Chapter 10: The Random Character Experience Card

Ding!
[Task]: Attempt to bridge the gap with your parents after so many years of estrangement. (Completed)
[Congratulations to the host for receiving the reward: Random Character Experience Card!]
[Random Character Experience Card]: While sleeping, you can randomly experience the life of a character from a film or television work. You become them, and they become you; there is no distinction between you.
...
Just after returning home, Chen Jin received the notification that the system task was complete.
Looking at this sudden reward, Chen Jin really wanted to go straight upstairs to sleep and give it a proper try.
However, he immediately suppressed this impulse.
This card was clearly meant for improving acting skills.
One must use one's best resources where they are most needed.
When the time comes to truly use it, it might hold even greater value. Regardless, Chen Jin had many areas that needed improvement, and he didn't care much about when he used this experience card.
He could wait.

[New Task]
[The emotional barrier with your parents has been broken, and they agree with you pursuing an acting career, but your previous roles and works are nothing to boast about!]
[Task]: Attempt to audition for an important role.

"What on earth?"
"An audition?"
I haven't even passed the arts entrance exam yet; where am I supposed to audition?
For the previous tasks, Chen Jin could at least find a way to complete them; initially, he had even thought they were simple.
But with the last task—resolving the emotional knot—he had felt something was off.
The difficulty level was rising infinitely!
Still, he had managed to complete it by sheer luck, with a touch of cleverness involved.
The nature of the task was different, but the result was the same.
But now, an audition?
Not only did he lack the channels for an audition, he didn't even know what one entailed. Most importantly, the task specified an "important role."
What counted as "important"?
The lead? The second lead?
Does a short-form drama CEO lead count?
But there were no such short-form dramas yet!
In his future autobiographical film, even the 38-year-old version of himself hadn't experienced this stage—can his 18-year-old self really do it?
"System, you're being too harsh!"
"The task difficulty is a bit high!"

Chen Jin felt he had reached a dead end. Unless he passed the arts exam and entered the Beijing Film Academy or the Central Academy of Drama, he might not have such an opportunity.
Otherwise, relying on his current self alone would certainly not work.
This task was extremely difficult to complete.
"So, I still have to pass the arts exam!"
Chen Jin gritted his teeth and looked at the virtual interface in front of him, where his actor attributes were all lit up.
[Line Delivery]: Proficient (23/100)
[Physical Expression]: Beginner (3/10)
[Vocal Ability]: Beginner (2/10)
[Acting Foundation]: Beginner (1/10)
...
"Over the next ten days or so, I have to get the other three categories to the 'Proficient' level!"
While thinking this, Chen Jin picked up an English textbook and began to read aloud.

Time flew by, and it was the morning of the 23rd.
In two days, it would be the annual preliminary arts exam for the performance department at the Beijing Film Academy. Chen Jin and Su Wan-yu were packing their luggage; they had an early morning train to Beijing.
Over these past ten days, Su Wan-yu had truly developed a new level of respect for her son.
Even during the Chinese New Year, when they had to visit relatives, Chen Jin never forgot his daily training.
In Su Wan-yu's eyes, her son had truly grown up and was genuinely determined to give the arts exam a serious shot.
For this reason, Su Wan-yu had specifically made inquiries.
But after asking around, she had no confidence at all that Chen Jin could pass the preliminary rounds at the Beijing Film Academy or the Central Academy of Drama.
Not to mention that the number of students taking the exam for these two schools every year was like a swarm of crucian carp crossing a river, hitting new highs each year, but the pass rate, especially for the performance department, was less than 1%.
Last year, 6,120 people applied to the Central Academy of Drama’s performance department, and the final number admitted was... 50!
120:1!
That meant only one out of 120 people was admitted. The competition was shockingly intense, harder than taking the civil service exam.
The Beijing Film Academy was naturally similar, perhaps slightly better than the Central Academy of Drama, as the latter was the top brand for performance studies in the country.
The Central Academy of Drama, the Beijing Film Academy, and the Shanghai Theatre Academy were known as the three major acting colleges, the first choice for all students who loved acting, and thus had the most applicants.
She felt hopeless.
Su Wan-yu no longer expected Chen Jin to get in; she just wanted to take her son to fulfill his dream.
As long as he came back and diligently caught up on his regular studies to take the Gaokao, that would be fine.
After all, he had already written a letter of guarantee.
Chen Jin had been very earnest these days. Besides his daily actor training and practicing acting in front of the mirror, he also attended the English tutoring Su Wan-yu had arranged for him every day.
In short, his theme was: obedience and good behavior!
In the eyes of Su Wan-yu and Chen Xianqi, it was a complete transformation from the inside out.

Their son finally knew who he was studying for.
Correspondingly, after more than ten days of persistence and exercise, Chen Jin's four-dimensional actor attributes had made significant progress.
The [Accompanying Parents] task had been completed a week ago.
The reward was +10 to Line Delivery!
Thus, his four dimensions—Voice, Lines, Body, and Acting—had all reached the Proficient level.
[Line Delivery]: Proficient (62/100), mastery of intonation, clear lines, and rhythmic pacing.
[Physical Expression]: Proficient (25/100), gait, posture, good physical flexibility, and body language.
[Vocal Ability]: Proficient (21/100), basic vocal theory, sight-singing and ear training, pitch, imitation, breath control, switching between true and false voice, and intensity control.
[Acting Foundation]: Proficient (17/100), character immersion, imitation, and precise performance.
...
This was Chen Jin's current strength, completely different from the novice he was ten days ago.
Over the past few days, he had practiced many scenes in front of the mirror, such as Brother Mark lighting a cigarette, the "Ge You Slouch," and Uncle Tat crying and laughing at the same time... he had performed them all quite well.
Although there were still some minor flaws, he could at least pull them off, and it didn't look as exaggerated as those imitators on television.
At least there was an element of real acting involved.
Of course, this was just his own opinion.
Chen Jin even had a strong feeling that his current acting skills shouldn't be much different from some young actors.
Though he wasn't entirely clear on his specific level, he had the confidence to pass the arts exam.
"Son, are you packed?"
Su Wan-yu called out from downstairs, and Chen Jin quickly replied, "All set, coming down now!"
"Hurry up, better to be early than late!"
"I know!"
Soon, Chen Jin grabbed his luggage and went downstairs.
Chen Xianqi had to work and couldn't accompany them to the arts exam, so he drove the mother and son to the Suzhou train station.
The earliest train to Beijing was the D30, taking over 10 hours; it departed at 7:59 AM and didn't arrive at Beijing South Station until 6:18 PM.
Such an increase in speed already made the public very happy, but Chen Jin had seen in the future that there would be something called high-speed rail, taking only 4 hours from Suzhou to Beijing.
He couldn't even imagine such speed, though it seemed it would exist in a few years.
Therefore, Chen Jin remained skeptical about the system's future autobiographical film; how could it possibly take only 4 hours to get from Suzhou to Beijing?!
Once on the train, the family of three headed toward the station.