Variety Show Debut

On December 7, the group hurried to Changsha to take part in that evening's recording of "Happy Camp," an important part of the publicity and distribution plan.

In those days, the domestic variety show scene was still largely a wasteland. Nobody had much experience, and everyone was crossing the river by feeling for stones.

Still, "Happy Camp" had built up a loyal audience since it first aired in 1997. There was no mystery to it: there were simply too few forms of entertainment.

When Wei Jin arrived at the Mango Channel building with several principal cast and crew members, Teacher He was already there to greet them.

"Hello, Director Wei. Thanks for making the trip, and welcome to Changsha, everyone."

Teacher He was very methodical in how he conducted himself. He spoke softly, yet always made himself clearly heard. Though he was greeting Wei Jin, he still managed to include everyone else, making them feel very comfortable.

"Yifei, long time no see. You're as beautiful as ever."

This wasn't Liu Yifei's first appearance on "Happy Camp," so she and Teacher He were already old acquaintances.

The roadshow had exhausted the young woman, though Liu Xiaoli had stayed by her side throughout. When Big Beard Zhang first heard she needed more than ten days off, he exploded. Later, when he saw the film's box office, his change in attitude was as smooth as could be.

So although the roadshow was tiring, Liu Yifei and Liu Xiaoli were both suffering and enjoying it.

"Hello, Teacher He. I'm a loyal fan of your show."

Wei Jin wasn't lying. In his previous life, this was pretty much the variety show he'd spent the most time watching.

"That's wonderful. Give us some suggestions later. Come, this way, please."

Teacher He ushered everyone backstage at the studio and showed them to their seats, exchanging pleasantries with each of the principal cast and crew members.

"Director Wei, take a look at the script first. If there's anything you'd rather not answer, let us know."

Every variety show had a script from the moment it was created. Guests couldn't simply do whatever they liked; some shows just had fewer restrictions than others.

As an indoor entertainment and game show, "Happy Camp" also had a segment similar to an interview, so Teacher He gave the script to the guests in advance.

"I don't have any problems with it. If any of you don't know how to answer something later, just look at me. And don't be nervous. This is prerecorded, so any problems can be edited out afterward."

Wei Jin spoke to the others after a quick look through the script.

In fact, variety shows were all prerecorded to make postproduction easier. Wei Jin's episode would air that Saturday.

The episode that had originally been recorded would air later. The "Those Years" crew had effectively jumped the queue, and Wei Jin and China Film Group had done a fair amount of coordination to make it happen.

Soon, a staff member came over to let them know recording was about to begin, and the group went backstage to get ready.

"Hello, everyone, we're the Happy Family!"

After an awkward dance by the three hosts, the classic opening line followed.

"Lala, Weijia, there's a movie that's been a huge hit lately. Have you heard of it?"

As a veteran of the show, Teacher He got straight to the point.

"Yes, yes, 'Those Years, the Girls We Chased Together,' right? I went to see it on opening day. It was really good."

Xie La eagerly jumped in with the answer.

"That's right. It's a film adapted from a novel and a song of the same name, and it's sparked a moviegoing craze these past few days. Now, please welcome the director and cast of 'Those Years'!"

The audience responded enthusiastically with applause.

Wei Jin led the others briskly onto the stage. With the three hosts, there were nine people in all, and it felt a little crowded.

"Hello, everyone. We're the crew of 'Those Years.' I'm Wei Jin, the film's director."

"Hello, everyone. I'm Liu Yifei, and I play Zhang Shiyi in the film."

"Hello, everyone. I'm Qiao Zhenyu, and I play Wei Liang in the film."

The principal cast and crew introduced themselves one after another, then sat down at the hosts' warm invitation.

"Director Wei, I heard you're still in college?"

It was Li Weijia's first time meeting Wei Jin, and he asked the question from the script with a hint of curiosity.

"Yes, I'm in my third year."

"Wow, that's incredible. You're only in your third year and you're already making movies, and your very first one turned out so wonderfully."

Li Weijia exclaimed a little dramatically. He was quite good at getting the audience going.

"Jiajia, you're behind the times. This isn't Wei Jin's first movie. His directorial debut won a Silver Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year."

Teacher He chimed in at just the right moment, then explained just how much weight a Berlin Silver Bear-winning director carried, drawing another round of gasps from the audience.

In fact, aside from people in the industry, the vast majority of ordinary people didn't care about film festivals or Silver Bear-winning directors. So the explanation on this episode helped make Wei Jin's name known.

"So, Director Wei, what made you think of filming 'Those Years'?"

Not to be outdone, Xie La steered the conversation toward the film.

"Everyone has regrets from their youth. Those regrets might come from things we wanted but couldn't have, but they aren't necessarily painful. Through this film, I wanted to tell everyone that our youths are all the same, full of regrets and imperfections. But please cherish the beautiful memories."

Wei Jin had already worked out his answers to these questions, so they came smoothly.

"So, Director Wei, does that mean you have regrets from your own youth? Did you ever pursue a girl when you were a teenager?"

Teacher He had a knack for finding what would draw an audience in. Everyone loved a bit of gossip.

"Uh, would you believe me if I said the girls were all chasing me?"

"Hahaha... Director Wei, aren't you a little too full of yourself?"

Not only the hosts but several of the actors laughed along, while the audience reacted even more dramatically.

Seeing that several questions in a row had been directed at Wei Jin, Teacher He spoke up to avoid leaving the other guests out:

"Could you tell us some interesting stories from the shoot?"

"Sure! You wouldn't know it, seeing Director Wei laughing and joking now, but he was really strict during filming. He even scolded Yifei until she cried."

The camera turned to Qiao Zhenyu, and he hurried to answer.

"Huh? Was he that fierce? Yifei, is that true?"

The three hosts were a little surprised. After all, Wei Jin now looked harmless as a lamb.

"It's true, but it was my own fault too. I kept failing to get into character and held the crew up for several days."

Liu Yifei was a little embarrassed; after all, it was an awkward story about her.

The other actors then began sharing interesting stories from the shoot as well. For the audience, who had never been on a film set, it was all quite novel.

"Hu Jing, how did you get this role?"

"Let me answer that one. Mainly because Sister Jing's personality in real life was a good fit. Think back: don't you have a girl around you who's outspoken and a little funny?"

Wei Jin answered the question for Hu Jing. He couldn't very well say it was for Zeng Li's sake.

"Hmph, are you saying I'm not womanly?"

Hu Jing pretended to be angry. As the recording went on, everyone had grown less nervous than at the start and knew to take the initiative when the camera turned their way.

"Zhenyu, what about you? How were you chosen?"

"I don't know either. After the audition, the production team told me I'd been cast."

"Mainly because he's handsome. I saw Zhenyu's performance in 'Snowflake Goddess Dragon,' and it was truly stunning."

Wei Jin offered an explanation, drawing screams from the women in the audience. After all, Qiao Zhenyu really was handsome.

"Cong Zai, what about you? I heard Wei Jin sought you out himself?"

Lam Tze-chung couldn't answer either. Even now, he still didn't understand why Wei Jin had come looking for him.

"I thought that in our youth, there's always a friend around us who's naturally funny. Think about it—isn't that true? Now look at Cong Zai. Doesn't he have a natural comic charm?"

Seeing that Lam Tze-chung was a little uncomfortable, Wei Jin spoke up to help.

The hosts and the audience thought back, and it seemed he was right.

"What about you, Jiayin?"

"I asked the director that too. He said I had an air of bad luck about me."

The moment Lei Datou said that, everyone onstage and off burst into laughter.

Afterward, the group played games, laughing and joking until they finally finished recording. Wei Jin and the others politely declined Teacher He's invitation to a late-night meal, and after exchanging phone numbers, Wei Jin and his group set off for the next stop on the roadshow...