They surrounded me right after the breakup.

The door to the lecture hall was still half open.

Jiang Han followed Principal He inside.

Shen Qingning lagged behind by two steps, carrying Jiang Han's thermos in her hand.

Principal He pushed up his glasses, turned his head, and lowered his voice.

"President Jiang, there are quite a few students here today. We've temporarily added three rows of folding chairs in the aisle, and there are also some standing students."

Jiang Han smiled; the lecture hall was more than twice as big as he had estimated from the outside.

The trapezoidal seating arrangement rises in tiers from the podium to the back, and every row is full of people.

Folding chairs were indeed added to the passageway, and red and blue plastic stools were squeezed next to the steps.

A row of students stood against the wall in the back row.

The spotlights on the podium were on, making the entire whiteboard reflect light.

Fresh flowers were placed in front of the first row of seats, with water droplets still clinging to the petals.

The banner hung down from the ceiling of the auditorium, with red background and white lettering.

"A warm welcome to Mr. Jiang Han, Chairman of Xingyue Media, for returning to his alma mater to give a lecture."

Principal He walked to the front of the podium and tapped the microphone.

The sound system emitted a short buzz, and the entire lecture hall fell silent instantly.

"Students and teachers, we have been preparing for this lecture for a long time. Our speaker, Mr. Jiang Han, is an outstanding graduate of our Shanghai Theatre Academy."

He paused for a moment: "I know many of you here have seen his interview on The Jin Xing Show and have also heard his songs."

"Today, he's back as an alumnus to talk to you about this industry and the paths you'll be taking in the future."

"I won't say much more, let's give them a round of applause!"

Applause started from the first row, and within seconds the entire auditorium was filled with the sound of clapping.

Jiang Han walked out from the side stage, took the microphone handed to him by Principal He, and stood in the center of the stage.

"Actually, what Principal He just said wasn't entirely correct."

The audience fell silent, and Principal He was also taken aback.

"I graduated from the drama academy, but when I graduated, my school didn't invite me back to give a lecture."

Jiang Han glanced at the audience: "It's probably because my grades were just average back then, and I almost failed my acting class."

Laughter erupted from the back row, and Principal He shook his head with a smile.

"So the main reason I came back today is to prove one thing: even students with poor grades can return to their alma mater to give lectures."

Shen Qingning sat in the first row by the aisle, a barely perceptible smile curving her lips.

"Alright, enough chit-chat." Jiang Han switched the microphone to his other hand.

"What I want to talk to you about today boils down to one core question: In this industry, what exactly makes someone famous?"

The lecture hall fell silent again, and the students' attention was instantly drawn to it.

Some say it's because of good looks, some say it's because of excellent professional skills, and some say it's because of fate.

"All three statements are correct, and none of them are correct."

"There are many good-looking people. If you go for a walk on Huaihai Road now, you can meet three people who could debut immediately in ten minutes. But relying on just a face, you won't be famous for more than three months."

A girl in the front row was nodding vigorously when her friend next to her tugged at her sleeve.

"There are quite a few people with solid professional skills. Every year during graduation season, major art colleges send thousands of people to the market. Everyone thinks they have solid basic skills, but the number of people who can actually stand in front of the stage can be counted on one hand."

The students standing in the back row exchanged glances and began to listen attentively.

"So in the end, everyone says it all comes down to fate!"

"If you're lucky, you'll become famous; if you're unlucky, you'll drift aimlessly." Jiang Han shook his head.

"That's true, because luck is indeed a part of ability, but luck doesn't fall from the sky; you stumble upon it yourself."

Jiang Han picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"I'll tell you the stories of three people, each with their own unique fortune."

"The first one is Mao Buyi. He's not good-looking and has a quiet personality. If he were in your school, he probably wouldn't even be chosen as the lead in a performance."

"Before he started singing, he took the subway to work every day from his rented apartment, doing a job he didn't like, but he was able to write songs like 'Sorrow'."

The lecture hall was so quiet that you could hear someone in the back row pressing a camera shutter.

"The second one is Linghua. She sang in nightclubs for several years. Her luck was accumulated in the bars of Shenzhen."

"The third one is called Dumpling. He took the script for Nezha to all the investment companies, but they wouldn't even let him in the door."

"Later, someone made the connection. He sat across from me and told me that he wanted to make an animated film that adults could watch. He had prepared a thick proposal and sample films."

A girl with her hair in a bun in the front row raised her hand, and Jiang Han nodded at her.

"President Jiang, the three people you mentioned all became famous after meeting you. What if they hadn't met you?"

"That's a good question! Without me, Linghua might still be singing in Shenzhen, Mao Buyi might still be commuting to work by subway, and Jiaozi might still be running into walls everywhere."

"But... Linghua's voice won't get worse, Mao Buyi's creative work won't stop, and the dumplings won't be lost."

"I only shortened the time they were seen. What really made them famous was not Jiang Han, but themselves."

The girl with the bun hairstyle sat down, her eyes reddening as she took notes.

Someone else raised their hand in the back row, this time it was a boy.

"President Jiang, you just said that luck is something you stumble upon, but we students who haven't even graduated yet don't even have the chance to try our luck. Do you have any suggestions?"

Jiang Han held up one finger: "Do your current task to the best of your ability. To what extent? When the opportunity comes, you only need to take one step forward."

The boy with the earring nodded and sat down.

A boy in a plaid shirt stood up in the front row; he looked like a graduate student.

"President Jiang, what do you think of today's popular celebrities? They have no real work, but they have a lot of fans."

Jiang Han answered without hesitation.

"The problem with 'traffic stars' isn't that they lack substantial work, but that they only have popularity. Popularity expires, like yogurt; once it's gone, you have to throw it away. But substantial work doesn't!"

"The songs I wrote will still be listened to in ten years, and Mao Buyi's 'Sorrow' will still be sung in 20 years. That's the difference between a work of art and popularity."

"So when you enter this industry, if someone tells you they can build up your online traffic, you should ask them one question: How long can that traffic keep me famous?"

On the side of the podium, Principal He exchanged glances with Teacher Zhao next to him.

Teacher Zhao whispered, "This child is really talented," and Principal He nodded.

The last question was given to the short-haired girl in the back row who raised her hand.

"Mr. Jiang, I'm not a performance major; I majored in dramatic literature. Do you think screenwriters will become increasingly important in this industry?"

"Yes!" Jiang Han blurted out.

"Why did Nezha become so popular? It's not just because of the great special effects, it's because of the great story."

"The line 'My fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens' was written by Jiaozi himself. A good script can save a movie, while a bad script can ruin even the best actors."

"In the future, when Xingyue Media recruits screenwriters, the compensation will be the same as that of lead actors."

A buzz of discussion arose from the audience.

Jiang Han closed the microphone in front of him: "I've said a lot today, and I'd like to leave you with a final message."

"The entertainment industry is not lacking in good-looking people, highly professional people, or people with money and power."

"What's lacking are patient people, people who can do something to the extreme, and you..."

Jiang Han looked around the entire venue, from the first row to the students standing in the back.

"We're already in the right place."

Jiang Han bowed slightly.

The applause surged up like a tide and lasted for a long time.

Shen Qingning sat below, looking up at him.

Their eyes met amidst the applause, and Jiang Han raised his eyebrows slightly at her.

Shen Qingning pursed her lips and said two words in a voice only she could hear.

"Showing off~"