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

In a large classroom at the Central Academy of Drama, several media outlets pointed their cameras and microphones at Zhang Ziyi, who was sitting in the front row.

Jiang Lai and a few boys from his class leaned against the door with their arms crossed. Liu Ye craned his neck to look inside. "Tsk, these reporters, chasing after Ziyi every day, don't they get tired of it?"

"That's Zhang Yimou's film!" Dang Hao chimed in from the side. "It's been released for two months and they're still doing massive advertising. Besides, Ziyi's acting is superb."

Jiang Lai looked at Zhang Ziyi in the classroom. Her hair was neatly tied up. She faced the camera with composure and answered questions calmly and confidently. She was nothing like the girl who cried in the hallway back then.

"Hey, why doesn't anyone interview me?" Jiang Lai scratched his head in confusion.

Liu Ye glanced at him sideways, "Do you know what people outside are saying about Zi Yi? They say she's the next Gong Li! Everyone's talking about Zhang Yimou's leading ladies, but no one's heard of any leading men."

"Exactly," Dang Hao echoed with a smirk, "You're at most just someone."

Jiang Lai curled his lip.

Actually, this is no one else's fault. Initially, some media outlets wanted to interview him, and he told Sister Ying to decline. As a result, Sister Ying was honest and declined all interview requests that came her way afterward.

When people in the media saw this, they thought, "Wow, you've got some serious attitude," and then nobody mentioned interviewing him again. It was considered good if they didn't say anything bad about him.

Liu Ye continued to brag, "I'm famous now! After 'Postmen in the Mountains' came out, I was so annoyed by all the reporters interviewing me every day. You wouldn't believe it, one time I was eating out when suddenly a bunch of people appeared..."

"Alright, alright," Jiang Lai interrupted him dismissively. "If you say that again, you can forget about getting Andy Lau and Tony Leung's autographs."

Liu Ye's expression changed instantly, his demeanor shifting to a fawning tone as he put his arm around Jiang Lai's shoulder, saying, "Don't be like that, Jiang'er! I'm actually standing up for you! These media people are blind to talent; our Jiang'er is a Paris Film Festival Best Actor winner! Best Newcomer at Venice! They know nothing!"

Dang Hao, listening from the side, rolled his eyes. "Look at you, so pathetic."

Liu Ye pretended not to hear and continued to flatter, "Jiang'er, you have to give me that autograph! I admire these two the most. I'll definitely enshrine your photo and this autograph together, and I'll put it by my bedside and offer incense three times every morning and evening!"

Jiang Lai ignored him, so the guy started shaking Jiang Lai's arm, calling out, "Jiang'er! Brother Jiang!"

"Ugh! Fine, fine, I'll definitely give it to you." Jiang Lai disgustedly shook off his arm.

Liu Ye chuckled and suddenly said, "Hey, seriously, have you thought about your thesis and graduation performance yet?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lai was truly troubled.

He wasn't worried about the graduation play; the key issue was his thesis.

"Don't even mention it, I have absolutely no clue." Jiang Lai rubbed his chin with a worried expression.

"Why don't you ask the teacher to set the tone first? We've already discussed it with the teacher," Liu Ye suggested.

Jiang Lai thought about it for a moment and it seemed to make sense.

He patted Liu Ye on the shoulder and turned to walk towards the teachers' office building.

Teacher Chang Li was sitting behind her desk when she saw Jiang Lai come in. She smiled and teased, "Oh, what brings you here, Little Jiang?"

Jiang Lai sat down with an awkward smile. "Teacher, please stop teasing me. I'm here to ask you about my thesis."

"Finally remembered your thesis? Tell me, what difficulties did you encounter?" Professor Chang Li picked up her teacup and took a sip.

Jiang Lai scratched his head, "I just don't know what direction to take, my mind is completely blank."

Teacher Chang Li put down her teacup, crossed her hands on the table, and looked at him seriously. "Don't think about how to write it yet. Think about how you feel after filming so many movies."

Jiang Lai was a little taken aback by the question. How did he feel? He had never thought about this question before.

He lowered his head and began to think seriously.

The first role he played was Xiao Jiang in "The Dream Factory". Everything else was fine, but for that crying scene, he actually spent half a month in the village to perform it. It was a real experience.

Later, in the story of "Suzhou River," Mada always felt that Mada was searching for something, until he saw the old man running the boat on the riverbank and finally understood Mada. This is understanding.

Later, when he played Luo Changyu in "My Father and Mother", he spent several months with Zhang Ziyi on the Bashang Grassland, carrying water, making fires, and teaching. He lived the life as if it were real, and only then did he realize that this role did not need to be acted; it was about becoming.

The Nationalist army officer in "Devils on the Doorstep", Luo Xiaohu in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", and even the back view in "In the Mood for Love" where the face is never shown.

Each character is different, yet there seems to be something in common.

Jiang Lai looked up. "Teacher, I think I understand a little."

Tell me about it.

"I think the most important thing in playing a role well is a sense of conviction."

Jiang organized his thoughts, "This sense of conviction is believing that I am that person, believing that what is happening is real, believing in my opponent, believing in this story. Whether it's through experience or methods, it all comes down to making yourself believe."

Teacher Chang Li's eyes showed approval. "Isn't this the direction for the topic? Just write about it."

Hearing his teacher's approval, Jiang Lai suddenly felt at ease.

"Thank you, teacher."

"You're welcome." Teacher Chang Li waved her hand. "You have a direction, but I won't be responsible if you can't write it down. Go do more research and read more books."

"Alright." Jiang Lai chuckled and got up to take his leave.

After that, Jiang Lai and Zhang Ziyi often went to the library together to look up information. Jiang Lai would always fall asleep after flipping through a few books on performance theory, and Zhang Ziyi would laugh and tap him on the head.

Asking Jiang to figure out the character and write some short biographies was a real ordeal compared to asking him to write a thesis. The outline was revised again and again, and the beginning was scrapped several times.

Fortunately, Zhang Ziyi's research direction was clearer than his, and he often helped him revise the wording and gave him suggestions, so he was making progress.

December 12th, Christmas Eve.

These kinds of holidays are usually days for young couples to go on dates.

The two came out of the school library, and Jiang looked at his watch. "Shall we go see a movie?"

"What movie are you going to watch?" Zhang Ziyi asked, tilting his head.

"Let's watch 'The Road Home,' the movie is still showing."

"No." Zhang Ziyi shook her head. She felt embarrassed to go to the cinema to watch a movie she acted in.

Jiang Lai scratched his head. "That won't do. Let's watch 'Endless,' Director Feng's new film, produced by our own company."

Upon hearing the phrase "our own company," Zhang Ziyi smiled sweetly, took his arm, and said, "Let's go, this is it."

The two drove to the movie theater, where there were quite a few people, many of whom were there to see "Endless Love." After all, it was Feng Xiaogang's New Year's film, and after two movies, it already had a stable audience base.

The two bought tickets and went inside. They didn't try to hide themselves; their current level of fame is far from being universally recognized, and they are basically unrecognizable without careful observation.

The movie begins.

After the public screening permit is shown at the beginning, the logo of the production company, Forbidden City Film Industry, is displayed. This is a state-owned enterprise, and its name must be listed regardless of whether it invests or not.

What's most intriguing is that Jiang Lai's company actually appeared after that.

The black silhouette of a girl with braided hair is Zhang Ziyi's image in "My Father and Mother," with the words "Yibao Film Co., Ltd." written below.

At this point, private enterprises still do not have quotas, and in principle, they should not appear in the list of producers.

Jiang Lai rubbed his chin, deep in thought, while Zhang Ziyi blushed. Her image was actually the company logo. Although it was a black silhouette and her face was not visible, she recognized it at a glance. This seemed even more embarrassing than watching her own movie.

I wasn't dwelling on anything; the movie had already started playing.

Fan Bingbing plays Xiao Yun, Fu Biao plays Ruan Dawei, and Ge You plays Han Dong.

The story is about a driver played by Ge You who is owed wages by his boss played by Fu Biao. He kidnaps the boss's girlfriend, Fan Bingbing, and the two end up developing feelings for each other.

It still features Feng Xiaogang's signature humor, witty remarks, Beijing accent, and warmth emanating from the lives of ordinary people.

But after watching it, Jiang felt it was lacking. He felt it wasn't as good as the stories in "The Dream Factory," each of which made people laugh and then left them with something to think about. This movie felt a bit disjointed.

Overall, it's still acceptable; it's just for fun.

Well, Fan Bingbing's acting was alright; at least she captured that youthful energy.

Jiang Lai pondered.