Huayu: The young actress is heavily dependent on me

Hengdian, June.

As soon as Chen Li stepped out of the long-distance bus station, she was surrounded by a group of "enthusiastic" middle-aged women.

"Young man! Looking for a hotel? There are pretty girls to keep you company, it'll be great!"

"It's cheap! It's cheap! Two hundred yuan, I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"

"The young lady is very pretty, with fair skin and a great figure. You'll know once you try her out!"

The Dongyang dialect mixed with half-baked Mandarin poured into my ears.

"No, no," Chen Li waved his hand, then squeezed through the crowd.

"Young man, don't go! Take a look!"

"You really think this is good?"

He quickened his pace, rushed into the back seat of a taxi parked by the roadside, closed the door, and let out a long sigh.

Is it always good-looking?

Is he as good-looking as Fan Xiaopang?

The driver glanced at him in the rearview mirror. He was in his forties, with dark skin, and spoke Mandarin with a Dongyang accent.

Where are you going?

"Ming and Qing Palaces and Gardens"

The driver raised an eyebrow, started the car, and turned the radio volume down a bit.

"What are you going there for? They're filming 'The Empress of China' there today, so tourists can't go in."

"A friend of mine is filming there."

Filming for "The Empress of China" began at the end of last year and has been going on for nearly seven months now.

This epic period drama, produced by Tangde Film & Television with an investment of nearly 300 million yuan, boasts a star-studded cast that is truly astonishing.

Zhang Fengyi plays Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Zhiting plays the young Li Zhi, Zhou Haimei, Zhang Junning, and Zhang Ting play important roles in various factions of the harem, and even guest stars include popular actresses like Zhang Xinyu.

Fan Bingbing is not only the female lead this time, but also the producer. She personally took charge of everything from the script to the costumes and props, and even personally reviewed the makeup of the extras.

The taxi drove through several main streets of Hengdian.

About twenty minutes later, we arrived at the Ming and Qing Palace.

Chen Li paid the fare, picked up her bag, and got off the bus.

From afar, the vermilion palace walls of the Ming and Qing Palaces shone brilliantly in the afternoon sun.

A long cordon was set up in front of the palace gate, and outside the cordon stood a sign with the following words written in black marker:

"The filming of 'The Empress of China' is underway; tourists are not permitted to enter."

A few tourists, still unwilling to give up, were standing outside the cordon, peering inside with their phones in hand.

Someone even set up a telephoto lens, while the stagehands maintaining order looked helpless.

He took out his phone and sent a message: "Sister Fan, we've arrived."

Shortly after the message was sent, a woman hurriedly walked out from behind the police cordon.

She was dressed in a plain white palace maid's outfit, with Crocs on her feet that clashed with her overall attire, and half of her face was still covered in makeup.

He had obviously just run off the film set.

She hurried to meet her and asked in a low voice:

"Teacher Chen? Sister Fan asked me to pick you up. Please come with me."

Chen Li carried her bag and followed her into the film set.

As he walked down the corridor, extras dressed as eunuchs and palace maids would occasionally jog past him.

As he was walking, a force suddenly pulled him from behind into a palace gate next to him.

Shh—don't make a sound.

A figure wearing a baseball cap and a white mask that almost completely covered his face pressed him against the wall.

She first peeked out and scanned the area to make sure there were no paparazzi or other people around before closing the door and taking off her mask.

Fan Bingbing looked up at him, her eye makeup still carrying the bright and cheerful spirit of Wu Zetian in her youth, but that cunning smile was entirely Fan Bingbing herself.

She was dressed in a crimson Tang Dynasty palace gown, the belt cinched high, making her chest appear even fuller, with a hint of porcelain-white cleavage faintly visible.

Her arched eyebrows, delicately painted lips, and slightly upturned eyes made her already striking face even more beautiful and captivating.

"Why are you so late?" Fan Bingbing took off her baseball cap and fanned herself, lowering her voice but not diminishing her imposing manner.

"Are you too busy spending time with Dilraba?"

"Sis, you seem to pay quite a bit of attention to my social media activity." Chen Li raised an eyebrow and smiled.

However, Fan Xiaopang's update speed is too slow.

Dilraba is a thing of the past.

It seems that as long as I update my content quickly, Fan Bingbing's gossip won't be able to keep up with me.

"Sis, you're hurting me." Chen Li looked down at the finger that was poking her chest, then looked up at the finger with an innocent expression.

"What hurts? This hairstyle I did today is so heavy." Fan Bingbing pulled her hand back to hold the bun at the back of her neck, rolled her eyes at him, and muttered under her breath.

"It's all because you arranged it at this time; I didn't even have time to take off my costume."

"Sis, you look great in this outfit. But isn't the belt on that ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) a little too tight?"

Chen Li's gaze moved slightly up from the hem of her skirt, then subtly returned to its original position, his expression serious.

"You look fine on the monitor, but up close—have you lost weight from exhaustion?"

He raised his hand and gestured to her waist.

Fan Bingbing's heart skipped a beat at his casual remark. She glanced down at her belt, then reached out and lightly tapped his wrist, the force as light as swatting a mosquito.

"You look better on camera when you're thin, what do you know?"

She verbally expressed her disdain, but her body pressed against him.

"Since you're already here, let's not talk about that now—let's fulfill your obligations first."

Chen Li put in an exceptionally hard effort this time, practically using every trick in the book.

After all, he had traveled a long way to get here, and the cost of this trip was not low.

Only when something is precious will a man cherish it more...

......

When the two woke up the next day, the sun was already high in the sky.

Fan Bingbing rolled over, squinted, and fumbled around for a while before finally finding her phone.

When she checked the time, she almost jumped out of bed, but then gasped because of the soreness in her groin, and glared at Chen Li.

Chen Li innocently raised her hands, indicating that it was clearly Sister Fan herself who said "one more time" last night.

"Come on, I'll treat you to dinner." Fan Bingbing waved his hand generously, displaying great generosity.

She changed into an outfit that was as understated as could be.

Wearing a t-shirt, jeans, a baseball cap, and a black face mask, she dressed herself up like an ordinary young woman going out to buy groceries.

Chen Li followed her out the door, and she led him through the winding alleys of Hengdian until he completely lost his sense of direction, when finally the view opened up before him.

Deep in a deserted alley, where even flies are too lazy to fly, lies a small restaurant without a sign.

The dishes have been served.

A dish of dried vegetables with braised pork, a pot of dried bamboo shoot and old duck soup, a plate of stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and two bowls of white rice—the presentation was as simple as a university cafeteria.

Chen Li picked up a piece of dried vegetable and braised pork with her chopsticks, put it in her mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and her eyes widened slightly.

"How was it?" Fan Bingbing asked, holding her bowl with a knowing smile on her lips.

"It's really good!" Chen Li nodded.

"There are many hidden talents among ordinary people!"

"Of course, with my taste, how could it be bad?" Fan Bingbing said smugly.

"Absolutely! Who do you think you are? My admiration for you is like a never-ending, surging river..."

"Okay, okay, stop it!" Fan Bingbing said irritably.

"Speak, you must have something to say, otherwise you wouldn't have come."