Chapter 95

"Ninety-two, ninety-three, ninety-four…"

Bare-chested, Yan Li did push-ups in the living room while Qin Lan sat beside him counting.

When he reached one hundred, Yan Li stopped, relaxed his arms and shoulders, and took the towel Qin Lan handed him to wipe away his sweat.

Stuck at home every day with nowhere to go, he could only do indoor exercises.

Qin Lan lacked stamina and often begged to quit, so Yan Li had to train alone afterward.

To be honest, Yan Li didn't know whether it was due to the system or because becoming an actor had trained him to maintain long-term discipline, but his physical fitness and energy had definitely improved significantly since before.

Doing one hundred standard push-ups in one go left him feeling no real strain afterward.

Back when Yan Li was at the martial arts school, he trained daily during his rapid physical development phase, ate a lot, recovered quickly, and was full of energy like a young calf—this level of exercise meant nothing then.

After leaving the martial arts school, stopping training, and spending a few years in school, he gradually grew lax and declined.

Over the past year, Yan Li felt he had regained some of his old martial arts school condition, even more stable and enduring, with greater vigor.

Qin Lan, who had only just started dating him, didn't fully grasp this; the one who felt it most deeply was Dong Xuan, who had been with Yan Li the longest.

She was increasingly unable to keep up with Yan Li, sometimes deliberately making excuses to sleep at her dormitory to avoid him, and now often tolerated his new antics—partly because she was halfheartedly diverting his energy.

Even with Huang Shengyi, merely understanding her feelings and giving her pocket money wasn't enough to keep her obedient.

Her ex-boyfriend Jia Nailiang doted on her, spending generously on her living expenses, yet she still broke up with him.

So it was Yan Li who understood communication: each time they met, he calmed her resentment through action, making her drop her grievances and obey quietly.

…

He was about to rest a bit, then do sit-ups, squats, and planks.

These were the training methods triggered by the intelligence system, said to be especially beneficial for men.

Although Yan Li was confident and satisfied with himself, he had no objection to chasing higher peaks—after all, he had nothing better to do.

"Drink some water."

Qin Lan handed Yan Li a cup; whenever he trained, she usually sat nearby, enjoying watching him.

It kept him from directing all his energy toward her, and the way his muscles and physique moved during key exercises was visually pleasing—far more captivating than any TV drama.

As he drank, Yan Li saw a text message from a company employee.

The premiere viewership ratings for "Conquest" on Jinmen TV had been compiled and sent to his email.

Earlier, due to the substantial income from "Conquest" and rising business volume, the original staff had become insufficient, so Yi'an Film & Television expanded accordingly.

The office moved from a single storefront to two, and the number of employees surpassed ten.

New hires included Yan Li's secretary Hu Ya, a full-time accountant, a deputy general manager responsible for daily operations, and the rest were mainly sales and PR personnel.

After all, the main business for "Conquest" going forward was selling the broadcast rights.

Yan Li personally handled major contracts; smaller contracts with lower amounts were delegated to the team.

Although their sales efficiency and negotiation skills were nowhere near Yan Li's.

But Yan Li simply couldn't be everywhere—he was too busy—so he had to focus on the big picture and let go of the small details.

Fortunately, "Conquest" had gained fame, drastically lowering sales difficulty; though the sales team wasn't as strong as Yan Li, they still brought in revenue.

With people under him, he no longer needed to personally oversee minor tasks.

For example, data like premiere ratings and market feedback was collected by staff and sent to him.

"Being the boss is comfortable."

Yan Li recalled how, before the system triggered, he'd had to camp out at TV stations waiting for updates, calling every station daily until his phone battery overheated.

Now he only needed to wait at home, open his computer email at the right time, and see everything at a glance.

Compared to the past, no wonder everyone was desperate to climb upward!

Opening the email, it didn't just list "Conquest"'s specific data—it included competitors' figures too, giving Yan Li a clearer picture of the situation.

"Conquest"'s premiere achieved a national average viewership rate of 3.75%, a market share of roughly 6.1%, ranking fourth in its time slot.

"Whoa."

Yan Li's eyes lit up—sure enough, this was a TV drama certified by the system, its power truly extraordinary.

He had expected "Conquest" to perform well, but as a debut series facing top-tier dramas from national and first-tier satellite channels, he'd been cautious.

Plus, CCTV and major satellite channels had platform advantages and their own stable viewer bases.

And with the SARS Period forcing people to stay home and watch TV, competition intensified and uncertainty rose.

So Yan Li had set modest expectations for "Conquest"'s premiere: as long as it ranked in the top ten, it would be a victory.

After all, premiere ratings were important, but rerun frequency mattered even more.

A significant number of TV dramas had mediocre premiere numbers, then gained momentum through repeated broadcasts, eventually overtaking others to become annual hits.

Some dramas with dazzling premiere ratings were merely fleeting—briefly brilliant, then forgotten in the corner.

Yan Li had personally witnessed "Conquest" gain modest popularity in Jinmen, then explode into massive fame in Jin Ling.

So he understood: don't fight for short-term glory, fight for lasting success.

Yan Li never intended to strike gold immediately; he planned to build momentum gradually.

Use the premiere to establish reputation, creating favorable conditions for reruns, creating ripples that piled one upon another, accumulating strength until waves surged and carried him to the crest.

But he hadn't expected "Conquest" to be this powerful—it didn't need to build waves; one gust of wind sent up a giant one.

As long as it held a top-five spot in its time slot—or even just top three—Yan Li would make a fortune from the first-round satellite broadcast rights.

"Haha, I've made it."

Yan Li pulled Qin Lan over and kissed her hard; she was initially confused, but when she learned his company's project had become a huge hit, she understood.

Qin Lan didn't know the inner workings of "Conquest," so she asked curiously: "Can you make a million?"

A million?

Yan Li couldn't help shaking his head—given this premiere performance, if reruns were handled well, failing to secure a contract worth over five million from a single TV station would make him a useless fool.

Yan Li: What's the Use of Earning Tens of Millions If I Didn't Act

If it were a solo broadcast, he'd dare to ask for eight digits!

Qin Lan saw Yan Li shake his head and misunderstood his meaning; she kissed him and spoke to encourage and comfort him.

"Dozens of thousands is already amazing—it's far more than I make from acting. Starting a business takes time."

Yan Li laughed in disbelief, just as he was about to explain, when Qin Lan suddenly proposed:

"Hey, now that you've got money, how about we buy a house?"

Yan Li was stunned: "Huh?"

"Listen here."

Qin Lan counted on her fingers: "I've saved some money from acting too. If you chip in a bit, we'll have enough for the down payment."

"We're always traveling for shoots—leaving our rented place empty feels like a waste. Buying a house makes more sense."

"Besides, experts say housing prices will keep rising. The sooner we buy, the more we profit."

Watching Qin Lan, who spoke with such logical precision and was already daydreaming about decorating their future home, Yan Li swallowed his explanation.

"Cough, cough—the experts aren't always right. The company's just starting and needs capital. Let's delay buying a house."

"You're right."

Qin Lan nodded, thinking Yan Li made sense. They were still young; they should focus on building their careers first. Buying a house wasn't urgent.

"By the way, your company needs money? I've got some saved up—want to use it?"

"..."

Yan Li, rarely embarrassed, quickly waved his hands: "No, it's enough for now."

But Qin Lan thought he was being shy; she wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes full of tender affection, and said warmly:

"Why be so formal with me? Take it first. Once 'Huanzhu Gege 3' airs, my pay will definitely go up—we can earn more later."

"Cough, let's talk about that later—I need to reply to an email."

Yan Li couldn't bear to meet Qin Lan's gaze and forcibly changed the subject.

Seeing this, Qin Lan chuckled and pinched his nose playfully, but didn't press further.

She knew Yan Li had a touch of machismo.

Since their relationship had turned ambiguous, he always paid when they went out or bought things; sometimes she felt annoyed when she tried to pay.

With Yan Li's personality, no matter how hard things got, he'd never ask his woman for money.

Whatever. I'll just transfer my money to his account later—once it's done, he'll have to accept it.

Qin Lan didn't disturb Yan Li's work; she took a magazine to the bedroom to read.

After she left, Yan Li pulled out his cigarette pack in gloom, lit one, and sighed deeply.

Before, Dong Xuan refused his money; now Qin Lan gives him money.

What the hell am I supposed to do now!

————

In the following days, Yan Li was both gloomy and happy.

He was gloomy because the system revealed that Qin Lan genuinely intended to give him money—and fearing it wasn't enough, she'd secretly called home to ask for more.

Yan Li wanted to clarify he had money, but feared that if he did, Qin Lan would quietly push forward with buying a house, setting up a home, cohabiting, going public, and pressuring him to marry—all in one smooth sequence.

What would he do then—accept or not?

Yan Li realized that if things continued this way, he risked being trapped by Qin Lan; he could still walk away now, but he simply couldn't bring himself to let go.

In the end, he put his inner turmoil aside and decided to take it one step at a time—deal with it later.

As for happiness, it came naturally from the outstanding performance of 'Conquest.'

The national average viewership stabilized around 5%, with a peak nearing 10%. It consistently ranked in the top three, peaking at number two.

Unfortunately, number one was CCTV-8's 'Jin Fen Shi Jia,' with a stable average viewership above 7%, making it hard to surpass.

Still, this result was already outstanding!

Among同期 programs, besides 'Jin Fen Shi Jia' and Su Youpeng's 'Yi Tian Tu Long Ji,' which consistently delivered strong results, 'Conquest' was the hottest.

Sun Honglei, who portrayed Liu Huaqiang—the pivotal role in the entire drama—became wildly famous overnight.

Due to SARS, print media was restricted, but online reports and buzz about Sun Honglei surged steadily.

Moreover, through his intelligence system, Yan Li learned that Sun Honglei's pay had skyrocketed dozens of times.

When he filmed 'Conquest,' his per-episode fee was only 1,000 yuan; now, production teams were offering him 20,000 yuan per episode.

The key is, 'Conquest' has only just premiered. As its influence continues to grow, Sun's future pay will likely rise even further.

One drama, instant fame!

But this wasn't unusual right now. Not only Sun Honglei—this May slot alone had multiple actors achieving instant fame.

For example, Gao Yuanyuan from 'Yi Tian Tu Long Ji'—she had some name recognition before, but wasn't hugely popular. Her role as Zhou Zhiruo made countless viewers remember her.

Also, the male and female leads of 'Jin Fen Shi Jia,' Chen Kun and Dong Jie.

The former successfully entered the ranks of top young male stars, hailed alongside his old classmate Xiao Yanzi and Huang Xiaoming as the "Three Greats of Beijing Film Academy."

The latter was equally scorching hot; as a "Mo Nu," she was expected to become the next Gong Li or Zhang Ziyi.

Additionally, 'Yu Guan Yin,' currently airing on Jingcheng's local channel, was also gaining considerable momentum as a Hai Yan drama.

Tong Dawei finally entered mainstream view, and the female lead Sun Li was highly anticipated by industry insiders.

Watching these rising stars, especially the young actors, Yan Li still felt a tinge of envy.

Wu Tian's role in 'Conquest' was too small—even with nationwide broadcast, the fame it brought him would be extremely limited, at most making him recognizable to some viewers; he was still far from becoming famous.

"Sigh."

Yan Li sighed helplessly, then resigned himself to work mode.

"Director Zhang, the total price of 6.5 million yuan cannot be reduced by a single cent."

"Exclusive? At that price, an exclusive really won't work — add at least another 5 million."

"Out of respect for you, I'll give you my lowest price — 6 million. Really, anyone else, I wouldn't even bother."

"Discounted advertising contracts — sorry about that, we don't have any plans in that area for now. If there's a chance, let's work together next time."

"Xiao Zheng, those two apartments from before were a bit low-end. Any better ones? Keep an eye out for me. Right — nothing under a million, Sihe Academy is fine too."

"Jiachuan, go online and search for a car. Leave the Santana for Xiao Liu and the others to run business. We'll switch to a new car — price range tentatively set at 300,000 to 500,000, can go higher if there's a good one."

"……"

Yan Li hung up the phone, his expression still somewhat listless.

The glory in front of the stage wasn't his turn yet — he still had to worry about these messy behind-the-scenes affairs.

Fortunately, there was still some gain. Since he hadn't gotten the sense of achievement an actor craves, he could only use worldly things like profits in the tens of millions, million-dollar properties, and cars worth several hundred thousand to fill the emptiness inside him.

…

Opening the bedroom door, Yan Li, somewhat dejected, hugged Qin Lan, who was watching TV, and sulked in silence.

Qin Lan knew that these past two days Yan Li had been feeling a gap in his heart because the drama "Conquest" had become a hit but he himself hadn't gotten famous, and his mood was occasionally off. She held him gently, patiently coaxing him.

"I believe that with your ability, you'll become famous sooner or later."

"Really?"

"Really."

"But I still can't cheer up."

Seeing this, Qin Lan bit her lip, whispered a couple of lines into Yan Li's ear, and Yan Li's eyes lit up as he held up a hand and made a gesture.

"Five times."

Qin Lan refused: "Don't push it too far."

Yan Li tilted his head, his tone mournful: "Fine then, I can get better on my own, sitting quietly by myself."

Qin Lan knew perfectly well Yan Li was acting like a rascal, but she just couldn't bring herself to be heartless, and could only softly haggle.

After several rounds of back-and-forth, and even a game of finger-guessing, Yan Li finally got his wish. He sprawled out on the sofa, and Qin Lan hesitated for a moment, then slowly lowered her head………

(End of Chapter)