Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

"Let's talk about it, let's try to finalize the cast before lunch."

After a moment of silence, Ning Hao spoke first: "Huang Haibo, Fan Bingbing."

Wu Shixian glanced at Cheng Ercai and said, "Huang Haibo, Hu Jing."

Cheng Er looked at Wu Shixian with great surprise, after all, this guy had always admired Xia Yu.

Yang Che looked at Song Xiaofei, who was fiddling with the equipment, and said, "Xiaofei, why don't you say something too?"

"Huang Haibo and Fan Bingbing. They make a great couple."

Cheng Er paused and looked at Yang Che: "Brother Che, after Fan Bingbing joins the crew, he'll need your guidance."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ning Hao burst into laughter as if he were having a fit, and snot came out of his nose.

Then the room fell silent for a moment, and then burst into a strange and peculiar laugh.

I laughed for a very, very long time, as if I were poisoned.

Yang Che laughed until his stomach hurt, not knowing why. Anyway, everyone was forbidden from making eye contact with each other, because doing so would be the end of them.

And so, the seemingly pointless actor audition process, which in fact unified the creative team's vision, came to an end.

Cheng Er called Huang Haibo, while Yang Che called Fan Bingbing and Gao Yuanyuan. As for Xia Yu and Hu Jing, that was Wu Shixian's problem.

Just as the group was making their decision, Hu Jing and Zhang Tong returned to their rented courtyard house.

Hu Jing gasped for breath, "Now you can talk, right? Handsome and talented, you idiot!"

Zhang Tong sat on the edge of the bed, covering her face. Her lips pursed from the effort, and she mumbled, "They didn't say anything, just left their contact information, and you..."

"Come on, your face is all red. Even if he doesn't mean it, you should go after her."

"Stop talking. If you think he's so great, then go after him."

Hu Jing pouted and rolled her eyes: "They don't even care about me. Don't look at me like that. I'm the love strategist in our class. My judgment is absolutely correct."

"Mmm, you're awesome. Let's go get something to eat."

"Tongtong, do you have feelings for him?"

"no."

"Um?"

"Oh really, how can you just meet someone once and think... Well, he's a good guy."

Hu Jing's eyes lit up: "Then I'll call him, ask him out to dinner, and create an opportunity for you?"

Zhang Tong immediately panicked: "Hu Jing, stop messing around!"

Hu Jing simply laid it all out: "Oh, I really want to act in that play, let's help each other out."

Zhang Tong then realized that she was captivated by Yang Che's smiling eyes, but she wasn't angry at Hu Jing's blunt words.

This is certainly not just because Hu Jing doesn't hide it.

After all, a girl without makeup blushes only for her lover.

Seeing Zhang Tong remain silent, Hu Jing said, "Send him a text message explaining your situation: you're doing odd jobs in Beijing during the summer vacation, and ask him if he has any roles for you to play."

"Didn't you say you didn't?"

Hu Jing wished she could split Zhang Tong's brain open and put her own inside.

"Oh, I'm just trying to start a conversation. And if he agrees, what does that mean?"

"What?"

"This shows that he does have feelings for you, because he's willing to design a role just for you."

Zhang Tong's heart was pounding: "What if I don't agree?"

"There is no statement that he persisted in artistic creation."

"......"

Afterwards, Zhang Tong took out his phone, and while the two were discussing the wording of the text message, Wu Shixian called Hu Jing's phone.

Then there is no more then.

Hu Jing acted as if nothing had happened, even laughing as she finished the call, but then her face fell. Although she was a professionally trained actress, and such things happened all the time in the industry, and she was strong enough, she was still sad, disappointed, and unwilling at this moment.

She really loves "My Sassy Girl".

Zhang Tong comforted Hu Jing from the side, sharing her feelings.

Then the two of them didn't mention sending Yang Che a text message again. Zhang Tong sighed inwardly, thinking it wasn't a good time to contact him, since Hu Jing was still heartbroken.

Actually, even if she contacted her, it probably wouldn't have made much of a difference.

Yang Che is like a poor man who suddenly becomes rich. He wants to flirt with any beautiful woman he finds attractive. But if she gives him a response or takes it seriously, he has to back off.

This is different from Zhang Qin, and even more so from Cheng Hong.

Ultimately, Yang Che neither wanted to make any sacrifices nor take any responsibility.

Besides, he was on the phone with Gao Yuanyuan at that moment.

"I've been busy. You don't need to thank me. In the end, it was our oversight that wasted your time."

Yang Che's voice was flat and polite, a far cry from the warm feeling Gao Yuanyuan had when they parted.

"It's fine."

"goodbye."

"Goodbye, um... wait a minute, Yang Che, how old are you?"

Yang Che's lips slowly curled up, but his tone remained unchanged: "Hmm? What's up?"

"I'm just curious."

"22".

"Um, may I ask you one more question?"

"you say."

"How did you write this script? I mean, did you have any personal experience with it?"

After a two-second pause, Yang Che said, "I have something else to do."

"Uh...bye then."

Yang Che didn't respond and hung up the phone directly.

A minute later, he received a text message from her: "Sorry, I didn't mean it, I was just curious. You're busy."

Yang Che naturally didn't reply; he still had so many things to do.

Another ten minutes or so later, she sent another message.

"I really like the sentences in your script, such as: I met a woman from the future, from my future. (1) For example: You loved him, so you will always love him. You will fall in love with someone else in the future, but your world will be more complete and can accommodate another person. (2) There are so many more. When I was reading this script, I was thinking about what the screenwriter went through to write so many profound and realistic words."

Yang Che didn't reply immediately. He waited until noon to call Fan Bingbing before telling her, "The stories come from various sources; personal experience is only one of them. Please don't spread these lines before the movie's release, thank you."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I didn't show it to anyone else, and I didn't tell anyone. I'll return the script to you this afternoon."

"Since you can remember so much, it doesn't matter whether you return it or not. If you like it, then keep it."

"Thank you. Yang Che, when you start filming, can I make a cameo appearance? Like one of the two girls who got scolded by Xingxing."

"No, you're too beautiful. I'm going to eat now, we'll talk later."

Gao Yuanyuan looked at his last text message, threw her phone aside, lay down on the bed, buried her face in the pillow, and shouted excitedly.

If Zhang Tong's heart fluttered because of the "passionate Yang Che," then Gao Yuanyuan fell in love at first sight with the cool yet warm-hearted "literary version of Yang Che," just as she fell in love at first sight with Yang Che's fellow villager Zhang Yadong in another timeline.

Artsy young women, especially those who were young and artistic, don't need to be pursued.

Note 1: Original text from "My Sassy Girl".

Note 2: Excerpted from Zhang Jiajia's "Passing By Your World".