Chapter 137 Drink the chicken soup and you must work hard

Is Chen Ziyan's interview about to begin?

The news Yan Liang told him made him fall into deep thought.

Li Zhibai had told him before that, according to the termination agreement he signed with Zhou Pingan, as long as he changed agents and these agents were willing to take his place, the termination agreement would not take effect, because the agreement stipulated that it would only take effect if the company still wanted to terminate the contract with Lu Yanhe at that time.

In this matter, the agent represents the company's stance.

Jiang Yuqian also told him that he could consider trying to change his agent. If he could gain Chen Ziyan's favor, all the negative impacts Zhou Pingan had brought him would disappear.

Lu Yanhe walked towards the bus stop, lost in thought.

The morning wind wasn't strong, but it wasn't gentle at all; even a slight gust felt cold.

It's only November.

I wonder how cold it will be when winter comes.

"Beep beep—" The familiar sound of a car horn rang out.

Lu Yanhe looked up and, sure enough, it was Qiu Ling's car.

He managed to hitch a ride with Qiu Ling several times almost every month.

"Good morning, Sister Qiuling." Lu Yanhe got into the car and smiled brightly.

Qiu Ling yawned deeply, looking exhausted, clearly having stayed up all night.

"Didn't you sleep yesterday?" Lu Yanhe asked.

Qiu Ling said, "I can't say I didn't sleep at all; I slept for half an hour."

"Why are you staying up late again?"

"It's work, it's confidential, don't ask." After Qiu Ling finished speaking, she glanced at Lu Yanhe, "You slept pretty well last night, look at you, you look so refreshed."

Lu Yanhe nodded, looking refreshed, and said, "I had a good night's sleep yesterday."

"Hey, what time did you go to sleep?"

"12 o'clock."

Qiu Ling glanced at it with disdain, "You call this a full night's sleep?"

"It's alright, I've had six hours of sleep," Lu Yanhe said. "The main problem is that time is so precious these days. If I had a better foundation, I wouldn't have to work so hard."

"Take it easy."

"It's alright, no matter how hard we try, it will be over by June next year. Qiu Ling, you should take it easy. I'll finish my exams by June next year, and you're not going to change jobs by June."

Qiu Ling: "Well, there's nothing we can do about the nature of this job, but we're doing alright. When we're not busy, we can sleep really well."

After saying that, Qiu Ling felt a pang of sadness; her words sounded so heartbreaking.

Lu Yanhe said, "Sister Qiuling, it's so cold. Let's go eat spicy hot pot after you've finished this busy period."

"Sure." Qiu Ling saw the joy on his face. "What's up? Is something good happening?"

"Hmm." Lu Yanhe nodded. "Thank you for what you told me last time. It made me change some of my approaches, and I didn't expect to receive some unexpected rewards."

"Hey, congratulations!"

"I finally got the role in 'The Golden Era'," Lu Yanhe told Qiu Ling. "After the college entrance exam, I'll join the film crew and officially become an actor."

"Oh." Qiu Ling laughed, "Okay, I'll wait for your show to air, and I'll promote it for you."

"Yes, thank you, Sister Qiuling."

Qiu Ling dropped Lu Yanhe off at the entrance of No. 13 Middle School and parked him on the side of the road.

"arrive."

"Bye-Bye."

When Lu Yanhe got out of the car, Qiu Ling suddenly exclaimed "Eh!"

Seeing Qiu Ling looking ahead with some confusion, Lu Yanhe followed her gaze and saw Su Su.

"Oh, Teacher Su." Lu Yanhe stood outside the car door and asked, "Did you see Teacher Su again after that?"

“We chatted online, but neither of us was interested, so we never made plans together,” Qiu Ling said. “It’s a small world; he actually became your history teacher.”

Lu Yanhe nodded.

"I'm leaving now, bye-bye." Lu Yanhe closed the car door and walked towards the school gate.

Su Su looked over and saw him.

"Yan He, you're here so early." Su Su greeted him with a smile.

"Teacher Su, you're here early too."

“I live nearby, so I came over as soon as I woke up,” Su Su asked. “I’ve been reviewing the questions you got wrong on your recent quizzes, and I found that your understanding and knowledge of the official systems of various dynasties are quite lacking. If the questions are a bit more flexible, you’ll get them wrong.”

Yes, indeed.

Su Su said, "Go back and organize this part of the content yourself. Next time, you can explain this part to the class. I will listen from below. Don't be afraid if you make a mistake. I will correct you one by one."

"ah?"

"Afraid of losing face?"

"No, but I really feel that I don't have that ability, and I'm afraid I'll say the wrong thing."

“Great, perfect! You can talk and let the class point out the mistakes. Let’s see who can point out the most and most accurate mistakes. This way, your initiative can be mobilized. Compared to passively listening to me, this method is more likely to pique your interest.”

"Alright."

-

Lu Yanhe quite liked Su Su's teaching style.

He often uses this method to encourage everyone to be more proactive in familiarizing themselves with and accumulating knowledge.

Everyone works hard, but the results of passive and active effort are completely different.

If you let the class listen to his lectures, they definitely won't be very interested, but if you let them criticize him, they'll be interested immediately.

The evil of human nature.

Lu Yanhe laughed, and once again felt fortunate to have met these teachers.

Everyone has different characteristics and teaching methods, but they are all wholeheartedly dedicated to helping everyone improve their grades.

Moreover, what surprised Lu Yanhe the most was that they never flattered the powerful and belittled the weak, nor did they give up on any student.

Even now, Liu Qin still says, "It's never too late to start working hard now. Everyone needs to understand one thing: miracles don't happen for no reason. Miracles happen in your own hands. The harder you work, the bigger the miracle will be."

Lu Yanhe quite enjoyed listening to Liu Qin's motivational speeches, because the tedious and arduous times were too long, and he needed some inspirational words to replenish his spirits and boost his morale.

At noon, many students in the classroom were sleeping on their desks.

Lu Yanhe felt a little dizzy from reading. He thought it was because the classroom doors and windows were closed and it was stuffy, so he put on his headphones and prepared to go for a walk on the playground to get some fresh air.

"Where are you going?" Li Pengfei, who was struggling with a math problem, asked when he saw him put on his headphones and was about to go out.

"Let's go for a walk on the playground and get some fresh air," Lu Yanhe said.

"Oh." Li Pengfei scratched his head in pain. "I feel like all my brain cells are going to die. Let me think about it. Why don't you go to the convenience store and bring me back a bottle of Red Bull?"

“Okay.” Lu Yanhe nodded.

He arrived at the playground.

There are usually quite a few people on the playground at noon; many people like to come here for a stroll.

But recently, because of the cold weather, there are almost no people on the playground.

Today too.

The reason I say "almost" is because Lu Yanhe did see someone.

I could see her from afar; she was circling around the playground, head down, hands in her pockets, her figure silent.

It's Xu Zijun.

Since failing her last exam, Xu Zijun has become even more taciturn in class.

Li Xiang and she used to be quite close, but now they hardly speak to each other anymore.

She didn't speak, and no one dared to speak to her. Her ranking in the grade dropped by dozens of places, which for Xu Zijun was like falling from a top university to an ordinary 985 university.

Lu Yanhe walked into the playground and walked clockwise with Xu Zijun, heading in the same direction.

He didn't greet Xu Zijun, nor did he foolishly or childishly try to cheer her on.

Although he didn't have much contact with Xu Zijun, Lu Yanhe had an impression of her, like that of a blade of grass—simple, unassuming, without a striking appearance or a prominent family background, yet stubbornly growing in a corner where no one paid attention.

Xu Zijun's grades have dropped so much, it's definitely not a matter of whether she's working hard or not, but rather a matter of her current state of mind.

She just needs to adjust her mindset, and she will be able to regain her previous grades.

Xu Zijun walked around twice and then left the playground.

Lu Yanhe didn't know if she had seen him, because she kept her head down and wouldn't have noticed that there was another person on the playground if she didn't look up.

Lu Yanhe just hoped that she could quickly get back into her old ways.

In the following days, whenever Lu Yanhe felt a little bored at noon, he would go for a walk on the playground.

He often ran into Xu Zijun.

She always kept her head down, alone.

-

December, the fourth monthly exam.

It happened to snow on the day of the exam.

Lu Yanhe saw a woman riding an electric motorcycle fall while turning a corner on the bus, and just looking at it made him feel pain.

Fortunately, a passerby helped her up.

When the weather gets cold, people become clumsy.

When Lu Yanhe took the Chinese exam, he almost didn't finish writing the essay.

My fingers are a little stiff from the cold.

As soon as the Chinese exam was over, Li Pengfei called out to him, "Want to go buy a drink? It's so cold, damn, I'm freezing, my feet are ice cold."

Lu Yanhe nodded.

He was cold too.

We sat there for two hours straight, and the classroom was freezing cold as there was no heating.

Li Pengfei said happily, "I think I wrote a good essay today, and I should be able to get more than 48 points."

Although the date of the college entrance examination is approaching, Li Pengfei shows no signs of tension and remains an optimistic person.

The convenience store was packed with people, all there to buy snacks.

They're probably all hungry.

It's only 11 o'clock now, and the cafeteria isn't open yet.

Li Pengfei finally managed to grab two bottles of hot milk tea and squeezed out of the crowd.

"Wow, even the Spring Festival travel rush isn't this bad," he said.

"You actually know about the Spring Festival travel rush?"

"I broadcast the news every year; I'm not blind."

Unable to find anything to buy at the convenience store, they had no choice but to return to the classroom.

"Old Lu, seriously, which university are you targeting?" Li Pengfei asked.

Lu Yanhe glanced at him and said, "I already said it, either Zhenhua or Yuming."

"..." Li Pengfei rolled his eyes at him speechlessly, "You still won't tell the truth."

“That’s the truth, really.” Lu Yanhe laughed. “Why can’t I apply to Zhenhua or Yuming?”

"Look at your current grades. Do you think it's realistic for you to say you want to get into Zhenhua or Yuming?"

"There are still six months left, you can keep trying." Lu Yanhe raised his chin. "Aren't you planning to keep trying?"

“What a joke! I’m really into studying now, you know?” Li Pengfei immediately retorted, not to be outdone. “Let me tell you, I’ll definitely beat that idiot Luo Zicheng in this exam.”

He does hold grudges; he still remembers that he wants to surpass Luo Zicheng.

Lu Yanhe was both amused and exasperated, and said, "What if we don't surpass it?"

Given Li Pengfei's usual personality, he would definitely make a bet.

But now he says, "If you don't surpass it, you can surpass it next time."

"Boring."

"Heh, you little rascal, trying to trick me into betting again."

-

After finishing the last exam of the month, Lu Yanhe, as usual, did not stay at school for evening self-study but went home.

I'll go to bed earlier at night to give myself more time to rest.

But at nine o'clock in the evening, Lu Yanhe received a call from Zhou Pingan.

Zhou Ping'an brought some not-so-good news.

“This time it wasn’t me who interfered; someone has their eye on your role,” Zhou Ping’an said. “You know him, Chen Ziliang.”

Lu Yanhe suddenly opened his eyes wide.

"Huh?" He didn't react at first. "Isn't he a singer?"

Zhou Ping'an: "Crossing over to another industry is nothing new. Many singers have become actors."

Lu Yanhe said, "Did Director Luo tell you that he wanted to replace me?"

“No, that’s not it. Your performance agreement has already been sent over, but they haven’t gone through their legal department yet. They’ll only return two copies after it’s been signed and stamped,” Zhou Ping’an said. “Even with a signed contract, there are always cases where someone gets snatched up, let alone in this situation where the contract hasn’t been fully signed yet. Forget about others, Chen Ziliang is much more popular than you. He’s willing to take on such a cameo role, which is a sure-fire way for this show to make money. From what I’ve heard, the investors and the broadcasting platform both prefer to use him.”

Lu Yanhe asked, "So, how should this situation usually be handled?"

"Let me make this clear first, I won't get involved in this myself, but I can tell you a few things to do. Whether you can do them or not depends on your own abilities," Zhou Ping'an said bluntly. "First, find out his dirty secrets and smear him so that the production company won't dare to use him. Second, offer something more compelling to the production company so that they will willingly give up on him. Third, win over Luo Yuzhong and Jiang Yuqian. As long as the director and lead actor decide that you should play the role, you can still persuade the investors and the broadcasting platform to change their minds."

After listening to Zhou Ping'an's explanation, Lu Yanhe said "okay".

“But let me tell you the truth, stop messing around. That’s how this industry is. The famous get praised, the unknown get trampled on. If you want to compete with Chen Ziliang, you first have to sit at the same table as him.” Zhou Pingan asked, “Do you think you can sit at the same table as him?”

Lu Yanhe was silent for a moment, then said, "Why not? I got this role through an audition, while he got it through popularity and fame. Let's just rely on our own abilities."

Zhou Ping'an scoffed, "You've got quite the high aspirations."

Lu Yanhe thought to himself, it wasn't that he was arrogant, it was because he only had this one chance.

Why would he obediently give up his share just because Chen Ziliang wanted to take it?

After hanging up the phone, Lu Yanhe took a deep breath.

Why did Chen Ziliang choose to play such a role? This question first popped into Lu Yanhe's mind.

As a singer with such high popularity, he should just focus on singing in his own field. Why bother with acting? Even if he wants to expand into other areas, he can play a more important role instead of a character who appears in "The Golden Era" for less than three episodes.

Lu Yanhe recalled the scene of him and Jiang Yuqian's chance encounter with Chen Ziliang at the dim sum restaurant.

Was it for her?

-

Are you sure you want to act in this play?

In the dressing room, Yan Wei looked at Chen Ziliang helplessly, her unspoken message being that she did not support Chen Ziliang's decision.

But no matter what Chen Ziliang wants to do, his agent can't change it.

Just like last time when Chen Ziliang refused to record, no matter what he said, he couldn't persuade him to change his mind.

Chen Ziliang sat in front of the makeup table, glanced at himself in the mirror, and asked the makeup artist, "Am I less attractive than those actors?"

The makeup artist was very attentive and praised, "How could that be? You are very handsome and have a very distinctive look."

Chen Ziliang curled the corners of his mouth and glanced at Yan Weiyi.

“What’s the point of just singing all the time? Fans are tired of it. I’d rather act in a movie to bring something new, wouldn’t you say?”

“You’ve never acted before,” Yan Wei tried her best to persuade you. “If you mess it up and get ridiculed online, it won’t be good for you.”

"I haven't even acted yet, and you already know I'll mess it up?" Chen Ziliang immediately frowned. "That Lu Yanhe has never acted before either, so how dare he act?"

Yan Wei thought to himself, "That person got the role through a proper audition, so they must have some skills. It's completely different from you, who relies on popularity to snatch the role."

But there's no way I could actually say this to Chen Ziliang, otherwise he would just give me a live demonstration of a fire-breathing dragon transformation.

Since becoming famous, Chen Ziliang has grown increasingly averse to hearing such unpleasant words.

Yan Wei could only say, "Lu Yanhe gets criticized even when he acts. He's just an idol artist who can't do anything except look good."

Chen Ziliang only started to listen a little after hearing what Yan Wei said.

“Well, that role doesn’t have many scenes anyway. If it really doesn’t work out, I’ll just find an acting coach and learn properly,” Chen Ziliang said. “But this role is Yuqian’s first love in the play, so of course I can’t let someone else play it.”

...Yuqian.

Yan Wei thought to himself, "If Jiang Yuqian had even a little bit of affection for you, she wouldn't be acting like this now."

“Especially Lu Yanhe.” Chen Ziliang suddenly thought of something, and a hint of hostility reappeared on his face.

Yan Wei knew that Chen Ziliang disliked Lu Yanhe very much, even loathed him. Ever since their feud at "Little Song Gathering," Chen Ziliang had regarded this young idol as a thorn in his side.

Unable to persuade Chen Ziliang, Yan Wei could only say, "If you want to play this role, you need Director Luo Yuzhong's approval. I heard that he had already agreed to give the role to Lu Yanhe, and both parties are going through the contract. If Director Luo doesn't agree, it's useless if the investors and the broadcasting platform like you."

“I heard that Director Luo really likes Mr. Zhang Shansan’s paintings. Didn’t I take a picture of one of his paintings at last year’s charity gala? Why don’t you arrange a meeting with Director Luo so I can have a chat with him in person?”

Chen Ziliang had already figured out how to win over Luo Yuzhong; he even knew whose paintings Luo Yuzhong liked.

Yan Weiyi knew immediately that Chen Ziliang was determined to snatch the role from Lu Yanhe.

-

Lu Yanhe did not go to find Luo Yuzhong and Jiang Yuqian immediately.

They haven't said anything yet, and you're rushing to find them. They might even think you don't trust them at all and believe everything you hear.

Lu Yanhe carefully searched for information about Chen Ziliang online.

What can he do?

Without the support of a company and an agent, he was just an ordinary high school senior who couldn't do anything.

But it's better than doing nothing at all.

Because he was preoccupied with this matter, when he came to his senses, he realized that he had been spacing out for almost half an hour.

-

The monthly exam results are out.

Lu Yanhe has improved again, ranking 165th in his grade.

Even before it was officially announced, it had already sparked heated discussions in the teachers' offices.

"That Lu Yanhe in your class is amazing. In just a few months, he went from being ranked outside the top 500 in the grade to 165th. If he keeps going like this, he might even get into a top-tier university in the end?"

In the office, the other teachers spoke to Liu Qin.

Liu Qin was pleasantly surprised by Lu Yanhe's continued progress.

She knew Lu Yanhe worked very hard, and she often said that as long as you are willing to work hard, it is never too late to start. But in reality, those words were just to encourage students. Is it really never too late? Liu Qin also knew that it was simply unrealistic.

Starting to work hard in the first year of high school and starting to work hard in the third year of high school are completely different foundations.

Except for a very few exceptionally gifted students, the gap in academic performance widens through the accumulation of differences over time.

The higher your ranking, the harder it is to improve, and you may even hit a plateau. After all, while you are improving, others are also improving. You can't keep improving forever just by working hard on practice problems and reading books.

It is an unimaginable little miracle that Lu Yanhe has been able to maintain this momentum of progress.

Liu Qin also wanted to know just how much progress Lu Yanhe could make.

At the same time, she also felt a little regretful. If only Lu Yanhe had changed course earlier and shifted his focus to studying.

-

Some people are born with a sense of responsibility, and Liu Qin is one such person.

She chose to become a teacher because she loved helping these young children take that first step forward.

She doesn't want to give up on anyone because she always wants to do her best to ensure that no one's life is filled with regrets.

-

The fact that Lu Yanhe had improved his ranking in the grade in four consecutive exams spread throughout the grade.

In just four months, someone jumped from over 500th place in their grade to over 100th. Based on previous years' results, this is equivalent to jumping from a vocational college to a second-tier university, a feat that seems like crossing an insurmountable chasm.

In the eyes of many classmates, his progress was so rapid that he was practically a god.

Lu Yanhe hadn't even seen his own ranking yet when he heard about his results from others.

When Liu Qin brought over the class report card, the whole class knew that Lu Yanhe had ranked 165th in the grade this time.

Li Pengfei's eyes turned red with envy.

"Are you an animal? How can you improve every time?"

Lu Yanhe was still thinking about how to deal with Chen Ziliang taking his role when he came to his senses and saw everyone looking at him with envy, jealousy and hatred.

Based on past years' results, the first-tier university admission line for their school is generally around 120th in the grade. Therefore, his ranking of 165th is already close to the level where he can choose a good school among the second-tier universities.

Lu Yanhe smiled at Li Pengfei and said, "Then you should also do your best."

"Of course I'll do my best!" Li Pengfei said, then sighed, "Why haven't our class's report cards arrived yet?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Liu Qin entered the classroom with their class's grade sheet.

Liu Qin's face lit up with a bright smile.

"Everyone did well on the exam this time."

(End of this chapter)