043 Dong Xuan: Yan Li must have been bewitched by some vixen!

"Goodbye, Director Li."

After seeing Li Peng off, Yan Li couldn't help but light a cigarette. Dealing with such a seasoned slickster was no easy task, and he had been keeping his nerves taut the entire time.

With outsiders gone, Dong Xuan, who had been acting like an invisible person just moments ago, instantly became much livelier. She hugged Yan Li's arm and looked at him with a trace of adoration.

"You're really something else. You actually managed to fool such a big-shot producer."

Yan Li: "..."

What kind of phrasing was that? How could she call it fooling someone!

Dong Xuan listened to him completely, handing all related matters over to him to handle exclusively. Wasn't that practically making Yan Li her manager?

As for being a local insider, Yan Li had dealt with quite a few casting agents and crowd brokers while running around film crews, so he had the channels to contact them.

When it came to Beijing's arts universities, there was no need to mention his alma mater, the Beijing Film Academy. As for the other schools, Yan Li did indeed know some people. Although mostly students, connections were connections.

To put it mildly, Yan Li had embellished and exaggerated his words a bit, but it certainly didn't count as deceiving the other party.

More importantly, Yan Li was capable of delivering on his promises. Armed with his system, he had already figured out how to proceed.

If a bluff you pulled off could actually be realized, then it was a genuine display of capability!

Regardless of how it happened, their first battle had been a success. Yan Li was in high spirits, and being flattered by Dong Xuan like that only increased his boldness.

"Leave the rest to me. Just wait to be the female lead."

"You're so wonderful."

Dong Xuan emotionally delivered a sweet kiss. In truth, she didn't truly believe Yan Li could secure the female lead role for her.

Knowing nothing about the system, she fundamentally failed to grasp Yan Li's true calculations and backing.

From Dong Xuan's perspective, although Yan Li talked about striking first, designing various entrances for her, and successfully establishing a connection with Li Peng, the whole matter was still hanging in the balance.

There were still students from several other arts universities to come, not to mention graduated actors and independent drifters in Beijing.

By the time competition rolled around, there had to be at least several hundred actresses competing with her. How on earth could she land the top spot so easily?!

Still, it wouldn't matter even if she didn't get the female lead. Dong Xuan loved and was touched by Yan Li running around and bustling about for her sake.

He really does still care about me in his heart!

Dong Xuan even began to feel a slight pang of guilt. Yan Li's anger hadn't completely subsided yet, yet he was putting in all this effort for a slim chance that she could play the female lead. And yet, she had previously thrown a tantrum and talked about breaking up—it really was rather uncalled for.

Perhaps she had misunderstood from the start; with Yan Li caring about her this much, how could he possibly harbor those filthy intentions?

He must have been bewitched by that little vixen surnamed Huang!

Thinking of this, the look Dong Xuan gave Yan Li became exceptionally tender. "You've worked hard. Let me treat you to a meal."

"Just a meal?"

She was, after all, an ex-girlfriend of over a year; Yan Li knew Dong Xuan very well. Although he wasn't sure what was going on in her head, he acutely sensed an opportunity to take some advantage.

Dong Xuan sensed Yan Li's ill intentions and pressed her lips together. "Then what else do you want to do?"

Yan Li leaned close to her ear and muttered a few words. Dong Xuan's fair face instantly flushed, and she pinched him in shy annoyance.

"Didn't you say just once last time?"

"Just once this time. Never again."

Unable to withstand Yan Li's pestering, Dong Xuan finally gave an almost imperceptible nod.

***

The next day, Yan Li rented a Sail, drove to the hotel to pick up Li Peng and his assistant, and headed toward the Beijing Film Academy.

The car was rented; they would be running to quite a few places over the next few days, and not having a car would be inconvenient. It would also dispel Li Peng's doubts to a certain extent.

After all, no local fixer traveled everywhere by taxi and public bus!

To this end, Yan Li had even specially paid to get a driver's license. In this era, supervision was loose in many aspects; if you found the right person, you could get your license issued directly on the same day.

Entering the Beijing Film Academy, Yan Li parked the car and familiarly led the two of them into the administrative building.

"Teacher Wang, thanks for your hard work. Have a cigarette."

"Teacher Sun, you're looking even more beautiful."

"Oh, Teacher崔, long time no see. I hope you're keeping well."

Returning to his alma mater, Yan Li was like a fish in water, cheerfully greeting the teachers he knew.

Although Yan Li had been in the vocational diploma class at the Beijing Film Academy, his grades were good, he had a sweet tongue, and he knew how to handle things, making him very well-liked by their instructors.

If Yan Li hadn't been busy being lovey-dovey with Dong Xuan and lacked the time, the positions of class monitor and student union president wouldn't have fallen to his roommate Zhang Songwen. In fact, Zhang Songwen being able to secure the post owed a lot to Yan Li helping lobby for votes.

Teachers who had never taught Yan Li had still heard of his reputation to some extent; after all, dating the campus belle and beating up a senior made him quite the legendary figure of his generation at the academy.

After greeting the rounds, Yan Li found his primary target: "Teacher Hu, I'm here."

Hu Qiang was a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy's Class of '88 who later stayed on as a faculty member and currently held some administrative responsibilities.

Yan Li had once taken his dialogue class, so they were somewhat familiar with each other. Coupled with the heads-up he had given previously, they exchanged a few pleasantries before getting straight down to business.

The Beijing Film Academy actually encouraged students to go out and shoot films—provided, of course, that they were legitimate crews.

With Li Peng's paperwork in complete order, introduced by a graduate like Yan Li, and offering the rare opportunity of a female lead role, the academy attached considerable importance to the matter.

Hu Qiang personally led them to a classroom where a lecture was in progress, cleared out another room, and notified students who had no classes to come over for auditions if they were interested.

Picking people directly from a classroom depended entirely on the teacher's teaching style.

Some teachers didn't mind at all and would even suspend class so the crew could look around and pick freely; others didn't suspend class, letting the crew enter the classroom to observe for a while before pulling a few appealing faces outside to chat; some only allowed people to look through doors and windows, calling people out after class ended; and others simply ignored them entirely, driving anyone who dared to enter away with a scold.

Both Yan Li and Hu Qiang were alumni of the academy and knew a thing or two about the teachers' styles, so they deliberately picked a "soft persimmon."

The teacher was very straightforward, giving the students a few instructions before handing over the classroom. Yan Li quietly slipped a pack of cigarettes into the teacher's pocket.

Afterward, Yan Li looked at Li Peng. "Director Li, would you like to speak yourself, or should I lay some groundwork for you first?"

Li Peng hesitated for a moment. "You do it. I'll just observe from the side."

Yan Li nodded and stepped up to the podium without a trace of stage fright.

"Classmates, my name is Yan Li. I'm also a student here at the academy, from the Class of 2000 Acting Department. Coming here today, our main purpose is to cast a female lead for our crew's production of *A Mother's Journey*..."

The classroom erupted into a buzz. While quite a few crews came to the Beijing Film Academy to scout for actors, ones casting directly for the female lead were few and far between.

The male students were relatively calm since it had nothing to do with them; they were simply amazed that a senior up on stage was such a big shot.

They were all around the same age—they were still studying, yet this guy was already casting female leads.

The female students, on the other hand, were itching for a chance, especially those who knew Yan Li; their eyes lit up brilliantly.

"Shengyi, Shengyi, isn't that Senior Yan Li, the one who was all over you before?"

A thin, dark-skinned girl excitedly nudged Huang Shengyi, who nodded, looking at Yan Li on the stage with a complex expression.

This bastard had taken advantage of her and then vanished without a trace. Now, appearing several months later, he was strutting around looking all respectable.

"That's great! Given your relationship with him, wouldn't this female lead be yours for the taking?" the dark, thin girl said in surprise.

Another girl nearby scoffed, "Forget it. He has a girlfriend; it won't ever be her turn. Besides, what about Jia Nailiang?"

Huang Shengyi couldn't help but retort, "I... I don't even like Jia Nailiang."

The girl curled her lip. "If you didn't like him, why did you accept his confession? We all saw it. Now that you see your old flame has made it big, you want to back out?"

"What the hell does it have to do with you?"

Huang Shengyi snapped back, grabbed the thin, dark girl, and ran toward the podium. By this time, Yan Li had finished his pitch and started taking voluntary sign-ups.

Li Peng observed from the side, telling Yan Li whenever he found someone suitable. Yan Li would circle their name, and they would later be notified for a callback based on the phone numbers left behind.

Having choices made things wonderfully arbitrary!

If Yan Li hadn't brought Dong Xuan to meet Li Peng in advance, she might have had to endure this exact treatment—rounds upon rounds of brutal elimination where the unpredictability was simply too high.

"Senior Yan Li."

Huang Shengyi greeted him in a sweet voice. Yan Li raised his gaze slightly, recognizing the junior student he had previously seen in the *Daily Information* looking for a boyfriend, and offered a polite smile.

"Shengyi, you're here to sign up too."

"Mm-hmm."

Huang Shengyi pulled the thin, dark girl over. "This is my classmate Wang Luodan. We're signing up together."

Wang Luodan obediently bowed. "Hello, Senior."

"Hello."

Yan Li picked up his pen to record their information. Huang Shengyi took the opportunity to probe, "Senior, what is your role in the crew?"

"Executive producer," Yan Li replied righteously. Titles like "casting agent" didn't sound very impressive and made administrative work inconvenient, so he and Li Peng had agreed on the title of executive producer.

They knew among themselves that the title was just for show, but to outsiders, it carried plenty of weight.

"That's amazing."

Huang Shengyi's voice instantly added a few more plus signs of sweetness. Yan Li wore a faint look of pride, chatting with her with a beaming smile.

When they finally left the classroom, Li Peng couldn't help asking, "That girl just now had decent qualifications. Do you know her?"

Yan Li raised an eyebrow. "Which one?"

"The one you were chatting with for quite a while, all smiles and laughs."

"Oh, her? Not really."