Chapter 62 Who Didn't Grow Up Copying Homework?

Chapter 62: Who Didn't Grow Up Copying Homework?

However, our stereotypical straight-laced guy didn't disappoint everyone. He said, "No, no, I can't outdrink you."

There he went, ruthlessly crushing another girl's subtle probing.

"Come on, let's all have a toast."
"Cheers!"

With a glass of alcohol down the hatch, everyone resumed chatting and eating.

Over on the side, the girls came over to tease Li Jingkun.
"Director, men shouldn't say they can't handle it."
"Exactly, two glasses for one, you're not losing out."
"Wenwen's alcohol tolerance is just average too, don't be afraid of her, take her down!"
"..." Cai Wenwen sighed, "I shouldn't have brought you guys tonight."

When the time was right, they started playing the short series.

More than a dozen people sat scattered around, and the film began.

...

Sun Hao and Cai Wenwen were called out to the hallway to stand as punishment yet again because of copying homework. The two of them started chatting by the door.

Cai Wenwen said, "Copying homework is illegal too. Who didn't grow up copying homework?"
Sun Hao said, "Gutter oil is illegal too, but you've eaten plenty of it for years."
Cai Wenwen said, "But I didn't copy, I just lent it to you."
Sun Hao said, "Which makes you equivalent to the oil vendor."
Cai Wenwen said, "Following that logic—"
Sun Hao said, "Right! I'm just the oil buyer, I can go back and sit down."
Cai Wenwen said, "Then you can go back inside."
Sun Hao took two steps, then turned back, "Actually, I quite like it here. I'll stay with you."

...

Inside the security office.

Zhang Tianyu asked, "Is she really your girlfriend?"
Cai Wenwen replied, "An ex-girlfriend from ages ago!"
Zhang Tianyu said, "You must have been blind back then."
Sun Hao chimed in, "Totally blinded."
Cai Wenwen said, "He is the stain of my life."
Zhang Tiancheng remarked, "That stain of yours is truly pitch black and massive."

...

At first, many people came fully prepared just to watch a short drama, but upon arriving, influenced by the atmosphere, they felt that watching wasn't even strictly necessary—treating it simply as a gathering to drink and chat would be fine too.

Yet once the film started playing, the laughter was non-stop. Episode after episode rolled on, and nobody wanted it to stop.

The happiest ones among them were undoubtedly the three main leads, because the quality of the film far exceeded their expectations, and the audience's feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

They had delivered a top-tier performance, and their director had crafted a truly exceptional piece of work!

When the screening of the over-an-hour-long film ended, everyone felt a tinge of melancholy because it was simply too good. Yet because it was already over, a sense of lingering regret washed over them.

"That was amazing!"
"Incredible, is there really no more?"
"Only three episodes? Way too short!"
"No way, I seriously need to drink a few more rounds with the director."

While the others were exclaiming in admiration, Sun Hao had already started pouring drinks again.

"I want some too!" Cai Wenwen rushed over as well.
Naturally, Zhang Tianyu couldn't be left out.

With all three main leads stepping up together, Li Jingkun found it hard to refuse and had no choice but to keep them company with a drink.

"Let's go again," Sun Hao said.
"Don't push it too fast—director and cameraman, join in too." Li Jingkun frantically pulled others into the fray. He was already terrified of being forced to drink by Cai Wenwen, let alone facing multiple guys this time.

The first wave of word-of-mouth reputation spread out precisely this way the next day. After all, everyone had their own classmates and friends, and they had even snapped some photos the previous night to post online.

However, lacking an official viewing channel, many people had only heard rumors about such a short series.

The second wave of reputation emanated from the teachers. Several instructors watched it and thought it was quite good; the majority found it entertaining, and the fact that it was shot by students made it all the more precious.

Even a cinematography professor played a segment of it for his students.

Indeed, while great films were plentiful, most of them felt too distant from their current reality. Now, since a pretty decent short series had emerged from within the exact same school, it could naturally be shown to everyone to serve as a form of inspiration.

It was akin to the logic of a high school or middle school teacher reading out a well-written composition to the class.

It wasn't as though Beijing Film Academy had never seen students shoot good short films during their enrollment, but none had done so as early as Li Jingkun. Strictly speaking, he filmed this during his freshman year, and the entire production process was independently completed by the students themselves.

Furthermore, aside from its exceptional cinematography, the subject matter was quite mainstream, making the content and theme much easier for the masses to enjoy.

Su Zhijun also screened an episode during his class and even asked Li Jingkun, Wang Yang, and Guo Junli to share their creative thoughts, along with some of the knowledge and experience they had acquired along the way.

However, these developments didn't hold massive significance for Li Jingkun. His primary concern right now was figuring out how to sell the project.

Therefore, he had already given a heads-up to his teachers that they could screen it in lectures, provided it wouldn't be leaked externally, since he still intended to commercialize it.

As for selling the film, he didn't have any extraordinary tricks up his sleeve at the moment. At most, he could ask Fatty Luo to introduce it to Youku, getting them interested enough to watch the short series and consider making a purchase.

Several video streaming websites were developing quite well lately, but only Youku had taken the initiative early on to produce its own films to elevate its brand recognition.

Initially, however, most offerings were short pieces, known as micro-movies, followed much later by online feature films, web series, variety shows, and so on.

Thus, if he planned to sell the film, Youku was arguably the most likely among these streaming platforms to make a purchase.

He would find some time recently to ask Fatty Luo about it.

"The short series was brilliantly shot, and I loved it! So this is the short drama you told me about before? Did you intend to invite me to play the female lead back then?"

On this day, Zhao Tiantian suddenly sent a text message containing these words, leaving Li Jingkun with a face full of question marks.

When on earth did I invite you to star in *Days of Being Airborne*?

Recalling their chat before filming began last semester, he had indeed talked to her, but he certainly hadn't invited her, had he? She was the one who had turned him down first—so she had actually assumed all along that he wanted her to be the female lead?

Well, considering her "star status," she naturally assumed she would be the female lead if she came to act in it.

"...Didn't you say you didn't have time?" Li Jingkun had no choice but to reply like that.

"..."

If I had known this drama would turn out this good, I definitely would have had time! I would have funded the production costs myself!

Zhao Tiantian felt a wave of regret. Not only was the series fantastic, but the female lead's persona was also immensely likable, and the acting didn't seem overly difficult. She would have been a perfect fit and could have performed brilliantly.

"How much did it cost to shoot this series?" Da Tiantian asked.
"Around three hundred thousand."

That was barely the cost of a single song purchase for her.

Zhao Tiantian didn't reply for a long time, her mood extremely complicated.

She had invested a great deal of money into television dramas over the past few years, but frankly, none of them possessed this level of quality. The drama she had just finished shooting still hadn't secured a buyer, and none of the TV stations she approached showed any interest.

What infuriated her even more was that a certain actress who wasn't on good terms with her had recently starred in a TV series and shot to fame.

Even though people criticized her acting skills, her popularity had at least skyrocketed. And what about herself? She had always possessed the best industry resources, yet remained utterly obscure.

*Gratitude to book friend ending in 4338 for the 1666 tipping and monthly ticket support! Gratitude to Wu Feng and Du Yue for the 100 tipping and recommendation ticket support! Gratitude to book friend ending in 8314 for the monthly ticket support!*

*Gratitude to Boring Life, book friends 9049, chelseajl, Taiqing Daotu, Bingzai, book friends 3543, Honghu Rising, nznd, cn2541, Chenxing Peng, Fat House Happy Water is Delicious, Who is Miao Renfeng, and other book friends for their recommendation ticket support!*

*(End of chapter)*