Chapter 168: Yan System, Qin Lan

After the Spring Festival Gala ended, the finale of "Seven Fairies" quickly arrived.

The long-built-up battle between the Seven Fairies and the Yin Shi King finally reached its climax, aided by the lingering momentum of the Gala.

Meanwhile, "Emperor Wu of Han," which had previously dominated ratings, had already concluded, and due to the Spring Festival, CCTV and several provincial channels held various events, leaving new dramas either unlaunched or lacking competitiveness.

The final episodes of "Seven Fairies" received a near-perfect conclusion.

Magic City Television ranked first in its time slot for the last two days, with an average viewership rating of 3. and a peak rating exceeding 7.

Shandong Television placed in the top five for two days and top three for one day; Tianjin Television and Heilongjiang Television both broke into the top ten of their time slots.

Its market share peaked above 30%, becoming the most popular drama of the Lunar New Year month; according to media hyperbole, "Seven Fairies" outperformed the Spring Festival Gala reruns.

Undoubtedly, "Seven Fairies" became a hit—and a massive one at that.

Four satellite channels simultaneously decided to rebroadcast it during the Lunar New Year, and Yian Film had secured or was negotiating rebroadcast rights with nearly twenty local and county-level channels.

If this trend continues, the drama's influence will keep accumulating and fermenting; considering its target audience, a summer rerun could harvest another wave of viewers.

Competing for one of the most popular TV dramas of 2005 is no pipe dream of Yan Li's.

According to company projections, revenue from the first run plus second and third runs, plus local channel rights,

should easily exceed 50 million yuan, and even reaching 60 million is not entirely out of reach.

This return is more than enough to satisfy the investors, while Yan Li himself reaped enormous profits, with a pre-tax estimated income of 25 to 30 million yuan.

Beyond economic gains, countless hidden benefits followed in its wake.

For instance, "The Conquest," "Detective Di Renjie," and "Seven Fairies"—three blockbuster productions in three consecutive years—propelled Yian Film and Yan Li himself to great fame.

Yan Li was dubbed the 【Genius Producer】.

He distinguished himself from veteran producers and film company bosses with labels like 【sharp vision】, 【blockbuster maker】, and 【youthful boldness】.

If previously Yan Li was called 【new elite in the industry】 as mere flattery or encouragement, now the title carried genuine merit.

Sina. om listed Yan Li as one of the key entertainment figures to watch in 2005.

Even some official mainstream media turned their attention toward Yan Li.

Self-made, post-80s generation, cultural industry—any journalist with basic writing skills knew these elements were perfect for stories.

The number of followers on Yan Li's personal Tieba and blog kept growing.

This surge was partly due to the popularity of his standout roles as Huo Qubing and Jin Zha, but also from fans who developed affection after learning more about him.

Many actors can act well, and many are handsome, but few are also successful producers and entrepreneurs.

Not to mention Yan Li is so young!

Youth means potential; youth also means greater appeal to younger audiences.

Even though his company size and personal wealth still rank low in business circles, these factors made him an idol to many.

When a single identity is too clearly advantageous or disadvantageous, one must play multiple roles and cross boundaries—competing on overall appeal.

For Yan Li, fame and its favorable labels weren't just about satisfying his vanity—they also helped him attract investment.

A young business prodigy called a 【genius】 naturally earns greater respect and trust from investors.

The substantial returns for the investors of "Seven Fairies" also left a deep impression on Yan Li among coal tycoons and other wealthy patrons interested in entering the entertainment industry.

Not only did he easily raise the 30 million yuan investment for "The Investiture of the Gods," but Yan Li also began cautiously approaching some investors regarding his cinema chain strategy.

His plan was to profit from the 2005 bull market before moving into cinema chains.

But if an investor offered generous funding with a fair profit split, there was no need to wait until the bull market ended.

Especially since his plan was to acquire a mid- or small-sized cinema chain—a rare opportunity—so acting early was better than delaying.

Thus, after the holiday, a company named 【Yi An Film】 was established, specializing in cinema investment and film distribution.

Simultaneously, an investment firm named 【Yan Ye Capital】 was quietly founded.

The latter soon became the largest shareholder of 【Yi An Film】, 【Yian Film】, and 【Yi An Technology (Internet Cafes)】.

Yan Li couldn't help imagining that years later, these companies might become a small power base in entertainment and business.

What should he call it then?

【Yan Clan】 or 【Yan Gang】 sounded too crude.

Yan Li recalled from future intelligence that some groups used 【XX System】; his could be called the 【Yan System】 or the 【An System】…

…

Dong Xuan didn't stay in Beijing long; after the Lantern Festival, Beidian reopened, and she needed to return home to visit her parents.

But Yan Li didn't have to worry about being alone—within a day of Dong Xuan's departure, Qin Lan returned to Beijing.

Since she'd guessed Dong Xuan was Yan Li's ex-girlfriend and they'd likely reconciled—and that Dong Xuan had even been pushed onto the Spring Festival Gala—Qin Lan was seething with jealousy.

She returned to Beijing early after the holiday to prevent that little bitch from gaining any advantage.

Unfortunately, she failed to disrupt Dong Xuan, but instead caused Wang Ou to suffer the fallout.

Wang Ou had returned early from her hometown in Guangxi during the Spring Festival rush, hoping to take advantage of Yan Li's sparse social circle during the holiday, only to find Qin Lan and Dong Xuan seamlessly connected, ruining her plan.

She considered acting within the company but found no suitable opportunity.

After the holiday, the company grew busy; whenever Yan Li was at work, he was either in meetings or negotiating with others, and often went out for dinners at night—leaving no time for her.

Added to that, Wang Ou now had her own workload; a new drama had just started filming, and she couldn't stay in Beijing long. With no chance to act, she had no choice but to join the set.

Coincidentally, just a few days after Wang Ou left Beijing, Yan Li finally finished the peak of his Spring Festival workload and gained some free time.

With neither Dong Xuan nor Wang Ou around, Qin Lan naturally monopolized him…

Guanghua Li

Yan Li held the sweaty Qin Lan, playing with her yellow fairy gown, and teased:

"You should've bought a blue-green fairy dress—it suits your affinity for water…"

Qin Lan, embarrassed and annoyed, covered his mouth with her hand; he recoiled: "Your hands are all sweaty."

"You keep talking."

Hearing that, Qin Lan stopped covering his mouth and began smearing her hands across his face.

He always made her use his essence for skincare—today she'd make him try it too.

"…"

After a while of play, Yan Li bathed with Qin Lan and changed the sheets and clothes.

Qin Lan wanted to throw the yellow fairy dress into a black plastic bag and discard it, but Yan Li stopped her.

"Wash it and keep it."

Qin Lan glared at him but hesitated, then tossed the dress into the laundry basket.

They settled on the sofa; Qin Lan lay in Yan Li's arms. He sensed her slight unease, gently wrapped his arms around her slender waist, and soothed her:

"Stop overthinking—your forehead's wrinkling already. Don't let one Ma Yili make you think all men are unreliable. Others may not know, but your man will never abandon you."

"Pfft."

Qin Lan retorted: "Like I'm scared of being abandoned—it'd be me dumping you."

"Don't even think about it. Even if you run, I'll drag you back. You're stuck with me for life."

Yan Li acted like a rogue; Qin Lan scoffed on the surface but secretly relished it, interlacing her fingers with his.

Just as Yan Li thought he'd calmed her down, Qin Lan suddenly said:

"Can I meet her?"

Yan Li feigned ignorance: "Who?"

Qin Lan pinched him hard, wanted to lay it all out, then held back, finally just emphasizing:

"I'm your girlfriend."

Yan Li understood her meaning and nodded: "Right, you're my girlfriend."

No rule says a boyfriend can have only one girlfriend!

Qin Lan wasn't easily fooled and added: "She isn't."

Yan Li kissed her and repeated: "You are."

Qin Lan gritted her teeth—this dog of a man wasn't even pretending anymore. Did he really think she'd tolerate him cheating?

Yan Li pressed his face against hers, his tone tinged with feigned vulnerability:

"Can you really abandon me?"

Qin Lan shivered: "Don't pull that act."

Normally this dog of a man was tough and dominant, preferring to be in control—even when soothing or sweet-talking, he did so from a position of superiority or equality.

This kind of self-deprecating, pitiful act was always a ploy to play the victim.

But precisely because Yan Li was usually so dominant and forceful, when he occasionally lowered himself—this tough guy acting helpless—it created a powerful contrast, sometimes achieving unexpected results.

Both Dong Xuan and Qin Lan fell for it.

Especially Qin Lan—outwardly cold but inwardly soft, overly attached to Yan Li; even when she knew he was faking, seeing his usual strong self reduced to this pitiful state, she couldn't help but feel a surge of maternal affection.

Though Qin Lan appeared aloof, Yan Li had long figured her out.

He dared to play half a card with her precisely because he knew she couldn't bear to break up with him—she was soft-hearted and easily persuaded, so he took advantage of her kindness.

True to form, Qin Lan, worn down by his relentless persistence and emotional manipulation, adopted a tacit stance.

But she didn't truly accept his two-timing—she was merely applying a temporary expedient.

She didn't want to break up, yet couldn't accept it either.

So she'd hold off, bide her time, and devise a plan—drive the wolf and tiger apart, use a knife to kill, borrow a road to conquer, swap the beams—anything to get rid of that Dong woman.

Coincidentally, Yan Li had the same plan: first stabilize her, then slowly boil the frog…

…

The next morning, Yan Li went downstairs to exercise and bought two newspapers on his way back.

The top headline was that Zhou Jielun and Taiwan host Hou Peichen were spotted traveling together in Japan, their romance exposed, turning the dream of a same-sex relationship into a mirage.

This story had already exploded online for two days, yet still dominated front pages of print media, showing just how massive its impact was.

It's understandable—two of the hottest new-generation male and female singers caught in a triangular love drama; any media outlet that didn't hype it for at least ten to fifteen days, then milked the aftermath for months, wasn't fit to be called media.

But this development threw a wrench into Yan Li and Fan Xiaopang's gossip plan.

Actually, given the current momentum of "Happy Seven Fairies," whether or not to stir up gossip didn't matter much anymore.

Now, the gossip was aimed more at creating exposure for Shuang Bing Zhengfeng and Fan Xiaopang himself.

Fan Xiaopang was eager to regain ground against Shuang Bing Zhengfeng—career setbacks, romantic gains—and to lay groundwork for his signing with Yi'an.

Yan Li pondered whether to consult Fan Xiaopang about postponing the plan; otherwise, competing for exposure with Zhou Jielun and others might dilute the effect.

Hmm, then again, the effect might even explode.

A triangle romance with two women and one man—last year there was Li Xiang and Qin Hailu; now, with Zhou Jielun and company adding fuel to Yan Li and Shuang Bing Zhengfeng's fire, it might form a new trend in the entertainment circle.

Besides Zhou Jielun, a new name appeared on the entertainment pages—"The Legend of Sword and Fairy."

That's right, the drama had also premiered after the Lunar New Year.

Due to policy restrictions, "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" couldn't air on satellite channels yet, but Yi'an had secured nearly ten local channels and county-level stations, covering regions including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area, East China, and Central China.

Thanks to its fresh xianxia theme, solid production quality, and strong performances by several actors, the drama's premiere ratings were impressive.

Its television influence was rapidly spreading, sparking considerable online discussion, and the popularity of several lead actors surged.

Even the Taiwan-based capital behind "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng" called to ask if they could assign roles to the two Taiwan actors, Peng Yuyan and An Yixuan.

Yan Li didn't refuse—he had already promised them, when commissioning them for the copyright, that he'd reserve a few roles for their side.

But the male roles were mostly filled, mostly minor parts; he wasn't sure if Peng would be willing to take them, while the female role could make room for An Yixuan as a standalone heroine.

Compared to these two Taiwan actors, Yan Li was more focused on the lead actors, Hu Ge and Liu Tianxian.

The former was still emerging, but the latter, having already played Wang Yuyan in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," now portrayed Xiao Longnü in "The Return of the Condor Heroes," and was quietly rising as a top young actress.

Word had it the girl was under eighteen—wow, her star fortune was truly blazing.

Never mind whether someone was backing her—give Yan Li a girl in her teens, and he might not truly be able to make her this popular; plenty of girls with powerful backers still failed to rise.

Take Han Xue, for example—he'd worked with her before. She had decent resources, appeared in many dramas, even played the female second lead in the famous wuxia drama "The Legend of the Picking Clouds," yet still had no fame.

Yan Li felt Liu Tianxian's appearance and aura were only part of it—what mattered most was her sheer luck.

If "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" continued to gain momentum, this girl already had the clout to carry a drama.

There was no chance of collaboration with "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng."

Yan Li scanned the remaining Gu Long dramas, wondering if, when his company later produced "The Legend of Chu Liuxiang," he could cast her as the female lead, Su Rongrong—it might make a great selling point.

At the very end, Yan Li spotted a news article about himself—

"Huo Qubing and Jin Zha Receive Praise; Yan Li Becomes New Favorite for Young General Roles; Rumor Has It 'Red Cliff' Plans to Invite Him to Play Zhao Yun."

"Red Cliff"?

Yan Li thought back—he'd heard someone mention that Wu Baige, returning from Hollywood, was planning a Three Kingdoms epic, with China Film Group and Huayi's Boss Dong involved in funding, with a budget in the hundreds of millions.

But he hadn't received any offer from the production team to play Zhao Yun; probably just media fabrication.

People just can't become famous—once they do, every production team starts trying to latch on.

Yan Li didn't take the article seriously—even if they truly invited him, Zhao Yun had little screen time in "Red Cliff"; he might be tempted to play Zhou Yu instead…

(End of Chapter)