Huayu: The young actress is heavily dependent on me

A month has passed in the blink of an eye.

Winters in Hengdian are damp and bitterly cold, and the film crew worked non-stop between the Ming and Qing Palaces and the soundstage every day.

After finishing her scenes for the day, Chen Li removed her makeup, changed into workout clothes, and went to her usual gym.

This gym is not far from the film and television base. It has complete equipment, few people, and good privacy. He ran into Jin Chen and Jiang Jinfu here last time he came.

Today, as he pushed open the glass door and stepped into the weight room, his gaze swept over a tall figure struggling with dumbbells in the free weight area, and he paused slightly.

Lin Gengxin.

It's another face that you wouldn't be too surprised to see anywhere in Hengdian.

After all, he just finished filming "The Taking of Tiger Mountain" and "My Old Classmate" this year, which is a crucial period for his transition from television to film, and his schedule is packed.

Why does this gym feel like a monster spawner?

I kept running into Tangren Media artists...

He draped a sports towel over his shoulder, walked straight to the bench press rack, and began warming up.

Start with 60 kilograms and increase the weight in sets, maintaining proper form and a steady rhythm.

When he reached 100 kilograms, he lay down, gripped the bar, took a deep breath, pushed up, lowered, and pushed up again—

He controlled himself perfectly throughout, not even his breathing was out of control, and it looked no different from a warm-up.

Lin Gengxin, who was doing dumbbell curls next to him, stopped his movements at some point, put the dumbbells on his knees, and stared wide-eyed at the direction of the bench press rack.

He initially thought this guy's body fat percentage looked pretty high, and he could only push around 70 or 80 kilograms at most, but he didn't expect him to push around 100 kilograms so easily.

This level of strength is extremely rare among young actors of the same physique!

His best bench press is only around 90 kilograms, and that's only when he gets help from Dingkun.

"Brother," Lin Gengxin walked over, his tone shifting from curiosity to amazement mixed with a touch of familiar sincerity.

"Could you give me a turn with your bench press technique? I've been practicing bench press lately, but I always feel like I'm not generating the right amount of force, and my shoulders are always compensating."

Chen Li steadily put the barbell back on the bench, sat up, glanced at him, and nodded:

"Okay, you do a warm-up with an empty shot first, let me see."

Lin Gengxin didn't hesitate either; he took off his coat, hung it on the rack next to him, lay down, and started pushing.

Chen Li stood to the side, and when he pushed him for the third time, she raised her hand and pressed down on his shoulder:

"Your shoulder blades aren't retracted, and your elbows are too wide when you lower the barbell. If you change them to a 45-degree angle with your body, the pressure on your shoulders will be much less."

Lin Gengxin adjusted the angle as he was told, did another set of pushes, and indeed felt his shoulders were much more comfortable.

"He's definitely trained." Lin Gengxin sat up from the stool, wiped his sweat with a towel, and looked Chen Li up and down.

"Hey bro, you're pretty handsome, and your body fat percentage doesn't look like you do weightlifting. You're not an actor, are you?"

"Yes. Chen Li is currently in the cast of 'Wu Xin: The Monster Killer,' playing the second male lead, Zhang Xianzong."

Lin Gengxin was taken aback when he heard the name, then his brows slowly relaxed, revealing a look of sudden realization. He wiped his sweat with a towel and laughed out loud.

"Chen Li—I knew you looked familiar. A while ago, the internet was full of data about your drama, 700 million views, and people in our crew were talking about it. You're much better looking in person than in photos, no wonder those reporters went crazy for you."

He paused, then added casually,

"Speaking of which, I used to work for Tangren too. You're filming for Tangren, and I've been a long-time employee there, so there are some things I shouldn't say behind your back..."

"What's the big deal?" Chen Li casually draped the towel over her shoulder.

"I'm not a member of the Tang people, and I'll be starting my own business in the future."

Lin Gengxin paused for half a second while wiping his sweat, and his eyes lit up:

"I thought you were going to work for Tangren Media in the future. Didn't you film one of their movies? You know Mr. Cai, he's a master at recruiting newcomers."

"I'm not going to Tangren." Chen Li leaned against the bench press rack, counting on her fingers.

"Tangren has three major problems: First, the allocation of resources is not transparent, which you should know better than me."

"Secondly, the contract terms are too long. Newcomers sign eight or ten-year contracts, and the penalty for breach of contract is very strict, so they can't leave even if they want to."

"Third, the company's support for artists' career transition is insufficient. The resource gap between TV series and movies is too obvious. If actors want to develop in the film industry, Tangren provides limited assistance."

After listening, Lin Gengxin paused for a second, then slapped his thigh and burst out laughing. His laughter carried a sense of satisfaction at being understood.

"You understand me so well!"

He lowered his voice, his tone shifting from感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of deep emotion) to 槽 (cáocái, a feeling of complaint or sarcasm).

"Brother, you have no idea how difficult it was when I was negotiating with President Cai to terminate my contract. She said I was ungrateful and that since the company had nurtured me, I should stick with the company through thick and thin—but during my years at Tangren, I did film a lot of dramas, but there weren't many roles that I could really be proud of."

"Later, I had to go out and try my luck myself to get a role like 'The Taking of Tiger Mountain.' The three points you just mentioned are absolutely accurate, especially the third one. Tangren doesn't have a system to push actors into the film industry."

"Oh, right, there's also Jiang Jinfu. That kid's wanted to leave for a while now. Tangren is pouring all its resources into Han Dongjun, and he's seething with anger. But he's too timid to confront me like I did back then. If you're interested, I can find a chance to give him a heads-up and say that a boss is willing to pay his breach of contract penalty."

Chen Li was speechless.

This kid really loves to stir up trouble!

"Didn't you want to start your own business?" Lin Gengxin tossed the towel aside, leaned forward, and asked in a low voice, but his tone was full of excitement.

"So, is everything settled yet?"

"It's still in preparation," Chen Li said frankly. "Currently, we've scouted out a few reliable production assistants from the 'Wu Xin: The Monster Killer' crew, and we plan to poach them. In the long run—" He paused, lowering his voice,

"I also want to poach Chen Yao and Nazar from Tangren Media."

Upon hearing these two names, Lin Gengxin paused for a moment, then raised an eyebrow and gave a meaningful smile.

"Nazha and Chen Yao?"

He had previously worked with Nazha on "Xuan-Yuan Sword: Scar of Sky" when he was with Tangren Media. The two spent several months in the same production team, so he had a fairly good understanding of Nazha's contract and personality.

Although Chen Yao is a newcomer, he is clean-cut and has good acting skills. I have heard a lot about him in Hengdian recently.

"You've come to the right person. I'm an expert on contract terminations." He took the towel off his shoulder and set it aside.

"Tangren, like all those other entertainment companies, writes out very high penalties for breach of contract, but there are many loopholes in the actual operation. If you want to poach Nazar in the future, start with the clause 'the company failed to provide the film and television resources promised in the contract.'"

"Cai Yinong initially promised her at least two leading roles a year, but in practice, there's plenty of evidence that could be used to make a fuss about that."

"Chen Yao is easier to handle. She's a newcomer with a short contract term, so the penalty for breach of contract isn't high. Besides, her contract includes a clause that 'the company is obligated to provide the contract holder with no less than two professional performance training sessions per year,' which Tangren has never implemented in recent years. If you can help her gather this evidence in advance and find a good lawyer, the difficulty of terminating the contract will be reduced by at least half."

After listening, Chen Li's expression subtly changed. She stared at Lin Gengxin for several seconds, then took the towel off her shoulder and gave him a respectful fist bump.

"Brother Update, your experience—it's truly hardcore. No wonder you've been there."

"Of course, I've been there!"