Chapter 275

In May, "Struggle" premiered; though it had not yet aired on national channels, its performance on local stations was exceptionally strong, prompting Yi'an's distribution strategy to be adjusted accordingly.

With the popularity of "Struggle," several lead actors received varying benefits.

Qin Lan's Teddy Sisters Group is suspected to be the biggest winner, since Li Xiaolu and Ma Yili are main characters, with Ma even considered the female lead.

Ma Yili's boyfriend, Wen Zhang, who plays the male second lead in the drama, also gained considerable exposure.

Not to mention they still have "The Deer and the Cauldron," starring Huo Siyan, Ying Cai'er, and Liu Yun.

This drama is scheduled to air during the summer season and is expected to perform well; "The Deer and the Cauldron" plus "Struggle," along with the previously popular "Great Qing Harem," featuring Qin Lan, Huo Siyan, Zhao Ke, and others.

The Teddy Sisters Group, already powerful, grew even stronger, with significantly more media coverage.

While the Teddy Sisters Group reaped benefits, Dong Xuan's side was not idle either.

With "Struggle" trending, no one could avoid the male lead, Tong Dawei.

Guan Yue firmly held the second position on Dong Xuan's side, firmly suppressing Yang Xue and Jiang Xin, partly because she was closest to Dong Xuan, but also because her boyfriend was powerful.

The Teddy Sisters Group waited for "The Deer and the Cauldron" to premiere, while Dong Xuan's side had "The Legend of Chu Liuxiang."

Although Dong Xuan's side currently lacked the numbers and influence of the Teddy Sisters Group, they were not passive.

Both sides held their own ground with considerable momentum, plus there was also Wang Ou, quietly accumulating wealth.

Even Fan Xiaopang, who wasn't particularly interested in this, felt some pressure.

How to put it? Ants can overwhelm an elephant, and among them, several were wolves.

Fan Xiaopang was not afraid, but felt that direct confrontation lowered her status and offered poor cost-effectiveness.

Thus, Fan Xiaopang began consciously improving her social circle.

At this time, Sun Li appeared, determined to connect with her.

Since "Red Cliff" temporarily had no scenes for Sun Shangxiang, Fan Xiaopang took ten days off to return to Beijing for work; Sun Li seized the opportunity to invite Yan Li and Fan Xiaopang to dinner.

After dinner, it seemed the two met privately again; by the time Fan Xiaopang returned to the "Red Cliff" set, they had already posted a blog photo with their faces pressed together.

This efficiency made Yan Li suspect one of them had a system.

In reality, it wasn't hard to understand: Sun Li and Deng Chao wanted to align with Fan Xiaopang to establish themselves at Yi'an and gain advantages.

Fan Xiaopang wished to cultivate a good relationship with Deng Chao, the future top figure of the company, and was eager to make new connections; Sun Li had sufficient fame and status, and their interests aligned.

You have feelings, I have intentions; mutual benefit is natural. If the relationship didn't progress quickly, it would mean both had low emotional intelligence.

For Yan Li, Fan Xiaopang's friendship with Sun Li was not a bad thing—it instantly won over the popular couple Deng and Sun, saving him considerable effort.

But for Qin Lan, Dong Xuan, and others, this seemed "terrifying."

…

Fuli City

When Huo Siyan had no work, she came here more often than to her own home; Yan Li had encountered her many times.

Having visited so often, she grew increasingly casual, wearing simply a shirt and short skirt, barefoot, petting Qin Lan's Teddy dog while reporting the news she'd gathered.

"Sun Li is definitely after 'Painted Skin.' I heard her agent Chang Jihong visited Yi'an before."

"Look, now that she's connected with Fan and Deng Chao, and they speak for her, her market value has skyrocketed."

"How shameless—she's supposed to be one of Hai Run's top actresses; to beg for a role by kissing Fan's ass is humiliating."

…

Li Xiaolu, snacking beside her, couldn't help glancing at Huo Siyan.

How could she say that? In terms of kissing ass, Sun Li was nowhere near as bad as Huo Siyan.

Qin Lan quietly stirred the coffee on the table, then handed one cup to Li Xiaolu.

"Xiaolu, prepare yourself mentally for the role in 'Painted Skin.'"

Li Xiaolu nodded; she wasn't particularly eager for the role—she was mostly being pushed by Huo Siyan.

In her heart, getting it would be great, but not getting it wasn't the end of the world.

Huo Siyan, however, remained unwilling to give up: "Sis, you're too pessimistic. Little Four (Li Xiaolu's ranking in the sister group) did well with 'Struggle'—maybe General Yan will consider her."

Qin Lan looked at her: "Is Sun Li's 'New Shanghai滩' performance poor?"

"Jade Guanyin," "Blood Romantic," "Happiness Is Like a Flower," "Huo Yuanjia," "New Shanghai滩"…

Over the past few years, Sun Li has had a solid work every year.

In terms of fame and status, she's already in the first tier outside the "Four Dan and Two Bing," merely lagging slightly in popularity, exposure, and film roles.

None of the Teddy Sisters Group, including Ma Yili and Qin Lan, is more popular than her.

Originally, because of the "Two Bing" stigma, many dared not take the "Painted Skin" role; Sun Li was the top favorite. Without Qin Lan's support, Li Xiaolu couldn't have competed with her.

Now that Sun Li has allied with Fan Xiaopang, if she can persuade Fan to support her, the outcome is obvious.

Better to withdraw early and keep some dignity; if you fight on and lose, and Fan Xiaopang steps on you, the humiliation will be immense.

"But…"

Huo Siyan still wanted to persuade further, but Qin Lan stopped her: "Listen to me—this is final."

Liu Yun, who had been silent until now, chimed in: "Don't pressure Lan Jie—wait for another opportunity next time."

Liu Yun had no strong opinion on Li Xiaolu playing "Painted Skin."

If she succeeds, it benefits the Teddy Sisters Group overall; if she fails, it tempers the arrogance of Huo and Li internally—either way, she accepts it, and follows Qin Lan's lead.

Seeing this, Huo Siyan knew it was hopeless and sighed heavily, trying to justify herself.

"I'm just furious—why does everything good always go to the Fanes?"

Huo Siyan was somewhat jealous of Fan Xiaopang.

Under Yan Li's support, Fan Xiaopang rose like a rocket, becoming one of China's most popular actresses in just a few years, making a fortune and enjoying unparalleled glory.

Meanwhile, Fan Xiaopang monopolized many resources within Yi'an and sometimes even sabotaged them.

Add to that old grudges from "Huan Tian Xi Di" and other past conflicts, and on matters concerning Fan Xiaopang, Huo Siyan was sometimes even more aggressive than Qin Lan.

Hmm, same goes for Dong Xuan.

How to put it? Huo Siyan has firmly held the position of Qin Lan's closest and most trusted sister, and her hatred toward Dong and Fan has contributed significantly to that.

Qin Lan once worried that Ma Yili was a turncoat, feared that Li Xiaolu was juggling multiple men, and even feared Liu Yun might one day waver in loyalty.

Only Huo Siyan would never betray her in this regard—even if she wanted to betray, Fan and Dong wouldn't even acknowledge her; added to that, Huo Siyan had also made enemies of Wang Ou and others, so she had alienated everyone around her and could only cling to Qin Lan and the Teddy Sisters.

"It's just a temporary setback; she hasn't won yet. Relax."

Qin Lan comforted Huo Siyan, took her Teddy dog back from her hands, and petted it twice.

"Let's talk about something cheerful. Yu Zheng called me two days ago—the role of Huo in 'The Last Huanzhu Gege' is officially confirmed, and there are a few supporting roles. I'm thinking about whether I can push a few of the sisters to take them."

Originally, when 'The Great Qing Imperial Harem' was greenlit, Yu Zheng chose to side with Qin Lan.

Although Fan Xiaopang's growing dominance in the company, along with Wang Ou's ties to his old classmates, had made this guy somewhat ambiguous in attitude, his relationship with Qin Lan remained close.

Currently, Yu Zheng has two projects: 'Xiao Yanzhi Snow' and 'The Last Huanzhu Gege'—both are Republican-era themes.

The former stars Fan Xiaopang; the Teddy Sisters have no need to get involved.

The latter, however, Qin Lan secured for Huo Siyan as the female lead.

Of course, that was also Yu Zheng's intention—he holds considerable influence over this project; even if Qin Lan wanted to promote someone, she still needed Yu Zheng's approval.

Yu Zheng personally admires Huo Siyan—he had always praised her during 'The Great Qing Imperial Harem'.

He loves actresses like Huo Siyan who can portray innocent little white rabbits and then transform into venomous, scheming women—pure, seductive, and detestable all at once.

After securing the lead role, Qin Lan wanted to go further and grab a few supporting roles—since someone had to play them anyway, why not let the Teddy Sisters build team cohesion?

These supporting roles are beneath Li Xiaolu and Ma Yili's notice and useless to them, but they'd still benefit Liu Yun, Zhao Ke, and Xiong Naijin.

"Sis, aren't you acting in it?"

Huo Siyan was curious—since 'Again, A Curtain of Dreams', Qin Lan had barely acted in anything.

"I am acting, but not in this one. I'm doing films—'Peach Blossom Luck' and 'Love Transfer 2'."

Qin Lan is also working—both films have many female roles, so she took them all.

Especially 'Peach Blossom Luck'—she starred alongside Fan Xiaopang, but since the film is structured in segments, the two barely shared any scenes and never met.

Besides that, a spy drama had approached her.

Originally, Qin Lan planned to decline it, seeing it was a second female lead—but Yan Li happened to read the script, found it interesting, and persuaded her to accept it; reportedly, he also planned to invest.