Chapter 128: Find Something to Do

Sitting beside me.

She is the actress who plays the female lead, Li Li Rongrong.

In this drama, she performed a famous scene of being queued for, and Yuwen Chengdu gained a huge fanbase because of it.

Although it's a male-led ensemble, the female roles are limited.

But she still qualifies as the female lead.

"Hey, Brother Luo."

Noticing Li Luo's gaze burning toward her, the actress smiled and extended her hand: "I'm Tong Lei, from Shanghai Theatre Academy, playing Li Li Rongrong. I wanted to meet you last night."

"Too bad you were drunk."

"Hahaha."

Li Luo gripped her hand with slight pressure and said casually, "No problem. We'll be filming together for months—plenty of chances to get to know each other."

The name was unfamiliar, but her face was strikingly familiar.

Just now, when he turned around, Li Luo recognized her—she played the sweet little nurse Tian Yu in the hit drama Sword Blazing, released two years later. Her delicate look really was charming; no wonder Li Yunlong took to her.

She looked so fresh and lovely—he even found himself liking her.

A fiery gaze.

Plus a gentle squeeze of her palm.

Tong Lei sensed it—her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and her smile deepened.

He's the male lead.

And also the biggest star on set.

Tall, handsome, and imposing.

She had no objection at all to being looked at with such admiration.

A male actor up front heard the commotion and hurried over, extending his hand: "Brother Luo, hello, I'm Zhang Yong, playing Yuwen Chengdu."

Well then.

Both the one organizing the queue and the one being queued for are here!

Li Luo chuckled and shook his hand, returning the greeting.

These people were all older than him, yet calling him "Brother Luo" came naturally.

In this industry, it's not about age.

It's about seniority and status.

Li Luo was no longer the obscure nobody he once was. In seniority, he played a major supporting role in the CCTV epic The Smiling, Proud Wanderer back in 2001; in status, he was the male lead in the hit drama Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.

Before some veteran actors, he might still seem insignificant.

But most of the young actors in Heroes of Sui and Tang were newcomers, having only played supporting roles in a few TV dramas.

With that seniority alone.

It was more than enough to overwhelm them.

If he kept saying "I can't accept this" or "I'm not worthy," they'd just see him as an easy target.

So Li Luo accepted it calmly.

The small commotion here drew others' attention.

"Li Luo."

The producer hurried over, waving: "What are you doing over there? Get over here and change clothes—the makeup artist is waiting!"

No one had called for him.

Li Luo had obediently queued up.

He'd just become famous—he couldn't afford a reputation for being arrogant.

But now the producer had called him—it wasn't cutting in line. He stopped wasting time, rose, and walked toward one of the specially reserved makeup stations, amid Tong Lei's envious gaze.

He sat down comfortably, letting the makeup artist fuss over his head.

Li Luo simply closed his eyes and relaxed.

Half an hour passed.

The wig was secured, his stubble shaved clean.

His eyebrows were groomed, then a light makeup applied.

Makeup done, next came the costume. The costume assistant had already laid out a full set of armor for him—he put on the inner lining himself, then the crew helped him don each piece of armor one by one.

This was Li Luo's first time playing an ancient general.

Looking at himself in the mirror.

He found it incredibly fresh.

Dressed fully in the Yanling armor, he looked mighty and heroic.

The armor was exquisitely crafted: an inner layer of cloth, an outer layer of leather, with numerous iron plates embedded on the chest plate for finer detail.

In the center.

A wild goose spread its wings.

Gold, brown, and black interwove across his body.

Radiating an aura of majesty.

The Yanling armor looked impressive, but putting it on was a hassle—adding depth meant the chest plate consisted of two layers, besides the skirt armor, wrist guards, and shoulder guards.

Putting on the armor properly wasn't simple.

Just now, three crew members circled him for a long while before finally finishing.

He moved his limbs in place.

Very comfortable.

Didn't hinder any large movements at all.

"Boss."

Wu Yu, watching nearby, couldn't help exclaiming: "You look so handsome."

"Obviously. When has your boss ever not been handsome?"

Li Luo took up two prop golden clubs and swung them through the air with a whoosh: "Handsome? Definitely. Hot? Absolutely. I hope the crew has plenty of Agastache Rugosa herbal medicine and iced tea ready!"

After the bitter cold of Zhuozhou.

Now they'd face the scorching heat of Panyu.

Lingnan was especially humid and stifling.

Wearing this full leather armor—three layers inside and out—in this climate, sweating buckets was the least of it.

It was hot during Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber too.

But the clothes back then were nothing compared to this armor.

"Don't worry."

The producer laughed, slapping the armor on his back with a thud: "I can't guarantee anything else, but iced tea? We've got plenty!"

Clothes changed.

Time for promotional photos.

After filming several Zhang Wuxia dramas, striking a few poses was easy for him.

Ma Ma Zhongjun came over to guide the poses. Expertise was specialized—he wouldn't dare improvise just because he knew swordplay. Whatever the martial arts director said, he followed.

The crew had designed several outfits for Qin Qin Shubao.

They photographed them one by one.

Two hours passed.

After finishing his tasks, Li Luo changed out of his costume and returned to his room to rest.

The scheduled filming date arrived soon.

But they couldn't start at all.

Half the crew stayed in the hotel eating, drinking, and doing their business, burning through cash every day. Li Si was frantic, running out constantly, asking everywhere when filming could begin.

After a period of training, the actors at the hotel were completely idle.

They couldn't film, and fearing accidents, the crew repeatedly warned them not to leave the hotel.

Those like Li Luo, staying in business suites, were better off.

Everything they needed was available.

Those in single rooms stared at nothing but white walls the moment they opened their eyes.

It was no different from being imprisoned.

Even with the best accommodations, after being stuck in the hotel for a while, Li Luo grew unbearably bored—the TV shows, so dated, made him utterly listless.

The only upside.

Was that most people were stuck at home watching TV.

As a result, the ratings for Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber kept climbing, even breaking 28 points in Jiangsu and Shenzhen—an astonishing figure.

If not for this situation,

Wu Dun would have already thrown a victory party!

It wasn't just Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber that benefited—other TV dramas' ratings rose together.

A blessing in disguise.

Inside the hotel room.

Li Luo boredly flipped through TV channels, then tossed the remote onto the sofa, sitting across from his assistant, staring at each other.

Wu Yu had never lived this kind of life before.

Day after day, it was nothing but eating, sleeping, or watching TV.

It only made her more bored.

"How about—"

Li Luo scratched his cheek and spread his hands. "Why don't we find something to do?"

"Like what?" Wu Yu was desperate for distraction.

"Can you play mahjong?"

Li Luo glanced at the mahjong table in the lounge area.

"I can, sure."

The young assistant's eyes lit up, then dimmed. "But we can't play with just two people!"

Under Li Luo's odd stare,

she immediately burst into an embarrassed laugh.

Three-legged toads are hard to find, but in this hotel, anyone bored stiff could be summoned with a shout down the hallway.

"I'll go find some people."

Wu Yu jumped off the sofa and hurried out.

If Kou Kou Zhanwu and Xu Xu Jinjiang hadn't yet joined the crew, this mahjong game would've started long ago. That bald guy might seem shy behind the scenes, but he could still play well with people he knew.

Just as he lit his cigar, a flurry of footsteps flooded into the suite.

"Wow~"

Tong Lei first glanced around the room with envy, then focused on Li Luo. "Brother Luo, you should've called us over sooner—I've been sleeping so long my bones ache!"

Compared to her own king-size room, this place felt like a vacation.

Not only was the space spacious,

but across the living room stood a large floor-to-ceiling window, offering a full view of the scenery outside—just looking at it lifted her spirits.

Meeting his gaze, Li Luo stood up with a smile.

Tong Lei wore black shorts, her pale legs straight and toned.

Her T-shirt was loose.

You couldn't tell her figure.

But her height and that fresh, lively aura gave her plenty of charm.

The people who came in weren't just Tong Lei and Wu Yu.

Several women rushed in together, including Yue Qing, who played Shan Fan Bingbing; the rest were likely their assistants.

In an instant, the suite turned into a kingdom of women.

"I just ran into Sister Tong Lei outside."

Seeing her boss look surprised, Wu Yu waved her hand. "They were heading to the gym to work out, so I suggested they just come here and exercise their finger strength—playing mahjong's perfect."

Everyone burst into laughter.

After lying around for days, boredom was unbearable—especially since they were stuck in small rooms, which felt even more suffocating.

When they heard mahjong was an option,

they didn't hesitate a second—they came right over.

No need to argue.

Li Luo immediately gestured for them to sit down.

What's the point of watching TV? Playing mahjong and chatting with a few girls is far better.

They'd trained together for a few days before, so no one felt too unfamiliar. Soon, they settled on the rules around the table. As for stakes, it was just for fun—no need to be precise.

The mahjong machine vibrated as the group enthusiastically built their wall.

They played from dawn till dusk.

Even meals were brought back by their assistants.

Playing mahjong depends on two things: skill and mindset. The calmer the player, the easier it is to win.

That mindset—

is almost directly proportional to the thickness of your wallet.

Though the stakes were small, by the end of the day Li Luo had won several hundred yuan. Holding the thick stack of cash, he grinned ear to ear. The others, furious, vowed to rematch the next day—determined to get revenge.

Of course, that was just an excuse.

With so little entertainment available, these bored people had no intention of stopping after just one day.

The production crew showed no sign of starting work.

The mahjong games continued daily, with more people gradually joining in.

Through this, everyone grew more familiar.

"Three of dots."

Tong Lei discarded a tile.

"Kong."

Li Luo grinned and flipped over three identical tiles.

Soon, the round turned.

Tong Lei stared at her two of dots, hesitating. She hadn't seen this tile before—discarding it risked giving someone a kong, but the three of dots had already been konged, so keeping it was useless.

She glanced at her hand—nearly a pure suit of dots.

"Two of dots."

She decisively discarded it.

"Another kong."

Li Luo chuckled.

"Are you doing this on purpose?"

Tong Lei was furious—she'd just lost ten yuan in two moves!

"Hurry up, don't dawdle."

Nie Yuan tossed a tile and urged his junior. This man, who played Zhao Zhao Zilong in the new Three Kingdoms and the elegant silver-spear Luo Cheng in the Heroes of Sui and Tang, had also joined the game. Many actors from the crew were still filming, and Nie Yuan and Tong Lei belonged to the same faction.

Looking at the new tile he'd drawn, Tong Lei hesitated again.

"Is it a nine of dots?"

Li Luo covered his tiles and kindly warned: "You're going for a pure dot suit, right? Don't discard it—you'll just get konged again."

Most of the tiles you'd need have already appeared.

Only two or three cards could make someone hesitate.

But this well-meaning advice, to Tong Lei, sounded like smug gloating—and it made her teeth itch.

"I don't believe in this nonsense."

She gritted her teeth and slapped her tile down:

"Nine of dots."

"Thanks!"

Li Luo burst into laughter, flipped his three tiles, and drew from the end of the wall. "Oh my!"

"Ladies and gentlemen,"

amid the others' panicked expressions, he slammed his tile onto the table: "Kong on top, self-draw pure suit—everyone pays up, no exceptions! Hahaha!"

Nie Yuan and Yue Qing, caught in the crossfire, looked helplessly resigned.

Seeing Tong Lei's miserable expression, Li Luo laughed harder.

Seeing Tong Lei's utterly miserable expression, Li Luo laughed even harder.

The fresh-faced girl muttered as she counted out her last few chips. "You said that on purpose—just to make me discard the nine of dots!"

Watching Li Luo smile as he counted his chips, she couldn't take it anymore.

She kicked off her flip-flops and shot her foot toward him.

She didn't use full force,

but she had to kick him—just once—to ease her rage.

The distance was short; Tong Lei easily swept her foot against Li Luo's calf and smiled smugly. Just as she tried to pull back,

Li Luo reacted instantly, trapping her foot between his own calf muscles.

Her pale foot wriggled—but couldn't budge.

"Let go!"

Tong Lei dared not make a big move, frantically mouthing at him.

"Come on, let's keep playing."

Li Luo pressed the dice in the center of the table, calmly starting the next round. The tiles clacked loudly above, but beneath the table, he held her foot firmly pinned.

You kick and think you can run? Not a chance.

He casually discarded a useless tile and quickly winked at Tong Lei.

To his left sat Nie Yuan.

To his right sat the mischievous Yue Qing.

Tong Lei could only play cards while slowly wiggling her toes, trying to free herself from the restraint.

She was never a good player to begin with.

With her attention divided, her hand was a complete mess.

But she couldn't care less!

Feeling her struggle, Li Luo discarded a tile and flashed the woman a bright smile, his right hand naturally dropping beneath the mahjong table.

This gesture made Tong Lei instantly sense danger.

Her eyes filled with pleading.

"Puff~"

The next moment, she shuddered all over, her fingers gripping the mahjong tiles tightly.