In the days before leaving, Henry Clark spent his time saying goodbye to some old friends and classmates, got drunk a few times, held hands a few times, feeling a reluctant pain as if he was about to make a clean break with his past life. But no matter how reluctant he felt, Henry Clark still resolutely decided to leave. To him, these eighteen years of life had been a failure.

He hadn’t achieved anything academically; while his old classmates were all going to college, he spent a year reviewing, still couldn’t get into the art school, and his professional course scores would only get him into a junior college at best. But in this era when even college graduates end up doing manual labor, what’s the use of a junior college diploma? It’s just spending more money to kill time.

He hadn’t achieved anything romantically either. The girl he liked got into a top university, and as a repeat student who didn’t get into art school, he was too embarrassed to confess. University really is the dividing line between two worlds.

A deep sense of disappointment.

The next morning, carrying a shoulder bag and dragging a suitcase, Henry Clark refused his parents’ and classmates’ offers to see him off, and went to the bus station alone.

At the very moment he was about to board the bus, Henry Clark suddenly turned around, opened his mouth toward the bustling station.

But the words at the tip of his tongue were silently swallowed back.

“Damn it, if I don’t make it, I won’t come back!”

Chapter 002: Hengdian, Here I Come

Hengdian is located in Dongyang City, under the jurisdiction of Jinhua, Zhejiang Province. Huaicheng is in Jiangsu Province. There’s no direct bus from here to Hengdian. You have to take a long-distance bus for ten hours to Yiwu City, then transfer to a minibus from Yiwu to Hengdian Town in Dongyang City. Hengdian is a bit closer to Yiwu.

At about 4:30 in the afternoon, Henry Clark finally stood on the ground of Hengdian Town.

As soon as he arrived, he saw many motorcycle tricycles parked around the intersection. The nearest one revved up and drove over. The driver, a man with big yellow teeth, said, “Young man, are you here to visit Hengdian or to act? Get in.”

“I’m going to the Actors’ Guild. How much?”

“The old guild or the new guild?”

“Which guild handles the certificates, sir?” Henry Clark had done a lot of research online before coming, so he roughly knew the whole process of becoming a “Hengpiao” (drifting actor) in Hengdian. But since he was new here, he still wanted to ask more questions to get a clearer picture.

The driver helped Henry Clark lift his suitcase onto the cargo bed and said loudly, “You need to go to the new guild for the certificate, it’s over by Huaxia Park. Is this your first time here, young man? If it’s your first time, you need to find a place to stay first. After you get your temporary residence permit, you can apply for the actor’s certificate. Are you going to Huaxia Park now?”

“Sir, please wait a moment, let me check my list.”

The list was a business plan Henry Clark had made for himself for coming to Hengdian, containing all the information about being a “Hengpiao” that he had found online.

Hengdian has already become the largest film and television base in China. The Hengdian Actors’ Guild is also well-known in the industry, attracting countless young men and women with dreams of stardom to come here. With the standardization of business and improvement of the system, it’s no longer as casual as it used to be to become an actor here.

First, you have to get the actor’s certificate. According to the rules of the Hengdian Group, you must be at least eighteen years old to apply, and men must have short hair, women must have long hair. That’s because most male extras here act in period dramas, and most female extras act in costume dramas. Henry Clark originally had medium-length hair, but now he had switched to a neat short haircut.

To get the certificate, you first need a local Hengdian mobile number and a short number.

Henry Clark looked up, “Sir, I plan to get a mobile number first. Where’s the nearest China Mobile service center? Can you take me there?”

“Sure, let’s go to Jiangnan Street. There are several over there.”

Vroom vroom vroom—the motorcycle tricycle roared like a race car, then slowly got on the road. Hengdian is very famous; many movies and TV dramas are filmed here. However, Hengdian Town didn’t look as prosperous as Henry Clark had imagined. He had thought it would be like a big city, but actually, it was much less developed than his hometown, Huaicheng County. Still, for a small town, it was quite impressive, with hotels and big inns everywhere.

Sitting in the back of the tricycle, Henry Clark suddenly felt a rush of excitement.

“Hengdian, here I come! I came, I saw, I conquered!”

Jiangnan Street arrived in no time. The tricycle stopped in front of a China Mobile service center, and the driver charged Henry Clark ten yuan. Henry Clark felt it was a bit expensive, since it wasn’t even a few miles, but he was too embarrassed to bargain. Ten yuan—he had three thousand in his card and eight hundred in his pocket, so money wasn’t an issue.

Very soon, Henry Clark picked out his own China Mobile number, 159XXXX3869, and also got a short number, which is a virtual network short code, 934628. The short number comes with 300 minutes for five yuan. In Hengdian, people mostly use short numbers to keep in touch—it’s convenient and cheap.

After getting his mobile number, Henry Clark sent group texts to notify relatives and friends, and walked along Jiangnan Street looking for China Construction Bank. He had already found out that the bank was at the intersection of Jiangnan Street and Wansheng South Street. In Hengdian, actors’ salaries are all paid through a Construction Bank card.

Ten yuan, ID card, a photocopy of the ID, filling in personal information, and activating SMS notifications—soon, a brand new Construction Bank card was ready.

After getting the card, Henry Clark went ahead and activated online banking as well. Online shopping is popular now, and quick payment is a must.