diymy Chapter 45: Shortlisting
Chapter 45: Shortlisting
January 14th, Changsha.
Liu Yu was playing chess at home with Liu Jianhui. The game had progressed to the endgame, with Liu Jianhui's rooks, knights, and cannons crossing the river, while Liu Yu's king was huddled in a corner of the nine-square grid.
Liu Jianhui's style of playing chess is like his surgical style: precise, calm, and leaving no survivors.
Liu Yu played chess with him his whole life in his previous life, but he never won more than a few times.
He was pondering how to defuse this checkmate move when his phone rang.
It was Teacher Yu Li calling; her voice, coming through the receiver, carried an barely suppressed excitement.
"Liu Yu! The Berlin Film Festival shortlist is out! 'Hearing Girl' has made it into the main competition!"
Liu Yu held a chess piece in his hand, which hovered in mid-air.
"Oh? Teacher, really?"
"Really! The invitation to the Berlin Film Festival arrived at the school; I just received it. When are you coming back to Beijing? Come pick it up!"
Yu Li's voice grew louder and louder, and Liu Jianhui, who was standing next to her, heard it. He looked up at Liu Yu, didn't say anything, but smiled slightly.
Liu Yu placed the chess piece back on the chessboard, and the piece landed on the wooden board with a crisp click.
He took a deep breath and tried to make his voice sound calm.
"Teacher Yu, I'll pick it up at school before I leave. Thank you."
After hanging up the phone, he stared at the chessboard, not moving for a long time.
Liu Jianhui smiled genuinely and said, "I'm the general now, are you coming or not?"
Liu Yu looked down and saw that his veteran was indeed checkmated by Liu Jianhui's car and couldn't move.
"We lost."
Zhang Yan poked her head out of the kitchen, holding a spatula in her hand. The food in the pot was sizzling, and the range hood was humming.
"What is it?"
Liu Yu stood up and walked to the kitchen door. "The Berlin Film Festival, 'Hearing Girl' has been nominated for the main competition."
He spoke in a very calm tone. Zhang Yan was stunned for a moment, her shovel hovering in mid-air. Then she put the shovel down, wiped her hands on her apron, and came over to hug him.
She didn't speak, but reached out and patted Liu Yu's back. She wanted to say something, but when she opened her mouth, she found her throat was a little tight, so she didn't say anything.
Liu Jianhui coughed once in the living room.
"Is your dish going to burn?"
Zhang Yan cried out "Ouch!" as she released Liu Yu, turned around, and rushed back to the kitchen. With a few quick flips of the spatula, she managed to salvage the dish.
She turned around and glared at Liu Jianhui, who nonchalantly lowered his head to arrange the chess pieces.
.....
The next day, news from Berlin was everywhere.
Liu Yu saw it on his computer; the entertainment headlines on the portal websites had all been changed to news about the Berlin Film Festival.
This year, two Chinese-language films were shortlisted for the main feature film competition: Gu Changwei's "Peacock" and Liu Yu's "Hearing Girl".
The media was as excited as if it were New Year's Day, with headlines that were more sensational than the last.
"The Berlin Showdown of Chinese-Language Films"
"Beijing Film Academy Intra-Campus Showdown: Gu Changwei and Liu Yu Compete Against Each Other."
Liu Yu's lips twitched when he saw these news reports.
A competition within the Beijing Film Academy? What's there to compete between him and Gu Changwei?
He can't do anything about what the media wants to write. The more exaggerated the headline, the higher the click rate. He understood this principle in his past life.
In the morning, Liu Yu started making phone calls.
The first call I made was to Li Xuejian: "Professor Li, we've been shortlisted for the Berlin International Film Festival, in the main competition."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Li Xuejian said, "Okay."
Then he paused for a moment, "It's cold in Berlin in February, so bring plenty of clothes."
"Okay, Teacher Li."
The second call was to Song Dandan, whose reaction was the complete opposite of Li Xuejian's. As soon as the call connected, she exclaimed, "Oh my god! Berlin! Liu Yu, you're amazing! I knew this film would be good! If not, I'd have to have a drink to celebrate!"
When Liu Yu heard someone on the other end of the phone ask her, "Dandan, who are you talking to?" she replied, "Liu Yu! We've been shortlisted for Berlin!"
The third call was to Liu Yifei. Her voice sounded hoarse, as if she had just woken up, as if the phone call had pulled her from a dream.
"Director Liu?" Her voice was muffled, as if she had a marshmallow in her mouth.
"Berlin has been shortlisted."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a very soft "ah," as if the person hadn't quite caught on yet.
"Main competition. You, along with Teacher Li, Teacher Dandan, and Luo Jing, have all received invitations to Berlin in February."
Liu Yifei was silent for a moment, then said in an incredulous tone, "Director Liu, really?"
"Um."
Han Sanping called at 11 a.m. His voice sounded a few octaves higher than usual, as if he had been drinking.
Yu Dong called in the afternoon. His tone was different from Han Sanping's. Han Sanping was happy and proud, while Yu Dong was happy but with a hint of sourness that was hard to explain.
.....
On February 6th, Liu Yufei returned to Beijing.
Upon arriving in Beijing, Liu Yu went straight to the school.
Yu Li was waiting for him in the office, with the white envelope on the table.
She pushed the envelope towards him, placing her hands crossed on the table. Liu Yu picked up the envelope, opened it, and took out the invitation inside.
The sign was in both German and English, and the heading read "Mr. Liu Yu." The main text read, "Your film 'Hearing Girl' has been selected for the main competition at the 55th Berlin International Film Festival. We cordially invite you to attend."
Yu Li leaned back in her chair. "In Berlin in February, it's several degrees below zero. Bring plenty of warm clothes. Don't wear that military overcoat anymore; it's not presentable."
Stepping out of the teaching building, Liu Yu stood on the steps, looking out over the campus.
In Beijing's winter, the trees on campus are all bare, like outstretched fingers.
My phone vibrated.
Yan Danchen sent a message: "Is the Berlin matter settled?"
Liu Yu replied with a single word: "It's settled."
She sent another message: "Wishing you a triumphant start and may you reap the rewards."
Liu Yu smiled and tapped his fingers on the keyboard: "What's mine is yours."
Don't give me that.
It was followed by a kissing emoji.
Liu Yu put his phone in his pocket, walked back to his dormitory, opened the door, and found it empty.
Wang Chaowen went back to Shandong for the holidays, Liu Xiao went back to Northeast China, and Xin Hao went back to Shanxi.
The four beds were made neatly, with the blankets folded into perfect squares—a habit Liu Yu had passed on to his three roommates.
He picked up his phone and sent Zhong Lifang a text message: "You arrange everything in Berlin for me. Flights, hotels, translation, media liaison—it's all up to you."
Zhong Lifang replied with a single word: "Okay."
He threw his phone on the bed, took off his coat, lay down on the bed, and stared at the ceiling.
There was a crack in the ceiling that stretched from the light fixture to the corner of the wall.
He had been looking at this crack for three years, seeing it every time he lay in bed, but he never thought of fixing it.
Some things are imperfect, but they are a part of your life, and you develop feelings for them after looking at them for a long time.
.....
In the afternoon, Zhong Lifang called, and seemed to be in a good mood.
"Boss, the company has already activated its contingency plan for the situation in Berlin. I've assigned someone to handle media relations, and we'll coordinate your schedule in advance."
After hanging up the phone, Liu Yu lay on the bed scrolling through the news.
While scrolling through the comments, he came across one that left him both amused and exasperated.
"Who is Liu Yu? How did he suddenly appear? Does he have connections?"
Someone replied to him, "Liu Yu is a student at the Beijing Film Academy. He's made three movies, and the combined box office is close to 200 million yuan. You don't even know him? How dare you try to get involved in the film industry?"
Another person replied, "I know him, his girlfriend is Yan Danchen."
Another person replied, "Really? Isn't Liu Yifei his girlfriend?"
The comments section below started arguing. Some people said, "Liu Yu and Yan Danchen have been together for several years." Others said, "No, he and Liu Yifei are the real ones. Look at that video from Jiuzhaigou. He held Liu Yifei so gently."
Liu Yu couldn't bear to watch any longer. He slammed the computer against his chest, closed his eyes, and sighed.