Chapter 298: “Painted Skin

Hengdian, exterior location

Deng Chao, wearing a demonic, wild-haired appearance, was held by Wu Jing, then stabbed to death by Sun Li with a single thrust.

Before dying, Deng Chao cried out with deep, desperate longing, "Xiao Wei," then fell silent.

Then, Sun Li crawled into Wu Jing's dying arms; they exchanged a glance, Wu Jing smiled and passed away, and Sun Li clutched him, wailing loudly.

This scene, blending reality with heavy black comedy, made Seeing Yan Li unable to resist snacking on sunflower seeds beside the set.

But soon, it would be Deng Chao and Sun Li's turn to snack on sunflower seeds.

With the supporting cast out of the way, it was the lead's battle now.

Chronologically, the lead confronts first, then the supporting cast kills each other, but since Fan Xiaopang and Li Bingbing were scheduled for their final interview, they filmed Deng Chao's scene first, then Seeing Yan Li's.

This scene is the film's climax, yet all three of Seeing Yan Li's cast remained calm.

One reason was confidence in their skill; another was that Seeing Yan Li had practiced privately many times—though the trio had never rehearsed together, the two leads had rehearsed their scenes more than once.

Fan Xiaopang had the most lines, not just dialogue scenes but also action sequences.

Then came Seeing Yan Li: he first sent off Li Bingbing, then faced off against Fan Xiaopang.

In the plot, Fan Xiaopang's fox spirit's scheme had failed; Wang's wife's death had finally shattered Wang Sheng's hesitation and cowardice, driving him to seek the fox spirit's power to resurrect his wife.

The fox spirit knew she could never win Wang Sheng's heart again; love turned to hatred, her heart shattered with unbearable sorrow, she stared blankly at Seeing Yan Li.

"If you love her so much, why don't you die with her?"

Seeing Yan Li's eyes reddened, his voice calm: "If I die, will you bring her back?"

"…."

Finally, after self-revelation, he delivered the core of his entire character—and the entire film—to Fan Xiaopang.

"I love you, but Peirong is already there."

With that, he stabbed himself; Fan Xiaopang, interpreting these words as Seeing Yan Li abandoning her for another woman someday, stared numbly at his corpse, expression lost and helpless, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.

Seeing Yan Li always felt Fan Xiaopang was the best performer among them in this film.

One reason was that Xiao Wei was a complex role with many high points, offering ample room for an actor with ability to shape it.

Another was that Fan Xiaopang often deeply empathized with the character, immersed herself emotionally, and delivered a natural, precise performance.

After Seeing Yan Li died, the scene transitioned into the earlier fight sequence; aside from Sun Li's few lines, it was almost entirely Fan Xiaopang's solo performance.

Fan Xiaopang carried it all flawlessly—explosive when needed, restrained when required—making Seeing Yan Li nod repeatedly, and Li Bingbing wear a Serious Expression.

Back when they were at Huayi, Fan Xiaopang's acting was decent, but merely decent—she never thought it was particularly impressive.

But now, co-starring in "Painted Skin," she truly felt Fan Xiaopang's rapid improvement.

Many of their duets were evenly matched, and sometimes Fan Xiaopang even overshadowed her in key moments; though the role helped, her raw talent deserved serious attention.

Li Bingbing was baffled: Fan Xiaopang's career had surged these past two years, but how had her acting skyrocketed too?

"She finally woke up."

Seeing Yan Li's answer was simple: in acting, logic and reason often don't apply.

A pretty face turns into a powerhouse performer; veteran actors crash while newcomers dominate; self-taught amateurs outshine trained professionals.

Take this year's hit "Soldier's Sortie."

That Wang Baoqiang—he's the ultimate self-taught amateur—while every other actor was a seasoned pro, many with years of stage experience, he stole every scene.

And Seeing Yan Li had always believed a truth: fame nurtures people, and fame elevates acting.

Acting is an art; human factors matter immensely—it demands technical skill, but emphasizes personal state and confidence.

When an actor becomes famous, confidence rises, their state improves, and as long as the role fits, every performance works.

This wasn't Seeing Yan Li making it up; there were many examples in the industry.

Actors who were once mediocre suddenly exploded at their career peak, delivering one landmark role after another.

You could call it "waking up," or say fame made them perform better, and better performances fueled more fame—a positive cycle: they acted better, became more famous, acted even better.

Fan Xiaopang was exactly like that: she always had talent and intuition, plenty of experience, her career surged in two years, her confidence and state improved, and the roles were perfectly suited to her strengths—of course her progress was lightning-fast.

Hearing Seeing Yan Li's explanation, Li Bingbing fell into thought.

She herself had progressed quickly these past two years; she'd assumed it was age and experience, but now she saw it was also mindset—and she'd even figured out why their longtime rival, Young Master Zhou, was such a strong actor.

"No wonder that Zhou has been winning awards nonstop these past two years?"

Seeing Yan Li paused: "In my view, her confidence is one factor, but mainly, she's just gifted."

Li Bingbing: "…."

Can you even speak properly?!

Seeing Yan Li shrugged: among the Four Dan and Two Bing, the two universally recognized as best in acting and most honored were Zhou and Zhang.

Zhang Ziyi excelled in comprehensive ability—everything she did was polished, naturally suited for the big screen.

Young Master Zhou, by contrast, had far inferior physical conditions and wasn't classically trained; she got this far purely on raw talent.

Compared to them, the Two Bing ranked only in the middle.

Fan Xiaopang succeeded because of her face, and failed because of it too—her role options were limited, and people ignored her acting altogether.

Li Bingbing's overall condition and talent were fairly "ordinary"; she made up for it entirely through effort and experience.

Seeing Yan Li personally felt Xiao Yanzi's acting talent surpassed both of them, but she'd distracted herself, letting the Two Bing overtake her.

As for Xu Cai'nv, she consistently ranked at the bottom.

This sister had acted in many roles, yet had no standout works or memorable scenes, so Seeing Yan Li's impression of her was simply 【Widow Face】—as if she'd lost her husband and was perpetually gloomy.

"Good, cut."

Director Chen Jiashang called out; Fan Xiaopang got up, the others lay back down, and the cinematographer began shooting close-ups.

According to the plot, Fan Xiaopang would vanish, the others would be revived, and some special effects shots were needed.

After finishing these shots, the scene was complete, and "Painted Skin" entered its final countdown to wrap.

Fan Xiaopang was the first to finish filming; Seeing Yan Li, Li Bingbing, and the others had only scattered scenes, and the entire crew would wrap up in about two to three days.

"Finally over."

Fan Xiaopang let out a long sigh after wrapping; the project "Painted Skin" had weighed heavily on her.

They said Li Bingbing and Fan Xiaopang carried the film, but Li Bingbing was just here for the paycheck—success meant extra benefits, failure meant she still got exposure and salary.

She was different; this project was tied to Yi'an—if it lost money, she, as boss lady, top actress, and responsible party, would suffer serious backlash.

Even with Seeing Yan Li's protection, it wouldn't matter—the company speaks in performance metrics.

You're handed a billion-yuan blockbuster to carry, and you can't hold up? Next time you try to compete for a similar project, you'll face resistance.

In the adult world, things aren't that easy; Fan Xiaopang has Seeing Yan Li's backing and a high tolerance for error, but even she has limits.

So during the filming of "Painted Skin," Fan Xiaopang took it very seriously.

If the movie loses money, it's not necessarily all her fault—but if her performance is bad, she won't be able to dodge blame.

Now that filming's done, she feels her performance was decent; the most critical work is over, and the rest will be handled by Seeing Yan Li and the others—she just needs to cooperate.

Watching Fan Xiaopang's relief, Li Bingbing also looked relaxed; Seeing Yan Li smiled.

"We three won't make it to the wrap party—few days ago was my birthday, I got two bottles of fine wine. Want some?"

Fan Xiaopang is entering the set of "Crimson Snow" today; Li Bingbing is leaving the set immediately after finishing her scenes.

Unless something brings them together, the three won't gather again until next year's promotional period.

Fan Xiaopang's eyes narrowed suspiciously: "Your fox tail's showing, isn't it? Last day, planning trouble?"

Li Bingbing also sneered: "Drinking alcohol makes it easier for you to pull something, right?"

Over the past few weeks, Seeing Yan Li had been scheming to get the two of them alone, but both had seen through him or avoided him—today, the final day, they were already on guard.

"What do you two think I am?"

Seeing Yan Li put on a wounded expression: "This collaboration went smoothly overall—I'm truly grateful for your support and understanding. On the last day, let's eat and drink a little, just to show our appreciation and close things on a good note."

"Also, I'd like to sit down with you two and discuss Weibo and that spy film in detail. We're all busy, rarely get time to meet—so it's natural to clear things up while we're all here."

Seeing Yan Li swore to heaven he truly wanted to talk business with them; yes, he had certain intentions, but they weren't the main focus.

After all, if it didn't work out this time, there's still the promotional period, and another movie coming—there'll always be chances. No rush.

Fan Xiaopang and Li Bingbing exchanged glances; Seeing Yan Li's reasoning held water, but caution was wise.

"If we're gathering, why not invite Sun Li and the others too? Consider it an early wrap party."

Seeing Yan Li nodded: "Sure."

After a few calls, each went to remove makeup and change clothes; soon, nearly ten people—including Deng Chao—arrived and set up one table at the hotel.

"Come on, try this—Louis XIII Black Crystal Collection, hailed as the King of Cognac."

Seeing Yan Li pulled out a bottle with a black crystal body and poured some for everyone.

He didn't much care for red wine, but he could handle spirits—there were too many varieties, too many flavors, more novel than red wine or baijiu.

So people who knew his taste would go out of their way to find rare wines for him to sample.

Deng Chao, the eternal cheerleader, eyed the elegant bottle: "This wine isn't cheap, is it?"

"Not expensive—under 100,000 yuan."