Looking at Pictures Costs Too Much Data (Please Vote!)

Over the next few days, whenever Shen Qi couldn't find work, he went to see Wen Jingrou.

He didn't just study Swordsmanship. He tried to learn a little of every other kind of martial art, too.

He seemed determined to squeeze everything he could out of her.

Wen Jingrou taught him and explained as she went.

If the Magic Book had an experience bar, it would have shot up like crazy.

Shen Qi even felt that he had already met one of the Magic Book's requirements for leveling up: "enough records."

His acting skills just weren't up to scratch yet.

So if he could find work as an extra, joining a production still came first.

Improving his acting was what really mattered.

Whenever he got the chance during a shoot, he pulled out the Magic Book and recorded everything happening on set like mad.

He wanted to reach the next level as soon as possible.

Once life had an experience bar, he felt a lot more motivated.

Stories about Shen Qi soon spread through the extras' circles.

People were discussing him in one of the QQ groups he'd joined.

Someone said they'd met an overachiever on set who watched the shoot while taking notes.

That drew plenty of mockery from the group.

Some called him a blockhead who had to take notes to learn anything.

Others said he was trying too hard, probably just putting on a show.

What normal person took notes?

Pathetic!

Of course, some people defended Shen Qi. They said he was good-looking, and that with a face like his, he wouldn't need to work as an extra with the rest of them if he really wanted to take a shady route.

Even if he sold his body!

He'd be the top attraction at the No. 10 Mansion, or the star of the Golden Bay.

The man's working his ass off, and all you do is run your mouths.

The fact that he was willing to wear stinking costumes and work as an extra showed how decent he was at heart.

Maybe he'd discovered some brilliant way to learn.

After that, the conversation turned to just how handsome Shen Qi was.

Shen Qi skimmed a few messages and stopped paying attention. He stuck to the text; he couldn't afford to enjoy the illustrated mockery.

Pictures used too much data.

The month had barely begun, and he was already close to running out.

GPRS data was ridiculously expensive. Plans were measured in megabytes—10 yuan for 30 MB or 20 yuan for 70 MB—and neither was nearly enough. Anything over the limit cost 0.01 yuan per KB.

Add the calls he couldn't avoid making, and his phone bill alone ran to several hundred yuan a month.

Luckily, Huang Qidao had a computer in his dorm.

Whenever Shen Qi applied to productions online, he borrowed Huang Qidao's computer and internet connection.

He sent out applications like mad almost every day.

He didn't worry about scheduling conflicts yet. If a production was hiring actors, he sent in his résumé and photos.

Shen Qi had already taken part in quite a few film and television productions.

Lotus Lantern, Legend of the White Snake, Judge of the Song Dynasty, My Own Swordsman, Ten Months of Pregnancy, plus Migrant Workers, The Return of the Condor Heroes, and The Wrath of the Honorable, which hadn't started filming yet.

But apart from Yin Zhiping, he barely had any screen time.

A viewer could go to the bathroom and come back to find he'd already disappeared from the episode.

"I'm leaving a few things with you. I'll pick them up next time I'm back."

Shen Qi was due to report to the Migrant Workers production tomorrow and ride with the crew to the filming location.

"Don't worry, I'll look after everything. Are you sure you don't want me to come?"

When Huang Qidao heard Shen Qi was going to film in rural Shanxi, he volunteered to come help, but Shen Qi turned him down.

"Qidao, focus on your studies. The semester starts soon."

Shen Qi simply couldn't afford an assistant.

Especially not one who was a graduate student.

He couldn't expect Huang Qidao to work for free!

"What's the point of studying? Look at our class, Your Lordship. Apart from a few who became teachers, most of them ended up working in gyms, karaoke bars, and clubs."

Huang Qidao looked dejected.

"It's different for you, Qidao. You got into graduate school."

If his family could have afforded it, Shen Qi might have gone to graduate school too, earned a master's degree, then taken the civil service exam...

And become a big shot someday!

"I thought getting into graduate school meant I had a shot at staying on at the university. Now I know every position's already taken. People like us don't stand a chance."

While Shen Qi sent out résumés online, Huang Qidao sat beside him sighing.

"If that doesn't work, you could go for a doctorate. Where there's a will, there's a way."

Shen Qi didn't know how else to comfort him.

For university students, graduation was a rude awakening.

On graduation day, everyone had declared with great ambition that no exam would ever decide their future again.

Then they entered the working world and discovered the truth.

Life was full of exams.

The difference was that some people hadn't prepared at all, while others had known the right answers all along.

Shen Qi had finally landed a job as a PE teacher.

Then a student wrote him a love letter, and he was fired—without any proper investigation or determination of responsibility.

Fuck, he wasn't the one who'd written the student a love letter!

As soon as Wei Jianguo graduated, a small-business owner stole the girlfriend he'd been with for years.

Huang Qidao wanted to stay on at the university. As a sports student, he'd worked his tail off to get into graduate school.

But staying on wasn't so easy.

There was a whole line of world champions waiting for positions. What chance did ordinary sports students like them have?

"I'm done with exams. I get it now. As a kid, I thought I was Ultraman. Then I realized I was Fan Debiao. Once I finish my master's, I want to go into business... I want to make a fortune too!"

Huang Qidao tossed a finished pear core straight into the trash can.

"You're going down that road too..."

Shen Qi wasn't particularly surprised.

Wei Jianguo had already gone down that road.

He'd become a male escort.

Now Huang Qidao had given up hope of staying at the university and wanted to make a fortune in business.

As for their classmates,

apart from those from well-off families, most were getting by without much success.

Sports and arts students had an advantage when it came to the college entrance exam, but when it was time to find work, their options were naturally limited.

It was just as the saying went: every gift fate gave you came with a price tag hidden from view.

Meanwhile, classmates with family connections didn't even need to work hard to get ahead of them.

Shen Qi had once seen a desirable position advertised. Plenty of qualified applicants had been rejected, and the job had gone to a relative of the university president.

"Don't compare me to Jianguo. I have principles."

Huang Qidao rolled his eyes.

"That's only because you don't have the looks..."

Shen Qi didn't even bother pressing the point.

"Come on! I look dependable!"

Huang Qidao was a rough-looking guy.

There was nothing remotely refined or sage-like about him, despite what his name might suggest.

Sometimes you met someone in person and had to rethink everything their name had led you to imagine.

Huang Qidao was one of them. So was Wen Jingrou.

"Give it a while. If you still want to work in the entertainment industry with me, then we'll join forces and make a go of it."

It wasn't that Shen Qi couldn't find an agent.

All he had to do was say he'd passed the audition for Yin Zhiping. Add his looks, and plenty of agents would be willing to represent him.

But he had no idea what those agents might have in store for him.

Shen Qi didn't know how common the industry's unspoken rules were, but when it came to him, even the smallest risk felt sure to become reality.

He didn't dare put his fate in a stranger's hands.

"Why wait? There's still more than half a month before school starts. I'll come to your set and see what it's like, then head back when classes are about to begin."

Huang Qidao was itching to go.

"I won't stop you if you want to come, but I'm warning you now: I can't pay you!"

It wasn't that Shen Qi didn't need an assistant. He couldn't afford one.

"Damn, so you want free labor? You can at least feed me, right?"

"Sure. If you don't get enough to eat, I'll shit out some more for you."

After all, the crew provided meals.

"Fuck!"

Huang Qidao jumped up and hurried to pack.

Early the next morning, they went to the crew's meeting point.

"Zhang Jizhong told me to report here. I called ahead—there are two of us..."

Shen Qi found someone who looked like they were in charge and gave his name and headcount.

"Shen Qi?"

Someone called out behind him. Shen Qi turned and saw Fan Ming.

"Fan Ming!"

Shen Qi was just as surprised as he was.

"Who are you playing?"

Fan Ming took Shen Qi's hand, delighted to run into someone he knew on an unfamiliar production.

They were old pals from My Own Swordsman.

Fan Ming's character, Xing Yusen, had only been promoted to head constable because he'd captured Ji Wuming.

They were close enough that, after filming, they'd gone skinny-dipping together with a few friends.

"I don't know either..."

Shen Qi scratched his head. Zhang Jizhong had given him a phone number.

He'd called it afterward and been told to report here before eight this morning, then leave with the crew for the filming location.

That was all he'd been told.

This was probably one of the downsides of not having an agent or assistant.

Shen Qi spent all day chasing opportunities.

He'd completely overlooked the "minor detail" of what role he was playing.

Of course, the main reason was how casual Zhang Jizhong had been about it.

Shen Qi found it hard to expect much from this rural drama, whether from the production itself or his role.

Whatever.

He'd just count it as the price of getting to play Yin Zhiping.