Chapter 188: Three Actors Didn

Hengdian, "The Investiture of the Gods" production team

Today, two entertainment news crews arrived at the set to film behind-the-scenes footage and interviews, aiming to sustain the drama's momentum.

This is standard practice for Yan Li—whether on "Lu Xiaofeng Legends" or "The Investiture of the Gods," media visits are inevitable; the higher-profile former even established fixed media open days.

This high-frequency exposure undeniably boosts the drama's promotion, and even some actors have benefited significantly.

Of course, there are downsides: increased publicity costs, audience fatigue, and heavy pressure from public opinion and ratings.

But overall, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, especially for producers—the more influential the drama, the higher its price tag.

Even the preliminary offers from the first batch of TV stations Yan Li has contacted are enough to make other dramas without promotion envious.

Cheng Lidong previously objected, thinking Yan Li's approach brought too much hassle, expense, and pressure—but after seeing the results, he became enthusiastically cooperative.

Yan Li can spend, but he can also earn.

Earlier, Cheng Lidong had some seniority-based reservations about Yan Li; the longer he worked with him, the more he understood why Yan Li became a billionaire in just two years.

Although "The Investiture of the Gods" is primarily controlled by Yongle, and Cheng Lidong is the producer-director while Yan Li is merely one of the producers,

as filming progressed, Yan Li gradually became the core of the entire crew; many senior and mid-level staff on the "Investiture" team know that Yan Zong's word carries more weight than Cheng Zong's.

This is even without Yan Li leveraging his investor status.

After all, most of the crew's funding came from him, and all investors stand firmly behind Yan Li.

Fortunately, Yan Li is still busy with "Lu Xiaofeng Legends," and he must also devote part of his energy to acting in "The Investiture of the Gods," otherwise Cheng Lidong would almost be a puppet.

A petty person, faced with Yan Li's dominance, might harbor resentment.

But Old Cheng is fine—while it's unrealistic to say he has zero grievances, since he's still new to entrepreneurship and under heavy pressure with little confidence, having Yan Li as his "pillar" actually relieves him, letting him feel relatively at ease and accepting his supporting role well.

This is also because he's easygoing, which allows Yan Li to be so "bold."

If he had a sensitive or domineering partner, Yan Li would instead be cautious, avoiding "overstepping" to prevent conflict and harm the project.

Reading people and adjusting accordingly is one of Boss Yan's specialties…

…

Yan Li recorded a short segment, then handed the spotlight to the other actors.

Fan Xiaopang naturally took center stage, but Qin Lan also subtly asserted her presence, earning considerable media attention.

Don't misunderstand—she and Yan Li have not gone public, nor have they publicly feuded with Fan Xiaopang.

Her popularity stems from her lead role in "The Great Song Inspector," currently airing to high ratings on CCTV.

Since its premiere, the drama has maintained consistently high viewership; according to statistics, its average ratings for the first and second weeks were 7. 9% and 7. 5% respectively, with a peak surpassing even "News Broadcast."

But this claim is questionable—possibly due to inconsistent measurement methods or media exaggeration.

Regardless, the drama's performance places it firmly in CCTV's top tier this year, surpassed only by "Emperor Wu of Han."

The drama's explosive popularity has greatly benefited its cast.

The male lead, Li Bing, is no longer just the sidekick to Ge Daye from "A Good Man," and following colleagues like Song Dandan, Pu Cunxin, Liang Guanhua, and Feng Yuanzheng, he has become another representative actor of the Beijing People's Art Theatre.

Although Qin Lan, as the female lead, hasn't shone as brightly as Li Bing, the drama's success has given her massive exposure to nationwide audiences.

The most direct benefit is that people's perception of Qin Lan is no longer just the delicate, cunning Zhihua—she now also embodies Yinggu, a resilient, intelligent, and loyal character.

Moreover, this role, due to her exceptional competence and partnership with the male lead, stands out as a capable assistant amid today's prevalent melodramatic, spoiled, and vacuous female leads.

She has received widespread recognition and praise from media and audiences, and her fame and popularity have visibly surged.

Simultaneously, having successfully portrayed both Zhihua and Yinggu—two distinct character types—with solid acting, plus her naturally striking appearance and demeanor, some media have already placed Qin Lan among the 【Qingyi】.

Since there are rankings for the Four Little Flowers and Four Little Leading Men, someone has also ranked the 【Four Little Qingyi】.

Around last year, someone organized an online vote naming Miao Fu, Li Bingbing, Li Xiaoran, and Sun Li as the Four Little Qingyi.

But due to vast differences in fame, development, and style, these so-called Four Little Qingyi don't socialize together.

Li Bingbing looks down on it; aiming to match the Four Little Flowers, she has been promoting the "Two Bings" with Fan Bingbing; Sun Li follows the Huadan path and doesn't care much for this title.

So in the end, only Li Xiaoran and Miao Fu carried the title—and later even Li stopped using it, leaving only Miao.

As a result, people mocked it, saying the Four Little Qingyi was Miao's self-directed, self-staged spectacle, since at the time her fame and image still lagged behind the others.

It's hard to say whether Qingyi is superior to Huadan.

Huadan are more popular, but in terms of career longevity and industry honors, Qingyi seem to hold greater advantage; many Huadan, as they age, strive desperately to transition into Qingyi roles.

In the industry, young Huadan are common, but young Qingyi are rare—this indicates genuine recognition of Qin Lan's talent, image, and range.

Yet, looking at the others listed alongside her—Qin Hailu, Yuan Quan, Miao Fu, Luo Haiqiong—Qin Lan always feels there's some hidden implication.

But then she remembers that Li Xiaoran, Yin Zhao, and Zuo Xiaoqing are also widely called Qingyi, and she begins to feel more at ease.

Being a Qingyi isn't bad—less media intrusion, steady acting work, solid industry status; many Huadan can't even become Qingyi.

Without a word, Qin Lan cast a sidelong glance at Fan Xiaopang, then offered a standard smile as she answered reporters' questions about her experience filming with him.

"I feel the role of Daji was tailor-made for Fan Bingbing—she performed it exceptionally well… We have great chemistry on set; we don't even need to stir up emotion—when the other stands there, we instantly slip into character…"

On the other side, Fan Xiaopang was also asked about Qin Lan, and she smiled in reply.

"The first time I met Teacher Qin Lan, I realized she was exactly as I'd imagined—we communicated very smoothly… Her acting is outstanding; once, during the scene where Jiang Hou is jealous of Daji, she nearly scared me…"

"…"

The reporters happily concluded their interviews with both, praising "The Investiture of the Gods" as a professional, united, and affectionate family.

After the interviews came the behind-the-scenes filming—they could capture footage of the crew shooting to use as intros in their program, attracting viewers.

Today's scene was precisely Daji falsely accusing Jiang Hou, inciting King Zhou's rage and leading to her arrest.

"Your Majesty, your humble wife is innocent…"

Qin Lan knelt beneath Yan Li's dragon throne, weeping and pleading her injustice.

Tear scenes are Qin Lan's specialty—she cries beautifully both on and off camera, her tears like pear blossoms in the rain, heartbreakingly pitiful.

Yan Li, who had just been manipulated by Fan Xiaopang, now looked at Qin Lan's weeping and remembered their years of shared history; he softened slightly, his expression hesitant.

Fan Xiaopang sensed the shift and quickly whispered poison: "Your Majesty, the Empress attempted to assassinate you and install the Crown Prince—irrefutable evidence exists…"

Her words hardened Yan Li's previously wavering expression.

Qin Lan was stunned, then glared furiously at Fan Xiaopang and screamed insults.

"Wretched woman! It's you who's bewitching the King—you want me gone so you can become Empress!"

Fan Xiaopang feigned innocence, gazing helplessly at Yan Li: "Your Majesty, I swear by heaven—I have no selfish motives. I truly seek to uncover who harmed you."

Yan Li patted Fan Xiaopang's hand: "My beloved, how could I not understand your heart?"

"Your Majesty~"

Fan Xiaopang, moved, leaned into Yan Li's arms; Yan Li gazed at her tenderly, then turned his eyes to Qin Lan—cold and merciless.

"Bring her away. Interrogate her strictly."

Qin Lan was dragged off by guards, still struggling, her eyes filled with bitter hatred, her voice shrill and piercing.

"Witch! You bewitch the King and corrupt the state—you'll die a wretched death!"

"Yin Shou, have you forgotten our years of marital bond? I bore you two sons. My Jiang family has served the Shang dynasty loyally for generations—is this how you fulfill your duties as husband, father, and king?"

Fan Xiaopang quietly added: "The Empress now harbors deep hatred toward Your Majesty and me—if we release her, what might she tell the Crown Prince and the Eastern Marquis?"

Yan Li stared beyond the palace gates, his gaze deep and flickering with a hint of murderous intent.

"Cut."

The director called it, and aside from a few minor retakes, it was a perfect first take.

There was no choice—it was simply too perfect.

Jiang Hou's hatred, grief, and despair were utterly authentic; Daji's cruelty, ruthlessness, and subtle triumph didn't seem acted at all.

Even the relatively background role of King Zhou was superbly portrayed—his conflicted guilt toward Jiang Hou, his indulgence toward Daji, his agonizing hesitation, and final cold, merciless decision were all rendered with precision.

The behind-the-scenes crew and reporters were awestruck; they'd been to many sets before.

This intensity, this emotional power, this expressiveness—wasn't "The Investiture of the Gods" supposed to be about gods battling? How could the dramatic scenes be this strong?

Seizing the momentum, the director had Yan Li and Fan Xiaopang film the next scene: Daji inciting King Zhou to gouge out Jiang Hou's eyes and burn her hands.

This guy was clever—he had Qin Lan watch them perform this scene first, then filmed Jiang Hou's torture and curse against Daji afterward.

Good heavens—during this scene, Qin Lan bit her teeth so hard they nearly shattered, her eyes blazing with hatred, her voice mournful and vengeful like a ghost seeking retribution.

The director hesitated, then asked Qin Lan to re-film it after calming down, this time with more restraint—the original version had too much horror-movie intensity, almost frightening.

Even the director was unnerved; Yan Li was terrified—this woman might be too immersed—she might poison him tonight.

This wasn't just Yan Li's imagination—after Qin Lan finished the death scene, he noticed her voice was hoarse and went to offer her water, but she, still too immersed, gave him a disgusted look and walked away.

Yan Li: "…"

He sighed helplessly, turned to Fan Xiaopang, who was standing with arms crossed watching the drama, and handed her the water.

"Want some?"

"I don't drink what others reject."

Fan Xiaopang snorted, turned her face away, and walked off.

"I f***ing…"

Yan Li truly wished he could travel back a few months and slap himself hard—what was he thinking, putting these two together and filming such scenes?

…

After that, Qin Lan filmed for two more days, and her scenes on "The Investiture of the Gods" were completed.

But Qin Lan didn't leave—she still had a role in "Lu Xiaofeng Legends" next door.

Yan Li was still dominated by her at night, but at least he no longer encountered her on the "Investiture" set.

Coming to the set to watch him was excessive—not only did she likely lack the time, but how would the entire crew perceive it? Yan Li couldn't tolerate such constraints.

Although Qin Lan wasn't by his side, Yan Li still maintained his propriety.

On one hand, he was temporarily focused on his career—he'd already declared to Qin Lan he didn't want further complications.

On the other hand, Fan Xiaopang was also competing with him—outside of work, he barely acknowledged him, and even casual chats carried a sarcastic edge.

Of course, since Fan Xiaopang ignored Yu Yanli, Wang Ou was more than happy to engage him, only for Fan Xiaopang to come back and cause trouble again.

Wang Ou was furious.

Qin Lan had been hoarding all the attention for so long; now that she finally had a chance, you won't eat, so don't stop me from eating.

Fan Xiaopang had more screen time and couldn't stay by Yu Yanli's side every day; logically, Wang Ou still had opportunities to strike, but Fan Xiaopang had anticipated this and silenced Yu Yanli with a single remark.

She considered inviting Dong Xuan to visit the set of The Investiture of the Gods!

Great, both of them were already burning hot—add Dong Xuan, and it'd be total chaos.

Qin Lan's temper was soft enough, yet even a little jealousy sent her over the edge; Dong Xuan was an even worse jealous spirit.

Huang Shengyi and Hu Siyan had been on her bad side for so long, and she still hadn't forgiven them; if Dong Xuan came, not only would Qin and Fan clash violently, but Wang Ou would get dragged in too.

Anyway, Yu Yanli had Qin Lan with him every day—though not fully satisfied, he wasn't hungry either. For the sake of peace, sacrifice Wang Ou.

But Fan Xiaopang dared to threaten him—little notebook… never mind, she was a bit wronged this time; no next time.

With Yu Yanli under Qin and Fan's control, he began avoiding female actresses, leaving the male actors with an opening.

Boss Yu finally noticed them!

As a billionaire and newly crowned big shot in the industry, many male actors from both productions wanted to cling to him.

But Yu Yanli was surrounded by so many female actresses that they couldn't get close—even old buddies like Lin Jiachuan and Zhang Songwen were ignored.

Now that Boss Yu had returned to the male actors' stronghold, the men instantly came alive.

There were drinking parties, internet cafe competitions, organized football matches and viewings—the actors from both productions blended together, and the system even recorded a pair of male "wild lovebirds."

As time passed, the Shang Dynasty scenes in The Investiture of the Gods were nearly finished, and the focus shifted to Xiqi.

Fan Xiaopang's Daji still had some scenes left, but Yu Yanli's role as King Zhou was essentially wrapped.

Yu Yanli felt moved—this was the first role he'd survived all the way to the finale without dying in the middle; of course, he'd still die in the sequel, but that was another matter.

He returned to the Lu Xiaofeng Legend set, emotionally, to film Gong Jiu—his first scene was being killed by Lu Xiaofeng.

Yu Yanli: "..."

The shock-compensation red envelope—it arrived late, but it arrived…

(End of Chapter)