Huayu: Starting from retirement, sweeping across the domestic entertainment industry

Li Ran leaned against the headboard and looked through the messages Zhang Jingyi had just sent.

[Brother Li Ran, I saw it trending on Weibo]

Is this a promotion for a new drama?

The two messages were sent a few minutes apart, as if they had been carefully considered before being sent, or as if they couldn't help asking the question.

Li Ran stared at the screen, thought for a moment, and typed a reply: [Yeah, you're not jealous, are you?]

He didn't intend to tell the girl the truth right now.

He knew she wouldn't be jealous, or rather, even if she were, she wouldn't say it.

Sure enough, the reply came very quickly.

No, how could that be? Focus on your filming.

Alright, that's all for now. Goodnight.

Li Ran thought for a moment, then typed a message in reply: 【Jingyi, you're so kind. Love you. Goodnight.】

In an apartment in Beijing.

Zhang Jingyi lay on the bed, the light from her phone screen illuminating her face.

She saw the message and stared at the words "I love you" for a long time.

Then she laughed.

The smile was very light and faint, just a slight curve at the corners of the mouth, but there was a glimmer of light in the eyes.

She pressed her phone against her chest and closed her eyes.

The next day, in Qingdao, the crew of the film "Sending You a Little Red Flower".

Today's filming was for the rooftop scene. This morning was a cosplay memorial service, and this afternoon is an inspirational speech.

In the dressing room, Li Ran looked at herself in the mirror and remained silent for three seconds.

The man in the mirror sported a red, afro-like wig, messy and disheveled, looking like a rock youth who had just traveled from some era.

He was staring blankly at the mirror when a suppressed laugh came from behind him.

Liu Haocun walked in at some point, stood behind him, looked at him in the mirror, and smiled, his eyes crinkling: "Li Ran, you look quite cute like this!"

Li Ran turned to look at her.

She was dressed in a green frog mascot costume, puffy and bulky, with only her head peeking out. Her deer-like eyes peeked out from the frog's mouth, bright and sparkling, full of mischievous smiles.

Li Ran looked her up and down and said coldly, "Our outfits actually match quite well, red and green, it's ridiculous."

Liu Haocun pouted, retorting defiantly, "But she's adorably silly!"

Filming begins.

Li Ran held his phone high as he weaved through the crowd. Around him were cosplayers dressed in all sorts of outlandish costumes, and he spoke into his phone as he walked.

With a turn...

The phone slipped from his hand and landed squarely in the green frog costume next to him.

"Excuse me, buddy," Li Ran leaned over and reached into the frog headgear to feel around.

"My phone fell in there, wait a minute, wait a minute..."

His hands groped around inside the hood, feeling something soft and warm.

"What are you touching for?!"

Liu Haocun pushed him away and forcefully removed the hood, revealing his face, which was flushed from the heat.

She glared at him, her eyes filled with a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment.

Li Ran stood there, still groping in his hand, with an innocent expression.

"Card!"

Director Han's voice rang out, clearly showing satisfaction: "Good, cut! Prepare for the next scene, downstairs camera position."

The stagehands got busy, moving equipment and adjusting lighting.

Li Ran and Liu Hao sat down in the corner of the rest area.

He took off the sweltering red wig. Liu Haocun was still wearing the frog mascot costume, but he only took off the headgear, revealing his bangs soaked with sweat.

She turned to look at him and suddenly asked, "Is it soft?"

Li Ran was stunned for a moment: "What?"

"I'm asking you," she leaned closer, lowering her voice, a dangerous glint of mischief in her doe-like eyes, "Is it soft? Is it stronger than Zhou Ye's?"

Li Ran stopped moving.

He glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then lowered his voice in exasperation, "We're filming a movie, can't you be serious for once?"

Liu Haocun nudged him with his elbow in annoyance: "Heh, Li Ran, you did that on purpose! Answer my question."

Li Ran touched his nose and looked away: "It's alright... I didn't notice anything."

Liu Haocun glared at him, clearly dissatisfied with the answer.

Li Ran stood up and patted his pants:

"Let's go, it's about to start. Let's finish filming quickly so you don't stay in this mascot costume and get as hot as a sauna."

Liu Haocun snorted and stood up, but a slight smile crept onto his lips.

After filming the scenes for the memorial service, the afternoon was immediately followed by an inspirational speech.

Li Ran once again had to take off her clothes in public.

However, this time he was already quite adept at it.

To fit the role of Wei Yihang, he deliberately didn't work out for the past two weeks and even gained some weight. His muscle definition wasn't as obvious as before, but his overall physique remained firm and well-proportioned.

After the director yelled "Cut!", Liu Haocun leaned over, holding up his phone and waving it at him: "How was it? Was it good?"

Li Ran leaned closer to take a look and was stunned.

Her phone wallpaper had been changed to a picture of him wearing cartoon boxer shorts, which she didn't know when.

The angle was tricky, and the expression was subtle.

"Delete it." Li Ran reached for the phone. "What kind of behavior is it for a girl to use this as her wallpaper?"

Liu Haocun deftly dodged, hiding his phone behind his back, and raised his chin: "What's wrong with that? You can't even use my boyfriend's picture as your screensaver?"

After she finished speaking, she made a face at him, then turned and ran away.

Li Ran stood there, watching her skip and hop away into the distance, and smiled helplessly.

Filming is progressing smoothly.

August 1st arrived in the blink of an eye.

That evening, the crew finished filming a night scene at a barbecue stall, and it was already past 11 p.m. when they wrapped up.

Li Ran and Liu Haocun returned to the hotel together and went to their respective rooms to wash up.

Li Ran came out of the shower with her hair still wet, wearing only a pair of shorts, and leaned against the headboard scrolling through her phone.

I had just opened Weibo when there was a knock on the door.

He went to open the door, and Liu Haocun stood outside with a tablet computer in his arms. He had changed into pajamas and his hair was loose, indicating that he had just taken a shower.

"Li Ran, 'The Young Dragon' premieres today!"

As she walked inside, she said, "Hurry up, let's take a look together."

Li Ran closed the door and glanced at the time: "It's almost midnight."

Liu Haocun had already climbed onto his bed, lay in the middle of the large bed, propped his tablet on the pillow, and skillfully opened the Pants Video app.

Two little feet were raised and swayed back and forth, with light pink nail polish on their toenails.

"Anyway, we don't have any scenes together during the day tomorrow; it's all night scenes."

Without turning her head, she said, "Come here quickly!"

Li Ran walked over and lay down next to her.

As the opening theme song begins, the first episode of "The Dragon Boy" officially starts.

Liu Haocun watched very carefully, occasionally offering a few comments.

When Li Ran appeared, she turned her head and glanced at him. When she saw his scene with Zhou Ye, she pursed her lips but didn't say anything.

On the screen, Li Ran took off his shirt, revealing his well-defined abs and V-line.

Liu Haocun paused for a moment, then turned his head, his gaze sweeping over him twice before turning back to look at the screen and then back again.

"I never knew you had such a great figure back then," she said.

Li Ran leaned against the headboard, her tone indifferent: "I used to work out. I haven't been working out lately, and I've even gained a little weight."

He paused, then added, "Wei Yihang is a cancer patient, how could he possibly have that kind of physique?"

Liu Haocun smiled, then looked back at the screen: "It's not bad now either."

After the two episodes finished airing, the end credits slowly rolled.

Liu Haocun did not turn off the tablet, but instead opened Weibo.

Several trending topics related to "The Dragon Boy" were prominently displayed on the hot search list:

#Li Ranming Dragon Boy Premieres#

#Fan Xian Becomes a Teacher#

#Li Ran's acting skills#

#The Dragon Boy is Good#

"It's getting pretty hot," Liu Haocun muttered, clicking on the hashtag #LiRanActingSkills#.

The trending Weibo post was a film blogger's review, accompanied by several stills of Li Ran from the show:

"To be honest, I didn't have high expectations for Li Ran's acting skills, after all, he's a former e-sports player. But after watching the first two episodes of 'Minglong Boys', I was pleasantly surprised."

"His performance was very natural, especially the subtle changes in his expressions; you couldn't tell he was a newcomer at all. His delivery of lines was also solid, and he handled several emotional scenes very well. I look forward to seeing how he develops."

In the comments section, netizens' feedback was varied: "Burning God does have acting skills! It's very natural!"

"I initially thought Li Ran would give a wooden performance, but it turned out to be quite good, +1"

"I started watching for Fan Xian, but I ended up becoming a fan of this second male lead. He's so handsome!"

"Li Ran's ten-year longtime fan is here to show their support!"

"He and Zhou Ye have such great chemistry; real couples really are different..."

"Don't talk nonsense, there's no concrete evidence yet!"

"His acting skills are indeed good, even better than some formally trained actors, which is outrageous."

"Um... Li Ran is formally trained, he just didn't attend school for very long..."

"Looking forward to the next episode! I'm definitely watching this series!"

Liu Haocun scrolled through the lines one by one, a slight smile curving his lips.

She turned her head to look at Li Ran: "The reviews are pretty good."

Li Ran glanced at the screen and smiled, "It's alright."

He didn't say much, but he knew what was going on.

In his plan, "The Dragon Boy" is just the first step to let the audience recognize him as an actor, tear off the label of "e-sports player crossing over", and complete the transition from "Burning God" to "Li Ran".

"So Cute Us" was done to complete a task and also to help Xiaotian out; it was something I did incidentally.

But this film, "A Little Red Flower," is the one he truly values.