Huayu: Enjoy Yourself

Chapter 20 Photography Lesson

After drinking, I poured my heart out and got up early the next morning.

Chen An felt good, and after drinking it all that night, he passed out around 10 p.m.

After tidying up my things, I lay down on the bed and slept straight until morning, feeling much more refreshed.

After washing up, Chen An took yesterday's trash downstairs, threw it into the trash can, and went to class.

Today's class was a practical session, and Teacher Mu brought several cameras into the classroom.

To evaluate the teaching results.

"Chen An, come up here and take these. Today is our outdoor class. You can help me carry these cameras. Everyone, follow me. We'll go out to the countryside in the car later. Everyone take three photos, and we'll develop them tomorrow for the class."

Teacher Mu, who was standing on the podium, called Chen An up and stuffed three cameras into his hands.

He then led the team out of the classroom, with the others following behind him.

When I got to the school gate, there were two bread carts parked there, like the kind that gangsters often drive in movies. If you didn't know better, you'd think they were there to cause trouble.

There aren't many people in the photography department; two cars can fit them all without it being crowded.

Teacher Mu directed everyone to get on the bus, and Chen An was the last to get on, following Teacher Mu onto the first bread truck.

The car started and slowly drove towards the suburbs.

Finally, the car stopped in front of an old alley. The street wasn't very clean, but it had a lot of life in it.

Many elderly people were still walking around inside. The house was very old, with many cracks in the wooden doors and sawdust in the cracks.

Chen An had never been to this place before. Having grown accustomed to skyscrapers, this was the first time he had seen the capital city like this, even after nearly two years in Beijing.

In his memory, this place had always been developing, with construction sites everywhere.

It was only the 1990s, but the sights of Beijing had already overturned his worldview from his previous life.

In fact, by this time, several major cities had developed quite well, no worse than the small county towns of my previous life, and some even had taller buildings.

It wasn't just dusty ground; it was an old courtyard house, and the people dressed simply. These were things he had seen in movies in his previous life, from the perspective of those directors.

In 1996, two years before Chen An was born in his previous life, he did not belong to this era. The original owner of this body was also a country boy from a small county. So, having been in the capital for almost two years, he thought he was almost familiar with the city.

But when Chen An saw this familiar scene again, this image he had seen in the movie, he realized that he still didn't understand this city.

It was true then, and it is true now.

The arrival of the Beijing Film Academy faculty and students had no impact; the people here continued with their lives.

Teacher Mu began distributing cameras to everyone, and since there were only three, they were distributed in groups of three.

The photos will be distributed according to student ID numbers, with each student receiving three photos. The cameras will be numbered so that it will be clear who took each photo.

Chen An was among the first to receive a camera, and instead of going with the others, he ventured into the alleyway alone.

Chen Anxian touched the old walls with his hands, and his fingers hurt a little as they rubbed against the rough surface.

While scouting the area, I was also thinking about what to film.

Unlike movies in one's mind that can be referenced, this time Chen An wants to film what he wants to film himself.

Walking in the places favored by the sixth generation of directors, Chen An could not truly empathize.

He still prefers the skyscrapers in the city, the river in his hometown, the lush green rapeseed flowers with a hint of yellow along the riverbank, Jiuzhaigou, which he visited in his previous life, Wugong Mountain, which he was tricked into visiting by watching Douyin, and Laojun Mountain, which he has always wanted to go to.

It's the crystal-clear lake reflecting the starry sky at night, the sunrise watching the golden rays pierce through the clouds from the mountaintop, or climbing the ethereal mountaintop pavilion as snowflakes fall and the sky darkens.

Therefore, Chen An disliked it. In addition, many of the photos he took recently were taken in shady places, with the sun shining obliquely down, showing children hiding in the shadows and staring blankly at the sky.

An elderly man, leaning on a cane, his face wrinkled and his eyes cloudy, hunched over, slowly stepped into the alley where the sunlight rarely reached. The road ahead was blurry and out of focus in front of the camera.

These photographs reflect Chen An's melancholy state of mind, until he saw a mother holding her child sitting in front of the yard.

In the video, the mother holds her child in her arms, looking down at the babbling toddler. Sunlight filtering through the trees in front of the yard shines on the mother's face, which is beaming with happiness.

The warm orange sunlight felt cozy and blissful.

This was Chen An's most satisfying shot. The scene before him made him happy without even realizing it. After taking the shot, he looked at the scene for a while and then silently walked back to where he came from.

After returning to the car, Chen An handed the camera to the next person and then squatted down next to the car to observe the scene before him.

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Not far across a wide road lies a neighborhood that is beginning to modernize.

The old alley in front of us and the street across the road are like two completely different worlds.

A road is like a dividing line in the world, cutting it in two.

One class period took up the entire morning.

The filming didn't finish until noon, and then we got back on the van to go back to school.

That concludes today's lessons.

In the afternoon, Chen An went to audit a class in the directing department as usual.

She easily slipped into the desk at the back of the classroom, and Teacher Xie, who was lecturing on the platform, was used to it and didn't say much.

He continued discussing the topic, and after finishing, he closed the doors and windows and drew the curtains.

A movie was put on.

It's the movie Chen An is familiar with, "Red Sorghum".

After finishing, Teacher Xie turned on the classroom lights and instructed the students:

"This is today's assignment. Everyone needs to submit a report in three days, including your thoughts on the film, the contrast between light and shadow, and the language and intention of the shots."

After saying that, he glanced at Chen An.

Chen An understood that he was to also contribute a share.

After class, Chen An was the first to slip out of the classroom. After all, they weren't in the same class, and there wasn't much to talk about after class.

After finishing the two classes, it was getting dark, and Chen An prepared to go straight back to his dormitory.

I haven't washed yesterday's clothes yet, so I'll take this opportunity to do so.

When Chen An returned to the dormitory, he did not see his roommates.

I picked up the clothes that were dirty yesterday, as well as the clothes that hadn't been washed in the last few days, and took them into the bathroom.

There were quite a few people taking showers behind me, making a loud splashing sound.

Chen An also went in to take a shower and wash his clothes.

Then I started doing the homework for today's directing class.

The days passed by.

Just when Chen An had almost forgotten that he had even made a movie.

Chen An, who was in class, had his phone, which he usually kept close to his body and used like a brick, ringing loudly today.

It immediately attracted the attention of the entire class.

Chen An felt quite embarrassed as he looked at Teacher Mu on the podium.

Teacher Mu nodded helplessly: "Hurry up and answer it. Remember to turn it off next time."

"it is good."

Chen An nodded quickly and answered the phone.

"Gibberish. Aba aba."

The person on the other end of the phone rattled off a string of words that Chen An couldn't understand; it sounded a bit like French but also like English.

"."

Chen An didn't know how to start the conversation, and the other end hung up, leaving him completely confused.

However, Chen An didn't think much of it. He sat down and adjusted his phone to see if it had a vibration mode.

After searching for a long time without finding it, I decided to just shut down the computer.

Just as he was about to turn off his phone, it started ringing again.

Chen An "."

This is like falling into a cesspool; you can't wash it off now.

"Didn't I tell you to turn off your phone? Answer it now, or you'll be unable to attend your class!"

Teacher Mu, whose lecture was interrupted time and again, seriously suspected that Chen An was planning a rebellion.

Chen An immediately answered the phone, and just as he was about to speak, a familiar voice came from the other end:

"Hey~ Brother Chen, I'm Han Sanping, you really need to learn more foreign languages. The Cannes Film Festival invited you to attend, and they've been speaking both French and English, but you've been ignoring them. Maybe you don't want to go anymore, hahaha."

The phone's audio transmission function was good, and Han Sanping's voice was quite loud, and his loud laughter echoed throughout the entire classroom!

Chen An was so excited that he couldn't speak, feeling his adrenaline surging. The students in the classroom also felt like they were hallucinating.

Chen An, who was in the same classroom as me, has been nominated for the Cannes Film Festival?!

Want to play or not?

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P.S.: (In principle, "Cannes" is a transliteration, and Director Chen's acceptance speech at the Cannes Film Festival after winning the Palme d'Or was also to thank the Cannes Film Festival. However, for the sake of convenience and because everyone is more familiar with the name "Cannes," I will simply refer to it as "Cannes.")

I wanted to give the protagonist some growth, rather than just making a movie based on what I've seen without any guidance. That's why I wrote so many chapters. He's someone who has a cheat code, but he needs to learn how to use it. But the more I write, the more pretentious I become, and I want to swear!

(End of this chapter)