Chapter 49 Crimson Face and Manic Rose

Clap, clap, clap!

The thunderous applause made Su Wanyu, standing outside the entrance of the Central Academy of Drama examination hall, experience a fleeting illusion once again.

Was this round of applause meant for her son as well?

By now, she was clearly no longer an ignorant art exam mother. The voice that had just been reciting lines should belong to Chen Jin, even though during this period, the boy's voice had changed drastically, much like going through puberty.

Still, Su Wanyu managed to recognize it.

"That must mean young Chen's individual talent performance went very well!"

Dilimurat said to Su Wanyu with a smile. Actually, he had also recognized that it was Chen Jin performing just now.

"I have no idea, I hope so!"

"It should be fine!"

Dilimurat wasn't nearly as nervous about the secondary examination as he had been for the preliminary round.

That was because the secondary examination tested special talents.

Dilireba was quite skilled in this aspect.

However, this time Dilireba was not in the same examination hall as Chen Jin, and their schedules were off by an hour. The father and daughter had just arrived.

"Next!"

Inside the examination hall, the chief examiner called out without even raising their head. Chen Jin did not recognize this examiner.

They were probably a teacher from the Central Academy of Drama who had never acted in any notable productions.

Swish!

A tall and gracefully proportioned girl suddenly stood up and walked to the center of the stage.

Chen Jin had just sat down, and as he looked at the beauty stepping onto the stage, his expression involuntarily froze.

Is... is it her?

She looks so much like her.

Right now, she appeared much younger and more naive, but that innate aloof and cold temperament about her was quite similar to how she looked in the future biographical film.

Zhu Yanmanzi!

The actress who played the female second lead, Hao Xiaoxi, in *The Wandering Earth 2*. The future Chen Jin had collaborated with her before.

However, unlike her future look with professional attire and a sharp ponytail, right now she had her long hair draped over her shoulders, a smile on her face, a high-collared sweater that accentuated her wonderful figure, and a pair of jeans that made her legs look exceptionally long.

Even Dilireba wasn't as tall as her. Chen Jin had just heard her self-introduction; she was 171 cm tall and originally from Inner Mongolia.

Dilireba was 169 cm tall.

"It really has to be her!"

"I never expected her to be in the same graduating year as me?"

Chen Jin felt a bit surprised. Listening to her poetry recitation, perhaps due to her Inner Mongolian background, her articulation, rhythm, and pronunciation were somewhat average, but her talent performance was quite stellar.

One could tell at a glance that she had professional training; she was performing a ethnic minority dance, and her flexibility and physique made even Chen Jin feel a trace of admiration.

Those split-leg aerial kicks and consecutive leg swings—anyway, even with Chen Jin practicing his body shaping every day, he couldn't reach that level, barely managing a squatting split at most.

And that was still the result of system enhancements.

"Hoo~~~"

After finishing a dance lasting a little over three minutes, Zhu Yanmanzi wiped the sweat from her forehead while slightly out of breath, bowed, and retreated back to her seat.

Many male students couldn't help casting a few extra glances at her. Among the entire examination hall, her appearance and temperament could be considered among the very top tier. Judging from Chen Jin's current semi-professional standards, passing the secondary examination was an absolute certainty for her.

Besides, she would eventually be admitted to the Central Academy of Drama in the future and even be exempted from the entrance examination for her performance graduate studies.

In the future, Chen Jin had collaborated with her once; well, he had always remembered her vividly and paid special attention to her.

They even interacted with each other on Douyin and Weibo.

"Not bad, you punk may not be doing great yourself, but your taste is quite picky!"

"This girl is indeed something!"

Chen Jin muttered complaints to his future self inside his mind. Actually, their examination hall had just gotten started; he had been the first to go on stage, and Zhu Yanmanzi was the second. Her preliminary exam scores should have been quite good as well, at least reaching the top ten level.

Candidate after candidate took the stage in turn, while over a dozen kilometers away in Zhang Yimou's office, Director Zhang had just woken up.

Last night, he had spent past midnight selecting the female leads for *The Love of Hawthorn Tree*, reserving a few for the Beijing Film Academy, but he always felt something was slightly lacking. Let alone comparing them to Chen Jin, even that Dou Xiao couldn't measure up.

Ironically, male actors had currently become the aspect he was most satisfied with.

Whenever he thought about Chen Jin's performance a few days ago, Zhang Yimou grew increasingly unimpressed with the female actors selected by the Beijing Film Academy.

Yet he simply couldn't turn down Zhang Huijun's favor.

"Director Zhang, are you awake?"

Outside the bedroom door, his assistant Pang Liwei knocked. Zhang Yimou rubbed his face; his already wrinkled old face became even more creased and aged.

Old Zhang had indeed worked hard these past few days. He didn't even have the mind for unwritten rules; his entire brain was occupied solely by the leading roles for two films.

From this perspective, Old Zhang was still quite dedicated in certain aspects—at least when seriously shooting a movie, he never compromised. But when it came to cashing in and harvesting commercial profits, he wouldn't blink an eye either.

Treating everyone equally was his main motto.

Screech!

He dressed, opened the door, and couldn't help stretching lazily. Pang Liwei hurriedly said, "Director Zhang, Li爽 (Li Shuang) just called me. Over at the Nanjing University of the Arts side, they found someone quite suitable for Jingqiu, but she's an art exam candidate!"

"Another art exam candidate?"

Zhang Yimou turned back with a smile and pointed toward the conference room.

Pang Liwei immediately walked in, started the equipment, and projected the photos and information.

A rather delicate, somewhat sorrowful-looking little face appeared on the projection screen.

"Stop right there!"

Zhang Yimou sat down, cupped his chin in his hand, and remained silent, his eyes fixed intently on the photograph before him.

"Next!"

Slap!

This was a full-body profile photograph. A thin, petite young girl who looked as if she had just begun puberty, her eyes holding a trace of timidity.

Just like that, one photograph after another of this young girl flashed past before Zhang Yimou's eyes.

Finally, a faint smile appeared on Zhang Yimou's face. "We can have this girl come to Beijing to try out. Which school is she preparing to test for?"

"Nanjing University of the Arts!"

"Coincidentally, she was originally looking for Yumoh at Nanjing University of the Arts, but she happened to spot this little girl waiting in line for the exams, so Li Shuang kept it in mind and took a few photos of her!"

"Haven't we found a suitable person for Yumoh yet?"

Zhang Yimou suddenly asked.

"We found one, they said there's a Nanjing University of the Arts student proficient in English and the Nanjing dialect, but we haven't met her in person yet."

"That's good. I was wondering why Pu Lun said the other day that there was a suitable candidate!"

Zhang Yimou rubbed his slightly sore temples and waved his hand. "Has Chen Jin's contract been sorted out?"

"It's ready. Should we call him over to sign it today?"

"Sign it. Let's finalize it early. Once we lock in the male lead, we'll determine the female lead. Filming starts in just a few days!"

"Got it!"

"I'll call him right away!"

Pang Liwei picked up her phone, but suddenly seemed to recall something, and softly said, "Director Zhang, President Zhang previously mentioned that actors should be signed under New Pictures Company. Since we're signing under our studio, should we give him a heads-up?"

"It's fine, I'll call him later myself. His contract template is no good; it's way too predatory!"

"A longer duration is fine, but the profit-sharing needs to be fairer!"

"Understood!"

Pang Liwei nodded, turned around, and walked out.

Meanwhile, at the Central Academy of Drama performance building, Chen Jin had just finished his secondary examination. Before he even stepped out of the hall, Su Wanyu's phone—which she was holding for Chen Jin—began to ring.

It was an unfamiliar Beijing mobile number.

"Hello!"

Su Wanyu answered the call on Chen Jin's behalf. Pang Liwei on the other end of the line was slightly stunned, but recovered quickly. "Is this... Chen Jin's mother?"