Chapter 6

[Daily Intel ①]: Zhang Songwen, Zhou Yiwei, and Lin Jiachuan had a late-night dorm discussion. They unanimously agreed that their roommate Yan Li is loyal and kind-hearted, someone who’s a great friend and brother. However, they all criticized him for being too popular with women… […] [Daily Intel ③]: Dong Xuan still doesn’t want to break up. Her cold wars and breakup threats are tactics to control Yan Li and ensure he behaves better in the future. […] [Daily Intel ⑤]: Zhang Zhengyong, who plays Shi Danai in Heroes of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, originally auditioned for the role of Yuwen Chengdu. However, Yan Li snatched the role through Assistant Director Wang Decai, causing Zhang Zhengyong to harbor resentment (Note: Zhang Zhengyong has trained in Sanda for years and won an amateur championship). […] [Daily Intel ⑦]: Xie Junhao, who plays Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty in Heroes of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, is reserved in character but exceptionally skilled professionally (details inside). […] [Daily Intel ⑨]: Huang Shengyi was reminded of her sweet memories of Senior Yan Li teaching her how to film a kissing scene yesterday after seeing her roommate's relationship drama… […] Yan Li’s daily routine begins with reviewing the system intel. Today, there are ten reports in total. However, half of them are either trivial or unimportant, so he quickly skimmed past them. Intel ①, about his roommates' behind-the-scenes conversation, didn’t bother Yan Li. In fact, they had even discussed it face-to-face before. Zhang Songwen and Zhou Yiwei had specifically brought it up with him. Intel ③ revealed the real reason why Yan Li remained unfazed about his “ex-girlfriend” Dong Xuan’s breakup drama. Having already seen through her tactics and holding the upper hand, there was no reason to rush. Intel ⑤ and Intel ⑦ were the ones Yan Li cared about most. Especially Intel ⑤—knowing there’s a potential rival, who also happens to be a trained fighter, made Yan Li wonder if he should start carrying a prop staff or dagger for self-defense. Intel ⑦ was mainly about learning more about Xie Junhao, the actor playing Yang Guang, as he would be one of Yan Li’s primary scene partners. Notably, Yan Li clicked on the "details" section of Intel ⑦ for a closer look. It included Xie Junhao’s background, career history, personality traits, social connections, and even some private information. Yan Li categorized such intel as "Character Intel," which was particularly valuable due to its thoroughness and rarity. Since obtaining the system a few months ago, Yan Li had only received three Character Intel reports, including this one about Xie Junhao. One of the others was about Wang Decai, which had allowed Yan Li to build a good rapport with him and secure a spot in the Heroes of the Sui and Tang Dynasties crew. Unfortunately, Xie Junhao’s intel wasn’t of much use to Yan Li at the moment. If this intel had been about a producer or director, someone with real authority, Yan Li might have been able to secure his next role before the current shoot wrapped up. As for Intel ⑨, Yan Li still believed that teaching someone how to act in a kissing scene was simply part of performance guidance—those who understand will see it as clean and professional. After washing up, Yan Li headed out for breakfast. Although the crew provided meals on-site, he didn’t want to make the long trek just to save some money, especially since he had no scenes scheduled that morning. Instead, he ate at a nearby food stall. Then, just like the day before, he went to a small grove for his usual routine: practicing martial arts and memorizing lines. As Yan Li was mid-way through his boxing practice, the long-haired girl from yesterday appeared again. She wore the same casual outfit of a T-shirt and jeans, but today’s jeans were more fitted, accentuating her long, slender legs. Surprised to see Yan Li again, the girl smiled and waved. “Good morning.” “Morning,” Yan Li nodded, keeping his interaction brief. After yesterday’s encounter, he felt less awkward and continued his routine. The girl watched with interest for a while before heading to her usual spot, where she put on her headphones and either read or studied her script. It was overcast, so she stayed longer than the day before. Around 11 a.m., when Yan Li was about to pack up and leave, he noticed her passing by. “Leaving already?” “Yeah, I’ve got scenes this afternoon.” So, she was an actress. Yan Li wasn’t surprised. They exchanged a few casual words and went their separate ways. However, Yan Li was slightly taken aback to learn she was from the Princess Pearl 3 crew. He recalled reading in the papers that Princess Pearl 3 was filming in Yang City, so he wasn’t sure why they were in Hengdian. Perhaps the crew was divided, with one unit in Yang City and another in Hengdian, similar to how Heroes of the Sui and Tang Dynasties had split their team—Unit A filmed Qin Qiong selling his horse, while Unit B worked on scenes set in the Sui Dynasty palace. After lunch, Yan Li got into makeup and costume, then reported to Unit B for filming. He only had two scenes today, but they were minor, mostly involving him as a background character with a few lines at the end. “Teacher Xie, I’m Yan Li. I play Yuwen Chengdu.” “Mr. Yang, hello. I’m Yan Li, a recent graduate from Beijing Film Academy. In the drama, I’m playing your son, Yuwen Chengdu. Please take care of me.” “Teacher Xie” referred to Xie Junhao. Before joining the crew, Yan Li had watched his award-winning film The Mad Phoenix. The Golden Horse-winning actor was easily the most prestigious member of the cast. “Mr. Yang” referred to Yang Shulin, who played Yuwen Chengdu’s father, Yuwen Huaji. Yan Li hadn’t been familiar with him initially, but after asking around, he learned Yang Shulin had recently won the Feitian Best Actor Award for his performance in The Public Servant. With one Golden Horse winner and one Feitian Best Actor, Yan Li felt the pressure of performing alongside such heavyweights. Xie Junhao, reserved by nature, didn’t talk much, partly due to his personality and partly because of his limited Mandarin. He even delivered his lines in Cantonese while filming. Fortunately, Yan Li had watched a lot of Cantonese films and had a roommate from Guangdong, so he could roughly follow along. However, he still planned to review Xie’s lines carefully to avoid any missteps during their scenes. In contrast, Yang Shulin was much friendlier. He chatted with Yan Li and even gave him some tips on adapting to the crew's unique workflow. The scene they were filming depicted Yang Guang’s betrayal of his family in his lust for power. In the scene, Yang Guang orchestrates a palace coup, killing his older brother, the deposed crown prince, and violating the crown prince’s wife in front of him. Yan Li’s role as Yuwen Chengdu involved holding down the crown prince and strangling him with a cloth, while Yang Guang tormented the prince’s wife and mocked the dying man. “Don’t worry, brother. Once you’re gone, I’ll take good care of our sister-in-law.” “I’m feeling a little short of breath right now. But after some comfort from our sister-in-law, I’ll feel much better.” The lines were disgusting enough when read, but acting them out on set made Yan Li silently curse the screenwriter, who had clearly written adult films before. Xie Junhao’s performance was brilliant, though. He managed to portray Yang Guang’s depravity and cruelty without making him seem sleazy—a testament to his skill. Walking back to his dorm after wrap-up, Yan Li kept replaying Xie’s performance in his mind, analyzing how he achieved such depth in the role. By bedtime, Yan Li had an epiphany: Most actors would play such scenes by channeling a lecherous mindset. Xie Junhao, however, didn’t play a lecher—he played Yang Guang. For Yang Guang, women were trophies and tools, symbols of conquest and power, rather than mere objects of desire. This predatory, domineering approach, coupled with his imperial status, made him terrifying and twisted, but not pathetic. Yan Li wanted to emulate this, but given his own character’s more shallow and cruel motivations, he doubted he could achieve the same effect.