Lu Ze didn't let Liu Le's hopes down. Him obtaining the role allowed the latter to get a four hundred yuan commission as well, and the production team didn't cut it from Lu Ze's pay either.
Lu Ze walked out of the film city while clenching two papers in his hands: This was his script. When he examined it, it had more than a hundred words!
"Kid, you're really good! Your acting looked so real that it gave me a fright. You really know your stuff, eh?"
"Of course! You think I'll dare to run my mouth off like that without knowing my stuff? I, your little brother, am also trained, alright?"
Lu Ze was not courteous either. Acting like a big-shot, he walked as if he didn't even recognize his parents anymore. He seemed to be soaring in the ninth heavens.
"What are you pretending for? Seems like you need to be taught a lesson! Did the director tell you the time of shooting or not?"
"Yes. Tomorrow, a battlefield scene. The demolition expert needs to prepare for a bit. It's pretty good, I'll have time to prepare too."
"Then, do you want to still work today? There is a dead body part in the afternoon. Will you do it?"
"Yes. I'm a bit short on money at the moment. I'll do anything. Let's go!"
…
Again, Lu Ze returned home with his whole body covered in filth. Carrying the water basin, he washed his and then made himself some scrambled eggs. After eating and drinking a bottle of beer, he laid down on the bed at eight and entered the course.
In his most recent course of actor basics, he'd suffered a bit too many lashes. Afraid of the lashes, Lu Ze decided to relax a bit with a simulation course. Indeed, the lashes in a simulation were quite rare compared to actor's basics courses. The former almost seemed like toys.
However, the benefits he received from basic courses were also equally huge. His fundamentals had become quite solid. He could weep or cry at a cue, as if he'd learned Sichuan Mask Plays.
Scrolling through the course list, Lu Ze's gaze erratically moved. Suddenly, he saw a course go by and stopped scrolling, going back to the previous frame.
"Twenty-first-century College Student's Life Simulation"
Looking at this course, his gaze turned a little blurry. Perhaps...his dream of college could be fulfilled in a dream?
"Loading complete, initializing course Twenty-first-century College Student's Life Simulation, 3...2...1…"
…
"Entering the first phase simulation; duration, one semester. Get ready, 3...2...1…"
Lu Ze opened his eyes, somewhat dazzled by the light. He was in a big bus. Having just woken up, he was a bit muddled. Before him was a female student explaining the college's history.
'Oh right, I'm Lu Ze, currently eighteen years old. Native town, Lu Hua, a student of the civil department of Beijing University's 2012 Architecture batch, specializing in design arts. It's the day of my registration.'
Taking out the admission letter in his bag, Lu Ze took a glance and carefully placed it back. He stuck to the window and watched the buildings outside. Although it was day, the capital was countless times more beautiful than his village. This was the scene he'd dreamt about seeing after leaving his village.
Forty five minutes later, the bus stopped outside the eastern gate of the university. Lu Ze didn't step out of the bus in a hurry and peeked inside through the windows. Today was the day of registration. The old students had returned by now as well, so the insides were bustling with activity. This was a scene Lu Ze had never seen before.
The bus also had parents, who hurriedly helped their children carry their luggage and get off the bus. Lu Ze stepped out by himself at the end while carrying two big denim bags on his shoulder.
It was just the beginning of autumn, so the capital was not cool either. Carrying the two denim bags, he went to the registration venue and waited for about an hour before obtaining his bedding. He then purchased a set of bedsheets and headed to his dormitory, guided by a senior student.
314…This was the place he would spend his next four years. It was a four-man dormitory. The others had already sorted out their beds with the help of their parents. Seeing Lu Ze, the other three rushed over to help and began chatting.
After he familiarized himself with his roommates, their parents asked why Lu Ze's parents didn't come, yet enthusiastically helped him to make his bed and advised that the four of them should get along well in the future. Subsequently, one of the guardians invited the four children for lunch. He seemed quite rich, taking them to a good restaurant.
This was the first time Lu Ze had seen such exquisite dishes. He even felt hesitant to move his chopsticks, afraid of disturbing the beauty of the dishes.
After the meal, the guardian left, and the four kids returned to their dormitory. At this moment, the sky had begun to darken. One of his roommates shouted for everybody to come play, holding a basketball in his hands. In this room, Lu Ze was the only one who had never played basketball before.
They returned tired and drenched in sweat. After taking a bath, they went to the dining hall to have dinner. In this manner, it was already nine in the evening.
Upon returning to the dormitory, they divided themselves into old first, old second, and so on according to the convention of the university. Of course, they didn't use this form of the address from the next morning. Only when it came to sorting the bedding and other cleaning tasks would they affectionately yell old first, acting as if all of them were step brothers.
Lu Ze was precisely the old first, the pathetic leader of the room.
In the beginning, all of them got along quite well. However, the differences between wealth and personal characteristics slowly revealed themselves, and the room gradually turned a little unharmonious. The talks among them became less; each began to do his own thing before sleeping.
Lu Ze was a simple and honest one, without much shrewdness. His standing was neutral; neither of his three roommates disliked him, but his vision was too shallow. Adding on their different hobbies and pocket money, they had no common talking point at all.
Every morning at five a.m, Lu Ze went to the dining hall for his part-time job. Eight hundred yuan per month was more than enough to cover his expenses. Moreover, he never missed a class. Apart from attending class and working, all his time was spent in the university's huge library.
Only a kid coming out of mountains would know how deep their thirst for knowledge went. After all, growing up in poverty, they knew from childhood that if they wanted to change their life, they had to study.
Until that day...
Time quickly passed. In a blink of an eye, the end of the semester was in sight. Students also began to study hard, making the library crowded.
A faint sound of a stool being pulled came. One of the only remaining vacant seats was beside Lu Ze.
In the peaceful library, even a slight noise would travel far distances, much less to say a sound that came from right beside him. Somebody sitting beside him was a very ordinary matter. So, Lu Ze was fully focused on his notes of Emergency Fire Doors and Passages, and he didn't even raise his head.
But all of a sudden, a sweet fragrance softly entered his nose. Coincidentally, he'd caught a little cold these days. His nose was a bit too unwell, causing him to involuntarily sneeze.
"Achoo!"
Turning his head, Lu Ze looked at the perfume's source. This was what they called love-at-first-sight. He didn't freeze, neither was he stumped. He merely thought that this girl was extremely beautiful in that moment.
His contact with girls was quite sparse even amongst the girls of his all class. Even though the girls felt that Lu Ze was probably the most good-looking in the class, his rustic clothes and his job at the dining hall part-time made their relationship limited to borrowing notes from him.
In any case, Lu Ze felt like basking in sunlight on a winter day at this moment.
The girl also realized that Lu Ze had sneezed due to sniffing her perfume, so her face turned somewhat red. She thought about changing seats, but once she saw that the seats were packed with people everywhere, she gave up on the idea.
There was another girl that had come along with her. The two girls whispered in each other' years and began giggling after a quick glance at Lu Ze.
Lu Ze could no longer dive back into the book. Because of the quiet, although he couldn't hear what the two girls talked about, their laughter entered his ears, making his ears red and hot.
Fifteen minutes later, he escaped in a fluster, like a rat running with its tail between legs. He didn't even dare take a second glance!
During the final exam, as a student with excellent grades in his class, Lu Ze was the first to finish the test. He didn't even revise his answer sheet, feeling that the questions were too simple.
That's right. Apart from being poor, he was truly outstanding.
"First phase simulation concluded. Score, 97 points, excellent. Course Completed."