Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

At the east gate of Beijing Film Academy on Huangtingzi Road, Yang Che had just parked his car when he saw three people walking towards him. As he got out of the car, he smiled and said, "Haibo, what brings you here?"

"Hey, I ran into Zeng Jian downstairs at the dorm, so we came over together. Che-ge, this is my classmate, Li Jie."

"Brother Che".

It's clear that Li Jie has already learned Yang Che's identity from Huang Haibo, and he's quite aware of it.

As mentioned in the previous article, Huang Haibo and his classmate went to audition for the role of Linghu Chong in the TV series "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer". That classmate was Li Jie. However, Huang Haibo was not selected, and Li Jie did not play Linghu Chong. Instead, he played Lin Pingzhi, who is hailed as the best actor in history.

Yang Che reached out and shook hands with him. With his bright eyes, sharp eyebrows, and fair skin, this guy was really handsome. Compared to him, Yang Che was just a little handsome.

"Dude, you're so handsome. Haibo looks like a comedian standing next to you."

Huang Haibo opened his mouth and said, "Brother Che, I think I'm pretty handsome too."

"......"

The four of them chatted and laughed as they entered the Beijing Film Academy. Today was the last day for freshmen to register, and also the last day for other students to return to school.

The closest building to the East Gate was the dormitory building. Downstairs, Yang Che ran into Zu Feng, who had an artistic air about him, as well as Huang Yi (who is Hai Qing) and Wang Huijuan (who played Biyou Juanzi in "Journey to the West: The Sequel"). Both girls were classmates of Huang Haibo and Li Jie, so they naturally came up to say hello.

Huang Haibo didn't offer much explanation, only saying that they were friends.

Contrary to my impression, Juanzi was very bold, staring at Yang Che for a long time. Haiqing, on the other hand, was very gentle and refined, like a lady from a well-to-do family.

Yang Che also met Xie Yuan, who was a performance teacher. Xie Yuan had a square hairstyle, which was quite comical. When he saw Yang Che looking at him, he smiled and nodded politely.

When they arrived at the school supermarket, Yang Che ran into Yao Dazui and Huang Xiaolei again, and the two of them walked together.

A guy who was recording audio gathered around downstairs saw Yang Che taking pictures with a camera and said a classic line from an older student: "This year's freshmen are no good!"

"........."

After a while, Yang Che looked at Lu Wei and Hao Yi, who had somehow joined him, and then at the nearly ten people around him, and was speechless: "Are you accompanying the Crown Prince in his studies? Go do what you're supposed to do. You're interfering with my appreciation of beautiful women, you know that?"

The group laughed and joked as they asked Che Ge to buy them Cokes, and then they dispersed in a noisy manner.

Huang Haibo and Li Jie naturally left as well, leaving only Zeng Jian behind.

Because Zeng Jian was a man of few words, and he could teach Yang Che some photography techniques...

"Hello, are you a graduate student?"

As Yang Che was taking pictures of a handsome young man with the same surname as him, named Zhigang, a very magnetic female voice rang in his ears.

I put down my camera and looked, and it was a familiar face again, a very stylish face, Kong Wei. At this moment, she had short hair, a face full of collagen, and was at least 1.73 meters tall, with a big chest and long legs... on par with Zhang Qin.

She played Lao Jiang's wife who was having an affair with the landlord in "The Sun Also Rises".

Yang Che shook his head calmly: "No."

Kong Wei, with a smile in her eyes, continued, "So you're a freshman? I haven't seen you before."

"No, miss, is there something you need?"

Zeng Jian, standing to the side, looked up at the sky and said, "What are you pretending for? I can tell that the female class monitor of the 96 performance class is lusting after you."

Kong Wei was quite famous at school. After all, she was the first student in Class '96 to become popular, and she was also recognized by the teachers as the most promising student in the Class of '96—well, more promising than Zhao Yanzi...

Kong Wei's smile deepened, and she said quite frankly, "I need something. I'd like to get to know you and exchange contact information, is that alright?"

Yes, Kong Wei has taken a liking to Yang Che. Just now at the supermarket entrance, she was immediately attracted to him in the center of the crowd. Although his features weren't the best and he wasn't the tallest, she just couldn't take her eyes off him.

Compared to him, everyone around him looked like little boys; he was the only man, exuding masculinity and charm in every gesture.

Yang Che has been hit on before, but never by a female celebrity... Well, it feels a little bit cool, but that's about it.

"sure."

So the two introduced themselves and exchanged contact information.

Zeng Jian felt a mix of emotions. Why? Bingbing, Yuanyuan... why?

Yang Che had no idea what he was thinking, otherwise he would have slapped him in the nose and said, "Damn it, why did Mei Ting fall in love with you at first sight?"

Kong Wei pursed her lips, feeling her fingertips go numb as she typed in his phone number.

"Want to grab a coffee together?"

Yang Che shook his head and smiled, "No, I still have to pick up my girlfriend."

Kong Wei's smile froze on her face. She was embarrassed, annoyed, and awkward. She forced a "Goodbye" and left in a hurry.

Zeng Jian hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Yang Che didn't say anything, but shoved the camera back into his hand: "Develop it for me when you have time. I'm leaving now. Come over for the script reading."

"Huh? Oh, I see."

Zeng Jian watched Yang Che's departing figure and thought he looked incredibly cool and awesome. No wonder so many young girls liked him. If "My Sassy Girl" were to become a success, even more female celebrities would "like" him.

As Yang Che strolled out of the Beijing Film Academy campus, he was also thinking about this matter. Gao Yuanyuan was attracted by his literary talent and his cool, artistic demeanor (pretentiousness) when they first met. Xiao Pang was attracted by gratitude, companionship, and the habit of getting along well over a long period of time, and of course, there was also a little bit of self-interest involved.

Cheng Hong? She said she just thought Yang Che was very flirtatious, and he was the first person in so many years to seduce her, plus she was ovulating...

Either there's no ulterior motive, or it's simply for personal enjoyment—it's all very pure.

Kong Wei and Zhang Qin's eyes were very similar just now. They did have admiration, but they also couldn't hide their ambition. Maybe they thought they were very awesome.

But Sister Hong and Yuanyuan can release his stress regularly, and the two of them and Bingbing have raised his aesthetic threshold. He really can't stand anyone who is slightly average.

Thanks to this era, and thanks to them for being young.

In the following days, Yang Che basically stayed in the studio, and Cheng Er, Liu Chang, Wu Shixian, Zhao Xiaoding, Song Xiaofei, Lin Mu, and Dong Dabao also arrived one after another on September 2.

The busiest person was art director Lin Mu, after all, he was in charge of costumes, set design, and props. Of course, he also had a lot of people under him, driving around in two bullet cars to various filming locations in Beijing and the capital.

Photographers Zhao Xiaoding and Song Xiaofei, along with lighting technicians Dong Dabao and Xing Jianwei, have been working with Lin Mu and his team these past two days, finalizing the photography plan.

The person who calls the most is Liu Chang, the production manager.

The most tense was Cheng Er; he was somewhat agitated, and his already cold face grew even colder.

Wu Shixian, on the other hand, was always cheerful and helped Liu Chang with some tasks.

As for Yang Che, he basically had nothing to do. He texted Yuanyuan and called Bingbing, but Hongjie... Hongjie ignored him.

Wang Fei made a phone call on the afternoon of September 3rd.

"We're preparing to make 'The Passing Years,' and Zhang Yadong would like to talk to you. Do you have time?"

With just that one sentence, Yang Che chatted with Zhang Yadong for half an hour, and even hummed twice to him.

.......

On September 4th, two days before filming was scheduled to begin, the distinguished guests gathered at Courtyard No. 8 for a script reading.