Amateur Acting Class

Anyone experienced in romance knows how it goes: when two people are together, holding hands makes you want to embrace; embracing makes you want to kiss; kissing makes you want to touch her chest; touching her chest makes you want to take off clothes. It was all part of an unbroken line of progression... Chen Qi's kissing technique was quite good: gentle at first before growing firmer, shallow before going deeper, shifting between light and deep with an easy, measured rhythm. The girl in his arms was stiff as a board at first, but slowly relaxed. Her slender waist was like a spring willow by the riverbank, soft and supple; even through her clothes, he could almost feel the texture beneath. He kissed her for a while, and just as he was about to slip his tongue inside, Gong Xue suddenly summoned an unexpected burst of strength and shoved him away. "What are you doing?" She wasn't angry, but startled and shamed by the intrusion of his tongue. "Uh, how do I explain this?" Chen Qi scratched his head. If only he had a video of Momoka, Ayaka, or Yua right about now; one look and she'd understand everything. "We can't do this anymore. We're already committing an error... We have to go!" Gong Xue kept her head lowered and rushed out ahead of him. Chen Qi could only follow behind, and she didn't utter a single word the entire way back. Once back at Beijing Film Studio, she ran into her room, threw herself onto the bed, and buried her head in the pillow for a long time. Then she touched her cheeks, which still seemed to hold a trace of the feverish heat from before. Her expression grew dazed, her eyes tinged with struggle. There was the longing and physical instinct stirred by her first intimate encounter, but also the conservatism bred by habitual social constraints, as well as dread of the prevailing moral climate. "..." Her mind was a tangled mess of yarn. In the end, she started blaming that fellow again. *He really is pushing further and further. Holding hands and hugging weren't enough, and now he even wanted to kiss... After a few more days, would he want to...* Gong Xue's face grew burning hot again, and she shook her head frantically. *No, no! Absolutely not that!* Yet somehow, words from a woman named Yu Jiajia echoed in her ears: *If a man gets his way too easily, he won't cherish you. You have to string him along—act like you're about to give in, but don't. When he gets anxious, make a gesture like you'll let him, and then hold back again...* *Do I really have to do that?* She knitted her brows and gave it serious thought, but still shook her head. *No, that's not right. My feelings for him are sincere; I'm not playing games with him.* But... after going round and round, it always came back to the fundamental problem: "I'm several years older than him!" ... The weather gradually turned cool. Word arrived first from the Film Bureau. Because the competition films had to be submitted before November, Fang Yurong was pressed for time. After hastily screening several candidates, she ultimately selected Shanghai Film Studio's *Return of the Swallows*. The plot was simple: the female protagonist was labeled a Rightist and forced to separate from her husband; twenty years later, her name was cleared, but she refused a transfer back to the big city, resolved instead to dedicate the rest of her life to medical work on the frontier. It fit the leaders' thinking to a tee—politically correct, ideologically meaningful, and reflective of Chinese values... At the same time, a condition was attached: support Beijing Film Studio's *Tai Chi* to join the festival as an exhibitor! Having achieved his goal, Wang Yang let go of Fang Yurong's "abuse of private power." The days that followed became an all-out sprint for the post-production of *Tai Chi*, leaving Chen Qi so busy his feet barely touched the ground. Autumn in Beijing was brief, and people were already wearing coats. At this time, Beijing Film Academy was located near Xiaoxitian, a mere two kilometers from Beijing Film Studio—very close indeed. Later it would move even closer, right next door to Beijing Film Studio, and then the Movie Channel would arrive as well, leaving the three institutions clustered side by side. Early that morning, Chen Qi arrived at the Beijing Film Academy. The moment he reached the gate, he froze at the spectacle before him. Dozens, perhaps a hundred people had gathered there, each clutching a slip of paper, looking both nervous and expectant without knowing what to expect—bearing an uncanny resemblance to future art school applicants. He showed his pass, walked through the gate, and happened to spot Xie Yuan. "Well, if it isn't our great screenwriter!" Xie Yuan scampered over noisily, like an eager husky looking to please. "Looking for us for another movie? Don't bother with Zhang Fengyi or Zhang Tielin. Zhang Fengyi went off to shoot *Xiangzi*, and Zhang Tielin looks more and more like a lecherous scoundrel these days. I'm your man! I can do anything you need." "Get lost. I'm not here for you guys!" Chen Qi swatted him aside and asked, "What's going on at the gate? Why are there so many people?" "Oh, the academy is opening an amateur acting class. Ordinary folks who love art all want to throw themselves into the embrace of cinema, so they came to sign up. Supposedly it's fifty cents for the registration fee and thirty yuan for tuition to study for five months. Isn't that an obvious rip-off? The academy's really not playing fair." Xie Yuan was just an errand-boy chatterbox who couldn't keep his mouth shut. "Thirty yuan, and this many people are signing up?" "There were even more the past couple days. Today's the last day, so this is actually a small crowd. I heard nearly three thousand people have applied." Chen Qi was astonished as well. Thirty yuan was no small sum, yet three thousand people had signed up for an amateur acting class? It showed just how deep the soil for arts and culture ran in this era; in later generations, that same drive would translate into everyone clawing to break into the entertainment industry and become a superstar. He had Xie Yuan lead the way to find someone. They headed upstairs and arrived outside a classroom. "Teacher Hu is in the middle of class. You'll have to wait a bit. Any other orders, boss?" "None. Scram!" "As you command!" Xie Yuan dusted off his sleeves, dropped into a mock Qing-style salute, and backed away with a goofy grin. Truth be told, Chen Qi quite liked him. Good acting, great personality—even if he couldn't become an idol superstar, he had more than enough chops to be a powerhouse character actor. Music drifted out from the classroom, accompanied by someone speaking. Chen Qi peered through the window. A refined middle-aged man in his forties with parted hair was playing the piano. His name was Hu Weili, a music teacher in the Beijing Film Academy's sound recording department. It looked like class had just started; he would have to wait a while. He wandered around upstairs, then simply headed down to the first floor. The crowd from the front gate had already made their way inside, queuing down the hallway outside a classroom that had been converted into a registration office. Some were young, while others were noticeably older, all filing in enthusiastically to register and emerging with a simple, crude exam admission slip. The line hugged the right side of the hallway. Chen Qi walked along the left, surveying the crowd with an odd expression. *Damn, it really is a small world!* He walked to the end of the line, pressed his lips together, deliberately stood behind the last person, and gave a small cough. "..." Li Chengru glanced back, wondering what this punk was up to. After looking him up and down, he spoke up. "Hello there. You a student here?" "How'd you guess?" "First, you're young. Second, you aren't holding a registration form." "Heh, sharp!" Chen Qi chuckled and asked, "You came to sign up—are you interested in acting?" "Who'd come here if they weren't interested? You think thirty yuan blows in on the wind?" Li Chengru rolled his eyes. "What I mean is, you carry yourself with real presence. Anyone can tell you've got stage experience." "Hey, you've got a sharp eye! I work at a garment factory and do amateur stage plays on the side. Pretty good at it, too. So I figured, why not get some proper training, and came right over. Pity I'm a bit on the older side. If I were younger, I'd have taken the college entrance exam directly." At twenty-six, Li Chengru was another chatterbox. He still had a full head of hair, and his small eyes blinked with sharp shrewdness. "You are a bit older, but the gentleman in front of you looks just the right age," Chen Qi said with a smile. "Who? Talking about me?" Zhang Guangbei turned around to look as well. "That's right. One look at your bearing and it's clear you served in the military!" "Hey, you're amazing! I just transferred back after discharge! Are you a student here?" Zhang Guangbei reached out and shook Chen Qi's hand, then glanced at Li Chengru, and the two shook hands as well. Chen Qi had only come along to enjoy the spectacle. He smiled without answering directly, saying only, "Judging by your striking features and outstanding presence, both of you are sure to be selected."