Chapter 105: Yan Li: Am I a 【Wife-Bringing Destiny】?

Yan Li had just signed contracts with several investors and secured funding when Wang Decai immediately resigned from the set of "Liancheng Jue" and came to Beijing.

On the day Wang arrived, Yan Li appointed him as producer of "Huan Tian Xi Di Seven Fairies," assisting Yan Li in preparing the project.

Screenwriter Fei Yingli also arrived; Yan Li still had some ideas about the script and planned to discuss and make certain revisions.

Director Chen Yongge was still on the set of "Liancheng Jue," but that drama was nearly finished and he would arrive soon.

Yan Li had no intention of kicking away the ladder after climbing up, but Chen Yongge had always served as martial arts director and had never independently directed; Yan Li preferred to find a director skilled in emotional drama to co-direct with Chen Yongge.

Han Xiaojun was a decent candidate, but Yan Li felt his ability was still lacking and he had no prior experience as an independent director.

So Yan Li still preferred to find an experienced director, preferably one with a signature work.

Yan Li had previously collaborated with several directors.

Gao Qunshu of "Conquest" couldn't handle this genre; the director of "Jubao Pen" was beneath Yan Li's standards.

Hu Mingkai, director of "Sui Tang Hero Legend," was a renowned director in the industry, but his fees were high, and Yan Li didn't particularly admire his style; Hu Mei, director of "Emperor Wu of Han,"? Asking her would be inviting humiliation.

Then Yan Li thought of a director he was about to collaborate with—

Meng Ji

Director of "Chun Guang Can Lan Zhu Bajie" and "Wu Lin Wai Shi," with experience in mythological and costume dramas, excelling in romantic scenes and skilled in comedic storytelling.

Crucially, he had a good personal relationship with Yan Li, making collaboration easier, and his fees wouldn't be too high.

"Fu Xing Gao Zhao Zhu Bajie" was preparing to begin filming; Yan Li planned to lay some groundwork, then visit the set to discuss details.

The plot of "Huan Tian Xi Di Seven Fairies" isn't complex; finding a director is actually easy.

Had Yan Li not been cautious and sought a famous, experienced director to lend weight, any decent director would have sufficed.

After discussions among Yan Li, Wang Decai, Chen Yongge, Fei Yingli, and several planners, they unanimously agreed the key selling point of this drama must be the cast.

"Huan Tian Xi Di Seven Fairies"

The key isn't "Huan Tian Xi Di"—it's the Seven Fairies!

Set aside the romantic plots for now; the actresses must be beautiful, pleasing to women and children, and make men drool.

The love interests of the seven fairies mustn't be ugly either—men handsome, women beautiful, for visual comfort; since one major audience segment is women, having several handsome men is advantageous.

As they spoke, Wang Decai looked at Yan Li: "Boss Yan is quite handsome—definitely take a role to add luster to our drama."

Yan Li glanced at Wang Decai; ever since Wang joined his team, he'd positioned himself with unusual propriety, never stopping his flattery.

"I'll decide later whether to act; even if I do, I'll find other actors first. If no suitable role remains, I'll step in."

Though Yan Li hadn't abandoned his desire to become famous as an actor, he still understood priorities.

The goal of "Huan Tian Xi Di Seven Fairies" is to make money; he had no need to agonize over whether to act or which role to take.

Still, Yan Li said that, but Wang Decai and the planners wouldn't accept it so easily.

Joking—letting the boss pick the leftover role? Are you trying to ruin your career…

Wang Decai had privately discussed this with the director and screenwriter.

Of the seven fairies' love interests, Dong Yong, the seventh sister's, had relatively more screen time but was a gentle, meek man, unsuitable for Yan Li's image.

The wealthy young master and scholar involved with the fifth and sixth sisters had low visibility; Yu Ri, the fourth sister's comedic role, was also unsuitable.

So the roles suitable for Yan Li were the God of Food, linked to the eldest sister; Constable Hei Ying, linked to the second; and Jin Zha, linked to the third.

Among these, without question, Jin Zha was the best role in terms of screen time and impact.

Moreover, Jin Zha's romantic arc with the third sister was the most richly developed among the seven pairs, filled with love and conflict, life and death, leaving a deep impression.

Also, considering Yan Li had played military officers multiple times and excelled in action scenes.

Though unspoken, Wang Decai and the others all tacitly agreed Jin Zha's role should go to Yan Li.

Of course, ultimately it depended on Yan Li's own choice—if he insisted on playing the larger role of Dong Yong, his employees couldn't stop him.

Currently, among the seven fairies, only one role was settled—Dong Xuan.

After much consideration, Yan Li still felt Dong Xuan was relatively more suitable for the fairy image than Qin Lan.

Also, Yan Li respected seniority; Dong had followed him longer.

For his first project as lead producer, if no suitable role existed, fine—but if one did, how could he possibly pass over Dong Xuan to cast Qin Lan?

With Dong Xuan cast, Qin Lan couldn't appear; Yan Li would have to compensate her in other ways later.

Meanwhile, Huang Shengyi couldn't act either; Qin Lan could at least be concealed, but Dong Xuan despised Huang Shengyi bitterly—Yan Li dared not put them together.

Yan Li found this regrettable; he'd previously hoped to bask in the star power of a female celebrity.

Dong Xuan was internally designated to play one of the seven fairies, but which one hadn't been decided yet—awaiting other candidates.

Yan Li thought the seventh sister was good—more screen time, implicitly the lead female lead.

The second and third sisters were also viable—strong, powerful, and aloof types; Dong Xuan had played a female warrior in "Snow Goddess Dragon," so she had experience with such roles.

Aside from Dong Xuan, the remaining roles must be cast externally.

Among them, Yan Li particularly favored Li Bingbing for the roles of the eldest and second sisters, since she owed him a favor from "Cell Phone."

Though casting Li Bingbing as a fairy might be a waste of her talent, keeping this favor for future dramas might prove more useful.

But Yan Li felt that while Li Bingbing still felt grateful and was easy to persuade, it was better to use this favor now while it was fresh.

After "Cell Phone" releases and her status rises, she'll delay and procrastinate—many things will change.

Don't think signing a contract or publicly declaring it guarantees anything; plenty have broken promises after the cameras stopped rolling—securing the deal now is the best strategy.

"Huan Tian Xi Di Seven Fairies" needs star power; with Li Bingbing, a current top idol, it satisfies investors and aids promotion.

Later, if Yan Li grows bigger, even without owing favors, Li Bingbing will come begging to collaborate.

Dong Xuan is locked in; Li Bingbing requires negotiation—Yan Li thinks the odds are good, tentatively confirmed.

The remaining five fairy roles had no clear direction yet.

So he planned to make a big splash—a nationwide casting call for the Seven Fairies.

Wang Decai, quick-witted, caught the implication: "You mean publicity stunts?"

"Mm."

Yan Li nodded; honestly acting in a drama wouldn't fetch a high price—Zhang the Big Beard knew how to promote, and Yan Li wasn't ignorant of it either.

Seven Fairies, seven female actresses, even seven female stars—what a perfect marketing hook; not promoting it would insult the very premise.

Open auditions, online voting, media hype.

It wouldn't cost much, but could greatly boost the influence of "Huan Tian Xi Di Qi Xiannü."

It might even attract some famous rising stars to join; crucially, when selling the drama, you could raise the price, and perhaps even bypass local channels entirely, going straight to satellite TV.

By the way, there's also product placement ads.

Revenue from this isn't something you just earn on a whim—it requires the drama itself to be famous, hot, and in high demand before advertisers will come, and before you can negotiate with the TV station for a share.

TV stations make money from ads; product placement isn't something you can just slap on whenever you want.

The production side must have enough clout to reach into the client's bowl and grab chopsticks.

So ultimately, promotion—making the drama hot, turning it into a hot commodity—is how you make big money.

"I understand."

Wang Decai nodded thoughtfully: "I'll contact the media right away, then find someone to build a voting website."

Yan Li instructed: "Don't rush the voting yet—first hold open auditions, then put the promising candidates online, add in some current popular rising stars, and only then start the voting."

The tactic of online voting for casting had been used by other productions before.

For example, in Fan Xiaopang's "Pingsheng Xia Ying," the producers ran a vote for the male and female leads.

They claimed they'd contact whichever actor received the most votes, but in reality, the roles were already pre-assigned.

Zhang Danfeng's vote count had originally been highest, with Zhou Jie and Huang Sanshi leading—but due to a "system failure," all prior votes were invalidated, the website reset, and Huang Haibing later "surged" to win the role.

The female lead Yun Lei was an even bigger mess—someone's turn ended, another's began.

Xiao Yanzi, Jiang Qinqin, Huang Yi, Li Jiaxin, Lin Xinru—all clashed fiercely, until Fan Xiaopang "emerged unexpectedly" and secured the role.

You could only say: those who understand, understand—the production gained attention, several actors got exposure, everyone kept quiet about it.

Even the online voters, aside from a few artist fans and original novel readers, were mostly just there for the spectacle.

The Seven Fairies vote will be the same!

Later, we'll manipulate the data—boost the vote counts for Li Bingbing, Dong Xuan, and others, so they can naturally land the roles.

Of course, if there truly is someone with low salary demands, good conditions, and high votes, Yan Li wouldn't rule out casting her.

After all, there are seven fairies—plenty of options, letting netizens feel some sense of participation.

————

The meeting lasted until nightfall; Yan Li had dinner with a few people, then drove to Guanghua Li.

Qin Lan had returned.

Opening the door, Qin Lan was watching TV; she rose from the sofa, helped Yan Li put down his bag, sniffed him: "No business dinners today?"

"Just dinner with the crew—didn't drink."

Qin Lan nodded approvingly: "That's right; you don't have to keep drinking at business dinners—it's bad for your health."

During these few days she'd been back in Beijing, she'd coincided with Yan Li's fundraising efforts; though he hadn't gotten completely drunk every night, he'd always reeked of alcohol, making her deeply worried.

"I don't want to drink either, but how can I avoid it? They're putting up the money—refusing a toast would be rude."

Yan Li wrapped his arms around Qin Lan's waist, lowering his head to inhale the scent of her shampoo.

After a long day's work, returning home to a woman's gentle concern—whether it was Dong Xuan or Qin Lan—Yan Li cherished these brief moments of warmth.

Of course, if both were together, it'd be even better!

Qin Lan let him hug for a while, then pushed him gently: "Go take a shower—the water's ready, or it'll get cold."

Yan Li's hands weren't well-behaved: "Why not shower together? Saves washing the sheets."

Qin Lan blushed and kicked at him, but Yan Li caught her knee, half-carrying, half-hanging her into the bathroom.

"..."

After washing twice, Yan Li dried off, didn't put on clothes, and strolled casually into the living room to watch TV.

Qin Lan wasn't as carefree; she changed into a long T-shirt in the bedroom, but since only the two of them were home, she wore only the T-shirt and underwear.

Yan Li hugged Qin Lan and said with slight guilt: "I didn't use you in this project—don't take it to heart."

"It's fine."

Qin Lan kissed him, understandingly saying: "There are so many investors—it's not all up to you. There'll be other chances next time."

Yan Li's preparations for "Huan Tian Xi Di Qi Xiannü" couldn't be hidden, and he never intended to hide it from Qin Lan.

But since it was her husband's drama, why wasn't she cast? That required some strategy.

So the "evil" investor became the scapegoat.

Though Yan Li didn't say it outright, his tone implied it clearly; Qin Lan understood his difficulties, didn't want to make him struggle, and voluntarily offered not to appear in the drama.

But seeing how thoughtful and considerate Qin Lan was, Yan Li—who had something to hide—felt even more guilty.

Yan Li had considered using "Huan Tian Xi Di Qi Xiannü" to trade for another role for Qin Lan, but he wasn't sure what drama or role would be suitable—it wasn't as if a good opportunity would just appear.

He'd have to take it one step at a time; if no suitable resources emerged, he'd wait until his funds improved, then arrange something.

Qin Lan truly didn't take it seriously—she still didn't understand Yan Li well enough.

She thought Yan Li was just a producer who had to obey the bosses behind the scenes, with limited authority.

Like the producer of "Huan Zhu Huanzhu Huanzhu Gege 3"—powerful on set, but with only recommendation and execution rights for casting; the final decisions were made by Aunt Qiongyao in Taiwan.

All lead roles required Aunt Qiongyao's approval; Qin Lan, as Aunt Qiongyao's personally chosen Zhihua, knew this best.

Speaking of "Huan Zhu Huanzhu Huanzhu Gege 3," the drama had already begun airing on several local channels, with impressive ratings, and had been internally selected by Hunan Satellite TV as its New Year premiere.

Perhaps soon, when Yan Li came to see Qin Lan again, he'd need disguise gear—otherwise, he'd risk being caught by paparazzi.

Not just Qin Lan—Dong Xuan's "Snow Goddess Dragon" also had strong premiere numbers and stands a good chance of going to satellite TV.

Yan Li hadn't expected that after more than a year of his own efforts without becoming famous, the two girls sleeping next to him every day were about to become famous first.

Could it be that he had some kind of "wife-blessing" talent?!

But no matter how you put it, suddenly becoming the intimate guest of two future female stars did feel a bit different from before.

The thrill was greatly amplified, and the sense of happiness and achievement doubled as well.

Just then, Yan Li caught a glimpse of entertainment news on the TV: Liu Xiaoqing, arrested last year for tax evasion, had been released from prison recently after being detained for over 400 days.

Qin Lan also saw this news and, pointing at the photo on the screen, sighed.

"I heard over a hundred reporters squatted outside the prison to photograph her release, but she was released late, so they didn't get the shot."

"Later, a paparazzi surnamed Zhuo-something snuck into her residential compound disguised as a renovation worker and staked it out for a few days. He then found out she liked playing badminton, so he went to the gym entrance and finally got a picture of her—and her boyfriend too."

"Good lord, what a talent."

Yan Li clicked his tongue in amazement, but compared to this paparazzi, he was more curious whether Liu Xiaoqing could act now.

This woman was a legendary figure, carrying her own spotlight, and right now she was at a low point in life—good at her craft and cheap to hire.

Perfect—the Wang Mu role in "Huan Tian Xi Di" hadn't been cast yet………

(End of chapter)