Chapter 265: Fan Xiaopang: Eating Alone, I

"No need to say that—I still stand by what I said: you're with the company, working for the company, and if anyone targets you, I and the company will protect you."

"Mm, give my regards to your loved one. Let's reunite when you get back to Beijing."

"…"

After hanging up the phone, Seeing Yan Li continued eating breakfast at the restaurant, while Fan Xiaopang teased him.

"Boss Yan's really showing off this time—everyone in the circle's been talking about you."

In this Zhang Zhilin incident, Seeing Yan Li indeed got a bit of spotlight.

Favoritism!

This trait, already one of Seeing Yan Li's trademarks, grew even more prominent, celebrated by the circle and gossip enthusiasts alike.

Last time, to defend Fan Xiaopang, he went to war with half the circle, dragging in multiple actresses and numerous companies, forcing China Film and related agencies to step in and mediate.

This time, because of Zhang Zhilin, he directly sent that wealthy man—who once made waves in Xiangjiang—straight to jail.

When someone under his command runs into trouble, Boss Yan truly defends them!

Last time, because it involved rumors with actresses and multiple companies, everyone fought behind the scenes; though big, the fallout remained low-key.

So it only spread within the industry and among gossip channels, with no large-scale public discussion.

This time it's different: only two parties involved, and Seeing Yan Li openly supported the "victim," standing firm on moral ground, while the wealthy man was fallen, with no one fearing to offend him.

Especially since this involves Xiangjiang—those Xiangjiang paparazzi love to stir up trouble, and they're all great storytellers, running wild with this story.

According to the version Seeing Yan Li heard, he went to pay respects to several clans and docks to defend Zhang Zhilin; major Xiangjiang figures like Yinghuang, Huanya, Da Liu, the Ho family, and the Li family all became "Mo Ni" with him.

Worse still, some fabricated that Seeing Yan Li doesn't even have the surname Yan—he's actually surnamed X and X, tying his resume and appearance to these claims.

As a result, under the Xiangjiang paparazzi's portrayal, Seeing Yan Li has become a mainland big shot with eyes and hands reaching everywhere, and the wealthy man only escaped by kneeling and begging for mercy.

Yet such melodramatic reports and descriptions are hugely popular this year—not just in Xiangjiang, but on the mainland too.

Tianya already has a post claiming to have witnessed Seeing Yan Li personally traveling to Xiangjiang to negotiate, nearly breaking the wealthy man's leg and so on.

These posts are highly exaggerated and false, but plenty of people still believe them—and not just a few.

After all, right now, black-market gang web novels have legions of global readers, countless people firmly believe in secret tales of China's Dragon Corps and the Rothschild family, let alone Seeing Yan Li taking down a fallen tycoon.

Faced with these mixed true-and-false rumors, Seeing Yan Li made no public statement to clarify or respond.

One reason: unnecessary; another: the blur of truth and falsehood itself serves as a deterrent and warning.

You can't guard against thieves for a thousand days—it's better to show early on that you're not to be trifled with, which can avoid some trivial troubles.

Unlike typical companies and entrepreneurs who crave perfection and moral virtue, Seeing Yan Li, leveraging his youth, prefers to show some edge.

In fact, Seeing Yan Li doesn't reject becoming an "evil person" at times.

As always: saints must be flawless, but an "evil person" who does even one good deed can lay down his knife.

Of course, being "evil" invites certain targeting and negative consequences.

How to be "evil," to what degree and with what timing, and whether one can be "evil" without being hated—that's where Seeing Yan Li's own skill comes into play.

He doesn't want to be a saint, nor does he want to become a trash bin despised by all…

…

He glanced at Fan Xiaopang, beaming with delight—this spotlight was out, and she was already showing off like crazy, while he hadn't even done anything yet.

He figured Fan Xiaopang's role in this drama was ending soon; after wrapping up other work, he'd soon enter the set of "Red Cliff."

Seeing Yan Li bit into a bun and warned: "Be even more low-key now. Once you enter 'Red Cliff,' try not to clash with Lin Zhiling."

"Red Cliff" has only two main female leads, one hoping to elevate herself by leveraging the other, the other aiming to undermine and harvest the film's profits—these two are destined to never get along.

Media smears are fine; public mud-slinging is acceptable—standard industry tactics. If you can't fight back, your team and company are useless.

But direct confrontation and on-set conflict are another matter entirely—"Red Cliff" isn't Yi'an's set, and Seeing Yan Li fears Fan Xiaopang will get hurt.

"You really think of me as a caged bird, don't you? Playing favorites—I get it."

Though Fan Xiaopang has been riding Seeing Yan Li's coattails these past two years and her life's been comfortable, she hasn't floated so high as to lose all sense of reality.

She'd been active in the circle long before, and her emotional intelligence is certainly sharp—if she wanted, she could even become good friends with Sister Zhiling after "Red Cliff."

And even if a conflict did happen, she wasn't afraid—the other woman might be higher-ranked, but she's just a skinny stick; two solid punches and she'd be crying.

"Good. 'Red Cliff' is a big set, internally complex, with powerful factions. Don't get involved. Just focus on your own role. With my reputation, you shouldn't get dragged in."

"But if something actually happens, don't be afraid—stand your ground, then contact me."

Seeing Yan Li was more talkative than usual; normally, Fan Xiaopang never needed his attention.

Not just because of his reputation—even his own status and ability deterred most people from provoking him.

But as mentioned earlier, "Red Cliff" is a big set, with many internal factions and big names; Fan Xiaopang's status isn't enough, and Seeing Yan Li's reputation might not fully shield her—so caution is best.

"Understood."

Though Fan Xiaopang loved to banter and tease Seeing Yan Li, she knew when to be serious.

Watching Seeing Yan Li lay out the details and assure her that he had her back, Fan Xiaopang's peach eyes softened with warmth and security; she responded softly, then peeled a tea egg and handed it to him.

"Here."

Seeing Yan Li turned his head: "I'm full."

Fan Xiaopang refused: "I already peeled it."

"Eat it yourself."

"I've had enough calories for breakfast. Fine—half each."

Seeing Yan Li, who disliked boiled egg yolks, conceded: "You take the yolk, I'll take the white."

"Alright, alright."

Fan Xiaopang yielded, made Seeing Yan Li open his mouth to feed him—then shoved both yolk and white in at once.

Seeing Yan Li, unwilling to waste food, could only chew awkwardly; when he could speak again, he glared at Fan Xiaopang.

"Trying to choke me?"

Fan Xiaopang snorted: "What did you say when you choked me?"

"…"

Seeing Yan Li fell silent, but Fan Xiaopang grew bolder, muttering that the eggs were too small, and she'd later treat Seeing Yan Li to a fried dough stick to show him what real power felt like.

Though they were joking, the atmosphere between them was still warm—until someone arrived, making Fan Xiaopang's expression turn cold.

Even eating breakfast isn't peaceful!

Wang Ou, newly assigned to the crew, sensed Fan Xiaopang's low energy but ignored it entirely, placing two boxes of pastry-style packaging on the table.

"Director Yan, Sister Bing, yesterday on my way back with Jiani, I passed a popular pastry shop and bought some for you to try."

Never strike a smiling face!

Though she knew this sly fox had no good intentions, the constant smiling and gifts made it hard for Fan Xiaopang to be openly rude in front of Seeing Yan Li—otherwise she'd look petty and unable to tolerate others.

"You've gone to too much trouble, thank you."

Though she didn't give a cold face, she certainly wasn't offering a warm one either; Fan Xiaopang offered a polite remark, then used her eyes to shoo the person away. Rarely did she and Seeing Yan Li have so few scenes in the morning that they could share breakfast at the hotel.

This guy shows up the moment he smells food—is he a rooster or a dog?!

Luckily, Wang Ou didn't know what she was thinking, or he might've retorted that her zodiac was indeed dog.

"Have you eaten?"

Seeing Yan Li, being slightly more refined than Fan Xiaopang, asked; Wang Ou shook his head.

"Then sit down and eat with us."

Seeing Yan Li habitually invited him; Wang Ou's eyes lit up—he was about to speak when he caught Fan Xiaopang's half-smile, and swallowed his words.

"No thanks, Jiani just arrived yesterday and hasn't woken up yet—I'll take it up to her."

Fan Xiaopang nodded in satisfaction, waving him off: "Alright, go take care of your business, we'll talk later."

Wang Ou walked off, glancing back every four or five steps, mentally cursing Fan Xiaopang to hell.

She'd been on set for days now, and not only had she failed to lure Seeing Yan Li over, she couldn't even get close without finding an opportunity.

Back when they filmed "The Legend of Fengshen," that bastard Qin Lan hoarded all the perks—she and Fan were both victims.

She'd thought this time, with Qin Lan gone, Fan Xiaopang might at least let her sip some broth.

But this sly fox was even worse than Qin Lan had been—she'd chase people away with just a few words; she really should've slipped some drugs into those pastries.

After Wang Ou left, Seeing Yan Li glanced at Fan Xiaopang: "She calls you Sister Bing, at least—don't you think you're being too cold?"

"How am I supposed to be warm? Give the man to her to sleep with? Let Qin and Dong handle that kind of warmth."

Fan Xiaopang sneered—she and Wang Ou were from the same company, so they'd gotten slightly closer.

But they weren't allies, nor were they superior and subordinate; it was pure mutual exploitation.

Wang Ou occasionally used Fan as a banner to leverage resources, while Fan occasionally used Wang to bolster her own standing, giving her resources but also using her to fend off internal company gossip and prevent certain "outsiders" from gaining advantage.

That was the extent of their relationship.

Wang Ou respectfully called her Sister Bingbing, but resented Fan deeply; Fan pretended to care, but never truly considered Wang one of her own.

Everyone says the Teddy Sisterhood is plastic—but these two were even more plastic, sometimes refusing to even maintain the illusion of plasticity.

Seeing Yan Li shook his head: Qin and Dong formed factions, even Wang Ou had her little clique—yet Fan Xiaopang did nothing.

"Hoarding everything alone never ends well."

"I'm happy to choke on it."

Fan Xiaopang was stubborn as hell, making Seeing Yan Li's teeth itch—he'd have torn into her properly if he weren't reluctant; he'd make her beg for outside help.

…

After breakfast, they went to the makeup room; Fan Xiaopang put on makeup while listening to music, but Seeing Yan Li had no such luxury—he put on makeup while taking phone reports.

The premiere of "The Legend of Xue Rengui" ended, with its final premiere viewership barely breaking 4%—still a strong result.

Currently, reruns have begun on a large scale, especially on Qilu TV in Shandong Province, which reportedly airs the drama nonstop during the day, with excellent ratings.

Beyond terrestrial channels, the second-round satellite broadcast rights were sold out to four provinces: Jiangxi, Sichuan, Shanxi, and Guangdong.

Particularly noteworthy are Jiangxi and Shanxi.

The latter is Xue Rengui's hometown and helped with considerable promotion; Seeing Yan Li even gave an interview to a provincial newspaper. The former is the province where "The Legend of Xue Rengui" achieved its highest viewership.

According to relevant statistics, "The Legend of Xue Rengui" ranked number one in viewership across the entire Jiangxi region during its broadcast period.

Not only did it lead in provincial ratings, but among the top five cities in Jiangxi, four were all in Jiangxi—only Jin Ling was the exception.

Seeing Yan Li's face could be said to be the most familiar to countless Jiangxi viewers in March.

Lin Jiachuan, who played the second male lead Zhou Qing, also took on an advertising shoot for a local Jiangxi enterprise.

Of course, they hired Lin Jiachuan not because he was popular, but because he was cheap.

Ordinary people couldn't afford Li Bingbing—Seeing Yan Li wasn't even about the price anymore.

According to Hu Ya's report from the CEO's office, three brands had offered Seeing Yan Li endorsement deals exceeding five million yuan per year.

They were alcohol, cars, and health supplements.

The health supplement offer was the highest, ranging from 6.5 to 8 million yuan, with contracts starting at three years.

Seeing Yan Li rejected it outright without even using his system to investigate—it was definitely a scam, and he wouldn't fall for such a trap over a couple million.

The alcohol and car brands were well-known, but mid-to-high-end; they wanted Seeing Yan Li's endorsement to climb toward the premium tier.

The prices were undeniably tempting in the entertainment circle, but Seeing Yan Li declined them all.

He was increasingly aware of how precious his personal image was in driving commercial value.

The more so, the more carefully he had to use it—good steel must be used on the blade; overuse would devalue it.

So Seeing Yan Li now refused all brand endorsements except one negotiable option: Tudou. com.

Money was secondary—the key was to further bind himself to Tudou. com and strengthen public perception that Seeing Yan Li was Tudou. com's owner.

Yi'an's management and partners were still very satisfied with the success of "The Legend of Xue Rengui," and were now considering whether to produce a sequel.

"The Story of Sui and Tang" is actually a classical novel or storytelling series, one of its core components being "The Xue Family Generals."

"The Xue Family Generals" primarily consists of a trilogy: the first part is "The Legend of Xue Rengui," followed by "Xue Dingshan Campaigns in the West," and then "Xue Gang Rebels Against Tang," with an accompanying tale known as "The Tale of Fan Lihua."

Besides "The Xue Family Generals," there is a sister series, "Luo Tong Clears the North," which tells the story of Luo Cheng's son.

When filming "The Legend of Xue Rengui," they had considered making a sequel, so some setup and plot hooks were included along the way.

In the original novel, when Xue Rengui returns, he mistakenly kills his own son Xue Dingshan — this plot is too brutal for modern audiences.

So in the drama, the family of three is properly reunited, and then Xue Dingshan gains a miraculous encounter, leaving home to seek a master and learn martial arts.

This way, if they film "Xue Dingshan Campaigns in the West," the plot can be easily picked up.

But the original "Xue Dingshan Campaigns in the West" is utterly absurd, no different from "Investiture of the Gods," with all sorts of magical battles — if truly filmed, the script would definitely need major revisions.

A major factor in the success of "The Legend of Xue Rengui" was refining the original source material, keeping the essence and discarding the excess.

The tropes of these classical novels are too outdated; changes are absolutely necessary.

Seeing Yan Li has less confidence in this project than before.

To be honest, if not for his and Li Bingbing's participation, the meticulously rewritten script, and the strong investment and resources, "The Legend of Xue Rengui" would have struggled to achieve such success.

The next drama won't have this cast and promotional appeal, and the script quality is uncertain.

So Seeing Yan Li's suggestion is to first develop the script, then decide on investment and resource allocation based on its quality.

A great script gets big investment; an average script gets small investment; a poor script gets no investment…

(End of Chapter)