Chapter 36: Returning to the Country, Secondary Round

With the release of the transaction price for the copyright of *Peacock*, *Return to Dust* did not escape the same fate.

Domestic media had already plastered the figures onto news headlines; Lin Nan even suspected these people were on the scene at the time.

The news was leaked by China Film Group, and they specifically reached out to Lin Nan afterward to give him a heads-up.

The General Manager was very confident about the release permit and had already begun building momentum for promotion; the copyright transaction price was just the first step, and the distribution rights for *Return to Dust* were also one of the fruits of his trip to Berlin.

Lin Nan boarded the plane for his return journey, the greatest harvest of his trip inside his suitcase: the Silver Bear trophy. Neither the copyright proceeds nor anything else could compare to this bear; the latter could sustain him for a lifetime.

He had specifically chosen an afternoon departure so that he would arrive early in the morning, which would mean facing jet lag; Lin Nan deliberately forced himself to sleep on the plane.

Landing at the Capital Airport, the air back home smelled better, and the key was that he felt at ease.

Opening his phone, the congratulatory calls and messages had already bombarded him over the past two days; he sent a text message to Zhu Yawen: "Buddy is back."

He predicted there would be reporters outside the airport because his itinerary had not been kept strictly confidential. Lin Nan blended into the crowd and slipped out, his peripheral vision indeed catching sight of some media.

After walking a long distance, Lin Nan finally hailed a taxi; between the company and the school, he chose the latter.

Given the department's style, they would certainly require him to bring the trophy over, at the very least to take a photo; these were all teaching achievements.

The art exam registration from a week ago had broken the record for the number of applicants from previous years.

Just looking at the Film Academy and the Drama Academy, each planned to recruit thirty undergraduate students for their acting departments, but the total number of applicants reached nearly ten thousand; the Normal University had over sixteen thousand people competing for three hundred art-related undergraduate spots.

Meanwhile, the competition for art and performance majors at other key universities was also several times more intense than in previous years.

The preliminary round for the Film Academy had already ended, and the secondary round was happening over these next two days; the acting department still had one or two thousand people, so one could imagine how intense it was, while other majors seemed easier by comparison.

Lin Nan got out of the car at the school gate; it was very lively outside, with students and parents coming and going, various notices posted, and temporarily marked-off lanes, giving the impression of a tense atmosphere.

One banner was exceptionally conspicuous: "Warmly welcome all candidates to apply to the Film Academy."

Immediately following it, a smaller banner made Lin Nan feel ashamed: "Congratulations to our school's 2002 Directing Department outstanding student Lin Nan for winning the Best Director Silver Bear Award at the 55th Berlin International Film Festival."

"The school really did put up a banner for me!"

At this moment, Lin Nan's face felt a bit hot; with it hung up like this, wouldn't people say it was too flashy? This was a school, not a web portal.

Lin Nan pulled his suitcase and walked quickly inside, only hoping not to run into anyone he knew.

He slipped all the way to the dormitory before being noticed by some students: "Yo, the great director is back."

One after another, they joked, and Lin Nan waved his hand helplessly: "Keep it low-key, keep it low-key..."

"Haha, you should be high-profile; this is a Silver Bear after all..."

Before Lin Nan could put his luggage away, the news had already spread through the school: the Silver Bear director was back.

Just as he finished setting up his computer, a call came in; it was the Directing Department office.

Lin Nan tucked the Silver Bear into his arms and headed out.

In the office, several leaders began to have Lin Nan pose for photos, and he had to hold the trophy in his hands.

"Did you see it when you came back? We said we'd put up a banner for you, and we did; it's worthy of this Best Director trophy of yours, hahaha."

Old Jiang was happily taking photos of Lin Nan, and other teachers also came over to take group photos; the Directing Department's report for this year would have one more highlight.

After another half hour of fuss, Lin Nan finally came out of the office, only to turn around and run into the deputy director of the acting department.

"Lin Nan, come over to the acting department for a meeting tomorrow morning." The deputy director walked away without caring at all whether Lin Nan had agreed.

Old Jiang stood at the office door, watching this scene, and laughed: "Go ahead, the acting department is preparing to draft you as a laborer for the secondary round. You don't have to be a judge, just sit there and watch; you're a tool. Besides, you are one of the final round judges, so just consider it preparation in advance, hehe."

Lin Nan was quite speechless; he had been unilaterally conscripted.

Zhu Yawen was attending an event and replied that they would gather once he was done.

Lin Nan returned to the dormitory alone; first, he notified the company to apply for the release permit for *Return to Dust*, and then he asked the finance department to keep an eye on the recent incoming funds, as the copyright income was scheduled for the near future.

Opening his computer, he first browsed the web portals and saw that the news of his return to the country had been exposed, along with photos of him taking a taxi at the airport; Lin Nan had to admire these people.

He held out until nightfall before finally collapsing into bed; the jet lag was successfully overcome.

Early the next morning, after Lin Nan had breakfast and rested for a while, he headed toward the acting department.

In the small conference room, Lin Nan was the youngest one; the others were teachers and some graduate students, and not just from the acting department.

The secondary round process, in addition to the self-introduction, lines, vocal performance, and physical movement that were the same as the preliminary round, featured group sketches as the acting test type.

After the leader finished explaining the general process, he looked at Lin Nan: "You were originally scheduled for the final round, but since you won an award, we thought we'd strike while the iron is hot and call you here to liven up the atmosphere of the secondary round," the director said with a chuckle.

Lin Nan was speechless; that was no reason to make him call out numbers during the secondary round.

Lin Nan looked at the envious gazes of several graduate students and smiled: "How is this livening up the atmosphere? Shouldn't the art exam be about letting them perform with a calm mind? Being too nervous or too excited isn't good, right?"

"Haha, that's exactly the effect we want; that's the only way to better see the students' ability to adjust their mindset."

In the conference room, everyone started to laugh.

Lin Nan had thought he would have a good job, but only after the meeting did he realize he had been assigned to call out numbers, right at the door of the exam classroom, with the queuing candidates a few meters in front of him and the exam room behind him.

The weather in the first lunar month was still cold; he would have to dress warmly, as he would have to stand there for two or three days.

Ning Hao came to the school, mainly to see Lin Nan; *Crazy Stone* had already finished filming, and he was preparing to personally oversee the post-production.

"You're walking on two legs now with awards and box office; you're simply rock solid."

Ning Hao's envy was undisguised; he held the Silver Bear and looked at it again and again, then looked up at Lin Nan: "They actually thought of having you call out numbers; that scene must be very interesting. This is the rhythm of not letting the newcomers take their exams properly."

Ning Hao was also surprised that Lin Nan had been assigned to do this, but he mostly found it amusing.

Imagine a Berlin Best Director standing in front of a group of art candidates; how much pressure they must be under.

"I'm looking forward to it too." Lin Nan figured it out; he would just treat it as play.

"By the way, remember to coordinate with the people at Enlight Media; the promotion has to follow along. Is it too late to set the release for May Day?" Lin Nan asked.

Ning Hao patted his chest: "Absolutely no problem. We were careful during filming, and you have to cooperate with the promotion too, okay?"

"That goes without saying."

There was no need to worry about the release permit for *Crazy Stone*.

*Return to Dust* had just been submitted, and any news would take at least a week or two.

The secondary round was about to begin, and only during this time of the annual art exams did the Film Academy have that feeling of being packed with people.

It officially started at nine in the morning; Lin Nan got up early to eat, as there was quite a bit of preparation work.

He went to the acting department office to sign in and collect the roster, then followed a group of secondary round judges toward the exam room.

A sea of candidates were racing against time in the open air to adjust their states.

Although the weather was quite cold, many students were not dressed in bulky clothes; at most, they wore a down jacket, and their bare faces or light makeup looked very vibrant.

As the group of teachers approached, the crowd of students also became quieter and looked toward them.

The students in charge of maintaining order were already in place, and the candidates consciously lined up; in front of the exam room was a ten-meter-long passage temporarily cordoned off with ribbons.

Lin Nan followed them into the classroom, and the teachers took their seats; there was a seat left on the side, obviously for Lin Nan, but he estimated he wouldn't have time to sit.

"Five people per group, you may begin," the deputy director said.

Lin Nan took the roster and walked out.

The students looked at Lin Nan, and the noisy sound from just a moment ago instantly disappeared: "Senior Lin Nan, is it starting?"

A sophomore student maintaining order asked, and Lin Nan nodded.

Many people below recognized Lin Nan and began to whisper; they could actually see this great director at the art exam!

Many people's eyes were shining; the news of the Berlin Best Director Silver Bear Award winner had only been reported not long ago, and it was at the height of its popularity.

Lin Nan was also a commercial film director with high box office; he was capable and successful, and ordinary actors might not even be able to see him if they wanted to.

"Secondary round, five people per group. Look closely at your number tags. Now, numbers one through five can go in."

Five people walked out from the front, checked the roster with Lin Nan, and then went in one by one.

They were all handsome men and beautiful women; otherwise, they wouldn't have dared to come to the acting department and make it to the secondary round.

Lin Nan stayed outside waiting, chatting idly with a few sophomore juniors, waiting for those five to come out from another door before calling the next group in.

Those who performed well were a bit apprehensive, let alone those who had underperformed; at this moment, their faces were visibly pale.

Group after group went in and then came out, and all kinds of expressions could be seen.

Lin Nan flipped through the roster and actually saw some names from his memory.

"Jiao Junyan..., Yuan Shanshan..."

They were all still green and fresh-faced.

Some with outgoing personalities actually took the initiative to greet Lin Nan, and the latter also chatted with them with great interest.

"Two hundred eleven to two hundred twenty."

Lin Nan called out again; the number of people entering expanded from five to ten, but the time was not extended. The luck factor in the secondary round was still very high, and the teachers were already starting to get tired.

After the morning passed, even Lin Nan, who was calling out the numbers, started to get face-blind, let alone the teachers inside.

There was only a one-hour break at noon, and Lin Nan saw that many art candidates were experienced enough to only eat a few bites.

It started promptly at one in the afternoon; it was only because it was the art exam, otherwise everyone should have been resting at this time.

"Are you Jiao Junyan?"

Lin Nan asked, looking at the information for this group in front of him.

"Yes, Director Lin. Is there something?"

Lin Nan nodded: "Nothing, keep it up."

"Thank you, Director Lin." The ten people said in unison, somewhat flattered; this was Lin Nan's first interaction other than calling out numbers.

The afternoon passed quickly, the number of people in the queue became smaller and smaller, and the first day was considered over.

In the evening, the acting department had an extra meal, and Lin Nan participated as well.

"Director, you have to provide me with a desk and chair outside tomorrow," Lin Nan said jokingly.

"Haha, why don't you come in and sit there? You can take a look while you're at it."

After the meal ended, the deputy director instructed: "Everyone, get some rest early; don't delay tomorrow's important business."

"We won't."