Chapter 84: Yan Li and Dong Xuan

"Cheers."

Yan Li, Dong Xuan, Guan Yue, Yin Xu, Tong Dawei, and Lin Jiachuan all raised their cups together.

Today is Dong Xuan's welcome banquet; in fact, she's been back for a while, but Yan Li was too busy before.

Now he's finally carved out some time, cooked himself, and invited close friends over—not just to welcome Dong Xuan, but also to celebrate the early success of "Conquest."

"Old Yan, you've got some serious skills."

Tong Dawei had never eaten food cooked by Yan Li before and was surprised; Lin Jiachuan praised his older brother and boss on his behalf.

"This is nothing—my brother hasn't even made his signature dish yet."

Guan Yue nodded too; she'd eaten Yan Li's braised pork before, and the flavor had left a lasting impression.

To some extent, even her later support for Dong Xuan and Yan Li's reconciliation was influenced by this.

After all, if they got back together, she could come over to mooch meals without guilt.

Tong Dawei grew eager: "Old Yan, you holding out on us?"

"No, I've been busy these days, and just moved into a new place—seasonings aren't all here yet. If you want to eat it, anytime I've got free time, I'll make some and share it with you."

Yan Li answered half-truthfully; yes, the seasonings weren't complete, but also, braised pork was time-consuming and troublesome—he only bothered making it when he or Dong Xuan craved it.

"Speaking of moving, this new apartment of yours is really nice."

Yin Xu picked up the thread, scanning their new rental.

Two bedrooms, one living room, not very large—around 80 square meters—but the renovation was refined, and all the appliances were present: air conditioner, color TV, refrigerator, washing machine, even a DVD player.

"That's for sure—this rent isn't cheap, 2,500 a month."

Lin Jiachuan had helped secure this place; now that Yan Li had money, he didn't bother haggling over rent—just stated his requirements, as long as the price wasn't outrageous.

The apartment was located in the Beiying Community, the residential area of the Beiyang Film Studio.

But Yan Li's unit was newly built in recent years, very fresh, and since it was originally intended as a wedding home, a lot of money had been spent on renovation and appliances.

Later, the young couple moved abroad, and their parents, thinking it wasteful to leave it empty, rented it out.

Yan Li chose this unit because it was extremely close to Beidian—right next door, just a few minutes' walk, convenient for Dong Xuan's classes.

Yes, this place would eventually be his and Dong Xuan's little nest.

Yan Li would likely spend far more time here than in Jimenli, so he naturally needed a better apartment.

"2,500 a month—that's 30,000 a year, Old Yan, you've really hit it big."

Guan Yue was astonished; though most Beidian students weren't poor, 2,500 a month in rent was shocking—far exceeding most students' monthly living expenses.

"Oh, just small-time stuff."

Yan Li had no intention of showing off; it was just friends over for a casual gathering, and boasting would annoy them.

More importantly, to him, "Conquest" had only just "broken even"—it hadn't started making profit yet.

When he actually had a few million in hand, then he could show off.

But Yan Li was humble, and he had a built-in hype-man: Lin Jiachuan was today's champion of flattery.

"My brother isn't just small-time—our company's 'Conquest' already has satellite TV networks reaching out; yesterday I even took them out to dinner…"

Yan Li glanced at Lin Jiachuan; the kid usually played the hype-man, but never with this much enthusiasm.

Something's up!

Sure enough, after a quick observation, Yan Li saw Lin Jiachuan, while praising him, keep sneaking glances at Yin Xu—the only woman here without a male companion.

Tsk. Pretending to praise Big Brother Yan, but really trying to showcase himself indirectly.

Not wasted all this time following me—he's gotten smarter!

Yan Li observed Lin Jiachuan, but everyone else's attention was fixed squarely on him.

"Old Yan, your drama's really going to air on satellite TV?"

Everyone present were Beidian students, and Tong Dawei had been in the industry for a while—they understood industry norms.

Not every TV drama shot could be broadcast, and not every broadcast drama could make it to satellite TV.

Tong Dawei felt this most acutely—he'd participated in the Haiyan drama "Jade Guanyin."

He'd expected it to air quickly, become a hit, and make him famous.

But "Jade Guanyin" was shelved for a long time due to its sensitive subject matter.

Lately, there'd been some rumors, but it still needed to wait for scheduling—it was uncertain when it would air.

With his most promising project stuck and his "patron" in trouble, Tong Dawei's career had stalled; if not for his recent improvement with Guan Yue, he'd have sunk into depression.

And now, his long-awaited Haiyan drama still hadn't even aired, while Yan Li's "casually made" low-budget crime drama was about to hit satellite TV.

"It did well in Tianjin, so Tianjin Satellite TV is considering it, but negotiations are still ongoing—nothing's confirmed yet."

Yan Li spoke modestly, but according to his intelligence network, the success rate was over seventy percent.

The remaining thirty percent depended on price and the drama's viewership ratings on other local stations and its public momentum.

Satellite TV contracts were indeed far harder to negotiate than local ones!

First, price: most episodes were priced above 100,000 yuan; since "Conquest" performed well locally, the price could rise further—possibly reaching 150,000 to 200,000 yuan per episode.

"Conquest" had twenty episodes—that's a contract worth 3 to 4 million yuan, not a small sum.

Local sub-channels and city stations had fixed local viewership bases, so their ratings were relatively stable; unless the drama was truly terrible, the numbers wouldn't look bad.

But satellite TV was different—it was real, nationwide, head-to-head combat.

The competition was so fierce compared to local channels' cozy regional advantages.

If a satellite network bought the wrong drama and its ratings ranked at the bottom nationwide, they'd have no excuse—so they had to be cautious.

Given these practical factors, a seventy percent success rate was already very impressive; barring accidents, "Conquest" securing satellite broadcast was practically guaranteed.

Even now, Yan Li was already thinking about a second satellite network.

"Compared to you, the whole Hairen distribution team are useless."

Tong Dawei couldn't help complaining, but Yan Li just smiled and said nothing—he understood the situation with "Jade Guanyin" well; it wasn't the distributors' fault.

The female lead of this drama, as a police officer, had emotional ties with a drug dealer and even bore his child.

Although there were reasons behind it, the female lead held firm to her stance, and in the end, the drug dealer was brought to justice.

But the plot was still too sensitive—dancing on a high-voltage wire; just getting it aired was already a miracle.

Compared to Tong Dawei's obsession with "Jade Guanyin," the girls' focus was much more straightforward.

How much money did Yan Li make!

It was awkward to ask directly over dinner, so when they'd eaten enough, Yan Li, Tong Dawei, and Lin Jiachuan pulled out playing cards to play Landlord. Guan Yue and Yin Xu quietly pulled Dong Xuan aside into the bedroom to ask.

"I don't know."

Facing her two best friends' probing, Dong Xuan shook her head. Seeing they didn't believe her, she explained.

"Yan Li never told me specifics, and I never asked—but he definitely made money."

"You're clueless."

Yin Xu sighed in frustration: "You don't even care about this? One day he loses everything and sells you off, you'll be counting the money for him."

Guan Yue stood with Yin Xu: "You need to know your man's real worth. Otherwise, one day someone steals him away and you won't even notice."

Hearing "steal him away," Dong Xuan instantly perked up: "I'll go ask him later."

"No."

Guan Yue stopped her: "Don't rush—it'll make him suspicious. Wait for a better chance."

"Guan Yue's right. Slowly fish for answers later. Right now, you've got other people to ask."

Yin Xu opened the bedroom door, pointed at Lin Jiachuan, who'd just lost the card game and downed a can of beer, smugly confident.

Dong Xuan fell silent. Guan Yue rolled up her sleeves: "I'll cover for you."

————

"Thanks, you three."

Yan Li waved goodbye as Lin Jiachuan, drunk and supported by Tong Dawei, Guan Yue, and Yin Xu, stumbled out.

Back home, Dong Xuan was cleaning up the dining table.

Watching Dong Xuan, in a fitted sweater and jeans that accentuated her slender figure, Yan Li stepped quietly forward, wrapped his arms around her waist, and rested his head on her shoulder.

"Just now, Guan Yue and the others tried to get Jiachuan drunk—what were they up to?"

Dong Xuan gasped: "You noticed?"

"I'm not stupid. Not just me—even Jiachuan figured it out."

Yan Li couldn't help complaining—their tactics were too crude; their intent toward Lin Jiachuan wasn't even hidden, clearly hiding something.

Lin Jiachuan had attended plenty of banquets and negotiations with Yan Li—he was no longer the naive boy of old; this little trick wouldn't fool him.

"Then why did he get so drunk?"

Dong Xuan squirmed, offering token resistance to Yan Li's wandering hands. He grinned mischievously as he pressed his advantage.

"Who said he got drunk? His tolerance's improved a lot—he couldn't be taken down by that much."

"Then why—?"

"You think you can use beauty traps, but I can't use my brother's counter-trap?"

"No, I'm calling Yin Xu."

Dong Xuan panicked, reaching for her phone to warn him—but Yan Li snatched it away and tossed it onto the sofa, then hoisted her onto his shoulder and carried her toward the bedroom.

"Stop worrying about others—worry about yourself first."

"..."

Yan Li was in high spirits tonight, and it lasted unusually long—it wore Dong Xuan out, nearly breaking her apart.

Afterwards, Dong Xuan lay limp in Yan Li's arms, too exhausted to move. Yan Li, still unsatisfied, kept his hands busy.

After a while, Yan Li remembered something, reached for a box on the nightstand, and in a flash slipped something onto Dong Xuan's wrist.

Dong Xuan felt a cool, heavy weight on her wrist—looked down, and saw a gold bracelet, about the thickness of chopsticks, gleaming on her fair skin.

"Why did you buy this?"

"New Year gift. I looked around, but gold was the most practical. A bangle looked too old-fashioned—this bracelet's easier for you to store."

Dong Xuan admired the bracelet, loving it, yet felt embarrassed: "Isn't this too expensive? At least a few dozen grams—thousands of yuan. You need money for your business everywhere—don't waste it."

"I don't care about this much. If you don't want it, I'll give it to someone else."

"You dare."

Hearing that, Dong Xuan clutched the bracelet tightly. Yan Li found it amusing, pretended to snatch it away. She refused. They tussled, cheek to cheek, breath mingling.

After a while, Dong Xuan finally kept her gold bracelet, panting slightly, proudly showing off to Yan Li.

She didn't realize Yan Li, still unsatisfied earlier, had been stirred again by her.

Yan Li slowly leaned close, wrapped his arms around her waist to prevent escape, his voice low and husky.

"I treat you so well, yet you're scheming with your friends to trick my brother—isn't that unfair?"

"... It wasn't my idea."

Feeling danger, Dong Xuan, guilty yet nervous, immediately betrayed Guan Yue. But Yan Li didn't care.

"You're still an accomplice."

Seeing this, Dong Xuan knew she couldn't escape. She looked up at Yan Li with beautiful eyes: "Say it—what do you want to do?"

"Wrongdoers must be punished."

Yan Li whispered a few words. Dong Xuan's face flushed red: "We agreed it was the last time—you're breaking your word again."

"Hmm. Won't happen again."

He brushed her off casually, then coaxed and threatened her: "Good girl, if you don't behave, I won't be gentle."

Unable to resist Yan Li's persistent coaxing, Dong Xuan struggled slightly, then leaned forward and slipped into bed…

(End of Chapter)