It has been almost half a year since Zhang Xiaoya left the "Interview" column.

In November last year, she interviewed the great director Zhao Sicheng with an expression of anticipation and excitement.

The beginning of the interview was relatively normal, and I asked some questions about "Fatal Crisis".

When asked what would happen if the movie did not do well at the box office, Zhao Sicheng became furious and cursed her in front of the entire audience.

"I'm telling you, your question makes me very unhappy. Your question is stupid and bad!"

"My fucking movie hasn't been released yet. It's like having a moon party with a newborn baby. You fucking ask me what you will do if he dies?"

"What qualities!"

"..."

She never thought that an internationally renowned director could be so sensitive, let alone that he would smash his microphone on the spot and leave the show angrily.

She was a little frightened at the time.

Having just graduated from college, she had never seen such a battle before.

She was very scared at the time, and publicly apologized to Zhao Sicheng on social media over and over again, and begged for forgiveness over and over again.

However, being resented by such a major international director is basically equivalent to the end of your career.

In fact, this is indeed the case.

Not only did her apology have no effect, but it was revealed that she was Zhou Yang's former junior high school classmate. She was scolded and scolded by Zhao Sicheng, and she received a dismissal letter from the company the next day. She wanted to defend herself, but not only Weibo and her personal

The account was banned, and even a lot of company-related information on social platforms was wiped clean.

as if……

She has never been in this industry before.

She had nightmares for more than a month, and every nightmare was about that live broadcast room and that interview.

After she was fired, she looked for other jobs in the industry.

Unfortunately, no one in the relevant job was willing to hire her, and some people even looked at her with ridiculing eyes.

"Aren't you and Zhou Yang classmates in junior high school?"

"Isn't he awesome? Why don't you go find him?"

"My small temple cannot tolerate classmate Zhou Yang like you..."

"..."

Similar sounds are endless.

It is naturally extremely difficult for a person to wander in Yanjing.

Money-mad, renting and traveling...

For her who has been unemployed for nearly a month and comes from a small place, almost every expense weighs her down.

Several times, she wanted to shamelessly apply for a job at Zhouyang Company by using her identity as a classmate. However, every time she came to the door of Huaxing with her resume, after thinking of a series of words, she backed down.

She had nothing to bring to her classmate. In the past, when she had nothing, she just prayed for charity.

During the Spring Festival of 2006, she returned to her hometown in ah.

A small village that is not poor, but remote and relatively backward.

It was the most painful New Year's Eve since she graduated.

Her parents advised her to be pragmatic, find someone to marry, and stop running around Yanjing.

Neighbors pointed at her and saw that she was fashionably dressed and well groomed, thinking that she was out in the flesh business.

People in small places naturally follow what others say...

But after the New Year, she still left her hometown resolutely in the eyes of everyone.

Some people live an ordinary life.

And some people are not content with being ordinary, and at least always want to do something.

After returning to Yanjing, she gave up her dream of being a host and became pragmatic.

She works odd jobs during the day, uses her drawing skills to help others draw manuscripts at night, and teaches herself three-dimensional animation design.

She accepted drawings from any studio, and even accepted some embarrassing drawings from the island country just to make a living. Her life was quite embarrassing, but she never gave up.

Sometimes the world really won't treat a strong and hard-working person badly.

In March this year.

The animation she produced together with the "Storm Team", "Jingwu Little Heroes", was officially broadcast on Sodu Video.

Although there were numerous negative reviews and the plot was cheesy and lackluster, the exquisite illustrations still won praises from some Chinese comic fans, and the animation was aired for two more episodes before it was removed from the shelves.

April 17, three o'clock in the afternoon.

On the fourth day after she officially joined "Baofeng Studio" to work on animation full-time, her boss called her into the office.

"Little girl..."

"Boss, what's wrong?"

"Without new investment, the studio may not be able to sustain itself. This is your three days' salary..."

"Ah? Boss, can't you just hold on a little longer? Our plot can be adjusted. I'm very optimistic about the company's future..."

"I am also very optimistic about it, but the monthly rent here is 10,000 yuan, plus the labor and operating expenses for water, electricity... "Fist of Heroes" can be continued if there are investors interested in it, but...

Who will do charity when they are full? Our click volume is too low, it is impossible for anyone to help us place ads..."

"But……"

"Forget it, we'll come back when the market gets better in the future..."

The boss of Baofeng Studio is named Xue Ning.

Just like Zhang Xiaoya, she is a girl who wants to start a business and revitalize Chinese comics right after graduating from college.

When I first entered this industry, I was very ambitious and had many fantastic ideas in my mind.

However, doing animation in China in 2007 was tantamount to courting death.

In particular, animation produced by small studios not only faces the risk of being squeezed by Japanese comics, but also faces pressure from peers and lack of market recognition, among many other reasons.

"Fist of Heroes" didn't make much of a splash. The high production costs meant that no matter how well-off Xue Ning's family was, they couldn't afford the sky-high expenses.

In fact, "Baofeng Studio" is just one of thousands of companies that have gone bankrupt.

Even though it was a pity, even though her heart was full of regrets, the matter was a foregone conclusion and Zhang Xiaoya had no choice.

She finally received three days' wages and returned to her work station to pack her things.

Half past three in the afternoon.

Other colleagues in the studio came out of the office one after another. Some people had red eyes, some clenched their fists unwillingly, and some people's faces were really full of frustration.

These people are all young people who have just graduated. They have passionate dreams and have made decisions to achieve them, but in the end they cannot handle the reality.

Those who dream of generating electricity are eventually defeated by the cruel reality.

There are thousands of dream chasers, but how many are successful?

“Let’s have a dinner together!”

“Eat better today!”

"After all, we have worked together for so long..."

"But this time we want aa!"

"Let's go to Dreamland! Dreamland is a high-end restaurant. Today is the last day anyway. Let's have a luxurious time!"

"I heard that many big stars will go to this restaurant. If I meet Zhou Shuai..."

"Have a sweet dream, how could Zhou Shuai go to such a restaurant!"

"Hey, am I just dreaming? Can't I still dream now?"

"Don't think about this. The restaurant is hard to get a reservation and it's always overcrowded..."

"Yeah, you have to make a reservation two or three days in advance. I'm really speechless. How about... change a place?"

"..."

Someone in the crowd suggested.

Xue Ning walked out of the office. When she saw everyone's expressions, she smiled.

"Don't worry, I have already reserved the location two days in advance..."

……………………

Dreamland Restaurant is a famous music restaurant in Yanjing. The owner is Shen Shu, a sentimental returnee from overseas.

At the beginning of its opening, in order to make the atmosphere of the entire restaurant different from other music restaurants, Shen Shu specially invited many students from the Yanying Music Department to perform part-time here and gave them generous remuneration. It's not rock and roll, but soothing music like piano and folk guitar.
To be continued...