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

If we're discussing Hong Kong's film history in the 1990s, we can't avoid mentioning Chow Yun-fat, Stephen Chow, Jackie Chan, and Li Lianjie, who rose to fame through sheer hard work.

The stars here are dazzling; these people are simply too brilliant. But there are still many others who deserve mention, such as Andy Lau, Leslie Cheung, and Anita Mui.

Although this place is xenophobic, the actors who make it to the top of those so-called film companies are actually quite good-natured.

Take, for example, the people in front of Jiang Lai.

"Wow, Maggie! You brought a handsome guy with you. Be careful, your husband might come chasing you to Hong Kong!"

Maggie Cheung brought Jiang Lai to a villa in Kadoorie Hill, Kowloon, which was Leslie Cheung's home.

As soon as the two entered, Anita Mui winked at Maggie Cheung.

"Sister Mei, stop talking nonsense. This is a younger brother I met on set, his name is Jiang Lai."

Maggie Cheung didn't explain much, knowing the other party was joking, and pulled Jiang Lai aside, saying, "Come on, this is Anita Mui, Sister Mui."

"Hello, Sister Mei! I'm your biggest fan!" Jiang Laixing walked up and extended his hand.

Anita Mui glanced at the outgoing young man with curiosity. Anyone brought by Maggie Cheung must be from the entertainment industry. Everyone in the industry treated her with utmost respect, but this young man was certainly honest.

"Hello," Anita Mui smiled and reached out to shake hands.

At this moment, a man with refined features, wearing a black turtleneck sweater, walked out.

"Has Maggie arrived?"

"It's my brother."

Jiang Lai became even more excited and, without waiting for Zhang Manyu's introduction, rushed over excitedly.

"Hello brother! My name is Jiang Lai, and I'm your biggest fan!"

Anita Mui's eye twitched; she strongly suspected that this child said the same thing to everyone.

After exchanging pleasantries, Anita Mui sat down at the mahjong table after Liu Jialing arrived. Her entire demeanor instantly changed; she slammed her hand on the table and shouted, "What are you waiting for? Let's start playing!"

The four people sat down.

Jiang Lai, Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui, and Carina Lau each occupied one side. Maggie Cheung said she wouldn't fight, so she moved a chair and sat next to Jiang Lai to watch the fun, while also making tea and pouring water for the others.

"Come on, what kind of cards do you play?" Anita Mui asked as she arranged the cards.

"Um... I'm not really familiar with how to play here." Jiang Lai had a bit of a headache; the cards here seemed quite complicated.

"Let's keep it simple, how about 'Push Down the Wall'?" Leslie Cheung suggested.

With no objections from the crowd, the dice were rolled, and the game began.

Jiang Lai had good luck and drew a good hand at the start. He had all the suits of Wan (characters) but was missing a few suits and was ready to win in just a few rounds.

He drew a 50,000 tile, slammed it on the table, and exclaimed, "I've won!"

Anita Mui's eyes widened. "Are you kidding me? You won on the very first hand?"

"Luck, luck," Jiang Lai said with a smile as he accepted the money.

Leslie Cheung slowly shuffled the cards, a smile playing on his lips. "Come on, this isn't luck, it's murderous intent."

In the second round, Carina Lau won by herself, and all three players lost.

In the third round, Anita Mui won big, grinning from ear to ear, and reached out to Jiang Lai, "Give me the money, give me the money."

As Jiang Lai took out his money, Zhang Manyu helped him count the cards, saying, "You shouldn't have played that two of bamboo just now. If you had kept the one of bamboo..."

"Oh, Maggie, don't teach him," Carina Lau interrupted her. "Let him do it himself."

"Exactly, exactly," Anita Mui chimed in jokingly, "Do you feel sorry for him?"

Maggie Cheung laughed and playfully slapped her, "Sister Anita, you're talking nonsense again!"

The group chatted and laughed, playing until midnight, when Leslie Cheung finally suggested ending the game.

A few people cleared the table, and Maggie Cheung brought out fruit. Everyone sat on the sofa and chatted about everything under the sun, from movies to music, from Hong Kong to the mainland, from gossip to life.

Jiang Lai didn't talk much; he mostly listened.

He listened to Leslie Cheung recount the amusing anecdotes from filming "Farewell My Concubine," heard Anita Mui complain about a certain director's quirks, and heard Carina Lau talk about how bored Tony Leung was at home.

Before we knew it, it was late at night.

As the show ended, Leslie Cheung patted Jiang Lai on the shoulder and said, "Lai-zai, come visit often in the future."

"Okay, brother!"

Stepping out of the villa area, the night breeze was slightly cool, and the streetlights cast a dim yellow glow.

Maggie Cheung walked beside him and suddenly asked, "Are you happy?"

"Happy." Jiang Lai nodded.

"That's good." Zhang Manyu smiled.

The next day, Wang Jiawei continued to notify Jiang to come and film.

The camera was set up in the doorway of a room, in a framed composition, allowing a view of the scene inside through the narrow door.

Maggie Cheung walked into the room with a pack of cigarettes in her hand. The camera followed her back, showing off her curvaceous figure and graceful demeanor.

Jiang Lai was facing away from the camera, playing mahjong with several middle-aged women in the room. Zhang Manyu gracefully sat down next to him, took out a cigarette and let Jiang Lai put it in his mouth. She took out a lighter, and Jiang Lai turned his head to the side, a faint smile on his lips.

The cigarette was lit, and the smoke slowly dissipated in the dim light, blurring his silhouette in the smoke, yet making it clear again.

A woman in a bright red cheongsam walked into the frame. This is the woman Jiang Lai cheats on in the movie, who is also Tony Leung's wife in the movie.

Jiang Lai glanced at her sideways, not making a fuss. Even if he couldn't get a shot of her face, he still had to make the most of his role.

He took another drag of his cigarette, and the smoke grew thicker, almost enveloping him entirely.

His body was partially obscured by the smoke, and a straight line of smoke rose from his hand holding the cigarette.

Wang Jiawei stared at the monitor, wanting to say "one more take" as usual, but he just couldn't bring himself to say it. It seemed that whenever Jiang Lai participated in a performance, the scene was always so pleasing to the eye.

"Click, one more."

He still shouted it out, not because the acting was wrong, but because he wanted to watch it again.

What Wang Jiawei wanted was a blurry silhouette that could fuel all his imagination.

Over the next few days, Jiang Lai shot several more scenes.

Some are just his back view, some are just his hands, and some are just the sound of his footsteps.

Regardless of whether it's good or bad, it has to be filmed a dozen times.

After spending more than half a month in Hong Kong, Jiang Lai's scenes were finally all filmed. Although he said all of them, he felt that the final cut might not even be two minutes long.

Wang Jiawei patted him on the shoulder and said, "Lai Zai, I'll ask you to act in movies again in the future."

Jiang Lai's eye twitched; he really wanted to say, "There's absolutely no need for that."

Before leaving, Jiang Lai had a meal with Andy Lau, and then asked Maggie Cheung to take him to play mahjong with his brother and Anita Mui before heading to the airport.

It was already early December when the plane landed at the Capital Airport.

The capital city was already bitterly cold. As soon as Jiang Lai got off the plane, he quickly changed into a down jacket. Taking a deep breath of the icy air, he actually felt a sense of familiarity.

He decided to come back today because filming for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" has wrapped up; otherwise, he would have liked to stay and play for two more days.

He took a taxi after leaving the airport and went straight to a restaurant. When he arrived, the hall with more than a dozen tables was already bustling with activity. Dozens of people were drinking and chatting, making it quite lively.

"Xiao Jiang!" Li An spotted him at a glance and waved him over.

Jiang Lai walked over with a smile, "Director, thank you for your hard work."

"You're the one who's been working hard, running around all day." Li An patted his shoulder and pulled him down to sit.

Zhang Ziyi, sitting next to Li An, greeted Jiang Lai with delight, "You're back?"

"You're back." Jiang Lai sat down next to her, pouring her a cup of tea. "Did you miss me?"

Zhang Ziyi smiled and hugged him, giving him a kiss.

A commotion instantly erupted all around.

"Does this count as wanting?" Zhang Ziyi asked with a playful smile.

"I don't really think so."

Just as Zhang Ziyi was about to get angry, she heard Jiang Lai whisper in her ear, "We'll have to wait until tonight to know if he wants to or not."

She blushed instantly.