Chapter 3

After passing the director's audition, Seeing Yan Li's role was finally secured.

With Wang Decai helping him go through back channels, Seeing Yan Li quickly signed the official contract with the crew and received part of his payment.

Not forgetting Wang Decai's contribution within the lines, and knowing he'd still need favors from him later, Seeing Yan Li immediately arranged to treat him to dinner.

In the production of "Sui Tang Hero Legend," the role of Yuwen Chengdu had limited screen time, but it was still decent.

Excluding female roles, he definitely couldn't make the top five male leads; at best, he was barely the tenth male lead—going further back would be impolite.

Regardless, this role was officially paid per episode.

"Sui Tang Hero Legend" totaled 40 episodes; Seeing Yan Li's scenes added up to 15 episodes, with 800 yuan per episode, totaling 12,000 yuan.

This sum was substantial!

At the turn of the century, many ordinary people earned only a few hundred yuan per month; extras on Hengdian earned just 20 to 30 yuan per day, some even less than 15 yuan—12,000 yuan was more than they could earn in a year.

This was the most money Seeing Yan Li had ever earned in his life.

Previously, when running auditions in Jingcheng, he mostly did bit parts and stunt doubles—exhausting himself all day for earnings so meager he'd feel guilty just taking the bus back to school.

Indeed, the relative who had once urged him to take the Beijing Film Academy entrance exam was right: acting was a way to make money.

He hadn't even made it big yet—just landed a minor role—and already earned this much; if he ever rose to any prominence, it would far surpass him staying home to inherit his family's small restaurant by a hundredfold…

Today there was a night shoot, so Wang Decai had to stay on set; thus, the dinner invitation was postponed for two days.

Seeing Yan Li had no shooting duties for now, so he collected his script and went to the makeup room to change costumes.

Slightly afraid of running into Wang Xiu's older brother… or sister?, Seeing Yan Li specifically asked—and luckily, Wang Xiu was out on errands, which relieved him.

Removing makeup was much faster than applying it; soon he was done, changed clothes, and strolled back to the inn.

On the way, he bought some food so he wouldn't need to go out for dinner, then found a bank and exchanged some cash.

Back at the inn, he locked the door, took out the red cardstock he'd casually bought at the convenience store, and folded it into an envelope.

Then, from the cash he'd just withdrawn, he counted out 2,000 yuan and slipped it inside; after pausing to think, he gritted his teeth and added another 1,000 yuan.

This red envelope was for Wang Decai!

Seeing Yan Li got this role thanks to the man's considerable help—this wasn't something a single meal could repay; giving a red envelope was a token of gratitude.

Whether he accepted it or not was one thing, but the gesture had to be proper.

Besides, he'd need the man's help again in the future—this was an investment. Today's 3,000-yuan envelope might lead to another role worth tens of thousands tomorrow.

You must give to receive!

Even his family's small restaurant needed to spend on good ingredients to make money—you couldn't be penny-pinching and expect success.

The crew had only paid him 4,000 yuan so far, and he still needed to keep some for living expenses; otherwise, he'd have happily given a 5,000-yuan envelope without hesitation.

After securing the envelope, planning to give it at a suitable opportunity, Seeing Yan Li picked up his script and read it carefully.

He knew well: while connections in the industry mattered, the key to rising in acting was having real skill.

Only when you perform well do connections matter; relying solely on favors or system intel to shortcut your way, you might still miss your chance when it comes.

Though Yuwen Chengdu was a minor role, it was an opportunity many of his classmates could only dream of—he couldn't afford to waste it.

————

Seeing Yan Li had never read the script of "Sui Tang Hero Legend" before.

When "Sui Tang Hero Legend" had held auditions in Jingcheng, Seeing Yan Li had casually submitted his materials upon hearing the news.

At first, he hadn't taken it seriously, even complaining that Hengdian was too far and less convenient than nearby productions around Jingcheng.

Later, through the system's monthly 【Monthly Intelligence】 report—which contained suspected future information—he learned this drama might become popular, and only then did he start paying attention.

Leveraging this intelligence advantage, Seeing Yan Li met Wang Decai and learned about his background.

Afterwards, he tailored his approach to Wang Decai's preferences, gradually building a relationship and securing the role of Yuwen Chengdu through him.

But as a minor supporting actor, still new and with no contract finalized before joining the crew, he had no right to get the script in advance.

Yet even without reading it, Seeing Yan Li still knew about Yuwen Chengdu.

After all, as a child, he'd listened to many of Shan Tianfang's storytelling recordings and had read some books like "Sui Tang Yanyi," "Xing Tang Zhuan," and "Shuo Tang."

Yuwen Chengdu, the second greatest warrior of the Sui and Tang dynasties, the General General Tianbao General of the Sui Dynasty, wielded a Phoenix-Winged Gold-Trimmed Spear, rode the Sai Long Wu Ban Ju, and was utterly invincible, unmatched in strength throughout the entire army.

Among all Sui and Tang generals, only Li Yuanba, the greatest warrior, surpassed him; Yuwen Chengdu had only lost slightly to Pei Yuanqing, the third greatest warrior, at Siping Mountain.

That was only because Yuwen Chengdu had exhausted himself after defeating the fourth, fifth, and sixth greatest warriors one-on-one—Pei Yuanqing's victory was not honorable.

As for Qin Qiong, Wei Chi Gong, the Five Tigers of Wagang, and others—they couldn't even match Yuwen Chengdu's single hand.

To play such an invincible warrior—even though he knew from Wang Decai's words that the character was a villain—Seeing Yan Li was extremely excited and eager.

A badass villain who crushes the hero underfoot? That's way more fun to act!

Besides, Yuwen Chengdu was just a pure brute—how bad could he really be?

Yet after reading the script, Seeing Yan Li realized he'd vastly underestimated the screenwriter's lack of integrity.

Did this damn screenwriter even read "Sui Tang Yanyi"?

Being a villain was fine—slight vilification was normal—but this script vilified Yuwen Chengdu way too much.

Despicable, arrogant, cowardly, constantly spouting trash talk, yet never winning a single fight—this wasn't the General General Tianbao General; this was a clown.

What really baffled him was the scene where he led the line to kidnap Li Rongrong.

Yuwen Chengdu threw the screenwriter's child into a well? How could they treat the character like this?

He was nothing but a vile scoundrel—calling him a scoundrel was even too generous; ordinary Japanese soldiers in wartime dramas weren't this hateful.

Seeing Yan Li scratched his head over the script, feeling a tiny twinge of regret.

After all, as a graduate of Beijing Film Academy, he knew roles had no hierarchy—good actors could play both heroes and villains, and he didn't mind playing villains.

But this was his first real acting role, and he was young; facing such an extreme character right away, his psyche naturally struggled to adjust.

Fortunately, Seeing Yan Li had decent mental resilience—key point: the contract was signed, the money was in hand, regret was useless now.

Moreover, from another perspective, though such a character was disgusting and irritating, it also made audiences remember you—advantageous for an actor.

"I'm an actor; it's all fake..."

Seeing Yan Li muttered a few phrases, calmed his emotions, picked up the script again, and silently began memorizing his lines, starting with the most intense passage.

To temper his temperament, tackle the hard first, then the easy; once he mastered this part, everything else would be nothing.

"I, Yuwen Chengdu, hate wasting things—I always finish every grain of rice in my bowl."

"Heh, she asked if I dared—do you dare?"

"Fine, follow my order—line up outside."

"Fuck, this screenwriter is a real bastard..."

(End of Chapter)