Chapter 215: Binge-Watched, Captured Female Fans, the Ascending Jiang Xin

Mid-March, "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng" had aired for over half its run.

Since the drama's premiere, Huizhou Satellite TV had lost the top spot only two days, remaining firmly first in its timeslot the rest of the time, with an average viewership rate already halfway across the 5% threshold, peaking briefly at 9%.

Shanghai Satellite TV and Jingcheng Satellite TV consistently held top-five positions, never dropping below eighth.

The combined market share of these three satellite channels exceeded 25%, firmly suppressing even CCTV and Hunan Satellite TV's same-period dramas.

Tudou. com's playback volume rose steadily with the drama's broadcast, averaging nearly a million views per episode.

According to backend statistics, Tudou. com not only saw a surge in its own website traffic but also demonstrated exceptionally strong performance in attracting new users.

In just half a month, Tudou. com registered several hundred thousand new users, a significant proportion coming specifically for "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng," with a continuous stream of new users expected as the drama continued airing and rerunning.

Previously, when "Bright Sword" went viral, Tudou. com had briefly felt the power of a blockbuster drama.

But at that time, since Tudou. com had just been founded, it lacked experience with legal and pirated online video distribution, its website development was insufficient, and supporting features had not caught up, making the user experience even worse than some mature players.

Moreover, due to its subject matter, "Bright Sword" primarily attracted viewers who still relied on TV or DVD, which also affected online traffic.

Not to mention, when Tudou. com acquired the rights to "Bright Sword," it had already been rebroadcast multiple times, with pirated versions rampant online, making it impossible to quickly curb or control, resulting in massive traffic leakage to competitors.

Even with all these factors, Tudou. com still benefited greatly from the legal rights to "Bright Sword," "The Legend of Sword and Fairy," and a series of other popular dramas.

This time, having secured the rights early, Tudou. com prepared thoroughly and stood ready.

On one hand, it invested heavily in developing features to ensure user experience; on the other, it launched aggressive anti-piracy measures.

Coupled with "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng's" plot, Gu Long's elements, and a large cast of stars, it became especially popular among younger audiences, generating high online buzz.

Tudou. com truly experienced firsthand the benefits of a blockbuster drama.

The website's influence and reputation surged dramatically, backend data showed outstanding growth, investors became more cooperative, and even advertisers came knocking seeking partnerships.

Goodness, how many video websites in the industry today can actually charge for ads?

This is a profit point—just for this alone, investors should be willing to put in more money.

The most impressive thing is, Tudou. com has another drama like this: "The Return of the Condor Heroes."

And they are the only video website holding legal rights to both dramas.

1+1 is far greater than 2.

The combined power of these two dramas is enough to propel Tudou. com to a whole new level.

Moreover, after consulting with Yan Li, Wang Wei devised a cunning plan: to create a dedicated "Wu Xia (Feng) / Xianxia (Diao)" section on Tudou. com.

Let the audiences and fans of both dramas watch the shows and then directly argue and feud within this section, turning Tudou. com into the frontline—and even the core battleground—of the Feng-Diao war.

Yan Li had only one demand of Wang Wei: no fundraising before the Feng-Diao war; if funds were short, he would cover the difference himself.

After the Feng-Diao war, Tudou. com, having reaped massive benefits, would gain a decisive lead over competitors.

Only then, when negotiating funding, would the terms favor the website in both money and equity.

Wang Wei followed Yan Li's advice, borrowing five million yuan from him under the company loan name for Tudou. com's subsequent operations.

Naturally, Yan Li also appointed a supervisor to Tudou. com under the guise of shareholder and loan agreements.

Aside from Tudou. com's substantial gains from "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng," the main cast members also reaped the greatest benefits from this drama.

Especially Zhang Zhilin and Ren Quan, whose fame and popularity surged dramatically.

Zhang Zhilin had previously enjoyed some recognition in mainland China, but not particularly high—certainly not as high as his wife Yuan Zhiyi.

But now, he no longer needed to be called Yuan Zhiyi's husband; Lu Xiaofeng became his defining label, propelling him to become the representative of Xiangjiang actors in the northward mainland market, with endless invitations pouring in.

Yi An, who had signed a three-year mainland agency contract with Zhang Zhilin, was now working at full capacity.

Planning to capitalize on the drama's popularity and Zhang's rising fame to extract a huge profit.

As for Ren Quan, he was already a popular young actor in the mainland; though due to various reasons he wasn't in the top tier, he hadn't been left far behind either.

In "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng," his portrayal of Hua Manlou was extremely likable, and combined with his earlier iconic role as Gong Sun Ce, Ren Quan nearly became the synonym for the noble ancient costume gentleman.

Undoubtedly, this character type and style was extremely popular, especially among female fans.

Ren Quan's fan count grew the fastest among all main cast members of "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng," with his personal tieba and blog followers skyrocketing.

It was just tough on Yang Xue; originally, their gossip had been low-key, even relying on Yan Li and Fan Xiaopang to generate topics for them.

But as Ren Quan's female fans multiplied, conflicts emerged, and some began targeting her, subjecting her to a lot of abuse.

Of course, exposure also increased—being the rumored girlfriend, the hotter Ren Quan became, the more she benefited; Yang Xue was suffering yet happy.

Another reason Zhang and Ren outperformed other main cast members was this:

The friendship between Lu Xiaofeng and Hua Manlou in the drama, interpreted by certain groups, had taken on a different meaning.

As a result, Zhang Zhilin and Ren Quan inevitably developed some bond, and some fans even came specifically for them.

It was only because Yan Li still had a conscience, combined with societal norms and other factors, that Ren Quan's rumored girlfriend wasn't anyone other than Yang Xue.

Below Ren and Zhang was Yan Kuan, who portrayed Ximen Chuixue.

Although this character didn't resonate as deeply as the first two, many complained he was too arrogant and so on.

But Yan Kuan's face was undeniably handsome, and his cold exterior, warm interior persona attracted many fans.

Had Ren Quan not been originally more popular, and had Zhang Zhilin not formed a bond with him, Yan Kuan's fan growth might have outpaced them both.

Other lead and supporting actors in "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng," though not as hot as these three, also gained noticeable exposure.

For popular actresses like Fan Xiaopang and Sun Li, it was merely icing on the cake.

But for lesser-known actors like Wang Ou, this surge in popularity was enough to make them ecstatic.

…

Hengdian, a hotel

Wang Ou excitedly pointed at the screen: "Look, up another two hundred."

Yang Rong looked unimpressed: "Seriously? You dragged me away from 'The Legend of Xue Rengui' in such a hurry just to watch your tieba follower count?"

"Isn't this a big deal? Rong Rong, big sister's famous now."

Wang Ou beamed; though she had once been the female lead in "The Great Qing Harem," she had only appeared in one drama, "Survival: The Migrant Worker," and hardly anyone knew her.

After "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng" aired, her face gained much greater recognition due to its high popularity.

Many people recognized her as Ouyang Qing, and even some extras and tourists asked her for autographs.

The personal Baidu Tieba page the company set up for her previously had only a handful of followers, but now its attention has nearly broken 3,000, with thousands of posts.

"Pfft."

Yang Rong rolled her eyes: "You call this popular?"

She snatched the computer, searched Fan Xiaopang's Tieba, and saw nearly 100,000 followers and over 300,000 posts.

"That's what you call popular."

"..."

Wang Ou grew slightly angry: "I'm not comparing myself to her."

Fan Xiaopang may still lag behind the Four Little Divas in actual achievements and status, but over the past one or two years, she's been constantly in the headlines, with her fame and popularity steadily rising, and combined with her looks, she's very popular on Baidu Tieba.

Currently, apart from that group of Super Girls tightly bound to Tieba, you can count on one hand the number of stars whose Tieba followers exceed hers.

Wang Ou snatched the computer back, checked Yang Rong's Tieba, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Looks like I'll surpass you in no time."

"Dream on. You're barely over half my number."

Yang Rong sneered; she debuted early and starred in hit dramas like "The Young Son of Heaven" and "Young Bao Qingtian 3," and though not extremely famous, she had some foundation.

If it weren't for the popularity of "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng," Wang Ou's Tieba followers wouldn't have surged so fast.

After the premiere, even with reruns, the momentum would fade; it's impossible for any single drama to overtake her.

"Let's make a bet."

Wang Ou had confidence in herself—or rather, confidence in "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng."

The momentum will surely drop after the premiere, but there's still the Phoenix Carving Battle coming up; Yang Rong isn't far ahead of her, and she thinks she has a good chance of catching up.

"What's the bet?"

Yang Rong curiously asked: "Give me your Golden Heart?"

She'd only recently learned that Yan Li had given Wang Ou a Golden Heart weighing two jin for her birthday.

In over twenty years of life, Yang Rong had never seen anyone give gold by the jin—this birthday gift was truly... simple.

This Golden Heart left a deep impression on Yang Rong; she'd always wanted to take it back and play with it, but Wang Ou was stingy—only let her look at it, never let her touch it, let alone take it away.

"Pfft, do you have any shame?"

Wang Ou spat at Yang Rong; gold prices had risen again, now around 120 yuan per gram, so that Golden Heart was worth 120,000 yuan—enough to buy a mid-range car.

More importantly, the Golden Heart couldn't be measured just by money—it was Yan Li's birthday gift to her, carrying heavy emotional weight.

"Stingy miser, it's just a Golden Heart—I'll make my own, a bigger one."

Yang Rong threw out bold words; Wang Ou glanced at her and scoffed: "You'd spend your own money buying two hundred jin of gold—I got mine as a gift. Are they the same thing?"

"..."

Yang Rong, no longer wanting to talk, changed the subject: "Stop blabbing—just say what the bet is."

"I haven't decided yet. How about this: if I lose, I'll do one thing for you; if you lose, you do one thing for me."

Wang Ou suggested; Yang Rong eyed her warily: "Don't pull that 'fight side by side' nonsense—you and Wu Jiani figure it out yourselves, I'm not getting involved."

This little flirt had teased her about this more than once or twice.

Over time, she couldn't tell whether Wang Ou was joking or serious—she had to be careful.

"What did I say?"

Wang Ou looked innocent, blinking her eyes: "I didn't say anything. You're the one imagining things—blaming me for corrupting you, when it's clearly your own mind full of mischief."

Yang Rong lunged at her; Wang Ou dodged while continuing: "You're getting angry because I hit the nail on the head—admit it, are you sneaking around with Boss Yan?"

"Relax, we're best friends—I won't be jealous. Let me share a few little tricks with you... Ah, don't pinch there! Wrong, wrong!"

"..."

After a bit of roughhousing, Wang Ou brought up the real matter: according to her, Li Bingbing's scenes in "The Legend of Xue Rengui" were nearly finished.

"Yeah, about done."

Yang Rong nodded; Li Bingbing wasn't like her—her scenes were fragmented, shot intermittently, while Li Bingbing, though having more lines, had greater clout and filmed in concentrated blocks.

If not for Yan Li's leave of absence delaying things, Li Bingbing might already have wrapped and left.

Now, Li Bingbing's scenes only need one final wrap-up; if all goes well, she'll leave the set in two or three days.

"Great."

Wang Ou punched the air; Fan Xiaopang was gone, Qin Lan had finished "The Bodyguard" and left Hengdian, and now with Li Bingbing leaving, Yan Li was hers.

"My good days are coming."

Yang Rong stared at Wang Ou blankly; Li Bingbing was leaving soon, but Yan Li was also about to wrap.

"The Legend of Xue Rengui" started filming in October last year; "The White-Haired Witch," which began slightly earlier, has already wrapped.

The slow pace was partly due to Yan Li dragging things out, and partly because of the heavy war scenes, which were difficult to shoot and slowed progress.

But now it's nearly at the end—around late March, at the latest by the end of March, the crew will wrap.

And not just "The Legend of Xue Rengui"—if Yang Rong remembered correctly, "The Great Qing Imperial Harem" was also about to wrap.

This drama had lower production difficulty than "The Legend of Xue Rengui," but because it started later and had more episodes, it's only just now nearing completion.

Still, there's little left—both dramas will wrap around the same time.

So calculated, Wang Ou's "good days" won't last long—just scraps left over.

"You know nothing."

Wang Ou was slightly provoked by Yang Rong's look and exclaimed: "Boss Yan isn't an actor—he doesn't leave just because filming ends. He'll still stay in Hengdian to handle final matters; he'll need at least ten to twenty days."

Yang Rong realized—if that's true, it's not bad after all.

But can Wang Ou keep Yan Li to himself for so long?

"Let me remind you—Jiang Xin, the actress playing Tuoya in our crew, hangs out with your boss Yan all day, laughing and chatting. Watch out—you might get scooped."

Yang Rong had been eating popcorn all this time, and her observational skills had improved dramatically.

She could swear Jiang Xin had some feelings for Yan Li, but they weren't strong, and with Li Bingbing standing guard, nothing had happened between them.

But now that Li Bingbing was gone, with no one blocking the way, who knew what might happen?

"That's why I came to you—we need to team up."

Before Yang Rong could get angry, Wang Ou said: "I'm not asking you to team up with me in bed. I want you to keep an eye on Jiang Xin for me on set—sabotage them. When I'm not busy with my scenes, I'll go see Boss Yan. We'll work inside and out together to keep Yan Li under our control."

"I won't do it. I don't want to make enemies. You fight her yourself—why drag me in?"

Yang Rong shook her head like a rattle drum—because of Wang Ou, she'd already offended Qin Lan and Huo Siyan, and she wasn't favored by Fan Xiaopang either.

Now this little vixen was asking her to jump into the ring to fight for favor—next, would she be asked to warm the bed?

"I'm not asking you to fight her—just help block her. What are you afraid of? It's just Jiang Xin."

Wang Ou hugged Yang Rong and pleaded: "If it were Qin Lan or Fan Xiaopang, I wouldn't ask you. But Jiang Xin? She's not that famous—it's not hard at all."

Of course, she didn't ask Yang Rong to help for free—she promised that if it succeeded, she'd take Yang Rong shopping on Nanjing West Road in Shanghai and treat her.

With heavy bribes and emotional appeals, Yang Rong was worn down.

"I'll only help you indirectly—don't expect me to fight Jiang Xin for you."

"My sister Rong is the best. Don't worry—I'll never forget you when I make it big."

Wang Ou planted a loud kiss on Yang Rong's cheek; the latter wiped her face in disgust and extended a small hand.

"Don't just talk pretty—lend me Jin Xin for a couple days?"

Wang Ou: "..."

————

A few more days passed, and the viewership of "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng," which had broken 5%, finally reached its final arc: "Feng Wu Jiutian."

Shandong Province, a university classroom

Several female students chattered excitedly about the plot of "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng."

"Why didn't Hua Manlou show up in the end? I loved him so much."

"Didn't the plot say he went home to manage the family? Invite Lu Xiaofeng to visit him—he's a rich second-generation heir; how could he wander mountains and rivers like Lu Xiaofeng? Isn't Ximen Chuixue also the lord of his own estate?"

"Hey, did you watch the new episode? That new villain, Gong Jiu, is so hot."

"Is that Yan Li playing him? I think he's not as good-looking as Yan Kuan, who played Ximen Chuixue—but he's got real masculine charm."

"You can't just look at his face—you've got to look at his body too."

One female student glanced around, then whispered with sparkling eyes: "In episode 37, around the 20-minute mark, there's a scene where Gong Jiu lets Sha Man whip him—look at that body, wow."

"You remember that clearly?"

"Cough, cough—I'm watching it critically."

Many took note of this, and after class, they returned to their dorms, gathering secretly to "critique" the scene.

First, they found the episode on Tudou—several clicked to episode 37, scrubbed the progress bar back and forth, and found the clip.

Inside the inn room, candles crackled and burned.

Yan Li sat cross-legged, his expression restrained, tinged with faint pain. His bare upper body revealed sharp contours, defined muscles, and a few faint old scars winding across his skin.

As Zeng Li whipped him, flesh split open; blood and sweat trickled slowly down his tight, fluid muscles, while Yan Li emitted only low, muffled groans.

In the original version, this scene had been heavily enhanced with camera angles, music, and editing to imply eroticism and taboo.

But later, the censors rejected it and demanded a reshoot.

The current version just showed the whipping—no atmosphere, no buildup. The only highlight was Yan Li showing off his body.

Even so, Yan Li's ruggedly handsome face, paired with his stunning physique and this scene, delivered a powerful impact.

"Holy shit, is this really allowed?!"

The female students' eyes sparkled—was this really free content?

Another female student stared at the screen: "Ssshh—those muscles, with that face—so wild."

"I want to whip him too."

"Take screenshots! Take screenshots!"

The female students chattered excitedly, even rewinding the clip to watch it again.

Male actors showing skin wasn't rare in the film industry—not even half-naked scenes were unheard of.

But not all muscular men were attractive, and not all handsome men looked good with muscles. Even a handsome face plus a beautiful body didn't guarantee "flavor."

Flavor—that was a hard quality to define. It was subjective, with no concrete standard.

Men had masculinity; women had femininity.

Some women weren't conventionally beautiful, and their figures weren't outstanding, yet their smiles and frowns drew people in more than any beauty queen.

Similarly, some men weren't particularly handsome, and their manners had flaws—but you just felt something special about them, something undeniably masculine.

Yan Li was exactly like that!

His face, his body, his aura—individually, none might be top-tier, but together, they formed a unique flavor. Especially when he stripped off his clothes, blood and sweat glistening, that overwhelming surge of testosterone made your legs go weak.

Before this, Yan Li's on-screen image had been the bright, youthful general (Huo Qubing/Jin Zha) and the iron-blooded tough guy (Sun Desheng). Now, with Gong Jiu, he'd added a new label: "Sexy Male Lead."

Although Gong Jiu had limited screen time, it still attracted many new fans to Yan Li—mostly female.

Yan Li had female fans, and their number wasn't small.

After all, he was top-tier diamond single material—even if he openly played the playboy, many female fans still spotted other "glowing qualities" beneath his reckless exterior.

So Yan Li was rare: a male star with a large female fanbase that didn't care much about his messy personal life.

Beyond these fans, there were also female netizens and viewers who harshly criticized his personal conduct while still praising his excellence.

Both fawning and cursing, the pink-black binary system swings between claiming to be Yan Li's fan and denying it—highly contradictory.

These new female fans, by contrast, are direct: they don't care whether Yan Li is handsome or not—they just want to strip his clothes off; they can be called "flesh fans."

"???"

Yan Li stared at the chaos on his personal forum, his face darkening; he called Hu Ya and told her to assign managers to crack down on these female hooligans.

It's gone too far—they've started writing smut! What's even more infuriating is that in their stories, "he" hasn't even been an hour old, and they've written his size too small.

This is an insult!

Not only are online female hooligans targeting him, but real-life female hooligans are plentiful too.

Fan Xiaopang called him saying she'd already ordered a little leather whip; Li Bingbing, Qin Lan, and others teased him; Wang Ou even took leave just to come check if his muscles had gone slack.

Yan Li laughed bitterly—these female hooligans he couldn't handle for now, but was he powerless against a seductive chicken who came crawling to him?

So Wang Ou had to take another half-day off.

But setting aside these mentally chaotic female hooligans, Gong Jiu—the character with demonic cunning and explosive martial power—did indeed bring a climax to the finale of "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng."

First, he used deceit and schemes to force Lu Xiaofeng into desperate retreat, even driving him to hide on a lonely island; later, when Gong Jiu's plot was exposed and unmasked, he simply resorted to brute force to kill.

In previous arcs, Lu Xiaofeng usually defeated villains with just his Spirit-Rhyme Finger; if that failed, there was always Ximen Chuixue.

But Gong Jiu chased Lu Xiaofeng relentlessly, forcing him into frantic flight—even Ximen Chuixue was no match.

This gave viewers, who had grown accustomed to Lu Xiaofeng showing off in earlier arcs, a fresh sensation.

Especially the chase sequences—Lu Xiaofeng hiding, dodging, barely escaping Gong Jiu's grasp—thrilling, intense, and deeply satisfying.

The final sequence, where multiple masters united to ambush and slay him, also gave the grand finale proper weight.

On March 19, "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng" aired its finale; the average viewership rating on Anhui Satellite TV was 5.49.

As of now, it is the highest-rated satellite TV drama of 2006.

Anhui Satellite TV aired marathon reruns of "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng" during weekends, taking advantage of holidays, achieving over 2% viewership and dominating the charts by a landslide.

Online and media discussion remained high.

Radicals hailed it as the best Gu Long drama in the past decade, even the best Wu Xia drama; more conservative viewers considered it profoundly influential on Gu Long dramas, possibly becoming one of their benchmarks.

Local channels and some advertisers bombarded Yi An's phone with cooperation requests, but all were shut down by Yan Li.

"The Legend of the Condor Heroes" is about to premiere; only when "Feng Diao" clashes will the price negotiations be optimal.

Hengdian, "The Legend of Xue Rengui" set

Just after Yan Li single-handedly took on Tong Dawei, Jiang Xin, and several Huige generals on set, he got off stage and invited a few people out for dinner.

"Director Yan, can I come too?"

Yang Rong, who had no scene today but came to the set to join the fun, raised her hand; Yan Li glanced at her: "Go ahead."

Yang Rong happily tagged along for the meal, but Jiang Xin couldn't help secretly glaring at her.

For days now, for some reason, Yang Rong—who used to keep her distance—kept suddenly appearing whenever Jiang Xin was talking to Yan Li.

At first, Jiang Xin thought this woman also had designs on Yan Li and was jealous, looking for trouble.

Later, she realized it wasn't that—Yang Rong just caused chaos for no reason; when Jiang Xin wasn't around, Yang Rong didn't chat alone with Yan Li; but whenever Jiang Xin talked to Yan Li, Yang Rong's curiosity flared up.

Pure madness!

Jiang Xin joined the cast too late; she usually just filmed or sought out Yan Li, never bothered to inquire, and didn't understand the prior situation—she was thoroughly annoyed by Yang Rong.

To be angry? Yang Rong was just tagging along for fun—you couldn't kick her out, and you had no way to kick her out.

Not to be angry? With a third wheel standing there, she couldn't do a thing.

She'd thought Li Bingbing's departure would give her a chance to break through. Instead, Yan Li had talked more with Tong Dawei these past few days than with her.

"You're causing trouble, huh?"

Jiang Xin gritted her teeth, grabbed Yang Rong's arm, and marched out first, calling out: "You guys eat first—I want to buy something, don't know which store's good, let Yang Rong show me around."

She was tall—1.72 meters—and relatively sturdy; Yang Rong, at just 1.6 meters and slight of build, stood no chance, and was dragged away without resistance.

"..."

Yan Li was stunned—he'd long noticed Jiang Xin was a bit wild, but hadn't expected her to be this wild, getting physical right in front of him.

He gave a glance to his assistant Ding Feng, signaling him to go check, make sure they didn't really start fighting and disrupt filming.

As for Yang Rong and Jiang Xin's hidden motives, Yan Li understood perfectly.

Yang Rong's intentions need no explanation—she was helping her friend; Jiang Xin's were more complex.

How to put it? She wanted Yan Zong's further support, but was torn between hesitation and pride, unable to make a decision, and even faintly harbored ambitions to rise up.

That's why Yan Li treated her indifferently—he had no objection to offering some benefits, but rising up was out of the question.

So he wouldn't initiate; if Jiang Xin could make up her mind, fine; if not, Yan Li didn't lack for one more.

The joke about gathering seven fairies was just that—a joke; Boss Yan's motto was going with the flow, never forcing.

But Yang Rong's meddling had made Yan Li notice Jiang Xin's emotions shifting—more urgent, more anxious; this was precisely why Yan Li tolerated Yang Rong's chaos.

Without someone meddling, Jiang Xin might have agonized longer—or even given up.

But with Yang Rong stirring things up, Jiang Xin's sense of crisis rose; she feared losing this chance because of Yang Rong.

After all, choosing to give up yourself and being forced to give up because someone else ruined it—those were two entirely different things; the latter left far greater regret.

Wang Ou and Yang Rong thought they were just causing trouble, unaware that sometimes, causing trouble is an assist.

"Let's go, we'll eat first."

Yan Li and Tong Dawei's group arrived at a restaurant; they sat down, and before their seats were even warm, Tong Dawei's phone rang.

He showed it to Yan Li, speechless: "Daily check-ins—can't even have dinner in peace."

Yan Li smiled: "Guan Yue's just concerned about you."

Tong Dawei nodded, answered the call with two words, then handed the phone over, mouthing something.

"She hates me drinking—talk some sense into her."

Yan Li took the phone: "Hello, this is Yan Li… Old man, you're pushing for a drink? Look how Dong Xuan never bothers me—I need space as a man."

"Alright, alright, rest easy—Da Wei's with me, nothing'll go wrong."

"…"

After saying a few more things, Yan Li hung up and told Tong Dawei: "Done."

Tong Dawei sighed with envy: "Dong Xuan is so understanding—she does whatever you want. Look at the one I got—she controls me tighter than my mom."

"It's the same. You didn't see how Dong Xuan controls me. All women are like this. The key is to stand firm—if you stand firm, they calm down."

Yan Li shared his experience, but Tong Dawei had little chance of learning it—this "standing firm" requires total, all-around support.

Career, wealth, personality, charm, control, physical fitness—all must be fully in place.

And you must stand firm long-term. If you only stand firm occasionally, then go soft again, you won't command respect…

As they spoke, Jiang Xin and Yang Rong returned together.

Neither showed much change in expression, but Jiang Xin sat boldly beside Yan Li, while Yang Rong acted as if she saw nothing—Jiang Xin clearly had the upper hand.

Yan Li glanced at Ding Feng, who arrived shortly after; Ding Feng shook his head—that meant no fight broke out.

Pure verbal intimidation?!

But Yan Li sized up Jiang Xin's height and figure—there must've been a physical advantage too.

Yang Rong was just helping out; she couldn't win and didn't want to fight. Seeing this scene, "backing down" was normal.

Jiang Xin sensed Yan Li's gaze and instinctively wanted to avoid it—but then she caught sight of Yang Rong. Instead of dodging, she deliberately showcased her figure, then picked up food for Yan Li.

"Director Yan works hard filming every day—eat more, you're too worn out."

Yan Li looked at the spicy lamb kidneys and leek shrimp Jiang Xin had placed on his plate, and silently ate them.

Though he felt no need to replenish himself, Jiang Xin meant well—he'd keep it for her…

(End of Chapter)