Chapter 8: I Am Yan Li, I Am Qin Lan

"Beijing Lanji Express Internet Cafe Fire Caused by Arson; Two Suspects Arrested"

Yan Li walked toward the dressing room, sipping his soy milk while scanning the news on the newspaper he'd bought at the kiosk.

This nationwide shocker had drawn more attention these past two days than the national football team's elimination from the World Cup in Japan and Korea; many members of the "Sui Tang Heroes" cast were discussing it, and reportedly several internet cafes in Hengdian had been shut down.

But for Yan Li, the most important thing about this news was that it triggered a rather interesting piece of intelligence from the system.

It revealed that relevant authorities, due to the negative impact of the incident, were discussing canceling approval policies for individual internet cafes and controlling the internet cafe market and so on.

Yan Li didn't really understand official matters, but he vaguely sensed there was profit to be made here.

He didn't know much else, but over the past two years at university, he'd visited plenty of internet cafes and knew how popular this business was among young people and students.

Especially this year, with games like "Legend," "Warcraft," and "CS" all becoming wildly popular, internet cafe business had boomed—every single one was packed, and you had to queue just to get online.

This was already a highly profitable business with demand far outstripping supply, and now it seemed the authorities wanted to impose restrictions.

Then the remaining internet cafes, with no competitors, would monopolize the market—wouldn't they make a fortune!?

Of course, Yan Li knew things might not be as simple as he imagined, but that didn't stop him from filing this intelligence under the "【Money Tree】" category.

Since acquiring the intelligence system, Yan Li had quietly gathered a few seemingly promising business opportunities.

But due to factors like capital, connections, timing, and ability, he could only stare helplessly at these so-called business opportunities.

For example, with the internet cafe business—even without the system, Yan Li knew it was profitable.

But knowing it was profitable didn't help—he had no money, and even less background to open an internet cafe in Jingcheng for long-term development.

Not even an internet cafe—he could barely afford to buy a computer right now.

So he could only set it aside, file and store it, and wait until he'd saved up some capital before reconsidering.

"Slurp—"

As he neared the dressing room, he finished the soy milk, crushed the paper cup, and was about to look around for a trash bin when he noticed the long-haired girl he'd met in the small grove was following him not far behind.

But unlike her usual T-shirt and jeans, she was now wearing a costume.

A queue headpiece and blue Huanzhu Gege outfit—the classic Qing palace style—but her makeup looked even more delicate and timid than usual.

"What a coincidence, meeting again—just finished shooting?"

She hadn't expected to run into Yan Li, paused in surprise, then nodded, her face clearly showing exhaustion.

"All-night shoot last night—I didn't sleep."

"That must be tough."

Yan Li sighed, then looked at the breakfast he'd bought for Wang Xiu, and without hesitation, handed it to her.

"Hungry? Just bought this on the way—it's still warm."

The long-haired girl waved it off: "No, no, I'll buy something myself when I get back."

"Don't be polite—it's not expensive. Meeting twice in different places means we're fated. Who knows how long it'll take you to take off your makeup?"

"Then… thank you."

Hearing Yan Li say that, the girl—evidently truly hungry—stopped refusing, thanked him, and accepted the breakfast.

A simple breakfast—he didn't think much of it; what intrigued him more was that this girl's costume was from the "My Fair Princess III" crew…

"You're not playing Ziwei, are you?"

He'd read the news: the "My Fair Princess" crew had undergone a major cast overhaul—both Xiao Yanzi and Ziwei had been recast.

He remembered the actress playing Xiao Yanzi—wasn't it Huang Yi, who'd been in "The Wrong Bride, Right Groom"? But he didn't recognize Ziwei's actress, couldn't even recall her name—could it be this girl?

The long-haired girl shook her head and explained: "No, I'm playing Zhihua."

"Who's Zhihua?"

Yan Li was baffled—he'd watched both seasons of "My Fair Princess," and there was no such character.

The girl explained: "New character in the third season."

Yan Li understood, and introduced himself: "I'm with the 'Sui Tang Heroes' crew—I play Yuwen Chengdu."

"Yuwen Chengdu? The second strongest hero of Sui and Tang!"

The girl clearly knew the "Sui Tang Legends" story—she perked up, sized Yan Li up, and nodded approvingly.

"Hmm, you really do have the bearing of a Sui-Tang general."

Now it was Yan Li's turn to feel awkward—he knew anyone who heard "Yuwen Chengdu" assumed the character was a legendary powerhouse, unaware that in his version, the Heavenly Treasure General was a comedic fool who queued up and made a spectacle of himself.

He laughed it off, and by then they'd reached the building housing the dressing rooms; since they needed different rooms, they prepared to part ways.

"Hey, wait."

Yan Li had taken only a few steps when the girl called him back, slapping her forehead in frustration.

"I'm so tired I'm delirious—we've met several times, and you just gave me breakfast, and I still don't know your name."

"Yan Li—Yan as in 'color,' Li as in 'etiquette.'"

She repeated it, then gave her own name: "I'm Qin Lan—Qin as in the Qin Dynasty, Lan as in 'orchid.'"

"Got it."

Yan Li gave an OK sign, waved goodbye. Qin Lan watched his back for two seconds, then, overcome by hunger, opened the breakfast he'd given her and took a bite.

Mmm, it's pretty good!

————

"Sui Tang Heroes," dressing room

Yan Li entered, exchanged greetings with familiar actors and makeup artists, found an empty seat, and opened his newspaper to wait for Wang Xiu.

A dozen minutes later, Wang Xiu finished her work and came over: "Hey, didn't bring me breakfast today?"

"I did—but I ran into a pretty girl on the way and gave it to her."

Yan Li spoke plainly; Wang Xiu took it as a joke: "Liar."

"Believe it or not, you won't starve—I just called Jiang Zhong, he's bringing you something soon."

Jiang Zhong played Yuwen Cheng Long, the older brother of Yuwen Chengdu, in the drama; off-camera, the two were also on good terms, making Jiang Zhong the person Yan Li knew best in the Sui-Tang Heroes cast, after Wang Decai and Wang Xiu.

Thanks to Yan Li, Jiang Zhong was also assigned to Wang Xiu for makeup and costume, so he had no objection to bringing over a meal.

As long as there was food to eat, Wang Xiu didn't care who brought it; he rolled up his sleeves and began applying Yan Li's makeup.

Yan Li gave special instructions: "I have a lot of scenes today—put extra care into it."

"When have I ever not put in effort? Do you think I'd eat your meals for free?"

After more than a week on set, Yan Li's character, Yuwen Chengdu, was finally no longer just a supporting role or background prop.

Today's scenes centered on him and Yuwen Huaji.

The plot was roughly this: Yuwen Huaji killed Yang Guang, seized the Imperial Seal, and declared himself emperor; upon hearing this, other rebel kings rallied under the banner of avenging Yang Guang, rushing to seize the Imperial Seal to claim legitimacy over the realm.

The plot had flaws, but it was passable.

After all, the Imperial Seal symbolized legitimacy, and many ambitious men sought to use it to prove they had inherited the Sui dynasty's heavenly mandate—logically, it made sense.

Still, Yan Li strongly suspected the Sui-Tang Heroes screenwriters hadn't thought that deeply—they'd just treated the Imperial Seal like the Dragon-Slaying Blade…

The hall wasn't particularly grand; Yuwen Huaji wore a bright yellow dragon robe styled after the Ming dynasty.

In early-2000s historical dramas, costume, makeup, and props that pursued historical accuracy were rare; except for the distinctive Qing dynasty dramas, costumes for other dynasties were largely interchangeable.

In fact, many historical costumes and hairstyles were outright filled with modern design elements.

Among them, while some stood out as striking, most were crude and cheap, resembling studio photo studio styles.

The costume, makeup, and props of Sui-Tang Heroes had nothing to do with professionalism or historical fidelity, but they weren't wildly off either, and their aesthetic style was at least acceptable.

For instance, Yan Li's character, Yuwen Chengdu, as a prince, had additional royal embellishments added to his original golden crown, black robe, beast-shouldered golden chainmail armor—on the robe, wrist guards, breastplate, and other areas—to signify imperial nobility.

This made the character's appearance more lavish and refined, and since clothes make the man, Yan Li himself appeared even more heroic and valiant.

This was both the director's requirement and Wang Xiu's personal touch.

That line "I won't eat your breakfast for free" wasn't just talk—Wang Xiu had poured tremendous effort into Yan Li's look, doing whatever made him look better.

Of course, besides their good personal relationship, it also had to do with Yan Li's natural good looks, which gave Wang Xiu ample room to showcase his professional skills.

Every profession has its own occupational quirks: calligraphers seeing good brushes and paper want to dip their brushes; chefs seeing good pots and ingredients want to toss the wok; service workers seeing handsome, refined young men want to slip them a red envelope.

Similarly, makeup artists seeing handsome faces and good physiques are eager to make them look beautiful.

It satisfies their personal pleasure, and also publicly demonstrates their skill—essentially free advertising.

Perhaps one day a producer or director watching TV will admire the makeup and costume quality, ask around the industry, and Wang Xiu will land a good job.

Yet while the visual design had been enhanced by Wang Xiu, Yuwen Chengdu's plot and characterization remained frustrating.

When hearing the rebel kings were coming to attack, Yuwen Huaji grew anxious, but Yuwen Chengdu, boasting of his bravery, dismissed all rebel kings with contempt and shouted wildly.

"Father, Your Majesty, give the order—I'll lead the troops and slaughter them until not a single heir remains!"

Then the messenger reported that Li Yuan's forces were the first to arrive; Yuwen Chengdu's face changed instantly—his earlier arrogance vanished, his brows knitted tight, and he asked nervously:

"Who is Li Yuan sending as commander?"

The messenger replied: "Your Highness, the enemy commander is Li Yuanji."

"Li Yuanji?"

Yuwen Chengdu murmured the name, his brows instantly relaxing; a sneer of disdain appeared on his face as he bowed to Yuwen Huaji on the stage.

"Father, I'll lead the troops out of Tong Pass right now, kill this Li Yuanji to consecrate our banners, then march straight to Chang'an."

Yuwen Huaji was deeply pleased: "My son is valiant."

At that moment, the messenger added, cheekily: "Your Highness, Li Yuanji is commander, but Li Yuanba is the vanguard."

"What?!"

Hearing that his lifelong nightmare had arrived, Yuwen Chengdu's face turned ashen, as if his father had just died—his fear and cowardice were visibly apparent.

Yuwen Huaji, knowing Li Yuanba's strength, urgently asked his son for a strategy.

Yuwen Chengdu wanted to bluster, but thinking of that monster, he couldn't muster courage; finally, he lowered his head, unable to meet his father's gaze, like a defeated rooster, utterly devoid of his earlier arrogance, his voice drained of all vigor.

"Our only option now is… to hold Tong Pass at all costs, waiting until the enemy's supplies are exhausted."

"…"

With the director's call, Yan Li stepped out of character, feeling utterly defeated.

A bully who fears the strong and bullies the weak—arrogant one moment, terrified the next—a pure clown.

My version of Yuwen Chengdu will probably become the most despised and mocked Tianbao General in history…

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(End of Chapter)