After being dumped by the diva, I was picked up by her arch-enemy.

Chen Hao's hand holding the script began to tremble.

He originally thought that the "short drama" Jiang Yichen mentioned was the kind of corny, domineering CEO drama where the male and female leads slap each other and are worth hundreds of billions.

But the words written on the paper made him increasingly alarmed.

No melodramatic romance, no pretentious face-slapping moments.

Only the patriotism and integrity of actors against the backdrop of a great era, and the overwhelming sense of tragedy, are truly captivating.

Chen Hao turned the pages faster and faster, and his breathing became rapid.

Every line of dialogue and every scene arrangement in the script exudes the quality of a highly mature commercial film.

This is not something that a makeshift team could produce.

The famous opera singer in the story did not back down when faced with the bayonets of the invaders.

Below the stage were heavily armed enemies, while on the stage were actors with flowing sleeves.

That indomitable spirit, so strong it seems to leap off the page.

Chen Hao swallowed hard, his eyes involuntarily reddening.

He suddenly raised his head and looked at Jiang Yichen sitting opposite him.

Jiang Yichen was holding a teacup, slowly skimming the tea leaves, his expression calm.

The gears in Chen Hao's mind began to spin wildly.

I understand.

Jiang Shen is testing me step by step.

First, let me shoot a one-minute transformation video to test my camera presence and basic editing skills.

Now just give me a high-quality short drama of ten minutes or so.

What is this?

This is a real-world training exercise.

Once this short drama is finished, how far are we from making a theatrical film?

"Brother Jiang!" Chen Hao jumped up, holding the script to his chest with both hands. "This script is amazing! Don't worry, I'll dedicate myself to filming it!"

Jiang Yichen was a little confused by his sudden excitement.

"Just film normally." Jiang Yichen put down his teacup. "Do you have any connections regarding the location and extras?"

"Yes! Absolutely!" Chen Hao patted his chest confidently. "The location is right at Huairou Film City; they have a ready-made Republican-era street and an old opera house. As for extras, that's even easier. I'll just go to the entrance of Beijing Film Studio and recruit people. Two hundred yuan a day, including boxed lunches—we can get as many as we need!"

Jiang Yichen nodded.

It's certainly more convenient to leave professional matters to professionals.

"Okay, send me a budget spreadsheet and I'll get the preliminary preparations done in the next couple of days."

Chen Hao nodded repeatedly, carefully stuffed the script into his bag, and rushed out of the yard.

Over the next few days, Jiang Yichen and Chen Hao began working non-stop.

Sightseeing, makeup, and equipment rental.

The theater troupe's regular performances were not neglected.

Looking at the daily surge in ticket bookings in the backend, Jiang Yichen decided to fully develop the online platform.

He gathered all his fellow apprentices in the courtyard.

Tan Yunxiao was still holding a half-eaten white steamed bun in his hand.

"From today onwards, in your spare time from practice, show off your special skills, film them as short videos, and upload them to our drama club's account," Jiang Yichen announced.

Tan Yunxiao swallowed the steamed bun in a few bites and scratched his bald head.

"Third brother, do you think anyone'll watch us bunch of roughnecks grinning like idiots in front of the camera?"

The second senior brother also chimed in.

"Yeah, Third Junior Brother, those online celebrities are either good-looking or can dance. All we do all day is somersaults and splits, who wants to watch that?"

Jiang Yichen leaned against a pillar in the corridor.

"Senior Brother, you have no idea about your own strength."

"We won't do anything fancy, we'll let the real skills speak for themselves."

"Netizens are tired of seeing mannequins with filters. Our original, traditional skills are the real game-changer."

Chen Hao was busy preparing for the short drama all by himself and was overwhelmed with other tasks.

He directly recruited two close classmates from his class, paid them daily, and they were specifically responsible for filming and editing videos for the fellow students in the drama club.

One is called Fatty, and the other is called Skinny Monkey.

The fat guy carried the stabilizer, while the skinny guy was in charge of lighting.

For two senior film and television students, shooting these kinds of everyday short videos is a piece of cake.

The first video features the eldest disciple, Tan Yunxiao.

In the scene, Tan Yunxiao is wearing a suit of gold-embroidered fish-scale armor.

"Senior Brother, sharpen your eyes! Show some battle-hardened killing intent!" the fat man shouted from behind the camera.

Tan Yunxiao took a deep breath, and his eyes changed instantly.

His originally honest face now exuded an aura of domineering authority.

He was holding a large spear with a white waxwood shaft that was more than two meters long.

With his legs slightly bent, he assumed a stable horse stance.

The spear thrust out suddenly.

The sound of something cutting through the air was sharp and piercing.

Tan Yunxiao exerted force from his waist, and the spearhead instantly unleashed seven or eight spear flowers, displaying an unparalleled and fierce momentum.

The moment the video was uploaded to the "Qilin Opera Club" Douhai account, the data took off immediately.

The comment section was completely flooded with netizens' amazement.

"Holy crap! That size! That presence!"

"That spearhead is trembling so much, it's giving me the chills. If it pierced my skin, it would be a death sentence!"

"Those foundation-covered celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry, get over here and take your beating!"

"I strongly suggest the production team use this standard when casting military officers! Stop using those low-ranking dogs to fool the audience!"

"This is what a Chinese man should be like! Senior Brother is awesome!"

Tan Yunxiao looked at the dense stream of praise on his phone, and his usually dark red face turned an unusual shade of red all the way to his neck.

He grinned widely, his teeth practically disappearing from his eyes.

"Hey, these netizens have pretty nice words."

With Tan Yunxiao taking the lead, the other fellow disciples were able to unleash their full potential.

In the world of traditional Chinese opera, it's all about years of hard work and dedication offstage.

Everyone has some real skills.

The next day, the second senior brother's video was uploaded—a Peking Opera face-changing performance.

Face-changing is a specialty of Sichuan Opera, but it is also involved in Peking Opera.

In front of the camera, the second senior brother is wearing a black and red costume, his cape swung around.

His head bobbed slightly.

The red face instantly turned blue.

With another wave of his hand, the blue face turned golden the instant he raised his folding fan to cover his face.

The motion is so fast that the frame rate can't even capture it.

Netizens are frantically slowing down the video in the comments.

"I slowed it down to 0.1x speed, and I still couldn't see how the face changed!"

"That hand speed... you couldn't achieve even after being single for thirty years!"

"What incredible skill! Just how many extraordinary talents are hidden within the Qilin Opera Troupe?!"

Next up was the fourth junior brother's fire-breathing skill.

The courtyard was dimly lit at dusk.

The fourth junior brother held a torch in his hand and had a special kind of kerosene in his mouth.

The fat man zoomed in with the camera.

"Fourth Brother, are you ready?"

The fourth junior brother nodded, his cheeks puffing out.

He brought the torch close to his mouth.

He suddenly vomited forward.

A fire dragon more than two meters long suddenly spewed out, illuminating the entire courtyard.

The high temperature caused the image to be slightly distorted.

A wave of heat hit him, and the fat man was so frightened that he backed away, almost falling on his backside.

The comments section exploded again.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

"@Fire Department, someone here is practicing magic!"

"Just how high are the requirements for this drama club? You'd be embarrassed to even step inside without some kind of superpower, right?"

Meng Lingyu was not to be outdone.

Wearing a blue robe with flowing sleeves, she demonstrated in front of the camera what it truly means to "bend over backwards and pick up a flower".

Her supple waist bent backward, almost touching the ground.

She gently picked up the red rose that was placed on the ground with her lips.

Her movements as she rose were light and graceful, without the slightest hesitation.

She completely captivated a group of fans who called her "wife".

The number of followers on Qilin Opera Club's account is skyrocketing at a rate of tens of thousands per day.

In less than half a month, it has already broken the million mark.

Jiang Yichen sat at the stone table, looking through the data and comments in the backend.

This is exactly the result he wanted.

The hype will eventually die down if he's the only one to rely on.

However, if the entire Qilin Opera Troupe is developed into a matrix of traditional Chinese style IPs, each fellow apprentice will have their own memorable features and fan base.

Then the reputation of the opera troupe was firmly established.

"Brother Jiang!" Chen Hao ran into the yard, panting, waving a thick stack of forms in his hand.

Jiang Yichen put down his phone.

"Has the venue been booked?"

Chen Hao gulped down a large mouthful of cold water and wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

"All done!"

"There's an old opera house near Huairou Film City that just became available a couple of days ago, so I paid a deposit and rented it for three days."

"The extras are all cast. I borrowed the whole set of cameras, tracks, and lights that my classmate used on set."

Chen Hao's eyes were frighteningly bright, and his whole body exuded a fervent desire to make a big splash.

"When do we turn on the machine?"