Huayu: Returned Overseas Chinese

Beijing Film Academy.

Not far from the school gate, Xu Hu slowly stopped the car. Chen Jingming got out, straightened his clothes, and then walked into the school. Just as he stepped into the school gate, his phone rang. Chen Jingming stopped, took out his phone, and saw that it was a call from Wu Bing's office, so he answered it casually.

"Hello, Teacher Wu."

"Jingming, where are you?"

"Just arrived at the school gate, what's wrong?"

"You've arrived at school? Come to my office, I'll wait for you here."

"Okay, Ms. Wu, I'll be right there."

After hanging up the call and hearing the busy tone from the receiver, Chen Jingming put away his phone. He had a good idea of ​​what was going on; Wu Bing must already know about the incident at yesterday's audition.

Without lingering, he walked forward along the teaching building, turned the corner, went up to the administration building, and arrived at Wu Bing's office. He gently knocked on the door. After receiving a response from inside, he pushed the door open to enter.

Just as he was about to step inside, Chen Jingming suddenly stopped, raised his hand and waved, and a thick cloud of smoke rushed out through the open door.

"Teacher Wu, are you trying to set your office on fire?"

Before Chen Jingming could even see who was in the room, he casually made a joke.

"Stop talking nonsense and come in."

Upon hearing this, Wu Bing's face darkened. There were other teachers present in the office, and such teasing made him quite embarrassed.

Chen Jingming sensed something was amiss; Wu Bing's tone was completely different from her usual gentle manner. He frowned slightly, glanced inside, and seeing several people seated in the office, immediately composed himself, stepped into the room, and spoke respectfully:

"Hello, teachers."

Everyone present nodded in agreement. Wu Bing looked at Chen Jingming and asked directly:

"Jingming, what exactly happened? Why did Lao Zhang suddenly announce yesterday that there would be a second audition this afternoon?"

"Teacher Wu, all the actors you and Director Yu finalized were rejected by Director Zhang. He felt that these actors were not a good match for the roles," Chen Jingming explained calmly.

"Inappropriate? In what way?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Cui Xinqing, who had been sitting silently to the side, immediately stood up, her eyes fixed on Chen Jingming, and asked in a low voice.

Faced with Cui's questioning tone, Chen Jingming's expression instantly darkened, and he remained silent. Seeing this, Wu Bing quickly stepped in to smooth things over and ease the tense atmosphere:

"Old Cui, don't be anxious. You know what kind of person the director is. Even if you keep asking Jingming, it won't make any difference."

After saying that, he walked to Chen Jingming's side, quietly tugged at his sleeve, and lowered his voice to comfort him:

"Don't take it to heart. The core of a drama lies in the suitability of the actors. The selection of actors is based on their strength. Don't let outside voices interfere."

With Wu Bing's persuasion, Chen Jingming's expression softened slightly. Cui Xinqing's aggressive attitude just now, filled with questioning and dissatisfaction, and a strange sense of targeting, made him very unhappy.

"Old Cui, you're going too far. When we were casting the actors, I already had a bias towards the acting academy, but Director Zhang ultimately rejected the candidate. If you want to understand the situation, you can communicate properly. Why make things difficult for the child like this?"

Yu Li raised her hand and tapped the table, her tone full of dissatisfaction with Cui Xinqing.

Cui Xinqing realized she had lost her temper and toned down her anger. She turned to look at Yu Li, then gave Chen Jingming a slightly apologetic look.

"Jingming, I didn't mean anything by it. I just think it's too hasty to completely reject all the potential actors. Twenty million is not a small amount of money, and this drama is a rare opportunity for many people to develop their careers."

"Mr. Cui, the decision to reject the actor was made by the company after taking into account the director's professional opinion."

Chen Jingming spoke calmly and respectfully: "The company's funds are hard-earned, and our core objective is to make a profit. We cannot allow it to become a testing ground for new actors, nor can it be a training ground for training newcomers. Therefore, I have no further explanation for your question."

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the office instantly plummeted to freezing. Cui's chest heaved violently as she stared at Chen Jingming with utter astonishment.

In conventional wisdom, the teacher-student relationship has always been hierarchical, with teachers looking down on students and students being humble and yielding. But in today's confrontation with Chen Jingming, she found herself at a disadvantage at every turn, which she found hard to accept.

"Jingming, say less."

Wu Bing quickly grabbed Chen Jingming, stepped forward to block him, and faced Cui Xinqing directly.

"You shouldn't be here to complain about why students from the acting academy aren't being chosen by production teams. Instead, you should reflect on why so many directors at the Beijing Film Academy are unwilling to hire graduates from the acting academy."

These words were blunt and sharp, but Wu Bing showed no intention of backing down. The two belonged to different departments and had different positions. Moreover, although Cui Xinqing was the vice dean of the School of Performing Arts, her authority did not extend to the Department of Management.

Knowing that she was in the wrong today, Cui Xinqing realized that arguing further would only bring her humiliation. She snorted coldly, turned around, and left the office.

As the door closed softly, the oppressive atmosphere finally dissipated. Yu Li smiled and waved to Chen Jingming, gesturing for him to sit in the chair opposite her, her tone softening:

"Sit down, don't pay any attention to Old Cui. She's always been stubborn and has been secretly competing with Chang Li next door for years, always trying to outdo her, but she's never quite right."

At this point, Yu Li couldn't help but chuckle, and the tense atmosphere in the room completely relaxed.

Wu Bing also took the opportunity to smooth things over:

"It's more than just a little bit short. She's always trying to help the acting academy grab resources. She should learn from Chang Li and focus on teaching and research."

"Alright, let's not talk about these troubling things anymore." Yu Li waved her hand, setting the tone directly, "Jingming, let's put this matter behind us. It doesn't matter that the candidate was rejected. Our management department doesn't need to get involved in these messy departmental disputes."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jingming nodded and then said, "Director Yu, Teacher Wu, since you two are both here, I'd like to ask if you know any actors or assistant directors? Could you please introduce me to a few?"

Yu Li and Wu Bing were both taken aback upon hearing this. Wu Bing asked in confusion:

"Why are you suddenly looking for an assistant director for actors? I remember your company has an acting department. Are you short-staffed?"

"Sigh." Chen Jingming sighed softly and explained helplessly, "President Lin Dan has long been in charge of the group's investment business and is not familiar with the operating model of the film and television industry. The entire departmental structure of the film and television company is completely copied from the model of ordinary enterprises, and the company blindly recruits from the outside, which has led to the current situation where there are many loopholes in every aspect."

After hearing these words, Yu Li and Wu Bing exchanged a glance, both looking incredulous.

Yu Li turned to look at Wu Bing and teased her:

"This is the student you personally taught? They haven't even taught you basic industry knowledge."

"No, no, no, please don't wrong me." Wu Bing quickly waved her hands, hurriedly trying to distance herself from the situation. "I've never taught any of these practical industry skills, so please don't pin the blame on me."

"Alright, alright, I'm not kidding anymore." Yu Li glared at him helplessly. He wasn't even passing on his best skills; he was really not competent. Then she looked at Chen Jingming and said, "Tell me, what's the current situation of your film and television company?"

Chen Jingming didn't hide anything, explaining the current operational status of his company and the loopholes in his positions one by one. Yu Li listened with increasing astonishment, looking at him with disbelief.

"Who taught you this operational approach?"

"I figured all of these out on my own through trial and error," Chen Jingming said, scratching his head with a hint of embarrassment in his voice.

Yu Li's expression immediately darkened, and she turned to look at Wu Bing with a serious expression:

"Old Wu, what's wrong with you? Didn't you teach us a single lesson on the core essentials of a film company: organizational structure, departmental functions, and the division of responsibilities among positions?"

Feeling wronged, Wu Bing immediately began to defend herself:

"Director Yu, Jingming is only a sophomore. These practical professional courses are scheduled for the upper grades. The freshman and sophomore years focus on theoretical foundations and involve some professional knowledge, but they don't delve into these topics in depth, which is perfectly normal."

Upon hearing this, Yu Li suddenly realized what was happening, slapped her forehead, and looked embarrassed.

"Look at my memory, I forgot your grade. I always thought you were a senior in college, which is why you started investing in and filming a TV series so early."