Chapter 402: New Teammates, New Combination, Marching Into the Gaming Market

Huo Siyan spent a while asking around before learning that Zhang Meng wasn't in Jingcheng—he was shooting a drama in Hengdian.

No one knew how she pulled strings, but she'd crashed into the Zhen Huan Chuan crew and landed a supporting role as Consort Xin.

Huo Siyan acted fast, roped in a friend shooting in Hengdian, and hurried off to visit the set.

But when she arrived in Hengdian, she found no shortage of familiar faces.

Huo Siyan held shares in Huayi and received pocket money from Yan Li; while not financially free, she never lacked for cash.

With little ambition in her career, she turned down unsuitable roles and focused instead on commercial ads and participating in Weibo events.

As previously mentioned, Huo Siyan was a trending figure on Weibo, with follower counts among the top, and Weibo was eager to collaborate with her.

Stars hotter than her either had no time, weren't close enough to Weibo, or lacked sufficient popularity and influence on the platform.

Huo Siyan had popularity on Weibo, ample availability, and close ties—she was more than willing to support Weibo's events.

Over time, their collaboration grew tight; Huo Siyan had effectively become a representative artist for Weibo, appearing frequently in its related activities.

Huo Siyan didn't participate in these events for free—there were plenty of benefits.

Among internet giants, Weibo had relatively low direct profits, but its traffic was enormous, its resource leverage immense, and many resources strongly complementary to stars.

At Weibo's current scale, even a tiny trickle from its fingers was enough to make Huo Siyan feast till her lips dripped oil.

So despite not shooting much lately, she was now earning more than when she was actively acting.

She'd once considered starting a streetwear brand with Li Xiaolu, leveraging their fame and traffic to sell goods.

Huo Siyan lived comfortably; other stars lacked her luck, connections, and resources, so to earn more, they had to keep acting.

The film and TV market was just beginning to explode—more dramas were being shot, more jobs available—and one wave of stars after another settled in Hengdian.

Huo Siyan claimed she came to visit Zhao Ke, but found Ma Yili, Xiong Naijin, and Yang Mi all there.

Only Yang and Xiong were actually shooting; Ma Yili was there to accompany her husband.

Wen Zhang had taken a drama shooting in Hengdian; with no work of her own, she'd brought her child along to keep him company.

Huo Siyan hadn't shot in ages; her closest friend Qin Lan hadn't joined a set in over a year since giving birth, and Li Xiaolu was the type who worked three days, skipped two.

Seeing her sisters working so hard suddenly made her feel pressured—she began wondering if she should join a set too.

But after dinner, when they discussed their paychecks, Huo Siyan dropped the idea.

Aside from Yang Mi, the currently popular little flower, the other actresses worked themselves to exhaustion for months—just to earn what Huo Siyan made from one or two ads.

Even Yang Mi, despite Yi An's resource support and higher earnings, hadn't yet become a massive superstar—her income still hadn't surpassed Huo Siyan's by a wide margin.

And don't forget Yang Mi's work intensity?!

She worked almost nonstop for half a year, even meeting friends for late-night snacks still in full costume and makeup from her drama.

Yang Mi earned more than her, but Huo Siyan didn't envy her—she was literally risking her life; Huo Siyan preferred her own comfortable, modest earnings.

After finding some superiority among her sisters, the next day Huo Siyan went to visit the Zhen Huan Chuan set.

There were many actresses on the set; even if she wasn't close to them, she could still chat easily, and she slipped in without trouble.

Huo Siyan had planned to head straight for the main target, Zhang Meng, but caught the scene where Hua Fei knelt outside the palace pleading for her brother—she instantly lost urgency and happily watched from the side.

Jiang Xin knelt at the door, building emotion, when she suddenly felt someone staring—she turned to see Huo Siyan filming her with her phone, nearly jumping out of her skin.

"Director, can you get unrelated people to leave? You're disrupting filming."

Jiang Xin knew Huo Siyan would talk nonsense if she responded directly, so she went straight to the director.

Huo Siyan rolled her eyes: "I'm eight zhang away and not even in frame—is that really necessary?"

Jiang Xin ignored her: "Director, there's an outsider here—I can't get into character."

"Uh, Siyan, could you come over here for a second?"

Zheng Xiaolong had no choice but to call Huo Siyan; they knew each other, and Huo Siyan, out of courtesy, grumbled a few words before walking over to greet the director, then watched the drama through the monitor.

Jiang Xin was furious, but chasing her out now would look bad—everyone was watching—so she forced herself to calm down and continue filming.

Perhaps because of Huo Siyan's interference, Jiang Xin's performance was off—she needed five or six takes before they finally got the shot.

As soon as the scene wrapped, Jiang Xin rubbed her knees and stormed over to confront Huo Siyan.

"You short bastard, came here to pick a fight, huh?"

Jiang Xin and Huo Siyan's feud was public; their earlier exchange had sparked tension, and savvy actors and crew had already cleared out—Jiang Xin had no restraint and launched straight into insults.

"Stop being so self-important—I don't care about you. I just happened to walk by and glanced over."

Huo Siyan sneered: "But how did you even win that White Orchid Best Actress award? So watered-down—this scene took so many takes. Maybe I should teach you how to act."

In terms of acting, Huo Siyan couldn't match Jiang Xin—but when it came to crying scenes, she had a few tricks.

Especially this plea scene as Hua Fei, needing tears that made even the heart harden with pity—perfectly suited to Huo Siyan's strengths.

"No thanks. If you've got time, focus on learning how to kiss ass."

Jiang Xin had looked down on Huo Siyan since filming The Seven Fairies of Huan Tian Xi Di—and still did, mocking her as Qin Lan's lapdog.

Huo Siyan laughed coldly: "I kiss ass because I enjoy it—better than some people who once called others 'sister' and now get kicked to the side, ignored."

Huo Siyan was Qin Lan's lapdog; Jiang Xin had once been Dong Xuan's little sister—but now, because of Yan Li, Dong Xuan no longer associated with Jiang Xin, and Huo Siyan used this to taunt her.

Jiang Xin, lacking Huo Siyan's experience and with a volatile temper, turned pale under the jab, nearly lunging.

"What are you doing? What do you want to do? Try touching me once."

Huo Siyan shouted back but kept stepping backward—physically, with their height and weight difference, she'd be crushed if they fought.

At that moment, sensing the tension, Liu Tao in a yellow imperial robe hurried over and grabbed Jiang Xin's arm.

"Don't act rashly—everyone's watching."

Jiang Xin took a breath, glared at Huo Siyan: "Don't let me see you again."

With that, she turned and left. Liu Tao glanced at Huo Siyan and said, half-warning, half-advising:

"The set's full of people—news doesn't stay hidden. If you want to trend, keep provoking. If it blows up, nobody wins."

Saying that, Liu Tao hurried after Jiang Xin. Huo Siyan frowned—she hadn't heard these two were close. When had they become friends?

Jiang Xin... Liu Taotao...

Huo Siyan's heart stirred; she pondered whether the two had some hidden connection or secret, but soon let it go.

Liu Taotao got married; Yan Li never touched anyone already taken, so it was probably just a close friendship.

Even Wang Ou, the one with the most teammates, didn't just pull every woman toward Yan Li—he had plenty of normal friends too.

Others were even more so: the Teddy Sisterhood, deeply entangled with Qin and Huo, was widely rumored to be Yan Li's harem, but in truth, fewer than a third of them had any real connection to him.

Huo Siyan chatted for a while with Sun Li and two other familiar actors, then went to find Zhang Meng.

On the other side, Liu Taotao patiently calmed Jiang Xin, who was still seething.

This time, she played the Empress in The Empresses in the Palace, and Jiang Xin contributed greatly.

Thanks to this connection, plus their good rapport on set, the two became close friends.

Jiang Xin was blunt and quick-tempered—not an easy person to get along with—but Liu Taotao's gentle, considerate nature, combined with her own needs toward Jiang Xin, gave her exceptional tolerance.

Yet, though Liu Taotao tolerated Jiang Xin, she did not surrender dominance to her as Yang Xue had.

Instead, she used softness to overcome hardness, subtly wresting dominance through quiet, persistent influence.

Jiang Xin knew her own flaws, and she felt sympathy and admiration for Liu Taotao's struggles and courage in taking on debt; faced with Liu Taotao's gentle approach, she unconsciously came to see her as a trusted older sister.

So their dynamic was fascinating.

On the surface, Jiang Xin appeared more dominant, and Liu Taotao seemed to rely on her help, making her the core of their bond—but in truth, Liu Taotao often swayed Jiang Xin's thoughts, even making Jiang Xin listen to her instead.

Today was proof: with Jiang Xin's temper, after clashing with her old rival Huo Siyan, even Yan Li would have to soothe her for a while and pull out some heavy-handed tactics.

But Liu Taotao managed to calm Jiang Xin with nothing but words; though Jiang Xin wasn't fully pacified, her emotions had cooled considerably.

"Tao-jie, how come that short little bitch Huo suddenly showed up at our set?"

Liu Taotao was five years older than Jiang Xin and played the role of a confidante, so Jiang Xin called her Tao-jie, and sometimes even cooed "Taotao" affectionately.

Once calm, her intellect returned to its peak; Jiang Xin began to wonder what Huo Siyan's purpose was in joining The Empresses in the Palace.

It couldn't be just to watch her perform the scene where Hua Fei begs for mercy—how boring, and besides, Huo shouldn't even know what Jiang Xin was filming today.

"Don't rush—I just had Xiao Li follow her."

Jiang Xin had flown into a rage the moment she saw Huo Siyan; now she realized Liu Taotao hadn't been blinded by the moment—she'd sensed something off from the start, knew they were enemies, and had already assigned her assistant to keep watch, to avoid being tricked.

"Tao-jie, you're so thoughtful."

Jiang Xin gave a thumbs-up; she wasn't calling Liu Taotao "jie" just because of her charm or soft tactics.

To be blunt, with Jiang Xin's current fame, there were far too many people willing to grovel and flatter her.

Jiang Xin valued Liu Taotao not just for her good temper and willingness to accommodate her, but because Liu Taotao was perceptive and clever—she helped Jiang Xin manage interpersonal relationships, boosted her popularity, and gave her strategic advice against those who opposed her.

On The Empresses in the Palace set, she had a tense relationship with the lead, Sun Li; after several clashes, Jiang Xin never clearly lost—Liu Taotao was largely responsible.

They chatted for a while; Liu Taotao glanced at her phone and blinked in slight surprise.

"She chatted with Sun Li and the others for a bit, then went to find Zhang Meng. They talked for a long time—Xiao Li's still watching."

"Zhang Meng?"

Jiang Xin had a vague memory of her—pretty, good at handling people, got along well with several leads on set. Why was Huo Siyan seeking her out? Was the Teddy Sisterhood recruiting?

Liu Taotao didn't understand Huo Siyan's goal either, but she thought it might be worth approaching Zhang Meng, to probe her background.

They were all on the same set; a little extra conversation wouldn't hurt—if nothing was amiss, fine; if there was danger to Jiang Xin, they could prepare in advance.

"That's a good idea."

Jiang Xin nodded; she had another thought—if possible, she'd stir up trouble for Huo Siyan, make that little bitch suffer.

So, after learning Huo Siyan had left, they went to find Zhang Meng too.

Zhang Meng was baffled—what was her luck today? First Huo Siyan came specially to befriend her, and now Jiang Xin and Liu Taotao showed up to be nice.

Hadn't she even succeeded in rising yet?!

Zhang Meng's mind raced; she smiled warmly to appease Jiang and Liu, but feigned ignorance to their probing.

Jiang Xin was Yan Li's person—that was no secret in the circle. When Zhang Meng first joined the set, she'd hoped to cling to Jiang Xin's leg, to get closer to Yan Li through her.

But after several interactions, she gave up the idea.

She realized Jiang Xin wasn't like Wang Ou—she seemed to have little desire to share, wouldn't help her, and was difficult to please; better to curry favor with Wang Ou than with Jiang Xin.

Huo Siyan, though Zhang Meng hadn't yet figured out her intentions, had given her the best impression of the three.

Huo Siyan had a bad reputation mainly because she'd been too flashy early on, exposing some poor character—but her actual social skills were far from low; otherwise, she wouldn't have organized the Teddy Sisterhood so efficiently.

Considering Jiang Xin's temperament and Wang Ou's bias after witnessing Zhang Meng's self-promotion, it was hard for Zhang Meng not to feel drawn to Huo Siyan.

After filming ended, she even accepted Huo Siyan's invitation to go out and have fun.

Huo Siyan deliberately courted Zhang Meng, poaching from Wang Ou, and was exceptionally generous—by night's end, Zhang Meng was already calling her "jie."

Seeing the effect, Huo Siyan decided to stay temporarily in Hengdian, inviting Zhang Meng out every day.

Even when her own scenes were light, she took Zhang Meng shopping in Hangzhou and introduced her to Yu Zheng, strongly recommending Zhang Meng for Yu Zheng's next project.

Yu Zheng was one of Yi'an's top producers, a major figure in the industry—perfect networking for a rising actress like Zhang Meng.

This was the exact opposite of Wang Ou's approach.

Wang Ou had offered Zhang Meng some resources, but to maintain control, she leaned heavily on suppression—even suspecting Zhang Meng of being unreliable, she constantly guarded against her.

Huo Siyan, by contrast, gave her advantages, took her to broaden her horizons, introduced her to people, and mostly encouraged and supported her ideas.

Even if Zhang Meng had gotten along well with Wang Ou, it would've been hard to resist Huo Siyan's charm offensive.