Chapter 2

Hengdian, Baozi Shop

Seeing Yan Li, quick to read the situation, paid for both their breakfasts before Kou Zhanwen could.

Not much money—prices from the early 2000s were low; together, their meals didn't exceed ten yuan.

Kou Zhanwen certainly wasn't short of such small change, but he greatly enjoyed Seeing Yan Li's tact and cleverness.

Moreover, during their earlier conversation, Seeing Yan Li kept addressing him as "Teacher Kou," which flattered him immensely; his attitude toward Seeing Yan Li had noticeably warmed, and he even offered a few pieces of advice.

"Director Hu has a decent temper. The producer rarely shows up on set; the on-site and logistics work is mainly handled by the assistant director and the production supervisor. Overall, the crew is fairly quiet—just keep your distance from those Hong Kong and Taiwan people, they cause too much trouble."

"Thank you for the warning, Teacher Kou."

Perhaps because he'd gained the Daily Intelligence System and trained daily, Seeing Yan Li had become far more sensitive to gathering, analyzing, and judging information.

Even without system intelligence, he could extract useful insights from fragments of others' conversations.

Kou Zhanwen said little, but Seeing Yan Li sensed substantial information in it.

First, he clarified who held real authority in the "Heroes of Sui and Tang" crew—Seeing Yan Li, having worked on sets in Jingcheng, knew each crew operated differently.

Take the position of production supervisor: in some crews, he was truly powerful—even the director had to watch his every move and needed his approval for every expense; in others, he was merely a logistics officer handling meals and transport, and even slightly respectable crew members dared to give him orders.

For a newcomer to the crew, understanding the upper hierarchy right away was definitely a good thing.

Also, Kou Zhanwen's last remark hinted that the "Heroes of Sui and Tang" crew wasn't particularly peaceful.

It seemed there might be underlying opposition between Hong Kong/Taiwan actors and staff versus mainland ones.

Seeing Yan Li was just a minor supporting actor—he dared not meddle in such conflicts, so he'd need to stay alert and avoid trouble at the first sign of trouble.

Upon arriving at the set, Seeing Yan Li and Kou Zhanwen parted ways; the latter went to makeup, while Seeing Yan Li had to report to assistant director Wang Decai first.

Wang Decai, assistant director of "Heroes of Sui and Tang," had handled part of the casting; Seeing Yan Li's placement in this crew owed him a crucial role.

When he reached the agreed location, Wang Decai hadn't arrived yet, so Seeing Yan Li took the initiative to help with minor tasks and casually probed for information about the crew.

If he could extract intelligence on his own, all the better; if not, there was still a chance the system would trigger and grant him a useful piece of intel.

Idle hands were idle hands—better to swing the stick three times even if there were no jujubes!

While chatting merrily, someone patted Seeing Yan Li on the shoulder; he turned to see a short, fat man looking up at him, smiling.

"Brother Wang, you're here."

"Ahem, in the crew, call me Director Wang."

Wang Decai was around thirty, slightly overweight, about 1.6 meters tall, with a face that looked honest and simple—but his shrewd, rat-like eyes betrayed his sharpness, at odds with his appearance.

"Are you getting used to the crew?"

Wang Decai had a good impression of Seeing Yan Li—he found the young man to his liking, otherwise he wouldn't have helped him get into the crew.

Seeing Yan Li was deeply grateful: "Thanks to your care, you even got me a private room."

"Pfft, it's nothing."

After a few pleasantries, Wang Decai was about to take Seeing Yan Li to meet the director when his phone rang—it seemed some equipment had malfunctioned and he needed to check it.

Seeing Yan Li was considerate: "Go ahead, I'm not in a hurry."

Previous intelligence indicated that Director Hu Mingkai had been unwell yesterday and was in a foul mood; Seeing Yan Li had just been worrying that meeting him now might land him in the crosshairs.

Now, perfect—he could take the opportunity to delay, stall a bit longer, and maybe the director's mood would improve by then.

"Alright."

Perhaps the matter was urgent—Wang Decai didn't hesitate. After a moment's thought, he added: "Then don't just stand around—go to makeup, get your makeup done. That way, when the director sees you, he'll have a clearer impression. I'll find you after I'm done."

"Got it, you go ahead."

This would help his meeting with the director, so Seeing Yan Li gladly accepted without complaint.

They parted. Seeing Yan Li asked someone for directions and headed to the makeup room—it wasn't far, and he arrived soon. He opened the door and saw it wasn't crowded.

That was normal: those with morning scenes had started makeup as early as four or five a. m.; the peak hour had passed. Those still in the makeup room now were actors with calls after ten a. m. or in the afternoon.

Seeing Yan Li glanced around and spotted a few idle makeup artists eating or reading magazines.

He remembered the morning intelligence: two makeup artists were feuding over a man and might clash—he decided to steer clear.

As a newcomer, Seeing Yan Li couldn't boldly ask names—he couldn't tell which was Shasha and which was Wang Xiu. For safety, he walked over to the only idle male makeup artist and explained his situation.

Upon hearing Wang Decai's name, the male makeup artist sized Seeing Yan Li up.

"Alright, sit down."

Seeing Yan Li took an empty seat. The makeup artist was professional—he didn't rush to apply makeup but instead asked Seeing Yan Li about previous makeup styles he'd liked, seeking to highlight his personal strengths.

As they conversed, a female makeup artist passed by them.

Facing the mirror, Seeing Yan Li clearly saw the woman deliberately bump into him—but before his makeup artist could speak, she turned the blame on him.

"Are you blind? Didn't you see I was walking past?"

The male makeup artist blinked, then shot back: "You're not just blind—you're lame too. Walking and deliberately bumping into me? Looking for trouble."

"You bastard, who are you calling?"

"You stinking hag—I'm calling you."

They hurled insults back and forth, then started shoving each other. Seeing Yan Li quickly joined others to pull them apart, silently frowning.

Is the makeup team this chaotic? Do they fight every day!?

Soon, a makeup team supervisor arrived and took the two quarreling staff away; Seeing Yan Li was assigned a new makeup artist.

Unable to resist, Seeing Yan Li asked the new one: "Teacher, does your team have someone named Wang Xiu?"

The makeup artist gave him a strange look: "The one who just did your makeup was Wang Xiu."

Seeing Yan Li: "…"

This damn system still had flaws—it only showed names, no photos or gender labels.

How was he supposed to know Wang Xiu, the one feuding with Shasha, was a man?

Most crucially, that guy had a little beard—light stubble—and looked more manly than he did…

About an hour later, Seeing Yan Li, finished with makeup and costume, contacted Wang Decai and prepared to meet at the agreed location.

As soon as he stepped out of the makeup room, he ran into Wang Xiu, who had just resolved her issue and was in the mood to chat.

"You look sharp, handsome. Sorry earlier—I'll do your makeup next time."

"No problem, thanks, sis… buddy."

Seeing Yan Li was still young and had seen little of the world; he didn't dare chat much with her, chuckled awkwardly, and hurried off.

…

About ten minutes later, under Wang Decai's introduction, Seeing Yan Li met Hu Mingkai, director of *The Heroes of Sui and Tang*.

Director Hu was now, at least technically, a respected name in the industry, his signature work being the hit drama from two years ago, *Young Bao Qingtian*.

Seeing Yan Li's strategy of lying low was still sound.

According to Wang Decai, when Hu Mingkai first arrived on set, he had scolded the crew crew, and if Seeing Yan Li and the others had shown up then, they might have caught the brunt of it.

Now, perhaps he had vented his anger or felt somewhat better, Hu Mingkai's mood was neither good nor bad—otherwise Wang Decai wouldn't have dared bring Seeing Yan Li here.

"Director, this is Seeing Yan Li, the actor playing Yuwen Chengdu in our drama."

Wang Decai stepped forward with a beaming smile. Hu Mingkai wore thick-framed glasses and looked unremarkable.

The kid looks good!

Thick eyebrows, large eyes, sharp contours, distinct facial features, a rugged face, a masculine aura—he radiated real manliness.

More importantly, not only was he handsome, but he was also tall—at least 1.8 meters—and his build was excellent: broad back, narrow waist, muscular legs, strong yet agile, with smooth, well-defined lines—a perfect mannequin for costumes.

Now dressed as an ancient martial general, perhaps the makeup artist thought Seeing Yan Li looked too young and youthful, so he added a bit of short beard; the whole look exuded toughness, efficiency, bravery, and resolve—he clearly wasn't an ordinary man.

Hu Mingkai even felt a pang of regret—he had seen this actor too late; casting him as Yuwen Chengdu, a villain, felt like a waste.

But there was no help for it; other substantial roles were either already filled or had their actors locked in, and replacing them now was impossible.

There were still some minor roles open, but those were worse than playing Yuwen Chengdu.

Hu Mingkai flipped casually through the resume Seeing Yan Li had brought, then looked up with mild surprise.

"Beijing Film Academy? And you trained in martial arts?"

Seeing Yan Li explained: "I attended a local martial arts school back home for a few years, then got into the vocational class at Beijing Film Academy."

"What styles do you know?"

Hu Mingkai grew interested—he was a Xiangjiang director who had made the *Huang Feihong* series, and he had a soft spot for martial artists.

As for whether he was from Beijing Film Academy's vocational or undergraduate program, he didn't understand it, and didn't care.

"I know the basic routines—I mainly trained in Sanda, wrestling is fine too, and I'm better with weapons: spear and broadsword."

Seeing Yan Li didn't exaggerate; while it might help to embellish a resume slightly during auditions, Yuwen Chengdu had fight scenes.

If he blew it too much and the director assigned him a high-difficulty fight sequence, he didn't mind looking foolish—but losing the role would be trouble.

Besides, Wang Decai had warned him: Hu Mingkai was an old-school type who disliked flashy, arrogant people; it was best to say little and avoid clever tricks in front of him.

So since meeting the director, Seeing Yan Li had remained humble and reserved, speaking as modestly as possible.

And truthfully, Seeing Yan Li wasn't much of a martial artist to begin with.

His martial arts school was a small local one, with no famous masters and no particularly high level—and he hadn't studied long.

So Seeing Yan Li never really thought of himself as someone who practiced martial arts; if his resume hadn't listed martial arts training as a plus, he wouldn't have mentioned it at all.

Fortunately, Hu Mingkai didn't care how skilled Seeing Yan Li was: "You're fine with fight scenes, right?"

"Yes."

Seeing Yan Li was confident about this; at Beijing Film Academy, his teachers, hearing he had martial arts training, considered it an advantage and urged him to pick it up again, so he'd been practicing for the past two years.

Later, while auditioning in Jingcheng, Seeing Yan Li had watched many fight scenes being filmed and even worked as a stunt double; he was certain he could handle normal fight sequences.

"Then stay and give it a try—ask Old Wang for details."

Hu Mingkai didn't ask him to audition or perform any routines—he asked two questions and made the decision on the spot.

Don't think it's exaggerated; the early 2000s were still the wild growth phase of the film and TV industry, with few rules or formalities.

If the director likes you and says you're capable, you're capable!

There were plenty of amateurs back then who couldn't act but still got roles; Seeing Yan Li, at least, was a trained graduate, and at this time, the Beijing Film Academy's reputation still carried some weight.

Besides, Wang Decai's favor was involved—he'd brought Seeing Yan Li to the director, so the director wouldn't easily turn him down.

If the guy turned out to be hopeless, it was just the director misjudging him—a supporting role, they could always recast.

Hengdian lacked everything—but never lacked actors ready to fill spots…

(End of Chapter)