82: Zhao Yanzi

On the campus of the Beijing Film Academy, Li Xiuwu walked in front, while Liu Yifei followed behind him, skipping along.

"I've stepped on you, don't move," Liu Yifei's pretty voice called out.

She was playing a game of chasing Li Xiuwu's shadow, stepping on his arms, his chest, and his head, being very childish.

"Ouch." Liu Yifei, who was looking down at the shadow, bumped her head straight into Li Xiuwu's back.

"Why did you stop all of a sudden?" she asked, clutching her forehead.

"Didn't you tell me to stop?" Li Xiuwu's gaze turned toward a car driving past them.

Who was this? Even more arrogant than him, a Holy Son of the Sect, daring to drive a car right up to the office building.

"Hmph." Feeling in the wrong, Liu Yifei gave an angry huff and walked past Li Xiuwu with her head held high.

"Hey, hey, it's Little Swallow." Liu Yifei suddenly exclaimed as she saw a woman get out of the car.

Zhao Yanzi also heard Liu Yifei's exclamation and turned her head to look; the face seemed a bit familiar, but she didn't recognize her.

Probably some minor star from the Beijing Film Academy, she thought to herself. Ignoring the two of them, she walked straight into the office building.

"So arrogant." Liu Yifei looked at Zhao Yanzi's back, feeling that she was completely different from her persona on screen.

"Of course. Look at the gap between you and her," Li Xiuwu said, looking at her.

Liu Yifei turned to look at Li Xiuwu. "Is there no gap for you either?"

"I feel nauseous just looking at her. Blegh."

"Huh?" Liu Yifei looked at Li Xiuwu in surprise. This was the first time she had heard him express such a strong dislike for someone.

Even with Jiang Yiyan, Li Xiuwu just didn't want to bother with her.

"Stop 'huh'-ing. What classes do you have today?"

"I'm going to audit a class in the Directing Department." Liu Yifei was still wondering why Li Xiuwu disliked Zhao Yanzi, thinking they might have had some prior contact.

"Go on then. I'll let the teacher know on the Acting Department's side," Li Xiuwu told her.

"Oh, okay, I'm off then." Liu Yifei turned and walked toward the Directing Department.

Li Xiuwu went to the Acting Department, and as soon as he entered the building, he was called to the office by a phone call from Wang Jinsong.

"Teacher, you were looking for me? I didn't bring anything this time." As soon as Li Xiuwu walked in, his first sentence made Wang Jinsong's brow twitch.

"You little rascal, am I the kind of person who's after your stuff?"

"How could that be? Teacher, you're a good teacher who cares for his students. What resources have you prepared for me today?" As he spoke, he went to brew tea for Wang Jinsong.

"Only you, kid." Wang Jinsong pointed at him and laughed.

He indeed had a bit of a soft spot for this boy.

"Zhao Yanzi has come to the school. I'll take you to meet her in a bit. She has a good standing in the industry now and many projects in hand. She's the lead in 'smoke and clouds of the capital'. Getting to know her could bring you many benefits."

Wang Jinsong was truly considering Li Xiuwu's interests. Ever since Zhao Yanzi became a massive hit with 'My Fair Princess', her popularity had remained very high, and she had a constant stream of high-quality projects. Although none had replicated the height of 'My Fair Princess', she was definitely a top-tier female artist in the mainland.

"Is that... necessary?" Li Xiuwu's movements paused upon hearing Wang Jinsong's words.

"Just to get to know her, it won't hurt. I'll take you over," Wang Jinsong said.

"I really hope you take a supporting role in 'smoke and clouds of the capital' so you can build a good relationship with her."

As Li Xiuwu poured tea for his teacher, his mind raced. This person who had worn a Japanese military flag and assaulted a pregnant woman, and whose artists were almost all pro-Japan—who would believe she didn't know anything about it?

In comparison, Li Xiuwu felt that exploiting her fans was actually her least significant problem.

"Teacher, our company has a conflict with her."

Wang Jinsong was indeed thinking of him, and Li Xiuwu really couldn't think of a reason to refuse, so he simply pushed it onto the company.

"The company?" Wang Jinsong looked up at Li Xiuwu.

Golden Culture—he had looked into it, as it was the company of his most-valued student.

Originally, he hadn't wanted Li Xiuwu to sign with a company, but rather to use the school's resources to promote him. To that end, he had even blocked Wang Jinghua when she reached out, simply because he didn't want Li Xiuwu to be restricted by a company.

He hadn't expected Li Xiuwu to have already signed with Golden Culture before enrolling.

"What's the conflict? I can help mediate for you."

"I'll contact the company later to ask about it," Li Xiuwu said.

Wang Jinsong looked at Li Xiuwu and fell silent for a moment. He began to understand; it probably wasn't just a company issue, but that Li Xiuwu personally didn't want to know Zhao Yanzi.

Wang Jinsong couldn't quite understand it. Zhao Yanzi was a flagship of the Beijing Film Academy; which student wouldn't want to get to know her?

"Fine, since you have your own plans, I won't interfere. About the script I showed you last time—'home with kids' starts filming in early May. You only have two episodes, with a fee of five thousand yuan over three days. Make the arrangements."

"Okay, I understand." Li Xiuwu nodded.

"'the legendary twins' will be filmed in July. It's a film by Fatty Wang, so the shooting time probably won't be too long. The roles haven't been finalized yet, but I should be able to get one for you."

"I won't try to get you a spot in 'smoke and clouds of the capital' then." Sensing Li Xiuwu's thoughts, he stopped putting effort into that project.

"Thank you, Teacher. You've worked hard." Li Xiuwu poured more tea for Wang Jinsong.

He personally wasn't very thirsty for resources, but the fact that his teacher was willing to give them moved him deeply.

"Perform well, and the school won't mistreat you." Wang Jinsong stood up and patted Li Xiuwu on the shoulder.

"I definitely won't let the school's cultivation go to waste," Li Xiuwu promised, patting his chest.

"Teacher, in the future, you will definitely be proud to have been my teacher. I'll make those teachers from Tsinghua and Peking University have to call you 'Teacher Wang' when they're in front of you."

"You certainly have high hopes, kid." Wang Jinsong looked at Li Xiuwu speechlessly.

"If those bastards from Tsinghua and Peking University don't tell me to get lost when they see me, I'll be satisfied."

"Hehe, Teacher, I'll definitely work hard."

"Get out, get out." Wang Jinsong waved his hand, shooing Li Xiuwu away. No matter how much status an artist had, at most, it would make Tsinghua and Peking University spare them a glance; how much glory could their teacher really share?

Li Xiuwu said no more and returned to the classroom.

His appearance attracted many people's attention, some flashing with jealousy; he had been called away by the teacher as soon as he arrived, who knew what special treatment he was getting again.

"Bro, you really are my brother." Zhu Yawen sat in the seat next to Li Xiuwu.

"What's wrong?" Li Xiuwu asked him.

"The 'new strange tales' production team gave me the male lead, Ning Caichen, for the 'A Chinese Ghost Story' segment." Zhu Yawen was overjoyed.

This was his first time serving as a male lead, even if it was just for a segment of an anthology series.

"Then you must seize the opportunity."

Li Xiuwu had only recommended Zhu Yawen to Wang Cheng; he hadn't expected Wang Cheng to directly give him the lead of a segment.

He had seen the script for 'new strange tales'; the most brilliant part should be the 'Painted Skin' segment.

"Yeah, I'll definitely bring out all my acting skills."

"Good luck then." Li Xiuwu nodded.