Chapter 1

Clang!

A loud noise caused a commotion in the examination room!

"What's going on?" the invigilator, dressed in a black down jacket, asked sternly.

"That guy was sitting improperly, squatting on the chair and swaying, and ended up falling over with the chair!" the freckled girl in the back row reported excitedly.

"Are you talking about me?" Wang Qian was stunned for a moment. He had already graduated over ten years ago, so why was he taking an exam again?

Could it be a dream?

If it was a dream, it felt too real...

"Who else if not you?" the freckled girl said as if she had a grudge against him.

After a long while, Wang Qian "remembered" that this was the preliminary examination for the Beijing Film Academy's arts entrance exam in 1997.

Wait, isn't it 2014 now?

At this moment, Wang Qian felt a bit dizzy and disoriented. Two different lives, two different sets of memories, were constantly colliding and blending in his mind.

Wang Qian finally confirmed it—he had traveled through time!

He had traveled back over ten years, becoming a guy with the same name as him!

The invigilator walked over, helped Wang Qian up, and patted the dust off his clothes, asking, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Wang Qian answered instinctively.

"Then be more careful, don't be so casual! If you don't want to do well, don't affect others!" He checked to make sure there was no cheating.

"Got it!" Wang Qian said.

After that, the invigilator didn't say anything more, but he kept an eye on Wang Qian for a while.

Seeing the invigilator let Wang Qian off so easily, the freckled girl showed a hint of anger, and the other candidates also showed a hint of regret...

What a pity!

The examination room was like a battlefield, especially the Beijing Film Academy's arts entrance exam, which ruthlessly eliminated candidates. Each candidate who made it in had eliminated dozens of competitors.

If the invigilator had ordered this guy to hand in his paper and leave the room, it would have been like eliminating a competitor in advance!

The room was filled with hostility!

However, Wang Qian didn't care...

Because, with such a miraculous thing as time travel happening, why worry about trivial matters?

He calmed down, and a flood of memories surged into his mind. According to the memories of this body, it was 1997, and he was taking the Beijing Film Academy's arts entrance exam.

In his original memory, he had just been typing away at a novel in 2014... now, he was reborn in the 1997 exam room, as a candidate. The conflict in his brain's memories had caused his body to lose control and fall.

After absorbing these memories, Wang Qian found that he not only had more knowledge and memories but also seemed to have a more agile mind.

It was as if a computer had been upgraded from a single core to a dual core. Although the performance didn't double, there was a 30-40% increase in intelligence.

The Beijing Film Academy's arts entrance exam in 1997?

A glint of ambition appeared in Wang Qian's eyes!

The entertainment industry, like other circles, is easiest to succeed in if you have solid connections and experience within the industry.

The vast majority of those who truly control the top of the entertainment industry pyramid are graduates of the Beijing Film Academy, the Central Academy of Drama, and the Shanghai Theatre Academy.

Graduates from these three major universities dominate over 80% of the fields of stars, directors, screenwriters, and cinematographers. Non-graduates from these three universities have less than 20% of the opportunities to stand out.

It's like the Whampoa Military Academy in the Republican era, where graduates from well-known military schools were more likely to succeed in the military. The same principle applies here!

In short, the Beijing Film Academy is like the Whampoa Military Academy of the entertainment industry. Many important positions in the industry are held by teachers and classmates, and a degree from the Beijing Film Academy is a significant credential in the entertainment industry!

Those with a Beijing Film Academy degree are treated differently and have many opportunities, while those without this connection often struggle and face numerous difficulties after entering the industry.

Such an opportunity, how could it not be tempting!

Wang Qian looked down at the exam paper and found that the preliminary exam mainly tested general knowledge of the arts, with only a few questions on film and television knowledge. With his broad reading and attention to film and television, he could easily answer most of the questions.

Therefore, Wang Qian was full of confidence, and his pencil scribbled away as he quickly completed the questions.

The invigilator quietly walked behind Wang Qian and, seeing him answer several professional questions correctly, nodded in approval, thinking this kid wasn't too bad.

However, that was all. The preliminary exam was just a screening threshold. Using the preliminary exam to eliminate most candidates made the next round of exams more efficient.

...

Such a miraculous thing as time travel happening to Wang Qian, he could adapt so quickly, partly because he was a web novelist in his previous life, having written several novels about time travel.

When he was bored, he had also thought about what he would do if he traveled through time.

But when he really did travel through time, Wang Qian found that he had very little capital, and his family background was quite ordinary. The best way forward seemed to be—taking the Beijing Film Academy exam!

However, the Beijing Film Academy's exam had a very high elimination rate.

First, the Beijing Film Academy conducts independent admissions. Each undergraduate program in directing, acting, writing, photography, sound recording, and management only admits ten to twenty students a year.

In total, the undergraduate programs normally admit over 100 students a year, while the number of candidates applying exceeds 6,000.

The difficulty of admission to each program depends on the number of applicants. The more applicants, the more intense the competition.

The writing program, compared to directing and acting, is relatively less popular. But getting in still requires "passing five gates and slaying six generals."

The writing program's exam consists of three stages: the preliminary exam (first round), the re-exam (second round), and the interview (third round).

The preliminary exam is a simple test of general arts knowledge and a few professional questions. Candidates who pass will take the re-exam a few days later.

The re-exam involves a designated film, which is shown on-site, and students are required to write an essay on a given topic, testing their writing skills and film appreciation.

The interview (third round) involves multiple teachers asking random questions, with no set questions or scope.

In the first and second rounds, the lowest-scoring candidates are eliminated. The final third round is not an elimination but a comprehensive evaluation of the three exam scores to give candidates a professional score.

Of course, even if you pass the third round, your college entrance exam (Gaokao) score is also considered. The final admission rule is—60% professional score and 40% Gaokao score, ranking from high to low for the best candidates.

This year, over 600 people applied for the writing program, and fewer than 20 were admitted, with about one in thirty making it.

Wang Qian hoped he would be the one who stood out...

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