Chapter 80

【... I'm not a petty person. The past grievances with the Ju Bao Pen production team are hereby buried. From now on, we go our separate ways.】

In the taxi, Yan Li looked at the text message from Fan Xiaopang, tapped his finger lightly, and replied with one word.

{Good}

Afterward, Yan Li put away his phone and looked at Li Bingbing: "Go on."

Li Bingbing leaving with Yan Li was certainly not some melodramatic love-at-first-sight plot.

Yan Li's eloquence and charm hadn't yet reached the point of winning over a top-tier rising star in a few hours.

Li Bingbing's true purpose was to gauge his worth, to feel out his capabilities.

Her younger sister, Li Xue, was also an agent under Wang Jinghua, though currently only an executive agent.

Wang Jinghua had immediately offered Yan Li the terms of a full agent contract; she wanted to know what he was capable of, and if possible, learn from him for her sister's sake.

To comprehensively assess Yan Li's abilities, Li Bingbing even told him about her current bid for the female lead in "Mobile Phone," using it as an excuse to seek his advice.

Of course, the specific backstage details of the competition, Li Bingbing certainly wouldn't blurt out openly.

She only gave vague surface-level information, just to test Yan Li's judgment.

But Li Bingbing didn't know that Yan Li had a system.

As it neared midnight, Li Bingbing's words triggered the daily intelligence update, so Yan Li immediately uncovered the casting secrets of "Mobile Phone."

Tsk, this Li Bingbing isn't as valued as she thought!

In terms of fame, Li Bingbing was a top rising star, no worse than the so-called Four Little Goddesses.

In terms of connections, her ties with Wang Jinghua ran deep, and she was on good terms with the Wang brothers; even in Wang Jinghua's cooperation with Huayi, she had lent a hand, making her one of the few Huayi artists who could navigate both sides smoothly.

Yet Wang Jinghua favored promoting Fan Xiaopang, and the Wang brothers outright planned to use outsiders.

Li Bingbing had fully expected herself to be at least one of the final candidates; in reality, she barely ranked inside the top ten.

As if sensing Yan Li's mood, Li Bingbing paused her story and furrowed her brow slightly.

"What's wrong? Something not right?"

"Uh…"

They weren't close enough for deep talk; Yan Li didn't want to offend Wang Jinghua or the Wang brothers.

But since their conversation had gone well today, he still gave Li Bingbing a clear path.

"Who the movie casts, Director Feng is the final decision-maker. If he agrees, everyone else will be easy to handle."

Li Bingbing had her own unique advantages.

Although Wang Jinghua and the Wang brothers didn't see her as their first choice, they wouldn't reject her either, since Li Bingbing's casting in "Mobile Phone" aligned with Wang Jinghua's and Huayi's interests.

If that's the case, don't rely on either side—focus your efforts on Feng Xiaogang.

If Feng Xiaogang supports her, she can use that leverage to persuade Wang Jinghua and the Wang brothers, greatly increasing her chances of landing the role.

Yan Li's words referred to the importance of sequence, but Li Bingbing didn't understand—she even thought his advice was nonsense.

She wanted to be the female lead in Feng Xiaogang's film, of course she needed Feng Xiaogang's approval—this was just stating the obvious.

Li Bingbing felt disappointed, thinking Wang Jinghua might have misjudged him.

Yan Li noticed Li Bingbing's disdain but didn't take it to heart.

With this level of acquaintance, giving her a hint was already enough. If she didn't get it, fine—it had nothing to do with him anyway.

…

After dropping Li Bingbing off at her residential complex, Yan Li left in the car; Li Bingbing went upstairs to her home.

Her younger sister, Li Xue, was watching TV. Seeing her return, she asked: "How was it?"

"Not bad."

Li Bingbing changed her shoes, sank onto the sofa, chatted idly with her sister, then brought up Yan Li, recounting the evening, and sighed:

"This guy's good at chatting—I think Sister Hua was fooled by him."

After speaking, she noticed her sister kept her head down, silent. She nudged her with her foot.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking about what Yan Li said."

"What's there to think about? It's just nonsense."

Li Bingbing was speechless, but Li Xue shook her head: "No, something's off—he seemed to be hinting at something."

"Hinting at something?"

Li Bingbing repeated Yan Li's words once more, finding nothing unusual: "You're overthinking it."

"No, sis, repeat the whole conversation again—try not to miss any details."

Li Xue pressed Li Bingbing to recount every detail of her talk with Yan Li. Li Bingbing couldn't refuse, so she strained to remember. As she listened, Li Xue's eyes grew brighter.

"Yes—you felt his reaction was off. He must have noticed something. When you asked him what was wrong, he suddenly brought up Director Feng—he was warning you, just indirectly."

Hearing her sister's analysis, Li Bingbing also sensed something odd, though she still didn't grasp the hidden meaning in Yan Li's words.

Li Xue, however, caught the implication: "If Director Feng agrees, everyone else will be easy to handle—who exactly does 'everyone else' refer to?"

The more she thought, the more she murmured to herself. Li Xue looked at Li Bingbing: "Sis, what's Yan Li's phone number?"

Li Bingbing was glad she'd saved his number. She pulled out her phone and dialed. Li Xue took the call herself.

"Are you Teacher Yan Li? I'm Li Xue, Li Bingbing's younger sister. I have a question for you and my sister…"

…

Jimenli

Yan Li, just back home, hung up the phone and couldn't help but sigh: Beautiful sister, clever younger sister—Old Li's family is truly blessed.

After tidying up his home, about half an hour later, the doorbell rang. Li Bingbing and Li Xue stood outside.

"Sorry to disturb you so late."

"It's fine, come in."

Yan Li let them in, poured two cups of hot water. It was late, and Yan Li was a bit sleepy too. They had already exchanged some things on the phone just now, so he decided to get straight to the point.

"I can help, but what's in it for me?"

Although Li Xue was younger than Li Bingbing and had no real reputation, at this moment she was the main force in the negotiation.

"I still don't know how much you can help us."

Yan Li smiled: "Then how do you judge how much effort I've put in, how much credit I deserve?"

The two of them went back and forth in circles. Li Bingbing, listening, grew impatient and cut through their back-and-forth.

"As long as I get the role, I'll owe you a favor."

"A favor isn't easy to put a price on."

Yan Li shook his head. Li Bingbing held down Li Xue, who still wanted to speak, and asked directly.

"Then what do you want?"

Yan Li took a sip of water, looked Li Bingbing up and down: "I want you…"

Before the Li Bingbing sisters could suddenly change color, Yan Li spat out the next few words: "to act in a drama for me later, and at a friend's-price rate."

A top-tier rising star—if she acted in "Cell Phone," Li Bingbing's career should be able to reach the next level.

Later, when Yan Li invested in and produced film and television, he could invite her to take part, and the script-selling price could be pushed up a notch.

"Act in a drama for you? You're going to transition behind the scenes?"

Li Bingbing was a bit bewildered—wasn't Yan Li just a small actor? How did he have the confidence to say that?

"Just say whether it's okay or not."

Yan Li didn't explain. Li Bingbing held down her younger sister, nodded, and agreed readily: "No problem."

When it came to cleverness, she was no match for her younger sister.

When it came to boldness, Li Bingbing, not yet 20, had resolutely given up her position as an elementary school teacher and gone to Magic Capital to take the entrance exam for the Shanghai Theatre Academy.

Later, when their mother fell seriously ill and the family was in debt, Li Bingbing, still so young, held up the whole household—taking on the family's debts, living expenses, and her sister's tuition. In her bones she was a tough person who dared to bet and take responsibility.

Although she wasn't sure how much help Yan Li could actually be, since her sister felt he was useful, and Yan Li himself also looked quite confident, she was willing to gamble.

Worst case, she'd go back and film a cheap, bad drama—who hasn't done that as an actor?

"Good temperament."

Yan Li praised, his eyes showing appreciation. He felt he had misjudged a little just now.

Clever people aren't necessarily the ones who get things done. So with these two sisters, even though it was the younger sister Li Xue who led the whole situation and came up with the plans, the one who truly dared to make decisions and step up to take charge was still the elder sister Li Bingbing.

Li Xue hadn't been able to stop her sister, and couldn't very well take back what she'd said, so she began to patch things up.

"We can owe you one drama, but it has to be a proper role in a proper production crew."

If Yan Li came up with some Category III film or some demeaning role, then Li Bingbing definitely couldn't act in it.

"That should be the case."

Yan Li was also very straightforward. What he was after was Li Bingbing making money for him—of course he wouldn't pull any of that messy nonsense.

If possible, Yan Li would even arrange a good drama and a good role for her. He'd earn more, Li Bingbing would also benefit—everyone cooperating for a win-win.

Perhaps infected by Li Bingbing's decisiveness just now, and also to let the Li sisters feel his sincerity, Yan Li followed suit and let his feelings show.

"If I can't get you the role, then my help counts for nothing, and the agreement is void."

"Good, then it's settled."

Li Bingbing and Yan Li clapped hands, sealing the cooperation.

(End of chapter)