You, Yan, are going way too far!

Yan Li waited for two or three days before calling Meng Ji to brief him on the situation.

After that, Yan Li no longer needed to worry; his only task was to make inquiries, while smoothing things over and handling the resolution was Meng Ji's job.

Meng Ji moved swiftly, and progress was made in no time. By the afternoon of the following day, he invited Yan Li and Cheng Lidong out for a meal to express his gratitude.

When Yan Li and the others arrived, they discovered that not only was Meng Ji present, but also Fan Xiaotian, the boss of Suzhou Fornarina and the producer of the sequel to *The Legend of Master Chai*.

True to his word, Meng Ji had promised Yan Li a role and was now helping to introduce him to Fan Xiaotian.

Once Fan Xiaotian gave his nod of approval, with both the investor and the director secured, the matter would be finalized.

Furthermore, as the head of a well-known film and television company, Fan Xiaotian had more than just one project on his hands.

Both Meng Ji and Cheng Lidong enjoyed good relationships with him. With them putting in a good word for Yan Li, combined with Yan Li's own decent qualifications, he might even be able to secure another acting contract.

"President Fan has arrived."

While the group was chatting in the private dining room, Meng Ji received a phone call, and everyone went out to the foyer to welcome him.

Fan Xiaotian did not come alone. Aside from himself, he was accompanied by a company vice president and a pretty young woman named Han Xue.

According to the accompanying vice president, this Han Xue was a newcomer to the acting scene, though Yan Li had no particular impression of her; she must have debuted very recently.

The young girl did not speak much, simply listening from the side as Fan Xiaotian exchanged pleasantries and socialized with Yan Li and the others. It was only when Fan Xiaotian prompted her that she raised her glass to toast Meng Ji and Cheng Lidong.

What surprised Yan Li the most was that the girl was not drinking alcohol at all, but fruit juice instead, and Fan Xiaotian and the others raised no objections.

Birds of a feather flock together!

Yan Li mentally circled her name, avoiding excessive flattery, exchanged a brief greeting, and then refocused entirely on conversing with Fan Xiaotian, Meng Ji, and the others.

Just as they were talking, a knock sounded on the private room's door, and a bright, delicate-faced girl with a classic melon-seed face pushed it open and immediately began apologizing.

"I'm sorry, President Fan, Director Meng, wrap-up took a bit longer than expected."

The vice president chimed in playfully: "Bingbing, arriving late calls for a penalty of three drinks!"

The newcomer was none other than Fan Xiaopang from the crew of *The Treasure Bowl*. Seeing her, Yan Li was slightly startled, though not overwhelmingly surprised.

Yan Li had already known that the other martial arts drama Fan Xiaopang was starring in, *Trace of a Hero*, was primarily produced by Suzhou Fornarina.

Her ability to come and film *The Treasure Bowl* was also due to Cheng Lidong asking Fan Xiaotian for a favor to borrow her.

Now that Fan Xiaotian and Cheng Lidong were gathering, it was only natural for her to attend.

Compared to Yan Li's nonchalance, Fan Xiaopang was utterly astonished to see him present on this occasion.

Could this sycophant's bootlicking skills really be this formidable?

Not only had he reeled in Director Cheng, but after just a few days, he was already reaching his claws out toward President Fan.

Surprised as she was, with so many heavyweights present, she couldn't be bothered to pay attention to a small fry like Yan Li.

Riding on the vice president's prompt, Fan Xiaopang downed three cups of white liquor straight as an apology for her tardiness.

That was quite a drinking capacity!

Somewhat surprised, Yan Li joined the others in applauding and cheering. Although the cups Fan Xiaopang used weren't large, those three cups together probably amounted to about two to three taels of liquor.

For an ordinary person to down several taels of alcohol on an empty stomach like that, there would bound to be some reaction, yet Fan Xiaopang's face didn't flush, her breathing didn't hitch, and she remained completely unaffected.

However, those three cups of wine downed by Fan Xiaopang instantly warmed up the atmosphere of the dinner party significantly.

Originally, Yan Li had been chatting and sipping slowly, gradually closing the distance and deepening his impression, but with Fan Xiaopang disrupting the rhythm like this, his strategy was no longer as effective.

With no other choice, Yan Li could only join in by frequently raising his glass to offer toasts, plunging into the heated atmosphere and drinking heartily while chatting away.

Then, Fan Xiaopang realized that no one seemed to be paying attention to her anymore...

In terms of drinking capacity, Yan Li was much stronger than her; in terms of conversation, Yan Li was also sweeter-tongued and better at handling matters than she was.

As for gender and appearance, although Fan Xiaopang held an advantage, she couldn't compete with Yan Li's metaphorical cheating capabilities.

Yan Li possessed a deep understanding of Cheng Lidong and Meng Ji, allowing him to cater to their preferences and proactively steer the conversation toward topics they found interesting, thereby firmly holding their attention.

As for Fan Xiaotian, although Yan Li hadn't interacted with him much and his system-provided intelligence was limited, once he won over Cheng and Meng, he successfully dragged the center of the conversation back. Afterward, by slowly probing a few more topics, he was bound to find something that interested him.

Yan Li had no particular interest in buttering up the vice president; if the man wanted to chat, they would chat, and if worst came to worst, they would just toast each other. After a few taels of liquor, the man would grow subdued.

"..."

Watching Yan Li clinking glasses and mingling effortlessly with everyone, Fan Xiaopang couldn't help exchanging a glance with Han Xue, who looked equally bewildered.

How could a male actor be even more popular in a men's drinking party than they were as female celebrities!

If she had encountered this situation under normal circumstances, Fan Xiaopang might not have understood it, but she would have been glad for the peace and quiet.

However, at this moment, Fan Xiaopang still harbored some lingering "personal grievances" against Yan Li. Seeing him hog the spotlight and become the center of the drinking party, she couldn't help wanting to compete with him.

Thus, holding her wine glass, Fan Xiaopang tried to muscle her way into the conversation, yet failed to squeeze a single word in for a long time.

There was simply no helping it; these men were discussing the situation in Iraq one moment, debating whether Zidane or Ronaldo was better the next, and then shifting to why old Chiang lost the civil war...

She genuinely couldn't make heads or tails of it. If she spoke up rashly and missed the mark, it would only draw chuckles from everyone, eventually resulting in Yan Li smilingly brushing her off.

"I'll just keep President Fan and the others company. Could you be a doll and ask the waiter to reheat the dishes?"

Re… reheat the dishes?!

Fan Xiaopang stared at Yan Li in disbelief, her delicate body trembling slightly with anger.

What an utter humiliation!

You surnamed Yan are going way too far!

When had she, Fan Xiaopang, ever been reduced to running errands for people?

Even back when she had just debuted in *My Fair Princess*, with those two women looming over her, she had never been ignored to this extent.

"Go on, hurry up."

Yan Li was still urging her from there. In a fit of anger before the crowd, Fan Xiaopang gave a brief huff of indignation, shot Yan Li a fierce glare with her beautiful peach-blossom eyes, and turned to storm out of the private room.

"What's wrong with her?"

Yan Li muttered to himself, then suddenly remembering something, he opened the door and called out after her, "And order a few packs of cigarettes."

Fan Xiaopang: "..."

Smoke, smoke, smoke, I really want to strangle you to death!

Han Xue, sitting nearby, couldn't help pursing her lips in a smile. Seeing this, Yan Li hesitated for a moment, raised his glass in acknowledgment, and then went back to ignoring her.

For someone whose intentions were unclear and whose boundaries for social interaction were difficult to gauge, maintaining polite respect was the safest bet.

————

After hours of merrymaking, the gathering finally broke up. The others were already in a hazy state of intoxication, with Fan Xiaotian and Cheng Lidong barely able to stand.

Yan Li was holding up relatively well; although his face was somewhat flushed, his gaze remained clear and his footing steady. He escorted Fan Xiaotian and the others to their respective cars one by one, bidding them a warm farewell.

Finally, supporting Cheng Lidong, he turned his gaze toward Fan Xiaopang, who had not yet left.

"Both of us have been drinking and can't drive. We're planning to find a place to stay for the night. Are you coming with us, or heading back to the crew's hotel?"

Fan Xiaopang had no wish to stick with Yan Li, but it was getting very late, and as a woman who had been drinking, hailing a cab by herself carried a certain degree of insecurity.

"I'll go with you guys."

Yan Li nodded. Right next to the restaurant where they had dined was an inn. Supporting Cheng Lidong, he went inside and booked a twin room.

Seeing that the room card in his hand was only a single one, Fan Xiaopang looked at Yan Li with wary eyes.

"Let me tell you, don't go thinking you can pull any hooligan stunts just because you've had a drop of alcohol. I'm not buying that routine."

Yan Li looked at her with a bewildered expression: "What hooligan stunts?"

Fan Xiaopang demanded angrily: "There are three of us, and you only booked one room. What's the meaning of this?"

Speechless, Yan Li pointed toward the front desk: "This room is for the two of us. You can stay in your own room and pay for it yourself."

Looking so pretty… yet her imagination ran so wild!

She wasn't even going to warm his bed, and probably bad-mouthed him behind his back to boot—Yan Li couldn't be bothered to play the considerate gentleman here at all.