Anchor Effect - Chapter 14.1: Tomorrow's Audition

"Ye Yuchen!"

A loud roll call came from the classroom ahead, and Ye Yuchen, who was still on his way, hurriedly quickened his pace. But at this moment, someone else's voice sounded in the classroom, "Here."

The inertia of the sprint couldn't be stopped, and Ye Yuchen barely staggered back to the classroom door. He saw the professor with reading glasses sliding them to the edge of his nose and looking at Yu Xiu, who was sitting in the front row, asking, "Is your last name Ye or Yu?"

Yu Xiu probably didn't expect to get caught answering on someone else's behalf. He pursed his lips and didn't respond.

Laughter filled the room from all sides, evidently everyone knew the answer to the professor's question was "Yu."

The professor didn't make a fuss either, looked back at the roster, and called again, "Ye Yuchen."

"Here." Ye Yuchen took three quick steps and sat down next to Yu Xiu, asking in a low voice, "Why are you sitting in the front row?"

No wonder he got caught helping answer.

"I didn't expect you to be late," Yu Xiu said.

"I stayed up late last night," Ye Yuchen took a novel out of his bag, "This 'The Lord of the Rings' is so long."

Ye Yuchen chose to take a course on the analysis of classic film adaptations of literature. Du Rui and Gong Hao heard that this course required writing book reports and didn't want to take it. Ye Yuchen was worried about not having a partner, but he didn't expect Yu Xiu to choose the same course.

"Not having to read 'Harry Potter' is already good," Yu Xiu said.

"I read that stuff in high school," Ye Yuchen replied.

It would have been easier to read 'Harry Potter,' Ye Yuchen thought. He could easily write a book report.

"Take it." Yu Xiu handed a bottle of yogurt to Ye Yuchen. "Do you often read books?"

"I read occasionally," Ye Yuchen replied as he opened the yogurt and took a sip. Suddenly, he felt something was off and asked, "What is this?"

"It's a product I'm endorsing," Yu Xiu said. "They sent me too many, I can't finish them."

Ye Yuchen suddenly remembered that last weekend, Yu Xiu won the Best Newcomer award and made a big impression during the school anniversary celebration. His name had been trending on social media for days.

Looking at the national brand in his hand, it didn't seem surprising anymore.

"Did your endorsement fee increase?" Ye Yuchen took another sip of the yogurt, which was avocado-flavored and not very sweet.

"It did," Yu Xiu nodded. "I now charge two million per year."

"I didn't ask for the specifics," Ye Yuchen chuckled. "You're so straightforward; you should know it might not be wise outside."

"I won't," Yu Xiu said. "I'm only telling you, not anyone else."

"That's about right," Ye Yuchen playfully ruffled Yu Xiu's hair, almost saying "good boy."

At this point, the professor finished taking attendance, and Ye Yuchen put away the yogurt and looked at the lecturer.

"The Lord of the Rings" trilogy was adapted into the movie series "The Lord of the Rings," which Ye Yuchen really liked.

The reason he chose this elective course was that the professor would show excerpts from "The Lord of the Rings" and analyze them in comparison to the book.

If it weren't for the professor's strict grading, Ye Yuchen believed more people would have chosen this course, and he wouldn't have been persuaded by Du Rui and Gong Hao to take other courses in his first two years. He only picked it in his third year.

But, regardless of his interest, he was also in a pinch.

Before long, Ye Yuchen's head started nodding rhythmically. When the professor began showing clips from the movie, he simply rested his head and fell asleep.

On the large projection screen, Boromir blew the horn of Gondor and ultimately fell in battle against the mighty orcs. The intense sounds of combat echoed in the classroom, drowning out other classroom noises.

Ye Yuchen dozed off, and in the midst of his sleep, he suddenly heard an extremely out-of-place camera shutter sound. He looked at Yu Xiu next to him, who seemed unfazed and focused on the screen, so he went back to sleep.

He didn't see that Yu Xiu had breathed a sigh of relief and put his phone on silent.

There was no break between the two classes, and the professor ended the class ten minutes early.

By this time, Ye Yuchen had finally woken up, took a sip of avocado yogurt, and asked Yu Xiu, "What class do you have next?"

"World Film History," Yu Xiu replied.

"Oh, that doesn't sound very interesting," Ye Yuchen said as he packed up his backpack, preparing to go back to his dorm to sleep. However, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Is your class going on an autumn outing this weekend?"

The freshmen's ice-breaking autumn outing was a tradition in the directing department, meant to help students get to know each other quickly.

The acting department had similar activities, but they were just playing games on campus.

"I'm not going," Yu Xiu said, also packing up his backpack. "The autumn outing is at the beach. We go there on Saturday and come back on Sunday. I have an audition on Sunday, and I'm afraid I won't make it."

"Audition?" Ye Yuchen was interested. "What movie is it for?"

"A youth crime film?" Yu Xiu tilted his head, not sure how to define it himself. "It's about school bullying."

"I see," Ye Yuchen nodded. "Are you auditioning for the male lead?"

"Yes," Yu Xiu said with a nod. Then, he suddenly stopped packing and turned to Ye Yuchen, asking, "Who else would I audition for?"

The implied meaning behind this rhetorical question wasn't hard to grasp. Yu Xiu was basically asking if Ye Yuchen thought he would audition for a lesser role like the second male lead.

He had only recently won an award, but he was already acting so proud.

Ye Yuchen found it a bit amusing and pinched Yu Xiu's cheek. "Yes, I know you're a big shot."

After saying that, he withdrew his hand, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and stood up. "Too bad, I'm going to the beach this weekend, and I even planned to take you along."

Yu Xiu raised his chin and looked at Ye Yuchen. "You're going too?"

"It's Du Rui's birthday this weekend," Ye Yuchen explained. "He invited some friends to the beach. The resort hotel you guys are going to is his family's, and he's hosting his birthday party there."

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