Beijing is a city with distinct four seasons.
Autumn in Beijing gradually transitions from a slight coolness to a light chill, the kind of weather that is best for sleeping—there is nothing quite as comfortable as dozing soundly wrapped in a blanket.
Today is Friday, and with no classes scheduled for the morning, Liu Zhou gets to stay in bed a little longer.
However, before he has been awake very long, Liu Ye storms into Liu Zhou's dormitory.
"Old Liu, why are you still in bed? You're way too comfortable!"
"Can't help it. We do literary work, so we don't have to go out for morning drills."
Across the entire Central Academy of Drama, the acting class is probably the most grueling, because they have so many things to learn.
And the head teacher of the Class of '96 acting class is none other than Chang Li, who is notoriously strict. Coupled with the fact that this cohort of students was handpicked by her, she holds them to even higher standards.
Not only do they have assignments every week, but she also requires all students in the class to be up before six o'clock every morning for morning drills.
She has even made it an official rule, conducting unannounced roll calls, and students who miss multiple roll calls face disciplinary demerits or even expulsion.
Combined with the fact that their acting class has a probationary screening period during the freshman year, no one doubts that Chang Li is joking. None of them dare to slack off, and even someone slightly lazy like Liu Ye gets up past five o'clock every day.
"I left your breakfast on your desk. Why aren't you in the acting class? You should experience the joy of getting up early every day too."
Knowing that Liu Ye is feeling unbalanced because he sees him still lying comfortably in bed, Liu Zhou says with a smile:
"You should be content. Teacher Chang Li is a renowned teacher at our school. With thirty years of teaching experience, her disciples include Chen Baoguo, Cai Guoqing, Guo Tao, and others. You should count your blessings just to be her disciple, and she's being this strict with you for your own good."
"You don't say. Hurry up and get up, I need your help with something in a bit."
"Damn, you're asking for my help and you can't even use a better tone."
"Get lost, hurry up and wash up, I'll come back for you in a moment." With that, Liu Ye leaves the dormitory.
Liu Zhou does not dawdle, tossing back the quilt and getting out of bed.
Rubbing his weary eyes, he squeezes some 'Hei Mei Toothpaste' onto his toothbrush. The refreshing taste wakes Liu Zhou right up, and he begins to brush vigorously, swishing and gargling.
Many people nowadays love to use 'Zhonghua Toothpaste', but it is actually no longer a domestic brand, having been acquired by the multinational corporation Unilever two years ago.
It's just that the brand recognition is quite high, so the brand name continues to be used. Liu Zhou happens to know this, but he can't be bothered to tell others; it's just a marketing strategy by the merchants, and whether domestic goods can survive is not something for him to decide.
It makes one sigh with emotion. Years later, domestic brands that are household names in the minds of the Chinese people either vanish from the market or get bought out—truly a regrettable thing.
He plunges his face into a basin of cold water, the icy chill shocking his nerves. When Liu Zhou raises his head, he is full of energy, with not a shred of sleepiness left.
This is his method from high school to shake off drowsiness. The ancients had tying one's hair to the beam and piercing one's thigh with an awl; nowadays, there are also chili peppers, cold water, and stinky tofu.
After finishing breakfast, Liu Zhou goes over to Liu Ye's dormitory.
"What's going on? To think there's actually something Young Master Liu cannot solve."
Liu Ye pays no mind to Liu Zhou's teasing tone and says directly:
"At the beginning of next month, our acting class has a showcase where we need to put on a few programs. Not only will the senior students be coming, but some school leaders will also be in attendance."
"Well, I can't help with that anyway. Why are you looking for me?"
"How can you not help? Aren't you in the Department of Dramatic Literature? I want to ask you to help me come up with a good script."
"Big brother, I'm only a freshman, and you're asking me to prepare a script for you?"
Seeing Liu Zhou playing the innocent novice here, Liu Ye curls his lip and says:
"Stop acting now. We already know about the assignment you handed in after military training. Even Teacher Chang Li praised you in our class, saying you're very talented."
"How does Teacher Chang Li know about that?"
"Your head teacher showed it off, didn't he? A lot of teachers know. You should know by now that teachers can't help showing off talented students in front of other teachers—college professors are no exception."
"Alright, I originally wanted to get along with you all as an ordinary person, but what it got me was alienation. I'm not hiding it anymore, I'll lay my cards on the table: I am a genius!"
"Damn, even though I know you're just running your mouth, based on just this interesting line alone, you have to help me put together a good script."
Ceasing his jokes, Liu Zhou asks:
"In the past, didn't you guys always perform some classic plays for your assignments? Why suddenly put on original programs this time?"
"This isn't just a simple assignment; it's an inspection of what we've learned over the past two months. Besides, this is also a chance to shine—how can we miss the opportunity to make a proper appearance?
If President Xu remembers you and casually puts in a good word for you later down the road, wouldn't that open up more opportunities?"
"You really think far ahead."
"It's not thinking far ahead, it's that your buddy here has ambitions."
"So do you want to perform a stage play, a sketch, or make a short film?"
"You've got quite an attitude."
"That's right, I already said I'm a genius—stage plays, sketches, and movies are all a breeze."
"Let's go with a sketch. Sketches are a bit simpler and don't have such high demands."
"No problem. When do you need it?"
"As soon as possible, please. It's already the end of the month, and we still need to set aside time for rehearsals."
"You're not putting all your eggs in my basket, are you? What if the script I come up with is trash—aren't you going to be finished?"
"Not necessarily. If the script you come up with doesn't work, I'll just go play a bit part in someone else's program. At worst, I'll give up this chance to shine, but I have confidence in you. I believe you can create a good script."
"Then I really have to thank you for finding things for me to do when I have nothing going on."
Even though Liu Zhou says this, he already takes the matter seriously in his heart.
Since Liu Ye trusts him this much, he cannot let down this trust.
"Old Liu, whether I can make a sensation in this showcase is up to you."
"You've only been studying for two months and you want to make a sensation? But considering you brought me breakfast today, I'll do my best to write the script out today."
"Thanks, Old Liu. But you don't have to rush too much either; you can take your time and write it carefully."
"Heh, looks like you really don't believe I'm a genius. Today I'm going to let you witness my strength."
With that, Liu Zhou returns to his dormitory to ponder what kind of script would be best to write for Liu Ye.
Speaking of sketches, there was Chen Peisi in the past; after his fallout with CCTV, Zhao Benshan became the undisputed top figure.
After Zhao Benshan gradually retired, only his disciples Xiao Songbao and Xiao Shenyang, along with the Fun Age troupe led by Shen Teng and Ma Li, had sketches that could still be considered decent.
However, at some point later on, a trend of "comedy heads with tragic tails" emerged, making sketches increasingly unappealing to watch. Even the aforementioned individuals rarely performed sketches anymore, and Xiao Shenyang even publicly announced he would stop performing them altogether.
Among all these people, Zhao Benshan's works are undoubtedly the most outstanding, with higher artistic achievements as well.
At present, he has already appeared on the CCTV Spring Festival Gala for several years and has begun to gradually replace Chen Peisi as the premier figure in gala sketches.
In the future, Zhao Benshan will continue to churn out exceptional works, and his creations fit the characteristics of this era even better.
Since Liu Zhou places so much trust in him, Liu Zhou will give him a proper stage to shine.