Chapter 17: First Meeting with Liu Yifei

Zhang Jizhong accompanied the three of them as they left, leaving only the composed Seeing Lu Kuan and the curious, wide-eyed Liu Yifei in the dance studio.

She had always been forthright and natural, smiling as she extended her hand to greet him: "Hello, my name is Liu Yifei. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Seeing Lu Kuan took her fingers with a gentlemanly touch, raising an eyebrow with a hint of mischief: "Little Liu, didn't your mother tell you to smile without showing your teeth?"

Liu Yifei abruptly pursed her lips, recalling Liu Xiaoli's frequent admonitions not to show her gums, and shot a fierce glare at the little Daoist priest.

If you're going to insult someone, don't hit where it hurts—how dare you ignore this young lady's beauty!

Yet, looking at the ethereal and refined Liu Yifei before him, and comparing her to the nauseating, "snake-faced," stick-legged internet-famous beauties of the future, he had to admit that the young girl's natural beauty was truly formidable.

Her standard, flawless, full forehead and rounded skull, devoid of heavy makeup, were far more fresh and elegant than any thick application of cosmetics.

She was clean and clear in every way.

Liu Yifei watched his expression and felt secretly smug—that'll teach you to steal my spotlight in front of Teacher Feng!

"What are you looking at!"

Seeing Lu Kuan touched his nose, feeling slightly awkward, and offered a cover: "Little Liu, there's a little bug on your neck!"

Without the expected look of alarm, Liu Yifei simply reached up and swept her hand across her fair neck in a carpet-like search: "Where?"

"Oh, I saw wrong. That's a mole."

Unable to tease her further, Seeing Lu Kuan changed the subject: "My name is Seeing Lu Kuan. Your mother invited me here to tell your fortune."

"Just you?"

The young girl was incredulous; Seeing Lu Kuan's appearance was a far cry from the stereotypical image of a charlatan waving a banner and shaking a folding fan.

Furthermore, having lived in the United States for four or five years, she didn't believe in such things at all.

The little Daoist priest looked profound: "I hear you want to be an actress. Perhaps we will meet again very soon."

The young girl curled her lips, noncommittal, ignoring his act of playing the mystic.

Seeing Lu Kuan was naturally referring to *The Story of a Noble Family*.

Setting Liu Yifei aside for a moment, this timeline should remain unchanged.

His own Feng Shui and divination business was also about to expand to the *Noble Family* production crew; perhaps he could even copy the theme song "Hidden Fragrance" on the side to earn some extra cash.

After all, making a movie required a massive amount of capital.

Looking at the young Liu before him, the public relations company boss felt a sudden, unprovoked sense of "covetousness"—this young girl had high economic value!

If you, Big Hu Zi, can be a shareholder of Red Star Dock, why can't I, Seeing Lu Kuan?

It was just a matter of figuring out how to further lure the Big Hu Zi, who already trusted him implicitly, into the trap.

Liu Yifei's reputation as the "first blood-cow" of the future Chinese entertainment industry was not unfounded; her mutual achievement with numerous classic roles made her a uniquely independent existence, transcending the "85-flower" generation.

Just after finishing her role as Wang Yuyan in *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils*, her domestic endorsement fees had already reached the 2-million-yuan level.

Even in the future, she could still produce one hit drama a year; the *Story of Rose* that Seeing Lu Kuan had watched before his transmigration had once again taken the ratings crown.

As for those negative rumors that she herself didn't even care to address, they seemed as easy to handle as child's play to him.

Especially since in this life, he would set out to build an internet public opinion stronghold starting with blogs.

Once he had capital in one hand and public opinion tools in the other—with the referee, the linesman, and the organizers all being his own people—who couldn't he make a star?!

In all fairness, although Liu Yifei's acting skills were often criticized, in the eyes of Seeing Lu Kuan in 2001, this was no incurable disease.

If he could replace her amateur family manager, Liu Xiaoli and Cheng Jingfei, and not aggressively or utilitarianly plan her career path, he could thoroughly polish and improve her professional skills, carving out an acting path that was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful.

"Xixi, you're covered in sweat. Go take a shower and change your clothes immediately!"

Liu Xiaoli instructed her daughter, feeling mentally exhausted; she was deeply distressed by her failure to retain Feng Yuanzheng, who had firmly resigned, and was now worried about next year's art school entrance exams.

"Oh."

The young girl curled her lips and obediently took her coat to leave.

Zhang Jizhong and Cheng Jingfei invited Seeing Lu Kuan to continue chatting in the living room. The former recalled the suggestion Feng Yuanzheng had made before leaving and looked at this little Daoist priest, whom he found increasingly difficult to fathom.

"Master Lu, I didn't expect you to actually understand acting! Teacher Feng just suggested that you take over from him to tutor Little Liu in the basics of performance. Haha."

In 1987, Zhang Jizhong had produced his first work, *A Century of Worries*, as a producer.

Before that, he had always aspired to be an excellent stage actor, but due to historical reasons, he had repeatedly been blocked by political background checks when applying to professional institutions like the PLA Academy of Arts and the Central Academy of Drama, which was a great pity.

He still had a deep understanding of acting theory, and combined with Seeing Lu Kuan's performance in *The Legend of the Condor Heroes*, he highly approved of Feng Yuanzheng's assessment of him.

Seeing Lu Kuan laughed self-deprecatingly: "I'm not up to it. You'd better find a professional teacher."

Hearing Cheng Jingfei call him "Master" one time after another made him feel a bit weary: "You all can just call me Seeing Lu Kuan. Don't be so formal."

Acting instruction often involved some physical contact, and Liu Xiaoli was not particularly willing to have a handsome young man like Seeing Lu Kuan serve as her daughter's teacher.

Moreover, considering his identity as a Daoist priest, Feng Yuanzheng's suggestion seemed far too unreliable.

Yet, she couldn't help but worry about her daughter: "Little Lu, do you see anything to watch out for in Xixi's future development?"

She hesitated, neither fully believing in these supernatural claims nor wanting to pass up a chance for psychological comfort.

She was just like the average Chinese person, who is sometimes superstitious and sometimes scientific:

Left eye twitching means wealth—accurate!

Right eye twitching means disaster—to hell with that!

Seeing Lu Kuan smiled: "Little Liu has excellent physical conditions and a lively, agile personality. I just saw her working hard to learn and polish her basic skills, so I imagine there won't be any problems."

"However, I do have a suggestion."

Cheng Jingfei asked curiously: "Please, go ahead."

"I have a friend who heard that a production crew is casting for a Republic-era drama called *The Story of a Noble Family*, adapted from Zhang Henshui's novel. You all might want to pay attention to it."

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 18 =====