Chapter 4: Me? The Male Lead?

June.

Graduation season.

At the academy gate, the bustling noise gradually returned to silence under the night sky.

A gentle breeze blew; Chen Jianfeng, a student from the Class of 2003 Performance Department, silently dragged his exhausted body and walked through the main gate.

For the entire film industry, the Class of 2003 graduates of the Yanjing Film Academy were a cohort under intense scrutiny.

Among the soon-to-graduate students, some had been receiving so many film offers since their freshman and sophomore years that their hands went soft from signing; almost every year, hot-off-the-press works emerged, and they had long become rising stars under the spotlight of the entertainment circle...

There were also talented young people who, in their sophomore year, filmed their own personal movies and, relying on those films, climbed step by step to the position of Best New Director, becoming new nobles within the circle of the Sixth Generation Directors amidst countless applause.

Others stood behind the scenes, supporting one film after another; before graduation, they had already joined big-budget film crews, holding various key positions...

Some entered the crews as runners; others constantly shuttled between major crews, taking even the most menial roles involving excrement, urine, and flatulence...

Of course, there were also those like Chen Jianfeng, who, hugging the dream of becoming a star since childhood, walked into the big city from a small town.

As a result, he muddled through four years amidst a crowd of flower-dancers and rich, handsome classmates, becoming a background board for those chosen by heaven, and facing the prospect of unemployment upon graduation in June.

Those standing under the spotlight, watched by the world, are always a minority.

It seems some people are born as ordinary folks existing solely to set off those dazzling stars.

The evening wind blew.

Chen Jianfeng walked to the entrance of the Yanjing gate.

While pondering which film crew to interview at tomorrow's plan...

He suddenly spotted an A4 paper recruitment poster pasted on the security office!

After taking a look, he was instantly stunned!

Holy crap!

【The world's first Sino-American co-produced blockbuster!】!

But immediately after, his brain froze again!

Wait!

This isn't right!

A movie as awesome as 【The world's first Sino-American co-produced blockbuster】, why is the recruitment poster handwritten, and written so LOW?

This damn thing looks exactly like those midnight advertisements pasted in public restrooms, okay?

Just as he was shaking his head and preparing to leave, he suddenly, as if by divine guidance, stood still, hesitated for a while, and silently stared at the words on the poster.

Recruiting actors, recruiting cinematographers, recruiting lighting technicians, recruiting crew members...

Except for the director and screenwriter, this film is recruiting for everything.

Is the recruitment scope of this film this broad?

"Student, interested in giving it a try?"

"Ah?"

Just as Chen Jianfeng was blankly looking at the recruitment text above, he saw a well-dressed young man in a suit and glasses inside the security office smiling at him.

"Student, interested in taking on a role?"

"Are you... filming a movie?"

"Mm, I'm from a film and television company; here is my business card..."

Chen Jianfeng blankly took a business card and looked down at it.

On the gold-stamped business card were written the characters 【Xuan Shi Entertainment】 Zhou Yang, and the position on the back was Agent.

Chen Jianfeng looked up at the recruitment poster, then glanced again at the sincere Zhou Yang.

【Xuan Shi Entertainment】...

He had never heard of this name at all.

His first impression was that it was a scam company, but looking at Zhou Yang's appearance, it didn't quite seem like it; finally, he scratched his head: "President Zhou, what kind of crew are you again?"

"Oh, a Sino-American co-produced action blockbuster..." After sizing him up and down, Zhou Yang said with a smile: "Student, you're a graduate of the Class of 2003, right?"

"Yes..." For some reason, after making eye contact with Zhou Yang, Chen Jianfeng felt burning hot.

This guy's gaze seemed to have seen right through him in a single glance.

"Just interviewed for a martial arts film? Mm, also interviewed for a modern film... and the results weren't very smooth, right..." Zhou Yang glanced at his shoes, and the smile on his face became even more brilliant.

"Ah? You, how do you know?" Chen Jianfeng was startled.

"You carry a unique scent of urban film crews; from this scent, I can even guess that the film you interviewed for is most likely a story of a rich young lady falling in love with a poor boy. As for the Wu Xia film, judging by the wear on your shoes, I can see you did a lot of work today, but it was probably all unpaid labor..." Zhou Yang pushed his glasses again and withdrew his gaze.

"Ah!" Chen Jianfeng opened his mouth, and instantly, his whole mind went blank.

Zhang Shun, the security guard nearby listening to Hong Kong and Taiwan music on the radio, instantly shook his hand, turned off the radio, and looked at Zhou Yang as if seeing a ghost.

He too was stunned by Zhou Yang's maneuver.

"Student, blindly searching will only make you waste your youth; what you need now is to calm down and properly plan your life..." Zhou Yang looked at the silly Chen Jianfeng, pointed to an empty chair nearby: "Interested in sitting down and chatting?"

"Uh, this..." Chen Jianfeng stood at the security office door, vigilantly staring at Zhou Yang, hesitating and afraid to come in.

"Student, you should be from a small county in the Sichuan-Shu region, right?"

"How do you know?"

"Rest assured, even a scammer wouldn't scam a unlucky guy who doesn't have a hundred yuan in his pocket..." Zhou Yang glanced at Chen Jianfeng's pocket again.

"..."

Upon hearing this sentence, Chen Jianfeng instinctively covered his pocket, his face turning bright red, seeming extremely embarrassed: "I, no, no..."

Zhou Yang looked at Chen Jianfeng's appearance but said nothing; instead, he smiled and continued pointing to the empty seat nearby: "Success is sometimes very simple: follow the right person, take the right path, do the right thing... If you want to change your current bleak situation, you can sit down and chat with me; at most five minutes, it won't take up too much of your time..."

Chen Jianfeng hesitated for a long time.

Thinking he was so poor he could barely afford the bus fare, there was really nothing for him to be scammed out of, and this was the security office of Yan Ying Academy, a conspicuous place where surveillance cameras were installed everywhere; no one would do anything to him.

He finally walked into the security office, sat on a chair, and looked at Zhou Yang uneasily: "General Manager Zhou, what is the investment for this film?"

"The investment isn't high, just under one hundred million."

"One hundred million!" Chen Jianfeng was shocked.

Zhang Shun, the security guard drinking tea nearby, instantly choked, staring in shock at the well-dressed Zhou Yang.

What the hell is this guy?

So ruthless?

"Yes..." Zhou Yang nodded: "We've hired a famous director, Shen Long is directing, and it's currently in preparation..."

"Then... the male lead..."

"Because this film has special circumstances, the first recruitment is only within a small scope. Um, I'll interview them personally. By the way, Brother Zhang, please help me take down the recruitment advertisement first... I told you not to post ads like this; posting ads this way is too low-class, it will make people think my company is a scam company..."

"???"

Zhang Shun's eyes widened.

What the hell!

You posted it yourself, and now you're saying I posted it?

What kind of joke is this!

Just as Zhang Shun's mood was fluctuating, Zhou Yang smiled and handed him a pack of Chunghwa cigarettes.

Seeing the cigarettes, Zhang Shun coughed, then nodded, and silently tore down the recruitment poster.

Damn it!

What is Zhou Yang up to?

Even if you're going to scam, don't scam poor students who have no money in their pockets!

If you're not scamming, do you really intend to invest one hundred million to make a film?

What a joke!

"Um, the male lead of this film is..."

"Do you want to be the male lead?"

"Me? Can I?"

"Sure, no problem!"

"I..." Chen Jianfeng was so shocked he stood up, pointed at his own nose, felt his head buzzing, and stared at Zhou Yang as if seeing a ghost.

"I think you can!"

"Are you joking? General Manager Zhou?"

"Yes, I like to joke, but do you think I have any reason to joke with a poor student who can't even pull out a hundred yuan from his pocket?" Zhou Yang shook his head: "Am I bored out of my mind?"

"Then, then, I, I... I..." Chen Jianfeng felt his brain crash again.

Me?

The male lead?

Wait, am I crazy, or is this guy crazy?

"Alright, the five minutes are up. It's a bit late today. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to acquire a cinema to enter the film and television industry. If you're free, call this number and come find me."

Seeing Chen Jianfeng's shocked expression, Zhou Yang smiled and patted his shoulder.

Acquire a cinema to enter the film and television industry?

I...

The male lead?

A Sino-American blockbuster?

Chen Jianfeng's mind went blank.

Holding the gold-stamped business card, he instinctively stood up.

Then, foolishly walked out of the security office and into the dormitory of Yan Ying Academy.

Watching Chen Jianfeng leave, security guard Zhang Shun lowered his head, staring at that extremely low-class poster.

"General Manager Zhou, tell me... are you really preparing to make a film?"

"Really."

"You're not scamming?"

"I said, why would I go to such great lengths to scam a poor student who doesn't even have a hundred yuan in his pocket?"

"But your poster..."

"Oh, anyone who seriously looks at this kind of poster is either desperate and trying their luck, or is... anyway, easy to arrange..."

"Wait, how do you know he doesn't even have a hundred yuan in his pocket?"

"In this scorching heat, he wouldn't even take a taxi, panting as he walked over, wearing cheap clothes, carrying a mineral water bottle... Most importantly, although he's tall and quite handsome, he always keeps his head down, dares not look people in the eye, hesitates, and looks very insecure at first glance. And in the academy, he's probably the bottom-tier scrap. For girls, insecurity might stem from appearance and other factors, but for boys, besides appearance, the source of insecurity is probably family conditions..."

Security guard Zhang Shun was stunned.

"Then, how do you know the crew he's auditioning for is for urban and Wu Xia genres..."

"I've been squatting here lately listening to a lot of entertainment news and reading many newspapers. There are only two crews in Beijing, so a little probing revealed it... Just now, when I probed, his eyes darted away, yet he couldn't hide his disappointment, so it seems things aren't going well. Also, did you notice the cracked bloodstain on his hand? It's highly likely he did some heavy labor..."

Zhang Shun stared blankly at Zhou Yang, who was squinting his eyes.

He suddenly felt a chill in the air.

After hesitating for a moment, he finally asked again: "Then, since his conditions are so average, why did you take a liking to him?"

"Every stone in this world has its unique value... It's just that most people's eyes are blind..." Zhou Yang took off his glasses, wiped the dust off them, and said lightly.

Zhang Shun looked at Zhou Yang's glasses; whether it was his illusion or not, these glasses...

... should they be plain lenses?

Are these glasses just a prop?

"Zhou, Mr. Zhou, do you really intend to make a movie and invest in cinema chains?"

"Do I look like a liar?"

"Then..."

"By the way, Brother Zhang, regarding those unlucky folks who can't find work lately, show them that recruitment poster. If they look too shrewd and immediately curse it as a scam, forget them. But if they're interested—well, the kind with great dreams, especially great dreams, willing to try any possibility for their dreams, and who look down-to-earth—have them call me... Don't worry, I'm not running a scam... Alright, it's too late; I must go. I have to meet with a cinema tomorrow to discuss investment matters..."

"Why do I feel you're becoming more and more like a scammer?"

"Have you ever seen a scammer jump into a river? By the way, Brother Zhang, your little electric scooter is nice; green and eco-friendly, just fully charged. Here, lend it to me for a day; I'll return it to you tomorrow afternoon..."

"???"

Zhang Shun stared blankly as Zhou Yang walked over to the electric scooter he had just bought, unplugged the charging cable, mounted it, and flashed him a smile.

Zhang Shun subconsciously nodded...

Only when he saw Zhou Yang stride away did he suddenly snap to attention!

What am I nodding for? Am I going to walk home after work?

Have I gone crazy?