Chapter 57: Zhang Yimou in Shock!

Beijing, Chaoyang District Municipal Sports Lottery Management Center.

"Handsome, please double-check your winning ticket!"

"Write your name and ID number on the back of the lottery ticket!"

The staff at the prize redemption counter said to Chen Jin, who hurriedly filled in his information on the five winning lottery tickets and handed them over.

Beep, beep, beep!

The computer scanned them rapidly, and finally, Chen Jin's winning amount popped up.

1,955,600 RMB!

Nearly 2 million.

However, a 20% personal income tax needed to be deducted, meaning the final amount he would receive was a prize redemption slip for 1,564,480 RMB.

It was not a cash check or cashier's check as Chen Jin had imagined.

A prize redemption slip was much safer; he just needed to take his ID card directly to the bank to collect the money.

It took nearly an hour, during which he declined the bank's wealth management recommendations and conveniently opened a bank card for himself. Over 1.56 million in cash now sat securely inside.

"My first pot of gold, overnight wealth!"

"Isn't this wealth coming a bit too fast?"

The whole process felt like a dream to Chen Jin. It wasn't until he opened his phone and saw the balance on his bank card that he truly believed he was now a millionaire.

"The only score to remember for now is this year's Champions League final, Inter Milan versus Bayern Munich, 2-1!"

"Though I can also buy a few bets on the matches between Inter and Bayern just for fun!"

After all, since these two teams would make it to the finals, he could basically bet on them to win the round of 16 and the subsequent quarter-finals.

Having fought their way to the finals, while there was always a chance of losing, the odds of winning were definitely higher.

Consider it making some pocket money.

With that thought, Chen Jin walked toward a nearby sports lottery shop, intending to place a 10,000 RMB bet on the Inter Milan vs. Chelsea match on the 17th.

The match was less than a week away.

Once this round of matches concluded, the Champions League would officially enter the quarter-final battles.

Chen Jin estimated that by the time the finals ended in May, he should be able to make another 100,000 to 200,000 RMB.

Ring, ring!

The familiar ringtone of his Apple phone sounded. Glancing at the caller ID showing the name Fu Lulu, Chen Jin hurriedly swiped to answer.

"Chen Jin, are you busy?"

Usually, people who called him directly by his name were talking about work matters.

Chen Jin quickly replied, "Sister Lu, not busy. What's up?"

"Right, come to the studio right away to assist with a screen test for an actress!"

"Got it, I'll definitely be there within an hour!"

"Okay!"

Chen Jin hung up the phone, first went to the lottery shop to spend 20,000 RMB on bets for Inter Milan and the championship, and then hailed a cab toward Zhang Yimou's studio.

...

In 45 minutes, Chen Jin arrived at the Pearl River Imperial Garden residential complex.

Fu Lulu was already waiting downstairs.

"Not bad at all, actually securing the male lead in Director Zhang's movie!"

Fu Lulu reached out and high-fived Chen Jin. This time, meeting up, they clearly lacked the sense of reservation from before and appeared quite intimate.

Previously, since Chen Jin's role wasn't finalized, Fu Lulu hadn't felt comfortable getting too close, but things were different now. Strictly speaking, the two of them were colleagues, so joking and chatting freely were completely fine.

"Barring any accidents, the actress should be finalized in the next few days!"

"She'll be chosen from this group, so make sure you listen carefully to Director Zhang later!"

Fu Lulu instructed Chen Jin as they walked upstairs.

"Okay!"

Chen Jin nodded. Stepping into the two-bedroom studio apartment, he looked up and immediately saw a few young girls standing in the living room.

Each one was greener than the last, and the one furthest inside looked even more like a primary school student—skinny as a beanpole, with a completely flat figure.

Her face was decent, though—a rather delicate and pretty little girl.

If the footage in his future autobiographical movie was correct, the female lead of *The Love of Hawthorn Tree* was none other than her.

Zhou Dongyu, the future grand slam winner of the three major Chinese film awards.

Golden Horse, Golden Rooster, and Hong Kong Film Award, plus Hundred Flowers, Huading, Asian Film... among the top best actresses in Chinese cinema, she probably only lacked the Huabara Award.

Of course, the Huabara Award had an extremely low presence, and nobody in the entertainment industry cared about it.

In truth, this girl's acting skills were just so-so; she belonged to the type who could shine in roles suited for her lane, but for unsuitable ones, her performance was quite agonizing to watch.

Moreover, she grew less attractive over time, and her appearance when she first debuted was already her peak.

Namely, the delicate, unformed look she had right now.

"Chen Jin, you're here?"

Hearing the commotion inside, Zhang Yimou walked out.

Chen Jin quickly called out, "Director Zhang!"

"Male lead, each of you will be reading lines with him in a moment!"

Before Zhang Yimou could finish introducing.

Swish, swish, swish!

The gazes of the auditioning actresses instantly swept over Chen Jin, several of them carrying looks of undisguised envy.

Zhou Dongyu also curiously sized up Chen Jin, her clear eyes filled with more confusion than anything else.

"Chen Jin, come on in first!"

Zhang Yimou called out. Chen Jin stepped into the office, where a large ping-pong table immediately came into view.

It was piled high with various materials, documents, and clapperboards.

Next to it was an area presumably cleared out temporarily for auditions. Zhang Yimou sat at the edge of the ping-pong table, turning so he could lean against it and clearly observe the audition space shortly.

"We'll be auditioning these three passages in a moment. Take a look first, the corner is folded!"

Zhang Yimou handed a somewhat worn script to Chen Jin.

Chen Jin casually took it, and merely glancing at the beginning of the first passage, memories of Lao San's scenes instantly flooded his mind.

The memory was remarkably profound.

Moreover, while studying the system last night, Chen Jin had discovered a very interesting feature.

The three movies he had experienced so far could still be entered.

Furthermore, it didn't require spending any experience cards, though the first movie was random and he didn't know its name; the other two, such as *The Love of Hawthorn Tree*, could be experienced again simply by clicking on them.

The system would pop up a reminder: This experience does not consume a fixed role experience card!

This was a perk unlocked only after having experienced it once.

"Let's test it right now—can I experience a whole movie in one minute?"

Thinking of this, Chen Jin hurriedly said, "Director Zhang, I need to go to the restroom!"

"Number one or number two?"

"Number one!"

Chen Jin said quickly.

"Alright, go ahead!"

Zhang Yimou didn't say anything more. Chen Jin walked toward the restroom holding the script, and seeing him like that, Zhang Yimou actually chuckled.

One minute later, Chen Jin walked out of the restroom with a radiant, slightly refreshed expression.

The nervous young actresses waiting for their auditions didn't react much, but Fu Lulu and Pang Liwei, sitting nearby, couldn't help but raise their heads, subconsciously glancing at Chen Jin, thinking their eyes were playing tricks on them.

This... how did a trip to the restroom completely change his demeanor and aura?!

Did this guy go to the bathroom just to get into character?

Fu Lulu guessed inwardly, while Zhang Yimou, seeing Chen Jin walk back in, similarly froze in surprise.

Zhang Yimou: "..."

"Good lad, I asked you to assist with the auditions, not for you to audition!"

Zhang Yimou didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Yet he had to admit, this kid Chen Jin truly possessed some genuine talent.

In the span of a simple bathroom break, a living, breathing Lao San had walked right before his eyes.

Having directed films for a lifetime, this was the first time he had ever seen someone of this age group possess such acting prowess.

If things went well, this kid might just be able to make a lifelong career out of acting for the nation.

National Grade One Actor—he could definitely strive for that!