Chapter 264: Openly confronting (10,000-character update!)

Lu Yan He chatted with Liu Bige about this for a while, and then returned to business.

"He Han wants to video with you online and meet you," Liu Bige said. "This is his movie project, he is the director, he must get his affirmation."

Lu Yan He nodded and said okay.

He also said: "You don't have to be too nervous, he basically recognizes you, but he wants to chat with you."

"Hmm."

Liu Bige asked: "As for the 'Late Spring' written by Miao Yue, she has agreed to hand it over to me for movie development. Are you interested in joining in? If you are willing to come, you can pick the role."

Lu Yan He was a little surprised and said: "However, the script hasn't been written yet, right?"

"Not yet, I am preparing to pull Miao Yue to write this script together," Liu Bige said. "If you act, we will write the script with your role as the protagonist."

Lu Yan He didn't expect another drama contract to come.

"This..." He was confused for a long time before saying, "I still have to ask Sister Ziyan for her opinion. You know, the decision-making power for me to take a drama is in the hands of my agent. I don't count."

"I know, but I want to know your thoughts, are you willing? For a newcomer like me who is directing for the first time," Liu Bige said with a smile, "And it's an art film."

Lu Yan He nodded and said: "I am willing, of course I am willing, Miao Yue is my classmate, you... are my new friend."

"Friend? Okay, you are really young, so easily treated me as your friend," Liu Bige said.

"Don't you have one?"

"My requirements for friends are relatively high. We have known each other for less than a month," Liu Bige said frankly. "But as a creator, you have something I appreciate very much, and I also hope to be friends with you."

"Oh, okay," Lu Yan He was a little embarrassed.

In fact, he didn't really treat Liu Bige as a friend. He was different from Li Pengfei, Li Zhibai, and Yan Liang. He just had to give an identity, and Lu Yan He could only use such a word. He didn't expect Liu Bige to be polite at all and directly exposed it.

"Have you read the original novel of 'Late Spring'?"

"Not yet," Lu Yan He shook his head. "There is no such book for sale on the internet."

Liu Bige said: "Then I will bring you one next time. You can read it first. The script may make many adaptations, but the core things are still in that novel. I like the feeling of 'youth is a fleeting daily life' presented in that novel."

Lu Yan He didn't quite understand it for a while.

Liu Bige nodded and said: "You will know when you read it."

Lu Yan He thought to himself, he might not know even if he read it.

However, a movie about high school students and youth reminded him of a movie he had seen.

"In the Heat of the Sun."

Lu Yan He thought to himself, maybe one day he can film this movie in this world.

There is another movie, "Beijing Bicycle."

This is a movie that Lu Yan He has a deep impression of.

Is there a feeling of "youth is a fleeting daily life" in those two movies?

It seems not.

Lu Yan He felt that a novel "Good Weather for One Person" written by a Japanese female writer Aoyama Nanae had this feeling, but that was not about youth.

At that time, I read this novel because my deskmate liked it. I secretly read it under my homework during evening self-study. After reading it, I sighed with disappointment. He was a little curious, so he borrowed it to read. The novel is not long, it took two hours to read, very light, not complicated, making him, who was a little breathless by the pressure of learning at the time, feel relaxed and happy.

And for art and so-called meaning, Lu Yan He is not keen, of course, he respects it very much. He remembers a sentence he read, called "Man is a creature hanging on the web of meaning he weaves himself." As he knows more people, he agrees with this sentence more.

"Producer Liu, why do you want to film art movies instead of those movies that can make more money, just because those movies can make more money?" Lu Yan He asked, knowing it was a bit offensive. "I know that many artists are actually afraid of being involved with interests and secular words."

Liu Bige shook his head, "Of course not, it's just that my qualifications now cannot support me to do a project with a large amount of funds. Film companies will not trust young people like me who haven't independently directed. Of course, besides that, you have studied film for so many years and have seen so many movies. You always hope that the things you do have as much meaning as possible, not just the ratio of expenditure to income."

Liu Bige has the enthusiasm and innocence of a creator. Lu Yan He has this strong impression of him after these few meetings.

"Just like you, why do you make documentaries like 'City Travel Notes,' and why do you want to make a magazine like 'Jump Up'," Liu Bige said. "Several people in Long Yan Pictures mentioned you and said you are very alternative and very different from other artists."

"I just didn't follow the packaging route that general brokerage companies give young artists."

"What is the packaging route that general brokerage companies give young artists?" Liu Bige asked.

Lu Yan He thought for a while and said: "Hard work, diligence, talent, persistence, or some label-style persona."

"Just like this?"

"It sounds like there is no difference from the labels of academic bully, literary youth, and idealism on you. Maybe at the level of social evaluation, the labels on you are more advanced?"

"I didn't label myself like this, and my company didn't either," Lu Yan He shook his head. "I mean, I'm just doing what I really want to do, instead of following the arrangements of the brokerage company like many artists, and playing a person who is not himself."

Liu Bige showed a look of sudden realization.

"Persona, it really is." He didn't know what he thought of, and nodded in agreement.

In fact, although he didn't create a persona for himself, Lu Yan He still has high popularity on the internet with the labels of literary youth and academic bully.

At the same time, with "Young Days" updated once a week and meeting everyone regularly, Lu Yan He's name appeared on the trending list every few days.

This high-intensity exposure made Chen Ziyan a little worried that Lu Yan He would be bored by everyone.

Other artists are trying their best to increase their heat and buy trending searches. When it comes to Chen Ziyan, she even started discussing suppressing Lu Yan He's heat.

Suppress the heat of some news that is not very significant.

However, probably because there are really many people paying attention to Lu Yan He, even if they want to suppress it, they can't suppress it. This even made the playback volume of the third issue of "City Travel Notes" hit a new high.

Chen Ziyan is under great pressure now—

In addition to these trending searches, there are also many partners who want to make an appointment for Lu Yan He's schedule.

Especially towards the end of the year, there are many ceremonies and parties, all wanting to invite Lu Yan He, and even many award ceremonies promised that they would definitely give Lu Yan He an award. Chen Ziyan is not unable to refuse these partners, but no one knows when Lu Yan He's current heat will pass. At that time, maybe they still need to ask them for help to let Lu Yan He increase exposure.

So, Chen Ziyan picked and chose, and still accepted several public activities for Lu Yan He, all of which were relatively heavy, such as fashion magazine activities or film and television award ceremonies.

For those that cannot be coordinated in time, Chen Ziyan can only politely refuse on the grounds that Lu Yan He still has to attend classes and is in the exam season.

Probably because it was the end of the year, from the cooling at the end of October to the middle of November, Lu Yan He attended two public activities and recorded an indoor variety show.

The program was recorded on Thursday night. Lu Yan He went to the recording location in a hurry after class. He didn't even have time for makeup and rehearsal. The program team arranged for the makeup artist to follow the car, did makeup for Lu Yan He in the car, and went directly to the recording site after getting off the car. While waiting for the scene, he checked the script with the editor for fifteen minutes, and the program recording ended at 1:00 am.

At this time, the school dormitory was closed. Fortunately, they rented a house near the school. He said to Zou Dong: "Brother Dong, why don't you go back tonight, just sleep here for one night?"

Zou Dong is a very serious person. Even at this point, early tomorrow morning, he will still arrive downstairs in advance to pick him up to school. Lu Yan He also said seriously that it only takes ten minutes to walk from here to school, it is very close, no need to toss, but Zou Dong will still appear on time and fulfill his duties.

If Lu Yan He said he didn't need him to pick him up tomorrow, he would go to school by himself, Zou Dong would not say anything, and then he would still appear tomorrow morning, and let him get in the car without saying a word, or just accompany him to school.

"You hired me to do this, no one knows when an accident will happen." Zou Dong is very serious and persistent about this matter.

In short, after getting along like this, Lu Yan He and Zou Dong have formed a relatively familiar way of getting along. Like on such a night, Lu Yan He will invite Zou Dong to stay for one night. After all, the house has a guest room, which is usually unoccupied.

Li Zhibai and Yan Liang are both filming in the crew, and Lu Yan He hasn't seen them for a while.

In mid-November, the second issue of "Jump Up" was officially on the shelves.

It was free to read on the Ye Mai network for the first three days, and then physical books and paid e-books were on the shelves at the same time.

As everyone expected, the sales of the second issue were not as good as the first issue.

In the first three days of the sale, only 40,000 physical books were sold, and only

But there was also some better news: thanks to the release of the second issue, sales of the first issue saw an increase, the physical book went into its fifth printing, and the e-book added 4,200 new sales over these three days.

Despite this, the second issue of *Jump Up* still occupied the top three spots on the sales charts of major e-commerce bookstores.

However, some media outlet, having learned the sales figures for the second issue of *Jump Up* from somewhere, published an article predicting the magazine's decline. This led many who were unaware of the situation to truly believe that *Jump Up* was failing to sell. Many readers in Liuzhen even asked with concern, "It won't be canceled after just one issue, will it?"

The official *Jump Up* account had to issue a clarification: "Sales for the second issue of *Jump Up* remain very strong; it is one of the best-selling new books recently. We will release the third issue on schedule, and the fourth issue is currently in production."

Yu Jiang posted an update: "According to news I've heard from within the industry, sales for the second issue of *Jump Up* have been cut directly in half. It seems that content meant to fool fans won't be accepted by readers after all. Let's see how much longer they can keep up this charade."

This time, Chen Siqi did not remain silent and reposted her Weibo: "It really can't compare to a sour pickle that gets more acidic the longer it soaks. If a sapling wants to grow into a big tree, it needs to work hard to grow and needs sunlight and rain, but a sour pickle only needs a dark corner and a vat of sour vinegar."

Chen Siqi's name hit the trending searches.

Yu Jiang lashed out at Chen Siqi in a fit of rage.

Chen Siqi announced that the third issue would feature Huang Kai's reflections on his own acting journey.

Huang Kai's fans cheered and began heading to the Ye Mai website to pre-order the third issue of *Jump Up*.

*The Golden Age* released its first trailer. Lu Yan He appeared in three shots; in the three-minute trailer, he only occupied 12 seconds, yet he once again garnered affirmation and attention.

*White Bird Entertainment* published a commentary article titled, "Supporting Actor Outshines the Lead?! In the First Trailer, Lu Yan He's Praise Surpasses Huang Kai's!"

That same day, the self-media outlet "Jump Up Editorial Club" published an article written by Chen Siqi titled, "Huang Kai: The Actor's Journey Starting from the Era of Top Traffic." It chronicled Huang Kai's acting career since his debut and praised the progress he made in every one of his works without reservation.

At the end of the article, Chen Siqi wrote: "When reports constantly appear online about various 'XX newcomers' becoming the next Huang Kai or surpassing Huang Kai, it actually means he has already become a mountain that all young male actors today must face. If you don't climb over him, it is difficult to reach higher peaks."

Huang Kai's fans were all prepared to start a fight, but upon seeing such an article appear—and on the "Jump Up Editorial Club" self-media account—they hesitated for a moment. Everyone knew that *Jump Up* was Lu Yan He's media, that it bore the name Lu. Although this article was written by Chen Siqi, it was undoubtedly Lu Yan He's stance as well.

Consequently, a strange spectacle appeared on the internet.

In the comments section below the article "Supporting Actor Outshines the Lead?! In the First Trailer, Lu Yan He's Praise Surpasses Huang Kai's!", the comment with the most likes was actually, "Editor-in-Chief Chen is broad-minded and has vision," followed by, "White Bird Entertainment is creating opposition, attempting to provoke a fight between the two fanbases and create a toxic online atmosphere. I suggest the relevant departments have a talk with them."

Eight hours after the article was published, White Bird Entertainment deleted the post, marking a classic battle of fans counterattacking media marketing.

"With a young girl like Chen Siqi around, you as an agent must save so much trouble," Lu Qingzhen said to Chen Ziyan with a smile.

As the weather turned cold, the two changed their afternoon tea location to a warmer hotel.

Chen Ziyan said, "She is one of the smartest girls I have ever met. Regarding this matter, before we had even taken any action, she published the article immediately. I suspect it had been written long ago."

"Using this move to directly dismantle White Bird Entertainment's provocation, while instead making Huang Kai's fans feel favorably toward Lu Yan He and even bridging the relationship between Lu Yan He and Huang Kai—she really is a smart girl," Lu Qingzhen remarked. "When I was in college, was I as tactful as she is?"

"Don't start with that. When you were in college, you were already able to help the club secure a 100,000-yuan sponsorship. I haven't met many people like you either," Chen Ziyan said.

Lu Qingzhen smiled. "A hero shouldn't dwell on past glories. Think carefully about this endorsement; I think it's very suitable for Little Lu and fits his image well."

The endorsement Lu Qingzhen mentioned was for a niche men's shoe brand from Italy.

"Because it hasn't entered the Chinese market until now, it hasn't looked for a Chinese celebrity as a spokesperson, and its popularity in the country isn't high," Lu Qingzhen said. "But it has over a hundred years of history in Italy; it's not a new brand that just popped up. It also follows a light-luxury style. I think it's a brand endorsement that is very well-matched for Lu Yan He at this stage. I know they are looking for a spokesperson; if you think it's okay, I'll go help Little Lu secure it."

Lu Qingzhen handed a file she had prepared long ago to Chen Ziyan.

Chen Ziyan nodded. "I'll take it back and look at it later. Since you say it's suitable, I definitely trust you. Have all the relevant sensitive information been confirmed? Don't let any remarks attacking our country or racial discrimination appear later; foreign brands especially need to be careful about this."

"I've done a background check, don't worry," Lu Qingzhen said.

Chen Ziyan nodded with satisfaction.

"Yes, I have never filmed a movie before."

Lu Yan He was video chatting on his laptop with He Han, the director of *Miss Ning* and a friend of Liu Bige.

He Han looked more like an artist than Liu Bige did.

Liu Bige usually wore shirts, and his hairstyle was relatively neat and clean. He Han was the complete artist type: his hair reached his neck, his clothes were loose and baggy, his dark circles were heavy, and he had a bohemian, uninhibited look.

This was already the third time Lu Yan He had video chatted with He Han.

He Han's image had never changed; he was always like this.

It was strange; it wasn't until the third video call that He Han asked him if he had ever filmed a movie.

Lu Yan He couldn't help but feel a bit curious. Hadn't He Han checked this point with Liu Bige before?

He Han said, "I plan to come back during the Spring Festival next year. We'll meet then."

Lu Yan He nodded and said okay.

He Han asked, "Do you have anything else you want to ask me?"

"Me? No." Lu Yan He shook his head.

The corners of He Han's mouth curled up. "Fine, then that's it. Later, I'll have Liu Bige find you to sign the contract. Don't you dare stand me up."

Lu Yan He: "I won't."

*Miss Ning* was settled just like that.

From start to finish, He Han hadn't made him audition, nor had he asked for his understanding of the character or the film. He just chatted about this and that, and Lu Yan He had no idea how he had made this decision.

Ending the video call, Lu Yan He took off his headphones, put away his laptop, and prepared to go to the library.

Mao Jiayang walked in at this moment.

His expression was somewhat ugly; he was rarely seen with such a sullen face.

Mao Jiayang was almost the most energetic person Lu Yan He had ever met. Most of the time he was smiling, and his mental state was exceptionally positive and sunny. Lu Yan He rarely saw him like this.

"What's wrong?" Lu Yan He asked. "Did something happen?"

Mao Jiayang's mouth twitched with anger. "Don't ask, I've been disgusted."

"Huh? Disgusted by what?" Lu Yan He asked.

Mao Jiayang said, "Someone asked me to help him with some work, but now that the work is done, he refuses to pay, and he even said I broke his computer."

"What's the situation?" Lu Yan He was a bit surprised.

Mao Jiayang: "Just a senior student. He took a job outside and dragged me along to do it, saying we could make some money. I've really been screwed over."

"So, did you break his computer?"

"How is that possible?" Mao Jiayang cursed in anger. "It was perfectly fine when I returned it to him. Who knows how it broke? Now he won't pay the agreed-upon compensation, saying it's to pay for the computer."

Hearing Mao Jiayang finish, Lu Yan He felt somewhat helpless.

There really was no reasoning with this kind of thing.

"It seems like you'll just have to take the loss on this one. Stay away from people like him in the future," Lu Yan He said.

Mao Jiayang: "I just can't swallow this. It's so disgusting."

Lu Yan He didn't know how to comfort Mao Jiayang.

It seemed like this kind of thing couldn't be comforted.

There was no way to comfort him.

"Don't talk about my crappy situation. I see you've had a lot of trouble these past two days too," Mao Jiayang asked. "That writer named Yu Jiang, does she have some grudge against you? Why is she like she's targeting you, attacking you every few days?"

"I've always felt I have no conflict with her, but I don't know why she keeps targeting me like this. Maybe I offended her somewhere and I don't even know it." Lu Yan He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Someone once told me that if someone questions you or attacks you, and you can't figure out why, then don't think about it. Just counterattack. Don't let it drain you internally. I think that makes sense, and I'm going to put that into practice."

Mao Jiayang said "Damn" twice. "What you said makes sense."

Lu Yan He: "Don't drain yourself internally either. Since it's already happened, if you can counterattack now, then do it. If you can't, then just suppress it for now until you have the ability to counterattack later."

"That's for sure, I'm not stupid," Mao Jiayang said. "This time, I'll just have to treat it as being scammed."

Actually, if there were a way, Lu Yan He would quite like to help Mao Jiayang. If Mao Jiayang hadn't discovered the Trojan horse in his laptop last time, he wouldn't have known when he would have discovered it, nor would he have known how many private things would have been exposed to others.

"Does your classmate want to make money?" After hearing about this, Chen Siqi's first reaction was surprisingly to ask this question.

"Huh?" Lu Yan He had originally wanted to find Chen Siqi for help and ask if she had any ideas, but he didn't expect Chen Siqi to suddenly say that.

Chen Siqi said, "He was tricked by his senior into working for free, so it must be to make money, right?"

Lu Yan He: "He probably just wanted to earn some pocket money."

"Is he short on money?"

"Should be fine." In his impression, none of the people in the dorm had said their family conditions were very bad.

Chen Siqi: "Then he probably just wanted to earn some pocket money."

"Well, who doesn't want to earn some pocket money?" Lu Yan He said with a smile.

"True," Chen Siqi said. "Unsolvable. I can't think of any good ideas for now, and this matter isn't worth making a big deal out of. Making it big would just lead to each side sticking to their own story. It's not necessary. Just like you said, a fall into a pit, a gain in your wit. Just stay away from such people in the future."

"Yeah."

"That crazy woman Yu Jiang, she wrote a long manifesto attacking us. Have you seen it?" Chen Siqi suddenly asked.

"Not yet. I was just video chatting with He Han, the director of *Miss Ning*," Lu Yan He asked. "What did she say?"

"Going around in circles, it's still the same old nonsense," Chen Siqi said. "I don't even want to respond."

"Then don't respond."

"Yeah. By the way, do you have time this Saturday?" Chen Siqi suddenly asked.

Lu Yan He: "I'm free. Why?"

"I'm planning to go back to Yuming this weekend to visit Teacher Shi Xia, the author of *The Remainder of Life*," Chen Siqi said. "I want to solicit a manuscript from him."

*The Remainder of Life* and Shi Xia were milestones in contemporary literature in this space-time that could not be bypassed. They had won the highest awards in Chinese literature and had been bestsellers for thirty years, remaining classics. In the serious literary world, everyone was curious about one question: when would Shi Xia win the Nobel Prize in Literature?

Shi Xia and *The Remainder of Life* belonged to the category of writers and works that even if you hadn't read them, you had definitely heard of them.

Lu Yan He was astonished. "You want to solicit a manuscript from Teacher Shi Xia? Really?"

Chen Siqi said, "Among these famous masters of serious literature, only Teacher Shi Xia also possesses a large number of readers among young people, which is very close to the positioning of *Jump Up*. If we want to make the influence of *Jump Up* bigger, we must invite more powerful writers."

"Fine, I'll go with you. Do I need to make any preparations?" Lu Yan He asked.

Chen Siqi said, "No need. It's the first time we're going, so he definitely won't agree to us. His creative speed in recent years hasn't been as fast as it used to be, and domestic literary journals all want to get his manuscripts. This time, we can only establish a connection first. It was thanks to Sister Xiaoyin that we managed to get the opportunity to visit him."

Lu Yan He asked, "So this time we're just saying hello?"

Chen Siqi said, "I'm planning to take one page of space in the third issue to do a retrospective of Teacher Shi Xia's works, inviting actors who have starred in film and television adaptations of Teacher Shi Xia's works to express their reflections on the corresponding works. This time, I also want to ask Teacher Shi Xia to express his views on the film and television adaptations of his works."

Lu Yan He immediately understood Chen Siqi's train of thought. Chen Siqi had found an excuse to get to know Teacher Shi Xia first, and then slowly win him over.

Regarding this approach of Chen Siqi's, Lu Yan He could only say "Respect."

He didn't know how Chen Siqi had so many ideas.

If it could be said that he used his influence to create the magazine *Jump Up*, then Chen Siqi was using her own ability to make *Jump Up* as big and strong as possible.

Formidable.

Chen Siqi said, "Striving to be able to get a serialized novel from Teacher Shi Xia in one to two years."

Lu Yan He looked at Chen Siqi in shock. He hadn't expected that Chen Siqi was actually aiming for this. He had originally thought Chen Siqi just wanted to ask Teacher Shi Xia to write a short story or an essay.

Chen Siqi's ideas and ability to act always exceeded Lu Yan He's expectations.

This also made Lu Yan He reflect on himself. When he subconsciously assumed something was impossible, he was actually setting many constraints and limitations for himself.

As an artist, this was certainly a good thing—restraining oneself from overstepping, not taking risks, staying in a safe zone, everything being comfortable and measured.

But he already clearly knew that this was not the kind of person he truly wanted to become in the end.

In fact, studying at Zhenhua had another great benefit: you could meet many people here whom you had only heard of or seen in reports before.

Writers, too.

The Wenxue Academy not only had many resident writers but also frequently invited famous writers to the academy to give lectures.

Lu Yan He attended almost whenever he had time.

It wasn't with the intention of wanting to get to know them; he just felt that such opportunities were rare, being able to listen to them talk about themselves, literature, and life in person.

The Youth Association held even more lecture activities like this, though the people they invited were generally famous figures at a social level.

Because of his status, occasionally the school and the academy would have some reception activities and would call him along. At such times, his attendance symbolized a stance and was also a form of representation.

In this regard, Lu Yan He had long since adjusted his mindset and didn't feel that these things wasted his time. He even felt that these experiences were good, being able to have close contact with top-tier figures, understand their character, and observe their style of conduct.

Studying at Zhenhua, in just a few months, made Lu Yan He feel like he was enriching himself every day.

The courses and assignments that were always stressful, the reading lists that seemed like they would never be finished, the stimulation brought by various "god-tier" and "awesome" people around him, the gains from meeting and chatting with various big shots, and so on.

The most top-tier people gathered here.

But likewise, Lu Yan He could also find any genius he wanted to find here.

Yilong worked in Yuming. After the layout design for each issue was finished, she would bring it to Zhenhua to meet Lu Yan He and ask him to look at it in person.

Lu Yan He had originally said she didn't need to run over herself, just scan it and send it to his email.

Yilong said that there was a color difference between the printed effect and looking at it on a computer screen, and since Chen Siqi wasn't in Yuming, only he could look at it.

After the third issue was produced, Yilong said to Lu Yan He, "Do you want to specifically find two more art editors? Right now, I'm responsible for the design and layout of the entire magazine alone, and the pressure is actually very high. If I get sick or have an emergency and have to interrupt my work, there's no one who can take over my work."

This was the truth.

Lu Yan He discussed it with Chen Siqi, and Chen Siqi said, "We don't need to look outside. Our school has a design and art major, and besides this major, there are many awesome people. Why don't we just post a recruitment notice in the school to recruit art editors? This way, being in the same school, it's convenient to communicate about many things."

Lu Yan He thought this idea was feasible.

Consequently, Yilong made a recruitment notice. Both of them printed it into posters, posted them to their Moments, and also posted them on the school's bulletin board.

When Xin Zixing saw their Moments, she even asked in surprise if there was a problem with the cooperation with Yilong. Lu Yan He explained it, and Xin Zixing nodded.

The email received more than fifty resumes, all attached with their design works.

Art editors were not only responsible for basic work like layout design, but at the current stage, it also included illustrations and drawings—all of which required them to find corresponding, suitable works based on the content of the articles and negotiate with the authors or copyright holders.

Lu Yan He, Chen Siqi, and Yilong spent three interviews to talk to all fifty-plus people.

By the time these things were done one after another, the weather was colder, November passed busily, and the first winter wind carrying sleet arrived.

Snow fell in a drizzle, only to be washed away by the rain.

The cold wind suddenly became bone-piercing; as soon as you stepped outside, it felt like being cut by a thousand knives.

At this time, Lu Yan He finally received the final script for *Phoenix Terrace*.

*Phoenix Terrace* was finally going to start filming.

Lu Yan He participated in two script readings, and missed one because it clashed with class time.

*Phoenix Terrace* was a big production, with over sixty actors whose names could be counted, and a crew of hundreds of production staff.

This play was going to be filmed at the film and television base in Langhua.

Before the winter break, Lu Yan He's scenes were only arranged on weekends or evenings when he had no classes.

The guard Wei Jiang, played by Lu Yan He, was considered a main character with his own subplot, but when it came down to it, it was actually the position of the fourth or fifth male lead.

This drama was a grand ensemble piece about power struggles, with many important characters.

The Commandery Prince played by Lang Xia had more screen time than him.

The day Lu Yan He went for his costume fitting, he happened to run into several actors.

They were all well-known actors. Everyone met Lu Yan He, greeted him politely, exchanged pleasantries, and swapped contact information.

It was no longer the time when he was looked down upon by others.

Lu Yan He greeted everyone politely.

Trying on costumes, finalizing the look.

Throughout the whole process, only Zou Dong was by his side.

Chen Ziyan had to accompany Wen Minglan to meet a director today and couldn't come over.

He would still hear some gossip about how Lu Yan He became popular very suddenly, or that Lu Yan He was difficult to deal with. Lu Yan He heard these words and acted as if he hadn't heard them; anyway, no one would say such things to his face.

Lu Yan He increasingly had a feeling: as you become known by more people, you will only be discussed by more people. This is directly proportional and irreversible.

Finally, before the official filming, Lu Yan He had the opportunity to sit down with Chen Lingling for a long talk.

It was an evening. Lu Yan He had just finished class and was going downstairs with everyone, preparing to go to the cafeteria to eat.

His phone suddenly rang. Huangcheng, the producer of *Phoenix Terrace*, called him and asked if he was at school. If he was free, he and Chen Lingling were at Zhenhua and wanted to have dinner together.

So, Lu Yan He hurried over.

Lu Yan He had met Chen Lingling a few times before and chatted a few times, but every time it was just a simple chat, never an in-depth one.

Lu Yan He had actually always been curious about this legendary director.

After all, Chen Lingling was a legendary figure in the true sense. The stories that happened to her could be made into a movie.

Huangcheng had booked a private room in a restaurant near Zhenhua.

Lu Yan He met them directly at the restaurant.

Chen Lingling was complaining incessantly to Huangcheng about the professor she had met in the afternoon.

"Who introduced that professor you found? The moment he opened his mouth, it was about respecting history and respecting historical facts. Clearly, our drama has the background of a fictional dynasty. He didn't even know what our drama was about before he started putting on airs. It's really enough," Chen Lingling complained irritably, and incidentally glared at Huangcheng with grievance.

Huangcheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Wasn't it you who asked me to help you find an expert to give the script another round of opinions?"

"But I didn't ask you to help me find this kind of expert. According to him, from now on, our film and television circle shouldn't film any costume dramas; they're all just historical fiction," Chen Lingling said with an irritable face. "He even said it's all our film and television circle that messed up the atmosphere."

"I found the wrong person for this one, I apologize," Huangcheng said. "Alright, when you see Lu Yan He later, don't take your anger out on him."

"Why would I take my anger out on him for no reason? In your eyes, am I someone who takes anger out on others without distinguishing right from wrong?" Chen Lingling looked at him with disdain.

Huangcheng: "... Fine, fine, fine, I'm wrong, I'll shut up."

Chen Lingling: "I didn't ask you to shut up."

Huangcheng: "..."

Although he had been partners with Chen Lingling for many years, Huangcheng still felt at times that he didn't know how to deal with her.

She seemed to have a part of her that forever retained that spoiled, willful side of a little girl.

Huangcheng was sometimes also surprised why there were multiple different sides to Chen Lingling—sometimes spoiled like a young girl, and sometimes decisive and swift, showing no trace of the current moment.

As soon as Lu Yan He came in, he greeted them politely first.

"Sit, Yan He." Huangcheng stood up and patted his shoulder, expressing his welcome. "Just finished class?"

He saw Lu Yan He was still carrying his schoolbag.

"Yeah." Lu Yan He nodded.

Huangcheng saw that Lu Yan He had a pimple on his forehead, let out a "yo," and asked with a smile, "Getting inflamed lately?"

"Didn't rest well. Several courses have finished, and they require submitting course papers. I've been staying up late writing papers these past few days," he said.

Huangcheng had already ordered the food.

He said, "I heard *The Golden Age* is going to be broadcast this month."

"Seems so. The specific schedule hasn't been set yet, but they say it will start broadcasting at the end of this month," Lu Yan He said.

"Have you seen the final cut?"

"Not yet." Lu Yan He shook his head. "Only saw the trailer."

Huangcheng said, "Director Luo said your performance in this drama is very good. Maybe you can get a nomination for Best Supporting Actor."

"Really?" Lu Yan He showed an expression of being flattered. "Then I'm looking forward to it."

Huangcheng said with a smile, "I thought you were going to be humble for a couple of sentences."

"I can be humble, but I also really want to win an award," Lu Yan He said. "I put a lot of effort into acting at the time."

Huangcheng nodded and asked, "Acting in *Phoenix Terrace* this time, I heard from your agent that you've already memorized all the lines in the script?"

"Yeah." Lu Yan He nodded. "Sister Ziyan also found a teacher for me to go over the lines with me. Once I finish these papers, I'll start taking acting classes."

Chen Lingling asked, "What kind of teacher did you find? Don't just find some unreliable ones who teach blindly."

Lu Yan He said, "It's Teacher He Shuyi who taught me before."

Chen Lingling obviously knew He Shuyi.

"She's alright."

Lu Yan He asked, "Does the director have any other requirements for me?"

"Pretty good. I see you've tanned a bit and have some muscles, a bit stronger than when I saw you before," Chen Lingling nodded. "However, you probably don't know martial arts, right? When filming, there will be some action scenes, so I guess we'll have to find a martial arts double."

Hearing this, Lu Yan He said, "As for action scenes, I can learn in advance."

Chen Lingling looked at him with some surprise and said, "Filming is starting soon. If you learn now, you can only learn the basics."

Lu Yan He said, "Learning the basics and knowing how to gesture a bit should be better than learning on the spot."

"If you have this intention, that's certainly good." Chen Lingling looked at Huangcheng. "Then arrange a martial arts instructor for him to lead him in practicing in advance?"

Huangcheng nodded.

"By the way, can you ride a horse?" Huangcheng suddenly remembered something. "There are quite a few horse-riding scenes."

"Yeah, I can." Lu Yan He nodded. "I knew I had to ride a horse when I read the script, so I specifically went to learn twice, but I'm still not very proficient. Before official filming, I will try my best to become proficient."

Huangcheng said, "Fine, I'll find you another equestrian coach to teach you together."

"Okay, thank you Producer Huang, sorry for the trouble."