Chapter 3: Farewell, Hengdian; Hello, Imperial Capital!

  He Mu quickly made up his mind to leave tomorrow, first taking a car to Yiwu and then flying directly from Yiwu Airport to Beijing. However, before leaving, he wanted to say goodbye to Chang Dabao, after all, Brother Bao had taken good care of him for the past few months. Although they didn't have a strict contract, it wouldn't be right to leave without saying a word.

  It's a bit past eight o'clock, not too late, He Mu bought a bottle of his hometown's old white wine and a catty of braised meat, and headed straight to Chang Dabao's house.

  The door was opened by Fu Xiaomei, Chang Dabao's wife, a middle-aged woman who didn't talk much but had a kind and gentle expression.

  "Mei Jie, is Bao Ge at home?" He Mu asked.

  "Xiao Mu, Da Bao is at home, come on in." Mei had met He Mu a few times and still had some impression of this young man.

  "Hey, you little rascal, I see you're here to bribe me. Let's make a deal, if I accept your gift, I'll help you get a role in the top 10." Chang Da Bao said with a humorous tone, but his mind was thinking that with his connections, he should be able to help this kid get a role in the top 19, and maybe he should give him a hand.

  "I'd rather play the leading role, not some supporting character." He Quan couldn't help but feel proud of himself and started teasing Chang Dabao. He put down the wine and meat in his hands and sat steadily on the stool.

  "Has Xiaomu eaten? I just cleared the table. Would you like me to heat up some food for you?" asked Mei Jie politely.

  "No need, Mei Jie," He Mu hurriedly waved his hand. "Or you can help me cut this braised meat, I'll have a drink with Bao Ge."

  Mei Jie took away the braised meat, leaving only Chang Dabao and He Mu in the living room. Chang Dabao looked at He Mu with suspicion: "What nonsense were you spouting earlier? Do you think you can directly change from a supporting role to the leading role?"

  He Mu smiled and said, "I came this time just to say goodbye to you. There's a play in Beijing that wants me as the male lead, I'm going over tomorrow."

  "What! You're kidding me?" Chang Dabao's eyes widened in disbelief.

  "How could I cheat you?" He Mu smiled and said, at this time Mei Jie brought the meat and two glass cups up, then went back to the inner room. He Mu filled the wine for both of them, seeing that Chang Da Bao was still maintaining a shocked expression, he pushed the wine in front of him, "Listen to me slowly."

  "Speak quickly, I'd like to see which director is so blind." Chang Dabao drained the cup of wine in one gulp, gesturing for He Mufen to come up.

  He Mian repeated what Li Wen Hua had just mentioned, but he also reserved some information and only said that there was no pay for the film, and that he had to "invest" 20,000 yuan, which he kept secret. If Zhang Da Bao were to find out, who knows how he would despise himself? Thinking about it, this is probably also a case of buying a role with money, which isn't a very glorious thing.

  Chang Da Bao heard that He Mu was introduced by a friend and got this opportunity, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "More friends, more roads, this saying is indeed true! Come on, let's drink to friendship!"

  He Mu drank a glass in one gulp, then refilled the two cups. After downing the wine, Da Bao started talking a lot, patting He Mu's shoulder and congratulating him on finally making it big. He Mu humbly said it's not certain yet if he'll be popular.

  "No matter how popular you are, at least you've played the male lead before, that's your capital. Later on, you can run around and compete for some real roles in drama groups, and those who work with you are students from Northern Film Academy, juniors of Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, that's connections, that's relationships! In this circle, if you want to make a name for yourself without any connections or relationships, it's tough!" Chang Dabao waved his hand with a flushed face.

  "So in this circle, you must be humble and polite, never get arrogant just because of a little achievement, looking down on everything and everyone, this is a big taboo, you must first learn to be a person," Chang Da Bao said with emphasis, "Let's take Huang Xiao Ming and Zhou Jie who are filming in our studio at the same time, their attitude towards people and things are completely different. I'm telling you, don't look at how popular Zhou Jie is now, and his acting skills aren't bad either, but I guarantee that within three years, Huang Xiao Ming will definitely surpass him, and by a wide margin..."

  Chang Dabao, who had drunk a lot of wine, talked a lot, usually he was the one talking and He Mu listening. This time he listened very seriously, remembering every word in his heart. This was a veteran's experience accumulated over a decade, from which He Mu benefited greatly.

  He Miao was sent out by Chang Dabao, who was shaking his body. He didn't drink much, and more than half of the braised meat went into his belly. The next day, he didn't go to work with the group, and after getting up, he left directly.

  After returning, He Mu first cleaned himself up and before going to bed, took out his diary and recorded the events of the day. This habit had been maintained for some years without a single interruption, no matter how much or little, something must be written every day, if there was no time one day, it would be made up for the next day, this had become a part of his life.

  The next morning was clear and sunny, a good day for traveling. He Bao only brought a backpack, lightly equipped, as the taxi took him further and further away from Hengdian Film and TV City. He looked back at the place where he had struggled for several months, feeling reluctant to leave, proud, and a little sour. At this moment, his inner monologue was: I will be back!

  ……

  Buy a ticket for the same day's flight, He Mu calls Li Wen Hua to inform him of his arrival time and asks him to prepare to pick him up.

  He Mu closed his eyes on the plane, ready to welcome new opportunities, and the experiences of the past two years flashed through his mind like slides.

  In January 2004, just after the Spring Festival, He Mu, a third-year high school student who was still considered to be well-behaved and academically excellent, suddenly became infatuated with the film industry and came alone to Beijing to take part in the art examination of the Film Academy. Due to inadequate preparation, he was eliminated in the first round. After drifting in Beijing for a period of time, he returned home and took the college entrance examination. He Mu's college entrance examination results were not bad, and he could have been admitted to an ordinary key university. However, he did not attend, and despite his family and friends' opposition, he continued to drift in Beijing and enrolled in a class to study acting, preparing to continue fighting for admission to the Film Academy.

  In February 2005, He Mu made great progress in his performance and related knowledge during the Northern Film Academy entrance examination. He successfully passed the initial and re-examination rounds, but unexpectedly missed the final round of exams, resulting in another missed opportunity with the film academy.

  The day the film academy announced its list, He Mu also went. Looking at those young people who took the exam with him cheering and crying with joy, He Mu felt very uncomfortable in his heart. If it weren't for that incident, he might have been one of them.

  Perhaps He Mu can continue to build momentum and wait for next year's art exam, but during this period he doesn't plan to stay in Beijing. Instead, he heads south to Xiangshan, then drifts to Hengdian, working as an extra for almost a year. At this time, he thinks that maybe he can't be born with a prestigious background from Northern Film, Central Drama or Shanghai Theatre Academy, but rising from a minor role to the leading man step by step is not necessarily a bad path.

  With this idea, He Mu worked hard and diligently, humble and cautious, kind to others, and played a minor role for almost half a year, but he never got that lucky chance. However, he didn't get discouraged, and continued to seize every opportunity to improve his acting skills and knowledge, expand his connections, until last night's phone call from Li Wen Hua, he felt this should be the chance he had been waiting for, grasping it tightly, the road ahead might be smooth sailing, and he could take big strides forward!

  The plane was fast, and in just a few hours it had traversed half of China. Through the glass window, He Mu's gaze fell upon the ancient yet modern thousand-year-old imperial capital below...