Chapter 34

Wang Jing, outside a barbecue restaurant

"Lao Dong, this—"

Guan Yue waved her hand; Dong Xuan pulled Yan Li over: "Sorry we're late."

"No problem."

Guan Yue waved it off, but as she linked arms with Dong Xuan and headed into the restaurant, she leaned close and whispered teasingly: "Half an hour late—did you do something naughty at home?"

"What are you talking about?"

Dong Xuan was speechless at her friend's filthy mind: "I went with Yan Li to buy a phone."

"His phone broke?"

"No, Yan Li's phone is an old Nokia model—it can't send texts. He's about to go to Shishi to shoot a drama, so communication is inconvenient."

"I get it."

Guan Yue suddenly understood: "So calling isn't enough—you're buying him a new phone to send text messages and flirt."

While the two women chattered, Yan Li was chatting with Tong Dawei on the other side.

Yan Li pulled out a cigarette pack and offered one to Tong Dawei, who shook his head.

"Guan Yue won't let me smoke—I quit."

Yan Li was slightly surprised, but didn't press; he put the cigarette away.

He didn't really have a strong habit—he usually smoked only a few cigarettes a day at home, sometimes none at all. Offering cigarettes was just a social habit he picked up for outings: a way to show friendliness and bridge distance.

Perhaps feeling that refusing the cigarette was rude, Tong Dawei took the initiative to start a conversation.

"Sorry about last time—I panicked and misunderstood. Let me apologize."

"It's nothing."

Yan Li hadn't given it a second thought; instead, he asked curiously: "What's your situation with Guan Yue now? I heard from Dong Xuan you two aren't together yet?"

Tong Dawei gave a bitter smile: "She says she's testing me. I'll just keep trying."

Testing?

Yan Li glanced at Guan Yue, then at Tong Dawei, said nothing, but internally doubted it.

It was normal for a girl to be reserved with a suitor, to play hard to get—he'd had to work hard to win Dong Xuan too.

Back then, Yan Li didn't have an intelligence system.

Otherwise, he could've easily understood her mindset, catered to her preferences, found two key moments to break through, and achieved twice the result with half the effort.

For example, at Hengdian, if Yan Li hadn't had system help to precisely close the distance several times, he and Qin Lan would've struggled to become close friends.

Still, even if Tong Dawei lacked a system and was emotionally slow, two young people who clearly liked each other and saw each other often shouldn't take this long to get together.

There's definitely something fishy here!

Yan Li couldn't figure it out right away, and didn't plan to waste energy on it—whether they got together or not had nothing to do with him.

As long as Guan Yue didn't give Dong Xuan any stupid ideas, she could do whatever she wanted.

Yan Li didn't care about Tong Dawei and Guan Yue's relationship, but Tong Dawei was very curious about Yan Li and Dong Xuan's.

Because he'd been seeing Guan Yue often lately, he'd heard plenty of her complaints about some heartless man, lamenting how Dong Xuan was weak-willed, and learned a lot of the inside story of the "Yan-Dong romance."

The more he learned, the more Tong Dawei was awed and envious of Yan Li's ability to completely dominate Dong Xuan.

Put more bluntly—

Coach, I want to learn this!

So throughout dinner, Tong Dawei was extremely attentive to Yan Li, who at first didn't understand, thinking it was just to make up for his earlier mistake.

Later, at the karaoke second round, the kid took advantage of going to the restroom with Yan Li to hint indirectly at his real intention—only then did Yan Li understand.

"Sorry, I don't take apprentices."

Yan Li had no interest in meddling—helping wouldn't benefit him, failing would make him enemies on both sides, and he'd end up doing all the work for nothing.

"Big brother, please help me—I've been chasing Guan Yue for so long, I'm out of options."

Tong Dawei went all out, calling Yan Li "big brother" and begging repeatedly.

Remember, during dinner they'd exchanged birthdates—Tong was born in February 1979, nearly two years older than Yan Li, born in November 1980.

Not only was he slightly older, but his fame and status were also higher than Yan Li's.

Yan Li was still an unknown—officially, he'd only starred in one drama, not yet aired.

Tong Dawei, though not hugely famous yet, had debuted in the late 90s and appeared in numerous dramas, some as lead actor.

More importantly, according to Dong Xuan, Tong Dawei had starred in a movie as the male lead opposite Xu Jinglei, one of the Four Little Goddesses, and another Haiyan drama was pending release—also as the male lead.

That was impressive!

A movie with a top goddess, plus a Haiyan drama—especially the latter, which carried serious weight.

Two years ago, the Haiyan drama "Never Close My Eyes" went viral, propelling Lu Yi into the ranks of the Four Little Kings of the Mainland, and Yuan Li became a top goddess.

This kind of star-making power—called the "urban version of Chiung Yao drama"—made countless actors flock to Haiyan dramas.

Tong Dawei playing the male lead in a new Haiyan drama couldn't guarantee fame, but his future prospects were far beyond what Yan Li could even dream of.

"No no no, I'm not worthy of that. How about this—I'll ask Dong Xuan to speak up for you?"

With Tong Dawei lowering himself so much, Yan Li couldn't refuse entirely, so he brought up Dong Xuan.

Given Dong Xuan's relationship with Guan Yue, if she threw her full weight behind Tong Dawei—sweet-talking and conveying feelings—it'd be almost half an intelligence system.

Even just speaking well of him would save Tong Dawei a lot of effort.

Tong Dawei wasn't fully satisfied—he didn't just want to learn how to chase girls, he wanted to dominate like Yan Li.

Yan Li had no intention of teaching, and couldn't teach anyway—he had no way to give Tong Dawei an intelligence system.

As they argued back and forth, a man walked into the restroom and stopped, staring at Tong Dawei.

"Dawei?"

"Brother Wu."

Tong Dawei looked bewildered, even a little flustered: "What are you doing here?"

"I accompanied Manager Shi out for business, and after dinner we came here to hang out."

"Manager Shi is here too?"

Tong Dawei was puzzled—this KTV they'd come to was low-end, catering mostly to young people with limited spending power.

Someone like Manager Shi, a wealthy boss, should be at high-end lounges or nightclubs, or at least a well-known KTV like Qianku.

Brother Wu explained: the shop had some connection to a certain guest, so everyone came to show support.

"Then, Yan Li, you go back first. I'll go toast a drink to Manager Shi."

It was clear Tong Dawei held Manager Shi in high regard; Yan Li nodded and was about to leave when Brother Wu called out.

"Since we're all friends, why not have a drink together?"

Yan Li glanced at Tong Dawei, saw his expression was less than pleased, and politely declined.

"No, next time. The private room only has girls—I'm not comfortable leaving them alone."

Tong Dawei went to toast; Yan Li returned to the private room. Guan Yue was singing Wang Fei's "Red Beans," while Dong Xuan sat on the sofa clapping along. She noticed only Yan Li had returned.

"Where's Tong Dawei?"

"Ran into an acquaintance, went to say hello."

"Oh."

Dong Xuan paid no further attention, continuing to clap for Guan Yue, while Yan Li sipped his drink and studied his new phone.

After a while, Guan Yue finished singing. Dong Xuan was about to pull Yan Li into a duet when the door opened and Tong Dawei led in a middle-aged man.

Yan Li slightly furrowed his brow but rose to greet him. Tong Dawei introduced them both.

The middle-aged man was Manager Shi, owner of Bao Shi Pictures, who in the past two years had invested in several dramas and was emerging as a new big shot in the industry.

With this introduction, Yan Li now recalled the name.

Bao Shi Pictures had some reputation in the industry; previously, it had claimed a 50-million-yuan budget for "The Son of Heaven," even securing Chen Daoming as supporting cast, with the male lead being his acquaintance—Huang Xiaoming.

While Manager Shi chatted with Guan Yue, Dong Xuan nudged Yan Li to remind him.

She remembered: Guan Yue had said Manager Shi was Tong Dawei's benefactor.

The movie Tong Dawei and Xu Jinglei starred in was produced by Bao Shi Pictures; his opportunity to act in Hai Yan dramas was partly thanks to Manager Shi.

Hai Yan—the writer—was apparently an art consultant or board member of Bao Shi Pictures.

Dong Xuan urged Yan Li to approach Manager Shi and make a good impression; perhaps he'd be noticed and land a male lead role.

Yan Li thought Dong Xuan was right. He'd gone out of his way to befriend Wang Decai and Cheng Lidong—how much more so this big boss? He picked up his glass and went to toast.

He also wanted to keep him occupied, so he couldn't focus elsewhere.

Yan Li had met enough old men from this industry—they loved to pursue pretty young girls.

If he tried to get Dong Xuan drunk, Yan Li feared he might lose his temper and strike.

At that point, whether due to his status as a big boss or because Tong Dawei was caught in the middle, things would be hard to resolve peacefully.

But Yan Li hadn't expected this: Manager Shi showed no interest in Dong Xuan or Guan Yue—instead, he displayed unusual warmth toward Yan Li.

As they chatted merrily, Manager Shi had the KTV open two bottles of expensive wine worth thousands, subtly showing off his wealth. Before leaving, he handed Yan Li a business card, saying he could call anytime.

Dong Xuan was delighted for Yan Li—gaining a big boss's favor meant a brilliant future.

But Yan Li wasn't as excited as she imagined. He glanced at Tong Dawei, now much quieter than before, his expression unreadable.

He now understood why his relationship with Guan Yue had progressed so slowly…

(End of Chapter)