057 "Journey to the Yellow Springs Together" and the Top Agent in the Mainland

(1/3) By the River

Yan Li, dressed in ancient costume, with a stubbly beard and a haggard expression, limped his way to the riverbank and collapsed onto the ground.

Holding a few volumes of sage classics in his hands, he gently brushed his fingers across the covers, buried his face, and wept bitterly, before sighing with desolate sentiment.

"Ten years of painstaking study by the cold window, yet it is all nothing more than a fleeting dream."

"Studying books without understanding reason, reading texts without comprehending righteousness, I, Song Dian, pride myself on being a disciple of the sages, yet I have never truly cared for the earnest teachings of the wise. To come to this end today is ultimately of my own doing, a retribution of heavenly justice."

With that, Yan Li staggered to his feet, carefully placed the books in order, and knelt on the ground to kowtow to them.

Afterward, he stood up, straightened his attire, his gaze shifting from remorse and sighs to a slow sense of relief and determination. He turned to face the river, as the camera slowly pulled back and tracked away.

"Cut. That's a wrap for this scene."

The assistant director called out. Yan Li raised a hand to wipe away a tear and walked out of the frame.

A prop master and a floor crew member picked up a stone and tossed it into the river. Taking advantage of the ripples before they faded, the camera zoomed in for a close-up.

Under normal circumstances, they could have actually filmed a scene of someone drowning themselves.

However, the director found it too troublesome and felt that leaving things to the imagination carried a better artistic feel, and Yan Li did not insist.

Since the director wanted to shoot it this way, he would cooperate; if the director skipped it, he wouldn't foolishly push for it.

After all, it was November now, the weather was freezing, and the river was icy. Even though he had a sturdy physique and wouldn't necessarily fall ill from entering the water, plunging into freezing water was no pleasant experience, and avoiding suffering was always better.

Although the actual death wasn't filmed, his character was indeed dead, and Yan Li still received a red envelope for warding off bad luck.

Yan Li was somewhat used to it by now. Having acted in three productions and died three times, he wondered when he would ever play a character who survived until the end of the show.

The red envelope contained five yuan. Coincidentally, a vendor nearby at the scenic spot was selling sugar-roasted chestnuts. Yan Li bought a bag, planning to head to the dressing room to remove his makeup.

Although Yan Li had filmed a death scene today, he hadn't officially wrapped up his filming for the entire production yet.

He still had a few upcoming scenes where he would be bullied by the Su family siblings. Only after those were completed could he finally leave the crew of *The Cornucopia*.

On his way back, Yan Li ran into another unit of the crew filming.

The production crew of *The Cornucopia* was usually divided into two units: one focusing on the main leads and the other on the supporting characters. This allowed for faster shooting and was the main reason why Yan Li was nearing the end of his scenes after just a little over a month on set.

Yan Li curiously glanced over. As luck would have it, this unit was also filming a character's death scene, marking their exit from the story.

The one meeting her demise was none other than Zhao Xue'e, played by Fan Xiao-pang!

In the plot of *The Cornucopia*, the villain Su Bincheng and his associates took advantage of Shen Wansan's absence to scheme and cause trouble. The female lead Lu Chunxiang, played by Zhang Ting, led people to resist them.

During the conflict, a fierce battle broke out. Someone launched a sneak attack on Lu Chunxiang, and Zhao Xue'e bravely stepped forward, taking the fatal blow and dying in her place.

To be honest, her death felt a bit rushed!

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There was no help for it; the female lead Lu Chunxiang was the true soulmate and business partner of the male lead Shen Wansan, making Zhao Xue'e's role in the latter half of the story increasingly redundant.

To legitimately clear the path for the true love finale between the male and female leads, Zhao Xue'e, as the nominal female lead, had to exit the stage and make room.

Yan Li originally planned to just watch the commotion and leave, but he didn't want to be spotted by Fan Xiao-pang, who shot him a glare.

Ever since their gathering with Meng Ji, Fan Xiaotian, and the others last time, Fan Xiao-pang had gradually begun to piece things together.

She found Yan Li annoying, and Yan Li seemed to hold the same low opinion of her!

When dealing with others, Yan Li was smooth, glib, and managed to strike up warm friendships with quite a few actors on set.

Yet toward her, he was perfunctory and dismissive, sometimes even deliberately trying to rile her up.

Fan Xiao-pang couldn't figure out how she had offended this flatterer, ultimately attributing it to a clash of auras and an inherent mutual antipathy.

Since they couldn't stand the sight of each other, Fan Xiao-pang couldn't be bothered to put on a polite face for Yan Li either.

Occasionally, she would pull other cast members aside to gossip about Yan Li in an attempt to isolate him.

However, the latter tactic had little effect. Yan Li had a sweet tongue, a good reputation, and was a master at projecting an innocent and harmless persona, effortlessly dismantling Fan Xiao-pang's "Anti-Yan Campaign."

It even caused some people to feel that Fan Xiao-pang was being overly vindictive toward Yan Li and treating a newcomer harshly.

As a result, on top of nicknames like [Flatterer], [Smiling Tiger], [Flunky], [Stingy Bastard], and [Son of a Bitch], Fan Xiao-pang added yet another title to Yan Li's name: [Scheming Man].

No matter how fiercely she cursed him in her heart, after several minor clashes, Fan Xiao-pang genuinely failed to gain any upper hand and was occasionally left looking foolish.

Right now, she could only try to look fierce through her facial expressions!

Because of this, Fan Xiao-pang's glare did the exact opposite of what she intended: Yan Li instantly abandoned the thought of walking away and proactively stayed behind to help out the crew.

When filming resumed later, Yan Li even pulled over a few crew members who had finished their tasks, sat down cross-legged with a smile, peeled sugar-roasted chestnuts, and watched as Fan Xiao-pang, covered in fake blood, was "executed."

To be honest, it was quite entertaining!

Especially seeing Fan Xiao-pang—hacked to death—looking so angry that she "died with her eyes open," the chestnut in his mouth tasted all the sweeter.

Zhang Ting hugged the "deceased" Fan Xiao-pang and cried for a while before the scene wrapped, successfully marking the end of Fan Xiao-pang's run on the show.

Yan Li joined the crowd in perfunctory applause, then seized the opportunity while Fan Xiao-pang was waylaid by staff members celebrating her wrap to slip away immediately, lest the young lady lose her temper and snatch his chestnuts.

However, you can run for a moment, but you can't run for a lifetime.

After Yan Li removed his makeup and changed into his street clothes, he ran right into Fan Xiao-pang just as he was about to step out of the dressing room.

The timing was so exquisite that Yan Li briefly suspected Fan Xiao-pang had been lying in wait there all along, just waiting for him to appear.

Because the moment Fan Xiao-pang laid eyes on him, she enthusiastically enveloped Yan Li in a massive hug, rubbing against him affectionately and refusing to let go no matter what.

"You're leaving soon. I'm going to miss you so much."

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Having finally managed to break free, Yan Li looked at his clothes, which were now dotted and stained with "blood marks" rubbed off by the blood-soaked Fan Xiao-pang, and forced a smile through clenched teeth.

"I'm going to miss you so much, too."

Having finally regained the upper hand right before parting ways, Fan Xiao-pang's smile this time was vastly brighter and much more genuine.

"See you around (never see you again)."

"Bye-bye (may we never cross paths)."

————

A few days later, Yan Li wrapped up his scenes and left the crew. Before departing, he even went to the Suguo Funat Group in Suzhou to sign a film contract.

It was for the sequel to *The Legendary Chivalrous Pig*, currently provisionally titled *Fu Xing Gao Zhao Zhu Ba Jie*.

However, the production team was still in the preparatory stage, and while Yan Li had been locked in for a role, it remained to be seen which specific character he would ultimately play.

Yan Li had already read the script outline and was inclined toward playing the Bull Demon King.

*Fu Xing Gao Zhao Zhu Ba Jie* leaned somewhat toward an anthology format, with the main plot divided into three stories. Zhu Bajie was the absolute primary protagonist, but each individual arc featured its own "protagonist."

The Bull Demon King was the "protagonist" of the arc titled *The Bull Demon King Defeats Three Loves*. He had a substantial amount of screen time, and crucially, his character design was brilliant.

However, Yan Li wasn't certain whether he could secure this important role, as neither the Funa company nor Meng Ji had given a definitive answer.

Yan Li planned to spend more time socializing with Meng Ji once he got the chance!

Funa's boss, Fan Xiaotian, held a high position, had too many people trying to curry favor with him, and was based in Suzhou, making it difficult for Yan Li to forge closer ties.

Meng Ji, when not directing, made his home in Beijing and also owed Yan Li a favor, making him a relatively easier target to approach.

Although Meng Ji wasn't the one calling all the shots like Fan Xiaotian, he was, after all, the director of *Fu Xing Gao Zhao Zhu Ba Jie*. If he were willing to back Yan Li, the role would be practically guaranteed.

In late November, Yan Li returned to Beijing.

Dong Xuan was still with the crew of *Snow Goddess Dragon*, and Qin Lin had taken on a Qing dynasty drama called *Aota's Yamen*, which also took her out of Beijing.

Yet Yan Li wasn't lonely; his roommates Zhou Yiwei, Zhang Songwen, and Lin Jiachuan were all currently in Beijing.

There was also Tong Dawei. Having finally shaken off the gloom cast by Boss Shi and wishing to win back Guan Yue, this guy had set his sights on taking a detour through Yan Li and Dong Xuan.

Before Yan Li even arrived in Beijing, Tong Dawei was already calling and messaging him to set up a dinner, claiming he wanted to introduce a "benefactor" to him.

Even though Tong Dawei kept playing coy and dropping hints, Yan Li already knew through his system precisely who this "benefactor" was.

Wang Jinghua, hailed as the premier agent in mainland China!

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