"This is Li Jian, my senior, who currently teaches acting at Peking Opera."

Yang ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) Heng introduced himself to Xiao He with a blank expression.

"This is Xiao He, an actor, who was invited by me to visit the Grand Theatre."

He then introduced it to Li Jian.

"Oh, so he's a celebrity." Li Jian turned his head and glanced at the students behind him who were as quiet as quails. He said in a cold tone, "No wonder my students are so excited. They have forgotten about the occasion and their manners."

Xiao He raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Young people are energetic, which is a good thing. I am also honored to have won everyone's love with my work."

"However, the theater should prioritize quietness and maintain good internal order to avoid being seen by others and affecting their impression of the theater."

As Li Jian spoke, he turned to the students beside him and said, "Go back and write a self-criticism! I already reminded you before you came that you should be respectful here, maintain good order, and not disrupt the normal operation of this place."

"Look at the mess you made just now! What kind of behavior is that!"

"ah--"

"No—"

The students immediately began to sigh, but under the teacher's pressure, they could only complain quietly.

Xiao He glanced at the students, who looked as wilted as eggplants, and gave Li Jian a half-smile, but did not speak up for the students.

He could clearly sense the malice emanating from Li Jian. His punishment of the students was merely a subtle way of spreading that malice to others. Others might not have noticed it, but he could feel it very clearly.

At this point, it's natural for him not to speak up for the students. After all, Li Jian is the teacher, and the others are students. Even if he says something now, it won't affect Li Jian's ability to punish the students when he gets back. So, it's best for him not to intervene.

To prevent these poor students from suffering even more.

Yang Heng also heard the punishment Li Jian had set for the students. He frowned slightly but didn't say anything. Instead, he turned to Xiao He and asked, "Xiao He, shall we go up first?"

Clearly, Yang Heng didn't have much patience for Li Jian either.

"good."

Xiao He had no intention of having much interaction with people who didn't like him, so he nodded and followed Yang Heng further inside.

After watching the two leave, Li Jian coldly withdrew his gaze.

-

"This Li Jian... doesn't seem easy to get along with."

Walking down the corridor, Xiao He asked with a puzzled look.

"Oh, he's probably just jealous of you."

Yang Heng casually tore away the disguise deep within others' hearts.

Xiao He glanced at him sideways, surprised that Yang Heng would be so frank.

Yang Heng, however, spoke calmly, as if he had grown accustomed to the subtle malice of those people. He casually explained, "The people who can come to this theater are all geniuses from various places. They studied hard, joined prestigious schools, and took the purest academic path to enter the acting industry. They consider themselves superior and of 'pure' origin, so naturally they look down on star actors like you who 'took shortcuts'."

To put it bluntly, it's a conflict between academics and non-academics.

Regardless of the industry, people from academic backgrounds always consider themselves superior. This was especially true in the early days of the entertainment industry, where barriers to entry were extremely high. The top figures were mostly connected through academic or regional factions, and those who achieved fame were generally formally trained with solid professional skills.

However, the situation is different now.

Now everyone can become a big star. Countless non-professional artists have followed their dreams, and some have even become famous overnight. As a result, formal training is no longer a barrier to entry in the industry. Their self-established rules have been broken by more and more external capital. The rules of the industry have been reshuffled, past glories are gone, and the living space of those formally trained actors has been constantly squeezed, leaving them with no advantage.

Only the National Theatre, the highest art institution in the country, remains a dream paradise for many. Its existence is of extraordinary significance; whether academic or non-academic, people will scramble to get there for various reasons, hoping to gain a sliver of glory and make themselves more professional and justified within the industry.

Unfortunately, this is a place where geniuses gather, and also where all geniuses fall. After all, there might only be one genius in a certain place, but in the theater, geniuses are as common as dogs. Even if some people try their best, they can only barely reach the threshold to enter this world.

As for the road ahead, that's beyond their control.

Compared to others, Li Jian's only shortcoming might be his appearance.

—Don't say that the appearance of these places is completely useless.

The reality is that beauty is a passport for many people, and a ladder for many to climb to the top.

Li Jian's strength prevented him from breaking through that bottleneck, and he also lacked the advantage of good looks to stand out from the crowd, so in the end, he could only leave with regret.

Therefore, there are actually many people like Li Jian who turned to teaching and educating students in colleges and universities after failing.

However, there are many pathetic people like Li Jian who despise others and indiscriminately envy them.

Yang Heng, as an absolute genius who stood out among these geniuses and became the top young talent, was naturally immune to their malice.

Xiao He was astonished: "I didn't expect the rift between the two sides to be so deep."

He previously thought that Director Qiu was unwilling to let him play Emperor Chen in "The Imperial Empire" simply because of his status as a popular actor. Now, upon further reflection, he realized that it might also be related to his lack of formal training in acting.

After all, Director Qiu's era is still more than a decade ago.

Back then, when actors or even directors with no background, no education, and no prestigious school aura made it big, the media would be very shocked and would add the word "grassroots" before their achievements.

"Works by grassroots directors..." "Grassroots actors become famous overnight..."

At the time, I didn't realize the deeper meaning behind it, but looking back now, I'm shocked to find that those two words, though simple, concealed a disdain, alienation, and even arrogance that the circle held for those from unorthodox backgrounds.

So how incredibly capable must the "grassroots" who emerged back then have been to carve out a path through so much prejudice and rejection?

Even Xiao He, who is not from a professional background, is popular among the young students here because of the advantage that "times have changed".

Otherwise, if he were to face someone like Li Jian again, he would likely suffer even more obvious and resentful malice.

“It’s less about resentment and prejudice and more about them living in the dream of the past,” Yang Heng said expressionlessly. “When achievements and fame can no longer give them an advantage, all they can do in the end is to cling to the last bit of their respectable ‘legitimate bloodline’.”

Yang Heng didn't dislike Li Jian, after all, he himself was a member of the "academic school," but he found Li Jian to be somewhat laughable and pathetic.