The Fleeting Years of Chinese Entertainment

As Lin Mo had predicted...

"Holy crap...the school even put up a banner for me?"

When Lin Mo got off the bus at the school gate, the first thing that caught his eye was a huge banner.

"Warmest congratulations to Lin Mo, a student from the Directing Department of our school in 02, for winning the Palme d'Or at the 57th Cannes International Film Festival."

At this moment, Lin Mo's face felt a little hot. He pulled his suitcase and quickly entered the campus. He just hoped that he would not run into any acquaintances on the way. Fortunately, the security guard at the gate today was not the one who gave him cigarettes.

Finally... it wasn't until he returned to the directing department dormitory that anyone actually noticed him.

"Oh...the big director is back?"

……

Although he was only "nodding acquaintances" with these people, Lin Mo still chose to respond with a smile to each of their teasing remarks.

"Keep it low-key, keep it low-key..."

"What's with the low profile? Director Lin, you brought home the Palme d'Or this time, you should be more high-profile..."

……

Lin Mo had just put his luggage away when news of the Palme d'Or director's return to campus spread.

Lin Mo was planning to turn on his newly purchased computer to browse the latest news, but before he could even open the website, his phone rang. It was a call from the directing department office.

Lin Mo shook his head helplessly, pocketed the gold palm, and went straight out.

"Hehe... Xiaolin, did you see the banner hanging at the school when you came back? It's a fitting tribute to your Palme d'Or-winning director status, isn't it?"

In the directing department office, several school leaders had already started posing for photos with Lin Mo, who also had to hold the Palme d'Or trophy tightly in his hands.

Lin Mo's master, Xie Xiaojing, was also among them.

However, unlike the other school leaders, he did not "torture" Lin Mo at this moment. Instead, he sat at his workstation, watching his prized student with a smile.

"Xiao Mo... Well done! Your teacher is so proud of you."

While Xie Xiaojing was praising his good apprentice, several school leaders had already started taking photos with Lin Mo.

After the school leaders finished filming, the teachers in the directing department office immediately took over, working for almost half an hour without giving Lin Mo any free time.

Lin Mo felt like his mouth was about to freeze from smiling.

After taking a final photo with his mentor Xie Xiaojing, he ran into the deputy director of the acting department, who was visiting the directing department, as soon as he stepped outside.

"Hey Lin! When will you finish filming your movie?"

"It should take about two more months..."

"Okay, then there's still time. Don't rush to leave tomorrow. Remember to come to the Performing Arts Department for a meeting in the morning."

After finishing his speech, the deputy director turned and left without waiting for Lin Mo's agreement, leaving Lin Mo standing there dumbfounded.

"Go ahead, the performing arts department probably wants to recruit you. With new students starting, they need a good student to share their experience with them... Frankly, it's just to show off! Heh..."

Looking at Xie Xiaojing leaning against the doorway, smiling proudly, Lin Mo didn't know what to say.

"Was I directly recruited by the acting department? But I'm currently in the directing department..."

Xie Xiaojing seemed to see through Lin Mo's thoughts. "Don't worry, there are only a few people in the directing department. There's no need for that. Besides, you transferred from the acting department after all. Consider it an advance repayment to them."

……

After returning to his dormitory, Lin Mo immediately opened a portal website and browsed some news related to himself.

Unsurprisingly, news of my return to China was leaked, and even... there were photos of me dragging my suitcase into a taxi near the airport.

Seeing this, Lin Mo truly admired those media paparazzi. In the past, they would have been perfect scouts…

"Xiao Lin, congratulations! You're the first director in China, besides director Chen Kaige, to win the Palme d'Or!"

Han Sanping also called to congratulate them.

In addition to congratulating Lin Mo on winning the Palme d'Or, he also talked about the arrangements for the overseas release of "Parasite".

The timeframe is scheduled for around October, which coincides somewhat with Lin Mo's idea.

In addition, Lin Mo also called the studio's finance department to inquire about the revenue sharing of "Parasite" in China.

With a little over 3.74 million, plus the several hundred thousand already in the studio's accounts, it's enough to repay China Film Group. The remaining money should be enough to last until "Your Name" makes a profit.

The next morning, after having breakfast, Lin Mo went straight to the performing arts department.

There weren't many people in the conference room, but there were also quite a few. Lin Mo was the youngest among them.

Apart from him, a second-year directing student, the others were all acting professors and graduate students.

And Xie Xiaojing was right; the main purpose of the performance department's meeting today was to have Lin Mo "lecture" the freshmen.

Although a lot of random things were discussed during the meeting, Lin Mo always felt that the meeting was held for him, and that those messy topics were just to cover up their "ultimate goal".

The meeting finally came to a close after Lin Mo agreed to teach a class to his juniors.

……

The next day,

Lin Mo planned to head to his film crew, since even though filming was currently suspended, the crew was still constantly burning through money.

But just as he finished packing his luggage, an invitation was delivered to him.

"What the heck? Zhang Yimou is going back to the university to hold a screening to promote his movie?"

Lin Mo glanced at his packed luggage, then at the invitation in his hand, and was at a loss for words.

"Things really are unpredictable..."

However, Lin Mo felt that the Beijing Film Academy was probably even more conflicted than he was.

Because Zhang Yimou, a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, has always promoted alumni of the school next door, and the film he is now promoting, "House of Flying Daggers," is still promoting that school next door as always.

If a film is shown at a screening at the Beijing Film Academy for promotional purposes, but the lead actor turns out to be from the neighboring film studio during the interview, you can imagine how embarrassed the school leaders will be.

However, the cast of Zhang Yimou's latest film, "House of Flying Daggers," is quite impressive, spanning mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

With the added prestige and status of Zhang Yimou himself, the school leaders had no choice but to reluctantly agree.

However, Lin Mo ultimately decided not to go, even though the invitation he received included a seat in the very front row.

……

Liu Yifei had already returned to the set of "Your Name"...

"Sissi, Producer Zhang has confirmed that you've been chosen to play Little Dragon Girl, so why are you still looking a little down?"

Although "The Return of the Condor Heroes" has not yet started filming, its popularity has already reached the sky thanks to Zhang Dahuzi's outrageous actions.

Liu Xiaoli had initially thought that after she and Chen Jinfei used their "superpowers" to help their daughter land the role, her daughter would be in a better mood, but she never expected...