Chapter 235

Xu Jinglei initially received an invitation from the production team of "Let's Fall in Love."

When she heard from her assistant that it was a variety show masquerading as a reality dating program, she sneered.

Celebrities falling in love?

This producer must be out of his mind—these days, even rumors of an artist dating would trigger mass fan boycotts.

Especially for female artists, let alone a variety show under the banner of dating.

The outside world spread rumors that she was being "kept" by Beijing elite Wang Shuo while also being emotionally entangled with music prodigy Zhang Yadong.

She couldn't fathom how the media and fans' minds worked.

Wang Shuo was a writer, Zhang Yadong a musician—both top figures in their respective fields.

She merely enjoyed associating with talented men—how was that called "dating two men at once" or "emotional entanglement"?

And recently, someone spread rumors of her ambiguous relationship with the fiery Heavenly King Cheng Chen.

She merely admired his talent…

The assistant observed her expression and, seeing Xu Jinglei's displeasure after the introduction, guessed her thoughts.

After all, she had worked with Xu Jinglei for years and understood her moods well, so she feigned anger and said:

"I also think this show is unreliable. I heard Cheng Chen is the overall producer—a singer and actor doing program planning?

Just thinking about it seems absurd. Sister, I think you shouldn't go. After all, celebrities dating and all that…"

It sounds totally unrealistic, sis—I think you shouldn't go, after all, celebrities dating and all that…

Xu Jinglei suddenly waved her hand and said:

"You said Cheng Chen is the producer of this show? Bring me the notice."

Taking the notice, Xu Jinglei examined it closely.

The assistant stood beside her, puzzled—hadn't she just sneered moments ago? How could her mood shift so fast?

About thirty minutes passed,

Xu Jinglei closed the notice and smiled at her assistant:

"Do I still have scheduling availability?"

"Huh? Yes, yes—'The One Who Came from the Palace'—our funding has been delayed again; you said last time to put it on hold.

And the only thing left is 'Dreams Into Reality'—Master Wang is still polishing the script…"

The assistant replied smoothly.

After finishing "A Stranger's Letter," Xu Cainv began preparing "The One Who Came from the Palace."

But due to persistent funding delays, the film was shelved.

During this time, Xu Cainv opened a Weibo account, initially because the platform was simply too popular.

Everyone around her was using it, and under constant encouragement from friends, she wanted to do something too.

At this point, Xu Jinglei already had the title "Cainv," so she thought she might use the platform for something.

During a conversation, she conceived the film "Dreams Into Reality."

The script was still written by Wang Shuo specifically for her; if Wang Teacher was a romantic, he knew Xu Jinglei was short on money now.

So his original intent in writing the script was to save money, and using his rich experience, he made the content as engaging and philosophical as possible.

And "Dreams Into Reality" became the final chapter of Xu Jinglei's "Emotional Trilogy," following "Me and Dad" and "A Stranger's Letter."

"Sounds like I have plenty of time… since I'm free anyway, I'll go."

Xu Jinglei propped her chin on one hand and said casually.

"Huh? Okay, okay, I understand—I'll contact the production team right away."

The assistant was surprised, her face full of confusion as she walked out of the office.

The assistant, slightly surprised, walked out of the office with a puzzled expression.

"Hello, Miss Ceng, we're from 'Let's Fall in Love'—we'd like to invite you to join our variety show…"

Ceng Li's career had not flourished like her classmates'. She had debuted in 2000.

Her classmates were now shining brightly—International Zhang, Liu Ye, Mei Ting, and others.

The 1996 cohort of the Central Academy of Drama Performance Department was regarded by later generations as exceptionally strong.

But like graduates who took different paths in life, some succeeded, others failed.

Ceng Li wasn't a failure, but compared to the other members of the Seven Golden Flowers, her career was unremarkable.

What was harder to understand was that in school, she had been among the top students.

Her looks were unquestionable, and her academic performance was among the best—so why did everything change after graduation?

Variety shows in China today, like Ceng Li after graduation, had always been lukewarm.

When a variety show reached out, Ceng Li was genuinely surprised.

But after learning about the show, she found it unsurprising.

The reason? The producer was Cheng Chen.

Especially after "Boyfriend and Girlfriend," she truly didn't want to be entangled with Cheng Chen again.

He was one of China's most influential artists today—what about her?

A faded female artist five or six years his senior?

Well, she couldn't even be called faded—she'd never been popular to begin with.

"Dating variety show?"

After learning about the show, Ceng Li's cheeks flushed slightly.

She remembered the ambiguity of pretending to be Cheng Chen's girlfriend.

She remembered the intimacy between her and Cheng Chen when they pretended to be boyfriend and girlfriend.

This kid's full of mischief.

Ceng Li spat inwardly.

But should she even join this show?

If she joined, the benefits were obvious—it would definitely boost her exposure and help her future development.

After all, it was Cheng Chen's own production; no matter the quality, the traffic would at least be substantial.

The First Evolution

This was evident from the show repeatedly trending on hot searches.

And the show was indeed eye-catching, satisfying many people's gossip instincts.

But if she joined this show, she'd inevitably be tied up with Cheng Chen again.

She had deliberately wanted to distance herself from Cheng Chen!

On one hand, career advancement; on the other, personal feelings.

So agonizing!

"Hello, I'm Ceng Li. Thank you for your kindness, but my schedule is fully booked—I'm afraid I can't participate in the recording. Sorry."

After thinking it over, Ceng Li still declined.

Her career could develop gradually, but once you got tangled up in feelings, it was all over!

……

"She refused?"

Cheng Chen was slightly surprised, but just as Ceng Li's rejection of his invitation had been expected,

Cheng Chen's surprise at her refusal was tempered by… a certain lack of surprise.

Her recent behavior—avoiding him at every turn—made her attitude clear.

After receiving her reply, Cheng Chen did not give up; instead, he immediately booked a flight to Hengdian…

Hengdian World Studios.

Ceng Li's excuse of a full schedule wasn't just a flimsy excuse to the production team.

She had been filming at Hengdian nonstop, shooting the TV series New Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, adapted from the classical masterpiece Liaozhai.

This drama was an anthology, with six standalone episodes, boasting a stellar cast.

Simply put: Painted Skin starred Ceng Li and Jiang Hua; Little Cui starred Lin Zhiying and Li Bingbing.

Infatuated Spirit Bird, also known as A Bao, starred Yuan Hong and Yang Chenglin.

Lu Pan starred Huang Xiaoming and Hu Ke; Little Xie starred TAE, Tang Ning, and Huo Siyan; Little Qian starred Hu Ge and Yang Mi.

It was precisely because of these standout performances that the drama became many people's cherished memory.

At the same time, this drama was also one of the few roles that made people remember Ceng Li—as Mei Sanniang.

Visiting the set at Hengdian was nothing new for Cheng Chen.

When Cheng Chen appeared on the set of New Liaozhai, everyone was taken aback.

Especially Xiaoming—he immediately thought when he saw Cheng Chen:

Boss came to visit me! I didn't know I meant so much to him!

It was understandable for Xiaoming to think that; after all, among everyone present, only he and Cheng Chen were close.

Besides, he was currently starring in Cheng Chen's new drama, Nirvana in Fire!

Although he once harbored ambitions to compete with Cheng Chen, now that he saw Cheng Chen at Hengdian, that competitive spirit had faded.

In its place rose a strong desire to befriend him.

I, Xiaoming, am determined to be your friend!

Just as Xiaoming reached out to greet Cheng Chen, he saw Cheng Chen walk toward a woman.

"I flew here overnight from Jingcheng just for you, Miss Ceng. Our production team is truly sincere."

"Cheng…"

Hearing Cheng Chen's words, the word Xiaoming had just shouted seemed stuck in his throat; his raised hand looked bizarre in everyone's eyes.

Xiaoming twisted his arm behind his head and scratched his scalp, laughing awkwardly:

"Cheng, Chenglin—I think this line of dialogue doesn't sound right. Could you help me check it…"

Yang Chenglin, standing among the crowd, was suddenly called out. She walked over, bewildered:

"Huh? Xiaoming Ge, which line?"

But she quickly realized—wait, you're in the Lu Pan episode, I'm in the Infatuated Spirit Bird episode.

Why are you coming to me if your lines are off? We don't even share scenes!

Ceng Li hadn't expected Cheng Chen to show up either. She half-joked, half-rejected:

"I really am booked solid. How about I join you for Season Two after filming wraps?"

Only then did everyone realize: Cheng Chen had come to Hengdian because of Ceng Li.

From their conversation, it sounded like Cheng Chen had invited her to join a show.

Probably the recent hot topic—the dating variety show he was planning.

The gossip flame in everyone's hearts instantly dimmed and went out.

While cast visits were nothing unusual for actors,

Cheng Chen was, at this moment, a walking traffic magnet, a topic king.

No rumors had ever linked him with Ceng Li personally; his sudden visit naturally sparked speculation.

Now it was clear this was purely work-related—everyone's gossip instincts faded.

At the same time, they deeply admired Cheng Chen's dedication—traveling thousands of miles just for the show.

Even the female stars on site were secretly calculating: if Ceng Li is busy, I'm free—why not consider me?

Everyone turned their gazes toward Cheng Chen, as if he were a steaming bun.

"Cheng Chen brother, your show looks so fun—I really want to experience a dating show."

The speaker was Yang Mi, whom Cheng Chen had once met briefly at Xiangshan Film City.

Cheng Chen turned to look; on Yang Mi's small face shone a look of longing.

Big Mimi is here too? So she wants to join "Let's Fall in Love"?

Cheng Chen casually glanced at her chest.

Hmm, she should be called Little Mimi now.

Didn't "Big Mimi" only start being used after she gave birth?

Cheng Chen smiled and said:

"You're still too young—joining a show like this would get us criticized."

After all, you're only nineteen.

Hearing this, Yang Mi felt a faint disappointment, but didn't show it on her face; she still smiled and said:

"I'm already an adult, Cheng Chen brother—you're not much older than me. But I really can't leave right now. Just kidding~"

Seeing Yang Mi strike first, the female stars on site suddenly became restless.

But with so many people around, everyone hid their thoughts.

Hmm… I'll go knock on his door tonight…

Ceng Li had no scenes in the afternoon; since Cheng Chen had come to visit, avoiding him wasn't an option anymore.

She immediately proposed showing Cheng Chen around the set.

Cheng Chen had wandered Hengdian so many times—he'd crawled and struggled as a extra in his early days, knowing every corner of Hengdian by heart.

Now, walking behind Ceng Li, it was merely revisiting old ground; his mindset had subtly changed.

Everything before him seemed unchanged—the buns he'd eaten beneath the city walls, the mud pit where he'd played a corpse…

"When I was hustling in Hengdian, I met someone—a country kid speaking Yu Sheng dialect."

"The boy never finished primary school; he spent a few years at Shaolin Temple before becoming an extra in Hengdian…"

Cheng Chen spoke slowly.

Hearing Cheng Chen's words, Ceng Li smiled and said:

"You mean Wang Baoqiang—he's finally had his turn. After being noticed by Director Feng, he's now filming a movie with you—his future won't be low."

Wang Baoqiang became famous overnight; his story spread widely, known not just in the entertainment circle but also among ordinary people.

He also became a key case of an extra's rise, inspiring many extras in Hengdian to keep going.

At the same time, he became a crucial case study in the rise of bit players, inspiring many bit players in Hengdian.

"Yeah, he's finally made it. His appearance isn't outstanding, his lines aren't good, and he's never taken a single acting class."

"He seems simple-minded, yet he's become an actor whose films grossed over a hundred million."

Hearing Cheng Chen's words, Ceng Li first nodded in agreement.

But soon she realized—why did Cheng Chen's words sound so sharp?

Not outstanding appearance… never taken acting classes…

She was known as one of the Seven Golden Flowers of Central Academy of Drama—her looks were unquestionable, and she was a graduate.

She was called one of the Seven Golden Flowers of Central Academy of Drama, with undeniable looks and a formal drama education.

Was he trying to provoke her?

Seeing Ceng Li look at him, Cheng Chen smiled and said:

"What I really want to tell you is that sometimes choice matters more than effort."

Hearing this, Ceng Li froze—it was a cliché.

But spoken by Cheng Chen in this moment, it stirred something within her…

Choice matters more than effort!

Cheng Chen looked into Ceng Li's eyes and said slowly:

"I know your concerns, but I want to say: don't let certain things blind you."

"The entertainment industry is a place of fame and profit—where connections, background, and talent compete."

"But most people overlook one crucial point… opportunity—especially for female actors."

"I'll stay overnight in Hengdian. When you've thought it over, come find me…"

With that, Cheng Chen waved to her, leaving behind a graceful back view for Ceng Li.

Watching Cheng Chen walk away, Ceng Li stood frozen in place.

Watching Cheng Chen walk away, Ceng Li stood frozen in place.

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