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As Huaxia TV bombarded the nation with trailer after trailer, audiences across the country were left hanging by the Exchanging Lives production team. They were desperate to know what kind of child this little hero who had outwitted human traffickers was: his living environment, his parents and family, his studies, and how he had seen through the traffickers and dared to confront seven or eight criminals.

At ten that night, accompanied by a gently paced musical score, a rich male baritone began an emotive narration. His voice carried both compassion and strength, instantly capturing the ears of viewers nationwide. Those who had originally tuned in only to see the little hero found themselves drawn into the program as well, stunned by the Wei family's immense wealth and by Lu Family Village's poverty and backwardness. They saw with their own eyes how the children of Lu Family Village had to walk three hours every day to attend school; they saw the muddy, pothole-ridden dirt road between the school and the village; they saw that Lu Family Village Primary School had only a row of low, shabby buildings, with worn-out desks and chairs in the classrooms and a playground full of mud and puddles. Compared with the first-rate facilities of Yanjing University Affiliated Middle School, the vast gap between rich and poor made it seem as though children under the same sky were living in two different worlds.

While city children were still troubled and stressed by their heavy schoolwork, the children of Lu Family Village had no choice but to help their families with farm work and chores after studying. The crushing pressures of life had worn away their childish innocence and willfulness.

Just as viewers in front of their televisions were sighing that poor children grew up early, the screen shifted, and the production crew, having left Lu Family Village, had arrived at the railway station.

Viewers across the country perked up at once, their eyes widening as they focused intently. They saw Lu Heng sitting in the waiting hall of the railway station, clutching his schoolbag as he watched the passersby. They saw the old waiting hall of J City Railway Station and all kinds of travelers. They saw Lu Heng, who had been sitting idly in his chair, suddenly spring up as if pricked by a needle and race through the station looking for someone.

Then came the scene from the trailer. Outside the railway station, Lu Heng saw through the human traffickers' crime and demanded that the police be called. The traffickers threatened him, and one of them even pulled out a homemade gun, only for Lu Heng to seize the chance to swing someone up and smash him into them...

The human traffickers' brutality and rampant arrogance, Lu Heng's wit and composure, and the fight itself, more thrilling and suspenseful than a Hong Kong gun-fu movie, had viewers crying out again and again. Only when the police stepped in did everyone finally relax completely. Even so, most viewers still could not figure out how Lu Heng had determined that those people were human traffickers.

Fortunately, the production team promptly cut to an interview. Sitting before the camera, the little hero Lu Heng explained once more how he had identified the traffickers, and the viewers before their televisions finally understood. They could not stop marveling at Lu Heng's meticulous thought process...

Then the screen shifted again, and it began showing snippets of the two protagonists' lives after exchanging families. There was Wei Linxuan's first day in Lu Family Village, as well as everything that happened after Lu Heng arrived in Beijing and was picked up by the Wei family.

The personal appearance of Huaxia Imperial Entertainment's big boss, the exquisitely prepared feast, and Fang Yuqing—the screen goddess from twenty years ago—suddenly appearing before the camera all left viewers dumbfounded. Later, Lu Heng, stuffed to the brim, was dragged out for a walk by Wei Jiayi. To coax him, she got him to climb a tree and pick leaves, and the lifelike little grass bird he wove along with his wonderful vocal imitation performance made viewers realize once again that the little hero was not only skilled in a fight, but had so many other talents as well...

"...Old Fang, stop locking yourself in the study every day, fiddling around with that lousy script of yours! Come out and watch some television once in a while. Exchanging Lives tonight was especially good—far better than Shi Dian Talks Gossip. Come watch it with me."

Fang Kaizhi rubbed the space between his brows tiredly and looked helplessly at his wife, who had pushed open the door and entered.

"How could I possibly be in the mood to watch television..."

As Fang Kaizhi spoke, he let out another sigh.

He picked up the thick stack of scripts spread across the desk. Even if he stared holes into the words on the pages, he still could not make the characters step out of the script and into his camera.

As one of Huaxia's most renowned fifth-generation directors, Fang Kaizhi had been directing for over twenty years and had launched numerous top stars who had gone on to win Best Actor and Best Actress honors. Yet now, he still had no choice but to worry over casting.

The new film he was preparing already had funding, a production crew, its male and female leads, and all the important supporting roles in place. But he could not find one—more precisely, two—suitable child actors.

The candidates recommended by the casting director and some of the investors either did not have the right image or lacked sufficient opera training. They were always just a little short of what he needed.

The film was about to begin shooting, yet the actors still had not been found. He could not possibly force himself to settle, could he?

Thinking of this, Fang Kaizhi rubbed his chin with a miserable expression. His wife, Sun Shumei, could not help rolling her eyes at the sight.

"Worrying will not solve the problem. Isn't there still a casting director? If it really comes down to it, have him visit some opera academies in other places. I refuse to believe that two child actors who can sing opera are so impossible to find—"

Before Sun Shumei could finish, a rich, perfectly articulated excerpt from Empty City Stratagem suddenly rang out from the television, which had been playing advertisements.

It was an unaccompanied performance. Though some of the notes were slightly immature and unpolished, the overall delivery was full of flavor and charm. Fang Kaizhi's ears twitched, and he instinctively rose and walked into the living room. His gaze landed on Lu Heng, who was striking a pose and singing Peking Opera with meticulous precision on the television screen.

"Who is that?"

"That's Lu Heng, the little hero who acted bravely and helped the police crack a major human trafficking case. He's such a good, capable child."

Sun Shumei, yet another adoring grandma successfully won over by Lu Heng, smiled as she pointed at the person on the television and eagerly recommended him to her husband. "This is the program I was just telling you about. This child is incredible. He took on seven or eight human traffickers armed with knives and guns by himself. He can make grass birds and do vocal imitations too. I never expected him to sing Peking Opera so well as well. He really is talented in so many ways. It would be a shame if he did not enter the entertainment industry."

As she spoke, the old lady suddenly remembered something and gave Fang Kaizhi a shove. "Hey, aren't you worrying about not being able to find actors? Why don't you see if he'll do?"