Chapter 181 He's Under My Protection
After breakfast, Lu Yanhe went back to his room to rest for a while before setting off with Chen Ziyan to try out different looks.
Lu Yanhe's role is actually not large, but it is very crucial.
In "The Golden Era", Lu Yanhe plays the role of Yao Yu'an, and Jiang Yuqian plays the role of Guan Zhu.
He is the key reason why Guan Zhu, the female lead played by Jiang Yuqian, enters the real estate company in the drama.
Yao Yu'an was Guan Zhu's first love. He died in a fight while protecting Guan Zhu. However, Huang Zhonghuai, who caused Yao Yu'an's death, was ultimately exempted from criminal responsibility and did not receive the punishment he deserved because of his family's protection.
Because of this incident, Guan Zhu's personality changed drastically from a pampered little girl. A seed of revenge was planted in her heart, and she studied hard and worked hard so that she could take revenge one day.
Against this backdrop, Guan Zhu joins Huang Zhonghuai's family business, a real estate company, starting from the bottom. There, she meets Lian Jin, the male lead played by Huang Kairen. The two compete for projects, vying for control, and develop feelings for each other. However, Guan Zhu suppresses her feelings to avenge Yao Yu'an, remaining with Huang Zhonghuai while secretly gathering evidence to bring him down. Lian Jin mistakenly believes Guan Zhu doesn't reciprocate his feelings and also hides his own.
At the same time, the real estate industry is taking off, and everyone is constantly climbing higher in the tide of the times.
Lian Jin, as the most capable young man in the real estate company in terms of securing projects, was very promising, but Huang Zhonghuai was jealous of him and used a scheme to oust him from the company. Lian Jin had no choice but to join another real estate company and start over.
Guan Zhu and Lian Jin once again became rivals in the business world, frequently clashing and each winning half the battle. In just a few years, both Guan Zhu and Lian Jin rode the wave of the real estate industry's boom to become senior executives in their respective companies.
During this time, they encountered several unexpected events that sparked new feelings between them. Lian Jin still harbored feelings for Guan Zhu and hoped that she would leave Huang Zhonghuai. However, the matter of revenge weighed heavily on Guan Zhu's mind, and she could not let go of Yao Yu'an, so she rejected Lian Jin once again.
However, Huang Zhonghuai was not sincere towards Guan Zhu either. He put a project with money laundering under Guan Zhu's management, just to push Guan Zhu out as a scapegoat when it mattered most.
Lian Jin accidentally learned of the details of this matter and reminded Guan Zhu. He thought that Guan Zhu would be disappointed in Huang Zhonghuai and break up with him because of this. To his surprise, Guan Zhu stayed by Huang Zhonghuai's side as if nothing had happened.
Lian Jin thought Guan Zhu was blinded by love, and feeling disappointed and angry, he decided to stop interfering in Guan Zhu's affairs. The project under Guan Zhu's management finally collapsed, and Guan Zhu was unsurprisingly made the scapegoat.
At this moment, Lian Jin realized that he still couldn't suppress his feelings for Guan Zhu and couldn't help but lend a hand, but his abilities were limited and he couldn't turn the tide.
At this critical juncture, Guan Zhu suddenly produced evidence of Huang Zhonghuai's bribery and money laundering, turning the tide of the battle. Huang Zhonghuai was arrested, and Guan Zhu was ousted from the company, becoming a pawn.
Lian Jin then found Guan Zhu and asked her why she did this. Only then did Guan Zhu tell the story of herself and Yao Yu'an.
Lian Jin wanted to invite Guan Zhu to join his company to solve her predicament, but his company refused. Guan Zhu also suddenly disappeared. Lian Jin searched for Guan Zhu for a long time but couldn't find her, so he had to give up.
A year later, a housing development project developed by Lian Jin's company was hit by a severe rainstorm, revealing numerous problems. The material supplier was suspected of nepotism in bidding, using substandard materials and providing substandard service, plunging the under-construction project into a major public relations crisis and threatening to bankrupt the company. As the vice president in charge, Lian Jin was overwhelmed with the issues and had to find a new material supplier.
Guan Zhu suddenly appeared at this time as the owner of a newly established building materials company and started to connect with him.
Lian Jin learned that in the past year, Guan Zhu was unable to join any real estate company due to a non-compete agreement, and was also unable to gain the trust of any company because of bringing down Huang Zhonghuai. So he started from scratch and began to work in the building materials industry.
-
That concludes the story of "The Golden Age".
Whether Lian Jin and Guan Zhu ended up together, and what happened afterward, was never explored further.
This story mainly revolves around Guan Zhu's goal of revenge, and unfolds a picture of the booming real estate industry.
The story focuses entirely on the clashes between Lian Jin and Guan Zhu. Initially, they compete within their respective companies, and later they represent different companies in the competition, featuring a significant amount of business warfare, which is written very well.
Unfortunately, none of these scenes involve Lu Yanhe.
Lu Yanhe basically appears in Guan Zhu's memories, as a kind of "white moonlight" figure.
After reading the entire script, Lu Yanhe realized that his role was both important and unimportant.
The key lies in the perfection of his character. In this professional drama, not everyone is a completely good person in the traditional sense, including the male and female leads. They all have moments when they do anything for their jobs. Only he, from his initial image as a school heartthrob to his warm boyfriend image when he's with Guan Zhu, and then to his heroic image of rushing to the front to protect Guan Zhu, makes Yao Yu'an's character more and more perfect with each appearance.
The important thing is his disconnect from the main storyline. He's not a character who appears in the main business battles; he's Guan Zhu's comfort when she's exhausted, her warmth when she can't sleep at night, and her guiding light when she's making moral choices and struggling. In short, he's completely out of place in the main storyline.
On the one hand, Lu Yanhe understood why Jiang Yuqian and Chen Ziyan thought this role would be popular and would help his career take a big step forward. On the other hand, he also felt a little regretful. If he could play Lian Jin, that would be a truly flesh-and-blood character with changes, complexities, and different performance space. Even if it wasn't Lian Jin, Huang Zhonghuai was a very well-rounded character, a selfish person who was evil to the core.
But Lu Yanhe can only play Yao Yu'an.
-
Lu Yanhe's makeup trial and final makeup process was simple but lengthy, which he found tedious.
Because in this process, he is just a prop, discussed, designed, and manipulated by others.
He followed their ideas, constantly changing clothes and altering his appearance. He tried six or seven different hairstyles and kept changing wigs.
Finally, one of the hairstyles was decided.
Something more youthful and sunny.
After finalizing the overall look, the costume designer put together eight outfits for him, which he then tried on, took photos in, and sent to director Luo Yuzhong for confirmation.
There are several styles, including casual everyday wear and white shirt styles.
This trip took about five hours.
Lu Yanhe ate a boxed lunch with everyone at noon.
The food was pretty good; there was a big chicken leg, and Lu Yanhe was quite satisfied.
At 3:30 p.m., Lu Yanhe finished his makeup session and left with Chen Ziyan.
Chen Ziyan said, "I don't plan to provide you with an assistant for this film. Your income is relatively low right now, and it can't even cover the assistant's salary. That's one aspect. On the other hand, I also want to help you develop your basic survival skills so that you don't develop the habit of expecting everything to be done for you. Okay?"
Lu Yanhe nodded: "That's fine."
Chen Ziyan smiled, nodded, and said, "That's settled then. After you finish recording 'The Days of Youth,' I'll see how things go and consider whether to assign you an assistant."
"good."
It's not that Chen Ziyan is short of money. Even if Lu Yanhe can't cover his assistant's salary himself, the company can. Chen Ziyan has the authority to do so within the company. But as Chen Ziyan herself just said, Lu Yanhe is currently filming and his workload isn't heavy. There's no need to hire a dedicated assistant to accompany him; he's not that busy yet.
“You don’t have any scenes for the next few days. I spoke with Lei Shuangcheng beforehand, and you can observe the set for a few days to see how it works. Your scenes probably won’t be scheduled for another week,” Chen Ziyan said. “Originally, your scenes were planned to be directed by assistant director He Xun, but Luo Yuzhong decided to direct them himself in the end. You should seize this opportunity and learn more from Director Luo.”
"good."
Chen Ziyan was about to leave.
Normally, Chen Ziyan wouldn't need to personally bring Lu Yanhe over for this kind of work, but because it was Lu Yanhe's first film, Chen Ziyan was a bit concerned and personally brought him over.
Lu Yanhe and Chen Ziyan returned to the hotel together.
Chen Ziyan checked out of the hotel and prepared to return to Yuming.
“Take good care of yourself while you’re on set. If you have any legitimate needs, just ask. Don’t be afraid to bother others or make yourself suffer,” Chen Ziyan instructed. “If there’s anything you can’t handle, tell me. I’m leaving now. I’ll come back to see you in a couple of days and bring the YeMai.com cooperation contract with me.”
Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "Thank you, Sister Ziyan."
-
After Chen Ziyan left, Lu Yanhe was alone in the hotel and suddenly felt a sense of unease about having to face this unfamiliar environment alone.
He suddenly realized a very important problem.
Chen Ziyan has left. If he has to go to the film set tomorrow, who should he contact?
Chen Ziyan had handled all the arrangements before, and Lu Yanhe hadn't interfered at all; he had simply followed Chen Ziyan around.
Now that Chen Ziyan is gone, Lu Yanhe has to handle everything on his own, from small things like how to get to the film set.
Fortunately, I added everyone as friends yesterday.
Lu Yanhe thought for a moment and decided to send a message to Lei Shuangcheng: Brother Lei, this is Yanhe. I asked Sister Ziyan to communicate with you before. I want to go to the set to observe and learn in the next few days. I wonder who I can contact to take me to the set tomorrow?
Lei Shuangcheng did not reply.
Lu Yanhe did not press for an answer.
About half an hour later, Lei Shuangcheng pushed a business card over and said: "Contact Xiao Zhao, he is my assistant."
Lu Yanhe immediately replied with "Thank you" and added this "Little Zhao": Hello Brother Zhao, I am Lu Yanhe.
The ID "Xiao Zhao" is Zhao Yuheng, which is obviously his real name.
He quickly accepted Lu Yanhe's friend request.
Lu Yanhe asked again.
Zhao Yuheng also handed over a business card: "He's Brother Cao, the shuttle bus driver. You can contact him."
Lu Yanhe had no choice but to add Brother Cao as a friend again: Hello Brother Cao, I am Lu Yanhe.
Five minutes later, it showed that the other party had rejected his friend request.
? ? ?
Lu Yanhe was stunned and didn't react.
What's going on?
After hesitating for a moment, Lu Yanhe wondered if this Brother Cao didn't even know who Lu Yanhe was.
He had no choice but to add another friend request: "Hello Brother Cao, I am Lu Yanhe, an actor from 'The Golden Era'."
Three minutes later, Brother Cao approved it.
Lu Yanhe breathed a sigh of relief.
Upon hearing Lu Yanhe's purpose, Brother Cao tossed him a timetable and said, "This is the daily schedule for traveling between the hotel and the film set. Take a look at the time. If you need to go to the film set, just arrive at the hotel entrance five minutes in advance."
Lu Yanhe: Thank you, Brother Cao.
Brother Cao replied with a "polite" emoji.
Just getting to the film set took me almost half an hour and I had to add two friends.
Lu Yanhe felt somewhat melancholy, but he also knew that this was probably Chen Ziyan's intention, to let him experience these things firsthand and accumulate social experience.
Chen Ziyan's requirement for artists has always been to immerse themselves in real life and not be artists who are detached from reality.
Their path is not that of artists.
-
Drivers' shift.
Cao Yong put down his phone and asked, "Who is this Lu Yanhe? We have an actor named Lu Yanhe joining our crew. Do you know him?"
“Brother Cao, you’re really out of touch! He’s famous now,” said another skinny young man. “If you search online, you’ll see all the news about him scoring 657 on the college entrance exam, and everyone’s talking about him.”
Upon hearing this, Cao Yong was somewhat surprised. "It's him?"
It seems that I've heard of it before.
"It's him, what's wrong?"
"It seems like he's not highly valued by the company. He's going to the film set tomorrow, and they haven't arranged a car to pick him up or drop him off. They even asked me about the shuttle bus schedule," Cao Yong said. "Logically, this shouldn't be the case. He's not some nobody anymore. Isn't he quite popular lately?"
"Maybe it's just because his college entrance exam scores were so high that he's not valued by the company? Is he just not popular?"
"Sigh, in this world, everything depends on popularity," someone said with a disgruntled smirk.
Cao Yong said, "I feel that this actor is quite polite."
"What's the use of politeness? People are quite polite when they're not famous, but once they become famous, they look down on everyone."
"Haha, that's true."
-
At six o'clock in the afternoon, Lu Yanhe faced a new problem: where to have dinner?
The production crew must have arranged dinner for everyone, both on set and at the hotel, but Lu Yanhe is not currently on the call sheet and no one has invited him.
Lu Yanhe thought for a moment and decided not to bother others. He decided to go out for a walk and find a small restaurant to have dinner.
Unexpectedly, I ran into Huang Kairen in the elevator.
Huang Kairen was accompanied by his assistant, a little girl with a ponytail.
Upon seeing Lu Yanhe, Huang Kairen smiled and greeted him, "Yanhe, are you going to have dinner?"
Lu Yanhe nodded and called him Brother Ren.
Huang Kairen is 29 years old this year. He graduated from a professional school and started acting right after graduation. He has steadily built his career and is now a well-known actor in the first tier. However, his commercial value is not as high as Jiang Yuqian's.
"Let's go together. I just made plans to have dinner with Li Qian and Wang Yunfan," Huang Kairen warmly invited.
Lu Yanhe was pleasantly surprised and said, "Okay, thank you, Brother Ren."
Huang Kairen's enthusiasm for Lu Yanhe stemmed from his observation of Chen Ziyan's attitude towards Lu Yanhe, and also from Lu Yanhe's recent popularity.
Do you have a car?
Lu Yanhe shook his head.
"Then get in my car." Huang Kairen beckoned Lu Yanhe to get in the car with him, and they drove to the restaurant.
Huang Kairen was also quite curious about Lu Yanhe and inquired about his college entrance examination preparation.
“I have a younger brother whose academic performance is really worrying. He will be in his final year of junior high school in the second half of the year and will take the high school entrance exam next year. I don’t know how he will do.”
Perhaps because his biggest label is reading, Huang Kairen started the conversation with him about reading.
Lu Yanhe was a little unsure how to respond to that.
Are you suggesting we say "a year is enough"?
Huang Kairen had no intention of learning from Lu Yanhe; he was just chatting with Lu Yanhe.
"You managed your entire senior year of high school all by yourself? Didn't you hire any tutors to give you extra lessons?" he asked.
Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "No, I don't have any income, so where would I get the money to hire a tutor to help me with my studies?"
"You're really quite impressive. I heard that your company hired a tutor to give you extra lessons." Huang Kairen changed the subject. "Even with extra lessons, you're one of a kind in the entertainment industry to achieve such results. You'll definitely get a lot of offers from Beijing and Taiwan programs in the future. Your image as a top student is impeccable and exactly the kind of artist that everyone likes to see."
Lu Yanhe was both amused and exasperated.
"So, from now on, I'm going to follow in my parents' footsteps?"
“We can consider it. You know, after my parents found out about your college entrance exam results, they asked me several times if I knew you and if my brother could come and learn from you.” Huang Kairen shook his head. “I told them that there are plenty of top students in his school. If he wants to learn from them, he should go to his own school. Why go to such lengths? But as soon as they hear about a top student, their eyes light up. They can’t wait to take my brother there to benefit from it, as if that will make him see the light.”
Lu Yanhe smiled and said, "Brother Ren, you and your brother must have a good relationship, right?"
"What a load of rubbish! He never calls me 'brother' when we meet. What an impolite little brat," Huang Kairen said with a laugh.
You can tell from their voices that the two have a very good relationship.
Lu Yanhe laughed.
-
Has Huang Kairen set off yet?
"I left the hotel ten minutes ago, I'll be there soon." Wang Yunfan put down his phone, glanced at Li Qian who had just walked in, and smiled when he saw her, saying, "Oh, dressed so nicely, who are you trying to impress?"
Li Qian immediately glared at Wang Yunfan and said, "I'm wearing this for myself, is that not allowed?"
“Sure, of course,” Wang Yunfan said. “But I’m warning you, Huang Kairen is still single, so don’t try to impress him.”
"You still say that? What does it have to do with Huang Kairen whether I dress well or not?" Li Qian rolled her eyes.
Wang Yunfan shrugged. "Denial all you want. I only believe what I see. You only took this role because of Huang Kairen, didn't you?"
Li Qian has starred in many hit dramas in recent years, becoming famous and making a name for herself as a supporting actress. Now she can even take on leading roles, so why is she playing a supporting role? One reason is that the production team of this drama is very strong, so strong that Li Qian is willing to play a supporting role again. Another reason is that the male lead is Huang Kairen.
Wang Yunfan and Li Qian were college classmates. He knew that Li Qian was a fan of Huang Kairen when she was in college. She liked him. Later, when she entered the industry, she had the opportunity to meet him. Not only did her idol filter not shatter, but she liked him even more.
"By the way, have you seen Lu Yanhe? I heard he's already joined the crew," Li Qian asked.
"I didn't see him," Wang Yunfan said with a smile. "Why are you interested in young boys? It's not fair to have your cake and eat it too."
"Shut your stinking mouth." Li Qian rolled her eyes again. "I'm just curious, this amazing person suddenly appeared, and I'm a little interested. He scored 657 on the college entrance exam, why is he doing acting?"
Wang Yunfan: "What's wrong with getting 657 in the college entrance exam?"
"So what if you got 657 on the college entrance exam? What was your actual score?"
"I'm an actor, does it matter what score I get on the college entrance exam?" Wang Yunfan said. "Even if I get a high score, does it mean I can still win the Best Actor award?"
"You're just jealous of him," Li Qian pointed out incisively. "Was it because you were originally supposed to be the second male lead in this drama, but then Lu Yanhe came along and is now getting more attention than you, and you're jealous?"
Wang Yunfan vehemently denied it: "Nonsense, me being jealous of him? His company doesn't even value him, what is there for me to be jealous of?"
"How do you know the company doesn't value him? They didn't value him before, but they started valuing him after his college entrance exam results came out."
"Forget it, I joined the crew yesterday and they didn't even arrange a car. Tomorrow, I'll have to take the crew's shuttle bus to get to the set."
"You know that?" Li Qian was very surprised.
Wang Yunfan said, "My assistant said it, and everyone's talking about it now."
Li Qian: "Tsk tsk, they really can spread anything."
At that moment, the door to the private room opened.
Huang Kairen came in.
"Hey, Kai Ren's here."
"Kai Ren, you're here!" Li Qian stood up and smiled brightly at him.
Then they saw Lu Yanhe walking in with Huang Kairen.
"I ran into Lu Yanhe when I went downstairs, so I brought him along," Huang Kairen said to the two somewhat surprised people. "Do you two know each other?"
Wang Yunfan and Li Qian felt incredibly bittersweet. The person they were just discussing suddenly appeared in front of them, as if they had just been caught doing something wrong.
"Oh, I've heard so much about you!" Wang Yunfan immediately smiled and walked over to shake hands with Lu Yanhe.
Wang Yunfan and Li Qian, the second male and second female leads in "The Golden Era".
Wang Yunfan plays the villain Huang Zhonghuai in the drama, and Li Qian plays Liu Na, Jiang Yuqian's colleague in the drama.
Both of them are actors who have frequently appeared in popular dramas in recent years. Lu Yanhe has not seen their dramas, but he has an impression of them.
Lu Yanhe greeted the two of them politely and respectfully.
Huang Kairen invited the group to sit down together.
"Is this the first time you've all met Lu Yanhe?" Huang Kairen asked.
“Yes.” Li Qian nodded immediately in response, “Kai Ren, did you know him before?”
"No, we just met." Huang Kairen shook his head. "Xiao Lu just joined the crew yesterday, right?"
Lu Yanhe nodded.
Huang Kairen asked, "Have you ordered yet?"
"We ordered," Wang Yunfan nodded. "But it was ordered for three people. You brought an extra person and didn't say so earlier. We'll have to add two more dishes."
Huang Kairen: "Then let's add it when the waiter comes to serve the dishes later."
"Xiao Lu, do you have any dietary restrictions?" he asked, turning his head.
Lu Yanhe shook his head.
Huang Kairen: "Then we'll add it as needed."
"I'm a little hungry." Wang Yunfan rubbed his stomach. "The boxed lunches from the crew today were awful. I could only eat a couple of bites before I couldn't eat anymore."
What kind of boxed lunches were given out for lunch today?
"Scrambled eggs with tomatoes, stir-fried mushrooms with meat, and a chicken leg," Wang Yunfan said. "Plus a large portion of rice, aren't they worried about making us look fat on camera? I suggested to them the day before yesterday that they prepare some light meals for us, but they haven't done it yet."
Lu Yanhe, who had been enjoying his lunch, quietly shut his mouth.
Li Qian: "You work out every day anyway, what are you afraid of?"
She turned to look at Huang Kairen, her tone and expression showing a clear change.
"Kai Ren, thank you for treating us to dinner today."
Huang Kairen waved his hand, "No need to be so polite. We've been saying we'd find a chance to have dinner together. We finally managed to get together today, but unfortunately Yuqian is filming. Otherwise, we could all get together."
Li Qian said, "Jiang Yuqian definitely won't come out; she never eats dinner."
"Is it really that scary?" Wang Yunfan asked in shock.
Lu Yanhe recalled the dinner he had with Jiang Yuqian not long ago, and he hadn't seen Jiang Yuqian touch her chopsticks, so it was obviously not true.
Huang Kairen: "Yuqian is very self-disciplined."
“I’m very disciplined, okay?” Li Qian immediately said, “I even started learning to dance before. A dance variety show contacted me, and I’m quite interested. But it requires a duo to participate. Kai Ren, do you want to come and have some fun with me?”
Huang Kairen waved his hand and said, "I can't dance at all. If I go to participate in this kind of program, it will probably be a disaster. Isn't Xiao Lu a good dancer? Why don't you ask Xiao Lu to go with you?"
Lu Yanhe was suddenly called out by name. Before he could speak, Li Qian said, "He's so much younger than me. How can I partner with him? There will definitely be a lot of people on the internet nitpicking him."
"Netizens are really picky about female celebrities these days. Li Qian attended an event last week, and apparently her outfit was criticized," Wang Yunfan said. "It seems like they were saying... your legs are thick?"
Li Qian shot Wang Yunfan a sharp glare and said, "Say that again!"
Wang Yunfan immediately laughed and said, "Don't glare at me. It wasn't me who said that. Of course I know your legs aren't thick. It's just that someone deliberately made your legs look thick in the photos, and then a bunch of people came to laugh at you. I never said that Li Qian's legs were thick."
Li Qian snorted and said, "Shut up."
-
When several people get together, there is often a central figure, who is the key to bringing the gathering together.
Lu Yanhe knew he wasn't familiar with them, so after taking his seat, he didn't try to blend in.
Judging from the current situation, Huang Kairen doesn't seem to be very familiar with them. Most of the time, it's Wang Yunfan and Li Qian who are joking and bickering.
Lu Yanhe even keenly sensed that Li Qian's attitude towards Huang Kairen seemed a little different, at least completely different from her attitude towards him and Wang Yunfan.
As for Huang Kairen... he often doesn't respond to their challenges.
After realizing this, Lu Yanhe had a new understanding of tonight's dinner party.
Could he have inexplicably become a third wheel that shouldn't have been there?
Huang Kairen's purpose in bringing him to this dinner table seems to have become less pure.
Lu Yanhe glanced thoughtfully at Huang Kairen, who happened to look at him at that moment.
Their eyes met, and they understood each other perfectly—Huang Kairen knew he had noticed something, and he knew Huang Kairen knew.
Lu Yanhe silently withdrew his gaze, said nothing, and looked down at his phone.
Li Qian's conversation still focused on Huang Kairen.
"Kai Ren, people are saying that you were dating Zhang Miao when you were filming 'Thinking of the Worldly Life'. Is this true or just a rumor?"
"Rumors." Huang Kairen answered without hesitation, "We were both completely baffled, and these rumors just started out of nowhere."
"Well, who made you two play a couple in 'Thinking of the Worldly Life'? Everyone thought you fell in love on set." Li Qian laughed with a hint of excitement. "Are you the kind of person who would fall in love on set?"
Huang Kairen shook his head. "No."
The answer was still very straightforward.
Li Qian's smile became even brighter.
"Then why are you still single?" Li Qian rested her chin on her hand, her eyes sparkling like waves, and asked, "You must have had a lot of girls express their interest in you, right?"
Huang Kairen: "You're asking the wrong person. I'm filming every day, how can I have time to date? You should be asking this person who just graduated from high school. Were there many girls chasing after you when you were in school?"
This topic has been turned upside down... a huge pot has fallen from the sky.
Lu Yanhe quickly shook his head and said, "No, no."
A hint of resentment flashed in his eyes—you're not being fair! You can't use me as a shield!
Huang Kairen reassured him with his eyes and said, "That's impossible. You must be lying. You're handsome and have good grades. No girls like you? Do you think we never went to high school?"
The resentment in Lu Yanhe's eyes deepened.
Now he knew very well that Huang Kairen's sudden invitation to dinner was definitely not out of kindness to take care of a junior; he had simply dragged him here to deal with the current situation!
-
On the set of "The Golden Era".
"Okay, that's a wrap!"
With Luo Yuzhong's command, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief.
I'm finally done with work today.
Assistant Luo Xiaoyu ran over, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Jiang Yuqian, and said, "Sister Yuqian, you acted so well just now. I saw many people in the audience were moved to tears by you."
Jiang Yuqian's eyes were still red.
She wiped away her still-dry tears with a tissue and said, "Let's go eat. You haven't had dinner yet, are you hungry?"
Luo Xiaoyu immediately nodded and said, "Yes, I'm hungry."
The production crew provided her with a private car.
Luo Xiaoyu accompanied Jiang Yuqian to a restaurant near the hotel.
"Just order me some shrimp congee, that's all. I don't eat anything else, you can order whatever you want." As soon as Jiang Yuqian sat down, a wave of exhaustion washed over her. She handed the menu to Luo Xiaoyu and told her to order whatever she wanted.
After looking at the menu, Luo Xiaoyu asked cautiously, "Sister Yuqian, I'd like to eat braised pork ribs and stir-fried river clam meat."
"Okay, order."
Luo Xiaoyu received approval and happily went to the door to call the waiter.
"Eh—" Luo Xiaoyu exclaimed in surprise.
"Xiaoyu, what are you doing here? Is Yuqian here too?" Huang Kairen's voice came from outside.
"I'm here," Jiang Yuqian said, looking up.
Huang Kairen poked his head in, and his eyes met Jiang Yuqian's.
"Oh my, what a coincidence! You just arrived? Just finished work?"
"Yes," Jiang Yuqian nodded. "I filmed for ten hours today, and I'm dizzy. Have you finished eating? By yourself?"
“No, Wang Yunfan, Li Qian, and Xiao Lu are all together,” Huang Kairen said. “We’re in the front private room. Why don’t you come with us?”
"Have you all finished eating? Never mind." Jiang Yuqian waved her hand, then suddenly realized, "Xiao Lu? You mean Lu Yanhe?"
"Yes." Huang Kairen nodded. "Your junior brother."
Jiang Yuqian thought for a moment and said to Luo Xiaoyu, "Xiaoyu, have them send the shrimp porridge to their table. After you finish eating, have the driver take you home. I'll hitch a ride with them."
Luo Xiaoyu happily responded.
I can happily cook for myself now!
While Huang Kairen went to the restroom, neither Li Qian nor Wang Yunfan spoke; both were busy replying to messages on their phones.
Lu Yanhe did not take the initiative to speak.
These two were clearly here for Huang Kairen tonight, and they weren't very welcoming to this "uninvited guest."
He even regretted not going to the restroom with Huang Kairen.
He really wanted to ask Huang Kairen what he had done to offend him, that he was being used as a shield on the second day after they met.
Suddenly, Li Qian turned to look at Lu Yanhe, her eyes scrutinizing him, and asked, "Are you very familiar with Jiang Yuqian?"
Lu Yanhe said, "It's alright."
"You were recommended by Jiang Yuqian, and you're not from a professional acting background. Aren't you afraid of messing up your performance by acting in Director Luo's play right away?" Li Qian asked.
Her tone was somewhat arrogant, as if she didn't think much of Lu Yanhe, who was a "connected person".
Lu Yanhe disliked her attitude, especially the unfriendly attitude that had become after Huang Kairen left. He was a little tough and arrogant, and said, "Director Luo let me audition before he let me come. I can't possibly mess up the performance."
Li Qian was taken aback by his words before continuing with a slightly arrogant tone: "I hope so. Many people have high hopes for this drama, and no one wants to be dragged down."
Lu Yanhe felt gloomy and somewhat annoyed, but it was really not in his nature to lose his temper over such a trivial matter.
So when Lu Yanhe, who was holding his breath, saw Jiang Yuqian come in, he even thought he was hallucinating.
"Sister Yuqian?" Lu Yanhe looked at her with surprise.
Jiang Yuqian greeted them, exchanged a few pleasantries with a smile, patted Lu Yanhe on the shoulder, and said, "You're quite something, kid. You've already introduced yourself to everyone without me even having to show you around. I was originally planning to find some time in the next few days to introduce you to these other guys."
Lu Yanhe immediately said, "Brother Ren brought me here."
He even wanted to complain to Jiang Yuqian that Huang Kairen had brought him here today with ill intentions.
Jiang Yuqian's manner of speaking to Lu Yanhe caused a great stir in the eyes of Wang Yunfan and Li Qian.
As everyone knows, Jiang Yuqian recommended an actor to the production team to play the role of Yao Yu'an. However, this is quite common. Many top-tier actors recommend one or two actors to the production team when they join a production.
Jiang Yuqian isn't exactly a friendly person on set. She hardly interacts with anyone privately. You can talk to her casually, but don't expect to get to know her better outside of work.
Jiang Yuqian also rarely showed her care for anyone in front of others.
Therefore, Jiang Yuqian's attitude towards Lu Yanhe today shocked them.
Even if Lu Yanhe was recommended to the production team by her, and even if Lu Yanhe was an actor from the same company as her, did she need to act like "this person is under my protection" in front of them?
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With Jiang Yuqian's appearance, Li Qian and Wang Yunfan's attention was finally diverted from Huang Kairen.
Especially Li Qian.
She is the second female lead in this drama, and there is already some potential competition between her and Jiang Yuqian.
Of course, Li Qian wouldn't openly compete with Jiang Yuqian at this time. Li Qian is currently somewhat popular, but she's not yet at the level to battle Jiang Yuqian. Jiang Yuqian is a top-tier actress, a genuine top-tier actress capable of carrying a drama in the eyes of the broadcasting platform and investors, not someone like Li Qian who's just a manufactured top-tier.
In the industry, what truly defines a top-tier company? It's when investors recognize your talent, platforms recognize your talent, and advertisers recognize your talent. That's what makes a top-tier company.
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After Jiang Yuqian arrived, Li Qian stopped subtly hinting at Huang Kairen's presence.
In Lu Yanhe's view, she was paying almost all her attention to Jiang Yuqian.
"Yuqian, I heard that after you finished filming 'The Golden Era,' you're in talks for another role?" Li Qian asked.
"Which one are you talking about?" Jiang Yuqian asked.
After asking the question, she continued to drink her porridge with her spoon.
Li Qian: "I've only heard that it's called 'True Crossroads'? Apparently, other actresses are also in talks for this role. But since you want to act in it, this role is definitely yours, right?"
Her tone revealed a fawning attitude towards Jiang Yuqian.
Jiang Yuqian took a sip of porridge, looked up, and smiled slightly.
"You're quite well-informed. You're paying so much attention to this show. Did you ever consider it too?"
Li Qian quickly shook her head, smiled wryly, and said, "How could I dare to compete with you?"
"Don't say that, it's not like I'm bullying you. It's just a matter of skill. Nobody should play the innocent victim. When you were secretly sending paintings and wine to others, trying to steal the lead role, I didn't see you being afraid to compete with me." Jiang Yuqian slowly stirred the porridge in front of her, her tone calm.
But as soon as he finished speaking, the three men in the room instantly froze into stone statues, neither of them saying a word.
silence.
Li Qian's face paled for a moment, as if struck by lightning, and she looked embarrassed. But she quickly recovered and said with a somewhat ingratiating smile, "Yu Qian, is there some misunderstanding between us? I never thought of taking your leading role. That's impossible. Maybe someone misunderstood me. Of course, I know my place."
Jiang Yuqian smiled gently, "Since it might be a misunderstanding, then let's not talk about it."
At the same time, Huang Kairen sighed inwardly. When he heard Li Qian mocking Lu Yanhe outside the door, he saw that Jiang Yuqian had no reaction and thought that she didn't really have a relationship with Lu Yanhe.
Now it seems that this is no ordinary case.
Jiang Yuqian slapped Li Qian hard across the face right in front of them so quickly. Huang Kairen thought Li Qian might never know why.
(End of this chapter)
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