059 The Beleaguered Roommates of the Beijing Film Academy

"See you around, Sister Hua."

Yan Li watched as Wang Jinghua got into her car. Reluctant to give up, she took a moment to offer one last piece of advice before leaving.

"Xiao Yan, go back and think it over. If you don't want to be an agent, we can start by signing you as an artist instead. The terms I'm offering are definitely the best in Beijing."

"Alright, I'll give it some more thought. Have a safe trip back."

Yan Li nodded, greeted Tong Dawei, and watched the car drive away.

Inside the car, Tong Dawei could no longer hold back his curiosity. "Sister Hua, what made you think of asking Yan Li to be an agent, and why did you even assign me to him?"

"Because he has capability."

Wang Jinghua rubbed the tired corners of her eyes and sighed with emotion. "I chatted with this kid for so long. On the surface, he was respectful, but practically every word he said was airtight. Even after I laid all my cards on the table, I still couldn't completely figure out what was on his mind."

"Previously, I more or less thought that you and the others were exaggerating a bit. Now that I've dealt with him myself, I realize he truly lives up to his reputation."

Hearing this, Tong Dawei nodded as well. "Now that you mention it, I also feel that Yan Li is extremely sharp."

When they had unexpectedly run into Boss Shi before, a normal newcomer seeing such a big figure in the industry would have tried desperately to climb up and cozying up to him. Yet, after a brief contact, Yan Li immediately distanced himself.

Thinking back on it now, Tong Dawei figured Yan Li must have seen through Boss Shi's background almost immediately upon meeting him.

Not only was his mind sharp, but his judgment was also ruthless!

The more Tong Dawei pondered it, the more he felt that Yan Li indeed had some serious skills. Plus, given their personal friendship, working together wouldn't be a bad idea at all.

"So, Sister Hua, I'll try to persuade him for you later."

"Mm."

Wang Jinghua nodded, though she didn't hold out much hope. If she couldn't convince him, Tong Dawei stood even less of a chance.

Through this interaction, she sensed that Yan Li was a man of strong determination and opinions—not someone whose mind could be easily changed.

Still, he was young, too impulsive, and far too confident!

In this world, having ability alone wasn't enough to get ahead. Oh well, once he hit a wall, she would extend the olive branch again. Only, by that time, the terms might not be as generous as they were now.

***

Returning to the Jimenli residential compound, only Lin Jiachuan was home, while Zhang Songwen and Zhou Yiwei had been called away for an audition by a film crew.

Yan Li took a sip of water and asked with curiosity, "Jiachuan, they went for an audition, why didn't you go?"

"I submitted my resume, but they didn't want me."

Lin Jiachuan's tone was filled with disappointment. Although Yan Li had already guessed as much, he still frowned at the news.

This time when he returned to Beijing, the brothers in the dorm were reunited. Naturally, they drank and reminisced, and without the barrier of expensive long-distance phone charges, everyone had candidly revealed their respective circumstances over the past half year since graduation.

That was when Yan Li discovered that, over the past six months, aside from his own steady rise, the others were all having a rather rough time.

Zhou Yiwei was relatively better off. Living at home saved him a lot of living expenses, and every now and then he received a small allowance. Life wasn't exactly abundant, but it was far from desperate.

Zhang Songwen and Lin Jiachuan, however, had it much worse!

Their hometowns weren't in Beijing, and they were too embarrassed to keep asking their parents for money after graduation, leaving them to fend for themselves.

Yet, making a living in Beijing was far from easy.

Rent, transportation, food, clothing, and miscellaneous expenses added up to several hundred yuan a month at the bare minimum, often exceeding four digits. If they spent even a little more freely, thousands of yuan would vanish in the blink of an expense.

Zhang and Lin had spent a few months working behind the scenes for a crew in Lian City and had saved a little money.

However, after returning to Beijing, they hadn't been able to find any decent work. Gradually, their expenses outpaced their income, and if they endured for another two months, the two of them might not even be able to afford their next quarter's rent.

Before Yan Li returned, Zhang Songwen had already considered going back to the Beijing Film Academy to find a job as a teaching assistant. Having served as the class monitor and student union president, he had accumulated some connections.

Being a teaching assistant came with a monthly subsidy of eight hundred to a thousand yuan, providing a fixed income, and it sounded prestigious, making it easier to go out and pitch for roles.

Lin Jiachuan, on the other hand, lacked Zhang Songwen's connections and academic record, making a teaching assistant position at the academy highly unlikely. He could only survive by picking up odd jobs wherever he could.

Seeing his brothers living in such a pitiful state, Yan Li naturally could not sit by and do nothing.

As for directly introducing them to film crews, Yan Li wasn't that influential yet.

He had to wait for the right timing, and the connections he had managed to maintain with great difficulty shouldn't be wasted on tiny, insignificant roles.

Therefore, Yan Li tried using his intelligence network to piece together information about film crews and roles that suited them, then let Zhou, Zhang, and Lin go try out for themselves.

While success wasn't guaranteed, at least there was a degree of targeted effort, which was far better than them blindly shooting in the dark like flies without heads.

Under Yan Li's guidance, Zhou Yiwei had already secured a small role and would join the crew next month. Zhang Songwen was also getting increasing opportunities for interviews.

One had to know that previously, when Zhang and Lin went out to pitch themselves to crews, they basically just exchanged greetings, handed over their resumes and photos, and left their fate to the heavens, rarely getting any interview opportunities at all.

Now that they could secure interviews, it meant they had a tangible chance of acting, or at the very least, leaving an impression on the casting directors so that next time a suitable role came up, they might be remembered.

With Zhou Yiwei opening his account and Zhang Songwen improving, only Lin Jiachuan failed to break the deadlock, receiving the fewest interview opportunities.

Yan Li, along with Lin, Zhou, and Zhang, had analyzed the situation and ultimately concluded that the problem likely lay in the fact that Lin himself was simply too... mediocre.

In terms of physical appearance among the brothers, Yan Li was the best, Zhou Yiwei second, while Lin Jiachuan and Zhang Songwen ranked at the bottom.

However, although Zhang Songwen's features were plain, he had fair skin, carried a scholarly aura, possessed better acting skills, and even spoke Cantonese, which allowed him to fit certain character requirements.

Lin Jiachuan, on the other hand, wasn't terrible in any specific area, but nothing about him stood out—he lacked any distinct characteristics.

That made things very troublesome!

Yan Li had previously muttered that Nicholas Tse's acting style had a strong personal flair, but that was mainly a criticism of his laziness, formulaic acting, and the homogenization of roles that boxed an actor in, which was detrimental to long-term development.

As for an actor having a strong personal style in general, while Yan Li held some reservations, he overall maintained a positive attitude.

Because if an actor lacked personal characteristics and the audience couldn't even remember them, they would "die" an even more miserable death.

Lin Jiachuan's misfortune lay right there. Calling him mediocre was being polite; in reality, he was simply ordinary, lacking sufficient competitiveness, which often led to him being overlooked.

"Brother, do you think I'm just not cut out to be an actor?"

Having suffered too many blows, Lin Jiachuan's self-confidence plummeted to the point where he even began entertaining the thought of changing careers.

"What kind of talk is that?"

Yan Li put his arm around Lin Jiachuan to comfort him. "We all know your capability. You just lack an opportunity. Don't rush, take it slow."

As mentioned before, the four brothers had a solid bond, though there were still subtle differences in closeness. Zhou and Zhang were the closest, while Yan Li and Lin Jiachuan were particularly close—otherwise, Dong Xuan wouldn't have asked him to act as her undercover agent in the first place.

Right now, since Lin Jiachuan was having a hard time, Yan Li couldn't just stand by and watch.

Good opportunities were hard to come by overnight, so the first priority was to solve the basic problem of putting food on the table.

Yan Li pondered for a moment and gave Lin Jiachuan two choices.

First, Yan Li would lend him money, clean and simple.

Second, Lin Jiachuan would work for Yan Li, earning a salary.

Yan Li had been wanting to hire an assistant for a while, and lacking a suitable candidate, he could have Lin Jiachuan fill the role first.

Actually, there was a third choice: Yan Li could take them along to play the stock market.

However, the risks in that industry were too high. As long as they made money, everything was fine, but if they lost, it would spell huge trouble.

Growing up, Yan Li had seen more than enough examples of relatives and friends going into business together, transitioning from getting along like a single family to brawling, and finally turning into bitter enemies who refused to acknowledge each other until death.

Therefore, he wouldn't easily do business with friends or family.

Let alone something as high-risk and potentially exposing of his "special" nature as the stock market.

Helping his brothers was fine, but he didn't want to act as a babysitter, nor could he afford to drag himself down into the mud.

"I choose the second option."

Lin Jiachuan's choice did not surprise Yan Li. If Lin Jiachuan had really wanted money, he wouldn't have needed a loan; he could have just gritted his teeth and made a phone call home.

His father was a professional screenwriter and author. While they weren't necessarily wealthy, solving food and lodging issues was a breeze.

Working for Yan Li meant that although Yan Li was still taking care of him, he would at least be trading his labor for it rather than accepting handouts, which would make him feel much better inside.

Besides, Yan Li had also mentioned that once he joined a film crew, if the opportunity arose, he would recommend Lin Jiachuan for a small role or something similar.

There were precedents for this kind of setup in the industry, where some actors started out as assistants or agents to famous friends, seized an opportunity, and successfully transitioned from behind the scenes to the spotlight.

This was precisely what Wang Jinghua had advised Yan Li earlier, and he was now putting it into practice with Lin Jiachuan.

Lin Jiachuan adapted to his working state very quickly.

Sensing that the water in front of Yan Li had turned cold, he immediately went to refill it with hot water and began obsequiously massaging Yan Li's shoulders.

Enjoying the massage in comfort, Lin Jiachuan brought up a new question: "Brother Li, you aren't joining any crew right now, and I can't just sit around idle every day. Why don't I go help you sell braised pork?"

Previously, Yan Li and Zhou Yiwei had run a braised pork business. Both Lin and Zhang had known about it, and upon tasting it this time they returned, they were blown away as if tasting something divine.

However, Yan Li was currently making good money in the stock market and didn't think much of the returns from running a braised pork street stall.

"You won't have time to be idle. Tomorrow, you're coming with me to the Administration for Industry and Commerce to help me run some errands for paperwork."

"Brother, are you really opening a company?"

"Mm. Having a company makes things much easier to handle."