Chapter 52: Yan Li: I Especially Loved Your Performance as Jin Suo

Before the hotel elevator

Liang Guanhua was a kind-hearted man; he got along well with Yan Li, learned he was a newcomer, and voluntarily introduced him to others to help him integrate into the crew quickly.

“This is Yan Li, also part of our crew, playing Song Dian.”

Then he complimented two actresses: “I don’t need to introduce these two, do I?”

Yan Li, of course, didn’t need Liang Guanhua’s introduction—he knew both of them already.

Zhang Ting, famous for her roles in “The Legend of the Condor Heroes” and “Love Through Time,” is now one of the industry’s hottest young actresses.

Fan Xiaotian, one of the Three Beauties of “My Fair Princess,” though the least prominent, had built considerable fame and, with decent recent progress, a very promising future.

“Hello, teachers.”

Yan Li greeted them politely; when meeting strangers for the first time, he always addressed them as “teacher.”

There was no choice—especially with young female artists, calling them “beauty” or “MM” seemed too frivolous, calling them “sister” or “older sister” was awkward without knowing their age, and you couldn’t gauge how they’d feel about such familiarity; calling them by name risked misjudging closeness.

Liang Guanhua, with his age and seniority, could afford to act as a senior; Yan Li, a young newcomer, could only play the role of the junior.

Perhaps seeing a good-looking man, Zhang Ting was far more lively than when facing Liang Guanhua, smiling cheerfully.

“Don’t call us teacher—that makes us sound old.”

Fan Xiaotian was more formal, extended her hand in greeting, and uttered a polite phrase about looking forward to working together.

This likely had to do with the fact that Yan Li’s character, Song Dian, shared many scenes with hers.

Yan Li also expressed friendliness: “I’m truly honored—I loved your portrayal of Jin Suo when I watched ‘My Fair Princess’ back then.”

“Really?”

A faint, almost imperceptible dimming crossed Fan Xiaotian’s pretty face.

It had been an accidental encounter; after a few words of greeting, the two women left. Before stepping into the elevator, Yan Li couldn’t resist turning back to watch their laughing, chatting figures receding.

Speaking of which, Yan Li felt he had a certain affinity with “My Fair Princess.”

He’d only acted in three dramas so far: in Hengdian, he met Qin Lan; he’d also seen the new versions of Xiao Yanzi, Ziwei, and Xiao Jian; now he’d encountered the original Jin Suo.

But Fan Xiaotian in person differed slightly from Yan Li’s memory of Jin Suo.

In his memory, Jin Suo was a timid little maid, always crying.

Now, Fan Xiaotian—perhaps grown into her looks—was far prettier than during her “My Fair Princess” days.

Her skin was fair and smooth, her features refined and sculpted, her small oval face pure yet bright, giving Yan Li a small sense of surprise.

As for Zhang Ting—forget it, not Yan Li’s type.

Liang Guanhua noticed Yan Li’s gaze and assumed the young man was dazzled by beauty, chuckling teasingly.

“Hey, snap out of it—these two aren’t easy to chase.”

Yan Li chuckled silently; he meant nothing else—just surprise at Fan Xiaotian’s transformation and simple admiration for beauty.

He hadn’t even won over Qin Lan in Beijing yet—why would he have time to flirt with other girls?

But seeing Liang Guanhua’s misunderstanding, Yan Li didn’t explain—only grinned sheepishly.

“I wouldn’t dare chase them—I’d rather talk to teachers like you. Women are too troublesome.”

“That’s not the right attitude.”

Liang Guanhua patted Yan Li’s shoulder: “You’re a young man, good-looking too—why fear girls? I’ll teach you a few tricks, I guarantee you’ll find a girlfriend.”

Yan Li politely declined: “I think being single is fine.”

“You’re still young—you don’t understand. Once you have a woman, you’ll know. Come on, let me tell you—don’t look at how I am now, back in my day…”

Liang Guanhua felt a connection with Yan Li, and the latter’s constant “teacher” address had awakened his urge to mentor—he began lecturing Yan Li on how to court women.

Yan Li was exasperated—he’d come to ask Liang Guanhua about acting, not dating advice.

He didn’t need to learn this!

…

In the afternoon, Yan Li tried on his makeup.

His character, Song Dian, was the governor of Suzhou during the Yuan Dynasty, so most of his costumes were official robes and armor.

To reflect Mongol elements of the Yuan Dynasty, they’d also given him an absurd fur-lined hat.

Yan Li accepted it well—mainly because he’d seen the makeup photos of the male lead, Shen Wansan.

Zhang Weijian’s hairstyle, aside from slightly longer back hair, had a modern short fringe—this instantly revealed the production design quality of “The Treasure Basin.”

Not even giving him a Qing Dynasty official robe would’ve been bad enough—why ask for a bicycle?

Though the costume and makeup were mediocre, Yan Li’s face and physique carried it well; all his outfits looked good, especially the armor—his posture was tall and handsome, so much so that the makeup artist worried he’d steal the spotlight from the lead.

Zhang Weijian had been handsome in his youth, but now he leaned into his acting and humor—he couldn’t possibly compete with Yan Li.

Finally, Cheng Lidong, who arrived upon hearing the news, declared: "Even a handsome man like Song Dian failing to win over Shen Wansan only proves the male lead's irresistible charm."

Yan Li gave a thumbs-up: “Only Cheng… Boss.”

That evening, Cheng Lidong took time to host a small welcome dinner for Yan Li; by the time they returned after eating, it was nearly eleven.

Since he was new to the crew, Yan Li paid close attention to gathering information, so he pulled out his script to review it and waited for today’s intelligence update.

In “The Treasure Basin,” Yan Li’s character is Song Dian—a generally tragic villain.

Song Dian achieved success early, held high power and status, and was good-looking—but the woman he loved, Zhao Xuee, insisted on marrying Shen Wansan, then a poor boy, and thus they became enemies.

Later, Song Dian allied with Su Ban Cheng, the villain played by Liang Guanhua, and conspired against Shen Wansan; he even married Su Ban Cheng’s sister, Su Linniang.

Yes, Su Linniang also loved Shen Wansan, and later, out of deep love turned to bitter hatred, she went mad.

This was one reason Yan Li struggled to connect with the character—he’d never experienced such tragic circumstances.

Song Dian suffered repeated emotional blows, and his career fared no better!

When Zhu Yuanzhang’s forces reached Suzhou, Song Dian—once a high Yuan official and former ally of Zhang Shicheng—was captured; thanks to Shen Wansan’s plea, he was spared death but lost his rank and one leg.

Returning to the Su household, now powerless and disabled, he had no value—so his wife and brother-in-law tormented him relentlessly; in the end, filled with regret and despair, Song Dian shared a reconciliation meal with Shen Wansan, then jumped into a lake to kill himself.

The character wasn’t likable, but his repentance and suicide earned him some redemption.

Yan Li chose this role precisely because of its ending—he felt Song Dian had some depth, wasn’t just a flat villain.

So far, Yan Li had memorized all of Song Dian’s lines and had done some analysis and interpretation of the character.

Overall, the acting wasn’t difficult; the only noteworthy part was the suicide scene—he wanted to use this moment to make the character more vivid.

After reviewing the script and marking his upcoming scenes, it was already midnight; Yan Li opened his system.

【Daily Intelligence 1: Fan Xiaotian, overshadowed by the other two female leads of “My Fair Princess” and stuck in the awkward role of a maid, has complex feelings about her signature character Jin Suo and dislikes being reminded of it; Yan Li’s casual mention of her pain point has left Fan Xiaotian with a very lukewarm impression of him…】

(End of Chapter)