047 "The Spirit of Goddess of Snow" and Teacher Yan, the Epitome of Pedagogy

Huailai County, under the jurisdiction of Zhangkou City in Hebei Province, was originally an ordinary small county town in northern China. However, due to a unique geographical landscape within its borders known as the [Sky Desert]—a miniature desert—and its convenient location only about 100 kilometers away from the capital, it caught the eye of many film and television crews, becoming a famous desert shooting location.

For instance, crews of productions such as *My Fair Princess*, *The Decisive Engagement*, *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, and *Granary of the Realm* had all left their footprints in this miniature desert.

The crew of *Snow Goddess Dragon*, which had since been renamed, originally considered heading to the Northwest to shoot the relevant desert scenes, but was later recommended this [Sky Desert] by Yan Li. After Li Peng sent people to inspect the site, they decisively chose to change locations. *Snow Goddess Dragon* had a limited budget and modest requirements, so naturally, the more convenient and cost-effective, the better. With the option to stay in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, nobody would willingly run all the way to the Northwest to eat sand.

This also made things much easier for Yan Li. If the crew had really gone to the Northwest, he would have been too far away to help, and Yan Li wouldn't have been entirely at ease leaving Dong Xuan behind there all by herself. Now that it was so close to the capital, if anything came up, a phone call would do, and it was only a one- or two-hour drive over.

"Director Li, Director Zhang, Teacher Donghan..."

Continuing to play the role of a manager, Yan Li brought the newly joined Dong Xuan to pay respects to the various big shots and leading actors of the crew. Before coming, he had already done his homework. It was no fault of *Snow Goddess Dragon* that they were willing to use a newcomer like Dong Xuan; the truth was that this crew simply lacked any heavyweight names.

Director Zhang Jun had previously served as an assistant director and producer, making this his first time directing independently.

The screenwriter, Donghan, was not a well-known writer either; his previous notable work was only *Emperor Jiaqing Tours Taiwan and Fujian*. As the name suggested, it was a Taiwanese local historical fictional drama, and the audience who had watched it on the mainland was extremely limited.

The leading actor, Ren Tianye, was a newcomer who had filmed one or two series previously and possessed zero fame.

The third male lead, Qiao Zhenyu, was also a minor actor who had entered the industry less than two years ago and lacked much renown.

It was worth mentioning that Qiao Zhenyu had previously acted in a drama called *Date at the Oceanarium*. This series was produced by Boss Shi of Gem Pictures, and also starred Lu Yi, Tong Dawei, and Ren Quan. However, Yan Li didn't find any connection between Qiao and Boss Shi in the system, which was normal to think about—he only played a supporting role in that drama, not enough to warrant such a heavy sacrifice.

On the other hand, Tong Dawei managed to pair up with Xu Jinglei for a movie and land the male lead in a Hai Yan drama in one fell swoop, while Huang Xiaoming edged out the reigning teenage idol Lu Yi to snatch the "50-million-yuan blockbuster" *The Emperor in Han Dynasty*. It would be hard not to be suspicious.

With a director, screenwriter, male lead, and third male lead lacking fame, and a female lead who was a complete newcomer, the biggest name in the entire *Snow Goddess Dragon* crew was arguably the second male lead, Sun Yaowei. He started out as a singer and had a decent run in Hong Kong and Taiwan back then, once hailed as one of the Four Little Heavenly Kings of Xiangjiang. Later, he wanted to break into the Japanese market, but due to a falling out with his company, he was ruthlessly frozen out. He then turned to acting, starring in dramas like *Princess Huaiyu*, and gradually climbed out of the trough of his career. If Sun Yaowei's acting style hadn't been completely unsuited for the male lead Sima Changfeng, the role of the male lead in *Snow Goddess Dragon* might not have fallen to Ren Tianye at all.

Other than these, the rest of the actors were nothing worth mentioning. After all, anyone with fame and real talent wouldn't waste their years in such a small crew.

That being said, the production environment of a crew like *Snow Goddess Dragon* was very friendly to a newcomer like Dong Xuan. None of them were major superstars, and they lacked the qualifications to put on airs or make things difficult for others. As long as Dong Xuan focused on acting, trouble wouldn't easily find its way to her, the female lead.

...

After taking a tour, Dong Xuan went for her costume fitting, while Yan Li ran off to chat and fraternize warmly with Li Peng. This was both to continue building connections and to reveal his background to the rest of the crew, striving to secure a more relaxed and harmonious working atmosphere for Dong Xuan.

Yan Li was extremely skilled at this trick! Getting close to assistant director Wang Decai and befriending Nie Yuan in *Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties*, and calling Jiang Shan "older sister" in *Conquer*, were all ways of finding backing for himself to a certain extent.

About two hours later, Dong Xuan finished her costume fitting, and Yan Li followed Li Peng over to take a look.

Upon seeing Dong Xuan dressed in her costume and makeup, Yan Li's eyes lit up. Frankly speaking, the costumes for *Snow Goddess Dragon* weren't particularly gorgeous; they were rather plain and simple, but precisely because of this, they fit the identity of a female martial arts hero, making her look crisp and resolute.

However, the most commendable part of the styling was adding a decorative forehead band to Dong Xuan, with a pendant right in the middle that acted like the finishing touch. Paired with Dong Xuan's delicate and fair face, it radiated a chilling yet heroic aura, making her exceptionally charming.

Li Peng also praised it profusely. Initially, he had still harbored some lingering anxiety, but taking one look at Dong Xuan's styling today immediately put three-tenths of his mind at ease.

*Snow Goddess Dragon* was a drama centered around the female lead; whether the female lead looked pretty or not directly concerned whether the series could grab the audience's attention right from the start. Without a doubt, Dong Xuan had handed the *Snow Goddess Dragon* crew a satisfactory answer sheet.

Dong Xuan didn't care much for the praises of Li Peng and the director; she blinked her beautiful eyes and covertly glanced at Yan Li standing behind them, as if asking for his opinion. The latter replied with a thumbs-up, his mouth shaping the word "gorgeous," and Dong Xuan's eyes instantly curved into crescent moons, transforming in a flash from a cold and aloof heroine into a shy, blushing young bride.

Once the costume fitting concluded, Dong Xuan returned to her room accompanied by Yan Li. Being the female lead, coupled with Li Peng's special care, no matter how tight the crew's budget was, they still assigned her a single room.

As for Yan Li, it didn't matter whether he stayed in Dong Xuan's room or opened a separate one for himself; the *Snow Goddess Dragon* crew wouldn't care, nor would they pay for it anyway. Fearing that the crew might spread rumors and affect Dong Xuan's filming, Yan Li decided to open a room of his own.

However, it felt like it wouldn't be of much use; Dong Xuan's undisguised affectionate demeanor made it obvious to anyone with eyes that their relationship was out of the ordinary.

Back in the room, Dong Xuan was still somewhat mentally hyped up and nervous, unwilling to rest. Yan Li therefore took the initiative to propose rehearsing the scenes for the following day.

Entering a film crew for the first time and taking on such an important role, Dong Xuan was actually feeling quite flustered inside, at times experiencing pressure so intense she didn't know how to perform. Yan Li taught her how to relax her mind, passed on a few tips for film and television shooting, helped her dissect her character, and studied together with her on how to make her performance more brilliant.

Dong Xuan couldn't even imagine how she would have survived on her own without Yan Li holding down the fort and providing assistance here.

"You are so good to me."

Looking at Yan Li in front of her, Dong Xuan's eyes burned with a fiery passion, as if she wanted to melt him and knead him into her own heart, for all eternity...

*Bang—*

Yan Li rolled the script into a tube and tapped Dong Xuan on the head. Watching the latter hug her head and cry out in mock pain, he said with feigned annoyance:

"Listen carefully to what I'm saying, and stop letting your mind wander into random nonsense."

Girls from undergraduate academies were pretty indeed, but their professional attitude and qualities were simply too poor. His junior student even needed him to direct her kiss scenes, and this senior student wasn't focusing on proper business either, spending every day wanting to get all cozy with him, not placing her primary job in her heart at all—she was simply too unprofessional.

"Memorize these three pages of lines today, and then rehearse these scenes well, or else no sleeping allowed."

Yan Li assigned Dong Xuan "homework," combining lectures with scolding to guide her performance, thoroughly indulging his craving for being a teacher. Of course, he eventually failed to withstand his student's temptation and subjected her to "corporal punishment," which somewhat compromised the glorious image of his "scholarly mentor" persona.

...

Yan Li stayed with the *Snow Goddess Dragon* crew for over a week.

With his help, Dong Xuan quickly adapted to the crew's lifestyle, and under Teacher Yan's unreserved tutelage every single night, she made rapid progress, having already initially grasped the character of Shangguan Yan.

Later, incorporating the director's requirements and after several adjustments, Yan Li even designed a signature action for Dong Xuan: right before a fight, she would brush a strand of hair past her lips and bite down on it, looking fierce, unrestrained, and fascinating.

Dong Xuan herself wasn't too fond of this action, always feeling like it left her hair covered in saliva. However, it wasn't completely without benefits; at night, with slightly flushed cheeks biting her hair and a hazy-eyed moan, a certain someone's stamina would instantly max out...