January 1998.

A strong cold air from Siberia moved southward, and the temperature in Shanghai suddenly approached freezing point. The plane trees on Anfu Road had long lost their summer luxuriance, and stood bare on both sides of the road.

There were very few pedestrians on the road in the afternoon. Occasionally I saw one or two, all with their necks tightened and their steps hurried.

This area used to belong to the French Concession, and was originally a place where garden houses and villas gathered. After decades of vicissitudes, most of the buildings have still maintained their original appearance. Only the 18-story Drama Center Building, which was just completed two years ago, stands out.

"Teacher Li, Teacher Li, the stock market is falling but not rising. It's too late for everyone to escape. Why are you chasing the fall?"

"The most basic common sense of stocks is that they rise and fall. How can it only fall but not rise..."

At this time, the last rehearsal of the drama "The Color of Stocks" was taking place in the theater on the first floor of the Drama Center. Because it was a new year drama that would be performed after the Spring Festival, the creators behind the scenes and the leaders of the center were sitting in the audience to watch.

Li Tang sat in the crowd in the back row, watching the hard-working performances of the actors on the stage with great interest, with a bit of novelty in his envious eyes.

He is a B-actor with a small role. Generally speaking, he is a substitute player. He rarely has the opportunity to take turns on stage. Most of the time it is rehearsal. As a new actor who has just stepped out of drama school, rehearsal is not only work but also a whole life.

kind of experience.

For example, the protagonist Xu Zheng, who is in a suit and a wig on the stage, looks like a human or a dog. He is three years older than Li Tang. He started to stand out when he was in school and became a man of the hour in the school. But after entering

After joining the Drama Center, I still started out as a walk-on, playing small roles. I ate dried radish rice for more than two years, and then step by step I got to the center of the stage today.

In contrast, as a newcomer with mediocre graduation grades and having only been in the drama center for half a year, he was lucky enough to be able to participate in a big drama, even though he was a supporting actor.

In addition to the center's emphasis on and training of young actors, of course, human touch and sophistication are also indispensable.

It's just that at this time, Li Tang's young body is filled with souls from later generations.

In his previous life, he was a second-generation Chinese who lived on Broadway. His parents were top students from top universities in China. They were among the first batch of international students to go to the United States after the reform and opening up. He was the best among the top students and the best among the elites.

In that era when there was a huge gap between China and the world, and the moon abroad was rounder than at home, studying abroad, permanent residence, and naturalization were the choices of many academics and elites.

Elite parents created a favorable family environment for him, but he did not inherit his parents' genes of academic excellence, but became obsessed with drama performances.

But in the United States, whether on Broadway or in Hollywood, the profession of actor is not friendly to Chinese Americans. It is difficult for a yellow-skinned Asian actor to be accepted in the general mainstream perception.

In Hollywood, there are only a few routes that Chinese-American actors can take: one is "Chinese Kung Fu" action movies, like those of Cheng Long and Li Lianjie, which are rare and extremely difficult. In the past few decades, Bruce Lee and Cheng Long have produced

A big star, even Li Lianjie can only be considered a second-tier star.

Secondly, it is a low-budget independent film with a limited audience and no major awards. Most of the characters have breastmilk, which is suspected of smearing the current regime.

Finally, in commercial blockbusters, the facial expressions are revealed out of the need for so-called "political correctness".

Even here, the competition is quite fierce. And not only Chinese Americans, but also many Koreans, Japanese, Vietnamese, etc. face competition.

The competition on Broadway is not as fierce as in Hollywood, and the income is meager, but professionalism is more important. After Li Tang failed to break into Hollywood, he did well on Broadway, and occasionally he could play a few serious roles with relatively heavy roles.

Unfortunately, he died in an accident, and then was mysteriously reborn in Shanghai in 1997 as a young man who had just graduated from the Shanghai Theater Performance Department.

This young man, also named Li Tang, was quite unlucky. That day he and his college girlfriend were having dinner at a restaurant near the school.

Like most college romances, graduation means breaking up, and that meal is their breakup meal.

As a classmate, his girlfriend was much better than him. When he was a sophomore, he starred in the popular spy drama "No Regrets" as the third female lead. He collaborated with Wang Zhiwen, Liu Peiqi and many other big names. After graduation, he successfully

He was admitted to the experimental drama troupe in Beijing and signed an agent.

Due to the long-distance relationship and the gap in career development, this relationship naturally came to an end.

But while eating, someone started fighting at the next table. One party was a social worker, and the other party was a student in the 96 acting class. Li Tang stood up to break up the fight, not wanting to be knocked down by a bottle of wine in the chaos.

Fainted.

What follows is the fixed routine of all rebirth novels. The soul of the dead Li Tang in the United States takes the opportunity to seize the body and inherits all the memories of the original body. After a set of procedures, the new Li Tang wakes up in the hospital.

When Li Tang woke up, he was scared at first. After all, he was still unfamiliar with rebirth in his previous life in the United States. But coming back from the dead and starting a new life made him ecstatic and novel.

What's even more amazing is that the first face he saw when he woke up was actually Ada Wang from "Resident Evil 5". Even though that face was much greener than the one in the movie, he still recognized her at first sight.

Recognized it.

It's a pity that Ada Wang didn't stay with him for too long. After making sure that he was okay, she left in a hurry. Looking at the other person's back, the past tense flashed in her mind: classmate, girlfriend; present tense: classmate, ex

Girlfriend; future tense: Ada Wang.

Ada Wang is the second female lead in Hollywood commercial blockbusters. She is very beautiful and can fight well. Like Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh, Chinese female stars cannot escape the stereotype of being a hit girl in Hollywood.

From the moment he recognized her, Li Tang was sure that his hard-working classmate and ex-girlfriend would become a big star in the future. Now that he has changed from his girlfriend to his ex-girlfriend, although Li Tang has regrets, he is not disappointed. After all, he does not ask for anything.

It will last forever, but I wish I had it once. The past few years of getting along still left him with beautiful memories.

The fight was so big that the police came forward and detained the social idlers who started the fight. The students in grade 96 were also detained. The leader was expelled and the rest received demerits. The only victim, Li Tang, was

He broke up the fight, was not implicated, and received a thousand yuan in compensation for medical expenses.

After his rebirth, Li Tang was cautious at first, for fear of showing his flaws. Fortunately, the two Li Tangs had similar personalities in the past and present life, and with their professional counterparts, everything went as usual after half a year.

The only change is probably that he who was once unknown and relied on the old leader to greet him barely managed to get into the drama center. In the first internal assessment, he impressed people with his mature performance and also impressed the person who greeted him.

The old leader was deeply pleased, so he successfully joined the creative team of "The Color of Stocks", the new year's drama.

"Hua Hua Hua..."

The rehearsal was a success, and the center leaders spoke highly of it and also praised the creative team.

After the leader left, Li Tang mingled with a group of staff and went on stage to help pack up the props, lift tables and move stools. He was very skillful. He was a newcomer, and he was suspected of "opening the back door" at first, so he was very knowledgeable and could take the initiative in all kinds of chores and menial tasks.

Stretch out your hand.

After finishing his work, it was time to get off work. He got out of the central building and rolled out a brand new Xingfu 90 from the carport. It has a high base and handlebars and looks very much like a mini version of Harley. It is commonly known as the "Prince Car".

I put on my helmet and was about to start the car when the car sank. A braised egg got on the back seat and murmured: "Hitch, hitch. Why do you want to run away without even saying hello?"

Li Tang looked helpless: "Boss, I have to go back to the countryside today, and it's hard to get there."

Xu Guangtou was very private: "Oh, let's go around and kick the accelerator. I have good news to tell you."

"What's the matter?"

Li Tang had no choice but to start his motorcycle and slowly drive out of the central gate and turn east.

Baldy Xu's home is on Changshu Road not far from the drama center, a fifteen-minute walk. Because he was on the way, Li Tang bought a motorcycle and took him with him twice, so the habit became natural.

Bald Xu put his hands on Li Tang's shoulders and said mysteriously: "I heard from Teacher Wei that the Shanghai Film Studio is planning to make a film to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Shanghai, and has already started to select actors."

"You want to try it?"

Teacher Wei is an old master of the Drama Center. He has played Sima Yi in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and Gao Qiu in "Water Margin". For people of Li Tang's age, the most impressive one is "Sanmao Joins the Army"

The old ** inside.

This time he and Xu Guangtou co-starred in the drama "The Color of Stocks", playing a father and son, which can be regarded as the old leading the new.

"I would like to, but how can I walk away from this situation now?"

There was a strong sense of showoff in this guy's tone, and he continued: "I mean you can try it!"

"Uh... I won't go into this commotion. They don't have anyone." Li Tang shook his head.

Shanghai Film Studio has its own actor troupe, which is much larger than the Drama Center. They have several branches there this year. Everyone is of the same type, not to mention that if the money does not go to outsiders, he feels that there is no hope at all.

"Go and give it a try, let's touch your forehead. If you have time, it would be nice to just do a little job and make some extra money."

Li Tang understood what Xu Guangtou meant. He was idle and wanted to try his luck and find something to do.

He hesitated and said, "Do you know what the movie is about?"

"It seems to be about the story of the liberation of Shanghai from Chenguang. You can find out the details yourself. Oh, by the way, I heard that the director is Peng Xiaolian, who has just returned from the United States."

The name Peng Xiaolian is no stranger to her. She used to be a famous female director at the Shanghai Film Studio. She went to the United States for further studies in the late 1980s, but unexpectedly she has returned to China.

As they were talking, they arrived at the entrance of Alley 188, Changshu Road. Bald Xu got out of the car and said with a smile, "Go and ask, take a look, it might be an opportunity."
Chapter completed!