Chapter 54

Daily Info X: Fan Bingbing was extremely dissatisfied with Seeing Yan Li for his cold treatment in the dressing room and teamed up frantically with her assistant to launch a fierce critique, specifically as follows: That bastard thinks he's so great, treats people differently based on who they are, changes his face like flipping pages…

Tsk tsk, Seeing Yan Li counted roughly—several thousand characters at least—unaware of how long she'd been muttering behind his back.

Classic petty mind!

As part of his daily running routine, Seeing Yan Li detoured on his way to the dressing room to buy a good deal of pastries.

Zhouzhuang's specialty is the famous Suzhou dish, Wansan Pig's Trotter—essentially braised pork knuckle, overly sweet—and then there are all kinds of pastries.

Suzhou-style pastries are already renowned; as a famous town in Suzhou, Zhouzhuang naturally boasts its share of such delicacies: Wansan Cake, Haitang Cake, Waist-Supporting Cake, Qingtuan, Osmanthus Cake… everything you could want.

But with so many pastries available, knowing which ones are actually delicious is an art.

In pastry shops like these, any shop that's been around a while almost never makes truly bad pastries—at least each has one or two signature items.

This leads to newcomers, unless they're regulars, easily mistaking good for bad; and since Suzhou-style pastries are exquisitely crafted and beautiful, they're even more deceptive.

But this posed no difficulty for Seeing Yan Li.

His information system had already given him a list, clearly detailing which shop and which pastry were authentic and delicious.

Not even ordinary locals of Zhouzhuang, nor even professionals in the pastry trade, could match his knowledge or evaluation standards.

Arriving at the dressing room, Seeing Yan Li shared the pastries with everyone, thoughtfully noting which were sweet or savory and whether they contained lard.

To eat someone's food softens their heart—especially when the pastries are this delicious; good food soothes the soul, and everyone's opinion of Seeing Yan Li improved slightly.

For instance, Liang Guanhua was both surprised and delighted, deeply impressed by Seeing Yan Li.

As a food lover who'd been in Zhouzhuang this long, how could he not have bought pastries before? But the overall quality and taste were far inferior to Seeing Yan Li's.

Now Liang Guanhua truly believed: when it came to finding delicious food, Seeing Yan Li had a dog's nose.

Fan Xiaopang arrived late to makeup today; upon entering, she saw everyone praising Seeing Yan Li.

After asking around, she understood why, and couldn't help muttering under her breath.

"Buying favor."

Seeing Yan Li noticed Fan Xiaopang too, and his smile was noticeably warmer than yesterday's.

"Teacher Fan Xiao, you're here—I just bought some pastries, try some."

"No thanks."

Fan Xiaopang didn't want to accept Seeing Yan Li's small favors, but Liang Guanhua kept pushing beside her.

"Bingbing, try it—Seeing Yan Li specifically asked locals who know their stuff, and all these pastries are especially delicious."

With others egging her on and everyone watching, Fan Xiaopang couldn't keep refusing; besides, she was a little tempted, so she reluctantly came over to take a pastry.

Seeing Yan Li enthusiastically recommended: "Do you prefer sweet or savory?"

Fan Xiaopang didn't hesitate: "Sweet."

Seeing Yan Li wrapped several in special pastry paper he'd specifically asked for, and Fan Xiaopang took them; her impression of him improved slightly.

He's not entirely useless!

Sitting at her seat, Fan Xiaopang looked at the delicate, beautiful pastries and felt her appetite stir; she picked one up, placed it in her mouth, and took a small bite.

Huh? Savory?

Fan Xiaopang couldn't help turning to look at Seeing Yan Li; he noticed and smiled at her.

His friendly demeanor eased her suspicion—maybe he'd just grabbed the wrong one by accident, understandable.

She swallowed the pastry in a few bites, then picked another that looked plain and elegant, assuming it must be sweet; she parted her lips slightly and bit in.

Still savory?

That bastard is deliberately playing tricks on her?!

Fan Xiaopang turned to glare at Seeing Yan Li; he looked confused, gazing at her innocently.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's delicious."

Fan Xiaopang forced a smile and complimented him, but internally she was uncertain—wondering if Seeing Yan Li had misheard her earlier.

After all, they had no open conflict; he wouldn't go out of his way to prank her like this.

She could only fume inwardly, adding another mark against Seeing Yan Li: speaks without thinking, and has terrible hearing.

Seeing Yan Li calmly took a bite of pastry—mmm, fragrant, sweet, soft, and chewy.

Fan Xiaopang has a petty mind; he's no magnanimous person either—she'd cursed him for thousands of characters behind his back, so his little notebook had her name on it too…

————

Seeing Yan Li had significantly more scenes today.

They were filming the scene where his character, Song Dian, competes with Shen Wansan (Zhang Weijian) and Su Bancheng (Liang Guanhua) for one woman—Zhao Xuee, played by Fan Xiaopang.

The plot: Zhao Xuee's mother, money-obsessed, accepted dowries from three men and married her daughter to all three; the men refused to yield, so they took the matter to court.

In the end, the magistrate, being clever, pretended to execute Zhao Xuee for corrupting public morals, then ordered the three husbands to pay for her burial.

Naturally, the two villains would never pay for a dead woman, while the hero, deeply devoted, would ultimately win her back.

Seeing Yan Li had no opinion on the plot—it wasn't clichéd, but neither was it fresh.

From a character standpoint, Su Bancheng is a crafty, cunning merchant, and Song Dian is a brilliant scholar who rose to become Suzhou's chief administrator—how could either fail to see through such a crude trick?

But the screenwriter wrote it, the director filmed it, so the actors had to perform it.

Not just Seeing Yan Li—even Liang Guanhua, who'd performed in countless refined theater productions, became a loud, ridiculous villain on set.

Actors, after all, get paid to work—do their best to portray the role, and leave the rest aside.

Actually, this scene was quite interesting.

Both Liang Guanhua and Seeing Yan Li leaned toward the academic style—methodical and precise; even when playing ridiculous villains, they infused their performances with technique and design.

Zhang Weijian was different—he was a singer who climbed up through the ranks in TVB and the Xiangjiang film industry, a self-taught outsider.

Early on, his performances showed real skill, but as he took on more comedies and his roles became increasingly homogenized, he gradually developed his own acting formula.

Clever, quirky, slightly exaggerated, with a touch of cartoonish, absurd comedy.

Often, when he found characters similar, Zhang Weijian would just lazily reuse the same approach.

Put nicely, it's called a distinct personal style.

Put harshly, it's a single, unchanging performance style, lacking ambition, content to stay in his comfort zone.

Of course, most actors are like this; it's unfair to be overly critical. Zhang's financial situation is special, so he had no choice but to prioritize earning money.

And to be fair, Zhang Weijian's style, though tiring after repeated exposure, is especially eye-catching and gripping.

Added to that, he has the most screen time as the protagonist, firmly anchoring him as the absolute center of this scene.

But Liang Guanhua and Seeing Yan Li are no pushovers; each delivered their own performance—one portrayed villainy, the other malice, bringing out the despicable faces of the antagonists. The county magistrate and Zhao's mother were seasoned actors and performed well too.

The least noteworthy was Fan Xiaopang—aside from crying beautifully, like pear blossoms drenched in rain, everything else was unremarkable.

In two later scenes, she forgot her lines multiple times, making Seeing Yan Li shake his head in frustration.

Poor acting can be blamed on lack of natural talent or youth and inexperience.

Forgetting lines, however, is a complete lack of professionalism.

Fan Xiaopang's forgotten lines caused a retake; already nervous and embarrassed, she feared others would gossip—then she saw Seeing Yan Li shake his head, bit her lower lip, and felt a pang of grievance.

She took this role only as a last-minute favor; she had originally been waiting to join the Wu Xia drama "Pingshong Pingsheng Xia Ying."

With tight schedules, heavy demands, and her mind still on "Pingshong Pingsheng Xia Ying," Fan Xiaopang had insufficient private preparation time, making mistakes inevitable.

Perhaps unwilling to be looked down upon by someone she disliked, Fan Xiaopang sought out Seeing Yan Li after filming to explain her situation.

"So that's how it is."

Seeing Yan Li nodded, looking as if he'd just understood.

So it's a scheduling conflict. That does make the attitude problematic—her acting was already mediocre, and now she's distracted. How could she possibly play the role well?

Fan Xiaopang faintly sensed Seeing Yan Li's insincerity; her beautiful eyes flickered, and she cut straight to the point.

"Why do I feel you're somewhat… resistant to me? Is there some misunderstanding between us?"

"Huh?"

Seeing Yan Li looked puzzled, then said sincerely: "No, I really like your performance as Jin Suo. Even though she's just a maid, with average acting and youthful looks, she has real spirit…"

Fan Xiaopang: "..."

Forget the misunderstanding—for now, this guy's mouth is truly annoying!

(End of Chapter)