Chapter 19: Future Film & TV Intelligence and Wrap Party

After reading the intelligence, Yan Li bowed again to the incense; this time the ancestors showed some favor—next time conditions allow, he must offer meat and wine as tribute.

Then, Yan Li pulled up all the monthly intelligence he had previously received and did a rough organization and summary.

Watch the bowl while watching the pot—take one step, plan three ahead!

So every month, Yan Li combined past intelligence with new information to carefully plan his future development.

Yan Li had possessed the intelligence system for about half a year; since the quantity of monthly intelligence varied randomly—sometimes more, sometimes less—he now had accumulated just over thirty items.

Of these, roughly two-thirds were confirmed or suspected future information—a significant proportion.

But whether they were useful depended entirely on the specific circumstances and how Yan Li applied them.

According to Yan Li’s statistics, the time range of future information in each monthly report was roughly one to five years.

Whether the system would upgrade, or whether his speculation about a potential 【yearly intelligence】 feature would extend the time horizon, remained unknown—he dared not guarantee anything.

Still, for now, being able to learn about events within the next five years had already made Yan Li very satisfied.

Among these future intelligence items, many involved the entertainment industry and film and television—likely related to Yan Li’s profession.

Yan Li took these reports seriously, since any one of them might be the key to his fame and success.

Currently, besides the drama he was already in, 《Sui Tang Heroes》, and the newly acquired 《Liang Jian》 and 《The Investiture of the Gods: Phoenix Sings at Qishan》, he had also gathered several other future film and television titles.

One: Zhang Jizhong’s production of Jin Yong’s 《Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils》.

Two: Gao Qunshu’s TV drama 《Conquest》.

Three: Wang Baoqiang’s leading role in the TV drama 《Soldiers Sortie》.

Four: Li Yu’s film 《Apple》.

According to the intelligence, these productions had all achieved decent success or influence; if he could land a role in any, it would benefit Yan Li greatly.

Yet despite Yan Li’s efforts, only 《Sui Tang Heroes》 had truly come to fruition—the rest had seen little progress.

There was no help for it: the film 《Apple》 was released in 2007, and 《Soldiers Sortie》 was a 2006 drama—neither script had even been written yet.

Not to mention the scripts—even the people involved in the intelligence were hard to locate.

Director Li Yu for 《Apple》 was manageable; he had already directed two films and won awards overseas, making him somewhat known in the industry.

But Wang Baoqiang, the actor from 《Soldiers Sortie》—Yan Li asked around everywhere, even checked with the Central Academy of Drama, and found no actor by that name.

Yan Li suspected the guy might be hiding in some obscure corner—or perhaps hadn’t even entered the industry yet.

As for 《Conquest》, Yan Li had managed to make contact.

But he heard the production team was tight on funds, and early preparations had gone poorly; rumors of the project collapsing had surfaced more than once—he wasn’t even sure if his own interference had caused some change.

As for 《Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils》, the barrier was simply too high.

After all, it was a Jin Yong adaptation—the name alone carried weight; Zhang Jizhong had just scored a hit with 《The Smiling, Proud Wanderer》, so this drama drew even more attention.

As soon as it was greenlit in early spring, media coverage flooded in; actor resumes piled up like mountains, agents from major companies took turns pushing their clients—Yan Li, a lone newcomer with no backing, stood little chance of snatching a role.

So at the time, Yan Li had merely politely submitted his resume and focused his efforts on Wang Decai.

Now 《Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils》 was about to start filming; key roles were likely already mostly cast.

Yan Li felt he should put more effort into 《Conquest》, or try breaking through with the directors and producers introduced by Old Wang.

Also, once back in Jingcheng, he should look into intelligence regarding money-making opportunities and connections—start laying groundwork where needed.

The actor’s profession was too unpredictable and unstable; if possible, it was safer to walk on two legs…

————

Since receiving the monthly intelligence at the start of the month, Yan Li’s life had entered fast-forward mode.

Every day he filmed, practiced horseback riding, trained in martial arts, and built connections, occasionally meeting up briefly with Qin Lan.

Soon, it was mid-July, and Yan Li’s departure from the 《Sui Tang Heroes》 set was now in countdown.

From joining to wrap, it had taken just over a month—quite fast.

But that was normal: Yuwen Chengdu was a supporting role, with little interaction with the main cast, and no part in the later storylines of the Li Tang’s rise to power or succession struggles—his screen time was limited.

Moreover, directors like Hu Mingkai from Hong Kong tended to favor a “grand, sweeping,” “unconcerned with details” style of filming.

The phrase 【slow work yields fine results】 was practically an insult to them.

Although Yan Li had spent only a short time on the 《Sui Tang Heroes》 set, his decent personality and system advantages had earned him excellent rapport.

Assistant director Wang Decai, makeup artist Wang Xiu, lead actors Nie Yuan and Tong Lei, several supporting and guest actors, and horse team leader Xu—all took turns organizing farewell banquets for him.

This was quite rare!

On sets, people came and went constantly; everyone was used to separations and reunions. Unless it was a fixed team, once filming ended, everyone returned home, and the next collaboration might be years away.

So most actors and crew members viewed each other as temporary passersby; unless a bond had truly formed, there was no need to spend money on a farewell meal.

Yan Li couldn’t refuse, and with filming still ongoing, he had no time to attend every gathering—so he grouped them into a few separate events.

Old Wang was a benefactor; he’d need his help later, so a private meeting was a must.

Wang Xiu, Old Xu, and the supporting guest actors could gather together for a lively get-together.

Leads like Tong Lei and Nie Yuan needed a separate gathering.

It wasn’t that Yan Li was treating them differently—it was simply that they belonged to different circles, and Nie Yuan had a somewhat arrogant personality; forcing them together would make everyone uncomfortable, so separation was better.

That day, the set wrapped early, and Nie Yuan invited Yan Li to dinner; besides Tong Lei, who had already been invited, Zheng Guolin and Kou Zhanwen were also there.

Zheng Guolin played Li Shimin in 《Sui Tang Heroes》; he was close with Nie Yuan and had come along to piggyback on the meal.

Kou Zhanwen played Yuchi Gong—Yan Li had tried to befriend him when he first joined the set, and they’d interacted a few times since; their relationship was decent. When Yan Li ran into him at wrap, he asked if he’d join, and Kou showed up to lend support.

The restaurant was arranged by Nie Yuan—not low-end, and he paid the bill.

Tong Lei suggested splitting the cost, since they’d all agreed to host Yan Li’s farewell—but Nie Yuan, with his somewhat chauvinistic attitude, rejected it outright.

“When you go out to have fun, how can you let a girl pay?”

Yan Li ignored their argument; since Nie Yuan had paid for dinner, Yan Li arranged a second event: karaoke.

With filming nearly over, the production team had settled his remaining salary; Yan Li wasn’t stingy—if he had money, and friends were treating him to a farewell meal, he wouldn’t let them down.

There were plenty of karaoke lounges and KTVs in Hengdian, but the quality varied wildly—hard to tell good from bad.

But that didn’t stump Yan Li, nicknamed 【Live Radar】.

When he’d gone out with Wang Decai to build connections, he’d used the system to identify two decent KTVs.

One had top-tier overall conditions in Hengdian: environment, price, safety.

The other had beautiful, well-behaved girls with great figures.

Normally, Yan Li preferred the second—but today, with girls present, he had to go to the first.

After booking a private room, Yan Li was inviting Kou Zhanwen and the others to pick songs when Nie Yuan stepped out to take a call. Returning over the music, he shouted to Yan Li.

“Two new friends just arrived—don’t mind if they join?”

“Come on, the more the merrier.”

Yan Li didn’t care—it wasn’t a few extra bottles of alcohol. Nie Yuan nodded and soon led in two girls; Yan Li grinned.

Isn’t that the new Xiao Yanzi?!

(End of Chapter)