I just want to sell products, but you're forcing me to perform talents.

Chapter 425 A tigress in rabbit's clothing!

Throughout September, the hottest topic was undoubtedly "Dream of the Red Chamber." Whether it was the intrigues and power struggles within the Duke's mansion or the love triangle between Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, and Xue Baochai, it attracted many people to become engrossed in the story from different perspectives.

Every day, messages urging for updates flooded Ye Xian's account and the official account of "Dream of the Red Chamber," with the barrage of comments filled with complaints about the slow update speed.

Two updates a week is definitely not enough.

The immense popularity of "Dream of the Red Chamber" has not only boosted the actors' fame, but also made costumes for Baoyu, Daiyu, Baochai, and Xifeng incredibly popular again. Last time it was at the Beijing Peony Festival, and this time it's gone viral across the entire internet.

Many bloggers have started to dress up as characters like Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu, making costume videos, and people have even started to imitate Lin Daiyu's way of speaking.

Lin Daiyu's way of speaking—using veiled sarcasm, innuendo, and strategic retreat—is characterized by her ability to speak in the most dignified terms while simultaneously expressing the most bitter sentiments. These are the truest and most endearing aspects of Lin Daiyu, which have been the subject of much in-depth analysis by bloggers, resulting in numerous humorous anecdotes.

This is the most popular traffic code on Douyin. Now that "Dream of the Red Chamber" is so popular, everyone will naturally follow suit.

……

Ye Xian had noticed the fervor surrounding "Dream of the Red Chamber," but he didn't have time to pay much attention to it at the moment, as he had almost finished filming his scenes in the series and was now on his way to the filming location for "Hello Mr. Billionaire."

An ancient castle.

Or rather, one of the Sixth Princess's private properties.

Many scenes in "Hello Mr. Billionaire" were filmed in a castle hotel. The crew searched for many locations but were not satisfied with any of them. Finally, the Sixth Princess simply threw the key over, and Ye Xian took a look at the photo of the castle and immediately fell in love with it.

Upon arriving at the castle, Ye Xian saw the film crew shooting an outdoor scene—a conversation between Xia Zhu and her boyfriend Liu Jiannan.

Li Xin joined the crew a few days earlier than Ye Xian, while Ye Xian didn't get away until the 2nd. In the past few days, he has been getting used to the crew's style, especially the director Li's shooting style.

Every director has their own unique style. Director Jia likes to pay attention to details, while Director Li, according to Li Xin, is rather irritable.

Sure enough, Ye Xian stood aside and watched for a while, then saw Director Li yell "Cut!" three times. He then rushed up and grabbed Liu Jiannan, unleashing a torrent of abuse: "You're playing a hypocritical, sanctimonious man, so you need to use the most upright face to say the most shameless things. Don't give me a poker face, and don't be all smiles. Without contrast, how can people feel any emotional aversion to you? Do you even know what an upright face is? Go watch more crime documentaries."

And you, Li Xin, you need to bring out your funny side and your unexpected personality. You're very disappointed in your boyfriend's behavior. Think about how you would react when your boyfriend treats you badly, and do it this way.

"All departments, get ready! We're going to do one more take!"

After Ye Xian had been observing for a while, this scene was finally approved. Li Xin blushed and came to Ye Xian's side. Before she even arrived, she had already started muttering to herself, "Brother Xian, I got scolded terribly again."

Ye Xian chuckled: "Isn't that good? Having a strict director can help your acting skills improve rapidly."

Li Xin said with a pained expression, "I'm not afraid to do it ten times over. What I'm afraid of is him yelling at me. I feel like a little white rabbit in front of a tiger, trembling with fear."

Ye Xian patted Li Xin on the shoulder, shook his head and said, "You're not a little white rabbit, you're a tigress in rabbit skin."

Li Xin immediately became angry and bared her teeth and claws, trying to scratch Ye Xian. Ye Xian laughed and dodged her Nine Yin White Bone Claw, then came to Director Li's side.

"I feel your makeup needs to be a bit uglier. You're too handsome, and it's easy for people to lose focus. Also, you need to gain more weight. It's not enough yet. At least your face isn't round enough. People can't see a frustrated Wang Duoyu. You can adjust your skin tone, but the sense of decadence and greasiness needs to be more realistic. He can't have such a good figure like you."

Director Li didn't exchange many pleasantries at the beginning, but instead once again offered his suggestions on adjusting Ye Xian's character. Ye Xian readily agreed: "I've been binge eating lately, trying every possible way to gain weight, but it may take some time to show the results. I feel that we should film the second half first, by which time Wang Duoyu will have awakened and be changing, so that we won't affect the overall progress."

Director Li's eyes lit up. The road is dead, but people are flexible. Since Ye Xian's weight gain has not yet shown full results, let's shoot his most glorious scene first. With this in mind, he immediately called his assistant to bring the script and began to discuss with Ye Xian how to arrange the shooting schedule.

Seeing the director and screenwriter bent over discussing the filming schedule, everyone else could only go about their own business.

Li Xin took a break and called Duan Fei, complaining about how many times she'd been scolded that day. Duan Fei, however, mercilessly exposed her: "Li Xin, you've gotten too big for your britches! You've even started acting like you're doing Versailles to me? And this high-class Versailles at that! Do you want me to rush to your side, fawning over a big star while simultaneously asking for autographs and trying to get her to do whatever you want?"

Li Xin immediately broke down: "Duan Fei, can't you have even a little bit of compassion?"

"No! I not only don't sympathize, I'm also very jealous!"

Duan Fei snorted, "You'd better learn acting properly from Director Li, or I'll surpass you."

Li Xin scoffed, "You? Just wait to be kept by my sister for the rest of your life."

The two were best friends for years, and they dared to joke around with each other without any ill intent. They both knew the other meant no harm, so they teased each other without restraint: "You should get taken care of by Brother Xian first, then come and take care of me! Then we can do all sorts of crazy things!"

Li Xin was so angry that she hung up the phone immediately. That Duan Fei, she can't say anything nice.

Turning to look at Ye Xian in the distance, from his back view, Ye Xian had indeed gained some weight recently. His previously well-proportioned figure was gone, and he seemed to have become much rounder.

Ye Xian really went all out for this role.

Fortunately, in the later scenes of Dream of the Red Chamber, Ye Xian also needs to become slovenly and decadent, which coincides with Wang Duoyu's situation. Therefore, Ye Xian was able to start preparing to gain weight in advance, otherwise there would not have been enough time.

Many fans noticed this problem during the live stream that night.

[Living in the crotch: Brother Xian, have you gained weight? Does getting a girlfriend mean you'll gain weight? Is this a law that even you can't escape, Brother Xian? Why do you look less handsome on camera than at the concert?]

[Hilarious! My auntie is dying of laughter: Judging from my observation, Xian-ge has gained at least 10 pounds. Look at his chin, it's even gotten a bit rounder. Where did my handsome Xian-ge go? Give him back to me!]

[A cute face has been a curse for three years: It wasn't so obvious during the live stream a few days ago, but I feel it's especially obvious today. Brother Xian, pay attention to your physique! This is your most important asset. Otherwise, when Qiu Qing doesn't want you anymore, it'll be very painful for us female fans to take on a greasy guy!]

[Summer is all about cucumbers: Get out of here! Even if Xian Ge gains 50 pounds, he'll still be my most handsome god! If you complain about his weight gain, it clearly shows you don't love him enough!]

……

P.S.: Today's Recap

Haizhou aged liquor inventory: 4600 bottles

(End of this chapter)