Chapter 53: I Intended to Make a Living on My Talent!

2003.

The Chinese internet was just beginning to rise.

Forums like BBS, Maobu, and Jiaoyu were in full swing; countless young people from all corners of the land, swept up by the internet wave, gathered on these forums to chat about everything from the mundane to the profound, and some, through various words and deeds, attracted massive user attention and discussion, quickly becoming the talk of the town and turning into so-called "internet celebrities."

In June this year, Li Yijie, who had just graduated from high school and been admitted to a decent university in Yanjing, received her first computer in her life.

She was not unfamiliar with computers...

Their school was one of the first batch of schools in China to offer computer courses.

Li Yijie picked up new things very quickly; after just a few lessons, she not only learned typing rapidly but, before long, became a regular on major forums and chat rooms; with the college entrance exam over and her completely liberated, she immersed herself entirely in the high-intensity surfing of the internet, enjoying the series of explosive information it brought her...

One evening in June, after listening to netizens tell various spine-chilling ghost stories in the "Ghost Stories" section of the Jiaoyu Forum and finding herself unable to sleep, she inadvertently clicked on a post titled 【Handsome Guys Snapshots at the Gate of Yan Film School】.

At first, as usual, she just browsed casually...

But, as she browsed, somehow, her gaze was drawn to a figure in a suit and leather shoes.

The photo seemed to be taken surreptitiously; although the pixel count was not high, the atmosphere was extremely rich.

In the photo, leaning against a red Audi A6 supercar, was a figure wearing sunglasses, looking extremely stern.

This figure was not particularly tall, but among the crowd of handsome men at the gate of Yan Film School, standing there all alone, he possessed a certain charming allure.

He looked like a certain star, or a model, or even more like the dashing male protagonist from a novel or a movie.

Below this photo, there were many comments and quite a few reposts; even male netizens used this photo as their chat avatars, and for a time, relying solely on the avatar, he attracted the attention of many girls.

However, the internet of 2003 was still just emerging, far from as developed as it would later become; Li Yijie, filled with excitement, flipped through many photos, but unfortunately, she could not find detailed information about this boy, finding only one side profile shot without sunglasses, riding a small electric scooter...

Until yesterday, while accompanying her father, who had just returned from the coal mine, watching TV, she inadvertently saw a news report...

Then, she saw a melancholy face...

【Xuan Shi Entertainment】.

Soft light illuminated a gentle side profile wearing a smile.

His smile felt very comfortable, like a cool breeze blowing, bringing a touch of freshness and dispelling the stuffy heat in the room.

"Hello, my name is Zhou Yang!"

"Hello, my name is, my name is Li Yijie... You really look much better than in the photos!"

Seeing the other person smile and greet her, Li Yijie excitedly shook hands with Zhou Yang.

Zhou Yang's hand was very soft, yet broad and strong; gripping her hand tightly, somehow, it made her heart race.

After the brief handshake, she and her father, Li Dachun, sat aside, drinking the plain boiled water poured for them by a girl nearby.

She looked around at everything nearby...

The 【Xuan Shi Entertainment】 company was very shabby.

A few rooms, a table, and some simple office supplies...

Apart from that, there was nothing in the company; hmm, there wasn't even a computer.

Looking and looking...

Li Yijie suddenly felt a bit sour, especially when she thought of Zhou Yang's tearful, desperate crying on TV over the movie.

Having grown up in a family that was not particularly wealthy, she couldn't help but feel slightly uncomfortable in her heart.

Along this journey, Zhou Yang must have had it very hard, right?

"Sorry, President Li, our place is quite shabby..."

Zhou Yang did not hide his predicament; on the contrary, facing the father-daughter pair of Li Dachun and Li Yijie, he was exceptionally sincere: "I believe you both have seen; we are actually quite poor; I won't hide it from you... We are all just ordinary young people; describing us as society's scraps would not be an exaggeration... Last month, we made a movie; the reputation of that movie was not particularly good, and the box office performance was just average, but the DVD market sold quite well, selling nearly 20,000 copies..."

While speaking, Zhou Yang handed a set of data to Li Dachun.

Li Dachun, who was pot-bellied, took the data, glanced at it, and then handed it to Li Yijie: "It's fine; I just like you honest young people; those flashy things you pull, I find hypocritical... It's normal for young people to be poor; when I was your age, we couldn't even get a meal; when the child cried for candy, I couldn't bear to buy it..."

"President Li, it seems you have quite a story..."

"Haha, my story is a long one; aren't you making movies? I think my life story is also very exciting; it could completely be made into a movie; how about you adapt my story?"

"Oh, sure, President Li, please tell us in detail?"

"Alright, alright!"

When Li Dachun saw Zhou Yang go to get paper and pen, looking as if he were about to gather material to write a story, he couldn't hide the smile on his face and couldn't help lighting a cigarette: "Back in 1985, the baby had just been born; that year, locusts ravaged our hometown..."

"Dad, don't smoke!"

"It's fine, it's fine... just one cigarette; I'm happy today; by the way, go get those two bottles of Moutai from my car, and buy some side dishes from the street..."

"Dad, the doctor said you can't drink!"

"It's fine; just a little won't hurt; oh my, look, Director Zhou, my wife is gone, and I didn't expect anyone to still be controlling me..."

"Dad!"

"Okay, okay, no drinking, no drinking..."

"Dad, we're talking about my business today; can you let me be the one in charge?"

"Sure, sure, but isn't it because of Director Zhou's serious attitude? Director Zhou looks like someone who understands art; art, after all, comes from life; our coal miners' experiences are very rich in life, with many stories... Give Director Zhou some divergent opinions; what if the movie wins an award when it's made?"

"Dad!" Seeing her uneducated father about to start bragging again, Li Yijie felt it was too embarrassing and couldn't help but stomp on her father's foot.

"Okay, okay, you talk, you talk, you guys talk..." Li Dachun, with his legs crossed, seeing the murderous look in his daughter's eyes, finally changed his expression slightly and sheepishly extinguished the cigarette butt: "Director Zhou, after we finish the main business, we can talk about my story; my daughter also has artistic talent; look, she's pretty enough; at school, she's a flower..."

"Dad!"

"Okay, okay, I won't say anything; I'll go out and smoke; you guys talk..."

Seeing her embarrassing, bragging coal mine boss father about to lose his composure again, Li Yijie stomped her foot once more.

Coal mine boss Li Dachun awkwardly smiled again, pretending to stand up and leave.

"Dad, how much do you plan to invest?"

"Is one million enough?"

"Dad! If the movie is shot well, a million might not be enough... For a director with dreams like Director Zhou, I think we should add a bit more!"

"Sure, you handle it. I don't understand movie matters... Anyway, as long as you're happy, that's all that matters... I'm going out for a smoke, and to check if driver Xiao Wang is doing something... You two chat, you two chat..."

"Great!"

When the coal boss wiggled his hips, left the room, lit a cigarette, and stepped outside.

Li Yijie finally felt relieved...

Afterwards, she subconsciously glanced at Zhang Jiali beside her.

Zhang Jiali froze, then understood Li Yijie's meaning, lowered her head, and said to Zhou Yang, "I'll go ponder the script first..."

"Alright!"

After Zhang Jiali left...

Zhou Yang coughed lightly.

"Young Lady Li, this is the script for our new movie. Why don't you take a look? By the way, there's another script titled 'Zhengban Tiao Ren: Reboot'. It's a sci-fi film based on Superman, actually..."

"Um... Director Zhou..." Li Yijie's face turned slightly red, and she looked at Zhou Yang with a pretty little face, somewhat shyly.

"What do you say?"

"Director Zhou? Do you think my appearance is suitable for making movies?"

"Suitable? Young Lady Li is so beautiful, of course she's suitable..."

"But I haven't studied professional acting. I'm afraid..."

"No problem, no problem, Young Lady Li. You don't need to worry about this at all. We are in the arts, especially me. I am good at discovering the highlights in everyone. I think Young Lady Li is very suitable to play the beautiful female lead in our new movie 'Lin Daiyu Battles Lu Zhishen', oh no, I mean, in 'Mountain Village Old Master'..."

"Really?"

"Really!"

Zhou Yang pushed his glasses up, looking at Li Yijie very seriously and earnestly: "Actually, when I saw Young Lady Li walk into our company just now, a strong thought appeared in my heart..."

"Director Zhou, I'm being serious. Don't do this just because I'm investing in your movie..."

"Oh, Young Lady Li, saying that misunderstands me... Although some of us lack money, first and foremost, we highly value the art of the film itself. You know, a person's dream is very pure and has absolutely nothing to do with money..."

Zhou Yang took a light sip of plain boiled water, his gaze silently turned toward the window, and his voice gradually became faint and melancholy: "Actually, on this journey, we have walked very difficultly..."