Huang Bai and the Script

By late September, Wei Jin had been studying music theory for ten days. He had found a teacher from a music conservatory to give him lessons every evening.

He was mainly studying music theory because he was afraid of writing a song and having it come back to slap him in the face. In his previous life, those "music stitching monsters" had been dragged out and whipped after death in all sorts of ways.

Wei Jin had already written his first song and given it to Shen Haobo to register the copyright for him.

He had also entrusted Shen Haobo with registering the studio. Now he had to decide who should record the song.

That afternoon, Wei Jin strolled across the Beijing Film Academy campus, watching the girls come and go. He couldn't help feeling:

As expected of the Beijing Film Academy, a school that churns out stars. The girls really are gorgeous.

Huh? What's that thing doing mixed in with a group of girls?

Holy shit, is that Huang Bai?

A thought struck Wei Jin. He had found a pillow just as he was getting sleepy. He hurried forward.

"Wait a moment."

"Handsome, were you calling me?"

A girl he judged to be around an eight out of ten got a good look at Wei Jin and turned bashful.

"Uh, no, I was calling him."

Wei Jin was a little embarrassed. He pointed at Huang Bai, who currently had medium-length hair parted three to seven. If one ignored his face, he had a somewhat artistic air.

"Do you know me? Are you a student here too?"

Huang Bai stared blankly at the handsome guy who had suddenly barged in.

"Sorry, my name is Wei Jin. I'm in the directing department, class of 2002. Could I take a little of your time?"

Wei Jin hurriedly introduced himself and beckoned to Huang Bai, while apologizing to the girl.

After the others had gone some distance away, Wei Jin explained why he had approached Huang Bai.

"Are you Huang Bai? I heard from some other students that you used to be a singer?"

Wei Jin casually spun a lie, confident that Huang Bai probably wouldn't check. Huang Bai was currently pursuing further studies in dubbing in the Beijing Film Academy's vocational program.

"Oh? I used to perform in bars, just to make a living. I wouldn't call myself a singer."

Huang Bai waved a hand modestly.

In fact, Huang Bai had earned over ten thousand yuan a month performing gigs in the south during the nineties. If he hadn't still dreamed of becoming an actor, he wouldn't have applied to the Beijing Film Academy several times.

"You're too modest. Here's the thing: I'd like to discuss a business collaboration with you. Would you have time for a cup of tea?"

Wei Jin extended the invitation.

The words sounded so formal that Huang Bai really had no idea what this directing student wanted.

The two left the school and found a teahouse nearby. Once Wei Jin had ordered, he got down to business.

"Here's the thing. I wrote a song, and I'd like you to sing it."

Huang Bai was stunned. He hurriedly waved his hands and said:

"Well, I'm not a professional singer. I'm just self-taught..."

"Don't worry, Brother Bai. This song is very simple, and it doesn't demand much in the way of singing skills. I'm not in the music industry either, so just think of it as doing me a favor. I'll pay you well."

Wei Jin spoke with a sincere expression.

"Hmm... In that case, could I see the song first? I'm mainly worried I won't be good enough and will ruin your song."

Huang Bai truly was a model of emotional intelligence. He had put that beautifully.

"Sure, Brother Bai. Take a look."

Wei Jin took the lyrics and the music he had written out from his bag.

Huang Bai saw the title "Who Do You Really Love" at the top of the lyrics. After quickly reading through them, he followed the score and hummed the tune, then pondered aloud:

"This song, hmm, is very simple. The lyrics are plain and easy to remember."

It was really just a catchy pop song, but Huang Bai didn't want to embarrass a fellow alumnus.

"Ten thousand. All you have to do is record it properly. If you can find a distribution channel, I'll add another ten thousand."

Wei Jin wasn't in the music industry and had no relevant connections, so he could only pave the way with money.

The price startled Huang Bai. At present, an ordinary recording studio in Beijing cost only around a hundred yuan an hour.

How long could it take to record such a simple song? Besides, there was the fee for finding a distribution channel. Money was tight for him lately, so he agreed.

They agreed that Huang Bai would have the right to perform the song, that income from commercial performances would be split fifty-fifty, and that Wei Jin would own the copyright. They would sign the contract at the recording studio the next day.

With business settled and the fragrance of tea rising, the two began chatting about everything under the sun.

Huang Bai had a wealth of experience and high emotional intelligence, while Wei Jin had lived two lives and wanted to befriend this future best actor.

The two were like heavenly thunder stirring earthly fire. They chatted enthusiastically, regretting they hadn't met sooner, and before long they were calling each other brothers.

After parting with Huang Bai, Wei Jin went back into the school and headed straight for the faculty office.

"Wei Jin, what are you doing here, kid?"

The speaker was another teacher, Jiang Wei.

"Hello, Teacher Jiang. I'm looking for Teacher Zhang."

"Oh? Do you need him for something? He'll probably be another half hour. He just went to the bathroom."

Jiang Wei had a lively temperament and didn't mind teasing another teacher in front of a student.

Wei Jin couldn't really respond to the joke, so he could only explain why he was there.

"Uh... I wrote a script myself and wanted to ask a teacher to look it over. Do you have time, Teacher Jiang?"

"Oh? You wrote it yourself? Let me see."

In fact, students in the Beijing Film Academy's directing department spent most of their time away from school, interning with various film crews and advertising companies. There were plenty of second-year students like Wei Jin who put together scripts to hone their craft, so Jiang Wei wasn't particularly surprised.

Jiang Wei took the script Wei Jin handed him and leafed through it casually. In less than two minutes, however, he sat up straight and started reading again from the beginning, as though afraid of missing a single word.

Ten minutes passed. Jiang Wei put down the script and looked at Wei Jin with a complicated expression.

"A script like this would be a rare find even in the literature department. Good, very good! What a promising writer-director!"

It was clear how pleased Jiang Wei was with both the script and Wei Jin.

"What promising talent?"

Just as Wei Jin was about to speak, Zhang Jiandong's voice came from outside the door.

"Old Zhang, come take a look at Wei Jin's new script. It's really quite good."

As if he couldn't wait to share it with someone, Jiang Wei handed over the script.

Zhang Jiandong took it and saw two prominent characters on the cover: "Buried Alive."

Another ten-odd minutes passed as he read. The first thing Zhang Jiandong said was:

"Have you registered the script?"

It was rare to come across a good script, especially one written by his own student, and Zhang Jiandong was worried that Wei Jin lacked experience.

"I've already registered it, Teacher Zhang."

"Tell me what you're planning."

"Well, as you can both see, this script relies mainly on its story and atmosphere, and it won't require much investment, so I plan to use it to get some practice myself."

Wei Jin hurriedly made his position clear. He intended to direct it himself.

"Can you handle this style?"

Zhang Jiandong was also worried that Wei Jin would ruin the script.

"Teacher, take a look at this."

Wei Jin took out another stack of documents and handed them over.

"A storyboard? You've even finished this?"

Zhang Jiandong could hardly believe it. Jiang Wei also came over for a look.

"When are you planning to start shooting?"

"Teachers, here's my plan. During the National Day holiday, I'll take care of location scouting and some other preliminary work. Once the holiday is over, I can start preparations, and I expect to begin shooting in the middle of the month."

Wei Jin laid out his plan.

"Isn't that a little rushed? There's no need to hurry so much, is there?"

Jiang Wei was somewhat puzzled.

"Teacher, I'm planning to finish shooting before the middle of November and complete all post-production by early December."

Wei Jin explained.

"Hmm... Early December. You're pretty confident, kid. Are you planning to enter the Berlin International Film Festival?"

Zhang Jiandong sounded a little surprised.

"Yes, Teacher Zhang. Each of the three major European festivals has its own preferences. This script is better suited to the Berlin International Film Festival, so I need to hurry a little."

"In that case, come with me."

Without another word, Zhang Jiandong took the script and led Wei Jin to the department head's office. After they talked things over, department head Xie Xiaojin expressed his full support.

"Xiao Wei, make a good film. Have Jiang Wei be your producer, and try to win an award and bring some honor to our school."

The department head launched straight into an impassioned pep talk.

"Thank you so much, Director. I was just worrying about how to put a crew together."

Wei Jin looked pleasantly surprised. With a producer, all the crew's various odds and ends would be taken care of.