Huayu: That year, I withdrew from the Super Boy competition.

After making the beds, the group sat together and naturally started chatting.

Dou Xiao said he studied in Canada before, but later wanted to study acting, so he returned to China and took the entrance exam for the Beijing Film Academy.

Zhang Zhuoran is a native of Beijing. He studied acting in high school and took the entrance exam twice before finally being accepted.

Chen Mo is from Shanghai, a true Shanghainese, and his family runs a business.

Then we talked about what we did after the college entrance exam.

They were just people who ate, drank, had fun, and did odd jobs to earn money.

When it was Su Wei's turn, he smiled and said that he had spent a few days filming GG and made some money.

Then he went to Tibet alone, and traveled around for a long time, from the Western Regions to Gansu and Inner Mongolia. He had just returned a few days ago.

Zhang Zhuoran was stunned for a moment after hearing this: "Alone? Ran this far?"

"Um."

"Wow, that's awesome!"

Zhang Zhuoran gave a thumbs up.

The group of young men chatted for more than half an hour and became quite familiar with each other.

Afterwards, everyone discussed what to buy, so they went to the school supermarket.

On her way back to the dormitory from the supermarket, Su Wei felt like she had forgotten something.

But he couldn't remember exactly what it was until he went upstairs and put his things away.

The next morning, the new students received a notice that a class meeting would be held at 10:00 a.m. in the teaching building.

When Su Wei and her roommate arrived, the classroom was already quite full, with people chatting in twos and threes.

There aren't many people in the performing arts department; their class only has about twenty people, but because the classroom is small, it's packed full.

Su Wei habitually found a seat towards the back, and Dou Xiao sat next to him.

Zhang Zhuoran originally wanted to sit in the back, but Chen Mo pulled him to the front, saying, "There are a lot of pretty girls in the front, so I should get their contact information while it's the beginning of the semester."

The counselor was a young teacher in his early thirties, surnamed Wang, who seemed to be the kind of person who didn't procrastinate.

First, I introduced myself, then I talked about campus rules, class schedule, and safety precautions. Finally, I focused on the military training – a 15-day program held on campus, with morning exercises at 7 a.m. and ending at 9 p.m. every day. Students were required to wear uniforms and were not allowed to take leave.

As soon as the words "No leave allowed" were uttered, several sighs were clearly heard from below.

Teacher Wang smiled, looking very understanding: "Just get through it, that's how it is every year."

While listening, Su Wei subtly glanced around the classroom.

He saw several faces that would later appear frequently on television.

Cai Wenjing sat quietly in the third row, her hair in a ponytail, listening attentively.

Pan Zhilin was seated by the window, and her profile was clearly defined.

There were also a few others whose names he couldn't recall, but who he knew later made a name for themselves.

But most of them were faces he had no recollection of.

They sat in the classroom, their expressions ranging from excitement to nervousness, unaware of what the future held for them.

Su Wei knew.

A few years later, most of these people will gradually fade out of the industry.

Some changed careers, some went back to their hometowns, and some spent their lives as extras on film sets.

If you're lucky, you might land a supporting role in a web series; if you're unlucky, you might not even get a few lines.

There's no right or wrong, that's just how this industry is—

Getting in doesn't guarantee you'll stay, and staying doesn't guarantee you'll get ahead.

He looked away and paid no more attention.

Teacher Wang gave a few more instructions on the arrangements for the entrance physical examination and the assembly point for military training, then clapped his hands and said the meeting was adjourned.

A buzzing sound filled the classroom, with various noises rising and falling.

In the afternoon, Zhang Zhuoran couldn't stay still in the dormitory and kept clamoring to go to the basketball court to play basketball.

Su Wei was reluctant to move and advised him, "Military training starts tomorrow, so it's better to rest today."

Zhang Zhuoran didn't even look up, squatting under the bed rummaging through his sneakers:

"It's precisely because of tomorrow's military training that we have to rush to play two matches. Once the training starts, my legs will be so sore that I won't be able to lift them, and I won't have the strength to play."

Seeing that he was determined to go, Su Wei and the others couldn't persuade him otherwise and had no choice but to go along.

Because there weren't enough people, they went to the next dormitory to invite a few classmates to make up the numbers.

The basketball court at Beijing Film Academy is next to the sports field. The surface is concrete, and the basketball hoops have large patches of paint peeling off, while the iron frames underneath are rusty.

As the sun began to set in the evening, half of the sports field was bathed in the slanting sunlight, while the other half was shaded by buildings, creating a perfect temperature that was neither too hot nor too cold.

The game went on until almost six o'clock, and everyone's T-shirts were soaked with sweat.

A group of people were packing up their things and preparing to head to the cafeteria when Su Wei bumped into Kan Qingzi.

The other person waved to him from afar, accompanied by a girl.

As she approached, Kan Qingzi looked at Su Wei, who was covered in sweat, and her face was full of disgust:

"Military training starts tomorrow, why are you all here causing trouble?"

Su Wei turned her head and pointed to Zhang Zhuoran beside her: "This guy insisted on making trouble for himself, and we couldn't stop him."

Several boys around them were all staring intently at the two of them, their eyes full of gossip.

Helpless, Su Wei took the initiative to introduce:

"Let me tell you, this is Kan Qingzi, a sophomore. I was very grateful to her for showing me the way when I registered yesterday."

After saying that, he pointed to his roommates and the people in the next dormitory room one by one.

Kan Qingzi nodded to everyone and pulled the girl next to her over to introduce her:

"This is my roommate, Jing Tian."

Su Wei understood.

He certainly recognized her; later generations all said she was a woman of great wealth and beauty.

The main reason is that they have a powerful background. No one has been able to uncover the details of their background even after searching through various online sources.

What's even more interesting is her unique physique.

Despite her striking appearance and access to resources that most people could only dream of, she struggled to achieve mainstream success despite all the promotions. In the end, only her role in "Si Teng" garnered positive reviews, which is truly perplexing.

After a brief introduction, Su Wei casually made a polite remark:

"We're on our way to the cafeteria for lunch. If you don't have plans, why don't you come along?"

His intention was merely to be polite, anticipating that the other party would make a few excuses, and he would then smoothly continue the conversation.

Unexpectedly, Kan Qingzi didn't do what he expected at all. She turned back and gave Jing Tian a reassuring look, readily agreeing:

"Sure, I showed you the way yesterday, so you should treat me to a meal."

As soon as she finished speaking, she grabbed Jing Tian and pulled him forward, completely ignoring Su Wei's astonished expression.

Dou Xiao, Zhang Zhuoran, and their group immediately crowded around, teasing them with mischievous grins.

"Wow, Su Wei, even a sophomore is coming up to you. Compared to you, we're all trash."

Chen Mo chimed in, "Since you're having dinner with your senior, we won't join in. Let's hurry up and catch up so we don't keep them waiting."

Several people came up one by one to pat Su Wei on the shoulder, their teasing eyes barely concealed.

Su Wei opened her mouth, but for a moment she didn't know how to explain.

Seeing him standing there motionless, Kan Qingzi called out from afar:

"Su Wei, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and move!"

The shout pulled Su Wei back to his senses, and he didn't linger, quickly following after them.