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

In March, Beijing is already at the tail end of winter. The weather is much warmer, but only during the day; at night it drops below zero again.

Because Zhang Ziyi needed to undergo special training, Jiang Lai went to the school and asked for leave for both of them. In the end, he left gracefully amidst Liu Ye's envious gaze.

The film crew fenced off a horse ranch in the inner garden behind the Ziyu Hotel.

It's called a horse farm, but it's actually just a ten-acre lawn. If you don't have a sense of the size, it's roughly the size of a football field.

The horse farm was surrounded by a wooden fence, and a simple stable was set up in the corner, housing three horses that Li An had specially transported from Inner Mongolia, along with an equestrian instructor.

Facing the rising sun, Jiang Lai changed into riding breeches and boots at the hotel and headed towards the horse farm. He saw a dark-faced middle-aged man squatting by the fence smoking. He was short, stocky, and sturdy with a full beard and wrinkles on his face that looked like they had been carved by wind and sand.

This is the equestrian instructor hired by the production team, named Shatu.

"Good morning, Lao Sha!" Jiang Lai walked over and greeted him.

Ever since they met, Jiang Lai has given people this nickname. His beard looks just like Sha Wujing (Sandy), and since he's also called Sha Tu, he's always called him Old Sha.

This Mongolian man was a straightforward and generous person, and he didn't hold a grudge.

"They're here? Let's get started today."

Shatu threw the cigarette butt under his foot and stomped it out. He led Jiang Lai to the stable, brought out a large black horse, patted its neck, and the horse snorted and gently nuzzled his hand.

"This is Big Black, a female, with a good temperament. You can ride her first."

Jiang Lai looked excited. Riding a horse was simply a man's dream. As the saying goes, "In the prime of youth, what man hasn't imagined riding a horse to conquer the battlefield?"

He couldn't wait to reach out and touch the horse's head, but Big Black suddenly shook its head, startling him into pulling his hand back.

Shatu grinned, and Jiang Lai said speechlessly, "Coach, didn't you say it had a good temper?"

"Have you forgotten? I told you, horses are wary of strangers, you have to let them sniff you first."

As he spoke, Shatu grabbed Jiang Lai's hand and placed it in front of the horse's nostrils. Big Black exhaled a puff of warm air and blinked its big eyes at Jiang Lai.

"Alright, it remembers you. Mount up!"

Jiang Lai rubbed his hands together, excitedly gripping the saddle. He stepped into the stirrup with his left foot and pushed off with his right, hanging on the side of the horse's belly like a sack. It took him a lot of effort to finally wriggle up.

Big Black was pulled askew and stomped its feet in dissatisfaction.

Shatu watched the whole thing with his hands behind his back, expressionless, and muttered to himself, "He looks like a big toad when he mounts a horse."

Jiang Lai sat up awkwardly, gripping the reins tightly with both hands.

Shatu walked over and slapped his hand away. "Don't pull so tight. If you pull too hard, it will fight back. The reins are for talking to the horse."

Shatu began to lead the horse slowly, saying as he went, "The most important thing about riding a horse is maintaining your center of gravity. Your waist should be flexible, and your center of gravity should be stable. Follow the rhythm of the horse, and naturally swing your hips back and forth with the momentum of its movement. Don't resist it."

Jiang Lai looked puzzled. Why did these words sound so much like what Yate had said?

Following Shatu's instructions, he swayed with Dahei's small, quick steps and slowly began to get the hang of it.

"Yes, that's it." Shatu loosened the reins. "When walking slowly, including controlling the direction, you should gently squeeze the horse's belly with the inside of your calves to give a signal. The reins are just an aid. Remember, your legs are the accelerator, and the reins are the steering wheel."

Jiang practiced for an hour and had basically mastered walking slowly and turning. Shatu then asked him to try walking quickly.

"Squeeze harder, and the horse will run after two quick squeezes. At that point, you should stand up, lift your buttocks off the saddle, and lean your upper body forward."

Jiang tried a few times, but each time he stood up, he felt like he was going to fall forward, so he sat back down in fright.

"Don't be afraid! The horse knows you're on top. If you can't hold on to it, it won't run away. But if you're scared, it can sense it and won't trust you anymore."

Jiang Lai took a deep breath, carefully sensing Dahei's rhythm. The moment Dahei started to run, he braced himself up, squeezed his knees together, pressed his calves against the horse's belly, and leaned his upper body slightly forward.

We've stabilized!

Big Black carried him across the grass, the wind whistling in their ears, and dirt flying under their hooves.

"Yo-ho!" Jiang Lai grinned.

Unlike the feeling of speed brought by a motorcycle, galloping with a horse gave Jiang Lai an unprecedented sense of vastness and freedom, as if he were really going to run to the ends of the earth.

As Shatu watched the man and horse galloping across the grassland, he felt as if the young man were riding a horse across the prairie.

"Not bad, you do have some understanding," he nodded in satisfaction.

Big Black ran faster and faster, already far away. Shatu listened to Jiang Lai's howling voice in the distance. Although he couldn't hear it clearly, he could feel that the boy was very excited. He couldn't help but smile and sighed at the energy of young people.

"Damn it! How am I supposed to stop?! Old Sha! How am I supposed to stop?!"

Big Black streaked past like a black afterimage.

Now I heard it clearly, that wasn't excited yelling, that was a cry for help!

Shatu's expression froze instantly, and he took off chasing after her.

"Loosen your legs! Loosen your legs! Stop squeezing them! Loosen the reins too! Shout 'Whoa—' at the horse, make sure it's a long shout!" he shouted as he chased after the horse.

On the green grass, a black horse gallops wildly, a silly fool is jolted about, and a black man chases after it with all his might.

Hmm, what a peculiar sight.

After a morning of training, Jiang Lai had barely learned how to make the horse walk slowly and run fast.

He dismounted, his legs trembling uncontrollably, his inner thighs burning with pain.

"Old Sha, my groin hurts, is that normal?"

"That's normal. Calluses will form after a few days of rubbing."

"..."

Horseback riding in the morning and gym workout in the afternoon—this is the training plan Li An has temporarily set for Jiang Lai.

The fitness coach was hired from the hotel's fitness club and gave Jiang a detailed plan of which day to train his shoulders, which day to train his back, which day to train his core, and he also needed to train his chest and legs.

Li An's requirement was that the character should have muscles when shirtless. Yes, not skinny when clothed, because Luo Xiaohu in the script always had his shirt wide open, showing off his muscular physique.

The fitness coach also meticulously planned the meals, including egg whites, egg yolks, protein powder, shrimp, beef, and chicken breast—all geared towards bodybuilding.

Jiang Lai can only say it tastes good, but it has no flavor.

That evening, Jiang Lai was in pain all over, and when he met Zhang Ziyi, the other woman was also half-dead.

Her training load is even heavier than Jiang Lai's. Currently, she's only practicing physical skills, calligraphy, etiquette, and walking on platform shoes. Later, she'll also need to learn swordsmanship, Baguazhang, and horseback riding, while Jiang Lai only has knife skills left.

However, we can only start practicing martial arts once the martial arts director arrives.

The two of them didn't have time for intimacy and went back to their respective rooms to lie down and not move.

Not long after, Jiang Lai's phone rang. It was Sister Ying, saying she needed to talk to him. Jiang Lai had no choice but to stand up and drag himself out the door like a zombie.