Chapter Five Dormitory 307

"Xiangzi, what do you think I should do in the future? Should I keep acting, or should I switch careers? I hear interior design is doing well these days, and I don't think I'd have much trouble becoming an interior designer. My art skills are pretty solid, you know!" Chen Kun was now seeking advice with genuine humility.

No ambition at all! Wu Xiang couldn't help but criticize him inwardly.

"Senior, how can you be so muddled? How did you even get into the Film Academy in the first place? You were number one in the third round of exams! Are you saying all those teachers were wrong about you? If you quit now, wouldn't you be letting down all the people who believed in you? Whose judgment do you trust more, theirs or your own?"

"Well... That actually makes sense!" ...

The truth was, at this point, Chen Kun really did want to change paths. There was no other reason—he didn't come from a wealthy family, and studying art cost a lot of money. He wanted to ease the burden on his mother, so he'd always worked part-time while studying.

But that was all before he entered the Film Academy. After enrolling, it became much harder to find part-time work, and money was tight. He'd been there a year and still hadn't been cast in anything, which left him feeling pretty uneasy. The 1996 class at Beijing Film Academy was full of talent; many students started getting roles as freshmen, some even before they started school.

Although Zhao Wei's "Little Swallow" had yet to appear on screen, He Lin had already gained recognition from audiences with her outstanding performance in "Hand in Hand," and there was even talk of her winning awards. Among the women, Yan Danchen was off filming "Seasons of Rain," and among the men, Guo Xiaodong had landed a role as well. How could Chen Kun, the top scorer in the third round, accept all this?

But Wu Xiang knew Chen Kun would make it big one day, so he gave him a thorough pep talk, convincing him that finishing his studies and becoming a star was the right path.

After being talked around by Wu Xiang, Chen Kun felt a renewed passion for acting. Wu Xiang, meanwhile, used himself as an example—he didn't come from a wealthy family either and wanted to help out at home, but his parents wouldn't hear of it. They insisted that he finish school first, no matter what.

Wu Xiang embellished the story a bit, nearly moving Chen Kun to the point of swearing brotherhood with ritual and incense. The two ended up chatting enthusiastically, only parting when other students came looking for their beds, and Chen Kun bid Wu Xiang an impassioned farewell.

Not bad, not bad at all! Wu Xiang had played the wise advisor and had Chen Kun, the future star, eating out of his hand.

"Who says someone reborn can't be bold and charismatic, making all sorts of future celebrities bow to them? Look at me, Wu Xiang—I’ve got him wrapped around my little finger! Hahaha..." Wu Xiang was inwardly delighted, brimming with pride.

"Hey, everyone, since we're all here from different corners of the country and now living under one roof, shouldn't we introduce ourselves?"

At that time, there were eight beds to a dorm room. With Chen Kun gone, the other seven beds were all claimed, so it was a good time for introductions. The student speaking was someone Wu Xiang found quite familiar—a future star, in fact.

His looks were ordinary, not particularly handsome, especially with those small, intense eyes—a defining feature. This could only be Huang Haibo.

"Hello, I think I’ve seen you somewhere before. I can’t quite place it, but I feel like you’ve acted in something…" Wu Xiang’s expression and gestures were so convincing he could have auditioned for the acting department himself.

"Come on, you can’t remember? It’s Brother Bo, Huang Haibo. He’s been starring in films since he was a kid. What are you thinking?"

"Exactly! Brother Bo is the most impressive guy among the male students in our year."

Someone immediately jumped to his defense, but Wu Xiang didn’t mind at all—he simply smiled.

"Oh, you’re right! Now that you mention it, I remember." Wu Xiang switched to a Northeastern accent, dissolving any awkwardness in an instant.

"Don't, don’t, let’s not make a big deal out of it. My experience is nothing special. Haven’t you seen that even recent award-winners are going back to school? Compared to them, I'm not even a shrimp. We're here to study, so let’s leave the past behind, okay?"

The Beijing accent meeting the Northeastern one made for an amusing interaction. Huang Haibo was genuinely humble—Wu Xiang could tell his words came from the heart.

"You’re too modest, Brother Bo."

"No big deal, really. Some people went to Central Drama Academy, you came to the Film Academy—it’s all the same." An opportunity for flattery was immediately seized. Everyone knew who Huang Haibo was talking about, and that person was indeed remarkable.

Huang Haibo had been a child star, though he wasn’t especially famous at the time. But among the class of ’97, he would go on to be the most successful, though only Wu Xiang, with his knowledge from a previous life, was aware of this. Right now, Huang Haibo already had the makings of a leading figure in the class, but Wu Xiang wasn't concerned with that—he was interested in something else.

"By the way, Brother Bo, aren’t you guys in the acting class? How come you’re bunking with us writers?"

"Well!" Before Huang Haibo could answer, someone else chimed in, "Don’t you know? Our school didn’t enroll that many people. How many guys do you think there are?"

That was true—Wu Xiang realized it at once. The literature class had eighteen students, the acting class only twenty-six. Subtract the significant number of female students, and there really weren’t many boys left.

"Hey, I’m Huang Haibo," he said with a smile, extending his hand. "You haven’t introduced yourself yet."

Wu Xiang smiled and shook his hand. "Hi, I’m Wu Xiang. Just call me Xiangzi."

Everyone was friendly at the start of their college life. The freshmen of class 97 living in room 307 all got to know one another. Wu Xiang now knew that the guy in the bunk above him was Hao Yi from the Art Department. Besides Wu Xiang, there were two other literature majors: Wang Hongzhi and Zhao Xiaopeng. The acting majors were three: besides Huang Haibo, there were Lin Jidong and Yang Dong, and Yu Le. The last member was Dong Zhengliang from the Animation Department.

Arriving in a new place naturally made everyone a bit excited, so the group started chatting about all sorts of things. Wu Xiang had planned to go to sleep, but when someone mentioned a certain topic, he found himself wide awake.

"Hey, guys, have you read that book? The one that’s really popular online, called 'First Close Encounter'?" Lin Jidong brought it up.

The moment Wu Xiang heard the title, he snapped awake. He could have ignored anything else, but this was his own work—how could he not care?

Of course, it was a knockoff. After finishing the Film Academy entrance exam, Wu Xiang had done two things: prepared for the college entrance exam and written this book. He would never admit to plagiarism, because so much of it couldn’t be copied anyway. When he wrote it, "Titanic" hadn’t even been released yet, so it was just a knockoff!

"I’ve read it! The guy who wrote that book is a real beast. At first, he’s all roguish, but toward the end—man, it made me cry like a baby in the internet café. I almost got mistaken for a lunatic!" Wang Hongzhi responded right away.

"Yeah, I’ve read it."

"The ending just hurts too much…" …

Everyone chimed in, and Wu Xiang broke out in a cold sweat at their comments.

With a thud, Huang Haibo slapped a thick notebook onto the table and opened a file with a casual click.

So he was a reader too!