Chapter 40: Seeing Yan Li: This Circle Is Too Dark!

Early September, Shishi

Just past Bailu, the daytime heat still lingered, but nights had grown cooler, and many people had switched from T-shirts to long-sleeved shirts.

On a certain street, a red Ford Probe sports car slowly drove in and pulled over to the curb.

The door opened, and a dashing young man in a suit with a slicked-back hairdo stepped out, humming a tune, pressed his key fob, then walked toward an alley.

"Good, cut."

Gao Qunshu called out; Seeing Yan Li returned, and makeup and props were applied to him—explosive packs and blood capsules planted on his body.

Then a van arrived, blocking the Ford, and Sun Honglei and several others got in, each looking like demons.

The crew adjusted the equipment; Gao Qunshu called out again, and they rolled again.

Seeing Yan Li had already returned to the car and was about to drive off when he found his path blocked; he honked twice, but it did no good, so he frowned and got out to confront the other side.

Inside the van, Sun Honglei gave an order; his men Li Yixiang and Zhang Li grabbed shotguns and charged toward Seeing Yan Li.

The moment Seeing Yan Li stepped out, a shotgun barrel pressed against his head and another against his chest—he froze, stunned.

His eyes filled with confusion and panic; he opened his mouth to ask, trying to calm the situation, but Li Yixiang and the other immediately shot with fierce glares.

Bang—bang—bang—

Three shots total: one to the head, two to the chest. Seeing Yan Li didn't even flinch—he collapsed slowly against the car door, face drenched in blood.

Li Yixiang and the others left quickly; the cinematographer moved in for close-ups of the "corpse"; Gao Qunshu announced "cut."

This meant Seeing Yan Li had officially finished filming in The Conquest.

He actually had one more scene: when the police arrived to inspect the scene, he'd lie there as a corpse and cooperate.

But Gao Qunshu thought it was just one shot—not worth keeping Seeing Yan Li for two more days; he'd just hire a background actor later for a partial leg close-up.

This time, Seeing Yan Li's wrap party still had no flowers or cake.

His status on set had clearly risen, especially after the drinking contest—he was now untouchable in The Conquest, second only to Gao, Jiang, Sun, and Liu.

But The Conquest crew was broke—they saved wherever they could!

Not even flowers or cake, let alone dinner: the boxed meal's potato stir-fried chicken had less than ten pieces of meat total; Seeing Yan Li painstakingly fished out four chicken feet—he dared not ask about the meal budget, afraid he'd make the producer cry.

Of course, there was some progress—at least the "shock-recovery red envelope" for his death scenes had increased significantly.

From one yuan in Heroes of Sui and Tang, it had quintupled!

Seeing Yan Li immediately treated Sun Honglei and the others to drinks; last time, half-understanding, he'd thought keeping the money and red envelope meant something.

Later, after chatting with other actors, he learned: you must spend it immediately—it's lucky.

The envelope itself didn't matter, but Seeing Yan Li didn't keep it either—after all, it carried the character for "death"; better not to hold onto it, or it'd invite bad luck.

He didn't keep the deposit red envelope, but he still found a keepsake from The Conquest—

Wu Tian's fake gold Rolex and fake gold necklace.

Bought at a small commodity market for just a few dozen yuan; Seeing Yan Li told Director Gao, then took them outright.

What Seeing Yan Li truly wanted as a keepsake was the red Ford sports car—but when he mentioned it, Gao Qunshu told him to get lost; Seeing Yan Li could only regret missing it…

…

No flowers, no cake, no wrap party to look forward to.

But his sister wasn't useless—Jiang Shan, looking out for her brother, organized a farewell dinner herself.

Besides Zhou Yiwei, his good friend, Binzi, Li Yixiang, Zhang Li, Liu Weiwei, He Tiehong (the actor playing Zhou Guoquan), and several other actors who got along well with Seeing Yan Li all came.

Sun Honglei came too, but he was busy filming; he drank two glasses, chatted a bit, then left.

After dinner, since many actors had big group scenes tomorrow, no one went for a second round—they just dispersed.

Seeing Yan Li had booked his train ticket for tomorrow and wanted to return to his room to pack, but Jiang Shan called him back.

"Your train's at noon; you can pack tomorrow—it's not urgent. You're leaving—don't you want to talk more with your sister?"

Seeing Yan Li felt trapped; he shot Zhou Yiwei a look. The latter blinked, then understood.

"Brother Yan, you two chat—I've had too much to drink; I'm heading back to my room."

Seeing Yan Li wanted to kick him to death—was that how I wanted you to help?!

But he couldn't help it—Jiang Shan had treated him well on set; he couldn't just forget her kindness. The words were spoken; fine, he'd talk.

Jiang Shan led Seeing Yan Li to her room.

She was the biggest star on set, paid a friendship rate; even if the crew was broke, they couldn't make her share a room—so Jiang Shan was the only one in The Conquest with a luxury suite and king bed, living better than Gao Qunshu.

"It's good to be famous."

Seeing Yan Li felt a pang of reflection—famous actors on set had completely different status and treatment from ordinary ones; no wonder every actor wanted to be famous.

"You've got good looks and solid acting—you'll be famous someday."

Jiang Shan encouraged him, told him to sit, then went to shower and change.

Soon, Jiang Shan emerged wearing a light, low-cut black silk nightgown, sitting across from Seeing Yan Li.

At Seeing Yan Li's height, a casual glance downward revealed a full view of cleavage.

"By the way."

Jiang Shan remembered something, stood up, opened a cabinet, took out a bottle of red wine and two wine glasses, and smiled at Seeing Yan Li.

"I know you've got a good liquor tolerance—you didn't get enough to drink earlier, right? Try this—I bought it at the hotel where we filmed the other day; imported from France."

She poured him nearly half a glass, handed it to him; after he took two sips, she asked:

"How is it?"

Seeing Yan Li shook his head honestly: "I'm not used to it."

Jiang Shan laughed happily, crossed her legs, not caring that the hem of her nightgown had ridden up to her most sensitive areas; she held her glass with one hand, elegantly swirled it, then took a small sip.

"I couldn't stand it at first either—gradually you get used to it. Red wine beautifies skin, fights aging, protects blood vessels; a little is good for your health."

Seeing Yan Li looked away, took two more sips, still not used to it.

The taste was sour and astringent, the texture sticky and thick; it wasn't as refreshing or thirst-quenching as beer, nor as rich and invigorating as baijiu, but it wasn't unpleasant either.

Still, Jiang Shan had kindly hosted him, so Seeing Yan Li went along with her wishes, took a few more sips, and offered half-hearted praise.

"Mm, drinking a few more sips already feels better."

Jiang Shan didn't mind; she chatted with Seeing Yan Li sporadically—first about work, then gossip from their circle, and finally about love.

Especially when speaking of her own love life, Jiang Shan's emotions clearly began to surge wildly.

"... Your brother-in-law was fine at first after they got married, but then things just got worse and worse... Once, I caught him on the phone with a woman—he claimed she was just a friend... Pfft, I knew exactly what he was up to—eating from the bowl while eyeing the pot, not a good man..."

It was clear Jiang Shan harbored deep resentment toward her husband; she started with a few kind words, then launched into a relentless stream of complaints and blame, leaving Seeing Yan Li feeling awkward.

First, it was their private matter; second, some of her words felt like indirect jabs—even he wasn't spared.

The more she ranted, the angrier she grew, downing several more glasses of red wine.

She'd drunk nearly half the bottle of red wine, plus what she'd consumed earlier at dinner—Jiang Shan was clearly drunk, her cheeks flushed, her gaze toward Seeing Yan Li hazy. Suddenly, she stood up and plopped down right beside him, her voice hoarse.

"Brother, what do you think of me?"

Seeing Yan Li felt things slipping out of control and wanted to escape: "Sister, you've had too much. Rest. I'm leaving."

Before he could rise, Jiang Shan grabbed his hand and leaned in close, her warm, wine-scented breath brushing his ear.

"Don't be afraid. I don't mean anything by it—I just want to tell you, this circle is too complicated."

"You're talented and capable enough, but you're still too young, lacking experience. If you want to rise and become famous, sometimes you need someone to give you a hand."

"I truly think you're a good kid, and I want to help you."

Seeing Yan Li: "..."

Help if you want—but why are your hands moving down!?

————

About two hours later, Seeing Yan Li returned to his room. Zhou Yi was already asleep.

Seeing Yan Li exhaled in relief, tiptoed to take a shower, and had just lain down when Zhou Yi's concerned voice came from beside him.

"Brother Yan, are you okay?"

Seeing Yan Li fell silent for a moment, then sighed softly: "This circle is too dark. If you ever go out to shoot dramas alone, you must protect yourself."

"Brother, if you didn't want to, how could a woman like her hold you back?"

Seeing Yan Li paused for half a minute: "Do you know you sometimes say things that are really annoying?"

Zhou Yi chuckled, said nothing more, and thought of Jiang Shan—still alluring despite her age. If he could encounter such "darkness," he'd accept it!

He conceded!

(End of Chapter)