Chapter 57: Endless Waves of Exam Drills and Cramming

May 13th—just two days before this year's Cannes National Film Festival opens—Li Wenyu and Pang Bing appeared together on the streets of Shanghai.

The post-production for The Sound Engineer was completely finished, and there was no need for Pang Bing to worry about the post-production for Unforgettable. The two had arrived in Hong Kong in March and had been away for two months.

There were many matters waiting to be handled back on the mainland.

Li Wenyu glanced around the street and smiled. "The courtyards within the Second Ring Road, the spacious four-room apartments near the North Third Ring—most of the renovations are nearly done. The headquarters of Time Media should be much the same."

"There are plenty of things waiting for us to inspect. Let's first check out the residential building agreed upon with the Shanghai real estate developers, where the lead actors of Star You will be living, and see how the renovations are progressing."

Having been away for so long, many things were entrusted to teachers to monitor progress, inspect, and verify quality. If the teachers were unsure, they would call on professional friends. Ning Hao and Deputy Director Xiao Yang’s team had hired numerous professionals for these tasks.

Pang Bing cheerfully said, "Shall we meet Jiang Shuying? We had considered casting her as the third female lead in the new drama. Over the past three months, we even arranged for her to take private lessons with a performance coach. Three months is enough to evaluate her progress."

The Star You crew was busy scouting filming locations in Shanghai, among other tasks.

Li Wenyu’s assistant director team was also coordinating with Shanghai’s officials to build a set street matching the Ming Dynasty’s Wanli era.

They needed to check and approve progress on that as well.

Li Wenyu nodded. "Let's meet her. If her progress is decent, we’ll sign her for five years. She’s had a few months to consider it."

Time Media had also signed Yang Mi on a five-year contract, stipulating that during non-filming periods she must return to school to study.

After graduating high school, no matter which university she applied to, the company would support her.

A few months of training could never compare to years of formal study at Beijing Film Academy or Central Academy of Drama. Besides, these were just beginners barely managing bit parts in the TV industry.

The last time he scouted talent near the Shanghai Theatre Academy entrance exam, he met Jiang Shuying, a complete outsider with a performance attribute score of 22—three points higher than Liu Shishi's first assessment.

He had already set clear standards, giving Jiang Shuying a solo script from Star You and hiring a coach.

Training was arranged so it wouldn’t interfere with her daytime vocational school studies: two hours of evening training and one hour of morning practice daily, with a monthly stipend of 2,000 yuan.

This was the standard also applied for Yang Mi, Liu Shishi, Re Yiza, Zhang Jiani, and others.

Among them... well, Yang Mi had slightly better talent and had been polished in the crew for over a month, capable of playing a minor extra.

At least her few minutes of screen time in The Sound Engineer as a small supporting character were solid.

...

After some time, Li Wenyu drove to a small street-facing residential complex. Outside a 30-story building with two units per floor, the lobby on the first floor was well renovated, with progress over halfway done.

The exterior walls of the entire building were still in a simple unfinished state, looking rather ordinary.

Several other buildings in the complex were still under construction.

This particular building had been fast-tracked. While Li Wenyu and Pang Bing were inspecting, a man hurried over to guide them. "Are you Director Li from Shark Beach? Pardon me, I didn’t expect to see you here. Please forgive the informal welcome..."

He was a smooth talker with high emotional intelligence.

After some polite greetings, he led Li Wenyu and Pang Bing to see the renovations on the 23rd floor.

After three months, the two-unit-per-floor corridor and about 150-square-meter apartments were decorated elegantly and stylishly, furnished partially.

A manager proudly boasted, "Director Li, you’re incredible. The renovation drawings and plans you provided in February, along with some furniture selections, really elevated this place."

"Once your crew wraps filming here, these apartments will become model homes for others to visit."

"Some furniture is still being custom-made. Rest assured, our boss is treating this like a critical battle. By August, all furniture will be in place."

"By October, when your crew moves in to film, the formaldehyde will have completely dissipated. The building’s exterior painting, garden landscaping—all will be finished."

The real estate company had donated three million yuan to Time Media, securing this opportunity. Once the TV series aired and became a hit, the company’s reputation would skyrocket nationwide.

It was a win-win collaboration, more thrilling than spending tens of millions on prime-time ads during New Year’s Eve.

Li Wenyu smiled and nodded, "Alright, I’ll await your good news."

After chatting and touring for a while, Pang Bing received word that Jiang Shuying had arrived with her parents.

They paused their inspection to greet her. After brief courtesies, Li Wenyu began assessing Jiang Shuying’s status.

Assessment target: Jiang Shuying.

Acting ability: 31 out of 100.

...

Li Wenyu sighed softly. Three months’ study had pushed her from 22 to 31? Tolerable.

Smiling, he said to little Jiang, "Enough pleasantries. Let me check your progress. Jiang, prepare a ten-minute crying scene for me."

An increase from 22 to 31 wasn’t slow.

If you look at the overall attribute score, four years of formal training combined with various crew experiences would yield about 60 points by graduation—enough to portray unremarkable but credible supporting roles, a professional passing grade.

Including typical "flower vase" roles.

Many people only reach that level after four years.

Yang Mi had undergone longer special training and yet only scored 46!

Why was 46 good enough to finish filming The Sound Engineer?

Filming that production was another type of special training. Like the humanities section of China’s college entrance exam—Chinese, math, English, politics, history, geography—passing every subject is a basic passing standard.

...

This represented comprehensive learning and accumulation, making one an overall qualified candidate.

But if you focus all your time on just one subject—for example, Chinese—and only memorize several selected classical texts and poems, you can achieve excellent or outstanding results on that narrowly focused exam after a few months.

Just like Pang Bing’s overall score of 80 in Shark Beach, but after multiple rehearsals focused on dramatic scenes, he could perform at an 85 level—achieved through specialized rehearsal.

Yang Mi’s total score was 46, but her screen time was only a few short scenes!

One scene was at the police station, where she didn’t believe her father had been kidnapped and killed.

Another was attending her father’s funeral, trying to learn his favorite piano piece.

Then, when her stepmother tried to harm a neighbor, she was sent out to buy medicine.

Only a few minutes of screen time, and Yang Mi had already passed the first round of auditions last year!

During March and April filming, each scene was shot twenty or thirty times, with guidance from veterans like Zhang Min and He Qing.

Her solo performance ultimately reached a level of 63.

Li Wenyu personally coached her dozens of times, boosting her attributes temporarily—on screen, this translated to a solid 70—before quietly reclaiming those points after filming.

Yang Mi privately admitted that those days of intensive training deeply enlightened her. Many senior observers praised her talent, but after filming she never quite found that feeling again.

She openly envied those who received long-term training from Director Li...

It was like cramming for the college entrance exam.

In these months, Jiang Shuying and the other girls only needed to study hard for their roles as Ming dynasty maidens in Star You, plus scenes as modern students.

A new round of cramming.

Even if her crying scenes were still weak, by October she would see another improvement phase. That’s typically how child stars develop.

Or one in ten thousand might naturally shine through.

Jiang glanced at her parents and nodded earnestly. "Thank you, Director Li. I will do my best to seize this opportunity."

A vocational school student, it was already 2002. With an ordinary family background and aged sixteen, she understood what was expected.

Looking back, she had come early to watch the 2002 Shanghai Theatre Academy entrance exams. Many seasoned candidates hadn’t been chosen by Li Wenyu, yet a passing onlooker like her caught his attention. She felt a small sense of fortune.

Before her stood the already skyrocketing star Pang Bing, who hadn’t been much older when starring in My Fair Princess.