41: Tsinghua and Peking University expose each other's shortcomings

Li Xiuwu thought to himself that since Shu Chang's uncle knew his address, judging by his tone earlier, he clearly still hoped that Shu Chang would apply to Tsinghua or Peking University.

No parent, seeing their child become a top scholar, would ever let her go to the Beijing Film Academy.

It was only because Li Xiuwu had no parents looking over him at the time; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to apply to the Beijing Film Academy last year.

Look at Liu Xiaoli; she wished Shu Chang was her own daughter, so she could twist her ear and force her to choose one of the two from Tsinghua and Peking University.

He picked up his phone and called Wang Jinsong.

"Teacher Wang, isn't our Beijing Film Academy a bit weak?" Li Xiuwu started, leaving Wang Jinsong stunned.

"What are you trying to say, kid?"

"Tsinghua and Peking University already know Shu Chang's scores. As the top liberal arts scholar today, I reckon they'll be blocking our gates any minute now."

"What?" Wang Jinsong stood up abruptly.

"You're not lying to me?"

"The Gaokao results will be made public in three days. Should we just wait until then?" Li Xiuwu said to him.

"Then it'll all be over." Wang Jinsong knew this couldn't wait.

Li Xiuwu reminded Wang Jinsong at this moment:

"Shu Chang is different from me. She has adults in her family, and now that she's a top scholar of the college entrance examination, my promise that she would definitely come to the Beijing Film Academy doesn't count anymore."

"No way. Where is Shu Chang? Bring her to the Beijing Film Academy." Wang Jinsong immediately thought of detaining her first. Regardless of the scores, as long as he had the person in his hands, he wouldn't lose out.

"Teacher, we are the Beijing Film Academy, not Peking University. You dare to detain people?" Li Xiuwu was surprised. Had the Beijing Film Academy become so arrogant now that they dared to detain even a top scholar of the college entrance examination?

Tsinghua and Peking University dared to keep a top scholar of the college entrance examination locked inside their school, refusing to let them out, and would even detain the police if they came.

What was the Beijing Film Academy, that they dared to do such a thing?

"I'm coming over immediately." Wang Jinsong also understood the weight of the Beijing Film Academy. If he really detained someone, people would dare to smash down the Beijing Film Academy's gates to demand the person back, and even the principal wouldn't be able to handle it.

Regardless, the Beijing Film Academy had to make an effort. If they recruited Shu Chang, and had the Beijing top scholar apply to the Beijing Film Academy for two consecutive years, who would dare to say that the Beijing Film Academy was a gathering place for the illiterate?

"You kid, do you have any ideas?" Wang Jinsong asked him.

"I heard Zhang Yimou is filming a movie this year." Li Xiuwu said.

"You really dare to think big, kid." Wang Jinsong hung up the phone.

As he walked out, he called the Dean, Zhang Jun.

"Go, you must go. Whatever promises we made to Li Xiuwu last year, you can offer them all."

"Dean, Shu Chang is different from Li Xiuwu. Li Xiuwu has no elders at home; he can make his own decisions."

Wang Jinsong also understood why this was difficult; parents would absolutely never agree to let their child, who had become a top scholar, apply to the Beijing Film Academy.

If this were in the countryside, and your child became a top scholar, if you let them apply to the Beijing Film Academy, the town mayor could hint to the village chief to gather a few old men to beat you up.

If there was a clan, the elders in the clan—seventy or eighty-year-old men and women—would sit at your house day and night.

If you dared to apply to the Beijing Film Academy, they would break your legs.

Zhang Jun was also silent. In this era, if you could get good grades, who would apply to an art school?

"Try your best." He was a bit irritable; art schools were just looked down upon, and that wasn't something he could change.

Hearing this, Wang Jinsong felt a bit discouraged.

He thought of the request Li Xiuwu had made, gritted his teeth, and said: "Li Xiuwu mentioned Zhang Yimou's movie. Do you think we can get the role of the female lead?"

"Huh?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jun thought of Zhang Yimou's movie, House of Flying Daggers.

"Who is the female lead again?" He asked.

"Zhang Ziyi." Wang Jinsong had already gone downstairs and sat in the car.

"Another one from the Central Academy of Drama. The Central Academy of Drama is our bane." Zhang Jun was already irritable, and hearing the name Zhang Ziyi, he immediately cursed.

"I'll call him."

...

Just as Li Xiuwu had thought, Shu Chang's uncle hoped that Shu Chang would choose Tsinghua or Peking University. He brought teachers from both universities to the entrance of Li Xiuwu's Courtyard House.

Li Xiuwu opened the door, but no one was in the mood to admire the flowers filling the courtyard.

"Teachers, please come in and sit." Li Xiuwu invited them into the main living room in the front yard.

The teachers from Tsinghua and Peking University saw Shu Chang and immediately surrounded her, introducing themselves.

Liu Xiaoli helped greet everyone and sat them down, her face full of envy.

"Teachers, talking like this won't help Shu Chang make a decision. Let's sit down, have some tea, and moisten your throats first. If you have any conditions, feel free to bring them up, and we'll see if Chang Chang can meet them."

Li Xiuwu said loudly, drawing everyone's attention to him. His words were sarcastic.

The admissions teacher from Tsinghua knew he was Li Xiuwu and really wanted to come over and ask him what was so good about the Beijing Film Academy?

The admissions teachers from both schools and the accompanying admissions office students looked at each other and sat on either side of the living room.

Shu Chang's uncle and she sat in the middle.

Li Xiuwu and the mother-daughter duo, Liu Yifei and her mother, watched the commotion from the doorway.

"Those people are heavily bureaucratic and have a stifling internal academic atmosphere."

"You people from Wudaokou are dogmatic, your teaching is rigid, and you have no flair at all."

"Last year, you had students call our registration hotline, causing our line to be busy the whole time?"

"It sounds as if you didn't have people call our hotline. You even paid for information to deceive examinees."

To win over the top scholar, both sides glared at each other and exposed each other's shortcomings.

Li Xiuwu and Liu Yifei stood at the doorway, watching the commotion with stunned expressions. Liu Xiaoli was truly full of envy.

Li Xiuwu had heard of this situation; he hadn't had any contact with either side last year. He had withstood the pressure from the school and insisted on applying to the Beijing Film Academy.

This year, it was different for Shu Chang; she had family. Her aunt even called from abroad, and her teachers at school kept calling to persuade her to choose Tsinghua or Peking University.

Fortunately, this was Beijing. If it were in other provinces or cities, city leaders and county leaders would visit your home to keep an eye on which school you were applying to.

"We offer free tuition and a 50,000 scholarship."

"We offer 60,000, and the department can also give 20,000." The Peking University representative added.

"We at the Beijing Film Academy offer 100,000." Wang Jinsong rushed over, and seeing the two sides arguing, he spoke up immediately.

"Get out." The team leaders from the two universities, Tsinghua and Peking, spoke at the same time.

Wang Jinsong was furious for a moment, standing at the doorway, looking at Shu Chang, and then turning back to look at Li Xiuwu.

Li Xiuwu spread his hands. He wasn't in charge of admissions for the Beijing Film Academy, so he had no need to offend both Tsinghua and Peking University for the sake of the Beijing Film Academy.

"We at Peking University also have a film and television major. You can apply for a double degree. If you need resources in the film and television industry, we can also provide them." He glanced at Wang Jinsong and then turned his head away.

Tsinghua didn't even look at Wang Jinsong, clearly not taking him seriously.

Wang Jinsong looked at the situation on site and felt extremely stifled; the chance of winning over Shu Chang was slim.

He had status in the entertainment industry, but in front of Tsinghua and Peking University, he hardly had a chance to speak. Every time he opened his mouth, he was glared at by them.

He suddenly received a call, sighed, and sat down on the chair Li Xiuwu had gotten for him.

"What's up? About what I mentioned?" Li Xiuwu felt that his request wasn't excessive; Shu Chang entering the Beijing Film Academy was quite important for the school. It was just securing the female lead for House of Flying Daggers; the Beijing Film Academy should be able to pull that off.

"Zhang Yimou can't make the decision." Wang Jinsong said.

"That's an excuse. Zhang Ziyi was chosen by him." Li Xiuwu frowned; it seemed the Beijing Film Academy had given up.

Shu Chang was also a bit confused. She had promised Li Xiuwu that she would take the exam for the Beijing Film Academy, but now with these scores, plus her uncle's eager gaze and the calls from her high school teachers...

She looked at Li Xiuwu.

Li Xiuwu walked over generously. The teachers from both Tsinghua and Peking University twitched their eyelids; they had fallen into this kid's hands last year.

Wang Jinsong was also full of anticipation; if this kid's words had any effect, then it was still possible for Shu Chang to come to the Beijing Film Academy.

"You have to make your own decision. This is your life. Even if you choose Tsinghua or Peking University, they wouldn't stop you from acting, would they?" Li Xiuwu looked at the teachers from Tsinghua and Peking University.

The teachers from both sides nodded frantically. They didn't care about the future grades of one or two students. The students they cherry-picked were the top students in the country; even if no one taught them for four years and they relied entirely on self-study, a few top talents would still emerge.

The admission scores of the students were directly related to the funding applied for this year.