Chapter 53

What a stroke of bad luck!

Seeing Yan Li rubbed his forehead—how could anyone have imagined an actor would dislike others bringing up his most famous role?

Hmm, then again, he could understand—it suddenly occurred to Seeing Yan Li that he himself had played Yuwen Chengdu.

If one day someone praised him for his portrayal of Yuwen Chengdu, raving about how much they loved the character and so on, Seeing Yan Li doubted he'd feel any better.

Still, even if that was true, Seeing Yan Li felt he was innocent of malice—he meant well, and if the girl was upset, that was fine, but there was a hint of misplaced blame here.

Petty-minded—no wonder she couldn't match Xiao Yanzi or Lin Xinru!

Seeing Yan Li muttered to himself, lowering his evaluation of Fan Xiaopang.

The remaining pieces of intelligence included two about the stock market, two about internal matters of The Ju Bao Pen, and one about Liang Guanhua's opinion of Seeing Yan Li.

Unlike Fan Xiaopang, Liang Guanhua held Seeing Yan Li in high regard and had a distinct fondness for him.

This time, Seeing Yan Li felt much better!

No one develops affection for someone who dislikes them, especially someone like Seeing Yan Li, who was clear in his likes and dislikes.

If there was some ulterior motive, that was one thing—but in normal social interaction, if someone liked him, took him as a friend, then Seeing Yan Li would treat them as a friend; conversely, if someone disliked or hated Seeing Yan Li, he wouldn't go chasing after cold shoulders.

…

The next day, Seeing Yan Li went out for his usual morning run and martial arts practice; Liang Guanhua had told him yesterday the hotel had a dedicated fitness area.

But Seeing Yan Li still preferred outdoor exercise—it was more comfortable, let him enjoy the scenery, and let him breathe fresh air.

With no scenes in the morning, Seeing Yan Li practiced a bit, checked the stock market, ate lunch, then went to makeup, where he met Peng Dan, the actress playing his on-screen wife, Su Linniang!

How to put it—this woman was actually something of an "old acquaintance" to Seeing Yan Li.

Back in his youthful days, Seeing Yan Li had watched plenty of her Category III films—works like Evil Kill, Extreme Bestiality, Six Demon Maidens, and the Triad—and he'd enjoyed every moment.

Even now, recalling them, he could sum it up in just one word—

Truly huge!

Unfortunately, perhaps due to the weather, or makeup and costume choices, or maybe because she wasn't paid enough, Peng Dan didn't showcase her strengths in The Ju Bao Pen.

This time, Seeing Yan Li had learned his lesson—he didn't go up and say, "I loved your movie so much!" but instead made polite, conventional small talk.

To Seeing Yan Li's slight surprise, he had expected Peng Dan, having starred in Xiangjiang Category III films, to be bold, unrestrained, and free-spirited—a classic daughter of the martial world.

But after chatting, he realized that while her personality was still quite cheerful, her speech and manner were refined, utterly unlike what he'd imagined.

One could only say that on-screen personas and real-life personalities sometimes differed greatly.

Not long after, Liang Guanhua arrived, joining them for makeup and conversation.

Compared to Peng Dan's contrast, Liang Guanhua truly resembled Zhang Damin from The Happiness of Zhang Damin—the man was kind-tempered and loved to joke around.

Seeing Yan Li enjoyed chatting with people like this—talkative, witty, able to trade jokes and light boasts, creating a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere that made work enjoyable.

After makeup, the three went to the set to film; Seeing Yan Li had little screen time, mostly involved in conspiring with Liang and Peng to scheme against Shen Wansan.

As for Seeing Yan Li's character Song Dian, among the cast of The Ju Bao Pen, Liang and Peng were the actors he shared the most scenes with, followed by the lead, Zhang Weijian.

After them came Fan Xiaopang, who portrayed the female second lead, Zhao Xuee.

In the drama, Song Dian had always longed for Zhao Xuee, wanting to take her back from Shen Wansan; at the moment of his death, he went to pay respects at Zhao Xuee's grave, where he met Shen Wansan and reconciled with him.

After filming began, Peng Dan performed normally, but Liang Guanhua seemed to be testing Seeing Yan Li's mettle—he delivered a more nuanced, layered, and explosive performance than usual, with several changes to his lines.

Seeing Yan Li didn't know how Liang Guanhua had performed before, so he assumed this was simply the daily standard of a People's Art Theatre pillar.

Though surprised by the altered lines, Seeing Yan Li stuck to his own rhythm and smoothly carried the scene.

After The Conquest, Seeing Yan Li's acting skills had improved—how much, he couldn't say—but after sharing scenes with powerhouses like Sun Honglei and Jiang Shan, his psychological resilience during performance had clearly grown far stronger than before.

This point was actually very important!

Many young actors trained in drama schools still had solid foundational skills—they could handle most ordinary, low-demand plotlines, at least when performing normally.

Many young actors performed poorly not just because of lack of ability, but more so because of poor mindset.

On set, they panicked; facing the camera, they grew nervous; before even performing, they trembled before seniors, their minds a jumbled mess, forgetting most of their lines and character motivations, limbs and faces unresponsive—how could they possibly perform well?

So, compared to being able to act, the most crucial thing for newcomers was to dare to act.

Seeing Yan Li had an advantage here—he was naturally strong-willed and bold, and after the system had his back, he became even more confident.

After training in The Sui and Tang Heroes and The Conquest, minor disturbances no longer frightened him.

Others with better acting skills might outshine him in scenes, but they wouldn't throw him off or cause him to crack under pressure and make mistakes.

After the director approved the take, Liang Guanhua gave Seeing Yan Li a thumbs-up and complimented him.

At this age, Seeing Yan Li wasn't the most outstanding young actor Liang Guanhua had ever seen, but he was certainly among the top tier.

Compared to those young actors brimming with talent and innate brilliance, Seeing Yan Li's strength lay in his solid Fundamentals—he had a certain degree of talent himself, so his performances were steady and excellent, giving him broad versatility and a high floor.

Liang Guanhua even considered encouraging Seeing Yan Li to audition for the People's Art Theatre; some of their veteran masters favored actors with such steady, reliable talent.

If Seeing Yan Li knew what Liang Guanhua was thinking, he would politely decline.

He didn't reject stage acting, but he didn't want to perform the same role over and over again—he preferred film and television, where he could try different characters and stories, pour his all into portraying them, and let them shine.

Of course, the fact that film and television paid more and brought greater fame was also an undeniable factor.

Seeing Yan Li had little to do today; after filming a few scenes, they wrapped. Liang and Peng still had more to shoot, so Seeing Yan Li bid them farewell and went to the makeup room to remove his makeup.

When he arrived, he found Fan Xiaopang and another middle-aged female actress—presumably playing her on-screen mother—applying makeup; they were probably shooting night scenes.

Seeing Yan Li gave his standard polite smile and nodded in greeting, then found a seat, closed his eyes, and let the makeup artist remove his makeup.

Since she had a neutral impression of him and wasn't someone worth cultivating a relationship with, he'd just keep distance—no need to annoy each other.

Fan Xiaopang watched Seeing Yan Li, eyes closed, and slightly furrowed her delicate brows.

Last time they met, though he wasn't great with words, his attitude had been friendly—why was he so cold today?

She was puzzled, but they were only colleagues with a single prior encounter; she didn't dwell on it and continued with her makeup.

Not long after, the makeup room grew slightly noisy; Fan Xiaopang turned around and saw the production manager, Cheng Li, entering the room.

Fan Xiaopang was about to greet him, when she noticed the man who had just been resting with his eyes closed had already beamed and walked over with full enthusiasm.

"Director Cheng, what are you doing here?"

"I was passing by, so I came in to check on everyone."

Cheng Lidong smiled and patted Seeing Yan Li's arm: "First day on set—how's it going?"

"Very well. Teacher Liang and Sister Peng Dan have been very kind to me. Thank you for your concern—you're so busy every day, yet you still think of me."

"..."

Seeing Yan Li and Cheng Lidong chatted warmly; after the latter greeted everyone else, the two went to the door for a cigarette and talked a few more minutes before Cheng Lidong left.

When Seeing Yan Li reentered the makeup room, he saw Fan Xiaopang watching him eagerly and asked:

"You're pretty close to Director Cheng?"

Hmph. Didn't say a word earlier, but now that he sees I'm familiar with the producer, he's eager to strike up a conversation.

"Fine."

Seeing Yan Li felt annoyed and gave a casual reply; Fan Xiaopang asked again: "How did you two meet?"

"Through a friend."

"What friend? Also from our circle?"

"Mm."

Fan Xiaopang was about to ask more, but Seeing Yan Li was done with the chatter—he gave another standard polite smile, turned to speak with the makeup artist, then closed his eyes to rest, making it clear he had no interest in engaging Fan Xiaopang.

"..."

Fan Xiaopang, completely ignored, shot daggers with his almond eyes at Seeing Yan Li, gritting his teeth.

What does a producer's lackey have to be so proud of?!

(End of Chapter)