[{"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-6":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},2320995,4540,"Chapter 6: The Fresh Meat Huang Lei","starting-from-stealing-the-role-in-1995-huayu-chapter-6",6,"\u003Cp>Many people believe Jia Zhangke is a director who deliberately markets China’s tragedies and dark sides to foreign audiences, because his focus is always on the social underclass and marginalized groups, and they feel his films smear and lower China’s image.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Wu Yuchen believes cinema must flourish in diversity—there must be mindless, glittering popcorn blockbusters, and there must also be directors like Old Jia who focus on the underclass and expose societal development issues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He won’t say he particularly loves Old Jia’s films, but he won’t demand he leave China either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, China has always had the majority of its population as the underclass, and it can accommodate a director who films their struggles. Many realities in the real world are even more surreal than movies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Writing “Jia Zhangke: 4,000 yuan” on his notebook, Wu Yuchen felt moved by Jia Zhangke’s passion for film and solemnly assured him:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior, don’t worry—I’ll definitely lead everyone to make a proper film!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inspired by Old Jia, nearly everyone in the room generously opened their wallets—even Chen Er and Wu Fatty dug out their money.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some gave a few hundred, others over a thousand; in the end, the twenty-plus people in the room pooled together exactly 30,000 yuan!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Yuchen immediately made a pact with everyone: after dinner tonight, they’d gather to collect the money and hand it over to Old Jia, whom everyone trusted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew full well that right now, fueled by passion, everyone had thrown out numbers—but in a couple of days, when minds cooled, some might back out. After all, dreams sometimes can’t beat bread. Though most students were too shy to renege, it was best to gather the money quickly, avoid unnecessary trouble, and let everyone stop worrying and focus entirely on filming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, Wu Yuchen had already begun exercising his director’s authority, assigning tasks and starting crew preparations. The top priority now was to get everyone leveraging their connections to secure the filming equipment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Walking back along the campus path, Wu Yuchen said to Wu Shixian and Chen Er beside him: “Thanks.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These two had been dragged over by him, yet still put money into the crew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Haha, who could resist your script?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly. I’m for the project, not the person—if your script sucked, I wouldn’t give you a penny even if you bought me dinner!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Yuchen noted their goodwill and said no more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Fatty asked: “Wu Yuchen, where are you headed now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To find the lead actor.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lead actor? Didn’t you go to find the camera?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Yuchen smiled slightly: “Oh, I’ll handle the lead actor and the camera together.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Fatty grew curious—who would this lead actor be? In his view, the lead should be the film’s light, embodying pure virtue, too weak to fight bandits, so no need for towering strength—best if pale, clean-cut, someone you instantly liked at first glance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A knock came at the office door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come in.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A handsome young man with long, center-parted hair looked up—his face slender, features refined, radiating an elegant, artistic grace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Yuchen immediately smiled and greeted him:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior, didn’t mean to interrupt you~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Yuchen gazed at Huang Lei’s youthful face—so stunning it could outshine a whole generation of later “fresh meat” idols—and thought of Huang Lei’s round, chubby face twenty years later. He sighed: time was a butcher’s knife, slicing relentlessly, fattening everyone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In appearance, Huang Lei now perfectly fit the lead role. His acting was unquestionable—more than enough for a short film. An ideal choice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, if he could get Huang Lei as lead actor, equipment problems would vanish—they could borrow everything from school.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In 1995, Huang Lei was an assistant teacher for the acting class at Beijing Film Academy. Acting class wasn’t just for the acting department—it was mandatory for directing students too. Wu Yuchen was the class representative, so he’d gotten to know Huang Lei well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Lei wasn’t much older than them, so he never acted like a teacher—he let students call him “Senior.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Lei looked at this student whose handsomeness rivaled his own and smiled:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come in. What’s up with the class?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Yuchen stepped closer, smiling slightly with a touch of flattery:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior, it’s not about the class—I need your help!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Lei was slightly surprised, and seeing Wu Yuchen’s tone, he chuckled:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What is it? Tell me first—I’ll help if I can.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I wrote a script. Could you take a look?” Wu Yuchen handed over the script.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whoa, you wrote a script so soon after enrolling?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Lei took it with a smile, assuming Wu Yuchen wanted feedback. Teachers always appreciated students with ideas, so he was happy to read it and offer suggestions to help him improve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Lei read carefully, slowly. His expression shifted from casual to serious, and when he finished the last line, he remained immersed in the story, shaken deep inside—entirely moved, yet profoundly thoughtful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially that final smile of the lead—lingering, unforgettable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment, he lifted his head, his face unmistakably stunned: “Did you really write this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Yuchen nodded: “Senior, what do you think?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Lei instantly wanted to praise it as brilliant—this story, even a professional screenwriter might not conceive. Pure inspiration poured from every page.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet such a vivid, inspired story was precisely the kind a new student might produce—veteran screenwriters were too bound by rules.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as the words formed on his lips, Huang Lei remembered Wu Yuchen was just a freshman—he couldn’t praise too harshly, or risk inflating his ego.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not bad. Didn’t know you had this talent!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Lei hadn’t expected Wu Yuchen, besides his good looks, to be this insightful. He thought: this year’s directing class at Beijing Film Academy might just produce a real gem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Yuchen smiled, then immediately pressed on:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Senior, you think it’s good too—how about helping us out? Play the lead?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Lei paused, then chuckled, poking Wu Yuchen’s forehead with his finger:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Clever kid—you’ve been planning this all along!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Can you afford my fee?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Lei had starred in Chen Kaige’s “To Live and Die in Beijing” back in 1990, rising to fame, acted in several TV dramas during school, and last year appeared in Zhang Guorong’s “The Song of the Night,” which aired this year to great acclaim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So despite being just a junior assistant at Beijing Film Academy, his fee was high—Hong Kong and Taiwan agencies were already begging him to sign recording contracts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1076,"2026-06-20T16:09:29.273Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","21e8fe3bf511751520948637af36207e6fea1bec9a11cec9c575a2cfe98acceb","starting-from-stealing-the-role-in-1995-huayu-chapter-7","starting-from-stealing-the-role-in-1995-huayu-chapter-5",335,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fstarting-from-stealing-the-role-in-1995-huayu-cover.jpg"]