Chapter 43: Dong Xuan: Yu Yanli Must Be Bewitched by a Fox Spirit!
“Mr. Li, take care on your way out.”
After seeing off Li Peng, Yu Yanli couldn’t resist lighting a cigarette; dealing with seasoned veterans like him wasn’t easy—he’d been on edge the whole time.
With outsiders gone, Dong Xuan, who had been playing the invisible woman, immediately became lively, clinging to Yu Yanli’s arm and gazing at him with admiration.
“You’re amazing—you totally fooled that big producer.”
Yu Yanli: “...”
How can you say that? What do you mean by “fooled”?
Dong Xuan trusted him completely and handed over all related matters to his care—effectively making Yu Yanli her agent.
As for local connections, Yu Yanli had dealt with plenty of middlemen during location scouting and had channels to reach them.
As for Beijing’s art universities, of course there was his alma mater, Bei Dian; he also knew people at several other schools, mostly students, but still people he knew.
He had embellished and exaggerated a bit in his words, but it certainly didn’t amount to deception.
More importantly, Yu Yanli could deliver on what he promised—he held the System and had already planned his next moves.
If a boast can be fulfilled, then it’s real greatness!
Regardless, his first victory had lifted his spirits, and Dong Xuan’s praise only amplified his confidence.
“Leave the rest to me—you just wait to become the lead actress.”
“You’re so good to me.”
Dong Xuan affectionately pressed a kiss on him, though she didn’t truly believe Yu Yanli could make her the lead.
Not knowing about the System, she had no idea of his true calculations or his backing.
In Dong Xuan’s view, although Yu Yanli had talked about establishing first impressions, designing her entrance, and successfully connecting with Li Peng, the whole thing was still uncertain.
There were still many current students from other art universities, plus graduates and non-professional Beijing drifters.
She guessed there’d be at least a few hundred, if not a thousand, actresses competing with her—how could she possibly rise so easily?!
Still, even if she didn’t land the lead, it didn’t matter—Dong Xuan loved and was moved by how hard Yu Yanli worked for her.
He really still cares about me!
Dong Xuan even began to feel a twinge of guilt—he hadn’t fully forgiven her yet, yet he was still striving tirelessly for this slim chance of her becoming the lead, while she had previously thrown tantrums and broken up with him—it was truly wrong.
Maybe she had misunderstood him all along; if he cared so much about her, how could he possibly have had those dirty thoughts?
He must have been bewitched by that yellow-haired little fox!
Thinking this, Dong Xuan’s gaze toward Yu Yanli turned unusually tender: “You’ve worked so hard—I’ll treat you to dinner.”
“Just dinner?”
After dating for over a year, Yu Yanli still knew Dong Xuan well; though he didn’t know exactly what she was thinking, he keenly sensed an opportunity to gain some advantage.
Dong Xuan sensed his ulterior motive, pursed her lips: “Then what else do you want?”
Yu Yanli leaned close to her ear and whispered two things; instantly, her face flushed red, and she pinched him in annoyance.
“Didn’t you say last time it was just once?”
“This time is just once—no next time.”
Unable to resist Yu Yanli’s persistence, Dong Xuan finally gave the tiniest nod.
————
The next day, Yu Yanli drove a Sail car to the hotel to pick up Li Peng and his assistant, heading for Bei Dian.
The car was rented—these days they’d be traveling to many places, and without a vehicle it’d be inconvenient, plus it helped dispel Li Peng’s suspicions.
After all, no local power player drives taxis and buses every day!
To that end, Yu Yanli had even spent money to get a driver’s license—in this era, regulations were lax; find the right person, and you could get the license the same day.
Entering Bei Dian, Yu Yanli parked the car and led Li Peng and his assistant into the administration building with ease.
“Teacher Wang, you’ve worked hard—have a cigarette.”
“Teacher Sun, you’re even more beautiful today.”
“Oh my, Teacher Cui, long time no see—how’s your health?”
“...”
Back at his alma mater, Bei Dian, Yu Yanli was in his element, cheerfully greeting every teacher he knew.
Although Yu Yanli had been in the vocational class at Bei Dian, his grades were excellent, his tongue sweet and his manners sharp—he was a favorite among the faculty.
Had he not been distracted by his romance with Dong Xuan, class president and student union chair wouldn’t have gone to his roommate Zhang Songwen—indeed, Zhang might never have gotten those positions without Yu Yanli’s help campaigning for him.
Even teachers who had never taught Yu Yanli had heard of him—he’d dated the campus beauty and beaten up a senior, making him a legendary figure at Bei Dian.
After greeting everyone, Yu Yanli found the main contact: “Teacher Hu, I’m here.”
Hu Qiang, a 1988 graduate of Bei Dian, later stayed on as faculty and now held some administrative roles.
Yu Yanli had taken his diction class, so they were somewhat familiar; after a brief exchange, they got straight to business.
Bei Dian actually encouraged students to take on outside film roles, provided they were legitimate productions.
Li Peng had all the proper paperwork, was introduced by a graduate, and was seeking a rare lead female role—Bei Dian took this seriously.
Hu Qiang personally led them to the class to scout students, then cleared out another classroom and notified students without classes to come for auditions.
Choosing students in class depended on the teacher’s style.
Some teachers didn’t care and even paused class so the crew could freely observe and pick; others didn’t stop class but let the crew observe briefly, then called out a few students they liked; others only allowed observation from the doorway or windows, calling students out after class; some ignored them entirely and would scold and drive them away if they dared show up.
Since both Yu Yanli and Hu Qiang were Bei Dian alumni, they understood the teachers’ styles and deliberately picked a “soft target.”
The teacher was very agreeable—he gave a quick word to the students and handed over the classroom; Yu Yanli quietly slipped a pack of cigarettes into his pocket.
Then Yu Yanli turned to Li Peng: “Mr. Li, would you like to speak directly, or shall I set the stage first?”
Li Peng hesitated: “You go ahead—I’ll just observe from the side.”
Yu Yanli nodded and stepped onto the podium without hesitation.
“Classmates, I’m Yu Yanli, also a student of Bei Dian, from the 2000 Performance Department. Today I’m here primarily to find a lead actress for our film, ‘A Thousand Miles to Find My Mother’...”
The classroom erupted in noise—film crews came to Bei Dian often to scout actors, but a lead female role was exceedingly rare.
The male students were fine with it—it had nothing to do with them; they were just amazed that this senior was so powerful.
They were roughly the same age, still studying, yet he was already selecting a lead actress.
The female students, however, were eager—especially those who knew Yu Yanli, whose eyes lit up instantly.
“Shengyi, Shengyi, isn’t this the senior who used to be so close to you?”
A thin, dark-skinned girl excitedly nudged Huang Shengyi, who nodded, gazing at Yu Yanli on stage with mixed emotions.
That bastard took advantage of me and then vanished—now he reappears months later, looking all polished and respectable.
“Perfect! With your relationship, the lead role is practically yours.”
The dark-skinned girl exclaimed joyfully, but another girl snorted: “Don’t be ridiculous—he’s got a girlfriend; it won’t even come near her. Besides, what about Jia Nailiang?”
Huang Shengyi couldn’t help retorting: “I... I don’t even like Jia Nailiang.”
The girl rolled her eyes: “If you don’t like him, why did you accept his confession? We all saw it. Now that your old flame’s doing well, you want to back out?”
“None of your business.”
Huang Shengyi snapped back, grabbed the dark-skinned girl’s hand, and rushed toward the podium—Yu Yanli had finished his speech and was now accepting voluntary sign-ups.
Li Peng observed from the side; whenever he spotted someone suitable, he’d whisper to Yu Yanli, who’d circle their name and later call them back for a second audition based on the contact info left.
With so many choices, you could be this picky!
Had Yu Yanli not brought Dong Xuan to meet Li Peng first, she’d now be going through the same rounds of brutal competition—with too much uncertainty.
“Senior Yu Yanli.”
Huang Shengyi’s voice was sweet as she greeted him; Yu Yanli looked up, recognized the classmate he’d seen on Daily Intelligence who’d recently gotten a boyfriend, and offered a polite smile.
“Shengyi, you’re signing up too?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Huang Shengyi pulled the dark-skinned girl beside her: “This is my classmate Wang Luodan—we’re signing up together.”
Wang Luodan bowed politely: “Senior, hello.”
“Hello.”
Yu Yanli took out his pen to record their information; Huang Shengyi seized the chance to ask.
“Senior, what’s your role in the crew?”
“Executive producer.”
Yu Yanli answered confidently—he’d discussed with Li Peng to use the title “executive producer” instead of “middleman,” since the latter sounded bad and hindered work; they both knew it was just a title, but it looked impressive to outsiders.
They knew themselves that the title was merely nominal, but it still sounded impressive to outsiders.
Huang Shengyi’s voice instantly grew sweeter, and Yu Yanli smiled proudly, chatting with her warmly.
When they stepped out of the classroom, Li Peng couldn’t help asking: “That girl just now—she’s quite good. Do you know her?”
Yu Yanli raised an eyebrow: “Which one?”
“The one you chatted with for a long time—you two were laughing and talking.”
“Oh, her? Not really.”
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