Chapter 366

Xu Qing, Jiang Wen, Ge Daye, and Zhang Guoli were all acquaintances.

Aside from the earlier The Founding of a Nation, Jiang Wen and she had starred together in Qin Song and The Qing Dynasty Chronicles, collaborating on two films, both of which featured Xu Qing's husband and father.

Ge Daye had also acted in Qin Song, making this his second collaboration with Xu Qing.

To audiences who had seen Qin Song, the characters and plot of this new Let's Shoot the Bullet seemed like Gao Jianli and the Yueyang Princess eating hotpot and singing, only to be kidnapped by Qin Shi Huang, who then… became involved with the Yueyang Princess…

Zhang Guoli had never acted with Xu Qing, but they moved in the same circle—his friends were her friends, so naturally they were friends too.

The least familiar of them all should be Seeing Yan Li.

During the years Seeing Yan Li rose rapidly, Xu Qing had semi-retired due to personal reasons, and the two had virtually no professional overlap.

Privately, Xu Qing was known as the Princess of Jingcheng, with strong connections—her father had once been General He's bodyguard, her mother's family included several diplomats, and she herself was a member of the General Political Department Song and Dance Troupe.

So she was a genuine big-yard kid, getting along well with the big-yard faction in Jingcheng.

She had connections with Zhao Baogang, Ye Daying, Jiang Wen, Wang Shuo, and this year she even joined The Founding of a Nation, playing a major role.

Soon after, she officially joined Huayi Brothers; the two Wangs of Huayi, fellow big-yard kids, treated her with great importance and promoted her as if she were a de facto top actress, elevating Xu Qing to extraordinary heights.

Fan Bingbing had previously complained to Seeing Yan Li, saying the two Wangs of Huayi were clueless, treating an older woman like a treasure.

Well, she was only four years younger than Xu Qing.

In contrast, Seeing Yan Li, though also active in Jingcheng, had limited ties to the traditional Jingcheng circle.

From the start, he had struck out on his own, primarily collaborating with various TV stations; later, as his influence grew, Yi'an recruited widely, expanding his network to include people from every circle and faction.

Some called the group centered on Seeing Yan Li the Xiao Yanzhi Faction (from Yan's surname), others called it the Yi'an Faction.

Others, combining the notions of old Jingchengers and new Jingchengers, referred to entertainment figures who had succeeded in Jingcheng since the new century but were not native residents as the New Jingcheng Circle.

Seeing Yan Li was the largest power base—and even the de facto leader—of the New Jingcheng Circle.

Some went further, dividing the Jingcheng Circle into eras: the first generation led by Wang Shuo, Zheng Xiaolong, Hai Yan; Huayi barely counted as the previous generation's leader; and the wildly rising Yi'an would be the new leader of Jingcheng.

I'm a man from Shandong Province—how did I become the leader of the Jingcheng Circle?!

Seeing Yan Li neither resisted nor particularly liked this title.

What Jingcheng Circle? What New Jingcheng Circle? I'm an entrepreneur, a model youth—why should I act like some underworld boss?

Even if he truly wanted to be a leader, Seeing Yan Li had no interest in the Jingcheng Circle—he aimed to become the uncrowned king of the entire entertainment industry.

So Seeing Yan Li waited for Jiang Wen to exchange pleasantries before shaking hands with Xu Qing.

"Hello, Teacher Xu, I'm Seeing Yan Li."

Xu Qing's smile naturally brought two dimples, adding sweetness and youthfulness that made her appear younger than her actual age.

"Director Yan, I've heard so much about you—this is our first collaboration, please take care of me."

Seeing Yan Li nodded with a smile, though in reality he had no scenes opposite Xu Qing in the film.

Oh, there was one scene—but Xu Qing played a corpse.

Still, it wasn't surprising that a group of older men kept eyeing her.

Though over forty, Xu Qing's figure, skin, and demeanor all still looked youthful.

Compared to her younger self's slightly naive and innocent look, the years had added depth and allure to Xu Qing, giving her the seductive charm of a mature woman.

The combination of youthful nostalgia and mature seduction was a double blow to those older men—each strike hit the mark.

Jiang Wen was relatively honest, after all, his wife Zhou Yun was still around.

Zhang Guoli was fine too—his son was here, he wasn't close to Xu Qing, and he was about to leave anyway.

But Ge Daye, with no direct involvement in the production, showed unmistakable enthusiasm toward Xu Qing.

Seeing Yan Li wasn't surprised—he'd dined with Ge Daye and knew the man occasionally indulged in youthful whims.

Don't put old artists on a pedestal; their seniority and professional skill don't guarantee good character.

Their scandals, due to their era and popularity, never spread widely, so many viewers didn't know—and their roles, combined with the need to contrast them with newcomers, kept them shielded.

All three of these men had their scandals.

Jiang Wen had the most—he was once beaten up outside his door; Zhang Guoli's filming sets often sparked gossip about Deng Jie showing up to catch him in the act.

By comparison, Ge Daye was almost a decent man—mostly just indulging in idle flirtation and minor favors in private.

Seeing Yan Li didn't interrupt their old-friend reunion; he went off on his own to check his set.

His role as Huang Silang, except for a few mid-to-late scenes, mostly followed a separate storyline.

So while Jiang Wen's group shot one thread, Seeing Yan Li's group shot another—this improved efficiency.

It meant Jiang Wen had to run back and forth, working late into the night—but he had no choice; Seeing Yan Li was the one he'd begged and wheedled into the project.

Seeing Yan Li's schedule was limited, and he needed time to handle work—he couldn't afford to follow the production's slow pace.

Jiang Wen could've prioritized shooting Seeing Yan Li's scenes for easier logistics, but instead he gathered all actors and split them into two groups.

In his words, it was about finding the feeling!

Seeing Yan Li didn't care whether Jiang Wen was finding the feeling or setting a trap—he'd given 40 days. If filming wasn't done by then, the one panicking wouldn't be Seeing Yan Li.

After touring the sets, Seeing Yan Li went for makeup tests—he'd already done a round in Jingcheng, but Jiang Wen now had new ideas.

Huang Silang's hairstyle was a slicked-back pompadour, with a glued-on mustache; costumes were primarily Western suits, but also included brocade horse jackets and long gowns.

This blend of Eastern and Western design had meaning.

Capitalist yet feudal, progressive yet conservative, East meets West, authoritative yet decaying—it spoke of the man, and of the era.

After Seeing Yan Li's costume test, Jiang Wen felt Seeing Yan Li looked younger than the original Huang Silang, so the character should be sharper and more flamboyant—his performance and posture needed greater aggression.

The clothing combinations became more nuanced—for instance, Huang Silang privately preferred Western suits, but in public or when asserting authority, he always wore traditional Chinese attire.

This subtly implied that while outwardly pursuing Western ideals, inwardly he remained rooted in feudal traditions.

Seeing Yan Li and Jiang Wen discussed this "new Huang Silang" in detail, even crafting a character biography that gave the role new dimensions and subtle allusions.

Well, all of it was Jiang Wen's doing—Seeing Yan Li was just a simple actor shooting a film.

Dressed in a white Western suit, Seeing Yan Li put on the final prop—gold-rimmed glasses—stood tall, smiled faintly, and looked every inch the elegant gentleman, with not a trace of villainous aura.

This was a setup devised by Seeing Yan Li and Jiang Wen after discussion.

Bandits fighting tyrants—aren't bandits sometimes not truly bandits? Must tyrants always appear as tyrants?

Evil that shows on the surface is not terrifying; evil that hides behind a good exterior is the kind that seeps through the bones.

After changing outfits several times and taking costume photos, Seeing Yan Li's morning work was done, and he waited for the afternoon's official shoot.

During this time, Seeing Yan Li also met several of his characters' subordinates: Wu Sect's head Jiang Wu, Hu Qian, Yao Lu, but he didn't know Hu Bai.

Hu Wan hadn't arrived yet; Deng Chao wouldn't join the set for a few more days.

That's right, Deng Chao also starred in *Let's Have a Bullet Fly*; Seeing Yan Li recommended him to Jiang Wen, who met Deng Chao once and immediately cast him.

Although he was only playing a minor supporting role, *Let's Have a Bullet Fly* had such a massive cast that Deng Chao didn't lose face—he gladly accepted, even turning down *Ip Man 2* for it.

At lunchtime, Jiang Wen arranged for the core creative team to dine out to welcome Zhang Mo and Xu Qing, who had just arrived.

Seeing Yan Li didn't isolate himself; wherever you eat is eating, and trying local dishes saved trouble.

In fact, this time joining *Let's Have a Bullet Fly*, Seeing Yan Li's demands weren't much smaller than those originally made for Faa.

His accommodation was arranged separately, with high specifications required.

He needed a luxury car for transport and a private luxury RV for rest.

He refused the crew's boxed meals and had luxury restaurants prepare custom meals, along with premium fruits and drinks.

There were other demands that, compared to most actors, were outright luxurious.

The only difference was that Faa demanded the crew pay for these, while Seeing Yan Li paid for all of it himself—on some level, he was even saving the crew money.

To Seeing Yan Li, these were small sums; even pulling a fraction of his salary could easily cover these luxuries.

Handling it himself gave him more peace of mind and comfort, and he didn't want to be seen as greedy for enjoying perks.

Spending his own money—even if he had a helicopter hoist two whole oxen to roast every day—was none of the crew's business; it was his personal choice, and no one could object.

Seeing Yan Li's few demands of the crew were reasonable shooting schedules.

Don't overload him with scenes one day and leave him idle the next; if overtime could be minimized, that would be even better.