Chapter 50: 《Emperor Wu of Han》and the Little Girl Who Doesn

Qin Lan was a bit petty, but her anger came fast and faded quickly.

Without even needing Yan Li to soothe her, she showed up at Guanghua Li the next morning as if nothing had happened, bringing him breakfast.

This also had to do with the fact that Yan Li had to leave Beijing to shoot a drama every few days!

After finally reuniting, they were separated again in just a few days—there wasn’t enough time to build their feelings, let alone waste it on sullen silence.

I’ll just write it down first; once I’ve won this dog of a man, I’ll have plenty of time to settle the score later.

Yan Li, who had just been reading at home, set down the book he held after opening the door for Qin Lan, then washed his hands to eat breakfast.

“The soy milk’s a bit cold—I’ll warm it up.”

Qin Lan felt the temperature of the soy milk bag, went to the kitchen to heat it, and when Yan Li finished washing his hands, he didn’t eat right away—he peeled a tea egg and waited for her.

Once the soy milk was warmed, they began eating; Yan Li, tall, strong, and young, had a big appetite and finished a fried dough stick in no time.

Qin Lan wasn’t hungry—she only drank some soy milk and ate two tea eggs, then picked up the book Yan Li had set aside and flipped through it idly.

“‘Records of the Grand Historian’? Why are you reading this?”

Qin Lan was puzzled—had he become addicted to watching ‘The Great Han Emperor’ these past few days?

Yan Li bit into the fried dough stick: “A production team might be holding auditions soon—I want to try out, so I’m doing some prep work.”

“A production team?”

Qin Lan froze—she was a non-professional newcomer with limited connections in the industry and hadn’t heard of any drama related to ‘Records of the Grand Historian.’

But given Yan Li’s enthusiastic preparation, it must be a highly sought-after major production.

Could they be making ‘The Great Han Emperor 2’?

Uh—first he stole her away, now he’s going to steal Huang Xiaoming’s lead role too? That’s just ruthless.

“What are you thinking?”

Yan Li was utterly speechless—was he really that kind of person? Besides, when had he ever stolen her? She didn’t like Huang Xiaoming—he was just being helpful.

“But if I get into the ‘Emperor Wu of Han’ production, I might actually have a chance to play the young Liu Che.”

Still…

Yan Li recalled the information he’d received from the system—compared to the young Emperor Wu, he was more eager to portray Han Dynasty’s two legendary generals: Wei Qing or Huo Qubing.

Especially Huo Qubing—he’d only known the man was incredible, one of history’s great generals.

But his knowledge came mostly from middle school history, vague and incomplete.

After reading ‘Records of the Grand Historian’ and online materials these past few days, Yan Li had studied Huo Qubing’s achievements more deeply—and was utterly awestruck by this Marquis of Champion.

This made Yan Li deeply passionate about the role!

Especially since the director of ‘Emperor Wu of Han’ was Hu Mei, who directed ‘The Emperor in Han Dynasty,’ and the main producer was China Film Group, with a solid, reliable behind-the-scenes team—currently one of the top historical productions in the industry.

After enduring the ordeal of auditioning for Yuwen Chengdu in ‘Heroes of Sui and Tang’ and seeing how the ‘Jubao Pen’ script slandered Zhu Yuanzhang, Yan Li took this seriously.

The Han Dynasty’s Champion Marquis who sealed his glory at Langjuxu!

If he could be lucky enough to portray such an unparalleled divine general and become the version most recognized by audiences, it would mean Yan Li hadn’t wasted his time as an actor.

“I’ll ask my agent to keep an eye out too—maybe we’ll even end up in the same production.”

Qin Lan wasn’t particularly interested in ‘Emperor Wu of Han’ or ‘Emperor Guangwu of Han,’ but she really wanted to shoot a drama with Yan Li.

Mainly because if they shot together, they’d be in the same production, giving them more private time together.

Unlike now—barely seeing each other before parting again; by the time Yan Li returned from shooting in Suzhou, she might already have left Beijing for another shoot.

Thinking of this, Qin Lan grew even more reluctant; Yan Li sensed her mood, leaned over, and kissed her.

“Good girl, wait till I finish eating—I’ll take you out.”

Qin Lan was delighted, but she pushed him away with a mock complaint: “Ew, your mouth is all greasy.”

The more she said it, the more Yan Li kissed her: “Beijing’s air is dry—I’m just applying grease to protect your skin from the wind.”

“Nonsense.”

Qin Lan spat at him, but didn’t struggle much—she let him play around.

…

Qin Lan wasn’t a professional graduate; she’d studied accounting at Shenyang University of Technology.

According to Qin Lan herself, she chose this major because of her mother—Qin’s mother was an accountant at a state-owned enterprise and thought the field was stable.

But after entering university, Qin Lan didn’t like the accounting industry.

By 2000, when she was in her third year, she joined a classmate in a modeling competition, stood out, and was signed by a Hunan TV company.

After graduating in 2001, Qin Lan came to Beijing and became one of the many aspiring actors living there.

But before she’d even settled in, she was chosen by Qiong Yao to play a role in ‘My Fair Princess 3,’ and the gears of her fate began to turn slowly.

Now, returning to Beijing with Yan Li beside her, her mindset was completely different.

“First, let’s go to Tiananmen Square—I want to take photos.”

Qin Lan had lived in Beijing before and had visited Tiananmen, but back then, her future was uncertain and her pockets were empty—she’d just rushed through and left.

This time, knowing Yan Li had borrowed a camera and planned a proper outing with photo-taking in mind, she was excited.

Yan Li had no objections—he’d brought her out to play today, so he’d follow her lead.

Come to think of it, besides taking one photo at Tiananmen when he first arrived in Beijing during his freshman year—over two years ago—it’d be good to document his own changes.

They set out in the morning and didn’t return until dusk, the camera nearly out of battery.

“You’ve worked hard.”

Qin Lan had enjoyed herself thoroughly today, and her gaze toward Yan Li—who had patiently catered to her—grew tender and sweet; before getting out of the car, she kissed him goodbye.

Seeing that the mood was right, Yan Li felt emboldened and tentatively said, "I'm a bit thirsty."

“Then would you like to…”

Qin Lan pursed her lips, her eyes hesitating; Yan Li thought he had a chance and was about to press further—when, catching him off guard, she slipped away from his embrace, quickly opened the car door, and laughed mischievously.

“Go home and drink if you’re thirsty.”

Saying that, fearing he’d catch and scold her, she ran off; Yan Li shook his head.

This girl seemed scatterbrained on the surface, her defenses retreating again and again—but at the critical moment, she was crystal clear, holding her line, never acting unless the rabbit was in sight.

Yet precisely because of this, Yan Li now genuinely enjoyed this back-and-forth—each small victory brought a pleasant surprise.

But he couldn’t let her get away with this trick!

The next day, when Qin Lan came to Guanghua Li again, Yan Li teased her mercilessly, then went a step further and moisturized her hands for her.

“Disgusting.”

After washing her hands, Qin Lan was repulsed, complained her hands ached, refused to touch breakfast, and demanded Yan Li feed her.

Yan Li gave her a strange look—little girls were like this; Dong Xuan had been the same—after their lip-to-lip moment, she’d avoided milk and soy milk for days.

Unlike Sister Jiang Shan—older, better at managing life, never wasteful…

(End of Chapter)