Chapter 16: The Restaurant Boss Definitely Put Something in the Food

After performing it about four or five times, Yan Li suggested ending the rehearsal.

Actually, this scene wasn't particularly difficult from a technical standpoint; the main challenge was finding the right balance and gradually overcoming the embarrassment of acting with a female actress.

Once those two points were settled, everything else would be easy—after all, Yan Li hadn't been practicing alone in private for nothing.

Also, there was another reason: Yan Li felt Qin Lan's state was growing increasingly off, and perhaps due to the sweltering weather, he himself was also losing patience.

They weren't that close yet, and he'd been the one asking for her help—what if he couldn't hold back and something inappropriate happened?

It would be awkward to meet again later!

"That's it? Let's practice a bit more—the time is still early; since I promised to help, I'll see it through."

Qin Lan still felt unsatisfied; she thought Yan Li was just too shy to trouble her, so she volunteered to work overtime.

"No need, no need—I've almost got the feel for it. Too much is overwhelming; this is enough for me to digest back home."

Yan Li shook his head, downed the last half-bottle of mineral water in his hand, and finally stopped feeling so parched.

Qin Lan was also drinking water, but not as greedily as Yan Li; seeing how thirsty he seemed, she offered him her remaining quarter-bottle.

"You drink it."

"Thanks."

Yan Li took it and gulped it down until the bottle was empty; Qin Lan watched him drink straight from the mouth, a flicker of amusement crossing her eyes, but she still slapped him lightly and scolded:

"Who does that? Someone just drank from it, and you go straight for the mouth."

Yan Li squeezed and twisted the empty bottle: "No problem—I don't mind if it's dirty."

"Pfft."

Qin Lan spat at him: "If anyone's disgusted, it's me you should worry about."

After a few moments of playful banter, they sat under the shade of a small grove of trees and chatted; Qin Lan brought up the rehearsal and teased Yan Li.

"Your acting's pretty good—you're so convincingly evil, I'm almost scared. Are you just playing yourself?"

Yan Li smirked: "If I were playing myself, you wouldn't be talking to me like this right now."

"Rogue."

Qin Lan threw grass from the ground at him: "Even if you're not playing yourself, you're still no good—just look at how you acted just now; clearly you're not well-behaved in daily life. Did your ex-girlfriend break up with you because of this?"

"You're wronging me."

Yan Li protested: "At Beijing Film Academy, I'm famous as a clean, upright, good boy—I don't even talk to other girls."

"Pfft."

Qin Lan clearly didn't believe him, but she was still curious and pressed him for the reason behind his breakup; Yan Li avoided answering.

"It's all in the past. Why bring it up?"

"Really in the past?"

Qin Lan wore an expression of disbelief, and finally revealed her real question: "Do you still have feelings for your ex-girlfriend?"

Yan Li smiled, still didn't answer, and casually changed the subject; Qin Lan, having been politely refused twice, didn't press further, though she struggled with conflicting thoughts inside.

Had she truly lost all interest in talking about it?

Or was she still entangled with that pale-skinned ex-girlfriend?

After chatting for half an hour, seeing the time was right, Yan Li prepared to take Qin Lan back to her hotel.

She might have a shoot tonight—he needed to give her enough time to bathe, eat, rest, and apply makeup.

On the way back, they passed a lottery shop; Yan Li greeted Qin Lan and ran inside to buy a few sports lottery tickets.

Qin Lan followed him in, curious: "You gamble on soccer too?"

Yan Li replied: "Just joining the World Cup hype."

Qin Lan understood—sports lottery had only officially launched last year, and this year, riding the World Cup wave, it had become wildly popular, even spawning the term "Patriotic Ticket."

A "Patriotic Ticket" meant mindlessly betting on China's team to win every World Cup match, no matter the opponent—Brazil or Costa Rica.

China lost all three matches, and no one knew how much money the sports lottery had made.

Now that the World Cup was hot, many in Hengdian had followed suit—including the cast of "Huanzhu Gege 3"; Qin Lan had even seen a few crew members cursing the South Korean team for match-fixing.

Thinking of this, Qin Lan grew interested: "I'll buy two tickets too."

"Sure, but don't bet too much—I'm just playing around."

Yan Li bought tickets for two matches—only two remained in the World Cup: the third-place playoff between South Korea and Turkey, and the final between Brazil and Germany.

"I don't know soccer—whose side do you back?"

Qin Lan didn't watch soccer, so she planned to follow Yan Li's pick; he didn't hesitate and said directly:

"In the third-place match, South Korea will definitely lose. In the final, I'm backing Brazil—Ronaldinho is killing it this World Cup."

Yan Li didn't watch much soccer himself, but he had his system.

Before today, he'd already played the lottery once; perhaps because he was surrounded daily by World Cup news, his intelligence system had triggered plenty of related intel.

Some of it was about coaching tactics, some about player injuries—useless to Yan Li—until the semifinal between South Korea and Germany.

【Daily Intel x: FIFA, under pressure from all sides over refereeing favoritism toward South Korea in the World Cup… has ordered referees to officiate the semifinal impartially, showing no bias to either side】

Without referee favoritism, South Korea faced Europe's traditional powerhouse—Germany, who had conceded only one goal in the entire tournament so far—the outcome was obvious.

Unfortunately, the odds were low, and Yan Li's cautious nature limited his bet; the winnings only improved his and Sai Long's meals and bought two packs of decent cigarettes.

But that was fine—he never expected to get rich from this.

Never be greedy when gambling!

The more you chase a big win, the harder you'll fall—it's a fringe business after all; better to play it safe, even small profits count.

Today's bets followed the same logic: though he favored Brazil and Turkey, for safety's sake, Yan Li kept enough for living expenses and used only a little spare cash.

Qin Lan, however, was even more generous—she bet several hundred yuan; Yan Li felt a pang of admiration.

"So you're a local tycoon, huh."

Qin Lan let out a smug little hum—she'd at least starred in a few dramas; she wasn't rich, but she was far better off than Yan Li, a broke recent graduate.

When they reached the hotel, Qin Lan refused to let Yan Li see her inside.

She'd ignored Huang Xiaoming for days; even he, slow-witted as he was, finally understood her meaning. Though he no longer pestered her, he hadn't given up either—and under these circumstances, if he ran into Yan Li and her, trouble might follow.

"Alright, then see you later."

Yan Li didn't pretend otherwise; he waved goodbye. Qin Lan stayed put, watching until he disappeared from sight, then turned back toward the hotel.

————

Just back at the inn, washed up, Yan Li was about to head downstairs to sneak the boss's AC and watch TV when his phone rang.

"Hello, Brother Wang?"

The assistant director, Wang Decai, on the other end: "Little Yan, are you free now?"

"Speak, Brother."

"The investors have arrived. The producer asked me to arrange for the cast to accompany them drinking and dining. I thought of you—you've got a good head for liquor. Come along, hold the table. I'll introduce you around, help you build some connections."

"Thanks for thinking of me, Brother Wang. I'll get ready and come right over."

In the entertainment industry, such drinking parties were unavoidable. Yan Li didn't like them, but he didn't hate them either.

As a minor actor, he had few choices. If a good opportunity came, he took it—networking was a bonus, but even if nothing came of it, at least he got a free meal.

He left quickly but returned slowly; it wasn't until 10:30 p. m. that Yan Li staggered back to the inn.

His liquor tolerance was solid—he was from Shandong, after all, and his family ran a small restaurant. He'd grown up surrounded by alcohol, never flinched at beer, and could down two catties of baijiu without falling.

Normally, Yan Li wouldn't push himself. Once he hit a certain limit, he'd pretend to be drunk, so he wouldn't miss anything when the party broke up.

But today, two investors tried to force-feed the female actress alcohol. Yan Li couldn't stand it—he stepped in to help. With Wang Decai's cooperation, they got those two men drunk and passed out, and Yan Li himself ended up a bit too drunk.

Back in his room, he took a quick shower, then collapsed into bed. He didn't wake until the sun was high.

Luckily, he had no scenes in the morning. Drowsy, he lingered in bed a while longer before opening the system to check today's intelligence.

【Daily Intelligence 1: The female actresses Tong Lei and Bao Yujing (Empress Xiao) of "The Heroes of Sui and Tang" were deeply grateful to Yan Li for rescuing them last night.】

【Daily Intelligence 2: The producer of "The Heroes of Sui and Tang," Li Si, had taken Assistant Director Wang Decai's recommendation into account and formed a certain impression of Yan Li.】

【……】

【Daily Intelligence 5: At this moment, Qin Lan, sleeping in the hotel, was having another erotic dream—the object of her dream was Yan Li; the two of them in the dream…】

【Daily Intelligence 6: At this moment, Yan Li, sleeping in the inn, was also having an erotic dream—the object of his dream was Qin Lan and…】

Yan Li closed the system page, stood up, and walked to the bathroom. After urinating, he casually pulled off his underwear and tossed it into the basin, poured in detergent, and scrubbed hard.

That restaurant owner definitely slipped something into the food!

(End of Chapter)