This actor has something

Chapter 347 The old place

With winter break not long away, the atmosphere at school was a bit restless. Groups of girls from Beijing Film Academy chatted and laughed as they crossed the small bridge, taking advantage of the school's lax management to have lunch at Jimenkou.

He Daqi sat at the innermost table of the shop, with his back to the door. His scarf covered his mouth, and even after entering the shop, he did not take off his sunglasses.

Ning Hao stood opposite him with a half-smile, and he was utterly speechless.

Sure enough, he shouldn't have had any hope for He Daqi. Now Ning Hao finally knew where the old place He Daqi was talking about was: the spicy hot pot restaurant opposite the Beijing Film Academy.

The thing is, what this bastard said isn't wrong. This place is indeed an old haunt, because the two of them first met in this shop.

While untying his scarf, He Daqi called out to the proprietress, "Proprietress, give me a six-yuan bowl of spicy hot pot."

Judging from how familiar they are with ordering the food, they're obviously regular customers.

Ning Hao plopped down opposite him, chuckled absurdly while rubbing his forehead, and then turned to the proprietress and asked, "Proprietress, how much is your most expensive set meal?"

"A family photo for 13 yuan."

"Then give me a family photo," Ning Hao said with a smile.

"Alright, please wait a moment."

After the proprietress went to the kitchen to get busy, Ning Hao looked at He Daqi, who was fiddling with his phone, and said with a click of his tongue, "I thought our movie was a box office hit, so you should at least take me to get a roast duck. I didn't expect you to serve me hot pot. On the way here, I was wondering what the old place was."

"Isn't this great? It's delicious, good quality and inexpensive, and today we're here to interview you for an assistant director position. The person we're interviewing is still in school, so this is the most convenient place."

“No problem.” Ning Hao gave a thumbs up, then said with a sigh, “Three years have passed in the blink of an eye. I still remember the scene when you asked me what my understanding of making children’s dramas was, and I was talking about it at length. At that time, I wanted to tell you everything I knew, afraid that I would miss this pie falling from the sky.”

Seeing Ning Hao lost in his memories, He Daqi said somewhat embarrassedly, "Actually, I didn't listen carefully at the time, but seeing how well you spoke, and with the school teacher recommending you, I used you with a try-it-out mentality."

"I believe you. You're capable of doing that."

"Oh, so this is how you see me, senior brother?"

Ning Hao looked at He Daqi in surprise upon hearing this, and asked in return as if he couldn't understand, "Then what do you think it will be like?"

He burst out laughing right after asking the question, clearly having been pretending but unable to hold it in.

He Daqi smiled and shook his head, not wanting to argue with Ning Hao any further, and picked up his phone to make a call.

"Hello, is this Lu Yang?"

"Yes, that's me. May I ask who you are?" Lu Yang's voice had a slightly bubbly tone and was a bit deep, which didn't sound like something a college student would have.

"I work for a film and television production company and we're looking to recruit an assistant director. I contacted your school before, and one of the teachers recommended you. I see it's lunch break now, would you be free to meet up and chat? It's not far, just across from the Beijing Film Academy, there's a hot pot restaurant called Youjian Malatang."

Lu Yang was eating meat sauce noodles in the cafeteria at the moment, his phone was on speakerphone on the table. After hearing He Daqi finish speaking, he stopped stirring his noodles with his chopsticks. At the same time, the students around him who were also eating in the cafeteria also stopped and turned to look at Lu Yang.

How can I possibly eat meat sauce noodles like this?!

Lu Yang quickly picked up his phone and replied, "I have time, I have time. Please wait a moment, I'll be right out."

After saying that, he covered the microphone and pushed the meat sauce noodles in front of his sons in the same dormitory: "Kids, you eat, Dad is going to go and explore the entertainment industry first."

"Damn it, is that film company blind?"

"Yangzi, if you become rich and powerful, don't forget me!"

"Yang Zi, which teacher recommended you?"

Lu Yang didn't have time to answer his sons' curious questions. He jogged out of the cafeteria while talking to He Daqi.

He was walking in such a hurry that he didn't notice a group of acting students sneaking up behind him.

These people had heard clearly that Lu Yang was being asked to audition for an assistant director position, and they could go along to see if they could get a role audition, just in case, right?

Winter break is coming soon, so it's a good time to find a film crew to experience life on. You can earn money and do an internship at the same time, so why not?

In their view, a film crew that comes to the school to recruit assistant directors must be of average size, so they have a pretty good chance.

Then the security guard at Beijing Film Academy witnessed an amusing scene: Lu Yang was rushing out in front, followed by a group of handsome men and beautiful women chasing after him with smiles. Watching the group leave the school gate, walk into the woods, and cross the bridge, the security guard scratched his head and asked, "What's going on? Is the acting department tearing apart a scumbag boyfriend again?"

Lu Yang crossed the road rudely, trying to walk in a straight line. When he got to the snack street in Jimen, he almost forgot where there was a spicy hot pot restaurant. He turned left and then realized that it should be on the right. So he turned around and ran to the right.

When he rushed into the mala tang restaurant, panting, he glanced up and saw that it was full of classmates eating there. Lu Yang's heart skipped a beat. Had he been tricked?
He nervously dialed the number back, and the clear ringtone sounded from the table at the far end.

He Daqi was slurping noodles. His six-yuan set meal was served quickly. The noodles were cooked in a bone broth and then served with a spicy hot pot broth. The taste was incredibly fresh and delicious.

He glanced at his phone but didn't answer it. Instead, he pointed to the phone and gestured to Ning Hao, who was still wearing a mask. Ning Hao nodded, stood up, and waved to Lu Yang, who was standing at the door looking around with his phone. When Lu Yang noticed him, he moved in and made way for a stool near the aisle to sit down.

Lu Yang strode towards the innermost table, his doubts growing with each step: What kind of film company is interviewing assistant directors at a mala tang restaurant? Logically speaking, those who can interview assistant directors are usually company executives, right? Executives eating mala tang? His doubts were quickly resolved when he reached the table and saw who was eating with their back to the door.

He Daqi!!!

Lu Yang's heart exploded with excitement. After confirming that it was He Daqi, he subtly glanced at Ning Hao, who was still wearing a mask because the spicy hot pot hadn't arrived yet. After a moment's thought, he recognized Ning Hao as well.

"Junior brother, sit down. Have you eaten yet?" Ning Hao asked, pointing to the stool next to him, indicating that Lu Yang should sit on the stool he had just been sitting on.

"Hello, senior brothers, I haven't eaten yet... I'll have a bowl of mala tang too." Just as Lu Yang was about to say that he had already eaten, the proprietress brought over Ning Hao's bowl of "Family Feast" and saw Ning Hao eagerly stirring it. Lu Yang swallowed and ordered a bowl of mala tang from the proprietress.

After he finished speaking, he sat there obediently, not daring to put his hands on the table, but instead placing them on his thighs under the table, rubbing his trouser legs with his fingers somewhat uncomfortably.

Ning Hao noticed his awkward situation. Ning Hao had been through the same thing back then, so he understood Lu Yang's feelings.

Ning Hao glanced up at He Daqi, who was spinning around incessantly without saying a word, and cursed inwardly: This bastard is really inhuman.

Then, with a smile, she asked Lu Yang, "Junior brother, have you interned in other film crews before?"

Unfortunately, the mask covered Ning Hao's smile, preventing Lu Yang from feeling Ning Hao's goodwill.

It's starting! It's starting! The interview has begun! You have to believe in yourself, Lu Yang!

Lu Yang mentally encouraged himself while responding to Ning Hao's question.

"I've interned on film sets during summer and winter breaks before, but I've never worked as an assistant director. I've either worked as a script supervisor, a camera assistant, or a logistics staff member for a month."

Ning Hao took off his mask and nodded cheerfully: "It's okay, everyone goes through this. If you haven't done it before, you can learn slowly."

After saying that, he imitated He Daqi and started slurping loudly.

Lu Yang was taken aback. What was going on? Why were they eating too? Should he sincerely say that he was confident in doing a good job, or should he remain silent?

Fortunately, someone broke the silence at this moment. The group of acting students who had been quietly following Lu Yang finally arrived at the scene. Judging from their appearance, they were not from the same grade, but probably a few close friends who liked to eat together.

"Hello, we are from Beijing Film Academy... He Da... Uh! Uh!"

Seeing that Lu Yang was just sitting there without talking to the people at the table, a girl with braids came over gracefully to introduce herself. She recognized He Daqi as soon as she started speaking. Just as she was about to shout He Daqi's name, her quick-witted friend with a ponytail covered her mouth.

While covering the mouth of the girl with braids, the girl with the ponytail asked softly, "Excuse me, senior, we're sorry to disturb your meal. We came here to ask if your company's film crew needs actors during the winter break? Any role is fine."

After gulping down two mouthfuls of soup, He Daqi wiped his mouth with a tissue, looked up and chuckled, glancing at the group of junior students before saying, "You know where Yonghui Qiming is, right? If there are no film crews after the holidays, you can go to Yonghui Qiming and ask. It's easy to find small supporting roles with lines."

"Thank you, senior. You guys continue eating; we won't disturb you any longer."

After the girl with the ponytail finished speaking, she pulled the girl with the braids and walked out. However, the girl with the braids was obviously reluctant to leave and wanted to say a few words, but her classmate pulled and pushed her out of the hot pot restaurant.

"Yuan Shanshan, why are you covering my mouth? I still want to get He Daqi's autograph!" Standing on the street, the girl with braided hair stared at the girl with ponytail and asked.

Seeing her clueless look, the girl with the ponytail didn't bother to explain. Instead, a short-haired girl who was with her kicked the girl with the braided ponytail in the butt and said disdainfully:
“Zhang Xiaofei, do you know how much trouble it would have caused if you had called out He Daqi’s name? We came here quietly following behind Senior Lu Yang. If it were a small film crew, it wouldn’t be a problem, but that’s He Daqi and Ning Hao. If you ruined Senior Lu Yang’s interview, do you believe he would hate you for life? And just think about it. A film crew with He Daqi and Ning Hao would definitely not use newcomers like us, so just say hello and leave an impression, don’t make a fuss.”

Zhang Xiaofei asked the short-haired girl with some confusion, "Jiao Junyan, was Senior Ning Hao there just now?"

Jiao Junyan rolled her eyes at Zhang Xiaofei with an expression that said, "You're hopeless," and didn't bother to respond.

At this moment, Yuan Shanshan, who was standing to the side, muttered to herself with some doubt: "Why would He Daqi and Ning Hao come to a mala tang restaurant for an interview to interview for an assistant director position?"

Lu Yang, who was in the mala tang restaurant, was also eager to know the answer to Yuan Shanshan's question.

He watched He Daqi and Ning Hao eating silently, and with a puzzled look in his eyes, he joined them in eating as well.

After Lu Yang finished his bowl of spicy hot pot and drank most of the soup, He Daqi slowly spoke up: "Junior brother, what do you think of the Embroidered Uniform Guard? If you were to make a movie about the Embroidered Uniform Guard, what angle would you take?"

This question immediately struck a nerve with Lu Yang, who had dreamed of becoming a martial arts hero since childhood. His eyes lit up as he replied, "Of course, it should start with confiscating the homes of officials. No, it should start with capturing fugitives. The Eastern Depot is directly under the control of the Imperial Depot, and it is authorized by the Emperor! We must show the ruthlessness of the Embroidered Uniform Guard from the very beginning."

"Besides ruthlessness?" Ning Hao asked.

"And then there's the clothing. The Embroidered Uniform Guard is on par with the Six Ministries. Their clothes, accessories, and swords must be different from those of ordinary soldiers. Everyone must have a unique skill, otherwise they won't be selected for the Embroidered Uniform Guard. We can give the main and supporting characters some extraordinary abilities, such as throwing weapons, poisoning, or tracking." Lu Yang gave his answer without hesitation.

He Daqi had a lot of faith in the teaching quality of the Beijing Film Academy. Lu Yang was already a junior this year, and he should have learned everything he needed to learn. After asking for his personal opinion, He Daqi thought it was acceptable, so he nodded and said, "Junior brother, next you should learn from Senior Brother Ning how to prepare for the film crew. You can go pack your luggage later. We'll wait for you at the school gate. Don't worry about taking leave, I'll take care of it for you. But I have a special task for you, so pay attention to it."

"What mission?"

"Hmm... When you're on set, write two papers, one about your experience filming this movie, and the other about the special effects used in this movie. Both only need to be 5,000 words. I'll lend you one to imitate later. Don't worry, it's not plagiarism. I'm graduating this year, and the school requires a paper. I'm clueless and want to learn from others." He Daqi shamelessly arranged.

He was secretly pleased with himself, praising his own cleverness: "Brother Ma, if you won't let me ask Ning Hao to write it, it's not wrong for me to ask my junior brother to refer to it, right?"
"Don't worry, I will definitely write it seriously!" Lu Yang nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice, probably even if he were asked to write it for He Daqi directly.

Hearing that a PY deal was happening right before his eyes, Ning Hao was disgusted. He got up and went to the bar to pay the bill. Only after paying did he realize that He Daqi should be paying today.

(End of this chapter)