Chapter 12: The Three Enchantresses of the Immortal Sword, Each Harboring Their Own Intentions
At this moment, Tang Yan was truly Zixuan.
A descendant of Nüwa, her smile was enchanting, her alluring gaze captivating hearts.
Zhang Li’s heart skipped a beat; he could completely understand why Xu Changqing, despite three lifetimes of cultivation, could never escape her charm.
“No wonder some online comments later said that Zixuan was Tang Yan’s peak performance.”
“Some netizens even said that the role of Zixuan could guarantee Tang Yan’s fame for life.”
“It’s hard to imagine she actually played so many naive, sweet characters.”
From the first time Zhang Li met Tang Yan and shook her hand, he had already accessed all her entertainment-related information up to July 2010.
During the ten-plus days they spent filming together, he deliberately got closer, and Tang Yan became an ordinary friend to him.
He found a chance to hand her something and successfully obtained all her entertainment information before August 2011.
The role in “Chinese Paladin 3” marked Tang Yan’s successful first step in escaping the shadow of Hong Kong and returning to the mainland to develop her career.
After that, her resources were decent, collaborating either with the Four Heavenly Kings or Milk Tea Lun, but none made a significant splash.
Her true rise to stardom as a leading actress came from playing sweet, naive roles in “The Three Daughters of the Xia Family” and “Love Woke Up.”
“Shi Shi, look at the way Tang Tang looks at Ali—isn’t it a bit off?” Yang Mi lightly nudged Liu Shishi’s arm.
“I think Tang Tang’s just good at acting, or she’s really in character,” Liu Shishi frowned slightly and shook her head.
Tang Yan felt somewhat uncomfortable with how openly Zhang Li looked at her.
But since she was playing the role of Zixuan, she knew the character’s personality and traits well.
Judging by the smile on Li Guoli’s face beside her, Tang Yan’s performance was spot-on.
“Tang Tang told me she doesn’t like younger boys, and Ali is seven years younger than her,” Liu Shishi added.
It was unclear whether she was explaining for Tang Yan or trying to convince herself.
“I see.” Yang Mi nodded noncommittally. “Then her acting must be really good, but I’ll have to watch her when she’s not filming.”
Hearing this, Liu Shishi’s discomfort grew.
She knew Tang Yan’s skills well; if she were truly that good, she wouldn’t have lost so many leading lady opportunities.
“Why do you care about this?” Liu Shishi looked at Yang Mi with wariness. “Do you like him?”
People tend to measure others by themselves. Since Liu Shishi liked Zhang Li, she assumed other women might like him too.
“I don’t like that little brat,” Yang Mi scoffed, shaking her head. “It’s Xixi, Liu Yifei, who asked me to keep an eye on whether he has any romantic interests.”
“Liu Yifei?” Liu Shishi instinctively recoiled at the name, her eyes flickering. “Isn’t she Ali’s biological older sister? Why does she care so much?”
“Who knows?” Yang Mi shrugged casually. “She just asked me to watch if there are any girls interested in Ali, and in return, she’s willing to recommend movie roles to me. It’s a small favor, so I helped out.”
She joked, “Maybe she really considers Ali her childhood betrothed?”
Liu Shishi sneered subtly. “This isn’t the feudal era anymore.”
Hearing that, Yang Mi gave her a meaningful look.
---
“Cut.”
“Okay!”
“That’s it for the morning.”
Li Guoli’s voice rang out across the entire crew.
Only then did everyone realize it was already noon.
Zhang Li and Tang Yan, this handsome and beautiful pair, were so pleasing to the eye. Their acting chemistry was excellent, as if they had rehearsed countless times, drawing everyone in effortlessly.
No one had really noticed how time had flown by.
“Ali,” Tang Yan walked over to Zhang Li with a smile in her eyes. “Next, there are scenes with you and me, me and Yang Mi, and you and Yang Mi.”
“How about after lunch, the three of us rehearse together?”
“Sure,” Zhang Li nodded without hesitation. “Multiple characters in one scene are more challenging. It’s good to rehearse in advance.”
Zhang Li and Tang Yan approached Yang Mi and explained their plan.
“I’m fine with that. Thanks for bringing me along,” Yang Mi smiled playfully.
She took on the task of handing out boxed lunches and gave Zhang Li an admiring look when it was his turn. “Not bad, not bad. It’s no wonder your sister treats you so well.”
She thought Zhang Li had suggested the rehearsal to help her quickly integrate into the lead cast.
“Of course,” Zhang Li smiled faintly.
Although it was Tang Yan’s idea, he agreed, so it wasn’t like he was taking credit.
“Ali!” Liu Shishi suddenly called out to Zhang Li.
“Got it.”
His eyes scanned the boxed lunch in front of Liu Shishi, and he picked up a lion’s head meatball from her box, swapping it with the salted pepper shrimp in his own.
“Dig in.” Liu Shishi happily took her boxed lunch.
Yang Mi glanced a few more times at this scene.
The lunch ended with everyone chatting and laughing.
Zhang Li gathered the ladies’ boxes and took them to the designated place.
After finishing, he looked at his personal assistant, Xiao Yu. “Bring me some water.”
He rinsed his mouth, moistened his throat, sucked on a mint candy, and then leaned over with his script toward Yang Mi and Tang Yan.
“Let’s start right away,” Zhang Li said seriously. “Let’s try to shoot more this afternoon.”
The two women had no objections and took out their scripts.
Seeing this, Liu Shishi also brought her stool over and sat down.
Although she had no scenes in the afternoon and would be filming with Hu Ge at night, it didn’t stop her from joining the fun.
[You have had one effective scene with Zhang Li: Character Understanding +1 / Expression Control +1]
---
Half an hour later, Tang Yan finally heard the voice she wanted.
“Just as I analyzed,” Tang Yan’s eyes brightened.
She had rehearsed scenes with both Yang Mi and Zhang Li together, gaining two conclusions at once.
First: Doing certain things with Zhang Li to a certain extent would earn some achievement rewards and improve abilities without thresholds or bottlenecks!
Second: This reward mechanism only triggers when doing these things with Zhang Li, not with others.
With that, she no longer needed to bring Yang Mi along and could focus solely on rehearsing with Zhang Li.
At the same time, Yang Mi also heard that voice.
[You have had one effective scene with Zhang Li: Character Understanding +1 / Expression Control +1]
“With Zhang Li?”
Yang Mi was slightly surprised.
The three of them had rehearsed for over half an hour, but Zhang Li had the least lines.
Meaning most of the time, it was just her and Tang Yan acting together, with Zhang Li tagging along.
But the reward was triggered because of Zhang Li, not Tang Yan.
“In other words, this special ability I have as a lucky girl must be triggered by being around Ali.”
This realization made Yang Mi instinctively want to frown.
She had thought she was the chosen one, favored by heaven with a special power.
But this power had such a limitation—she had to revolve around Zhang Li for it to activate.
Could Zhang Li be the son of heaven himself?
No, that couldn’t be. If he were, then he should be the one with the special ability.
“In that case, I should just kick Tang Yan out and rehearse only with Ali,” Yang Mi thought to herself.
[Tang Yan and you...]
[Yang Mi and you...]
Hearing these two voices, Zhang Li felt pleased—but not entirely satisfied.
“Our rehearsal is going well. How about we rehearse the following scenes and let Shishi join in?” Zhang Li suggested.
Tang Yan: ?
Yang Mi: ??
Liu Shishi: “Agreed!”