Chapter 35: Publication of the Second Volume of "The Illusory River of Qingming"

"Yajing, you look so beautiful!"

After watching it for the third time, another girl exclaimed, making Wang Yajing feel a bit shy. In fact, those who study photography know that many pretty girls are actually quite happy to be models. Previously, they had never been exposed to this and claimed they were afraid to act in front of others; mostly, they were just nervous and embarrassed. Now, having gone through the experience of a short film with them, they realized it wasn't that difficult—and being able to appear so beautifully in a short film was a wonderful thing! It felt even better than paying for professional artistic portraits.

"You aren't filming your own story, are you?" Gao Shun suddenly asked.

"It's possible," Huang Haotian added.

"I'm very suspicious of it too," Song Hairong said with a nod and a smile. "Xie Wenmin from the freshman year."

Mentioning her again!

"How dare you talk about me!" Li Jingkun immediately reached out to put Song Hairong in a headlock. "Isn't this the scenario where you have a secret crush on... uh, someone else?"

Everyone burst into laughter. Zhou Jiani joined in, laughing as she asked, "Who does he have a secret crush on?"

Song Hairong said, "No, don't listen to his nonsense. We just like to joke around like this."

"Hahaha." Those who knew the inside story could only laugh out loud.

"It's not enough; it's too short," Wang Yajing said.

"True," Zhu Miaotong agreed. She had made a guest appearance as the female lead's deskmate, the one who helped the male lead get the female lead's Penguin ID.

"Actually, there's more to come—the girl's perspective, and you are the female lead," Li Jingkun told Zhu Miaotong.

"What?" Zhu Miaotong asked.

"The boy has a crush on Su Mo, but someone else has a crush on him—your character. The two parts fit together."

"Then why didn't you film the rest?" Wang Yajing asked.

"Didn't Miaotong not want to film it before? It took a lot of convincing just to get her to do that cameo. She was too shy to appear on camera," Li Jingkun explained.

In truth, because Zhu Miaotong sat in the row behind them, she spent more time with him and Song Hairong than Wang Yajing did. In a sense, she was closer to Li Jingkun than Wang Yajing was. The revolutionary friendship between deskmates and those sitting in front or behind one another can sometimes truly be remembered for a long time.

"Do it! I support you!" Wang Yajing told Zhu Miaotong.

"Do I have to? The cameo was fine, but now a leading role..." Zhu Miaotong was getting cold feet again.

"It's fine, there isn't much content. You kept saying how beautiful I looked, and you'll definitely look just as good," Wang Yajing said.

"No way, I'm not as photogenic as you."

"You will be. You have to trust our great author's skills; he can definitely make you look beautiful. Plus, being able to record what we look like in our youth is such a precious experience and memory. When we grow up and get old, being able to look back at our younger selves from time to time—how wonderful is that!"

Wang Yajing was very helpful, continuously assisting the director in persuading the actress.

...

Later, his short film circulated within a small circle. Most people hadn't participated in the process, so they watched it and moved on. The homeroom teacher, who had participated in the filming, also watched it on an MP4 player and was quite surprised. Generally, teachers who manage to work at provincial key high schools have real substance. It wasn't that he had expertise in filmmaking, but his horizons were at least broader than those of teachers at ordinary high schools.

He hadn't expected Li Jingkun to actually pull off a short film. Although it was only a few minutes long, it told the story clearly, and the cinematography was steady. The students at City No. 1 High School were quite talented. Besides, Li Jingkun could play the guitar and sing; he likely had artistic talent and was well-suited for the arts track. The teacher could only continue to support him in achieving his ideal university.

...

The summer break between the second and third year of high school was only one month long, with school starting early in August. Therefore, Li Jingkun didn't go anywhere in July (the European trip would have to wait), staying home to read, study, and solve problems. Aside from textbooks, he bought many casual books, such as ones on film art, social sciences, and encyclopedias. However, much of that knowledge relied on gradual accumulation, which couldn't be rushed. Occasionally, he would go out to see friends or practice photography outdoors.

After the third year began, the atmosphere changed entirely. The academic pressure intensified, with exams every month and a constant stream of problems to solve. Still, the short film had to be made, so he tried to pick simpler ones. Music videos were fine too; the main goal was to train his skills.

They had filmed one short in the previous semester, "That Summer." Later, they added the parts with Zhu Miaotong, bringing the total to about 18 minutes—a complete short film. This caused quite a stir and discussion within his circle of friends because the content was good, and the actors were all familiar faces.

Band practice was less frequent than before. But after "Ten Thousand Sorrows," they recorded an original song called "The Remaining Midsummer." It had nothing to do with rock, but everyone loved it, so they uploaded it to a music website after recording. Aside from the two originals, they also uploaded several covers, most of which were recorded live.

However, whether it was the covers or the originals, they initially had almost no clicks. The few they had were from themselves, and the comments were mostly advertisements. Later, Gao Shun did some research and found that if they wanted people to listen, they had to pay for promotion. So, they tried putting some money into it, and sure enough, the click count increased!

They continued to pool money for promotions, and after a few months, they finally had a few hundred clicks and some comments from real listeners. At first, they were excited to see positive feedback, but there were also abusive comments. Gao Shun initially tried to reply to them, only to find that the more he explained, the more agitated the trolls became. In the end, if someone thought the singing was bad, no amount of explanation would change their minds. Combined with the increasing academic pressure, they paid less attention to it. After all, for students at a provincial key high school, the college entrance exam was more important; they could always play music in college.

In late September, the second volume of "The Phantom River of Qingming" was published, with an initial print run of 140,000 copies. The first volume had been reprinted by 40,000 copies not long ago. Combined, they had brought in a little over 300,000 yuan during this period, shocking Li Jingkun's family once again. After subtracting expenses, Li Jingkun now had about 500,000 yuan in his account (the total income from both volumes so far). Following tradition, Li Jingkun decided to take out some money to celebrate.

"Tell me what you all want, and I'll find a time to buy it," Li Jingkun said.

"Anything?" Li Jingming asked.

"Let's hear it."

"Don't buy anything useless," their mother warned.

"It's useful," Li Jingming insisted. "Buy me a pair of authentic Nike sneakers. A lot of classmates in my class have them."

"Sure, which series do you want?"