"You're here."
Yan Shaohan, who was directing in the center, looked over and greeted Xiao He's group.
Xiao He took the initiative to greet him: "Director Yan, good afternoon."
Beijing was already particularly cold now. Although it hadn't snowed yet, white mist appeared when speaking. Yet Yan Shaohan was dressed very simply, just wearing trousers and a denim jacket. The man looked full of vitality, completely unaffected by the cold wind, making Xiao He, bundled in a down jacket, quite impressed.
Seeing Xiao He, he also greeted enthusiastically: "Xiao He, Sister Liu, long time no see! Come, come, perfect timing to introduce you to our female lead."
Then he directly grabbed Xiao He's arm and led them through the main hall to a nearby lounge.
Along the way, he kept acting very excited: "I'm so happy that I managed to invite my goddess herself to play the female lead!"
Xiao He was somewhat surprised: "Did Director Yan have a reference prototype when creating the female lead Yin Lan?"
"Hehe, yes." Yan Shaohan scratched his head somewhat sheepishly. "At that time, because I really liked her image, I borrowed some aspects of her appearance when creating the comic. Never expected the comic would suddenly blow up like that... Originally I didn't expect her to come, but fortunately Director Zhuang has great connections and helped me contact her, and she actually agreed to come!"
As he spoke, a besotted smile appeared on Yan Shaohan's face: "This feels really like a dream, very unreal—"
Xiao He: Having the referenced goddess prototype personally come to act is indeed something worth being happy about.
Immediately Xiao He also became curious.
Just who is this "goddess" that Director Yan mentioned?
Pushing open the lounge door, inside sat an extremely beautiful woman.
Originally she had been flipping through the script in her hands, but upon hearing movement she immediately looked up, instantly smiling with curved eyes: "Ah, Yin Qi is here."
Seeing that woman, Xiao He's eyes widened sharply.
"It's actually Guo Xinya?"
Not just Xiao He; even Liu Rulan was momentarily surprised when she saw Guo Xinya.
Guo Xinya was precisely the one Liu Rulan had previously mentioned to Xiao He—because her looks were too exceptional, she immediately became the stunning beauty in many directors' lenses upon debut, extremely popular for a time.
But later she insisted on challenging herself, taking various image-destroying roles trying to prove her acting skills far surpassed her beauty. The result was gaining small advantages at the expense of big ones, ending up mediocre and gradually fading from public view.
Actually, calculating it, Guo Xinya had just turned adult when she debuted. Later she moved between various directors' productions, playing different roles until she won Best Actress with a femme fatale role, when she was only twenty-four.
Now years have passed in a flash, and current Guo Xinya is only thirty-four. Her appearance still holds up well, seeming no different from back then, belonging to the top tier within the entire domestic entertainment industry. And perhaps because her later acting range was unsatisfactory, encountering setbacks everywhere in her career, current Guo Xinya also possesses a restrained intellectual beauty.
Xiao He had only ever seen her on television before. Now seeing her in person, Xiao He finally understood the regret and pity revealed in Liu Rulan's words when she mentioned Guo Xinya.
Guo Xinya herself was truly too beautiful, with perfect facial feature proportions, like jade meticulously carved by the goddess Nüwa when creating humans—exquisite and radiant. If she hadn't taken a wrong turn back then, she would likely have a place among the current top idol young actresses.
Guo Xinya first nodded to Yan Shaohan, then turned her gaze to Xiao He and Liu Rulan: "Sister Liu, long time no see. Is this the newcomer you're mentoring recently?"
Liu Rulan nodded: "It really has been a long time. The last time we met was probably ten years ago, right?"
Guo Xinya smiled wryly helplessly: "Yes, going around in circles, I still seem to have accomplished nothing. You must find this amusing."
"Don't say that. Didn't I also leave Jiaxing Entertainment and start mentoring newcomers on my own?"
Liu Rulan smiled as she looked at Xiao He: "You can just call her Sister Xinya."
Xiao He immediately revealed a smile, trying to stay close to Yin Qi's character persona, and called out cheerfully: "Hello, Sister Xinya! I really loved watching Sister Xinya's movies before. Being able to collaborate with Sister Xinya this time is my honor."
Guo Xinya also nodded slightly toward Xiao He: "Your performance as Meng Zetian was also very good, quite impressive. Looking forward to working with you."
"Thank you."
Yan Shaohan then eagerly approached Guo Xinya: "Sister Xinya, are you feeling better now? Do you need some water?"
"No need, I'm much better now. Thank you for your concern, Director Yan."
Guo Xinya answered with a smile.
"That's great!"
Yan Shaohan breathed a sigh of relief.
"What happened?" Liu Rulan also followed up with concerned inquiry.
"Oh, it's nothing, just had a bit of low blood sugar earlier. I'm much better now." Guo Xinya explained.
"Sister Xinya is really too dedicated." Yan Shaohan stood to the side, his face full of admiration and worship. "She was the earliest to arrive on set, so she waited the longest."
"She's really too good! Beautiful, dedicated to work, and has a very thorough understanding of the 'Corner Also' script. She's simply my angel, my goddess—"
Once he started praising Guo Xinya, Yan Shaohan's mouth wouldn't stop, completely like Guo Xinya's obsessed fan. Probably if you dared refute him now, saying something like "Guo Xinya is just average," he would definitely come fight you.
Really no different from an obsessed fan.
Xiao He and Liu Rulan on the side: ...
Great, discovered Director Yan's "obsessed fan" attribute on the first day in the crew.
Just hope he won't be influenced by his preferences and will stick to the correct filming direction.
Facing Liu Rulan and Xiao He's subtle observing gazes, Guo Xinya also seemed somewhat embarrassed and said tactfully: "Director Yan really has a straightforward personality, and his way of speaking is quite interesting too, hehe."
Yan Shaohan starry-eyed: Wow, he's so touched, his goddess praised him!
Liu Rulan's mind worked quickly and immediately praised Yan Shaohan too: "Yes, as expected of Director Yan, truly unique!"
Xiao He: ...As long as everyone's happy.
Xiao He watched the scene turn into a mutual praise session, his mouth twitching imperceptibly as he shifted his gaze elsewhere.
This was a small courtyard temporarily converted into a lounge. Besides some basic makeup tables and chairs, the surrounding decor remained as the original homeowner had designed it—a medium-sized game room.
Right in the center of the game room was a game table, though now it was piled with some crew clutter, looking rather messy.
Xiao He's gaze swept over these items, then returned to Guo Xinya's side, where his eyes suddenly focused.
At the spot where Guo Xinya had been sitting earlier, her personal small bag was still placed. The bag's opening was slightly ajar, and a small medicine bottle was currently casually stuck at the opening. Overall it wasn't conspicuous, but it caught Xiao He's high attention.
Xiao He narrowed his eyes slightly and asked as if casually: "Huh? Is Sister Xinya taking medicine? If you're sick, you should still take care of your health."
With Xiao He's words, everyone's gaze turned to look.