Rebirth of Chinese Entertainment, the Diary of a 95 Flower

I paid the driver's fare.

Zhou Ye did not go to Tongliang Middle School to find Jiang Yang.

Judging by the time, Jiang Yang should be out soon.

This is my first time visiting Tongliang County, the place where I grew up in Jiangyang.

Take a look around.

Directly opposite the school gate is a stationery store, and next to it is a photo studio. The window displays student ID photos of students wearing studio suits, and the glass is also covered with group photos of previous students' graduations.

Next to it was a row of sycamore trees, just sprouting new buds, their bark mottled.

Zhou Ye noticed that there were still graffiti on the tree trunk, such as "XXX I love you" carved by someone.

Several rusty bicycles were parked under the tree, their baskets stuffed with plastic bags for breakfast, and a few sycamore fluffs had settled on the seats.

There were small carts selling grilled sausages by the roadside, and the sizzling sound of oil mixed with the aroma of grilled sausages wafted over.

Zhou Ye bought a cigarette, trying to calm himself down. He thought about what to say when he saw Jiang Yang, and sat on the curb across from the school waiting for Jiang Yang to come out.

Inside Tongliang Middle School.

Jiang Yang's class.

The homeroom teacher was explaining the last question on the test paper when the bell rang, signaling the end of class.

Normally, classes shouldn't run overtime.

The main reason was that before class, I received a call from Jiang Yang's father, who said he would be taking Jiang Yang to the high-speed rail station to go to Beiping to participate in the entrance exam for the Beijing Film Academy, as well as a series of promotional matters related to the "Little Farewell".

There's also the filming of "Fighter of the Destiny".

There might not be much time left for classes before the college entrance exam.

The densely packed schedule left the homeroom teacher completely bewildered.

The top-ranking entrance exam results for Beijing Dance Academy, Central Academy of Drama, Shanghai Theatre Academy, and Beijing Film Academy cannot be faked.

Especially the perfect score science exam paper that I handed in early during evening self-study four days ago.

Don't say it's yourself.

Perhaps when the college entrance examination results are released, Jiang Yang, who was once a poor student, will become the shining example of Tongliang Middle School.

The only thing that puzzled the homeroom teacher was...

With such a high score in academic subjects, why bother with art exams? Just go straight for Tsinghua or Peking University.

I really don't understand the thinking of students like Jiang Yang.

Like now.

I called Jiang Yang to my office as his final piece of advice as his homeroom teacher.

Originally, I wanted to remind Jiang Yang to plan his study time properly, to prioritize his studies, and not to let filming and romance interfere with his studies.

For some reason, we ended up talking about movies and TV dramas.

Jiang Yangfei said that TV drama ratings will continue to decline, while web drama ratings will surpass those of TV dramas. How is that possible?

Without television stations promoting them, there would be no stars.

They also said there will be vertical screen dramas in the future, each episode lasting one or two minutes.

That sounds ridiculous.

Shoot vertically? How would you set up the camera then?
Each episode is only a minute or two long; what kind of stuff can they possibly show?

Finally, the conversation returned to the evening study session four days ago: "Jiang Yang, you still won't admit that the mark on your neck was kissed by Tian Xiwei?"

"No, I pinched myself."

Jiang Yang's excuses were exactly the same as they had been four days ago.

I can't admit it, otherwise I might be made an example of. The school has a lot of broken rules and a lot of trouble.

The homeroom teacher glanced at the lip print on Jiang Yang's neck and tapped the table with her finger: "Try pinching one for me."

Jiang Yang raised his hand, grabbed his neck, and pinched it a few times near his Adam's apple.

A red mark was left after pinching.

"Never mind, you can go back now."

The homeroom teacher waved his hand and called Jiang Yang back.

He took a red envelope from the drawer, stuffed it into Jiang Yang's hand, and said with a slight tremor in his fingers, "Take it."

"What are you doing, teacher?"

"You don't need to call me teacher anymore, just call me Lao Li. I know you all call me that in private."

He smiled, his tone softening. The authority of a homeroom teacher was gone.

Jiang Yang took the red envelope, squeezed it, and his eyes flickered: "Old Li..."

They called their homeroom teacher "Old Li" behind his back, and it sounded very natural to them.

It felt a little strange to call him that to his face for the first time.

Old Li gently slipped the red envelope into Jiang Yang's school uniform pocket, interrupted Jiang Yang's words, patted his shoulder, and his voice suddenly became a little hoarse.

"Jiang Yang."

He paused, then looked past Jiang Yang toward the classroom.

Last year, my daughter took the college entrance examination in one of those classrooms.

He continued, "Actually, I also have a feeling that I can't quite put my finger on. Since I started using a smartphone last year, it seems like the times are changing little by little. My daughter was admitted to a teacher's college last year and said she wanted to be a teacher like me. But a few days ago, she called and said she wanted to do some online live streaming."

The homeroom teacher gave a wry smile, a few wrinkles appearing at the corners of her eyes: "I scolded her for being ridiculous, but now that I think about it, maybe you guys were right."

The teachers are getting old for the first time, and the graduating students are growing up for the first time.

The homeroom teacher suddenly reached out and, like a father, straightened Jiang Yang's askew school uniform collar:

"If anyone says that you went to another city to film movies while you were studying and criticizes you for not doing your job properly, just tell them that."

Old Li from Tongliang Middle School once said, "An actor who can get a perfect score on the science section is much better than a dullard who can only take exams."

"Old Li, can I say something?"

The homeroom teacher smiled and said, "Go ahead and tell me."

Jiang Yang took out the red envelope that Lao Li had stuffed into his pocket: "Your red envelope is as thin as a piece of paper, it's not even two hundred yuan, is it? There's a girl from the countryside in my company named Yang Chaoyue. If I gave her a red envelope like this, she would scold me for being stingy. How come you're even stingier than me?"

The homeroom teacher's smile froze: "Get out! Get out! I'm really annoyed every time I see you."

"Then you'll have to see me on TV again."

"Get out of here right now!" the homeroom teacher waved for them to leave.

As I left Lao Li's office, the prelude to the athletes' march for radio calisthenics was playing on campus.

Turning my head, I saw Tian Xiwei hurrying downstairs, running against the flow of people in school uniforms towards Jiang Yang.

Her ponytail swung back and forth as she ran.

He gripped the cuff of his school uniform with his right hand, revealing half of the rubber band on his wrist: "Jiang Yang!"

Her eyes sparkled as she blinked, a smile played on her lips, her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her voice was light and quick, yet carried the panting of someone who had just finished running.

"I didn't see you when I got to your classroom. I asked and found out you were called to the teacher's office again. Are you leaving now?"

"I'm leaving now. I'm going to meet Zhou Ye at the high-speed rail station."

Although Tian Xiwei had never met Zhou Ye, she had heard his name a few times.

I've heard Yang Chaoyue mention that he's a friend of Jiang Yang and also a fellow townsman of Chongqing.

I met Zhou Ye when I visited Nan'an District of Chongqing before the Lunar New Year.

I took Chaoyue out for two days.

I gained three pounds.

Gulnazar was also with them.

There's a private group chat called "[All scumbags are four]", which was created by Gulnazar.

When this topic came up, Tian Xiwei was incredibly envious. She asked Jiang Yang several times when he could introduce her to a big star like Gulnazar.

Jiang Yang always says there will be a chance, but we haven't met yet. I wonder if he's just trying to fool her.

"I'll see you out of the school gate... Hey, Jiang Yang!"

Tian Xi's eyes narrowed from a smile to a scrutinizing gaze: "Who kissed your neck?"

"I pinched him." Jiang Yang chuckled dryly.

"Impossible, which woman kissed him?" Tian Xiwei frowned and pursed her lips into a thin line.

"I really pinched myself."

Tian Xi blinked her bright eyes: "Try pinching it for me!"

"No, it hurts a lot," Jiang Yang said, drawing out the last syllable, like coaxing a child.

"I count to three!"

Jiang Yang was at a loss: "No, Xiwei, you didn't react like this when Chaoyue and Haochun kissed."

As Tian Xiwei counted, she slapped the ground with her toes: "Don't force me to cause trouble for you in front of a lot of people, one! two!" (End of this chapter)