Huayu 2011: Starting with Hilarious Men

Zheng Nan's theory of saving money and borrowing from her roommate is unlikely to work in society.

Because your colleagues and friends in society are all focused on making money and earning big profits, they don't have much free time to play with you.

But it's different in university. Students who are on leave have a very weak concept of money because the money they spend is given by their parents. Many students subconsciously think that making money is easy. Students at the Shanghai Theatre Academy generally come from well-off families, so their time is not considered valuable.

You said you have a good idea and need my help.

Then I'll go help. There's no particular reason, and I don't need many reasons. It'll just be fun.

So when Duan Xingye and Ren Yi returned that evening, Zheng Nan told them about it, and after a little thought, they agreed.

"However, Lao Lin is right about one thing: isn't an investment of 26,000 too little?" Duan Xingye remained skeptical about the investment amount.

"Yeah, I can invest some money in you," Ren Yi chimed in.

"No need, I just want to gain some recognition for this work, I don't plan to make money." Zheng Nan declined the guys' suggestion.

"These jokes are really interesting. Shall we start filming tomorrow?" Duan Xingye asked with a laugh as he flipped through the script of "Men's Diary".

"Yes, a friend of mine opened a bubble tea shop. I called him and we agreed to go to his shop tomorrow afternoon to film a test video."

Lin Wenruo often goes out and has connections in the photo and modeling industries. She knows a lot of people in Shanghai. After agreeing to help, she started contacting shooting locations that could be used for free.

"Won't this affect their business?" Zheng Nan was worried. Filming usually requires clearing the area, and they were a group of novices. If the filming took a long time, it would be bad if it delayed the shop's opening.

"No, his milk tea shop is located in an old residential area. It hardly gets any customers and is almost going out of business. We can film for a few days without any problems." Lin Wenru waved his hand dismissively. There are plenty of rich second-generation kids in Shanghai who are foolish and have too much money. His friend is just one of them.

"Is the scene in the milk tea shop the one where they sell milk tea?" Duan Xingye flipped through the script.

"Yes, there are a few similar clips that I'd like to try and see if I can film them in a bubble tea shop."

"I see there are quite a few female characters in your script. We can play the male characters as extras, but we can't play the female characters." Duan Xingye subconsciously made a delicate gesture with his fingers, then quickly withdrew them.

"I see you can't wait to cross-dress! Old Duan, I didn't know you had this hobby?!" Lin Wenruo, an old photographer, had noticed Duan Xingye's little actions and immediately teased him.

"I know a bit about this. I heard that when Duan was a child, his mother used to dress him up as a little girl and take pictures of him in little skirts." Zheng Nan was referring to something that Duan Xingye had told him when he was drunk at a class reunion after graduation in his previous life.

"Holy crap! How did you know about this, Lao Zheng?!" Duan Xingye was utterly shocked.

"You told me that in your sleep," Zheng Nan chuckled, then changed the subject: "I'll ask the girls in my class if they can help with the girls' scenes."

"The girls in the class are all so vain. Do you think they'll agree to you making yourself look ugly in this skit?" Ren Yi remained skeptical.

Girls generally pay more attention to their appearance, and the prettier the girl, the more she cares.

Especially during their university years, female students who have taken time off work and haven't yet experienced the harsh realities of life are rarely willing to take on comedic roles.

This is also why there are so few female comedians.

"Let's talk it over. We're all actors who studied acting. If you can't accept playing ugly, it'll be hard for you to make it in the entertainment industry." Zheng Nan was telling the truth. Once you enter the entertainment industry, let alone playing ugly, you'll have to accompany others to drink.

Some female students at the Shanghai Theatre Academy who are sensible start looking for roles to play during their university years, trying to build up their fame in advance.

Hard work doesn't guarantee success, but it generally provides more options than a lack of effort.

I took out my phone, opened QQ, found "Ice Pie Sweetheart," and sent a message: "Are you there? Do you have time tomorrow? I need your help urgently!"

…………

The girls' dormitory at Shanghai Theatre Academy.

Dilraba, who had already applied a face mask and was lying in bed playing on her phone, suddenly received a QQ message from Zheng Nan.

This surprised Reba a bit, as the two of them had barely exchanged ten words on QQ since they added each other last semester.

What could Zheng Nan possibly want from me? Is it to pay me back for lunch?

Upon opening the message, Dilraba realized she had guessed wrong. The message, seemingly a plea for help, was clearly meant to start with a request for money.

Thinking back to Zheng Nan's outrageous marriage proposal at noon, which ended up "tricking" her out of her lunch.

Dilraba's thoughts suddenly started to wander, thinking about all sorts of scandalous rumors surrounding the Shanghai Theatre Academy, such as cheating, love triangles, extravagant spending, gambling, drug use, and being chased for owing money.

"Is Zheng Nan going to die?" Reba came to this conclusion in her mind, and then unconsciously whispered it out.

Yuan Bingyan and Dilraba shared a dorm room, and their beds were even right next to each other. They had always had a very good relationship.

Yuan Bingyan was originally playing on her phone, but the moment Dilraba opened her mouth, her gossip radar went off, faster than an early warning aircraft's radar.

"What?! Really?! He was perfectly fine at noon, what illness could have gotten so suddenly? Was he hit by a car?"

Yuan Bingyan's mouth chattered like a machine gun, and she stuck her head over to look at Dilraba's phone screen.

The other two girls in the dorm room chimed in, "Who? Who is it?"

"What gossip? Whose gossip is it? Tell me about it!"

Reba quickly covered Yuan Bingyan's mouth with her small hand and explained, "There's no gossip, I was reading a novel, Yan Yan misunderstood."

"No gossip? That's boring." The two roommates turned around and continued playing on their phones.

Reba restrained Yuan Bingyan and whispered in her ear, "Grandma, don't be so jumpy."

"Mmm...mmm..." Yuan Bingyan could only nod, her mouth covered.

"Zheng Nan sent me a QQ message, and I haven't figured out how to reply." There was nothing shameful about it, so Dilraba showed the two of them their chat interface.

"Do you have time?! It's an emergency!" Yuan Bingyan, having seen nothing gossip, pouted and muttered in a sarcastic voice, "Does this kid like you?"

"No way?" Because of what happened at noon, Dilraba wasn't so sure anymore.

"Can't we just ask him directly and see what he means?"

Yuan Bingyan snatched Dilraba's phone and started typing.

"Do you even have time to care about anything?"

"I'm planning to shoot a web series and need a few actresses to help out. I was wondering if Dilraba, you have time to come and lend a hand..."