25 Roommates

After they talked, the next day, Jiang Dejun took a printed copy of [Kunlun] to see Xu Guoqing.

Xu Guoqing was surprised again. How long had it been? Jiang Cheng had actually written another book, and a million-word martial arts novel at that!

After reading [Kunlun], Xu Guoqing's appreciation for Jiang Cheng further skyrocketed and there was even a hint of jealousy for Jiang Dejun. Why wasn't such a talented kid his?

The two discussed carefully, and Xu Guoqing agreed with Jiang Cheng's proposal. But they decided to separate the literary section into a whole new magazine [Southern Weekly-Literature], it was just like the [Legends of Martial Arts] Jiang Cheng remembered from his previous life. It would publish every two weeks and would be dedicated to serializing excellent novels and articles. The first issue was scheduled to be published in early September, with the headliner being [Kunlun].

They launched a round of advertisement on the next issue of Southern Weekly and on their other magazines: [Kunlun], the latest martial arts masterpiece by the author of [Stories About The Ming Dynasty] Bright Moon. To be serialized in the newly established [Southern Weekly-Literature] in September.

There was a synopsis written by Jiang Cheng in the advertisement, briefly introducing [Kunlun].

Online the news caused an uproar.

So fast!

How long had passed? It had only been about a month, how much energy did the kid have? And a martial arts novel at that!

And as with the way of the world there were supporters, doubters and discrediters.

After browsing about online, Jiang Cheng ignored it with a smile.

A lot of his discreditors and haters were just people who wanted to piggieback of his fame to gain attention or promote their own books.

This time they jumped out saying that Jiang Cheng was too frivolous and that martial arts novels weren't so easy to write and that he was treating himself like Jin Yong.

Jiang Cheng just ignored the discussion online. Anyway, [Southern Weekly-Literature] would be published on September 6th, and they would see [Kunlun] then. As for the result, he believed that people would make a rational judgment.

So after securing a deal for a split of the profits from [Southern Weekly-Literature], Jiang Cheng no longer cared about the issue of [Kunlun], he left it to Jiang Dejun and Xu Guoqing to worry about everything.

…..

The September morning sun shone warmly.

On Huashan Road, a bus came to a halt, and more than a dozen passengers rushed down. Among the flow of people was a teenager pulling along a small black suitcase as he followed the crowd of people. He was wearing a pure white short-sleeved shirt and a pair of casual blue jeans, with a pair of black-framed glasses on and a black cap. He looked quite intellectual.

Jiang Cheng had finally left home for Shanghai Drama Academy, lugging along his luggage, he was off to sign in.

Jiang Dejun and Gao Linlan weren't with him because after constant pleading they had finally acquiesced to let him go alone. In truth Shanghai Drama Academy wasn't even that far from the house but they had tried to insist on dropping him off.

As for why he was wearing glasses, it was because he was afraid of being recognized so he chucked them on along with a cap.

Three days ago, he had discovered the shocking truth that people actually recognized him. He had been in town, on his way to go shopping when he was suddenly surrounded by a group of people on the street and barraged with requests to take pictures and sign things. A huge crowd had formed as people noticed the commotion and came to investigate. It took an hour before he managed to slip away.

Hence the new precaution, it was rather cliche but he couldn't think of anything else plus so far at least it seemed to be working. He was only a writer anyway so it was hardly likely people had memorised his face, as long as it could pass a first glance it was probably good enough.

Actually since Jiang Cheng had signed with Shanghai Tangren, although they hadn't announced it yet, he could have called them for an assistant and had them handle the admission procedures. But he wanted to take a look at his future classmates.

He was wondering if he would run into any potential big names? He was reporting to the acting department and Shanghai Drama had one of the best acting departments in the country, it was a potential cradle for celebrities. And naturally he wouldn't skip out on such a golden opportunity to make new connections.

A huge part of the entertainment world was who you knew and networking. Moreover, Jiang Cheng's vision wasn't limited to writing and acting, he still wanted to be a director in the future. To which he would naturally need actors he could call on.

Jiang Cheng walked into the campus with the flow of people and reported in. He was checking the details for his dormitory, when he suddenly saw two familiar names.

Hu Ge, Yuan Hong.

"This.....is...insane...wow! Right off the bat, I've dug out two good seedlings at once!" Jiang Cheng said to himself excitedly.

Hu Ge and Yuan Hong based on his previous life were two people destined to become leading male figures in Chinese film and entertainment.

Especially Hu Ge, who had been invited to play the leading role of Li Xiaoyao in the 2005 television series [Chinese Paladin] by Shanghai Tangren, which immediately skyrocketed him to fame to become one of China's most popular actors. He had also starred in a series of excellent shows; such as [The Little Fairy], [The Young Warriors], [The Legend of the Condor Heroes], [Chinese Paladin 3], [The Myth], [Xuan-Yuan Sword: Scar of Sky] and [Sound of the Desert] in Jiang Cheng's previous life.

Relatively speaking, Yuan Hong was a little worse for wear than Hu Ge in terms of accolades in his previous life, but he wasn't to be underestimated either. He first gained attention for his role as Yang Kang in [The Legend of the Condor Heroes] playing the antagonist/ antihero to Hu Ge's protagonist/hero role in the show.

Jiang Cheng was stunned and elated to find that he was to be roommates with two potential powerhouses of Chinese media.

When he arrived at the assigned dormitory, he found one of his roommates already lying on one of the beds, quietly reading.

When he saw Jiang Cheng walk in, the roommate stood up and said, "Are you in this dorm as well? I'm Yuan Hong, from Wuhan!"

Jiang Cheng beamed a smile and reached out: "Yeah I'm in this dorm as well, nice to meet you. The name's Jiang Cheng, I'm a native, Shanghai is home sweet home."

The two shook hands and began some small talk, when someone strode in.

And noticing the two of them, the newcomer exclaimed: "Arrhhh you're both here already, I guess I'm late. I'm Hu Ge, Shanghai born and bred!"

"Yuan Hong, Wuhan! Hello!" Yuan Hong said with a smile.

"Jiang Cheng, Shanghai native as well." Once again, Jiang Cheng smiled and reached out.

Shaking hands with Jiang Cheng, Hu Ge said happily: "You're also from Shanghai? What destiny!"

With that, Jiang Cheng got a gist for the two. Hu Ge was the overly-familiar type, just generally outgoing and easy to chat with, whilst Yuan Hong was seemingly the quiet type or at least quieter than Hu Ge.

It didn't take long for the three of them to become acquainted, their personalities blended well together, so it wasn't long before they broke past the barrier of awkward-politeness and began properly chatting like friends. A large part of which was due to Hu Ge's talkativeness.

The three of them were talking and laughing, when the door was pushed open again. A sturdy figure pushed in the door and strode in. When he saw the three, he said with a smile: "Oh hello, I'm Sun Xiao. I'm from Dalian, Liaoning Province!"

"Yuan Hong, from Wuhan!"

"Hu Ge, Shanghai!"

"Jiang Cheng, also from Shanghai!"

After the three of them introduced themselves, they started to set up shop.

Jiang Cheng picked a bed and was setting up when Yuan Hong beside him seemingly out of nowhere hesitantly asked:

"Jiang Cheng, have you ever been on TV, newspapers or something? I feel like you look familiar!"

"Wait, you recognize him as well Yuan Hong. Phew! I was gonna say he was Bright Moon but none of you guys reacted or mentioned it, so I was worried I was wrong! Hahaha!" Sun Xiao suddenly exclaimed joining the conversation.

"Arrhhh! Bright Moon, that's it. No wonder you looked familiar and the name rang a bell!" Yuan Hong called excited.

"I love [Stories About The Ming Dynasty], a lot. I bought a copy a while ago, I originally wanted to come to Shanghai to get an autographed version. Unfortunately, I got stuck at home!"

Despite himself Jiang Cheng was taken aback and cried out: "Seriously am I that recognizable and you have my book?!"