"Xuan'er, what's going on? Are you really smitten? Is this what they call love at first sight?"
Guan Yue looked at Dong Xuan with wide eyes, as if she had discovered a new continent.
"What are you thinking!" Dong Xuan looked at her friend and smiled helplessly, "I just think they're quite interesting, and since they're from the Photography Department, maybe we can even collaborate someday, right?"
"That's not impossible. Wu Chen, putting everything else aside, is quite professional in photography. What he said just now really surprised me."
Guan Yue nodded slightly.
"Me too, it felt very professional!" Yin Xu chimed in.
"Hmm, it sounds..." Dong Xuan was about to praise him, but then she seemed to remember something, "Huh, why do I keep feeling like something's not quite right?"
"What's not right?" Guan Yue asked curiously.
"It's just that Wu Chen seemed to not talk about the plot from beginning to end. What he said made a lot of sense, but is that really how it is when I'm filming?"
Dong Xuan blinked, her face full of confusion, but she couldn't figure it out for a moment.
"Forget it, I'll ask the photographer another day. For now, it's more important to quickly find a crew. We only have less than half a year until we leave school."
"Xuan'er, you'll be fine. Yin Xu has also found a crew. It's just me left!" Guan Yue spread her hands, looking helpless.
"Didn't you choose to stay at the school and become a teacher? Who are you trying to fool? Maybe one day we'll need you, the teacher, to look after us!"
Dong Xuan giggled, and the three of them joked and played along the way, attracting many curious glances from passersby on campus.
...
On the other side, Mu Deyuan, who had gone to the Director, was pulling the Director, Tian Zhuangzhuang, to the cafeteria for a meal.
Although the two were not classmates, they were both graduates of the 1978 class. Now, one was in charge of the Photography Department and the other managed the Director, so their relationship was naturally extraordinary.
"You're strange today, coming all the way to find me for a meal. I thought we were going out for a big dinner?" Tian Zhuangzhuang said cheerfully.
"Big fish and big meat, haven't you, Director Tian, gotten tired of it yet?" Mu Deyuan laughed.
As they passed by the Photography Department, Mu Deyuan suddenly stopped, "Oh dear, I almost forgot to get something! Lao Tian, wait for me!"
Tian Zhuangzhuang waved his hand, not thinking much of it. It was normal to forget something.
Soon after, Mu Deyuan returned with a transparent document bag, deliberately holding the script title on the cover towards Tian Zhuangzhuang.
"Almost forgot this thing!"
"Hmm? That name, Lao Mu, are you going to shoot a new movie?" Tian Zhuangzhuang's eyes were sharp, and he immediately became interested.
"No, it's not my script!"
"Oh, then whose is it?"
Seeing Tian Zhuangzhuang fall for it, Mu Deyuan shook his head vigorously, "A freshman's. You know how ambitious students are these days, they can't even walk yet, and they're already thinking of running!"
"Young people, it's normal to have aspirations. Haven't we all come this way?"
Tian Zhuangzhuang spoke in a lecturing tone, then seemed to remember something, paused, and asked, "Are you planning to go back to your dorm at noon to take a look and give this student some pointers?"
"Hmm, I've read some, but not all of it. Why don't you help me take a look? With your expertise, I'm sure you can make this student back off!"
Mu Deyuan said, not forgetting to flatter Tian Zhuangzhuang.
"Cough, alright, I'll take a look. But don't tell me, these students nowadays are quite good at naming things. 'the dark side', it sounds artistic, full of atmosphere!"
Tian Zhuangzhuang thought of an excuse to praise it first, so he wouldn't run out of words later.
"Scene 1 - Interior · Villa - Night — thunderstorm (shallow focus shot);"
"The precision of the rainy night was like a brass spoon soaked in black coffee. The villa window reflected a cold light in the lightning. The camera passed through the window..."
"Hiss!" Tian Zhuangzhuang's heart skipped a beat when he saw the script for this opening scene, and he immediately felt a sense of unease, realizing something was wrong!
Because this was nothing like a script written by a freshman; it was too precise and subtle.
"This circled part should be what Lao Mu circled. What's so good about circling this? It's just a bit daring and explicit, but art needs it!"
Tian Zhuangzhuang glanced at the part Mu Deyuan had circled and silently complained.
"Circled again, and it's another one of those controversial shots. Alas, the current censorship system truly stifles the Director's spirit."
"..."
However, at this moment, Tian Zhuangzhuang didn't even notice that his expression had changed from casual to somewhat serious.
Mu Deyuan saw Tian Zhuangzhuang's subtle change and quickly reined in his smile.
The more Tian Zhuangzhuang read, the more surprised he became, because the script's maturity exceeded his imagination. Mirror metaphors, sound effect foreshadowing, and visual deception were all written out, making it incredibly detailed.
The most brilliant part was the plot and the exploration of human nature; it was neither cliché nor did it break off at crucial points, leaving ample room for imagination.
"Lao Mu, you said this student is only a freshman?"
Tian Zhuangzhuang quickly finished reading and asked with some disbelief.
"Yes, a freshman, just four months into classes!" Mu Deyuan nodded.
"Wait, isn't he that student you mentioned to me before? What was his name again?" Tian Zhuangzhuang tapped his finger in the air, but his mind went blank.
"Wu Chen!" Mu Deyuan said with a smile.
"It really is him!" Tian Zhuangzhuang completely lost his temper.
The Director hadn't seen any promising newcomers in years, but the Photography Department had been continuously producing them. This year, first there was Ning Hao, a promising new stock, and now they had another freshman.
The most important thing was that this freshman was the extremely talented Wu Chen, whom Mu Deyuan had mentioned earlier. Putting this together, he could already guess what Mu Deyuan was going to do next.
"How can you be so lucky!" Tian Zhuangzhuang blurted out, unable to process it for a moment.
This was exactly what Mu Deyuan wanted. He had put on this act just for this moment.
Satisfied!
"Oh, the students in the Director are not bad either. How many have entered the system these past few years? Those are iron rice bowls, pillars of the nation!"
However, verbally, Mu Deyuan was still comforting Tian Zhuangzhuang's fragile heart.
"Hehe!" Tian Zhuangzhuang felt his heart souring.
"Let's go, let's go eat." Mu Deyuan patted Tian Zhuangzhuang's shoulder and said calmly.
"Can I even eat now?"
Tian Zhuangzhuang felt truly foolish. How could he have believed Mu Deyuan's nonsense? He was clearly just showing off to him.
"Not that bad, not that bad!" Mu Deyuan persuaded him cheerfully.
"It is that bad, unless..." Tian Zhuangzhuang suddenly had a flash of inspiration and mused.
"Unless what?"
"Unless Wu Chen comes to the Director for his graduate studies!"
"Damn it, Tian Zhuangzhuang, I, Mu Deyuan, am telling you right now, give up on that idea!" Mu Deyuan instantly bristled, spitting saliva everywhere.
"Your perspective is too narrow. In the Director, isn't his undergraduate still from the Photography Department? Isn't he still a Beijing Film Academy student?"
"..."
