Rebirth of a Girl in a Boys' School

"What other drama can we film?" Hong Wei asked, shaking his head as he gestured for someone to bring over two chairs for Gao Qiang and Lin Ruofei. "It's just another classic novel we're filming according to the school's requirements!"

Seeing that this director Hong was able to direct a famous work while still in high school, Lin Ruofei hurriedly looked curiously at the stage: there were two boys standing on the stage. One boy was half-squatting with his face turned to the audience, while the other boy had one hand on his waist as if he was holding something, and the other hand was outstretched and held up in front of his face as if he was about to start fanning himself.

Lin Ruofei stared intently for a while, but still couldn't figure out what famous novel they were filming based on the two boys' outfits. She couldn't help but ask Hong Wei, "Excuse me, what famous novel is this filming? I can't tell at all!"

Hong Wei glanced at Lin Ruofei, then turned to Gao Qiang and asked, "Who is this kid?"

“This year’s new students just joined our group.” Gao Qiang waved for Lin Ruofei to come over and sit down in a chair so she could talk closer to Hong Wei.

Hong Wei smiled slightly, and fine wrinkles immediately appeared on his dry face.

"It doesn't matter if you can't tell, the most important thing is that you can tell just by listening!" Hong Wei said, then waved his hand toward the stage, signaling the two boys on stage to start rehearsing.

The boy in the half-squatting position on the stage simply shook his head and swayed his hips without saying a word, while the boy with one hand flat on his waist and the other raised in front of his face closed his eyes slightly and said in a drawn-out voice:

"You mischievous monkey..."

Journey to the West!

Journey to the West!

Lin Ruofei and Gao Qiang immediately exclaimed in unison.

"You're right!" Hong Wei nodded happily.

“Although Journey to the West is a famous Chinese novel,” Lin Ruofei couldn’t help but say, “if it were performed on stage, there wouldn’t be any special effects scenes of flying through the air or diving into the ground, so it probably wouldn’t be very entertaining!”

Gao Qiang nodded in agreement and then said, "I also think that filming 'Journey to the West' wouldn't be very good. You might as well continue filming Shakespeare's works!"

"I'm not going to torture 'Old Sha' anymore this year!" Hong Wei sighed, then said, "The school cut the performance budget in half this year and even made it 'installment payments,' which has left me with very tight funds. I haven't even secured the actors' costumes and stage props yet!"

“I’ve heard about it,” Gao Qiang nodded and said, “Isn’t the school trying to train your successor? That’s why they allocated half of your performance budget to the ‘reserve’ drama club leader to give him some practice.”

"If you're going to cut back, fine! Why do you have to pay in installments?" Hong Wei shouted angrily. "It's making me lose all enthusiasm for making plays!"

"The school is afraid that you'll lose interest after taking the money, so they're giving you the money little by little."

"Here you go, but if they find you're not doing a good job with the play, the school will immediately stop giving you the funding!" Gao Qiang patted Hong Wei on the shoulder, comforting him, "Anyway, your skill level is superb, a little less money won't stop you from making a good play!"

“You know, I’ve been working hard for the school for the past three years and have produced quite a few good plays,” Hong Wei complained angrily. “Which event wasn’t my play the highlight of? School arts festival, ‘anniversary season’ performances… but the school has never given me any extra reward! Even if I didn’t make any great contributions, I at least put in a lot of effort, right? Why are you being so petty with me? What’s wrong with giving me a little extra payment at the end?”

“If you want to get the school’s awards, you have to do your best,” Gao Qiang said with a wry smile. “You’ve been at Yucai Boys’ High School for almost three years now, haven’t you figured that out yet? Besides, the school has been pretty good to you. The money you left over from the play is enough for you to stay at the school for three years!”

"Sigh, that's the only way I can feel at peace..." Hong Wei stretched out in the sofa chair, let out a long sigh, and said, "I've been muddling along for almost three years now..."

"Haven't decided where you want to take the exam yet?" Gao Qiang asked softly.

Hong Wei shook his head and asked Gao Qiang in return, "Have you decided where you want to apply?"

Gao Qiang lowered his head silently, not answering Hong Wei's question.

“I heard from ‘Hua Di’ that Xiao Fen’s brother has gotten into trouble in the village again…” Hong Wei then gently advised, “I say you should just let it go after you’ve helped him this time! Your family has only had one son for three generations, do you think your father would agree to you and…”

“I know what I'm doing!” Gao Qiang interrupted Hong Wei. “Let’s get down to business!”

"Then hurry up and tell me," Hong Wei waved his hand and said, "What do you need my help with?"

"I need your help with two things. First, the 'Tao Hua Three Sisters' are willing to join our group, but on the condition that all three of them join the drama club, and that one of them plays the lead role..." Gao Qiang's words were interrupted resolutely by Hong Wei:

"This is out of the question!" Hong Wei sat up straight and said emotionally, "'The Tao Hua Three Sisters' are simply not good enough! These three boys have been coming to audition for the drama club since they first entered first grade, but their appearance and temperament are simply not suitable for, and cannot possibly be, performing well in a play!"

“I know that the three brothers are not very good at acting,” Gao Qiang said kindly, “but with their dedication and passion for theatrical performance, they should be able to do a decent job, right?”

“Absolutely not!” Hong Wei shook his head repeatedly, saying, “Everyone at Yucai knows my standards for recruiting actors for the drama club. Those who are not good enough are absolutely not accepted. I would never break the rules because of these three people!”

“As you know, our group has been having a lot of trouble recruiting this year because that freshman has been causing trouble,” Gao Qiang said with a troubled expression. “So far, our group only has 8 people participating, which means we can’t participate in many projects. Fewer projects mean less prize money, but Xiao Fen urgently needs the money…”

"Tell me about the second thing first!" Hong Wei waved his hand, signaling Gao Qiang to continue with the second matter.

"The second thing is..." Gao Qiang leaned close to Hong Wei's ear and whispered, "Could you help me prepare a performance for the 'School Anniversary Gala'?"

"Are you bored and have nothing better to do?" Hong Wei asked, puzzled. "Even the people in our village know that the 'school anniversary gala' is clearly a matchmaking event for the sons and daughters of rich families. Why are you, a poor boy, joining in?"

"Isn't there a 10,000 yuan prize for the most popular performance at the 'School Anniversary Gala'?" Gao Qiang said somewhat embarrassedly, "Although I don't have much talent, I still want to give it a try..."

“You know you don’t have any special talents, huh…” Hong Wei chuckled bitterly and said, “Those rich kids at the school anniversary gala are playing the violin, the piano, or doing ballet and all sorts of so-called high art. We’re just an ordinary country boy who can’t do anything. What do we have to compete with them?”

Hearing this, Lin Ruofei, who had been silent all along, couldn't help but interject, "It's not hard to perform a program that everyone will like at the party. Just choose a program that is 'accessible to all,' and that will be fine!"

"What program?"

"What program?"

Gao Qiang and Hong Wei asked at the same time, full of curiosity.

"That is..." Lin Ruofei paused deliberately, then proudly announced loudly, "...a crosstalk performance! I'll perform with Gao Qiang..."

"cut……"

Gao Qiang and Hong Wei chorused as they 'coaxed' Lin Ruofei.

"Only so-called 'highbrow' programs have a chance of winning the 'school anniversary gala'!" Hong Wei said with a disdainful expression. "How can your 'crosstalk' possibly meet the criteria of 'highbrow'?"

"Let's pick a sophisticated joke!" Lin Ruofei said confidently. "Gao Qiang, let's do that 'couplet matching' one, it's absolutely elegant! 'Heaven against earth, rain against wind, continent against the vast sky...'"

Sitting to the side, Gao Qiang and Hong Wei ignored Lin Ruofei's incessant chatter and continued to discuss Gao Qiang's problem in hushed tones...

“The second thing is easy to handle,” Hong Wei nodded and said, “Since you’re not afraid to waste your time and energy, I’ll help you think of a program. But the first thing…”

"I'm begging you," Gao Qiang hurriedly pleaded in a low voice, "If this were just like in previous years, where it was just to earn some pocket money, I wouldn't have asked you for help. But this year, Xiao Fen's family is really in urgent need of money, so I owe you a huge favor. From now on, no matter what it is, as long as you ask, I will definitely go through fire and water for you!"

"Really?" Hong Wei turned to Gao Qiang and asked, "From now on, whenever I ask you for help, you will help me without hesitation?"

"That's right!" Gao Qiang nodded vigorously and said earnestly, "It couldn't be more true!"

"Oh, I see..." Lin Ruofei, who had been sitting to the side and had already stopped talking, understood completely after hearing this: More than ten years later, the reason why Gao Qiang still invested in Hong Wei's movie despite the opposition of many shareholders and the pessimism of many media outlets, which led to the cash flow problems and the company's second downturn, was entirely due to the promise he made today!

Hong Wei remained silent, head bowed in thought...

"What else are you thinking about?" Lin Ruofei couldn't help but say loudly, "Letting the three Tao brothers join in is actually doing you a favor!"

"What do you mean?" Hong Wei couldn't help but ask curiously, "It's already good enough that the three of them didn't cause trouble, how dare they say they've done me a favor?"

"What is this play you're making?" Lin Ruofei retorted.

"You've already figured it out!" Hong Wei, growing impatient, shouted, "Journey to the West!"

“Exactly!” Lin Ruofei said firmly, “I just don’t believe anyone at Yucai Boys’ High School could portray a fairy or similar character more convincingly than the Tao brothers! Especially a female fairy! Their performances must be so outstanding!”

“But the three brothers clearly agreed to play the lead roles…” Gao Qiang said uneasily.

"Who says demons aren't main characters?" Lin Ruofei said smugly. "In Journey to the West, Tang Sanzang and his disciples spent all their time fighting various demons. Besides, the three of them only said they wanted to play the main characters, not that they couldn't play the female lead..."

"Since we've come this far..." Hong Wei let out a sigh of relief and said, "Gao Qiang, have the three Tao sisters come to see me tomorrow night!"

"Hongwei, thank you so much!" Gao Qiang hugged Hongwei happily and said excitedly, "Don't worry, from now on your business is my business, and I will definitely keep my word!"

"I knew you'd keep your word!" Lin Ruofei pulled Gao Qiang away forcefully, signaling him not to be so mushy.

“But you have to make it clear to the three of them that these are just temporary actors, not official actors in the drama club,” Hong Wei added seriously. “No matter what, the rules I set for this drama club can’t be broken!”

“I know,” Gao Qiang nodded, then said, “But you should at least pick an episode where the three of them get a relatively large amount of screen time, right?”

"Don't worry about that," Hong Wei nodded and said, "I know what I'm doing."

"Then you go ahead with your work, I'll be going now." Gao Qiang said, then called to Lin Ruofei to leave the drama club together.

Lin Ruofei had already followed Gao Qiang out of the drama club, but suddenly remembered that she still had some things to say to Hong Wei, so she tugged at Gao Qiang's sleeve and said, "You go first, I'll catch up with you later. I still have some things to say to Hong Wei."

Before Gao Qiang could answer, Lin Ruofei turned and rushed into the house.

“I said…” Lin Ruofei rushed to Hong Wei’s side, patted him on the shoulder as he was directing the scene, and whispered, “I have something I want to tell you, so please remember it…”

"Oh, it's you. What brings you back again?" Hong Wei glanced at Lin Ruofei once, then turned his head and kept staring at the stage, no longer looking at Lin Ruofei. "Is there anything else you want to say?"

"I'm telling you, once you become a director, just stick to making idol dramas. Don't even think about making movies, and definitely don't get big investments to remake any American blockbusters! You should know that making low-difficulty idol dramas is your forte. With your level, you'll never be able to make a good movie!" Lin Ruofei blurted out everything she was thinking.

"Wait a minute..." Hong Wei looked at Lin Ruofei in surprise, his voice trembling as he asked, "What... do you think I'm going to do?"

"I told you to remember this: never make movies, especially remakes of blockbusters..." Lin Ruofei repeated, word by word.

"No, no!" Hong Wei shook his head and said, "It's what the person at the very beginning said!"

“I told you that once you become a director, you should just settle down and make some idol dramas…” Before Lin Ruofei could finish speaking, Hong Wei slapped his thigh hard and shouted excitedly, “That’s right! How come I didn’t think of that? Someone as good at directing plays as me should apply to be a director!”

"Don't you... have you ever thought about becoming a director?" Lin Ruofei suddenly realized that she might have said something wrong.