Chapter 169: Two Soldiers Compete for

Late February, as public attention on Zhou Jielun's romance slightly waned, Fan Xiaopang eagerly dragged Yan Li into fabricating gossip.

"Are you serious?"

Yan Li thought Fan was overly eager; though her career currently lagged far behind Li Bingbing's.

But don't forget, she's still under 24—many classically trained actors have only just graduated one or two years ago; among her peers, she may not be the most famous, but she's unquestionably in the top tier.

Li Bingbing is eight years older, and all four Little Flower Actresses she's chasing are also older than her.

Except for Zhang Shengyi, born in 1979, only two years older; Xiao Yanzi, born in 1976, is five years older; Zhou Young Master and Xu Caimei were both born in 1974, seven years older.

So Fan Xiaopang's position at the bottom is hard to separate from her age disadvantage—but at the same time, her greatest advantage is her youth.

She has more than enough time to catch up, close the gap, even surpass those women.

"It's better to be famous early than late; if you wait a few years, they'll all be old hags—there's no fun in bullying them."

Fan Xiaopang countered confidently: "Besides, if I become famous earlier, I can earn you more money too."

That makes sense!

Yan Li was convinced by Fan Xiaopang's reasoning and arranged the gossip campaign.

Beijing, near Guomao

Yan Li saw Fan Xiaopang, wearing sunglasses, step out of a Buick and unlock the passenger door.

But the woman didn't get in; instead, she circled Yan Li's Mercedes G500, then ran to the driver's window and said with deliberate implication.

"This big G is really cool."

Yan Li shook his head; this woman had been eyeing his car for days.

Previously, when he occasionally went to watch Qi Xian Women's Volleyball practice, she'd sneak glances—but with Dong Xuan around, she never said anything. Now she seized the chance and dropped the mask.

Yan Li unbuckled his seatbelt and got out: "Go ahead, try it."

Fan Xiaopang didn't hesitate; she got in, adjusted the seat, gripped the steering wheel, and assumed a pose, feeling nostalgic.

"A million-dollar car—feels completely different."

"You can afford it."

Yan Li got into the passenger seat and fastened his seatbelt; though Fan Xiaopang hadn't yet made Forbes' celebrity list, earning a few hundred thousand was no problem.

"It's not as simple as you think."

Fan Xiaopang groaned: "Most of what I earn goes to the company; what's left gets taxed. If I end up with 300, 00 from a million, I'm lucky…"

That remaining 300, 00 still has to cover all kinds of expenses.

For example, team salaries and promotional marketing are theoretically covered by the company—but to get your team to work harder, you have to pay them privately; to get more exposure, since the company allocates limited resources, you have to spend your own money.

Female stars live off their looks; even if Fan Xiaopang is naturally beautiful, she still needs expensive beauty and skincare routines.

There are also miscellaneous expenses—entertaining, transportation, clothing—some reimbursed by the company, some borne by the artist herself.

Take transportation: many artists must rush across the country for shoots; driving or taking trains is too slow—they must become frequent flyers.

Just for the artist alone, that's at least dozens of plane tickets annually, easily over a hundred; add an assistant, and the cost doubles.

Airfare isn't cheap these days; accumulated, it's no small sum.

A significant number of ordinary artists are financially strained—crushed by plane tickets alone.

So Fan Xiaopang earns a lot, but spends just as much.

On top of that, she's bought a house in Beijing for her parents and another small apartment for herself—and still owes a mortgage. Where's the money for a million-dollar car?

Yan Li listened silently to Fan Xiaopang's complaints and realized this girl had her own struggles.

She'd been working since her teens; her parents didn't rely on her for support, but she'd gradually become the family's pillar.

Having tasted success, she craved even greater success, feared failure and loss, and pushed upward—not just to fulfill her dreams, but to ease her inner anxiety.

Not just her—Yan Li felt the same, or rather, everyone who rose from the grassroots shared this psychology.

Press forward, always wanting more, you can reminisce about hardship—but absolutely cannot return to real "hardship."

"Hey, what're you thinking about?"

Seeing Yan Li distracted, Fan Xiaopang waved her pale, slender hand in front of his face.

Yan Li snapped back, smiling: "Work hard with me—this thing's just a toy. I'll buy you one later."

"Tsk. Now you sound like a boss."

Fan Xiaopang smirked; from Qiongyao Company to Huayi, she'd been fed empty promises before.

"What's that? If you want it, we can go to the vehicle office and transfer ownership, or buy a brand-new one—consider it your signing bonus."

Yan Li was annoyed; he wasn't just making empty promises—he actually delivered.

A million-dollar G-class meant nothing to him; the money he'd spent on Fan Xiaopang during their Europe trip could've bought several.

Hearing this, Fan Xiaopang remembered Europe; though this dog-man had flaws, when he spent money, he never held back.

Sometimes she still dreamed of the glamorous days in Europe—and the wild final day.

"Cough."

Fan Xiaopang awkwardly shifted her gaze to the rearview mirror: "Have the paparazzi been arranged? Shall we go?"

"Mm."

Yan Li explained the process again—he'd told her before, now just a quick recap.

Shopping at Guomao, dinner together, then heading to Fan Xiaopang's place to "stay overnight."

Unlike Li Bingbing's earlier, simple gossip stunt, Fan Xiaopang was "stealing" a man, so the material needed to be richer; later, Yi An would be added, deepening the bond and overlap with Yan Li.

Fan Xiaopang nodded, stepped on the gas, and drove Yan Li toward Guomao.

…

Guomao, parking lot

Ma Jin pulled his hat low and called his master Cao Xuan on his phone.

"Master, someone's leaking info about Yan Li again—who's behind this?"

"Don't know."

At a café in Guomao, Cao Xuan adjusted his camera; though he said he didn't know, he already had a suspicion.

Since exposing the gossip between Li Bingbing and Yan Li, Cao Xuan's fame skyrocketed.

Now he was the top paparazzo for the Beijing Entertainment News and a well-known figure in Beijing's paparazzi circle.

With his status rose his experience—and gradually, he began to doubt.

Aside from that one gossip incident and "Happy Heaven and Earth Seven Fairies," Li Bingbing and Yan Li had little interaction; no other reporters had caught them, not even rumors.

So why, when Yan Li went home with Li Bingbing once, did someone tip him off—and why did he capture it so easily?

And those shots—they felt like they'd been staged for him. In years of being a paparazzo, that was the most comfortable shoot Cao Xuan ever had.

Previously, Cao Xuan had only faint suspicions, not certainty.

Maybe they were just hiding well—or had broken up after the exposure.

But now, again, someone leaked Yan Li's whereabouts, in nearly the same way—he couldn't help suspecting it was deliberate promotion.

After Li Bingbing's last gossip broke, the "Happy Heaven and Earth Seven Fairies" crew started filming soon after.

Yan Li made big money from that project; Li Bingbing gained from the gossip exposure plus her Spring Festival Gala appearance.

Rumor has it "Lu Xiaofeng Legend" and "Investiture of the Gods" will start filming next month.

Both projects involve Yan Li; rumor says Fan Xiaopang will also appear. Now, with their gossip surfacing, it's deeply suspicious.

But…

Cao Xuan blew dust off his lens; if they really got together, or if it's just staged gossip—it didn't concern him, a paparazzo.

If it was deliberate promotion, he should thank Yan Li for the opportunity.

Hmm, next time, he'd take even better photos, phrase the headlines more carefully—maybe Boss Yan would hire him again…

"Master, they're here! I see them—heading toward XX direction!"

"Got it. Keep watching."

Cao Xuan put on his sunglasses and hat, half-concealing his camera, and headed toward the location Ma Jin described.

…

At a luxury store, Yan Li swiped his card and had the salesperson pack the clothes; Fan Xiaopang gasped.

"You're actually buying?"

"A man and woman shopping at Guomao—buy nothing and leave empty-handed? Does that look right?"

Fan Xiaopang hesitated; Yan Li looked at her strangely: "You've bought before—why the hesitation now?"

In Europe, she'd happily swiped cards on London and Paris luxury boulevards; now it's just a few thousand—why act like this?

"In Europe it was fun; now it's work. I'm afraid you'll deduct my salary later."

Fan Xiaopang still remembered how Yan Li threatened to dock her pay after she dirtied her clothes during the filming of "Jubao Pen."

"That was a joke—I never actually did it."

Yan Li smirked; Fan Xiaopang pursed her lips. She knew it was a joke—he was just using it as an excuse.

The things she bought in Europe—whether for fun or transaction—few knew about besides her and Yan Li.

But buying all this now, if paparazzi snap it, what would Dong Xuan think? She's in the critical moment of signing with Yi An—she didn't want trouble.

If Dong Xuan decided to sabotage her, who knew what might happen?

"…"

Yan Li thought Fan Xiaopang was overthinking—but then again, buying so openly might indeed upset Dong and Qin.

"Here's an idea: pick what you like, keep one set for yourself, and I'll take the rest back for them. No one will know how much was bought."

Yan Li came up with a win-win solution—both to fool the paparazzi and to appease Dong and Qin.

The only downside is spending a bit more money, but Yan Li isn't short on cash.

Fan Xiaopang thought this idea was great and eagerly rubbed his hands together.

"Then I won't be polite."

"Go ahead."

Yan Li didn't care—he fed the donkey hay and even threw in some beans to improve its performance.

The money Fan Xiaopang spent, he'd earn back from her eventually!

Women love shopping, and Qin Lan and Dong Xuan were no exception, but they were more cautious, so they tended to buy less or nothing at all, chasing value for money.

Fan Xiaopang was far more willing to spend—she dared to spend and knew how to spend; since it wasn't her own money, she spent even more freely.

Whenever she saw something suitable, she bought it; Yan Li merely occasionally mentioned himself and then swiped his card to pay.

Fan Xiaopang enjoyed shopping but didn't forget the main purpose: "Shouldn't the paparazzi be here by now?"

"Don't look—five o'clock direction. They've been following us for about six or seven minutes."

Fan Xiaopang didn't turn around but caught a glimpse of a furtive figure through the reflections in the windows and doors.

Calmly adjusting her attire, when they stepped out of the store again, Fan Xiaopang affectionately linked arms with Yan Li and chatted with him as if intimately close.

"Is your paparazzo the same one who took those photos of Li Bingbing last time? I thought his shots were pretty good."

"That's him—he's great at capturing shots. I've even considered poaching him to be our company's photographer."

Fan Xiaopang looked satisfied. Li Bing's previous scandal photos had excellent atmosphere—if hers had been sloppy or poor, how could she have outshone the competition?

Holding Yan Li's hand, Fan Xiaopang led him into a men's clothing store and made him try on clothes.

Yan Li was slightly bewildered: "What's the idea?"

Even through her sunglasses, you could feel Fan Xiaopang rolling her eyes: "You only buy stuff for me—am I supposed to become a gold-digger? I've got my image to maintain too."

Yan Li smiled and let Fan Xiaopang pick out his clothes.

After visiting several men's stores, she bought him a suit, two or three casual outfits, two sportswear sets—totaling over 100, 00 yuan—and later added a Patek Philippe 5119 worth around 200, 00 yuan, all paid with her own card.

It was both a performance for the paparazzi and, in her words, a gift to Yan Li in return.

She wouldn't take advantage of Yan Li for free!

"Fan Jie is refined."

Yan Li gave Fan Xiaopang a thumbs-up and complimented her; Fan Xiaopang sniffed haughtily, though her heart was bleeding.

Three hundred thousand!

It wasn't a small sum for her—spending like this was like working a whole drama for free.

Still, Yan Li had spent plenty on her in Europe, and now she'd bought a lot too; she wasn't really at a loss.

Their final stop was a gold shop. Yan Li had called ahead, and upon arrival, the manager personally greeted them and brought out Yan Li's pre-ordered 【Golden Hearts】.

Ten heart-shaped gold pieces, each the size of a palm, with a matte finish, a small seal character 【 Yan 】 engraved on the front, and two lines of tiny script on the back corner: au9999/1000g.

Fan Xiaopang had known from Dong Xuan that Yan Li liked giving gold, but she hadn't known he had a habit of bulk-buying.

By 2005, gold prices had already surpassed 100 yuan per gram, and this shop charged even more—each Golden Heart cost over 100, 00 yuan, so ten totaled over a million.

"You're buying so much gold just to give to women?"

While the manager arranged the packaging, Fan Xiaopang couldn't help asking.

"Uh, no—it's mainly for investment."

Yan Li didn't have enough money to casually give away gold; he hoarded it because gold prices were low now, and investing spare cash was like holding soft currency—easily convertible whenever needed.

Of course, he'd also considered using it to give as gifts when necessary, which was why he'd customized them into heart shapes.

For occasions like Valentine's Day, the Qixi Festival, or birthdays, when he had no better gift, he could just hand these out—simple and convenient.

And not just for girlfriends—he could give them to his mother, friends, or business partners too.

A heart can mean love, filial devotion, sincerity, or earnestness.

"Want one? I'll give you one."

Yan Li handed Fan Xiaopang a heavy Golden Heart: "This is my boss's heartfelt appreciation for your talent."

Fan Xiaopang: "..."

You really are wholesale-level, aren't you…

(End of Chapter)