No. 35 Dongmianhua Hutong Courtyard, Penghao Theatre Cafe.
This is a small building converted from an old Republican-era courtyard house. The red painted door frame is mottled, and an old locust tree in the courtyard extends its withered branches, casting shadows on the bluestone ground like an ink wash painting.
On the rooftop, the hutong ridges stretch endlessly, their tiles gleaming coldly under the winter sun.
Hu Jing pushed the door open, the hem of her trench coat sweeping across the threshold, bringing in a gust of cold air.
The cafe was warm and inviting, with rough ceramic mugs on the wooden tables, and the aroma of coffee mixed with toasted bread wafting through the air.
This place is only a few steps from the Central Academy of Drama, making it a popular spot for Central Academy of Drama teachers and students to discuss scripts.
Hu Jing glanced around, her gaze falling on a woman by the window, wrapped in a wool shawl, with a gentle and elegant demeanor like an orchid. She then walked towards her with a smile.
“Li Zi!” Hu Jing said with a soft laugh.
“You’re here.” Zeng Li’s bright eyes sparkled at her words, and she pushed a hot mocha over. “Here, I already ordered it for you.”
“Hehe, Li Zi, you’re so good to me.”
Hu Jing took a small sip. “By the way, what do you think about what Professor Chang Li said?”
“What can I think? If possible, I’ll just go and give it a try. Anyway, no one is looking for me to be the second female lead in TV dramas, let alone the main female lead,” Zeng Li said with a faint smile.
“Me too!” Hu Jing rested her head on her hand, a little troubled. “By the way, Yuan Quan also seems to have been called by Professor Chang Li. I’m just curious, is the Beijing Film Academy’s funding that abundant?
Her remuneration can’t be like ours; for movies, she even has to cut it in half, as she’s considered a new face in film…”
“That I don’t know!” Zeng Li shook her head slightly.
At this moment, Wu Chen was also a bit troubled because he saw that the people Professor Chang Li recommended also included Yuan Quan.
Theoretically speaking, Yuan Quan, who won the Golden Rooster Award Best Supporting Actress Award and the Hundred Flowers Best Supporting Actress Award, was indeed a very good choice, but his crew was short on funds.
The crew’s total budget was only 400,000 yuan. How could they afford to invite Yuan Quan, who was now a second-tier art-house film actress?
Mu Deyuan also saw Wu Chen’s dilemma and couldn’t help but find it amusing. “You have to give something to get something. If you can’t afford it, then don’t invite her.”
Although he said that, Mu Deyuan was also muttering about Professor Chang Li in his heart.
For such a small-budget film, it would only be possible if Yuan Quan acted for nearly zero remuneration, but Wu Chen was still an unknown first-year student in the Beijing Film Academy Photography Department.
Yuan Quan wasn’t sick; there was no reason for her to reduce her remuneration so much, even if Professor Chang Li recommended her.
Then there was only one possibility: Professor Chang Li did it on purpose, seemingly responding to Mu Deyuan’s outrageous request yesterday: It’s not that we at Central Academy of Drama don’t have good ones, but that you can’t afford them…
“Petty…” Mu Deyuan grumbled.
Wu Chen also quickly thought it over and then smiled. “It’s fine, Professor Mu. Since Professor Chang Li recommended her, it would be a waste of Professor Chang Li’s good intentions not to give it a try. Anyway, I’ve already sent out the invitation…”
Mu Deyuan nodded slightly. He admired Wu Chen’s drive, and in the past two days, this youthful drive had grown even stronger.
Young people are never afraid of failure!
…
Wu Chen got the contact information and immediately started making appointments. Zeng Li and Hu Jing were unusually smooth; one call, and he had both of them settled.
However, on Yuan Quan’s side, Wu Chen clearly felt the other end of the phone fall silent for two seconds before she finally agreed.
“It actually worked?”
Wu Chen was a bit bewildered. He had only politely greeted her. What was going on with her? Was she willing to participate for zero remuneration? If so, he would wholeheartedly approve.
On the other side, Yuan Quan was also a bit stunned at this moment.
Professor Chang Li had only told her to just go through the motions, as a small-budget film would never be able to afford her.
But since the Director Wu had called, she didn’t want to offend him, especially since the connection went through Professor Chang Li.
For some inexplicable reason, she could only agree.
The audition time for the three of them was set for three days later.
These two days, besides diligently attending classes and occasionally replying to Liu Yifei’s messages, Wu Chen spent the rest of his time pondering the future filming locations.
According to his idea, he needed a villa as a filming location. The secret room inside could be created through editing, filming techniques, and props, but the core villa was indispensable.
If he remembered correctly, when Lou Ye filmed “summer palace,” he used an old villa in Tsinghua Garden for two weeks rent-free through an introduction from a Beijing Film Academy teacher. The exchange conditions were an acknowledgment in the credits and the crew helping the owner shoot a family documentary.
However, he couldn’t use this method.
On one hand, his fame wasn’t enough, and on the other hand, his usage time was too long, at least over a month.
Finally, through Mu Deyuan’s introduction, he connected with a property management company in Miyun, but even with a friendly price, the monthly rent was 20,000 yuan a month.
“Money is spent everywhere.”
Wu Chen sighed, but this price was still acceptable. For this, he personally went to Miyun to look at the layout of the villa and finally decided on it, just waiting to rent it after the New Year.
On December 24th, at 1:00 PM, Wu Chen was tidying up in his dorm, preparing to go out, when he saw three pairs of big eyes staring at him with expectant gazes.
“What’s up with this?”
“Chen Ge, we want to take a look too.”
Xiang Zhuo saw that Pu Songri and Chu Tianshu were timid like eggs, and finally spoke, a little awkwardly. “They all say that Zeng Li is the Central Academy of Drama’s campus belle. We also want to see what a campus belle looks like in person?”
Wu Chen could understand, after all, they were young people and all liked this kind of thing, but he blurted out, “Haven’t you seen enough of your own school’s?”
“Sister Huang Shengyi is never at school, so we can’t see her at all. Sister Yan Danchen has already graduated. Now only Sister Dong Xuan is left, but Sister Dong Xuan’s title as campus belle doesn’t seem very stable; it’s not universally recognized…” Xiang Zhuo mumbled.
“Alright, you guys just stay behind the school gate.” Wu Chen waved his hand, gesturing.
“Thank you, Chen Ge!” The three of them scurried behind Wu Chen.
At the Beijing Film Academy school gate, the winter sun slanted across the mottled red brick wall, and a few withered old poplars at the corner stretched out their bare branches.
The iron fence of the school gate was rusty, and the “Beijing Film Academy” sign above it was askew, its paint peeling off to reveal patches of grayish-white.
Pu Songri and the other two peeked out from behind the school gate pillar, their eyes almost popping out.
Wu Chen stood in the middle of the school gate, his mouth twitching, muttering, “These guys, they really have no ambition.”
A few minutes later, three people walked out of a small alley not far away.
Because the alley where the Beijing Film Academy was located was too narrow, cars couldn’t pass through it at all, so besides cycling, they had to walk.
Yuan Quan was in the middle, wrapped in a black woolen coat, her temperament cool and slightly artistic;
On her left, Zeng Li was wrapped in a wool shawl, her brows and eyes as clear and beautiful as an orchid;
On her right was Hu Jing, in a dashing trench coat, her eyes as lively as water.
Wu Chen stepped forward, “Hello, three Central Academy of Drama seniors!”
Just as Wu Chen was speaking, Pu Songri and the other two were jostling each other.
“Tian Shu, move aside, let me take a look, don’t rush.”
“Xiang Zhuo, you’re going too far, stepping on my shoes. Is it interesting to be two centimeters taller?”
“Oh my god, Songri, you’re too heavy, don’t lean on me…”
“Thud! Thud! Thud!”
The unusual sounds attracted the attention of the four. Wu Chen turned around and saw three people falling one after another behind the school gate pillar, one on top of the other…
Pu Songri and the other two awkwardly scratched their heads, their faces flushed red, and they quickly ran away.
“Pfft!” Hu Jing couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “Director Wu, are all your schoolmates this interesting?”
“…”