Chapter 26: Empress Dowager Su was truly shaken this time!

"Dangerous, d-a-n... dangerous, dangerous!"
"Darkness, d-a-r... darkness, darkness, gloomy!"
"..."

In the evening, Chen Jin was in his hotel room, going through the daily routine of an actor. His recitation of the words lacked rhythm and energy, even though he was diligently practicing his vocalization. Later, he would have to go downstairs and run around the hotel to work on his physical form. He certainly wouldn't forget the four daily training pillars for an actor, as they were tied to "streak" rewards and "check-ins."

Although his skills in voice, stage performance, physical expression, and characterization were still only at the "proficient" level, the fact that he had achieved such results in just over half a month proved that the system's rewards were quite potent—in fact, Chen Jin had already sensed this through his character immersion.

However, his progress in lines this time was not significant. Previously, half an hour of reading would add at least one point, but now, it remained completely stagnant. It wasn't that the system was malfunctioning, but rather that Chen Jin—and the system—both had issues.

41%... 45%... 56%... 63%...

The system was acting like a lunatic. The progress bar for that task jumped every few minutes, as if it were suffering from intermittent insanity. It was so distracting that Chen Jin couldn't calm down to read his lines at all; his mind was entirely fixed on that progress bar. He wanted to see just how long this task progress would keep jumping.

He watched it jump for a full half hour.

99%!

It stopped.

After a full half hour, the progress bar had finally reached 99%. Just as Chen Jin thought it was about to hit 100%, it refused to budge even a fraction further. He waited for five full minutes, but instead of the progress bar reaching 100%, he heard familiar footsteps coming from outside the door.

*Swish!*

He immediately straightened up and began to immerse himself in the cadence and inflection of his English recitation.

Su Wanyu had just finished a phone call with Chen Jin's father, telling him about the possibility of Chen Jin passing the arts exam. She hadn't expected that Chen Xianqi, who had always been on her side, would actually support their son's decision to pursue the arts! Was it because she wasn't home that things had turned upside down?

Su Wanyu was in a foul mood. Just as she was about to take her room card to swipe the door, her phone rang again. Another unfamiliar number from Beijing? Had this kid performed so well in the arts exam that so many talent agencies were reaching out to him? Su Wanyu stood at the door, staring intently at the incoming call, eventually deciding to hear what Chen Jin had to say first.

*Beep!*

She swiped the card and pushed the door open. It was the first time Su Wanyu had listened so carefully to Chen Jin's English pronunciation. Although the words still carried a thick, local Su-South accent, why did it have a hint of the melodic style of Suzhou Pingtan? The words, even if mispronounced, sounded strangely magnetic and pleasant. Why was that? This kid didn't use to read English like this.

Still, Su Wanyu rather liked this new pronunciation. At least it was loud and clear, much better than the gibberish, mumbled, and pretentious chanting he used to do, which sounded like a monk reciting scriptures.

"Did his pronunciation really change?"
"Did he secretly learn some vocal technique to fix it?"

Su Wanyu speculated privately, listening to Chen Jin's recitation, so much so that she completely forgot about the incoming call. By the time she realized it, the caller had already hung up.

"Xiao Jin, stop for a moment!" Su Wanyu sat on the edge of the bed and called out to him.

Chen Jin stopped and turned around. "Madam, what's up?"

"Be serious!" Su Wanyu was worried sick by how unserious this kid was all day long. "Another unfamiliar call from Beijing! I assume it's another talent agency. Should I pick it up?"

Despite her words, Su Wanyu sighed. "Son, have you really thought this through? Are you really prepared to enter this... entertainment industry?"

"Yes, I've thought it through!" Chen Jin was very serious this time, and when he was serious, he looked quite handsome—a bright, sunny kind of handsome. When he wasn't, he had a roguish charm. The two vibes were akin to Ah Zu in *New Police Story* and the actor who played him. The roguish charm was Ah Zu, the serious side was Daniel Wu; he could switch between them at will.

"Sigh, this entertainment industry... mother has heard it's very chaotic!" Su Wanyu was still deeply concerned. In her heart, she wanted Chen Jin to follow the path of traditional academics; she would have felt relieved even if he had become a teacher like her. But the entertainment industry—she was truly... very uneasy.

However, the fact that Chen Jin could pass the arts exam proved he must have put in immense effort behind the scenes. Seeing his son make such changes for a goal showed just how much he liked and was dedicated to the path of acting and filmmaking. That was why she was so conflicted. Internally, she didn't want Chen Jin to be an actor, but from a mother's perspective, she felt she should support her child's dream.

"Mom, don't worry. No matter how chaotic it is, I'm still your son!"

"Haha!" Su Wanyu looked up and brushed back her hair. In her youth, "Empress Su" had been a beauty herself. "Don't think that just because your mother is a teacher, she's an old stubborn fool. That's not necessarily true!"

"Perhaps in the future, you'll turn into my daughter!"

Chen Jin: "..."

*No, Mom, your way of thinking is too avant-garde. It’s even more wild than those LGBT themes in future autobiographical films!*

"So, should I call this number back?" Su Wanyu shook her phone. The next second, as if by coincidence, the call came in again.

"It seems she's very persistent."
"Mom, give it to me. I'll talk to them."
"Put it on speaker. I'm afraid they'll try to scam you... your father said the waters in this circle are deep!"
"Okay!"

Chen Jin took the phone, swiped up, and turned on the speakerphone.

"Hello, is this Chen Jin's mother? I am the one from a few days ago—"

"Director?" Chen Jin recognized Fu Lulu's voice immediately, his eyes fixed on the motionless 99% task progress bar.

*No way? Could this be the audition?*

Zhang Yimou's *Under the Hawthorn Tree* audition?

"Was she just discussing with Zhang Yimou whether to have me audition, which is why the progress bar jumped so fast?"

Chen Jin reacted instantly, while hearing Fu Lulu's smiling voice in his ear: "Oh, you remember me? Nice, nice. Are you free tomorrow? Director Zhang Yimou would like to meet you!"

*Clang!*

That was the sound of Su Wanyu's heel hitting the hotel's wooden floor. She had been sitting in a teacher's typical posture, one leg crossed over the other, but Fu Lulu's words had shocked her so much that her foot had involuntarily slammed onto the floor. It was a completely unconscious reflex.

Fu Lulu could guess why that happened. Anyone hearing that Zhang Yimou wanted to meet them would have a significant reaction, right? She thought it was Chen Jin who had made the noise, but Chen Jin was far more composed than Su Wanyu. "Okay, what time tomorrow?"

"How about the afternoon? 2 PM, how does that sound?"

"Fine, I'm busy in the morning anyway. The preliminary results for the Beijing Film Academy arts exam are out!" Chen Jin said this almost subconsciously.

Fu Lulu chuckled. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, hopefully I pass..."

"Do you want the truth?" Fu Lulu giggled and didn't hold back. "From the perspective of an assistant director, I'd say... passing the preliminary round shouldn't be a problem for you!"

"Really?" Chen Jin retorted.

"Haha, then let me congratulate you in advance on passing the preliminary round. Remember to tell me your results!"

"Are there results for the preliminary round?" Chen Jin actually didn't know that.

"Yes, but they won't write out the specific scores. There's a ranking... Did you go to the bulletin board in Building B for the arts exam?"

"Yes!"

"Then check which row and column your name is in!" Fu Lulu sounded very experienced; after all, she was a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy's acting department. "Usually, the first column is the batch with the best results. Basically... everyone there can pass the third round!"

"The first column?"

"Yes, the first column consists of those who performed best in the preliminary round!"

"Okay, thank you, sister!"

Chen Jin even changed his address for her. Fu Lulu certainly noticed, but she didn't mind; many artists in this circle were this clever. Those with low emotional intelligence couldn't survive in this business.

"Alright then... see you tomorrow!"
"See you tomorrow afternoon!"

Chen Jin waited for the other party to hang up before sliding the phone down. He turned, ready to return the phone to his mother, only to find Empress Su staring straight at him. On her face was an expression Chen Jin had never seen before—shock, disbelief, "how is this possible"... a complex look where countless emotions were intertwined!