Chapter 289: Knowing Martial Arts Doesn

Jiang Xin arrived quickly.

It was just luck—she had just finished filming a drama nearby in Xiangshan, so she came as soon as she heard the news.

Over the past year, Jiang Xin has progressed well.

She was one of the main creators of The Legend of Xue Rengui and gained visibility through it; her lead role in The Legend of Yang Yuhuan delivered impressive ratings.

Her lead role in The Magic Sword of Life and Death is also noteworthy, especially in certain regions where viewership nearly reached dominant levels.

Jiang Xin, once a minor name, has now climbed to second-tier status thanks to these dramas.

Female stars at this level normally don't lack roles—at least not in the short term.

But whether she can consistently land lead roles still depends on resources and fortune.

As for these two factors, Jiang Xin isn't outstanding, but she's not weak either; as long as she's not too picky, her chances of landing a lead role are high.

It's said that the richer you are, the easier it is to make more money; similarly, the more famous you are, the easier it is to become even more popular.

Over the past two years, Yi'an has grown stronger, investing in and distributing numerous dramas; even those with no direct collaboration still exchange favors or are willing to grant Yan Li face.

Placing actors isn't hard for Yan Li, but what roles they get still depends on the actors themselves.

You can force-push an unknown, untalented actor into a lead role, but it requires Yan Li to invest resources and favors.

Resources don't matter—Yan Li doesn't lack them; favors aren't something he avoids either. Business is about helping each other; favors are inevitable.

But not avoiding favors doesn't mean all favors are equal; you must consider whose favor it is, and how big a favor it is.

From a cost-benefit perspective, it's better for Yan Li to simply pull from his own projects.

When Jiang Xin was obscure, arranging roles for her was difficult; now that she's famous, even though she's competing for lead and second female roles, he finds it easier to handle—even sometimes just needing to give a casual word.

Even this time with The Infiltrator, since Jiang Xin didn't perform well, Yan Li couldn't force-push her.

But if Jiang Xin has her own leverage, then under equal—or even slightly inferior—conditions, Yan Li can help her level the playing field or even surpass others.

Sure enough, Jiang Xin arrived first for the audition; her profile was suitable, and she had Yan Li's backing.

This tipped the scales for director Jiang Wei and the crew; though not officially decided, the signs suggested a 70–80% probability.

After hearing Jiang Xin's update, Yan Li added another move—he invited Sun Honglei, the male lead of The Infiltrator, to dinner.

Hengdian, a restaurant private room

Yan Li shook hands with Sun Honglei, slightly nostalgic: "Since The Conquest, we haven't collaborated in years."

When they filmed The Conquest, Sun Honglei was the male lead, while Yan Li was just a minor supporting actor.

Their relationship was neither good nor bad—there wasn't much dialogue between them, so they had little interaction.

Later, Yan Li bought the rights to The Conquest, profited from its distribution, and successfully launched his career; they had a brief honeymoon period and even dined together.

But there were no further collaboration opportunities until now, with The Infiltrator.

As a major shareholder of the production, Yan Li serves as producer of The Infiltrator.

Sun Honglei's eyes were small; when he smiled, they turned into slits: "Yes, hearing you're involved in The Infiltrator gives me real confidence."

As one of the earliest people to know Yan Li, Sun Honglei couldn't help but feel awed whenever he saw the now-powerful Yan Boss.

His memory of Yan Li during The Conquest wasn't strong.

In short, three labels: pretty boy, good drinker, favorite of women.

Even when Yan Li made a fortune from distributing The Conquest, most of The Conquest's main crew saw it as mere luck.

But reality proved he wasn't lucky—he truly had talent. Acting was the wrong career; seizing the opportunity, he became an industry heavyweight in just a few years. Even his patron and boss, Zhao Baogang, now greets him respectfully as "Yan Zong."

Yan Li stood up to pour wine for Sun Honglei, who immediately rose, politely declined twice, cupped his glass with both hands, and waited for Yan Li to sit before thanking him and sitting down.

Though Sun Honglei appears rough on the surface, his emotional intelligence is actually high—otherwise he wouldn't have made it this far.

The entertainment industry is full of schemers; exceptions exist, but someone like Sun Honglei—with poor family background, unremarkable looks, and a slow climb up—is definitely sharp-witted.

"Honglei, your career exploded with The Conquest; I made my first fortune from it too. That proves our collaboration has good fortune—let's hope The Infiltrator is the same."

"Yan Zong, you're absolutely right. I'm benefiting from your influence again. Let me toast you."

"..."

After some small talk, the atmosphere warmed, and Yan Li steered the conversation toward Jiang Xin.

"I think Jiang Xin is perfect for the role of Cuiping—I recommended her to Director Jiang. If you two end up working together, Honglei, you're older and more experienced—help me look out for her."

Jiang Xin stood up promptly to toast: "Brother Honglei, please guide me."

"Oh, no need for formalities—we're friends, let's learn from each other."

Sun Honglei quickly stood up. He wasn't sure of the relationship between Jiang Xin and Yan Li, but given Yan Boss's reputation, he dared not underestimate her.

"Yan Zong, you just said you recommended her—has the role not been decided yet?"

After sitting back down, Sun Honglei carefully chose his words and probed.

Since he was a shrewd man, he knew to listen between the lines. Why would Yan Li go out of his way to host a dinner just to ask him to look out for Jiang Xin? It felt excessive.

Even adding nostalgia, it felt off. Recalling Yan Li's words, Sun Honglei sensed something deeper.

Yan Li gave him an approving look: "It's not decided yet. I've been busy and haven't pressed for details. Since you're on set, you might as well check in on Jiang Xin for me."

This wasn't just checking in—it was clearly asking him to speak up for her.

As the male lead and the actor with the most scenes opposite her, if Sun Honglei supported someone, the impact would be obvious.

"Director Jiang is too cautious. I think Jiang Xin is perfect. I'll speak up—changing actors at the last minute isn't trivial; let's settle it quickly so the actor can prepare."

Sun Honglei pounded his chest loudly. Jiang Xin thanked him again, and Yan Li patted his shoulder.

"Thanks for your effort."

After that, they returned to reminiscing. Yan Li didn't take it too seriously—he only brought Sun Honglei along for added assurance.

In fact, had Yan Li not cared about appearing too aggressive, he would have forced the role onto Jiang Xin the moment she arrived.

Now, Yan Li has shown full respect to The Infiltrator crew and has subtly guided their "choice." If they still refuse to give her the role, it would be a grave disrespect.

He's the investor! Do they really think Yan Zong has no temper?!

"Recently, I acquired the rights to a novel and plan to make a film. I'm considering asking Director Gao to direct. If you're free, you should join us."

Yan Li revealed a film project under development at Yi'an.

Yi'an already has plenty of male actors, but lacks a powerful, rugged leading man.

Not that there are none—he himself fits that mold—but he doesn't have enough time to act, and some of his plans conflict with this project.

So he needed another rugged actor. He admired Zhang Hanyu and Hu Jun, but one was under Huayi, the other under Orange Sky—he preferred not to use them.

After thinking it over, Sun Honglei was a good candidate, and the film's schedule could align with The Infiltrator.

If The Infiltrator succeeded, the film could benefit from the momentum.

"No problem."

Sun Honglei was pleased. He wasn't short of roles, but most were TV dramas—he was weaker in films.

He was signed to Zhao Baogang's Xinbaoyuan, a company focused primarily on TV dramas.

Though Zhao Baogang had strong connections in Beijing's circle, everyone had their own people; Sun Honglei could rarely secure major projects.

Today's conversation opened new possibilities for him—he could now cling to Yan Boss's coattails.

After all, they had history from The Conquest, and Yan Li seemed to hold a decent impression of him—that was a solid foundation.

He didn't know how much it would yield, but at least it was a path—better than waiting helplessly for opportunities.

So during the rest of the dinner, Sun Honglei repeatedly toasted Yan Li, expressing his admiration.

When the meal was nearly over, Yan Li held back Sun Honglei, signaled Jiang Xin to settle the bill, and waited until only the two of them remained in the room before speaking.

"Honglei, take Jiang Xin's matter seriously."

"Rest assured, I've got it covered."

Sun Honglei had a good liquor tolerance, but he wasn't Yan Li's match—especially with Jiang Xin, a formidable female drinker, helping out. He was already half-drunk.

Yan Li paused, then added: "Besides Jiang Xin, also keep an eye on Qin Lan, who plays Zuo Lan."

"Huh?"

Sun Honglei stared blankly at Yan Li. He thought he was only talking about one female lead—why was Yan Li specifically mentioning the second lead? So Qin Lan was also Yan Li's person?

If these two women were together, would they fight?

Sun Honglei's drunkenness vanished. After a moment's hesitation, he asked: "Between the two, who should I prioritize?"

Hmph, sharp focus!

Yan Li tapped the table: "Qin Lan."

He added: "I'm also in Hengdian right now. If anything comes up, just contact me directly."

The Infiltrator wasn't Yan Li's own production—he hadn't placed anyone. With two women involved, he wanted a heavyweight on-site to keep things stable.

He was also using Sun Honglei's mouth to subtly remind others on set: don't let his woman be mistreated or face any unpleasantness.

"I understand."

Sun Honglei nodded. With Yan Li in Hengdian, nothing serious could happen.

After giving his instructions, Yan Li exchanged a few more pleasantries with Sun Honglei, and they parted ways.

"Have you booked a hotel?"

Yan Li asked Jiang Xin, who hurried over—she had just auditioned and dined; she might not have arranged accommodation.

"No."

Jiang Xin lied. She hadn't come alone—she had an assistant who had booked a hotel to wait for news.

Yan Li made no comment—her truthfulness didn't matter.

The film The Painting Skin hadn't started shooting yet; neither of the two women had arrived, and she'd just drunk alcohol. Even if she had booked a hotel, she wouldn't need it.

"Good. The house in Dongyang was cleaned up a few days ago—come with me to check it. See what's missing."

"Sure."

Jiang Xin got in the car smoothly behind Yan Li, then sent a text to her assistant saying she'd run into a friend and was going over to his place—no need to wait for her.

…

Two days later, Jiang Xin officially confirmed her join in "Infiltration"; on the same day, "Painted Skin" began filming.

Originally, the launch of "Painted Skin" was meant to be a grand event, but due to the recent chaos among the Four Dan and Two Bing, interest had cooled, so Yan Li opted for a low-key approach.

Promotion is fine, but too much backfires—now that the film has just started filming, overdoing marketing would only trigger audience backlash and backfire.

Because of the low-key launch, Yan Li let the Two Bing, who hadn't yet joined the set, focus on their own projects.

For instance, Fan Xiaopang was filming "Love Blossoms," expected to join the set in about a week; Li Bingbing might arrive two days earlier.

With the Two Bing not yet arrived, they could film Yan Li's scenes and those of the supporting male lead, Wu Jing.

He portrayed Pang Yong, whose role had been reduced.

Originally, they'd planned to cast Wu Yue in this role, but after screen tests, the look didn't work, so Wu Yue ended up playing only a general under the male lead.

Wu Jing had a better appearance, and more importantly, he was a film actor—though mostly in supporting roles—with experience and some influence.

Another key point: he was cheap, at least far cheaper than Zhao Wenzhuo.

This had been the first-choice actor, but Yan Li rejected him after his price soared—he demanded more than Sun Li, nearly matching the Two Bing's rates.

After script revisions, this so-called male second lead, Pang Yong, didn't even have as many standout moments or screen time as Deng Chao's lizard spirit; the crew was even considering demoting him to male third lead.

Under these circumstances, Yan Li and the crew didn't want to pay a high salary—they preferred Wu Jing, who delivered quality work at a low price.

Yan Li and Wu Jing's first scene together was a fight sequence, part of a flashback.

It depicted two comrades-in-arms going into battle together: Wang Sheng earned glory and won the woman's heart, while Pang Yong failed in both career and love, later leaving the army to open a small shop and sink into laziness.

Before filming, they ran through the choreography.

The "Painted Skin" script didn't specify weapons for the two characters, but the action director designed some based on the actors' physiques.

All three had rich fight experience—including Yan Li, who wasn't an action actor but had done fight scenes in most of his recent roles—and they quickly settled on a general style.

Yan Li was tall and muscular, so he used a long spear, moving with broad, forceful strokes; Wu Jing was shorter, so he used twin daggers, moving with agility and speed.

This wasn't fixed—later, as the plot progressed, it could change; for example, when Yan Li became a general, he might switch to a sword.

When Wu Jing fought monsters, if his twin daggers lacked damage or range, he could switch to a long-handled broadsword or similar.

After all, this was a movie, not reality—action scenes needed variety and flair; audiences loved spectacle.

Director Yan held a long spear and effortlessly spun a flourish, addressing his co-actor.

"I'm strong—if you feel the force is too much, just say so, I'll hold back."

The co-actor was from the stunt team; for fight scenes like this, extras weren't reliable—stunt performers were used almost exclusively.

This stunt performer had never worked with Yan Li before, didn't know him well, and assumed the boss was just bragging—he grinned and said:

"Director Yan, go ahead—I can handle it."