Chapter 8

After leaving Huang Lei’s office, Wu Yuchen felt fairly good.

His most basic goal in coming here was the camera—without it, he couldn’t shoot a damn thing. Getting the post-production equipment sorted out solved another problem too.

Even if Huang Lei didn’t take the lead role, it didn’t matter—there were plenty of good actors these days!

Not to mention, Beijing Film Academy and Central Academy of Drama were both full of hidden talents.

He already had a few names in mind for the lead role.

His top choice was Fu Dalong from Beijing Film Academy’s 1994 class.

Fu Dalong had won four Best Actor awards; his acting far surpassed his fame. Whether in films like *Purple Sun* and *Tian Dog*, or TV dramas like *Walking Westward* and *The Zongheng of the Great Qin Empire*, as long as the script was solid, Fu Dalong’s performance would never disappoint.

He was a sophomore this year, a child star who had already appeared in numerous films and TV dramas before enrollment, accumulating plenty of acting experience.

He was also famously a drama fanatic—if your script was good, he’d act even if there was no money.

And Wu Yuchen had full confidence in the script for *Car 44*!

Fu Dalong’s dormitory.

“You’re here to see Dalong? What bad luck—he’s out shooting a film.”

Wu Yuchen frowned slightly, then asked: “Excuse me, senior, when will Brother Fu be back?”

“I’m not sure myself.”

At that moment, another young man sitting on the bed chimed in:

“It’ll take half a month. I went with him when he asked the professor for leave.”

“So jealous—Dalong already has people outside school coming to recruit him!”

“Haha, Dalong played young General Peng—he swept every youth acting award as a kid. How could we compare?” Another person in the room added with self-deprecation.

Wu Yuchen picked up a hint of bitterness from their words, but he didn’t care about their feelings—he couldn’t wait half a month.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t wait—it was that the camera couldn’t wait. Who knew when Huang Lei would lend him the camera?

If it came tomorrow or the day after, with only a week to spare, how could he just sit around waiting?

At that moment, the boy who had spoken to him earlier, looking at Wu Yuchen’s handsome face, asked:

“Are you a freshman in the Acting Department this year? What’s your name?”

“Wu Yuchen. But I’m not in Acting—I’m in Directing. Senior, see you later~”

Wu Yuchen smiled and didn’t linger—he needed to move on to his next target.

“Damn, the Directing Department guy’s this good-looking…” the boy muttered, watching Wu Yuchen’s retreating back.

As the saying goes: Beijing Film Academy produces directors; Central Academy of Drama produces actors.

Since Fu Dalong was out, Wu Yuchen headed straight for Central Academy of Drama.

Even though he was now at Beijing Film Academy, he had to admit that Central Academy of Drama produced far more talented actors.

In the classroom, Duan Long was reading the script for tomorrow’s drama class when a classmate named Yin Xiaotian yelled from the door:

“Duan Long, someone’s here for you!”

Duan Long quietly put down the script and stepped out, slightly hunched.

Since arriving in Beijing from the western frontier, he’d been overwhelmed by the city’s glamour, deeply shaken by his classmates’ clothes and lifestyles, and grown painfully shy and quiet.

Duan Long reached the classroom door and saw a tall boy over 1.8 meters, dressed neatly, smiling warmly at him. He didn’t recognize the guy—was this person looking for him? Had he made a mistake?

Wu Yuchen looked at the boy’s earthy, still-awkward face and thought: Finally, I didn’t miss him—this man would later be known as Duan Yihong.

Duan Long stayed silent, unsure how to speak, but Wu Yuchen wouldn’t let the silence drag on—he immediately extended his hand and smiled:

“Hello, Senior Duan Long. I’m from Beijing Film Academy’s Directing Department—Wu Yuchen.”

Duan Long nervously reached out and shook his hand, his mind blank—why was someone from Beijing Film Academy looking for him?

“Here’s my student ID,” Wu Yuchen said, offering it to increase credibility.

Then he added: “Senior, we’re planning to shoot a short film and want you to play the lead.”

“Me? The lead?”

Duan Long was truly stunned, frozen in place, mouth open, speechless.

Duan Long had been studying in Beijing for over a year and had always been an outsider in his class. Now, someone suddenly wanted him as the lead—he was utterly flustered and bewildered.

Wu Yuchen knew it was abrupt, but he believed he could still convince Duan Long.

“Yes, the lead. We can shoot it in three days. Pay is 500 yuan. Just take a weekend off and one extra day. I’ve got the script—want to take a look?”

Wu Yuchen understood Duan Long’s situation—a poor, insecure student would jump at 500 yuan handed to him.

This was 500 yuan in 1995!

True enough, Duan Long’s eyes brightened slightly. He glanced at Wu Yuchen and decided he didn’t seem like a bad person—he reached out to take the script.

At that moment, a hand shot out and snatched the script from Wu Yuchen’s grip.

Duan Long turned and blurted: “Class monitor!”

“What are you two doing? Duan Long, what’s going on? Is this guy your friend?”

Wu Yuchen followed the hand and saw a girl with a long braided ponytail eyeing him with suspicion.

He recognized her instantly—Xiao Taohong!

“Class monitor, he came to ask me to act…” Duan Long’s voice dropped automatically upon seeing Xiao Taohong.

“Really? What production team? Is it legitimate?”

Xiao Taohong subtly stepped in front of Duan Long, like a hen shielding her chicks—clearly showing what a fiercely responsible class monitor looked like.

Wu Yuchen quickly introduced himself: “Senior sister, I’m Wu Yuchen, from Beijing Film Academy…”

He handed his student ID to Xiao Taohong.

Xiao Taohong carefully examined the ID, comparing it to Wu Yuchen’s face—it matched.

But fake IDs were common these days; she still had doubts.

Moreover, her mother had always warned her: the more handsome the man, the more likely he was to deceive. By that standard, this handsome guy was extremely dangerous.

She returned the ID to Wu Yuchen, then asked:

“You’re a freshman—just enrolled two months ago—and you’re already shooting a short film?”

“Senior sister, my script happened to catch our interest group’s attention. We pooled money to shoot it. If you don’t believe me, you can check with our school.”

Looking into Wu Yuchen’s sincere eyes and hearing his words, Xiao Taohong now believed him a little more—after all, students from the two schools often interacted; checking facts wasn’t hard.

Her main concern was that Duan Long might be tricked—he was a simple boy from the northwest, the poorest in class, and as class monitor, she always tried to look out for him.

Behind Xiao Taohong, Duan Long kept glancing at her, unaware that the Shaxiao on his face made him look like an idiot.

Wu Yuchen watched the scene and thought: So he’s already fallen for her at this point.