had a very good relationship.

"Hello, Zhang," Jiang Lai said with a smile, extending his hand.

Zhang Ziyi shyly reached out her small hand and shook it.

Liu Ye, standing beside him, had a flicker of excitement in his eyes.

"Hey! What's going on? You two know each other?"

Zhang Ziyi waved his hand hastily, "No, we just bumped into each other this morning."

Liu Ye squinted, his face full of mockery, clearly not believing it.

"We didn't know each other before, but now that we do, I'll have to rely on you two to take care of me in the future," Jiang Lai said with a smile, trying to defuse the situation.

"Don't mention it! I'll protect you from now on. Who in this area wouldn't give Liu Ye face?"

This guy enthusiastically reached out and hugged Jiang Lai, and Jiang Lai inexplicably enjoyed it.

"How about the three of us have dinner together? We can also discuss what piece we're working on this week," Zhang Ziyi suggested.

Jiang Lai, being a newcomer, decided to treat the whole class to a meal, since there were only about a dozen people.

"How about this, I'll treat our whole class to a meal. You can choose the place, and we can all get to know each other better."

"Hey! That's good, that's good, I'll go and call them back right now."

Liu Ye quickly chased after his classmate who had already walked away. His family wasn't well-off, and he sometimes had to freeload meals whenever he could. He was overjoyed that someone was offering to treat him to a meal.

He wasn't worried about whether Jiang Lai could afford it. It wasn't that he could tell Jiang Lai was rich; he didn't have that kind of insight. Anyway, if everyone got together, they could always scrape together enough money.

So, all the members of Class 96 gathered at a boiled fish restaurant at the entrance of Dongmianhua Hutong.

"Come on, let's have a toast to our new classmate!"

As the class monitor, Niu Qingfeng took the initiative to step forward and warm up the atmosphere.

The students raised their glasses, but since they had classes in the afternoon, they only had a small beer.

The dishes were all served, and the students ate and chatted.

"Jiang'er, your acting was amazing! Just look at that waist movement, how did you twist it like that?"

The speaker was Dang Hao, who still had hair at the time. He stood there imitating Jiang Lai's performance, like an old lady dancing in the square.

"Indeed, Jiang Lai, you studied acting, right? You pretended not to know anything in class."

This man, Zhao Huinan, narrowed his small eyes and spoke in a sarcastic tone. He had been severely criticized today.

"No, no, I really haven't learned it. I just had a sudden outburst today for no reason, so it doesn't count." Jiang Lai pretended not to notice the barb in his words.

On one side were old classmates, and on the other side were people who felt indebted to them for their hospitality. The classmates all tried to smooth things over.

"Wow, that's amazing! You acted so well on your first try."

"That's right, that's right."

Liu Ye glanced at Jiang Lai and changed the subject with a smile: "Old Dang, what are you twisting like that? Speaking of waists, our beautiful Zeng played the snake, hey, her waist twisting was so beautiful."

As she spoke, Liu Ye stood up and did a series of swaying hip movements, which were quite seductive.

The students burst into laughter, and Zeng Lai, blushing, retorted, "Pah! Pervert!"

Zhang Ziyi laughed along and gently nudged Jiang Lai beside her to comfort him. Jiang Lai returned a smile that said, "I'm fine."

She leaned closer, lowering her voice:

"Comrade Xiao Jiang, when are you going to treat me to that apology meal?"

Jiang Lai raised an eyebrow, knowing that everyone was a poor student, and then smiled:

"Let's wait until the locust flowers in the alley bloom."

Zhang Ziyi pursed his lips.

The locust trees in Dongmianhua Hutong are Chinese locust trees, which bloom in July, when everyone is on summer vacation.

The students were noisy and boisterous, clinking glasses and exchanging toasts. Jiang Lai quickly joined in, laughing and chatting with them.

Regardless of their future achievements, these people are still pure at least for now.

Time flows like water, ever onward.

After that, Jiang Lai would go to the performance building with his classmates every morning at six or seven o'clock to practice his morning exercises, and then start his day's classes, including performance, physical training, dialogue, and vocal music, repeating the same routine, which made his life quite fulfilling.

Every week I also have to rehearse with the bottom two, well, now it's a trio.

He also discovered that the performance class he attended was indeed short-lived. In subsequent performance classes, he was criticized by Teacher Chang Li like he was her grandson every time. He also successfully developed a fear of the Great Demon King Chang Li.

His lifeless eyes, stiff limbs, and lack of intelligence severely damaged his confidence. Fortunately, he had two friends who shared the scolding.

After receiving 300,000 yuan, Jia Kezhang had already gone to Fenyang to start filming and called Jiang Lai every week to report on the progress.

Originally, the call was intended for the housekeeper, Old Li, but Old Li said he didn't want to hear that grandson's voice and simply passed it on to Jiang Lai.

Jiang Lai had never been on a film set before and couldn't understand what they were saying, so he could only mumble and respond. He said there was no need to report, but Jia Kezhang wouldn't have it, saying that it was the investors' responsibility to know the progress. Jiang Lai could only let him have his way.

Finally, in the fifth week, Ya called to say that filming was finished.

Jiang Lai wondered if the short time meant they were short of money and embarrassed to ask, so he inquired whether they needed to send some more money.

Jia Kezhang patted his chest and said no, he was very confident that this movie would conquer the world.

Whether Jia Kezhang can conquer the world is unknown, but he is certainly about to be conquered by the great demon Chang Li.

It's the kind where they kneel down and sing "Conquer".

......

Inside a meeting room at Forbidden City Film Studio, the air was thick with mist, creating a scene reminiscent of a fairyland.

Today is the seventh discussion meeting for the film "You Are Not a Common Person". Feng Xiaogang and screenwriter Wang Gang looked distressed and smoked one cigarette after another.

Soon, two middle-aged men entered the conference room.

One of them is the famous Han Sanye, and the other is Zhang Heping, the CEO of Forbidden City Film Company.

Feng Xiaogang, with a long face, began to complain: "Boss, is this script even going to be good? This has happened so many times already."

Third Master chuckled and raised his hand to tap the other person.

"Don't try to act innocent after getting the benefit. What have we been doing in all these meetings? And you call yourself the director?"

Feng Xiaogang grinned, showing his rotten teeth, and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect.

"Alright, thanks to you."

Zhang Heping, who was standing next to him, spoke up: "Actually, the script has been revised almost completely. It's just that the movie title... I thought of one a few days ago while waiting for my flight. What do you guys think of 'Party A, Party B'?"

After a moment's thought, Feng Xiaogang immediately said, "This is good! It sounds crisp and fits our story. It has to be General Manager Zhang."

"Okay, then let's hold a meeting and vote on it later."

Third Master blinked and asked again, "Hey, Xiao Gang, what happened yesterday when you told me that one investor withdrew their investment?"

Feng Xiaogang sighed, "They just think it's unreliable."

It's common for investors to withdraw their funding when making movies. After all, filming hasn't officially started and no contract has been signed, so no one can really say anything wrong.

"I do have a suitable investor here."

Zhang Heping suddenly spoke up, pulling a mobile phone out of his bag. "Wait while I call and ask."

The number is dialed and the call is connected.

"Hey, Mr. Jiang, how's business lately?"

"Haha, how's your son doing at school?"

"Oh, you're too kind. It's all thanks to your son's good studies that he was able to stay."

"President Jiang, there's something I'd like to discuss with you... it's like this..."