The Common Man's Return in Chinese Entertainment

"It's almost National Day, are you going home?"

Faced with Zhu Yawen's question, Lu Fangsheng shrugged, "My parents are living a quiet life, and I plan to travel around the capital."

Luo Jin added, "Me too."

Seeing Zhu Yawen looking at him, Ji Qingxu smiled and said, "I'm not going back either. What are your plans, Lao Zhu?"

Zhu Yawen chuckled, "I'm planning to go to the Beijing Film Studio to see if I can get a bit part in a film crew. If not, I'd like to check out the Huairou Film and Television Base. What do you think, little chicken? Want to come along?"

Ji Qingxu smiled and shook his head, "Never mind, I have something to do on the eleventh."

"Old Lu, Mule, do you two want to come? Let's go get a feel for the atmosphere beforehand. Old Lu, you've never acted in China before, so you can get used to it first. And Mule, you're a greenhorn like me, you've never been on a film set before, so let's find out what it's like on set..."

Watching Zhu Yawen try her best to "bewitch" the two, Ji Qingxu watched with a smile. In fact, it wasn't just Zhu Yawen who wanted to visit a film crew during the National Day holiday. Many classmates were considering finding a film crew to act as extras during the holiday to experience the atmosphere. Although they had only been in class for a few days, many classmates were already eager to act and have a career on a film crew.

Thinking back to his time on film sets two years ago, Ji Qingxu smiled faintly. He wondered if these disciples from "prestigious sects" could adapt to the inhuman experience of being extras and shatter their idealized view of film sets.

Although extras have the word "actor" in their name, they are basically not treated as human beings on set.

......

"Yawn, so sleepy. This is too tiring. We have to get up at 3 a.m. to go there and wait. If we can't find any work today, we'll be at a huge loss."

"Whether you find work or not, each of you three owes me a big meal."

"Don't worry, we men are men of our word, we never go back on our promises, Old Lu, Mule, right?"

"right."

"That's right."

"Little chick, when we get there, you'd better use your strengths so we can take over the 'high ground'."

"No problem, watch me."

At this moment, Ji Qingxu and his three companions were walking towards the Beijing Film Studio. Today was the first day of the National Day holiday, and the four of them planned to stake out the Beijing Film Studio to see if they could get a chance to join a film crew.

As for why Ji Qingxu agreed to go with the three of them, besides the fact that each of them promised to treat Ji Qingxu to a big meal, the most important reason was that Ji Qingxu had already secured a role contract with the "Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties" production team.

Thinking of the performance contract he signed before National Day, Ji Qingxu smiled happily. He never expected that his first role would be such an important one, Luo Cheng, the White Horse Silver Spear. This role is one of the top five in terms of screen time in "Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties". It's really great to have someone protecting you.

Filming for "Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties" started at the end of October. Ji Qingxu didn't have much to do during the National Day holiday, so he agreed to come and have some fun with them.

The Beijing Film Academy is less than one kilometer from the Beijing Film Studio, and the four of them arrived in about ten minutes.

"Holy crap, what time did these people arrive? I thought we were early enough, but it turns out there were others who arrived even earlier than us."

Ji Qingxu raised his wrist and looked at his watch. It was 4:30. At this time, there were already dozens of people waiting at the entrance of the Beijing Film Studio.

Ji Qingxu and the other three got up at around 3 a.m., washed up, had breakfast, and then came over.

"Let's go grab a spot first, otherwise it'll get crowded later."

After Ji Qingxu finished speaking, he walked towards the entrance of the Beijing Film Studio, and Zhu Yawen and the other two quickly followed.

......

"Hey, newbie, don't you know the rules?"

Just as Ji Qingxu and his three companions settled into a spot at the entrance of the Beijing Film Studio, a young man in his thirties, accompanied by two hangers-on, approached and asked them without any politeness.

Ji Qingxu raised an eyebrow and said, "Damn it, you're blind, get out of here."

"you......"

Seeing Ji Qingxu's seemingly kind face suddenly turn fierce, the young man, who had initially thought these college students were easy targets, froze in place.

After regaining his senses, the young man pointed with his finger, "You son of a bitch... huh..."

Before the young man could finish speaking, Ji Qingxu grabbed him by the neck with one hand and lifted him up. "Watch your mouth, or I'll break your legs, you hear me?"

Seeing the fierce glint in Ji Qingxu's eyes, the young man, his face flushed, quickly nodded, "I understand. I was blind to your greatness. I was just being mean. Please don't take it to heart."

Upon hearing this, Ji Qingxu threw him to the ground. The two sycophants who were stunned by what they saw quickly helped the young man up and jogged away.

After the young man had walked away, Ji Qingxu saw Zhu Yawen, Lu Fangsheng, and Luo Jin staring at him in disbelief. He smiled and said, "What, don't you recognize me?"

The three of them shook their heads in unison.

Zhu Yawen leaned closer and asked, "Little Chicken, will he call someone over?"

Ji Qingxu chuckled softly, "No, even if you shout, it's fine. You guys run first, I'll cover your retreat."

Upon hearing this, the three of them blushed.

"Little chick, what do you take us for?"

"Whoever runs away is a coward."

"It's just fighting. It's not like I've never done it before. I know a little bit about martial arts."

Upon hearing this, Ji Qingxu smiled and said, "Don't worry, he wouldn't dare to come. There are rules here."

Lu Fang-sheng asked curiously, "Little chick, was that part of the rule too?"

Seeing the same curious expressions on Zhu Yawen and Luo Jin's faces, Ji Qingxu gestured with his eyes, "Look around."

Upon hearing this, the three looked around curiously. They noticed that everyone else seemed to avoid their gaze, and seeing this, they seemed to understand something.

"Hey chick, was that guy trying to give us a hard time?"

"almost."

"What will happen if we back down? Will we not get any roles?"

"Um."

"Little Chicken, why do I feel like you're really good at these things? Did you work on a film set before?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Qingxu smiled and said, "Yes, I worked on film crews for two years."

Zhu Yawen's eyes widened. "Really?"

"What good would it do me to lie to you?"

"Holy crap, why didn't you say so before?"

"You didn't ask."

"Damn, you've been hiding this too well. Tell us all about it when you get back tonight, it's on me."

"Haha, sure, as long as there's a big meal to eat, I'll tell you everything I know."

"So, there are rules for when a film crew comes to select actors, right?"

"Okay, you'll all follow me from now on. Just do whatever I do."

"No problem, damn, we've hit the jackpot! If it weren't for the chicken, the three of us would probably have had a disastrous start on the first day."

Seeing the relieved looks on Zhu Yawen and Luo Jin's faces, Ji Qingxu smiled and didn't say anything more.

The entertainment industry, or more specifically the film and television industry, is extremely competitive. From film and television companies, producers, and directors to actors and extras, every link is rife with competition.

Film companies, producers, directors, actors—these upper-level figures in the entertainment industry are slightly more refined and less barbaric; at least on the surface, they maintain a semblance of civility.

However, the competition among the lower-level staff in the crew, such as prop masters, stuntmen, and extras, was brutal. The young man who came over to give Ji Qingxu and his group a hard time was nothing to Ji Qingxu; he was already used to it.

During his two years on set, Ji Qingxu got into more than one fight. Some were fought by himself, some were fought with his senior brother Kou Zhanwen, and some were fought with other crew members.

In the entertainment industry, connections matter, and fists are used to fight. Regardless of the size of the benefit, as long as it involves profit, you have to actively fight for it. As long as you don't break the unspoken rules, whoever gets the most benefits will get more, while the other way around will go hungry.

In the entertainment industry, you shouldn't bully others, but you also shouldn't let others bully you. Never show any weakness to the outside world. The entertainment industry is full of wolves and tigers. No matter which circle you're in, there are always a bunch of people watching. If there's even the slightest opportunity, everyone will rush in. These are the principles that Kou Zhanwen taught Ji Qingxu.

Looking in the direction the young man had just left, a hint of disdain flashed in Ji Qingxu's eyes. He thought the young man had poor eyesight or was simply brainless.

Even if people who work at the Beijing Film Studio don't like students from the Beijing Film Academy, they wouldn't openly bully them. The Beijing Film Studio is less than a kilometer away from the Beijing Film Academy. As a powerful force in the entertainment industry, how dare a small-time gang leader intimidate students from the Beijing Film Academy? I really don't know how this person survives in the entertainment industry.

He glanced at the small groups of people standing around him, grinned at a few people who were obviously the leaders of the group, and saw that these old hands forced a smile in response to his smile. Ji Qingxu muttered to himself, "These old hands are really cunning. They actually found a simpleton to test me."