Chapter 14: Class of '05 at the Film Academy, in the same class as Yang Mi

Ding~

【Host has made contact with actor Feng Enhe, obtained one lucky draw chance. Perform the draw now?】

【Host has made contact with director Wu Gang, obtained one lucky draw chance. Perform the draw now?】

Qi Hui’s brows twitched slightly; after a moment of thought, he performed the draw immediately.

【Congratulations to the host for obtaining the skill: Fishing Mastery】

【Congratulations to the host for obtaining the skill: Professional Voice Acting】

Qi Hui: "..."

What kind of skills are these? Why is there even a fisherman's skill?

Glancing at the system panel, Qi Hui pulled his attention back.

Facing the confusion of the group, Qi Hui shrugged and said, "A Soviet joke."

"Oh?" Feng Enhe, Wu Gang, and director Jiang Wei became interested.

When they were in school, the Soviet Union still existed.

Not only did it exist, but the pressure it brought was also quite significant.

Ling Xiaosu and Zhang Ruoyun exchanged glances, feeling somewhat puzzled.

The internet was not well-developed at the time, and they hadn't paid much attention to these matters, so they had no clear concept of Soviet jokes.

Seeing this, Qi Hui smiled and said, "It is said that one day, the General Secretary was going to visit Poland, so a high-ranking Polish official asked a painter to create a painting for praise and propaganda."

"The painter was very repulsed by this sycophantic act, but he had no choice but to paint it."

"Not long after, the official came to inspect the work, only to find that it depicted a man and a woman entangled in bed, with the Kremlin outside the window."

"The official was furious and asked, 'Who is this woman?'"

"Painter: 'The General Secretary’s woman.' Official: 'Then who is that man?'"

"Painter: 'The General Secretary’s secretary.' Official: 'Then where is the General Secretary?'"

"Painter: 'Comrade General Secretary is in Poland.'"

After finishing, Qi Hui pointed to the set and said, "Comrade Ma Kui is also in Poland."

Everyone looked at the secretary and the lady on the set, then thought of the now-departed Ma Kui, and their expressions couldn't help but turn strange.

You don't say, you really don't say...

"Hahahaha." Director Jiang Wei and Feng Enhe were so amused they slapped their thighs, and bursts of laughter erupted.

Wu Gang was also laughing non-stop: "It’s a good thing Old Fan finished his scenes, otherwise it would have been even more interesting."

Ma Kui’s actor, Fan Yulin, wasn't very famous, but he was a very good actor.

He was once the first love of Zhao Buffett Wei, and later... later the two of them faced each other in court.

On the set, the three women who heard the laughter stopped in confusion, wondering why they were laughing.

Are we performing a comedy?

"Cut... cough cough, let's take a break first." Director Jiang Wei realized he had been too busy laughing and had ignored the scene being filmed.

Seeing this, Yao Chen walked to Ling Xiaosu’s side and glanced at Qi Hui and Zhang Ruoyun.

"Let me introduce you." Ling Xiaosu wrapped his arm around Yao Chen’s waist: "My wife, Yao Chen, is also your senior from the '99 class."

"Hello, Senior," Qi Hui and Zhang Ruoyun greeted together.

"Class of '05 junior Qi Hui, Class of '07 junior Zhang Ruoyun, I’ve told you about them," Ling Xiaosu said with a chuckle, introducing them.

Yao Chen looked the two over and nodded: "Hello."

"I’m not playing the role of Xie Ruolin anymore; let Qi Hui do it," Ling Xiaosu said.

Yao Chen nodded; that role indeed had too few scenes, only about 30, and could be finished in a little over half a month.

Besides, in the final editing, who knows how many scenes might be cut anyway.

But not far away, director Jiang Wei’s eyes widened: "What? You’re really not playing it?"

Ling Xiaosu pointed at Qi Hui and said, "Didn't I find someone for you? I recommend Qi Hui."

Hearing this, director Jiang Wei felt a bit disappointed; he looked at Qi Hui, then at Zhang Ruoyun, and immediately said in surprise:

"Eh? Isn't this little Zhang from the Old Zhang family?"

He was also a veteran director and naturally knew Zhang Jian.

That show that scared quite a few people, *Don't Talk to Strangers*, was directed by him.

It made Feng Yuanzheng the spokesperson for domestic violence for a time.

"Haha..." Zhang Ruoyun gave an awkward smile: "Hello, Uncle Jiang."

Jiang Wei nodded: "Your dad just called me earlier, saying he wanted to recommend an actor to me, also surnamed Qi, but he hadn't finished explaining before the call cut off... eh?"

As he spoke, he looked at Qi Hui in surprise: "It wouldn't happen to be you, would it?"

"Director Jiang, this is the person I recommended," Ling Xiaosu said with some dissatisfaction.

Jiang Wei laughed: "Right, right, you recommended him."

Anyway, Old Zhang didn't follow up after he started talking, so it didn't count.

After the brief interlude, director Jiang Wei turned his attention to Qi Hui.

The Dangtong Bureau usually developed its influence among students, and Xie Ruolin, as a Dangtong Bureau officer, was a young, handsome, stylish, wealthy, and very mercenary person.

Just from his appearance, Qi Hui was very well-suited for the role of Xie Ruolin.

It was just a question of whether he was slick and mercenary enough.

Jiang Wei prepared to see Qi Hui’s acting skills.

But at this moment, the assistant director Li, whom they had seen earlier, walked over: "Director, the scene where Li Ya interrogates Sheng Xiang is ready."

"Alright, you go ahead and film it," Jiang Wei said, then called over the executive director to have him continue filming the scene where the women catch the affair.

"Come on, Qi Hui, let's go try out the scene," Jiang Wei said: "I want to see your acting."

As he spoke, he stood up and walked toward a room, and the casting director nearby followed along.

"Old Ling, and little Zhang, how about you come along too?"

Hearing this, Ling Xiaosu and Zhang Ruoyun followed as well.

In the room, director Jiang Wei and his casting director sat in the main seats, while Ling Xiaosu and Zhang Ruoyun sat by the wall.

Qi Hui stood in the center of the room, receiving everyone’s gaze.

Jiang Wei looked at Qi Hui: "Class of '05 at the Film Academy, in the same class as Yang Mi, right?"

Qi Hui felt a bit helpless inside and nodded slowly.

"Let's begin." The director flipped through the script in his hand, took out two sheets of paper, and handed one to Qi Hui: "Try this scene in ten minutes."

"Old Ling, how about you play the scene with him?" The director handed the other sheet to Ling Xiaosu.

Since Ling Xiaosu recommended him, it saved the need for self-introductions.

"Sure," Ling Xiaosu smiled, rubbing his hands together, feeling eager to try.

His performance during the last audition wasn't great, mainly due to the Korean language issue; this time, he wanted to see if Qi Hui could keep up with his acting.

In the corner, Zhang Ruoyun rubbed his nose; he had nothing to do again.

But it wasn't a big deal; he was just out for fun anyway.

In the room, it was quiet, and both Qi Hui and Ling Xiaosu were earnestly memorizing their lines.

Ten minutes passed in a flash.

Soon, the director called out: "Start."

Ling Xiaosu moved a chair and sat next to Qi Hui; the scene to be tested was when Yu Zecheng came to Xie Ruolin’s house to eat dumplings, the two talked business, and Xie Ruolin sought cooperation.

Ling Xiaosu took a deep breath, then said in a tone slightly tinged with shock: "According to what you said, this telegram is also very valuable?"

"Of course~" Qi Hui drawled, half-proud and half-boastful: "Brother, this is a civil war we're talking about; how could that information not be valuable?"

Not far away, director Jiang Wei and the casting director exchanged glances, both feeling somewhat surprised.

This voice... it’s very good!

The bass was deep, the midrange was powerful, clear, and had a penetrating quality that made one remember it upon hearing it.

The voice is the second face of a human being; a pleasant voice undoubtedly makes people subconsciously develop a favorable impression.

Jiang Wei was exactly like that, and his evaluation of Qi Hui in his heart went up a few notches.

However, an actor is not a voice actor; what is needed is more than just a voice.

Ling Xiaosu was slightly shocked by Qi Hui’s suddenly changed voice, but as someone who had played the lead in many roles, he didn't make any mistakes.

"Little brother, according to what you said..." Ling Xiaosu said in a low voice, looking left and right, and lowering his voice slightly: "This is a way to get rich."

Seeing that [Yu Zecheng] was tempted, the pride and boastfulness on Qi Hui’s face turned into five parts sycophancy, three parts joy, and two parts the happiness of closing a deal:

"That’s why I’m saying, brother, I know you have some previous intelligence in your hands, why not bring it out... hmm?"

"Everything else is fake, gold and silver... that is what's real!"

As the last word was spoken, that slick, vulgar, and mercenary air of a businessman suddenly rushed toward them.

In his past life when he was in engineering, Qi Hui didn't know how many clients he had to drink and socialize with; this was nothing compared to that.

If he needed to be even slicker and more vulgar, he could do it with ease.

The director slapped his thigh: "Not bad!"

This was the Xie Ruolin he wanted!

Such a good actor was recommended to me... sigh, is Old Zhang getting senile, or does he just not know talent?