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

The phone hangs up.

Su Wei stood by the roadside, her phone still held to her ear, the receiver already showing a busy tone.

Is this over?

He put his phone back in his pocket and stood still.

Good guy.

The ups and downs were just like riding a roller coaster.

For the past few days, he kept telling himself that the deal was probably off.

But what's done is done. He should go to class and practice his skills as usual.

Fortunately, he has always maintained a good attitude.

While I'm happy right now, I'm not completely lost yet.

He took a few steps, then turned around and headed straight for the office building instead of returning to his dormitory.

Su Wei walked to the door of Teacher Gao's office. The door was not closed properly, with a crack in it.

He raised his hand and tapped twice.

"Come in."

Teacher Gao sat behind his desk, with several forms spread out on it.

He looked up and saw it was Su Wei, then put down his pen.

"Su Wei? What's up?"

Su Wei walked in and stood opposite Teacher Gao.

"Professor Gao, I would like to request a leave of absence for a while."

Teacher Gao looked at Su Wei, waiting for him to continue.

"Going to Hengdian to film a movie."

Su Wei explained the reason, "It will probably take about a month and a half."

Teacher Gao's eyebrows twitched.

He took off his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose, and then put them back on.

"Filming?"

He repeated the two words, his tone questioning.

"Um."

Teacher Gao looked at him for a while without saying anything.

He did not immediately nod in agreement.

Instead, he took out a leave slip, placed it on the table, and leaned back in his chair.

Which film crew?

"Chinese Paladin 3, produced by Tangren Media."

Teacher Gao's eyebrows twitched.

"Is Li Guoli a director?"

"Yes."

Teacher Gao didn't say anything more.

He picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip.

After a while, he put down his teacup.

Tangren Media.

He muttered something to himself, and the tense expression on his face visibly relaxed.

Su Wei noticed this change and felt that things were probably all settled.

"Su Wei".

He looked at him and said, "Actually, I don't recommend you go—"

You're only a freshman; you haven't even finished your basic acting courses. Going out to film movies now isn't the best choice from a teaching perspective.

Su Wei stood there without saying a word.

"But then..."

Teacher Gao then said, "I know this kind of opportunity is really rare."

He picked up a pen from the table.

"Our school isn't like the Central Academy of Drama, which is old-fashioned and rigid."

As he said this, the corner of his mouth twitched, as if he had thought of something funny.

"Our school actually encourages students to get in touch with film crews early on."

After all, no matter how much is taught in the classroom, it's all just theory without putting it into practice in front of the camera.

He paused, then tapped his finger on the table.

"but……"

Su Wei knew that the important part was what came after "however".

"You're on set, but you can't neglect your studies."

Teacher Gao's voice calmed down, and he spoke in the tone of someone who had been through it all.

"You must know that to forge iron, one must be strong oneself."

In the acting profession, without acting skills, everything else is just a castle in the air.

He looked at Su Wei and said quietly.

"You should be careful about these things yourself."

Su Wei stood up straight and nodded.

"OK."

He signed the leave slip, and the paper was handed to him.

"I've approved your leave. You just need to go to the academic affairs office to get it stamped."

Su Wei took the leave slip, folded it, and put it in her pocket.

"Thank you, Professor Gao."

Teacher Gao had already lowered his head to continue looking at his form, and upon hearing this, he simply waved his hand.

After leaving the administration building, Su Wei first went to the academic affairs office before returning to her dormitory.

When he arrived at the dormitory, the group was chatting and joking around.

Su Wei closed the door.

"You guys are all here, right? Everyone's free tonight, I'll treat you all to dinner."

The men all wore expressions that said, "The sun has risen in the west."

"Oh," Dou Xiao laughed, "have you struck it rich?"

"No, I just wanted to treat you to a meal."

Su Wei took off her coat and threw it on the bed.

"I have to go to Hengdian tomorrow, and then we might not see each other for more than a month."

The dormitory suddenly became quiet, with only the whirring of the fan.

Dou Xiao was the first to react.

He stood up, patted his pants, and said, "Okay, where should we eat?"

"That barbecue place near the school gate?"

"Let's go."

Zhang Zhuoran stood up from his seat.

Chen Mo wasn't being coy. Although there had been a slight disagreement between them a couple of days ago, they were both guys, so it was all in the past.

The four of them left the school gate and turned into the alley behind the school.

It was already getting dark.

The barbecue stall was set up in the middle of the alley, with a row of plastic tables and chairs.

At this moment, the air was filled with the smell of charcoal smoke mixed with cumin and chili powder.

The four of them found an empty table and sat down.

Dou Xiao expertly called out to the stall owner, "Boss, give me forty skewers of mutton, six chicken wings, four eggplants, four portions of chives, and a case of beer."

Zhang Zhuoran added eight more kidneys.

Su Wei thought that was enough, so she didn't order any more.

The beer came first.

Dou Xiao bit open a bottle with his teeth and poured a glass for each of the four people.

The foam overflowed the rim of the glass, and he lowered his head to take a sip.

"Then we won't stand on ceremony with you."

He picked up his glass and touched it to Su Wei's. "I have nothing more to say. If I become rich and powerful, let's not forget each other."

Zhang Zhuoran also raised his cup.

Chen Mo was the last to raise his glass.

He glanced at Su Weiyi, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something.

Before he could speak, Su Wei held out her cup and tapped it against the rim of his cup.

"drink."

Chen Mo paused for a moment, then tilted his head back and took a big gulp.

The lamb skewers arrived, the metal skewers still sizzling with oil.

The chili powder and cumin were sprinkled on top in a thick layer, and it looked delicious.

Without any hesitation, each person grabbed a skewer and popped it into their mouth.

After a few drinks, they started talking more.

Dou Xiao held a skewer of lamb in one hand, with the other hand on Su Wei's shoulder, chewing on some meat, and mumbled:

"Go to Hengdian and make a good living. When you become famous, I can brag to people that 'Su Wei was my roommate back then.'"

Zhang Zhuoran chuckled from the side, "That's all you've got."

Dou Xiao pointed at him with a lamb skewer: "You're being stubborn, but that's probably what you think too."

Su Wei was amused by them and leaned back in the plastic chair, holding her cup.

The night breeze blew by, scattering the smoke from the barbecue stall.

When Chen Mo drank his third cup, he finally started talking more.

He put the glass on the table, the beer at the bottom sloshing around, and looked at Su Wei.

"Awei".

"Um?"

"What happened that day—"

He said embarrassedly, "I just said that because I was being cheeky, please don't—"

"Alright."

Su Wei shut him up.

He picked up the bottle and filled Chen Mo's glass. "It's all in the wine."

Chen Mo looked up at him.

Su Wei's face didn't show any particular expression; she held her glass in mid-air, waiting to clink it with his.

Chen Mo picked up his cup and bumped it against the glass.

"OK."

The two of them tilted their heads back at the same time and drank it all down.