Slowly, Wu Hao drifted off into dreamland.
"Hao Hao, wake up! You're going to be late for school!" Wu Hao, in the midst of a deep sleep, heard his mother's call from the living room.
What's going on? After starting work, his parents never woke him up again. And what's with this talk about school? He had been working for over a decade. Still half-asleep, Wu Hao reached under his pillow and grabbed his phone, not paying attention to its size. He opened his eyes to check the time. It was only 6 o'clock.
Hmm? Wait a minute, something feels off about this phone. The screen is so small. Upon closer inspection, isn't this a Nokia? It's huge! What model is this? But wait, now is not the time to worry about the model. He was using a Huawei Mate40, not a Nokia. Could it be a dream? Wu Hao pinched his thigh hard. Ouch! It hurt!
Taking in his surroundings, Wu Hao suddenly snapped out of his drowsiness. It was a spacious room with traditional Chinese decor, exuding a sense of dignity. It wasn't the tiny house his father's company assigned them in his memories, nor was it the new house they moved into later.
Though a bit perplexed, as an otaku and a devoted fan of web novels, Wu Hao's first instinct was that he had been reborn. Looking at the Nokia in his hand, dated September 4th, 2004, everything fell into place.
Wu Hao pinched himself hard once again, confirming that he had indeed been reborn. Excitement surged within him. Finally, he had a chance to enter the entertainment industry. He had grown tired of his previous life, stuck in a dead-end job at a state-owned enterprise.
This was a rebirth, not a soul transmigration. His parents were still his real parents, and he was yet to have a wife or children. There was nothing worth clinging onto from his previous life. First love girlfriend? What's that? Can you eat it? But the unfamiliar yet familiar memories flooding his mind upon awakening reminded him that although his parents remained the same, their social status had drastically changed.
Lying in bed, Wu Hao pondered how to break into the entertainment industry. He was currently in his senior year of high school. Although his grades weren't great, with some effort, he should have no problem getting into a film academy. The only catch was his lack of acting experience. But that was manageable. He still had four months to cram and study. It should be doable. And with his parents' current status, entering the entertainment industry should be relatively easy.
He quickly got out of bed, freshened up, and sat down to have breakfast with his parents. His mother expressed her concern, saying, "It's your senior year. Study hard. We're not expecting you to aim for a bachelor's degree. An associate degree will do. After that, we'll help you find a job. It's your final year. Hang in there..."
Heh, his mom's nagging had shifted from finding him a wife to focusing on his studies. It was quite an adjustment. If he were to get a girlfriend now, he'd probably get beaten to a pulp by his mom, wouldn't he?
"Mom, I'm planning to switch to an arts major and apply to a film academy," he declared.
His parents were cultured individuals in this life, so there were no melodramatic objections or concerns about him entering the world of stars.
"But why this sudden change of heart when everything is going well? As long as you get into university, you don't have to worry about your future job," his father finally spoke up.
In his previous life, Wu Hao only managed to attend a junior college, falling short of his parents' expectations. And because he wasted his days without pursuing further education, he missed out on numerous opportunities at work, leading to a lifetime of mediocrity. Of course, he couldn't tell his parents about this.
"I want to become a celebrity and make money. Just look at how wealthy Xiao Yanzi and Zi Wei are." At that time, "Princess Returning Pearl" was all the rage, and it had become an idol drama that his parents were familiar with.
"But you have no foundation, and you don't know anything. Even if you get in, there's no guarantee you'll become famous," his mother expressed her worries.
"I'm handsome, and I can sing well. Of course, I'll become famous!" Wu Hao boasted, full of self-confidence. In reality, Wu Hao was fairly good-looking, at least on the level of Wu Yan Zu, but a beefed-up version.
"Heh heh, of course, my son is much handsomer than the Fifth Prince," said his mother, affectionately patting Wu Hao's head with a beaming smile.
Wu Hao rolled his eyes. Gu Jieji was at least ten Su Youpengs behind him!
His father made the final decision, "Alright then, since you have your own aspirations, we won't oppose them."
And so, it was settled. Wu Hao finished his breakfast, grabbed his backpack, and headed to school. There wasn't much to say about school. They had just formed new classes, and he had no close friends. After graduation, they lost touch and there was nothing worth reminiscing about. As for beautiful girls? Come on, in the film academy, were there any shortage of them?
However, when Wu Hao explained to his homeroom teacher that he wanted to switch to an arts major, he received a pleasant surprise. The homeroom teacher at that time was quite responsible and genuinely cared about Wu Hao's foundation in the arts. After learning that Wu Hao knew nothing, the teacher proactively made a phone call to a former classmate at the Jiangxi Vocational College of Arts, hoping they could help Wu Hao. The teacher mentioned that this classmate was a professor in the drama department and the only professor there. Wu Hao was filled with gratitude and thanked the teacher profusely. Jiangxi Vocational College of Arts was the same school that Deng Chao attended back then. Although it was a vocational college, having a professor to guide Wu Hao was more than enough since he only needed to pass the art entrance examination.
Returning home, Wu Hao explained the situation to his parents, and they were thrilled. They bought some gifts and paid a visit during the weekend. The professor's surname was Deng, and he was actually related to Deng Chao. Back then, Deng Chao affectionately called the professor "Dad." Professor Deng warmly received the three of them, carefully scrutinizing Wu Hao. He seemed satisfied with Wu Hao's appearance and decided to accept him as a student. Of course, it wasn't attending art school. Wu Hao would spend weekends at Professor Deng's house, listening to lectures and receiving assignments. The following week, he would return to have the professor review his work and provide guidance.
And so, Wu Hao settled into a routine life of attending regular classes and receiving supplementary tutoring on weekends. During this time, Wu Hao noticed that he had become smarter. He could skim through texts at lightning speed and had a photographic memory, abilities that were only legend before. He also showed great talent in acting. Combined with his hard work, Professor Deng was highly satisfied with Wu Hao's progress.
By the end of 2005, after the Lantern Festival, Wu Hao couldn't wait to go to Beijing with his parents, using various excuses like getting accustomed to the environment and familiarizing himself with the city.
Of course, those were all lies. Wu Hao's real purpose was to meet Yang Mi. Although Yang Mi was busy and he might not have the chance to meet her before the art entrance examination, he thought it was better to establish a connection early on. Once the exam day arrived, it would be difficult to get to know her amidst the crowd. Although they would be classmates, they wouldn't have much time to interact due to her busy schedule.
Originally, he didn't want his parents to accompany him. After all, he was in his thirties in terms of his mental age. He could take care of himself without any problems. But in his parents' eyes, he was only seventeen, and they had never been apart from him, so it was natural for them to be concerned and follow along.
But he considered it an opportunity to spend more time with them. After he started university, he would probably only have time to visit them during Chinese New Year. During holidays, he would undoubtedly be looking for opportunities to audition for acting roles. If he was lucky, he might have already joined a film crew and would need to focus on earning money. He wouldn't have time to go back home, especially after graduating.
They booked two standard rooms in a hotel near the Beijing Film Academy, directly reserving them for a month. It was only 6,000 yuan, and breakfast was included. Wu Hao felt it was incredibly cheap, and the environment was also good. In his previous life, he wouldn't even know how many rings he had to go out in Beijing to rent a house for 6,000 yuan. Unfortunately, although his family's conditions were good, it was still somewhat challenging to buy a house in Beijing.
So, he had to find a way to make money. After all, he was a reborn person. Otherwise, he would be criticized by netizens, saying, "You were reborn and yet you didn't start a company but went to the entertainment industry? Abandoning the book!" When he read such comments while reading Huayu novels in the past, Wu Hao couldn't help but feel speechless. If people wanted to read business novels, why not just click on the "x" in the top right corner to close it? Why waste time typing comments?
Although he had fantasized about rebirth and transmigration, and most netizens probably had too, there were only a few who actually remembered the winning lottery numbers from their previous lives. In his previous life, he was completely unprepared, but he did remember hearing about someone forfeiting a prize of 12.82 million yuan on a reality show. Wu Hao had specially looked it up in the news at that time, and it did happen in 2008 in Dongguan, Guangdong. The person who forfeited the prize had bought two tickets, totaling 25.65 million yuan.
With the golden finger of this life, Wu Hao could still remember the lottery numbers. It was the only set of numbers he knew, but when it came to lottery tickets... well, it was worth a try. It was only 10 yuan.
Gambling on soccer matches might be an option too. In 2006, there was the World Cup, and Wu Hao remembered the results of some exciting matches. However, he couldn't find any reliable betting companies on the mainland. But after the college entrance examination, he could go to Hong Kong and check it out.
After dinner, Wu Hao informed his parents that he planned to go to an internet cafe to search for information. In his previous life, he hadn't made any preparations, so now he wanted to see what opportunities were available.
He found a nearby internet cafe and noticed the words "Minors are prohibited from using the internet" displayed above the counter. It suddenly dawned on him that he was only seventeen years old. Fortunately, the enforcement wasn't strict at that time, or perhaps the young lady managing the internet cafe found him attractive. After Wu Hao explained that he was an art student looking for information, she allowed him to use a computer.
(A/N: Some facts and history are altered, don't get triggered!)
In 2005, there wasn't much significant happening, and the stock market was relatively stable. After spending several hours online, the only valuable information he discovered was about Bitcoin. It was currently selling for just over 100 yuan per coin. In his previous life, Bitcoin had reached over 60,000 yuan per coin, a staggering 600-fold increase. However, even if he bought it now, it would probably take a long time to make a profit, and he couldn't afford to buy many. His parents only gave him 5,000 yuan per month, and he couldn't survive on instant noodles alone. He would have to gradually accumulate his holdings.
There were also stocks like Apple and BAT that he wanted to buy. But those were long-term investments that wouldn't generate immediate returns.
Back in the hotel, lying on the bed, Wu Hao pondered how he could make money. He wanted to start making films after graduating in 2009. At that time, a few million yuan could still produce some decent movies. In a few years, budgets would need to be in the tens of millions. From his memory, he recalled low-budget, high-grossing films like "Crazy Stone," "Lost in Thailand," and "Love is Not Blind." The cost of "Crazy Racing" alone was 10 million yuan, so it was unlikely to match. However, he definitely wanted to outdo "Lost in Thailand" and "Love is Not Blind." These two films were released in 2011, but he estimated that the scripts had been developed even earlier. He had to plan ahead. If worst came to worst, he would gather investors to make the films.
Otherwise, he could follow the example of others and invite Yang Mi to star in a movie like "Shark Beach." It was impossible for him to shoot a movie alone with just 30,000 yuan. However, if he gathered a group of classmates from school, he could keep the cost under 1 million yuan. It could even be considered a graduation project, and the school could take charge of the special effects.
Another option was to write novels. Although it wouldn't make a lot of money, the main benefit was the copyright. Fortunately, Wu Hao had plenty of time in his previous life. He had watched his favorite movies and TV shows multiple times and could recall specific lines and scenes. Turning them into written words shouldn't be a problem. For example, "Chinese Paladin," "Eternal Love," "You Are the Apple of My Eye," and "Youth." But it would be strange to write novels about nostalgia for youth when he hadn't even started university. As for those two grave-robbing novels, Wu Hao hadn't read them.
After contemplating for a while, he decided to start by writing "The Martian Rescue." The novel wouldn't be too long, and he could change the setting to China, altering the details while still making it publishable. There was also "Gravity," which didn't have an original novel but could be adapted into one. As for "The Wandering Earth" and "The Three-Body Problem," he decided to leave those alone and leave some room for the original authors. If it weren't for the lack of funds, Wu Hao wouldn't have resorted to plagiarizing "Lost in Thailand" and "Love is Not Blind" either.
He would rely on recalling the scenes and translating them into words. At most, it could be considered a novelization of the screenplay. He wasn't capable of directly converting existing novels into novels themselves. Sigh, it wasn't so easy to become a plagiarizing king, after all.
Of course, he could also try writing and singing songs. Although music didn't make much money, every little bit counted, and it would help him gain some fame.
Sigh, he had also hoped to buy a house in Beijing early on, but now it seemed he didn't know when that would happen. It was definitely not possible without making movies. How much could actors earn? Even if they had a salary of 100 million yuan, it still couldn't compare to investing in oneself and becoming a director. Just look at Wu Jing, who made over 2 billion yuan with "Wolf Warrior 2."
In his previous life, so many people changed their careers to become directors for a reason. Perhaps it was true what they said: "I just want to turn the things in my mind into works and present them to everyone." Ultimately, it was still for the money.
After tossing and turning in bed for half the night, Wu Hao had planned his future path.
Every month, he would buy 10 Bitcoins, write novels for publication, find film crews to act in, and take the opportunity to learn how to make movies. In 2006, he would go to Hong Kong to bet on soccer matches. Before graduating, he would make sure "Shark Beach" was filmed and released to break even. He would also test his directing skills. By 2009, he aimed to save up 5 million yuan to make "Lost in Thailand." In his previous life, it cost only 7 million yuan to produce. As long as he storyboarded it well and strictly controlled wasteful shots, he could reduce costs. If he could use a digital camera for filming, that would be even better. Once this movie was made, everything would fall into place.