Huayu: Starting from retirement, sweeping across the domestic entertainment industry

To be fair, the teaching ability of the school down the mountain is just so-so, not much different from the acting classes Li Ran took at the Beijing Film Academy.

The appeal of the Mountain School lies more in the fame of its celebrity founders, Zhou Xun and Chen Kun, and the potential network of connections they bring.

Aside from those like Chen Duling who are self-taught and genuinely want to improve their skills, most of the trainees here are probably just ordinary people who value the prestige of this "stepping stone."

The course has finally come to an end.

Chen Kun then walked over to Li Ran, his tone gentle yet expectant: "Li Ran, how are you feeling today? Come often, I have high hopes for you."

"In the path of acting, both talent and hard work are indispensable, and you possess both."

Li Ran maintained a polite social distance and smiled as she thanked him again: "Thank you for your affirmation, Teacher Chen. I will definitely come to learn again when I have the opportunity."

He left room for interpretation in his words, but did not give a definite answer.

After saying that, he quickly gestured to Zhang Jingyi and Chen Duling, almost as if he were fleeing, and left the classroom with the two of them.

It wasn't until he stepped out of the building and breathed in the warm early summer air that Li Ran felt the faint feeling of being stared at dissipate somewhat.

He glanced back at the stylish building and thought to himself: I should meet Jingyi outside from now on.

"Brother Li Ran, should we go eat first, or go straight to the internet cafe?" Zhang Jingyi asked, her eyes sparkling.

Chen Duling also looked at Li Ran, her pretty face showing a hint of eagerness and seriousness: "Shall we go for a solo match? I can't wait to try out the true level of a professional pro, no, a former professional pro."

She deliberately pronounced the word "former" clearly, with a hint of teasing.

Seeing their enthusiasm, Li Ran smiled and said, "Alright! Let's go straight to the internet cafe then."

……

Inside the internet cafe's private room, Li Ran skillfully logged into his account and began his solo match against Chen Duling.

Chen Duling rubbed her hands together, selected the mid-lane hero she was most confident in, and looked serious.

She half-jokingly said, "Burning God, go easy on me! But don't be too obvious about it!"

Li Ran nodded. "It's just for entertainment!"

In the first game, he chose a relatively weak hero and focused on last-hitting minions and trading blows during the laning phase, occasionally making "mistakes" and getting harassed by her.

Chen Duling played with great focus. Li Ran observed that her positioning and skill timing were quite good, making her a top-tier player among casual players.

Even though Li Ran deliberately held back, he didn't want to go too far. After a seemingly ordinary exchange of blows, he seized the opportunity when her skills were on cooldown and used a smooth combo to send her back to the fountain.

The moment the screen went gray, Chen Duling paused for a moment, then pouted, turned to look at Li Ran, her eyes scrutinizing him: "You went easy on me, didn't you?"

Li Ran touched his nose and chuckled awkwardly, "Is it that obvious?"

"Very obvious!" Chen Duling affirmed.

She is aware of her own skill level. Facing professional players, let alone top-tier players like Li Ran, it would be impossible for her to have such a "back and forth" match.

"Don't hold back. I'm not a sore loser. Play seriously. I want to see just how big the gap really is."

Seeing her serious attitude, Li Ran also stopped joking and nodded: "Okay."

In the second game, Li Ran chose a hero with extremely strong lane dominance.

As soon as the minion wave touched the ground, Chen Duling felt the pressure coming at her. Every move she made seemed to be predicted, and every time she tried to last-hit a minion, she was met with precise basic attacks or skill harassment.

Having only reached level two, Li Ran seized upon her almost imperceptible forward lean, instantly flashing in and using his skill to apply Ignite. The entire sequence of actions was so fast it was dazzling, and Chen Duling's screen went dark again.

"First Blood!"

Chen Duling stared at her black and white screen, remained silent for two seconds, then let out a long breath. Her face showed no frustration, but rather a sense of relief and admiration, as if she had known all along.

She waved her hand dismissively, "No more playing, no more playing. We're on completely different levels. Let's play in a three-person squad, carry me!"

Li Ran smiled and checked his friends list and rank display: "We probably can't play ranked matches; there's a big difference in our ranks."

His account is at the King rank, Chen Duling is at Diamond, and Zhang Jingyi is still hovering around Gold.

"Just play matchmaking, it's just for fun," Chen Duling said nonchalantly, excitedly preparing to start forming a team.

Zhang Jingyi glanced at Li Ran, then at her own rank, and whispered, "Li Ran, why don't you play AD? I'll play support. I'm the worst player, I'll just play support and coast along."

Actually, she just wanted to be closer to him, even if it was just in the game.

Chen Duling immediately chimed in, "Great idea! Then I'll play mid, and the carry role will be left to Ran Shen."

Li Ran naturally had no objection and nodded.

The three formed a team and entered matchmaking mode. Li Ran was on the first floor and casually selected Ashe, the Frost Archer.

Seeing this choice, Zhang Jingyi on the second floor's eyes lit up. Almost without hesitation, she locked onto Soraka, the Starchild, and said in a lighthearted tone, "Brother Li Ran, you're playing Ashe, so I'll choose Soraka! I'll heal you!"

"Pfft...!" Li Ran, who was drinking water, couldn't help but burst out laughing. She quickly grabbed a tissue to wipe herself, chuckling as she did so. "Okay...okay, good day, nanny."

Zhang Jingyi was a little confused by his laughter, blinking her eyes innocently, "What's wrong? Ashe paired with a healer is a solid match online! What's so funny?"

Beside her, Chen Duling had already lowered her head, her shoulders twitching suspiciously. She tried hard to suppress a laugh, and said in a leisurely tone, "You, Ashe... my healer?"

Zhang Jingyi instantly realized that, because of Li Ran, she was naturally familiar with some e-sports memes.

Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she lowered her head, her voice barely audible as she protested, "I...I didn't mean that!"

Li Ran stopped laughing, cleared his throat, and concluded in a serious tone: "It seems that Teacher Rita's 'You're Ashe, I'm the healer' is still too authoritative and deeply ingrained in people's minds."

The first game began in this atmosphere.

Although he was playing the AD role, which he wasn't very familiar with, Li Ran's basic skills and understanding of the game were undeniable, making him a dominant force in solo queue games.

Having just reached level six, he seized the opportunity and accurately hit the enemy mid laner who was laning in the middle lane with a magic crystal arrow that spanned most of the map, helping Chen Duling's Nine-Tailed Fox easily get the first blood.

"Nice! Burning God's arrow!" Chen Duling cheered in the voice chat.

Li Ran was actually holding back, and he was just farming peacefully in the bottom lane without completely dominating the opponent. It seemed like he was really just "playing with girls for fun".

With his deliberate allocation of kills and resources, Chen Duling's mid-lane fox developed exceptionally well. In a late-game team fight, she gracefully entered the fray, secured a pentakill, and ended the game with a godlike performance.

"That feels great!" Chen Duling looked at her impressive data panel with satisfaction.

Just as they were about to start the second game, a team-up request suddenly popped up in Li Ran's friend list. The ID was "Fearless but impulsive".

Li Ran glanced at it, a smirk playing on his lips, and clicked "agree".

"Fearless and impulsive," he entered the room.

Li Ran typed in the team chat: 【Brother, that's enough: Turn on your mic!!!】

Zhang Jingyi and Chen Duling both looked at the new ID with some curiosity.

Soon, a clear, slightly excited young male voice came through the earpiece: "Brother Ran! What brings you to play games today? Aren't you filming?"

Li Ran smiled and turned on his microphone: "We just finished filming not long ago, so I'm taking care of my younger sister. Xiao Kai, let's find another reliable person and make a five-person car together."

"Okay, Ran-ge!" Wang Junkai readily agreed. "I saw Lao Luo is online, I'll invite him."

A few seconds later, another ID, "Mr. Moxi," entered the room.

"Hello, hello! Burning God! Xiao Kai! What wind blew you guys to Summoner's Rift today?" Luo Yunxi's lively voice joined in.

"Just playing a couple of rounds with Ran-ge and his girlfriend for fun," Wang Junkai explained.

"Bringing a girl along?"

Luo Yunxi raised her voice eight octaves, filled with gossipy curiosity, "Is this girl also in the industry? Which teacher is she? Turn on your mic, turn on your mic!"

Seeing this, Chen Duling also turned on her microphone and said gracefully, "Hello, I am Chen Duling."

"Oh dear! Teacher Chen!"

Luo Yunxi immediately replied in a familiar tone, "Long time no see! Let's add each other as friends after we finish, and hang out together next time!"

Wang Junkai also greeted him politely.

Li Ran interrupted their impending small talk: "Alright, alright, we can catch up later. Let's assign positions. I'll play AD, my junior will be the support. Dudu will be mid. Xiao Kai, you'll be top? Lao Luo, jungle?"

"No problem!" "Okay!" the two replied.

While Luo Yunxi was selecting her talent points, she asked curiously, "Junior? You mean the one who was trending on social media with you a few days ago? Her name is... Zhang Jingyi?"

Li Ran glanced at Zhang Jingyi, who was wearing headphones and looked slightly nervous, not daring to turn on her microphone. He then chuckled and scolded into the microphone, "Why do you talk so much nonsense? Remember to gank the bottom lane later!"

When Zhang Jingyi heard her name mentioned, especially the words "trending on social media," her hand holding the mouse paused slightly. But when she heard Li Ran protectively change the subject, she felt relieved and secretly glanced at him.

The five-row convoy officially started.