Chapter 43: Artistic Examination, Bingbing Fails to Make the List! Yuanyuan Makes the List!

After the Spring Festival.

A large crowd had gathered outside the gates of the Beijing Film Academy.

The young ones were the applicants.
The older ones were the parents of the applicants.

To be honest, the number of people taking art exams wasn't overwhelmingly high in this era.
Even so, it managed to crowd the entrance quite thoroughly.

Today, Bingbing went completely bare-faced, yet even so, she remained remarkably pretty.
Among the crowd of applicants, she stood out exceptionally.

Actually, going without makeup was an important piece of inside information.
Many applicants who didn't enroll in prep classes had no idea about this.
Seeing quite a few applicants still wearing heavy makeup, Bingbing felt much more confident in her heart.

In the distance, a pair of mother and daughter spotted her.
"Yaoyou~ That girl is taking the exam too, huh? Looks like you're going to have a hard time competing."
"Mom, why would you say that about your own daughter? No matter what, I still placed third in the Taoli Cup."
"So what if you placed third? They aren't going to look at your Taoli Cup score. If you ask me, you should just forget about it this year."
"I certainly will not!"

It was unclear whether the conversation between this mother and daughter reached Bingbing's ears or not.
However, Bingbing was truly confident.

"Everything Old Xie instructed you, you must remember well. And what the other teachers taught you, you absolutely must—"
"Mom, I know. Just don't worry."

Bingbing's mother helped tidy her daughter's collar.
Her family had prepared for this exam for quite some time.
Moreover, they weren't just aiming for the Beijing Film Academy; they were also planning to test for the Central Academy of Drama and the Shanghai Theatre Academy.
It was best to try their luck at all three.

China's three most famous arts institutions were, in fact, closely interconnected.
They scheduled their exam dates very conveniently.
Finished with the Beijing Film Academy today, one could head to the Central Academy of Drama tomorrow.
The Shanghai Theatre Academy was scheduled a little later.

Consequently, many applicants placed bets on at least two schools.
There were also plenty who gambled on all three.

High hopes were pinned on Bingbing, especially since she had grown into such an elegant and graceful young woman.
This was the foundation for her examination.

Bingbing's mother continued with her parting advice, "I'm not trying to put pressure on you, but you need to understand that today is the most important—"
"I know, the preliminary round is the most crucial, so we can leave a good impression on the teachers."

That's right, this was also one of the closely guarded secrets of the art exams.
The preliminary round was the most vital.
One could even go so far as to say that getting through the preliminaries practically sealed the deal.

During last year's art exams, a teacher at the Beijing Film Academy made a final decision on a candidate based purely on a first impression.
She even gave an interview about it.
That teacher was Cui Xinqin, and the applicant was Xiaoming.
She stated publicly that it was all because of a face.

And now, Bingbing's face... should do the trick as well, right?
Bingbing grew even more confident.

Unexpectedly, two more people arrived at the gates of the Beijing Film Academy.
"Alright, I can manage on my own."
"I'm here to take care of some business anyway."
"What if people see us..."
"What are you afraid of? Not many people even know who I am."
"Fine."

It was Gao Yuanyuan and that talent scout.
To this day, Bingbing still didn't know what that talent scout's name was.
This was actually a rather strange thing.

Lately, Bingbing had been running into more and more talent scouts, and almost all of them would proactively hand over their business cards right at the start.
Yet this man, who claimed to be a talent scout himself, had never given her a card.
And yet, Gao Yuanyuan and him... Bingbing felt that this man was definitely not ordinary.
Could Gao Yuanyuan have truly been made a star by him?

She couldn't help but cast a few extra glances at Gao Yuanyuan and that man.
Only to find that the man wasn't looking at her at all.
This left an indescribable feeling deep inside Bingbing's heart.
*Did I miss out on a massive opportunity?*

The person accompanying Gao Yuanyuan was, of course, Ma Xun.
Today, Yuanyuan was taking her art exams, and Ma Xun happened to have business in the area.
So, he simply drove her over.

Ma Xun had recently bought a brand-new Mercedes-Benz S320.
Not the top-of-the-line model, purchased for over 800,000 yuan.
To be honest, Ma Xun knew very well that the moment a car was delivered, it began to depreciate.
But the moment Gao Yuanyuan saw his new car and stood there completely stunned, Ma Xun knew for sure—it was worth it!

These days, doing business required this kind of flashing hardware.
After all, treasures are for heroes, and fine steeds are for great generals.

However, once they drove near the location, Gao Yuanyuan didn't want to draw too much attention.
Therefore, the car was parked inside the courtyard of the Beijing Film Studio.
Ma Xun had business over there, and they had grown quite familiar with each other during the previous movie shoot.
The Beijing Film Studio was very close to the Academy, so walking over wouldn't delay anything.

It was just that upon reaching the entrance...
Ma Xun had actually spotted Bingbing early on; she was so striking.
However, Ma Xun's attention was suddenly captured by another girl.

This girl's surname should be Huang, but in the future, she would debut under the stage name Hai Qing.
That's right, she was none other than the one who had just proclaimed herself to be the third-place winner of the Taoli Cup.
Actually, the Taoli Cup carried an immense amount of prestige.
It was just that the gap between her and that later-day 'You are my god' persona... was simply too vast!
Never mind, let's stop staring at other people.

"Remember, just leave a deep impression on the teachers."
"Understood."

Ma Xun gave Gao Yuanyuan a few words of advice and then walked away.
Watching him leave, Gao Yuanyuan felt a warmth in her heart.
After all, this guy had driven her right to the gates of the Academy instead of heading straight to his business at the studio.

Just then, Gao Yuanyuan also caught sight of Bingbing.
Their gazes met, only for both girls to immediately look away.
How bizarre. Did an electric spark just fly when their eyes crossed?
Were these two about to engage in a fierce rivalry?

Before long, the gates of the Beijing Film Academy finally swung open.
Security guards with loudspeakers maintained order, while teachers directed everyone to line up.
The scale of the Beijing Film Academy wasn't very large.
Gao Yuanyuan and Bingbing walked inside and took their places in line, looking around.

Three lines of text caught their eyes:
Learn from the people.
Serve the people.
Be an artist of the people!

Were these the school mottoes of the Beijing Film Academy?
They weren't entirely sure.
But these three lines of text were truly eye-catching, written entirely in striking red.
It made one unable to help but wonder: just how many people in this entertainment industry actually lived up to them?

"Attention! When your examinee number is called, head inside in batches. Keep the order..."

In reality, schools like the Beijing Film Academy and the Central Academy of Drama conducted "directional" admissions back then.
This meant that if you wanted to be an actor, you applied for the performance track, and your exam scores were ranked accordingly.
Those at the top entered the undergraduate class, while those further down entered the vocational diploma class.
This examination system had been in use for many years.
However, last year, a certain big-eyed girl even lost her admission ticket and still managed to get accepted... there wasn't much else to say about that.

Bingbing had been feeling nervous ever since she stepped through the school gates, right up until she heard her own examinee number called.
*You can do this!*

She entered the examination room, and then...
*Huh?*
Gao Yuanyuan was in her batch.
*Oh well, I suppose that's normal.*
Usually, they were examined in groups of ten, with the teachers sitting in a row facing them.

"The exam is very simple: a self-introduction, a recitation, and then a talent performance. You can choose this talent yourself—it can be singing, dancing, or... oh right, last year an applicant at the Central Academy of Drama did a few basketball shooting moves and got accepted, so you guys can try that too."

The tone was quite humorous.
Bingbing took a look and realized—isn't this Huang Sanshi?
He was already a teacher at such a young age?

Bingbing didn't know yet that this Huang Sanshi fellow possessed a lifelong urge to act like a teacher.
Why, even twenty years later, he would still dare to teach the head coach of the national table tennis team how to play table tennis.

As Teacher Huang finished speaking, the art exams officially commenced.
All ten candidates had made preparations.
Gao Yuanyuan went first with her self-introduction and recitation.
Bingbing couldn't really tell much from it.
Until the talent performance segment...

"I wrote a song myself."
"Oh? You can write songs too?"
"Yes, but I haven't finished it. I've only written half."
"Sing a bit of it for us."

Gao Yuanyuan's mention of her original composition instantly piqued Huang Sanshi's curiosity.
This caused even Bingbing to turn her head and look sidelong in surprise.
*Did she really write it herself?*
She couldn't help but feel skeptical.

But then...

*Water splashes can only bloom on rainy days~*
*Fireworks must blossom in the dark night~*
*How reluctant the snowflake is to leave winter~*
*Just like how I am reluctant to say goodbye to you~*

Gao Yuanyuan had only sung a few lines when Bingbing was completely startled!
Not only was the melody pleasant, but the lyrics were also exceptionally wonderful.
As for that Teacher Huang Sanshi... he was nodding continuously.

A sinking feeling of foreboding rose in Bingbing's heart.
Forget whether she herself could pass—it seemed she was about to lose to Gao Yuanyuan right here in the preliminary round!

***

Ma Xun had only dropped Yuanyuan off along the way.
In truth, he didn't care much about the results of Yuanyuan's art exams.
If she passed, she could study; if she didn't, it wouldn't hinder her future development in the slightest.
He knew very well that in the original timeline, Yuanyuan never attended an art school anyway, and didn't she turn out just fine?

Besides, for the time being, they were in the middle of negotiating a rather good commercial endorsement.
Back in *Cherish Our Love Forever*, wasn't Yuanyuan always seen holding a ham sausage on screen?
Now, the manufacturer was showing a strong interest, hoping that Hao Lei, Yuanyuan, and Chen Kun could shoot an advertisement together.

Ma Xun had directly quoted his price:
The three of them together—one million yuan!
That double-word-branded manufacturer was still deliberating over it.
*So stingy!*
In a year or two, you wouldn't be able to hire even one of these three for a million yuan!
Anyway, they wouldn't lower their price; let the manufacturer crunch the numbers themselves.

"You're here."
"Sister Hong."

As soon as Ma Xun stepped into the Beijing Film Studio, Sister Hong approached him, clearly having just arrived as well.
Their purpose here today was to discuss *The Soong Sisters*.
For the time being, Ma Xun was still maintaining his identity as Ma Bangde.
As for anything else... let's wait a moment.

Ma Xun noticed two people, one of whom was Han Sanping from the Beijing Film Studio.
As for what this person would achieve later on, it went without saying.
The other person was a middle-aged man.
What were they discussing?

"Let's go over and have a listen."
Familiar with the place, Sister Hong pulled Ma Xun right over.

As it turned out...
"My dear Comrade Han, *Quill and the Flute* (The Mountain Village / That Mountain, That Man, That Dog) is truly a wonderful project."

Oh, so it was actually this movie.
It was just a pity that Ma Xun heard Han Sanping reply with this:
"Old Kang, where on earth are we going to find the money to shoot a film like this nowadays?"

That statement was entirely accurate; films of this nature truly didn't turn a profit.
Yet, Ma Xun made a mental note of this matter.

Moments later, Sister Hong brought Ma Xun into the conversation.
"What are the two of you chatting about?"
"Nothing much. Ah, let me introduce you. This is Kang Jianmin from the Xia湘 (Xiang) Film Studio... And these two—well, Chen Hong needs no introduction, and this is Mr. Ma Bangde, a very talented cinematographer..."

Kang Jianmin... Ma Xun extended his hand and shook his.
In reality, he had simply committed this person to memory.

***

The art exams consisted of the preliminary, secondary, and tertiary rounds.
Generally speaking, the preliminary round was the most crucial.
Because this initial stage would weed out ninety percent of the applicants.

Back then, there were no text message notifications or the like; results were simply "posted on the bulletin board" at the school.
Bingbing came to check her scores today, still filled with confidence.
As long as she saw her examinee number, she would advance to the secondary round.

As a result...
"Ah! I actually passed!"
"You've only made it to the secondary round, what on earth are you so excited about?"
"I'm just happy! Is that not allowed?"
"Fine, fine, you're the boss."
"Haha..."

Bingbing followed the sound of the voices.
Gao Yuanyuan was cheering with joy, standing right beside that man.
And her own examinee number... Bingbing couldn't find it anywhere.
Miraculously, she had been eliminated right in the preliminary rounds...