34: Wang Baoqiang has turned his life around, and the extras are envious!

At a film and television base in Yanjing.

After finishing a day of Extra work, Qian San and Li Qiang rode home in the dilapidated minivan arranged by their Group Leader.

Looking at the city's fading lights outside, the minivan's window reflected their faces, full of exhaustion and helplessness.

Their eyes were vacant as they stared out the window. This monotonous life, year after year, day after day, had long since worn away their former passion for acting.

Dreams and aspirations from the past had also been forced into reality under the pressure of survival.

The rickety minivan drove along the bustling street. The oppressive silence inside and the lively hustle and bustle outside felt utterly incompatible.

Passing by a cinema, a large poster was hanging outside.

It read: "lost on journey" is now showing!

The main actors on the poster were smiling brightly, as if reveling in the joy of success.

Suddenly, someone in the vehicle spoke up. Pointing at the poster outside, he said, "That person on the poster looks so familiar! Hey! Isn't that the kid who came looking for Uncle Hongyuan that day?"

The others, whose eyes had been dull and vacant, instinctively looked at the outside poster upon hearing his words.

Seeing the poster, they immediately recognized Wang Baoqiang on it.

Wang Baoqiang on the poster looked very youthful, almost like a kid.

But in reality, Wang Baoqiang just looked young; his actual age was already around twenty-five or twenty-six.

Upon seeing Wang Baoqiang, the previously quiet interior of the minivan suddenly became lively.

"Wow, it really is him!"

"I know that guy, it's Wang Baoqiang!"

"Why is he on a cinema poster?"

"Am I seeing things? Is that really Baoqiang?"

At that moment, everyone in the vehicle was shocked.

Actors who could appear on such large posters were invariably important leads.

Now that Wang Baoqiang was up there, it meant he was definitely a lead actor.

Qian San and Li Qiang exchanged glances, both seeing astonishment and disbelief in each other's eyes.

Looking at the poster featuring Wang Baoqiang, Qian San felt a complex mix of emotions.

Wang Baoqiang used to be an Extra just like them. Now, he had transformed from an ugly duckling into a swan, leaping over the dragon gate like a carp.

Simultaneously, a surge of jealousy welled up inside him.

Wang Baoqiang was short and unimpressive-looking. Why was he the one who caught a director's eye and got to be a lead?

He considered himself not bad either, working hard every day as an Extra.

Why didn't he have such luck?

Beside him, Li Qiang's thoughts were similar to Qian San's.

However, Li Qiang felt envy. He hadn't been an Extra for many years. Seeing Wang Baoqiang, who was originally an Extra, now become a lead actor...

A glimmer of hope suddenly arose in his heart. Perhaps one day he too could be noticed by a Great Director and become a lead.

Soon, the minivan drove away from the area.

Inside the minivan, the previously lifeless atmosphere became animated because of the news about Wang Baoqiang's poster.

Returning to the rental house.

It was still the same as always. A few Extras who weren't working were sitting at a folding table playing cards. Lin Hongyuan was among them.

This rental house had four rooms. Each room housed four people, over a dozen living together, making the accommodation costs very cheap.

Although the space was small, it was like a sparrow—small but complete, with a living room, kitchen, and bathroom, all present.

They were all Extras, usually going out together to find work.

Even the one who joined the profession latest had been doing it for three or four years.

When Qian San, Li Qiang, and the other Extras returned to the rental house, it immediately became lively.

"Uncle Hongyuan, guess what we saw on the road today? That kid who came looking for you last time, he seems to have hit it big. We saw a poster with him on it at the cinema entrance."

One Extra spoke excitedly, as if it were him on the poster.

"That kid was even in the center position (C-position). I think he must be a lead actor."

"I feel he must be the main lead. Usually, only the main lead gets to stand in the center on posters."

"I really never imagined Baoqiang would become a lead actor. Now he's really made it, rising above his station. After all these years of grinding, he's finally broken through."

Hearing this, all the Extras in the rental house fell silent for a second.

Living in such cramped quarters, getting up early and coming back late every day, running as Extras day after day, year after year—wasn't it all for the hope of one day rising above their station?

Now, someone from among them had finally broken through. In their hearts, some felt envy, some jealousy, but most felt a complex mix of emotions.

Simultaneously, they felt very lost about their own futures.

Listening to his roommates' chattering, Lin Hongyuan finally understood what had happened.

Baoqiang was on a big cinema poster, and as the center-position lead.

This greatly surprised Lin Hongyuan. Although he knew Wang Baoqiang had gone to play a lead role...

He never expected Wang Baoqiang would actually make it onto a cinema's large poster.

What kind of movie was this, that the cinema would specially put up a poster for promotion?

Lin Hongyuan was very curious.

"Did you see the name of the movie Baoqiang is in?" Lin Hongyuan looked at them and asked.

"I saw it. It seems to be called something like 'lost on journey'." The Extra who first saw Wang Baoqiang's poster spoke up.

Hearing the name, Lin Hongyuan took out his flip phone, noted down the movie title, and planned to search for it at an internet cafe tomorrow.

The group of Extras were still discussing. Besides playing cards, they didn't have much other entertainment. Now that they finally had a topic they could talk about, they naturally couldn't stop chatting.

At that moment, two people were unusually quiet on the side.

Those were Qian San and Li Qiang.

Before, they had looked down on Wang Baoqiang, thinking he had just gotten lucky and would end up a clown in the end.

But now, Wang Baoqiang was truly popular. This made them feel their faces stinging, as if they had been slapped... Beijing Film Academy.

After finishing filming the movie, Zhang Songwen returned to his normal teaching life.

Today, Zhang Songwen went to teach an acting class.

As soon as he arrived at the classroom, he heard the students whispering and discussing.

Listening carefully, he realized their topic of discussion seemed related to "lost on journey."

Seeing this, Zhang Songwen wasn't particularly surprised.

At that moment, the students in the class noticed Zhang Songwen's arrival. The noise in the classroom immediately vanished, and it instantly became quiet.

Just then, a student suddenly raised his hand, stood up, and asked, "Teacher, I have a question."

Seeing this, Zhang Songwen was momentarily taken aback, then said, "What question? If I know, I'll answer you."

"Teacher, are you and Wang Baoqiang close?"

Hearing the student ask this question, Zhang Songwen immediately felt somewhat helpless.

"Of course!"

"Then, teacher, I also want to ask, did Wang Baoqiang really drink that milk in that scene?"

As soon as this student finished speaking, all the students in the class started discussing again.

Before Zhang Songwen could answer that classmate, another female student stood up and asked a question.

"Teacher, is Senior Chen Le very handsome?"

As soon as the girl asked, the entire classroom burst into laughter.

Seeing this, Zhang Songwen felt quite helpless.