Chapter 55

Words unaligned, no need for more; after a few brief exchanges, Seeing Yan Li parted ways with Fan Xiaopang and joined Liang Guanhua, who had been waiting, heading for the makeup room.

"Hey, what did she want to talk to you about?"

Liang Guanhua was curious; Seeing Yan Li answered honestly: "She explained why I forgot my lines earlier."

"Huh?"

Liang Guanhua looked puzzled: "Why tell you? Shouldn't she explain to the director?"

"I don't know what she was thinking either."

Speaking of this, Seeing Yan Li was also baffled—forgetting lines means going back to memorize; what's the point telling me? It's her own mistake; can't she even take a shake of the head?

"I think this Miss has something different about her where you're concerned."

Liang Guanhua adopted the air of a seasoned veteran, his fat face squinting and winking: "Shall I set you two up?"

It's different indeed!

He guessed there'd be thousands of words of online rage aimed at him tonight—maybe even more.

Seeing Yan Li's expression was simple and earnest: "Forget it. She's a rising star; I'm nobody. I wouldn't dare to climb so high."

"You're just too honest, kid."

Liang Guanhua sighed in frustration—Seeing Yan Li was good in every way: articulate, socially adept, skilled professionally—yet he turned shy around girls. No wonder such a handsome man was still single.

As they chatted, Seeing Yan Li received a call from Cheng Lidong, inviting him to dinner.

Seeing Yan Li understood—Cheng Lidong had hinted before that a friend of his had a project stuck, and wondered if Seeing Yan Li could use his "relative" to quietly inquire.

Though Cheng didn't specify details, Seeing Yan Li already knew most of it through his system and felt the issue wasn't serious—he could afford to do a favor.

"Sure, wait a bit—I'll take off my makeup and come over."

Seeing Yan Li confirmed with Cheng Lidong, then removed his makeup, changed clothes, and got into Cheng's car, heading toward the city center.

Those with eyes saw this and further confirmed the rumor that Seeing Yan Li had close personal ties with producer Cheng Lidong.

Fan Xiaopang heard the news too; he grumbled about sycophants, but his anger cooled somewhat.

He couldn't stay angry—after all, the guy had the drama team's boss backing him; he couldn't afford to provoke him…

————

Suzhou, a restaurant

In the private room, Cheng Lidong introduced both sides: "Xiao Yan, this is Director Meng Ji—he directed 'Bright Spring Pig Bajie' and 'Wu Lin Outer History'."

Seeing Yan Li clasped his hands tightly: "Director Meng, I've long admired your work."

"Old Meng, this is the young brother I told you about—Seeing Yan Li. A truly good guy, excellent actor."

Meng Ji wore glasses and rarely smiled; his attitude toward Seeing Yan Li was neither cold nor warm.

Meng Ji was skeptical of Cheng Lidong's praise—he'd come to Suzhou only to catch up with Cheng, and hadn't taken much notice of the actor he recommended.

Meng Ji wasn't Cheng Lidong; the latter mainly operated in Zhejiang, held low status, and had limited connections in Jingcheng.

Meng Ji had been directing since the 1990s and knew many influential figures inside and outside Jingcheng's system. The production company behind this project wasn't some minor outfit—they couldn't solve it either. How could a mere greenhorn like this possibly help?

Seeing Yan Li?

Hmph—he'd checked. No senior official in the bureau had the surname Yan; his friend working there also said he'd never heard the name.

Still, given Cheng Lidong's prior example, Meng Ji didn't think Seeing Yan Li was a fraud.

Too many people worked in the bureau; who could possibly track down every relative? Besides, some kept a low profile—his friend might not even know them.

But Seeing Yan Li's evasive manner didn't suggest real confidence—he strongly suspected Seeing Yan Li had just stumbled by accident last time.

Seeing Yan Li sensed Meng Ji's coolness and didn't care.

It wasn't him who was desperate!

Seeing Yan Li wanted to build connections, but he didn't grovel to every successful person he met. He wasn't going to die without them—why should he be so humble, so self-degrading?

So if Meng Ji didn't speak up, fine—no connection, no harm. Today's free meal wasn't wasted.

Seeing Yan Li remained calm, ate and drank normally, chatted politely, and maintained the proper posture of a young junior.

But don't expect him to intuitively offer to help shoulder the burden.

As the meal neared its end and the matter still hadn't been raised, the intermediary Cheng Lidong couldn't hold back any longer—he broke the silence.

"Xiao Yan, here's the thing—Director Meng has a crime-themed TV series stuck in review. Your contacts are wide—could you look into why?"

With Cheng's words spoken, Meng Ji couldn't pretend ignorance any longer. He'd try anything—even a dead horse might be revived. What harm in testing?

So Meng Ji finally spoke, explained the situation in detail, then added:

"Xiao Yan, rest assured—I'm known for my word, Old Cheng knows it well. If this gets done, I won't let you down."

Since Meng Ji had pledged, Seeing Yan Li didn't put on airs—he also praised Cheng Lidong.

"If Brother Cheng asked, I'd certainly help."

"But Director Meng, I'll be upfront—I have limited ability. I can only inquire, and I can't guarantee anything will come of it."

Such matters could be assisted, but never promised outright.

Use only three-tenths of your strength, speak only three-tenths of your capability—always leave room.

Meng Ji understood. Seeing Yan Li then pulled out his phone, saying he'd step out to make a call and check the situation.

He was gone nearly twenty minutes. When he returned, facing Cheng and Meng's expectant gazes, he nodded.

"There's some progress."

"What do you mean?"

Meng Ji hadn't expected Seeing Yan Li to actually uncover anything—he was greatly surprised and stood up to pour him a glass of water.

Seeing Yan Li didn't drag it out: "Here's what I found—the exact details are still unclear, but it's likely tied to the bureau's recent XX campaign…"

As Meng Ji listened, he grew more convinced—most of what Seeing Yan Li said matched what he knew, but one key detail was new to him.

Damn—it's Taishan I didn't recognize! I've met a true master!

So far, that's all I know; I've asked my relatives to help inquire, and I'll pass on the news to Meng Dao later.

Seeing Yan Li didn't reveal everything at once—the time was too short, and it would have seemed too out of line.

Besides, after the previous experience with Cheng Lidong, Seeing Yan Li felt that when encountering similar situations, stretching the time out a bit more made it seem more "hard-won," and thus the favor carried greater value.

Moreover, he wouldn't give clear, direct, specific guidance anymore, but instead offer only a general range and some vague hints, to avoid trouble.

Although Seeing Yan Li continually downplayed his "intelligence-gathering ability," to outsiders, his credibility kept rising.

The main intelligence system was too broken, and after Seeing Yan Li's downplaying, it actually aligned better with the normal logic of reality as everyone understood it.

For instance, Meng Ji now truly believed Seeing Yan Li was "well-connected"; his attitude had become several times warmer and friendlier than before, and even before the matter was settled, he had already extended an olive branch.

"I'm currently preparing a new drama, the sequel to 'Spring Radiance Zhu Bajie'—if you're interested, Xiao Yan, I'll reserve a role for you."

The sequel to 'Spring Radiance Zhu Bajie'?

Seeing Yan Li became interested; with the influence of the original, he guessed the ratings would be decent.

But given his current standing, he had little chance of landing the lead role of Zhu Bajie—he'd have to see if any standout supporting roles were available.

(End of Chapter)