Chapter 272

Late April, the Red Cliff film crew, Yan Li came to visit at Han Sanye's invitation.

As mentioned before, although Yi'an did not invest in this movie, its ground promotion and anti-piracy capabilities were outstanding, making it one of Red Cliff's distributors.

As a distributor, naturally there was need to understand the crew's progress and certain circumstances—of course, also taking the chance to sneak in and visit Fan Xiaopang under false pretenses.

"Director Wu, sorry to disturb you."

Yan Li shook hands with Wu Baihe; during this period, Wu Baihe had made many trips to the mainland and dealt with no few mainland bosses.

Although Yan Li was not among them, they had crossed paths at some events.

"Where are you going? Master Yan is the expert—please give much guidance."

Wu Baihe still held a strong impression of Yan Li; aside from anything else, Yan Li's youthful appearance alone made him unforgettable among a crowd of industry elders.

Not to mention, Yan Li's wealth and strength were among the top in the mainland's film elite, and he had built it all from nothing.

Wu Baihe was a seasoned veteran of the jianghu.

He had met many young billionaires and knew how to deal with them.

Acting superior, showing off seniority?

These young people who rose to power in just a few years hated that crap most—play it polite and they'd give you lip service; play it rough and they'd crush you outright.

International big directors certainly had face before their financiers, often treated with lavish praise.

But they praised you only to make money; if you met someone who didn't care about face, even an international big director was just a director.

Other financiers might praise you to make money, but they wouldn't necessarily stand up for you against certain people.

Xiangjiang-born directors understood this deeply, having been overstepped or ground into the dirt before; mainland directors, due to their circle's environment and the market's recent rise, still held some higher postures.

At least in Yan Li's personal experience, he found dealing with Xiangjiang directors more comfortable.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Yan Li and Han Sanye's other investors or distributors toured Red Cliff's interior and exterior sets and filming locations.

Including the Wu army camp and Cao's camp, they even tested the iron-chain-linked boats ahead of time, before Cao Cao himself arrived.

Undeniably, setting aside the plot for now, Red Cliff's hundreds of millions in investment were not wasted—the costumes, makeup, props, and sets were all top-notch.

Pulling a long halberd from a weapons rack, Yan Li swung it around and found even the decorative weapons were exact 1:1 replicas.

No wonder it was a blockbuster—truly burned through cash.

Yan Li had previously considered whether, if he made The New Three Kingdoms, he could learn from Red Cliff's costumes and props; now he hesitated.

Not because it was bad, but because it was too expensive!

Even if Red Cliff burned through cash, it only filmed a few hours of footage; The New Three Kingdoms was dozens of episodes—preparing costumes and props at this level would likely multiply the investment cost several times over.

So learning from it was out of the question; better to see if he could pick up some "junk" from Red Cliff instead.

After all, secondhand would surely be cheaper than buying or manufacturing new—even if similar, the quality would be more reliable.

Thinking this, Yan Li had no intention of criticizing; he viewed Red Cliff with curiosity and asked questions, driven by the mindset of learning and acquiring secondhand costumes and props.

Had the crew not enforced strict secrecy and banned photography, Yan Li might have even made a secondhand pre-order catalog.

After touring the sets and stages, Yan Li and the others met Red Cliff's main cast.

Since the crew had started filming Cao's camp scenes first, not everyone was present, but Fan Xiaopang and Lin Zhiling were there.

Correct—besides Sun Shangxiang infiltrating Cao's camp, Xiao Qiao also personally went to Cao's camp to delay Cao Cao's troop deployment and buy time for battle advantage.

And to drink and chat with Xiao Qiao, Cao Cao actually missed the battle opportunity.

The most absurd part? Xiao Qiao came to him on her own, yet Cao Cao only drank with her and chatted—never gave Zhou Yu green horns.

Pfft!

It insulted Zhou Yu and Xiao Qiao—and insulted Chancellor Cao too.

Every time Yan Li thought about Red Cliff's plot, then looked at its exquisite costumes and props, massive investment, and star-studded cast, he felt it was a waste.

Like the best restaurant's best chef using the finest ingredients, only to serve a plate of raw cucumber—and the cucumber wasn't even cooked…

…

"Director Yan, hello."

Lin Zhiling came over specifically to greet Yan Li; they weren't meeting for the first time—they'd briefly met at some event before, but only exchanged greetings, yet Yan Li still held a strong impression of her.

Voice sweet, tone high-pitched, tall, long legs!

Yan Li wasn't sure if Lin Zhiling was the tallest female celebrity he'd ever seen, but she was definitely among the top—key was her perfect body proportions; though the nickname "Top Model of Taiwan Province" had some water in it, it wasn't undeserved.

Lin Zhiling came over only to greet him, chatted a few words, then made an excuse to leave.

Not because Boss Yan lacked charm, but because beside him stood a tiger named Xiao Yanzhi, watching intently.

Who didn't know Yan Li was Fan Xiaopang's man? Lin Zhiling had no desire to invite trouble.

After Lin Zhiling left, Fan Xiaopang, still in costume, sauntered over and nodded slightly in satisfaction.

"Good, I thought you'd chat with her a while longer?"

"What do you take me for?"

Yan Li rolled his eyes; Fan Xiaopang's jealousy, though not as intense as Dong Xuan's or Qin Lan's, was still sour enough—he wasn't afraid of it, but why invite trouble when he was full?

"Then what kind of person are you?"

Fan Xiaopang sneered; the bastard's nature was well known to anyone who understood.

And that Taiwan girl—though she disliked her, she admitted the girl's high-pitched, flirtatious act was undeniably tempting to men; in fact, she was even more popular than her in the Red Cliff crew.

Of course, this also had to do with Fan Xiaopang having powerful backing, so she didn't care to entertain tedious social obligations or relationships.

Popular!

In the entertainment circle, this word might be a compliment, but sometimes its hidden implication was far from good.

Yan Li raised an eyebrow and decisively skipped this questionable topic, asking quietly.

"Has anyone bothered you?"

Before joining the crew, Yan Li had considered Red Cliff was a large production with complex internal politics, and advised her to keep a low profile to avoid conflict.

Even his coming over to visit on set was partly meant to back Fan Xiaopang up.

"Relax, I'm not even bothering them—that's already more than enough."

Fan Xiaopang remained confident as ever: still the same thing—Yan Li valuing and protecting her was good, but sometimes he underestimated her too much.

Not to mention Yi'an's background and her own fame and status; ordinary people didn't dare offend her lightly.

Even if someone was fearless enough, she wasn't just sitting around doing nothing!

Seeing her attitude, Yan Li figured he might have been worrying unnecessarily, but since he'd come anyway, he still took Fan Xiaopang around to meet Han Sanye, Wu Baige, and all the other big shots and main creatives on set.

It was a way of emphasizing that Fan Xiaopang was under his protection—give her extra care, extra understanding.

If anyone still planned to cause trouble afterward, don't blame him for "showing care and understanding" toward them.

Although Fan Xiaopang thought Yan Li's gesture was unnecessary, she still very much enjoyed being protected by him.

Being capable and being cherished by someone are two different things!

She even faintly sensed envy in the gaze of a certain supermodel; after all, who in this circle didn't want a powerful backer—especially one with other advantages?

Alerted by this thought, Fan Xiaopang found an excuse to push Yan Li toward Tong Dawei, who had also joined the cast, to catch up.

Yan Li was great in every way, and showing off was satisfying—but he attracted too much attention.

…

Tong Dawei played a common soldier in *Chibi*, skilled at cuju, who had a hazy romantic subplot with Sun Shangxiang, who had infiltrated the camp.

Then, before the story even got started, he died on the battlefield right before Sun Shangxiang's eyes.

From this plotline, it might have been meant to depict the cruelty of war, the simplicity and tragedy of ordinary people—but Yan Li always felt it was just pure padding for runtime.

*Chibi* had an absurd number of baffling plotlines.

If they could cut them, why not make a 200-minute extended cut that told the whole story in one film?

But there was no choice—the grand director had his own artistic vision and rhythm; the big stars needed enough screen time; the investors wanted to harvest two rounds of profits from the audience; so the movie naturally split into two parts.

Yet, no one seemed to mention: what if the first part tanked in reputation, and no one watched the second?

Although Yan Li thought the role was dispensable, Tong Dawei himself performed it with real energy.

Mainly because he hadn't starred in many films, and *Chibi* was an international blockbuster with a super production scale; as the only mainland male lead in the cast, this might be the most significant moment of his career.

Yan Li didn't care much about Tong Dawei's career—he wasn't his own artist—but as a friend, he preferred to gossip about his love life.

"Still in touch with that guy named Jiang… what's his name?"

According to Dong Xuan's intel, Tong Dawei had been trying hard to win back Guan Yue; though they hadn't officially reconciled, it was practically the same—rumor had it they were living together again.

It was a bit like his own past with Dong Xuan: relationship restored, but no formal status—unclear whether Guan Yue was controlling Tong Dawei or whether this guy had other hidden motives.

"We broke up long ago."

Tong Dawei put on the look of a reformed man, with a touch of embarrassment—after all, Guan Yue had caught him cheating, and Yan Li had been there.

"Really clean now?"

Yan Li didn't quite believe it; maybe it was his heart, or maybe he himself couldn't do it, so he took a pessimistic view on human nature in this regard.

Honest gentlemen who never stray exist—but once someone has strayed, it's hard for them to turn back.

The saying "cheating is either zero times or countless times" may be extreme, but it's not without reason.

"I'm truly clean now—if you don't believe me, go ask. I broke up with her before Spring Festival, and since then, not a single contact. If I'm lying…"

Tong Dawei was about to swear to heaven, but Yan Li stopped him—he wasn't Guan Yue. Let him swear a damn oath.

Still, now that Tong Dawei had reformed, with no comparison left, Yan Li felt awkward.

But he couldn't sabotage his friend's relationship just to make himself feel better—these were friends; he couldn't bring himself to destroy someone else's happy couple like that.

He patted Tong Dawei on the shoulder: "Settle down and live well. I'm looking forward to drinking your wedding wine."

Tong Dawei smiled: "No rush on the wedding wine."

He had indeed promised marriage to win Guan Yue back, but now he was in the upward phase of his career—no need to rush marriage; even if they married, they might not hold a public ceremony—celebrities hiding marriages was common.

Yan Li smiled too—Tong Dawei wasn't in a hurry, but Guan Yue was.