Linghai City.
In a high-end karaoke bar.
Su Mengxue, who had just been hung up on, was completely dumbfounded. How dare Jiang Hua do this?
With his current monthly salary of 5,000 yuan, he couldn't even afford a wife.
She was already being quite generous by not looking down on him, yet he dared to hang up on her.
Su Mengxue immediately called back, but couldn't get through.
She didn't give up and directly made a voice call through WeChat, only to find that he had blocked her.
This time, she began to panic. Jiang Hua had always treated her well and never made her do any housework.
She liked going to bars and clubbing, and Jiang Hua was very tolerant of these shortcomings.
But now, she had been blocked.
Seeing Su Mengxue constantly staring at her phone, Xu Lin hurriedly called out, "Mengxue, it's your turn to sing with Wang Kai. Your duet on stage at the graduation party was the secret crush of many young men and women."
"Yes, yes, that image was too beautiful. It's still fresh in my memory," the surrounding classmates chimed in.
Su Mengxue stole a glance at Wang Kai, her face turning red. Compared to Wang Kai, Jiang Hua was just a loser.
Wang Kai was a triple-threat star in film, television, and music. Although he didn't have any particularly well-known works, he was still miles ahead of Jiang Hua, who had been banned.
Thinking of this, she picked up the microphone and began to sing a duet.
To be fair, the two of them were indeed well-matched, truly deserving of being called the secret crush and beauty mark.
After finishing the song, Xu Lin leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Wang Kai has become more and more handsome after becoming an idol. He's even more handsome in person than on TV. He just signed with your company and will soon start filming a big production. Don't you want to seize this opportunity?"
Su Mengxue shook her head. She was currently just a fringe player in the entertainment industry and couldn't be associated with Wang Kai, affecting his prospects.
Xu Lin smiled and said, "This time, Wang Kai came specifically for you. Their production has an important supporting role and wants you to audition for it."
Hearing this, Su Mengxue suddenly raised her head to look at Wang Kai. She so desperately wanted to advance in her career.
Wang Kai smiled at her and nodded. Everything was understood without being said.
...
At the entrance of the Zhejiang Provincial Xiaobaihua Art Troupe, a three-story old building with walls covered in moss.
Jiang Hua had only brought a simple travel backpack.
It was a sunny day in May in Zhejiang Province.
As for Su Mengxue's side, he was just an outsider and didn't want to get involved in those messy affairs.
His predecessor was his predecessor, and he was himself. After wandering for half a lifetime, he had returned still a young man. Who could understand this feeling?
The best he could do for his predecessor was to live well.
He was in a cheerful mood because he had just received a phone call.
"Mr. Jiang Hua, the director of our art troupe would like to conduct a private interview with you. Please arrive at the Zhejiang Provincial Xiaobaihua Art Troupe at 2 p.m. today for the interview."
Generally speaking, civil servant exams required a written test first, and the same applied to this institutional work unit.
However, he hadn't even taken the written test yet and was already being interviewed. It seemed his resume was too outstanding.
Everyone liked a versatile talent, and with his stage performance experience on top of that, he was simply too excellent.
The timing was just right, as he had arrived in the area yesterday.
Jiang Hua directly walked into the building and stopped a pretty young girl to ask, "Comrade, may I ask where the interview is being held? I'm here for the interview."
The young girl in front of him was stunned for a moment. Were they recruiting young male actors? She wasn't aware of it.
She asked, "What position are you interviewing for?"
Jiang Hua scratched his head. He had filled in quite a few positions on his resume, and the other party hadn't specified any position during the phone call.
"Let's go with erhu performance then."
"What? You play the erhu?" The young girl looked incredulous. Such a young and handsome guy played the erhu?
Wasn't the erhu usually played by older people?
"Yunxiao, let's go," another young girl called out from the corridor.
The girl named Yunxiao said, "Go all the way down this corridor and ask there." With that, she ran off.
Walking to the last room, Jiang Hua politely knocked on the door.
"Hello, I'm Jiang Hua, here for the interview."
A middle-aged woman was taken aback. Jiang Hua? She seemed to have heard the director mention him, but he was so handsome. Could it be that the troupe was recruiting young male actors?
His appearance was quite good, very refined, just a bit too tall for pairing on stage.
At 1.83 meters tall, if he wore thick-soled boots, he would be 1.9 meters. Where could they find such a tall actress to pair with him?
Opera wasn't like movies where they could use boxes for height differences.
However, since the director had specifically instructed, she couldn't refuse. She would take him to see the director first.
"Come, I'll take you there."
This auntie was quite amiable. People in the entertainment industry were all focused on benefits.
They were far less pure than those in the opera circle. Of course, those engaged in opera arts didn't have much money.
They entered an office where a very charismatic auntie was sitting.
She looked Jiang Hua up and down, a slight smile on her lips.
Jiang Hua stood confidently in front of her, his travel-worn appearance evident from his backpack.
But his image was indeed excellent. Being able to gain popularity relying on his looks meant he had some skills.
This auntie smiled and said, "I've read your resume. It's very detailed, but your stage experience isn't actually five years, right?"
He had exaggerated this point a bit. Jiang Hua awkwardly rubbed his nose. He had debuted five years ago, but if he were to count the time he had actually been active, it was only two years. The subsequent three years, he had been in a banned state.
This might be his only chance. Jiang Hua immediately said, "Hiring me is a bargain! I can play the erhu, guzheng, and suona. Oh, I can also sing opera. How about I sing a piece for you?"
Hey! This kid had some thick skin. Even after being exposed, he could still remain so calm, unlike a young person.
Jiang Hua began to warm up his voice, ready to perform. He had tested the vocal conditions of this body and could only say that the ancestral masters had blessed him with a good voice.
Director Cai interrupted his preparations and asked, "Your work relationship is with Huayi, right?"
Jiang Hua sighed. Even the opera circle didn't dare to offend Huayi. It seemed the 50 million yuan penalty was set in stone.
He instantly lost his spirit. With only a 10% profit share, he would have to earn 450 million yuan for the company to cover the 50 million yuan penalty.
It was better to just endure for five years.
Director Cai immediately asked, "So, tell me, what do your family members do for a living?"
Jiang Hua was stunned. Could there still be a turning point?
He immediately replied, "My grandfather is a veteran of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. My father participated in the battle of Laoshan and is now a teacher in our county. My mother is an ordinary rural woman."
Jiang Hua subconsciously blurted this out.
The auntie across from him nodded. Their art troupe was also part of the institutional establishment and required political background checks.
If your grandfather was a bandit and your father was a gangster, it would be troublesome to recruit you.
"Alright then. Go wait in the practice room for now. We'll arrange for you to have an audition."
"Let me tell you upfront, there's no money in opera. It's not like your entertainment industry where you can earn millions in a day."
Jiang Hua thought for a moment and asked, "Auntie, can we do business on the side?"
Director Cai was taken aback. What was this kid thinking? He was used to making quick money.
"No, even participating in variety shows requires a secondment letter from the other work unit."
"What about part-time jobs, like driving a taxi at night, making short videos, or writing novels?"
"It must be positive and uplifting."
Hearing these words, Jiang Hua felt everything was settled.
...