[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-starting-from-stealing-the-role-in-1995-huayu":3,"chapter-starting-from-stealing-the-role-in-1995-huayu-starting-from-stealing-the-role-in-1995-huayu-chapter-26":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Starting from Stealing the Role in 1995 Huayu",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2321015,4540,"Chapter 26: Out of the Furnace","starting-from-stealing-the-role-in-1995-huayu-chapter-26",26,"\u003Cp>Dou Wei released a song last year called “High-Level Animals,” using just 48 words to portray humanity as this “high-level animal.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So after watching “Bus 44,” he felt a resonance and got inspiration, and thus asked Wu Yuchen directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Dou Wei speak, Wu Yuchen was overjoyed—he hadn’t forgotten the purpose of this trip—and immediately said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Start from when the male lead gets kicked off the bus—I want a slightly dark, edgy background score, not too complex, as simple as possible, but powerful, cult-style; the film itself is saturated with absurdity and satire, so I want to emphasize…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Yuchen described as clearly as possible the effect he wanted, so Dou Wei could understand his vision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve got a rough sense—after we eat, come with me, I’ll give it a try.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After speaking, Dou Wei shoved the remaining half of his fried dough stick into his mouth and chewed loudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Wu Yuchen was truly ecstatic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn’t expected Dou the Immortal himself would take the job—this was solid, absolutely solid!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After dinner, Wu Yuchen followed Dou Wei and Dou Peng through a maze of alleys to a recording studio, and they finished the track in one hour—truly worthy of the name Dou the Immortal!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Wu Yuchen brought up payment, Dou Wei waved his hand dismissively, knowing students struggled financially, and simply said to come by often and bring him something interesting next time he made a film.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Yuchen didn’t press further and agreed at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be honest, he hadn’t expected today’s music session to yield so many masters, let alone that the scoring would go so smoothly—the result, of course, spoke for itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having exceeded his goal, Wu Yuchen rushed back to the Youth Film Studio to join the post-production team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone on the film crew pitched in, their enthusiasm soaring; they took turns working through the night, handling subtitles, sound effects, and mixing, and over the weekend they finished everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now only one step remained: creating the master tape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For film reels, this master tape was the highest-quality version, requiring specialized equipment and far superior materials to regular copies; it was typically kept by the production team, while what audiences saw in theaters were all copies made from it—lower in quality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the market, producing one film copy cost between ten and twelve thousand yuan, while producing a master tape ranged from fifty to sixty thousand yuan, and sometimes even reached hundreds of thousands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, “Bus 44” was a short film, only ten minutes long, but even so, producing the master tape still cost five thousand yuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Yuchen calculated: the initial filming had cost sixteen thousand yuan, and with the master tape, the total reached that same figure—thirty-two thousand yuan in all. Luckily, Huang Lei had given him five thousand yuan as a buffer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He thought for a moment, then spent another thousand yuan to request a copy be made alongside the master tape—he’d keep the master, but use the copy for public screenings, since every playback damaged the master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few days later, Thursday evening, Youth Film Studio.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Wu Yuchen received the master tape and copy from the staff, he couldn’t help feeling moved—this was his first film since his rebirth, the fruit of weeks of hard work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside him, Jia Zhangke was even more agitated—he wanted to snatch the tapes from Wu Yuchen’s hands and hug them, but dared not reach out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Yuchen simply handed him the copy; Old Jia immediately clutched it, grinning like an idiot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, “Bus 44” was only ten minutes long—the copy wasn’t heavy, so Old Jia could carry it alone without strain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this were a normal ninety-minute film, the copy alone would weigh over twenty-five kilograms; being a projectionist back then was truly physical labor—women with weaker builds couldn’t handle it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When they stepped outside, the entire film crew rushed over, eyes fixed on the tapes they carried, glowing with excitement, shouting:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Director Wu, hurry up and find a place to screen it for us—if we don’t see it tonight, none of us will sleep!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly! After all this waiting, it’s finally here!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This film had been born from nothing—from fundraising to completion—they’d been part of every step, like watching their own child being born, desperate to see the final result of their sweat and hard work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Yuchen raised his hand, signaling silence, then said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Everyone, I want to see it more than any of you—but we won’t make it to the screening room today.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’m heading straight back to apply for the school auditorium; tomorrow at seven p.m., bring your classmates and friends—we’ll witness the birth of ‘Bus 44’ together!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good!” someone shouted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But after a moment, someone hesitated and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Director, shouldn’t we screen it privately first?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What if we invite the whole school and it flops? We’ll look like fools!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Old Jia stepped forward—he’d already seen the rough cut on videotape—and declared with full confidence:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I, Old Jia, swear this: if ‘Bus 44’ fails tomorrow, I’ll run ten laps around the track naked!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Jia’s boldness instantly silenced the hesitant crowd; the area fell quiet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pfft, Old Jia, who wants to see you naked? You’ll give everyone pinkeye!” Qi Jing scolded with a laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her remark made everyone laugh, diffusing the tension.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Yuchen stepped forward and assured them:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Everyone, I’m just as confident in ‘Bus 44’!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tomorrow, I won’t just invite classmates—I’ll invite every teacher in the film department!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let them know we’re not wasting our time here at the Film Academy!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Wu Yuchen and Old Jia’s words, everyone resolved to start recruiting for tomorrow’s screening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Wu Yuchen, he headed straight for Huang Lei.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Lei looked at the master tape and copy Wu Yuchen and Jia Zhangke carried, unable to hide his delight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as “Bus 44” was finished, his five thousand yuan investment hadn’t been wasted!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing Wu Yuchen’s plan, Huang Lei asked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re sure you want to invite all the teachers?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Yuchen nodded confidently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He understood perfectly: the school treated ordinary students and prodigies completely differently—especially in terms of freedom.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you were a prodigy, teachers granted you immense leeway, especially in film, an art form demanding space and liberty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Yuchen wanted to use this moment to prove himself before the school, cementing the label of “prodigy director,” paving the way for his future—so that no matter what bold project he pursued next, the school would open every door for him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Wu Yuchen’s firm resolve, Huang Lei said: “Alright, come with me.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1098,"2026-06-20T16:09:29.273Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","d39e46f44e68da7111a69dfe020711f49b57c57eec4d58a54c56880b3f235d7d","starting-from-stealing-the-role-in-1995-huayu-chapter-27","starting-from-stealing-the-role-in-1995-huayu-chapter-25",335,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstarting-from-stealing-the-role-in-1995-huayu-cover.jpg"]