"Then tell me, how did you figure it out?" Ethan Brooks was no longer afraid; instead, his interest was piqued. This junior seemed to have some skills.

"Simple." Samuel Wright swung his arm as if lightly waving a paper fan. "To get into the film academy, I read a lot of information about it, including the top scorers from previous years. Senior Brooks, you’re a great talent—last year you were first in the third round, right?"

"That's right!" Ethan Brooks didn't shy away from it; it was his pride. But: "How did you know the first in the third round was me? There aren’t really any photos of me out there."

That was the key point. However, Samuel Wright had already thought it through: "Think about it, Senior Brooks—first in the third round, what an achievement, what a talent! But after a year of study, many of your classmates have already gone out to act, some even nominated for major awards, yet Senior Brooks remains unknown. I figured you must have some pent-up frustration. So, actually, all of that just now was my guess, hehe..."

At this moment, Samuel Wright was like a reincarnated Zhuge Liang, or perhaps a Di Renjie without the mustache!

"What?!" This result was a bit hard for Ethan Brooks to accept, but Samuel Wright quickly continued.

"First in the third round—what does that take? First, you have to be good-looking. The moment I saw Senior Brooks, I felt you had the aura of a dragon among men." Samuel Wright was both explaining and flattering at the same time.

"You're too kind, too kind..." No matter the gender, when it comes to compliments about looks, no one is unhappy.

"And also, Senior Brooks has this melancholy vibe, clearly fitting the feeling of unfulfilled ambition and hidden talent. So I could immediately be sure—I’m lucky! As soon as I entered the school, I met last year’s top scorer, Senior Brooks."

"Ah, haha, not at all, not at all." Ethan Brooks was so embarrassed by Samuel Wright's praise that his attitude toward this junior improved a lot.

Chapter 005: Dorm 307

"Sam, so what do you think—should I keep acting, or switch careers? I think the renovation business is pretty good these days. I could be an interior designer, shouldn’t be a problem. Your senior here has a solid foundation in art." Ethan Brooks was now sincerely seeking advice.

No ambition at all! Samuel Wright complained inwardly.

"Senior, how can you be so muddled? How did you get into the film academy in the first place? You were first in the third round! Are you saying all those teachers made a mistake? If you switch careers now, wouldn’t you be letting down a lot of people’s expectations? Whose judgment do you think is better—theirs or yours?"

"Well... that makes sense!"...

Actually, at this point, Ethan Brooks really wanted to switch careers. The reason was simple: he didn’t come from a wealthy family, and studying art costs a lot of money. He wanted to help ease his mother’s burden, so he’d always worked part-time while studying.

But that was all before entering the film academy. After getting in, it became much harder to work outside, and his finances got tight.

Ethan Brooks had been studying for a year, but no one had asked him to act. This made him feel uncertain. After all, the 1996 class at Beijing Film Academy was full of talent—many started acting in their freshman year, some even before starting school.

Although Zhao Wei’s "Little Swallow" would take a while to appear on screen, He Lin had already been recognized by many viewers for her outstanding performance in "Holding Hands," and even had a shot at major awards. Among the girls, Yan Danchen had also gone to film "Seasons of Rain." Among the guys, Guo Xiaodong had landed a role too. All this made it hard for Ethan Brooks, the top scorer in the third round, to accept.

But Samuel Wright knew that Ethan Brooks would be famous in the future, so he immediately gave Ethan Brooks a good talking-to, persuading him that continuing his studies and becoming a big star was the right path.

After being talked up by Samuel Wright, Ethan Brooks felt his desire to act grow even stronger. And Samuel Wright, using his own example, explained that his family background was average too, and he also wanted to help out at home, but his parents insisted he had to graduate first, even if he wanted to help.

Samuel Wright added a bit of artistic exaggeration to all this, which moved Ethan Brooks so much that he almost wanted to swear brotherhood with Samuel Wright on the spot. In the end, the two chatted enthusiastically until other classmates came to find their beds, and only then did Senior Brooks say an impassioned goodbye to Samuel Wright.

Not bad, this effect was really not bad! Samuel Wright played Di Renjie for a bit and got this future superstar to listen to his every word.

"Who says a reborn person can’t show off a little and have all sorts of celebrities bow down? Didn’t I, Samuel Wright, just talk circles around him? Ahahaha..." Samuel Wright was overjoyed, feeling extremely proud.

"Hello, classmates. We’re all from different parts of the country, and now we’re living under the same roof. Shouldn’t we introduce ourselves to each other?"

At this time, there were still eight beds in a dorm room. After Ethan Brooks left, the other seven beds were all taken, so it was necessary for everyone to get to know each other. The one speaking now was actually someone Samuel Wright was quite familiar with—he would become a big star in the future.