Chapter 15

Yin Qiaoqiao suddenly asked, “Qinqin, has Huang Shixiong told you anything about their crew? How come Wu Yuchen can act in a film as a freshman?”

Compared to the script, Yin Qiaoqiao cared more about what lay behind it.

Jiang Qinqin shook her head: “I haven’t even read the script yet—why ask this? I’ll ask Huang Shixiong next time I see him.”

After speaking, Jiang Qinqin pulled out the script and began flipping through it. Beside her, Chen Shasha, though still annoyed by Wu Yuchen’s attitude, was also curious—after all, Huang Lei held him in such high regard, his judgment was worth trusting—so she leaned over to look too.

Yin Qiaoqiao wasn’t interested in the script; her eyes darted as she decided to find out more about Wu Yuchen. Jingying wasn’t large—every female student lived in the same dorm building—so she could just drop by a freshman she knew.

Jiang Qinqin and Chen Shasha sat on the edge of their beds flipping through the script; Yin Qiaoqiao’s departure went unnoticed, and the dorm fell silent.

After a while, Yin Qiaoqiao returned from her visit, having learned only that Wu Yuchen was a native of Beijing, and nothing about his family.

But being a local was already far better than being from elsewhere—after graduation, if a student had no local unit to accept them, they couldn’t get a hukou and would be sent back to their hometown. But for those in the arts, the cultural atmosphere and opportunities elsewhere paled in comparison to Beijing’s.

If you didn’t return home but stayed in Beijing, you’d have to become a freelancer—no accepting unit, no hukou—you’d be a rootless weed, what everyone called a “Beijing drift.” None of them wanted to become a Beijing drift.

Thinking this, Yin Qiaoqiao glanced at the two girls still seated on the bed and asked, “The script doesn’t look thick—haven’t you two finished reading yet?”

Her voice startled the two girls, who had been staring blankly at the script.

Chen Shasha’s face still bore shock; she murmured, “This story, this story...”

Then she slapped her thigh, cried out, “Why didn’t Huang Shixiong show us the script first? If I’d known, I’d have given my best performance back then!”

Jiang Qinqin said nothing, but gripped the script tightly in both hands, her face a mix of surprise and delight—already, her mind immersed itself in the scene of her playing the female driver.

Seeing this, Yin Qiaoqiao asked curiously, “Is the script that good?”

“Exceptionally good!”

After speaking, Chen Shasha turned to Jiang Qinqin:

“Qinqin, is this script written by Wu Yuchen?”

Jiang Qinqin smiled slightly and nodded: “Huang Shixiong said he wrote it himself.”

Chen Shasha scratched her head, her expression full of regret. Now she had no lingering resentment toward Wu Yuchen—geniuses are allowed to be a little arrogant, aren’t they?

Yin Qiaoqiao silently thought, Oh? So he’s a talent.

Although the term “tall, rich, handsome” didn’t yet exist, Yin Qiaoqiao already labeled Wu Yuchen with something similar—add to that his status as a Beijing native and his talent, and he was a target worth pursuing.

“Qinqin, did Teacher Huang say when they’ll start shooting?”

“Probably this weekend.”

Hearing this, Chen Shasha’s eyes flickered and she suggested to Jiang Qinqin:

“Qinqin, isn’t Senior Li Dawei planning to take you out to dinner this weekend?”

“If you’re busy, then...”

“I don’t even know him well—why would I go out to dinner with him? I’m not going!” Jiang Qinqin replied firmly.

“Qinqin, Senior Li Dawei is mature, steady, works at Beiyingchang, and has connections—what a great guy! Just go!” Chen Shasha urged enthusiastically.

“If he’s so great, why don’t you go then?” Jiang Qinqin didn’t look up, her eyes fixed on the script, growing fonder by the second.

Hearing this, Yin Qiaoqiao glanced at Jiang Qinqin, a pang of jealousy stirring inside her.

Since entering school, Jiang Qinqin had stolen the attention of most male students—even Li Dawei, a 1989 graduate of Jingying who’d been out for over a year, was stunned when he saw her and immediately began courting her.

Though Li Dawei had only worked at Beiyingchang for two years, he had an excellent mother—Liu Guoquan, one of the rare powerful female directors in the industry, with wide connections.

If you dated him, you’d never have to worry about lacking a unit to accept you after graduation—you could even gain access to more opportunities and resources through him.

If it were Yin Qiaoqiao, even if she didn’t date him, she’d still actively stay in touch, trying to extract as many benefits as possible.

Jiang Qinqin smiled at Chen Shasha:

“Shasha, Huang Shixiong has always taken care of us—how could I refuse when he asked me to help? Don’t you agree?”

Chen Shasha knew Jiang Qinqin had made up her mind to take the role; she could only sigh in regret—if only she hadn’t been so capricious earlier, if she’d given her best performance, maybe she could have landed the part!

Chen Shasha wasn’t motivated by fame or fortune—they were only sophomores, with little sense of ambition. It was simply an actor’s instinctive desire to perform upon encountering a great script and a beloved role; missing it left behind a deep sense of loss.

Wu Yuchen stepped out of the school gate and found a small restaurant across the street. Today, Huang Lei told him Jiang Qinqin had agreed to join—he wanted to talk with him first.

With the female lead secured, Wu Yuchen gladly accepted the invitation.

As he entered the restaurant, he saw three women of different styles laughing and chatting at a table—clearly the Three Golden Flowers.

Wu Yuchen raised an eyebrow—he’d assumed only Jiang Qinqin would come, but all three had arrived.

Honestly, Wu Yuchen thought it was quite fitting that the Three Golden Flowers were all here—Jiang Qinqin, Yin Qiaoqiao, Chen Shasha—all had reduplicated names.

Yin Qiaoqiao waved at Wu Yuchen first, warmly calling out, “Wu Yuchen, over here~”

Wu Yuchen walked over with a smile: “Sorry to keep you three senior sisters waiting.”

Yin Qiaoqiao picked up the teapot, poured him a cup of water, and said with a grin:

“No need to be so formal—just call us by our names.”

Wu Yuchen took the cup, thinking Yin Qiaoqiao was unusually warm in her manners.

“Thank you, Qiaoqiao senior sister!”

Then he turned and raised his cup to Jiang Qinqin: “Thank you, Qinqin senior sister, for joining our crew!”

Jiang Qinqin smiled sweetly: “No need to thank me—I should be thanking you for giving me this chance. Your script is amazing!”

Beside them, Chen Shasha spoke up: “Wu, Wu Da Director, earlier when I performed, I was in a bad mood and not in form—it was my fault. Please don’t hold it against me. If you have any more good scripts, don’t forget me!”

Wu Yuchen had previously held an average impression of Chen Shasha due to her attitude during rehearsal, but her sincere apology immediately improved his view of her.

“How could I? Senior Sister Shasha, Huang Shixiong has already praised your acting—I wouldn’t care about something so minor.”

Hearing Wu Yuchen brush it off so easily, Chen Shasha smiled happily.

At that moment, Yin Qiaoqiao cooed:

“You two, stop thanking each other and apologizing—aren’t you going to eat?”

Everyone laughed, and they called over the waiter to order dishes.