Chapter 404: Guest Appearance and "Breakup" Preview (11,000 words!)

On the side of "The Road to Glory", after more than ten days of filming with only Lu Yanhe and Shang Yongzhou as the two actors, the other actors finally joined the cast.

The new actress is named Song Ying. She plays Shang Yongzhou's first love in the film. She'll be filming for three days in total.

Although this was Lu Yanhe's first time dealing with her, he knew about her.

She's quite popular; the dramas she's starred in over the past few years have all been very good. She's an actress who's often compared to Jiang Yuqian in the market.

Fu Kai used his personal connections to invite people to make a special appearance in this movie.

Given the film's production budget, the actor's salary was probably just a friendly price.

"Hello, Sister Xiaoying, I am Lu Yanhe."

Lu Yanhe took the initiative to greet her in front of her nanny car.

Seeing Lu Yanhe approach her, Song Ying was a little surprised, but she smiled politely and replied, "Hello, Yanhe, I'm Song Ying."

Song Ying is the kind of actress who has worked her way up step by step, starting from playing maids and working her way up to now playing leading roles.

She is also one of the very few actresses who are both very popular and have well-recognized for her acting skills.

Song Ying got out of the car wearing cotton slippers, a large, thick black down jacket, and her hands were tucked into a hand warmer.

Seeing Lu Yanhe's gaze fall on the hand warmer, Song Ying smiled a little embarrassedly and explained, "I'm afraid of the cold, so I'm usually fully armed when I go to the set."

Lu Yanhe said sincerely, "This is a good thing. I have to get one for myself as soon as possible. I was filming outside in the middle of nowhere, and I was freezing. There was no hot water in the place I was staying."

Song Ying asked in surprise, "Are the conditions really that harsh?"

"Mm." Lu Yanhe nodded.

Suddenly, Song Ying remembered something and said, "Actually, you boys can use hand warmers too."

"ah?"

"Heat packs are things you stick on your body that automatically generate heat," Song Ying said. "When I'm filming outdoor scenes in winter, I always stick a few on my body. I didn't take good care of my health when I was a kid, especially my legs. I developed rheumatism from filming scenes in the water, and I get cold easily when the temperature drops, so I have to be careful."

Lu Yanhe nodded.

"Sister Xiaoying, shall we have lunch together later?" Lu Yanhe asked. "Brother Yongzhou and I both want to eat out. We're really tired of the boxed lunches from the crew."

He gave a helpless look.

Song Ying smiled and said okay, then asked, "Yan He, why do you call Shang Yongzhou 'senior brother'?"

"Oh, because my manager Chen Ziyan used to be his manager, so when we first met, he jokingly called me junior brother, and I became his senior brother," Lu Yanhe explained.

"I see." Song Ying understood and nodded.

-

Song Ying is not a warm person, at least not someone who would take the initiative to greet people enthusiastically.

But she's not the kind of person who's cold-faced and aloof, ignoring you completely.

She seemed like an ordinary person, with little social interaction. This discovery surprised Lu Yanhe. Song Ying wasn't a newcomer who had just debuted; she had been working in the entertainment industry for many years, yet she still maintained this very "authentic" side.

Shang Yongzhou and Song Ying had known each other for a long time.

Having lunch with Song Ying slightly lifted Shang Yongzhou's spirits.

"How's your wedding with your boyfriend going?" Shang Yongzhou asked during the meal.

Song Ying's boyfriend is Zhang Ming, who is also quite famous, a well-known rich second-generation, and has made the news many times. When Song Ying started dating Zhang Ming, many of her fans were unhappy, thinking that Zhang Ming was a womanizer, since he changed girlfriends as often as he changed clothes. They all shouted, "Song Ying, run away!" But now, more than two years have passed.

When Shang Yongzhou asked Song Ying this question, she gave a somewhat awkward smile.

“We…shouldn’t get married,” she said.

Shang Yongzhou looked at her with some surprise, "Hmm?"

“His family was really against us being together, and I didn’t want to force it. You can’t force a relationship, so I just let it go,” Song Ying said.

Lu Yanhe never expected that a very ordinary topic would turn out like this.

The atmosphere became inexplicably awkward.

Shang Yongzhou, however, did not seem to feel embarrassed; instead, he frowned.

"What did Zhang Ming say? Did he give up too?"

“He refuses to break up, but what can we do in this situation?” Song Ying said calmly. “We can’t just keep dragging this on.”

Shang Yongzhou: "Does his family mind your status as an artist?"

“From all aspects, they also felt that my family background was relatively ordinary and I was not good enough for their son.” Song Ying said with a smile, but there was a hint of disappointment in her eyes.

Lu Yanhe was at a loss for words.

The fact that Song Ying and Zhang Ming are dating has always attracted a lot of attention. Even Lu Yanhe has seen news about them from time to time, such as the two of them traveling together in a certain place today, or Zhang Ming visiting Song Ying on set tomorrow.

Couples who appear to have a great relationship online may have already reached the point of breaking up.

This makes one feel quite unpredictable.

"It's alright. Zhang Ming's parents have such old-fashioned ideas. If you don't want to keep going, then forget it. There are plenty of fish in the sea." After saying this, Shang Yongzhou didn't know what hit him right, but he laughed at himself.

Song Ying said, "I'm not thinking about these things right now. I'll focus on filming."

Shang Yongzhou asked, "Will you be joining a production team later?"

"After the New Year, after this movie is finished, I will take a break for a while. I haven't had a break in a long time, and I feel a bit tired."

"Um."

Lu Yanhe looked at Song Ying. She had a small, round face, almost no flesh, and was very thin, which made her eyes look big and deep, making it easy to get lost in them.

-

Song Ying doesn't have many scenes, only four.

The most important scene is when the three of them are chatting in a coffee shop.

Song Ying came to see her ex-boyfriend, Shang Yongzhou, whom she hadn't seen for many years. So, in this coffee shop, they met again amidst a sense of loss and change.

Shang Yongzhou asked Song Ying why she wouldn't even say goodbye to him face-to-face back then.

Song Ying just smiled and said that so much time had passed, how could she still remember?

Shang Yongzhou then asked her why she lived alone in Zhifan.

Song Ying said her boyfriend was here.

The entire scene unfolds through their dialogue, without any emotional ups and downs. Whether it's reminiscing, cherishing memories, hesitating to speak, or holding back words, everything is conveyed through their expressions and the way they finish speaking.

Lu Yanhe sat beside her, though he didn't actually have any lines. However, he remained there, secretly observing Song Ying. He wanted to know why his brother had driven so far and for so long just to sit with her, have a cup of coffee, and chat.

A turbulent love affair.

These were the thoughts that occupied Lu Yanhe's mind at that moment. He was unaware that his brother had cancer, nor did he know that his brother was trying to fulfill all his regrets before he died, and was even winking at him, his little gestures revealing his exaggerated nature.

Shang Yongzhou saw it, but pretended not to see it and ignored it completely.

The three people had different thoughts and were in completely different states.

Lu Yanhe had witnessed Shang Yongzhou's acting skills many times before.

This was the first time Lu Yanhe had seen Song Ying acting on set.

She had mostly acted in TV dramas before. Lu Yanhe had only seen one of her movies, a spy film she starred in with a veteran actor. To be honest, the movie was of such poor quality that he couldn't even watch the actors' performances properly.

The plot alone is cringe-worthy enough.

This time, sitting across from Song Ying, I could see every minute detail of her face to face.

After the performance, Lu Yanhe was astonished.

Because Song Ying completely exceeded his expectations. Song Ying is an actress who is very good at using micro-expressions to act. There were several moments when she gave things that Lu Yanhe hadn't seen when he was reading the script.

Actually, in the script, Song Ying's character is rather one-dimensional, essentially a tool. Her function is strong, but her personality is lacking. However, the script adds a lot of depth to Song Ying. For example, when Shang Yongzhou asks her why she didn't tell him about the breakup face-to-face, she pauses for a moment, then smiles and says it's been too long, she's long forgotten. That moment of distraction is incredibly moving—it's as if, in that instant, we travel through a time tunnel and return to that time.

In recent years, Song Ying has primarily focused on television dramas, neglecting film. This is mainly because the few films she has acted in have received remarkably poor reviews. Many say that Song Ying's acting skills are simply insufficient for film. It's often said that actors who excel in television dramas may not perform well in films, as the two mediums require different levels of acting quality. However, after seeing Song Ying's performance today, Lu Yanhe knows that those people are wrong; Song Ying's problem is definitely not with her acting skills.

We finished work around 7 p.m.

Fu Kai invited everyone to have a hot pot and some drinks together.

"Xiaoying brought good luck today. The filming went very smoothly, and we finished earlier than expected," Fu Kai said. "It's so cold, let's have a drink together to warm up."

Song Ying said with a smile, "I'll have hot pot with everyone, so I won't drink. I haven't been feeling well these past few days, so I don't dare to drink."

“Okay, sure,” Fu Kai said.

-

The bars in this city seem to see their business decline in winter, just like the weather.

After they entered the bar, they found that there were hardly any people there.

They found a corner to sit down, and the waiter, who had been looking rather lazy, widened his eyes in surprise when he recognized them.

Lu Yanhe quickly made a shushing gesture to him.

The waiter immediately made a zipping gesture in front of his mouth, indicating that he would close his mouth.

Shang Yongzhou and his group's bodyguards and assistants sat down around them, suddenly making the area "thriving."

Fortunately, it's a quiet bar, not noisy at all, perfect for chatting.

"No wonder the internet says this bar is a good place to drink and chat quietly."

Many bars claim to be quiet bars, but in reality, people still sing or play music, so it can be a bit noisy.

There is a small group of people in this world who go to bars just to have a drink.

No need for fanfare or music.

"Making this movie was really tough," Fu Kai said. "I originally thought that this movie wouldn't have many action scenes or big scenes, so it would be easier to film."

"There's never an easy way to make a movie," Shang Yongzhou said.

Song Ying said with a smile, "I'm quite lucky. The scenes I filmed only required me to walk around in cafes and sit on the street. I didn't have to suffer physically."

Shang Yongzhou turned to look at Lu Yanhe, "Did you expect the conditions to be this difficult before filming? Do you regret it?"

"Fortunately, I knew before we came that many scenes would be filmed in the mountains far from the city. I had imagined sleeping in tents or even in the car at night. Now, at least we have a bed to sleep in every night, and I am very satisfied," said Lu Yanhe.

Fu Kai said, "Thank you for helping me complete this film. I know it takes a lot of courage to make a film like this, and I am truly grateful that you were willing to come."

"Why bring this up again?" Shang Yongzhou muttered.

Song Ying said, "I told you before, if you need me, just give me a call and I'll definitely come."

Lu Yanhe: "I have no idea how you and Director Fu Kai met, Sister Xiaoying?"

To his recollection, Song Ying and Fu Kai had never worked together.

Song Ying said, "I met him at a dinner party. The producer took me and a few other actresses from the crew to dinner. We only found out there were many other people there when we arrived, and we didn't know them. At that time, someone kept trying to get me to drink. I didn't want to drink, and I was almost forced to drink. It was the director who saw that I was a pitiful little girl and stepped forward to help me and pulled the person away."

Lu Yanhe had never heard Song Ying tell this story.

This probably happened before Song Ying became so famous.

Now, no one should dare to force Song Ying to drink.

Fu Kai waved his hand.

“I got to know the director after that,” Song Ying said. “We always talked about working together, but it was always unfortunate before. Every time the director had a film and came to me, I was already filming and my schedule was too tight. This time, I happened to have time, so I came.”

In the entertainment industry, the encounters and relationships between people are truly unpredictable.

Before this incident, Lu Yanhe had never imagined that Fu Kai and Song Ying knew each other and had such a good relationship.

-

"Song Ying was the first choice for the female lead in this drama."

He Heng held the script that Jiang Yuqian had picked out and said to Jiang Yuqian with some helplessness.

That winter night, He Heng stayed at Jiang Yuqian's house.

Both of them changed into their pajamas, each occupying a corner of the sofa. There was a thick stack of scripts on the coffee table, and each had a glass of red wine beside them.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuqian paused for two seconds, then nodded, "Oh, I see. Then forget it."

He Heng asked, "Aren't we going to try and get it?"

“If Song Ying is willing to act, they won’t give me the role. If Song Ying doesn’t want to act, I don’t need to fight for it; they will naturally come to me to act,” Jiang Yuqian said.

He Heng felt a little upset when he heard Jiang Yuqian say that.

Jiang Yuqian has had some bad luck in the past two years. After the hit drama "The Golden Era", her two subsequent dramas were not very popular and her market reputation continued to decline.

She still has her status and popularity, but she has indeed fallen to the bottom of the list of these popular actresses.

He Heng asked, "Yan He kept saying he wanted you to play a role, but there's been no news yet. Could something have changed?"

Jiang Yuqian said, "No, if there are any changes, Yan He will explain to me as soon as possible. He is busy with so many projects, it is normal that he is too busy. We can't pin our hopes on Yan He's project. We have to work hard to pick a good project ourselves."

He Heng said, "Then I'll go and see what scripts are still available on the market. The main problem is that you don't have any more dramas in the pipeline ready to air. If you don't join a production soon, you'll have a long gap in your schedule."

For actors, a gap in their careers means no new projects to share with audiences. And without new projects to share with audiences, they may gradually lose public attention.

Jiang Yuqian's career has been declining in the past two years. If she doesn't have any good works to follow, her status may gradually slip away without anyone noticing.

He Heng said, "Our next project has to be a major production; we can't take on any more serious dramas."

Jiang Yuqian said, "If the script is bad, I can't take any roles, whether it's a serious drama or not. Sister Heng, if all else fails, I'll take a regular role on a variety show. If there's no good script, I'd rather rely on variety shows to maintain exposure and popularity than take on bad roles."

He Heng: "That's one way, but Yuqian, we've been looking at scripts for a long time, and we've been choosing one for more than half a year. We can't keep not taking on any roles."

Jiang Yuqian sighed.

She was also a little worried.

"How about I take the initiative to call the producers and directors I know and ask if they have any scripts?"

“What if you’re not satisfied with the script they provide?” He Heng said. “It’s best to be cautious about these things; it’s not time for that yet. I’ll go and talk to the producers on various platforms.”

Jiang Yuqian nodded.

He Heng added, "Actually, it would be great if Yan He had a script. Look at the scripts Yan He wrote; he collaborated with Jia Long, Chen Bige, Wang Zhong, and Huang Kairen. You can tell that his scripts are really good."

Jiang Yuqian: "Sister Heng, you brought me to this position before I even met Xiao Lu. Let's stop relying on others. Anyway, if you want to audition, then audition. I'm willing to do it. As long as there's a good script and a good team, I'll accept a lower salary."

He Heng: "At this point, I'm really worried that you'll have to lower your salary. If you lower your salary when you're popular, people will say that you're willing to lower your salary for a good role. But now that you're lowering your salary, I don't know how they'll view this."

Jiang Yuqian: "Face is face, and substance is substance. If we don't sacrifice some face to make up for the substance, the substance will really collapse, and the face won't last long either."

He Heng: "...Your talk about face and substance is confusing me."

-

Lu Yanhe only drank one cocktail and was slightly tipsy.

Fu Kai and Shang Yongzhou, however, drank quite a bit of whiskey and were a little tipsy.

The latter, in particular, drank too much, and later on, he put his hands on Lu Yanhe's shoulders and rested his head against Lu Yanhe's forehead.

"Little Lu, if you call me senior brother, then I'll acknowledge you as my junior brother. If you ever need anything, just ask your senior brother, understand?"

Lu Yanhe nodded and agreed.

Shang Yongzhou patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction.

"You're very good, much better than me. I have high hopes for you."

Lu Yanhe was both amused and exasperated. "Thank you, senior brother."

Shang Yongzhou released Lu Yanhe and lay down on the sofa.

"Fu Kai, you've really gotten me into big trouble by casting me in this movie."

Fu Kai looked at Shang Yongzhou with dizzy and intoxicated eyes.

"How did I manage to ruin your life?"

"I even dreamed about that person who hanged himself last night."

Fu Kai: "How can you blame this on me?"

"If it's not your fault, who is?"

Lu Yanhe exchanged a helpless glance with Song Ying.

Song Ying smiled and shrugged, saying, "I knew drinking with those two would turn out like this."

Do they drink a lot normally?

"Today was already a restraint; at least we were out," Song Ying said. "If we were at home, we would have been even more wild."

She asked curiously, "I see you only had one cocktail, and it wasn't very strong."

"I'm not a big drinker; I've gradually developed this ability," Lu Yanhe said awkwardly.

"Drinking less is fine, know when to stop," Song Ying said. "Don't be like them, you'll end up needing someone to help you home if you drink too much."

“Who needs to be helped back?” Fu Kai immediately shouted “Go away” three times in a row. “I’m telling you, I can walk back by myself.”

Song Ying nodded, "Okay, then you can walk back slowly by yourself. We'll all take a car back."

Fu Kai: "..."

Lu Yanhe curled up the corners of his mouth, unable to hold back his laughter.

-

Although both of them had drunk quite a bit, they still appeared on set the next day looking perfectly normal and were not late.

Because Song Ying only had three days available, the filming of those three days focused entirely on her scenes.

Lu Yanhe and Song Ying have a scene together.

Shang Yongzhou is not present in this scene.

After Lu Yanhe said goodbye to Shang Yongzhou and Song Ying, he got into the car. Suddenly, Lu Yanhe realized that he had left his phone in the coffee shop, so he ran back to get it. As a result, he bumped into Song Ying, who was still sitting in the same seat, staring blankly with red eyes.

This scene was added specifically after the script was revised.

That's why Lu Yanhe and she had this scene together.

In the initial draft of the script, Jiang Ying's role and importance were not this significant. The director made this change specifically to allow Lu Yanhe to participate in the film.

After receiving the new script, Lu Yanhe also pondered the significance of this scene.

He asked Fu Kai.

Fu Kai said, "On the surface, it actually reveals another side of the story. There's another hidden reason behind Song Ying and Shang Yongzhou's separation. Shang Yongzhou came to find Song Ying to get this answer; he didn't want to leave this world with this question. But Song Ying had her own thoughts; she kept it a secret and never revealed it. Before, you thought Song Ying just didn't like Shang Yongzhou anymore, that there wasn't such a complicated reason, and that your brother just wouldn't accept this reason because he always firmly believed that she still loved him. But when you unexpectedly came back to get your phone and found her like this, you realized that maybe your brother wasn't deceiving himself."

Lu Yanhe still didn't understand, "And then?"

"And then what?"

Lu Yanhe said, "I discovered that my brother wasn't deceiving himself, and then what?"

Fu Kai fell silent, unsure of what to say.

Because Lu Yanhe could never understand this newly added plot, he almost deleted it.

Shang Yongzhou said, "There's no 'then,' it just gives you a few more reasons for my trip. You suddenly realize that I, someone who has nothing to do, am not immersed in my own world, nor am I blindly confident or arrogant. You start to be interested in my trip, curious about why I came to see these people, and why I am still thinking about a question that has long been irrelevant to my current life, wanting an answer."

These words enlightened Lu Yanhe, and he finally understood the plot.

His so-called scenes with Song Ying actually consisted of just a few lines and a single eye contact.

In a movie, it would only be a short clip of about ten seconds.

However, Lu Yanhe did not expect that Fu Kai would have to do more than a dozen takes for this scene.

Fu Kai is not the kind of director like Wang Zhong or Liu Bige who makes you want to repeat a single shot until you want to die.

He shoots a scene very quickly. As long as the actor meets his requirements, he won't nitpick and think, "You didn't show that look at the XXth second" or "I think we can do it again to see if there's anything new," and then ask you to do it again.

This was the first time Fu Kai had asked them to film a single scene so many times.

At first, Lu Yanhe thought that he and Song Ying were acting incorrectly.

When they were filming for the eighth or ninth time, Fu Kai came over and said to them, "It's not that you acted badly, it's that I haven't figured out what kind of feeling I want for this shot, so I can only let you try it again and again, and then I can see from it what I really want."

Such directors are capricious and drain the actors' emotions and energy.

Fortunately, Fu Kai didn't act like that in every scene.

After Lu Yanhe and Song Ying realized that it wasn't that they were acting badly, their psychological pressure lessened considerably. They relaxed and cooperated with Fu Kai, trying out various emotions and expressions.

Finally, on the seventeenth try, Fu Kai slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "That's it!"

-

When the two actors watched the replay, they realized what Fu Kai wanted.

Lu Yanhe walked over and, despite clearly seeing Song Ying's red eyes, pretended not to notice and explained, "I left my phone here."

Lu Yanhe picked up his phone from the table—it had been sitting there all along.

Song Ying seemed to only then notice, and let out an "oh" as if waking from a dream. She moved her body slightly, as if she wanted to give some kind of reaction, but she didn't give any reaction at all.

Lu Yanhe picked up his phone and was about to leave, but he couldn't help but glance at Song Ying again, almost unconsciously.

At that moment, as Song Ying turned her head slightly to watch Lu Yanhe turn and leave, she raised her eyes and looked at him.

Their eyes met in that instant.

Lu Yanhe's eyes showed some panic.

Song Ying immediately looked away.

And that was the end of it.

-

“This fleeting, superficial moment—” Fu Kai looked at the shot he had captured with great satisfaction. The two cameras and the two close-ups, even though they were raw, unprocessed footage, had already allowed him to visualize the atmosphere that would be created when the footage was edited and shown on the big screen.

"Sister Xiaoying, was there a fleeting moment just now when you wanted to tell me the truth about your breakup with my brother?" Lu Yanhe asked.

Song Ying nodded and said, "Yes, at that moment, I also felt a strange, sudden urge to struggle.

"So what's the truth behind your breakup with my brother?"

“There’s no script either,” Song Ying said with a helpless smile. “I find it strange myself. I clearly don’t know anything about it, and I have this urge to grab you and tell you, and then have you tell your brother.”

Fu Kai: "Actors are emotional creatures. Even without a script, if you are put on stage and facing an empty audience, you can probably still act out emotions from past lives to the present."

Fu Kai's words also made Lu Yanhe think deeply.

What exactly is the profession of an actor?

Is skill or emotion the ultimate weapon?

Of all the shots of Song Ying just now, the most touching one was her last look.

It actually stemmed from an emotion that suddenly welled up from the depths of Song Ying's heart. It didn't come from the script, nor from the design, but from an impulse during the live performance. Is that what you call technique?

After Lu Yanhe and Song Ying finished filming the scene, they went to rest on the sidelines.

The next scene will be a solo shot of Shang Yongzhou.

Lu Yanhe couldn't help but discuss it with Song Ying.

After listening to Lu Yanhe's question, Song Ying pondered for a moment and said, "Yanhe, I don't know how to answer you. I'm not a student from a professional acting school either. All my acting skills have been accumulated little by little on set. I haven't paid much attention to techniques or emotions. I basically just use whatever works. I used to use eye drops when filming crying scenes, but later I felt that such crying scenes were too fake, so I used my own experiences. For example, when acting as a sad character, I would think about things that made me sad. But later I found that this approach didn't work either, because it would only portray one state. If the character is slightly more complex, this approach would cause the performance to fall apart, because there are many kinds of sadness. Being dumped and having cancer are definitely two different things. No two tears fall in the same way."

Lu Yanhe nodded.

“Now I think it’s still important to get into the character’s mindset and empathize with them. So, is it technique or emotion? Everyone’s situation is different,” Song Ying said. “Everyone’s situation is different at every stage.”

After Song Ying finished speaking, she asked curiously, "Why would you have such a question?"

Lu Yanhe: "Curious."

-

While Lu Yanhe was filming "The Road to Glory" and was almost completely immersed in the world of acting, the second season of "Friends" once again dominated the internet in a controversial way, generating a huge amount of discussion.

The following week, the ratings for the third and fourth episodes of the second season of "Friends" remained stable at 1.2%, which relieved the Beijing TV station director.

They were genuinely afraid the show's ratings would collapse, especially after it was heavily criticized during its first week of airing.

Of course, a stable viewership rating of 1.2% does not necessarily mean that its reputation has improved.

The majority of people online are still criticizing the show.

The main criticism is that Chen Ziliang's acting is poor and he seems out of place among the main actors. Secondly, it's criticized for lacking the urban male-female feel of the first season and suddenly becoming melodramatic.

Entertainment critic Guan Suchen bluntly stated: "The first season wasn't without its melodramatic elements; there was even a scene of a runaway bride. But why didn't people criticize the plot as much as they do now? Because every episode in the first season, no matter how melodramatic, served to advance the characters' relationships. Without the runaway bride, they wouldn't have met, and they wouldn't have become neighbors. All the melodramatic plot points in the first season helped develop the characters and drive changes in their relationships. The second season, however, melodramatically used these changes in relationships to create melodramatic incidents. Especially the new character played by Chen Ziliang; his acting was already poor, and he acted particularly pretentious. While the other characters shared the common trait of being ordinary people, whether it was the script or his performance, he somehow managed to project an arrogant, cocky attitude that ruined the show."

This statement immediately went viral and became a trending topic.

Many people felt that this statement expressed their true feelings.

People in Beijing and Taiwan can only console themselves that being infamous is still being famous.

In fact, they really did their best in the second season of Friends.

Without Lu Yanhe as the screenwriter, they spent a lot of money to hire a top screenwriter to continue the script for the second season, and also invited Chen Ziliang to join the main cast. As a result, there is now a lot of criticism.

The main criticism was about the plot, which exceeded the expectations of both Beijing and Taiwan media.

Even the writers of the second season were criticized by many fans, who went to their Weibo accounts to complain that they had ruined the show.

In this situation, Bai Jingnian actually received a lot of praise—

The only commendable thing about the second season is that it's clear the director is trying hard to maintain the style and tone of the first season and not change it too much. The actors, including Wen Minglan, are also trying to protect their characters. Although this creates a completely different style from Chen Ziliang and feels disjointed, at least they held their ground.

-

Yan Liang and Wen Minglan were basically not criticized.

On the contrary, they were still boosted by the hit drama, and their popularity and buzz surged again.

A hit drama is a hit drama.

With the support and affection of fans from the first season, their segments are still quite appealing in the second season.

Otherwise, the viewership ratings wouldn't be able to be maintained.

Just then, Yan Liang received an offer to star in a film.

At the same time, he also heard some news.

-

"You want to change your agent?" Yan Liang asked Li Zhibai incredulously over the phone.

"Um."

"Is this for real this time?"

“Seriously,” Li Zhibai said. “He gave the role he was looking for to Ma Zhiyuan, so I decided I wouldn’t tolerate it anymore.”

Yan Liang remained silent for a long while.

"Zhou Ping'an won't let you go so easily, will he?"

“He doesn’t have the final say on this matter,” Li Zhibai said. “Yan Liang, sometimes I think I’m really quite foolish.”

"stupid?"

“I actually once genuinely felt that, no matter what, I still held more weight than Ma Zhiyuan in Zhou Ping’an’s eyes,” Li Zhibai said.

Yan Liang: "I think so."

“No, that’s not it,” Li Zhibai said. “He won’t make a choice. He wants both of us. He will never favor either of us because he wants to have both of us under his control.”

Yan Liang remained silent for a moment.

Because he knew that Li Zhibai was right.

Zhou Ping'an is that kind of person.

"So whose place are you planning to go to?" Yan Liang asked, then immediately added, "If it's not convenient to tell me now, then don't. I'm afraid I might accidentally let something slip."

“It’s okay, let it be. We’ve already reached an agreement.” Li Zhibai said, “Didn’t Zhou Ping’an poach Ma Zhiyuan from Lin Suyang back then? OK, then I’ll have Lin Suyang be my manager and let him manage me.”

Yan Liang fell silent for a moment, stunned, unsure of what to say.

In the end, all he said was, "Don't be impulsive."

Li Zhibai: "I'm not acting impulsively. I've thought about this for a long time. I've also talked to my family about it, and I've met Lin Suyang twice."

Yan Liang then realized that Li Zhibai, who couldn't keep anything a secret before, had actually made so many preparations.

Li Zhi asked, "Where did you hear that I'm changing agents? I haven't told anyone yet."

Yan Liang said, "A production company approached me, and the producer casually asked about this matter, asking if it was true. I said it was the first time I had heard of it."

Li Zhibai: "Producer? Which producer has such good connections?"

"Jiang Honglong with Confucian ideals."

"Oh, him." Li Zhibai realized. "He probably heard something from someone. He asked me to act in a movie before, saying that Zhou Ping'an also thought highly of the script. I said that Zhou Ping'an's opinion was not important to me, and he probably realized something because of that?"

"Does Zhou Ping'an know you're leaving?"

"You guessed it, didn't you? I didn't tell him formally, but my attitude was very clear," Li Zhibai said. "He can't stop me from leaving and changing agents. I didn't get my foothold at Xingyu because of him, and he knows that in his heart."

Yan Liang understood what Li Zhibai meant.

Li Zhibai is a second-generation rich kid; his family owns a listed company, so he has a very strong background.

His father knew the boss of Xingyu Entertainment; they were very close. Zhou Ping'an had never been able to control Li Zhibai, and the most fundamental reason was Li Zhibai's personality.

Yan Liang sighed, "If you leave, I'll be the only one left here with Zhou Ping'an."

"That's good. It'll bring him to his senses and make him pay more attention to you. Otherwise, one by one, he'll be gone. Let him cling to his Ma Zhiyuan and be all lovey-dovey until he's buried in his coffin." Li Zhibai sneered.

Yan Liang: "Alright, alright, stop making it sound so disgusting and terrifying."

Yan Liang asked, "So when do you plan to confront Zhou Ping'an?"

"Let's wait until the annual awards ceremony of 'Idol Era' and the Tianxing Awards are over," Li Zhibai said.

"Um."

-

It took Lu Yanhe several more days to find out that Li Zhibai was going to change agents.

This was all because of the invitation from the Spring Festival Gala.

"Holy crap, holy crap? No way? You and he have been in a love-hate relationship for so many years, and you're finally breaking up?" Lu Yanhe laughed during the three-person video call.

Li Zhibai said, "What love-hate relationship? Get out of here!"

Lu Yanhe smiled, then said with a hint of frustration, "I'm still filming on set. Have you guys received an invitation to the Spring Festival Gala?"

“I received it, but aren’t you filming and unable to participate? They invited the three of us to perform ‘Green Apple Paradise,’ so we can’t attend their official rehearsal,” Li Zhibai said.

Lu Yanhe nodded. "A really good opportunity."

After performing "Green Apple Paradise" on "Idol Era" last year, the program sparked a widespread wave of nostalgia. The Spring Festival Gala production team immediately hinted that they wanted to invite them to include the program on the Spring Festival Gala.

Lu Yanhe hadn't expected that "The Road to Glory" was waiting for him here.

He won't be able to finish filming this movie until the end of January.

The first rehearsal for the Spring Festival Gala began in mid-January.

You have to participate in rehearsals before you can officially perform on stage for the Spring Festival Gala.

Even the biggest stars can't skip rehearsals.

That's why Lu Yanhe regretted that he couldn't participate this time.

That's why we had this video call. Lu Yanhe mainly wanted to explain things to the two of them, since it was a three-person show.

Then, I "incidentally" learned that Li Zhibai was going to change his agent.

"Zhou Ping'an must have cried himself to death in the toilet," Lu Yanhe joked.

Li Zhibai: "I wouldn't care even if he cried himself unconscious, or even if he fell into the toilet."

Lu Yanhe said, "I support you in changing your agent, but is Lin Suyang a good person? Is he capable?"

In recent years, Lin Suyang has not achieved any particularly good results.

MX, under his management, has only maintained its popularity and buzz at a lukewarm level, without the soaring momentum it once had.

The new recruits he brought along didn't amount to anything.

Lu Yanhe didn't want Li Zhibai to choose an agent who wouldn't be of much help to his career just out of spite.

“If Lin Suyang wasn’t capable, he wouldn’t have been able to build MX into what it is today,” Li Zhibai said. “Before Ma Zhiyuan left MX, our Brother Ping An was completely crushed by him.”

Lu Yanhe realized what was going on; indeed.

He is narrow-minded.

How could Lin Suyang be an incompetent agent?

"Okay, as long as you've thought it through yourself."

At that moment, Lu Yanhe's phone suddenly received a call.

"I'm leaving now. Sister Ziyan is calling me."

"Okay, I'm hanging up now."

"Bye-Bye."

Lu Yanhe answered Chen Ziyan's call.

-

Yan Liang put his phone aside and picked up the script from Ruyi.

It's an adventure action web series that tells the story of a young man and an experienced veteran searching for treasure abroad.

Yan Liang rarely sees scripts of this genre in the country, so he was pleasantly surprised and wanted to read them carefully.

Suddenly, the phone rang again.

Um?

Why did Lu Yanhe initiate another video call?

Didn't this just end?

Yan Liang answered the video call. "What's wrong? Wasn't it Sister Ziyan who called you? Why are you calling again?"

At this moment, Li Zhibai also arrived.

"What's wrong? Are you so reluctant to part with us? You miss us already after just a few seconds without seeing our handsome faces?"

"Get out, get out, get out!"

Lu Yanhe cursed "Get out!" three times before revealing an expression of barely suppressed joy and excitement.

"The Spring Festival Gala production team just called and said we can resume rehearsals from the end of January," Lu Yanhe asked. "You all have time, right? It seems like we can be on the Spring Festival Gala again!"

(End of this chapter)