Chapter 50: Pressuring Someone to Drink

"Zhang Yuan, please look out for me in the crew later on," Jia Jingwen said with a beaming smile, raising a glass to him.

Zhang Yuan navigated the streets and alleys, moving effortlessly between various banquet tables.

Eventually, he arrived at the table for the Hong Kong and Taiwan actors.

Unlike the mainland crew members, these actors from Taiwan and Southeast Asia maintained a very friendly attitude toward Zhang Yuan, despite him being from the mainland.

In truth, it depended on the person; some members of the "Hong Kong faction" certainly viewed things through colored lenses, but not everyone was like that.

Su Youpeng went without saying; having worked in the mainland for so many years, he had long since integrated into the local society.

Furthermore, he was highly knowledgeable and possessed impeccable manners.

Zhang Yuan had always felt that Su Youpeng was the most handsome and the most enduring member of the Little Tigers.

Jia Jingwen was even more enthusiastic; her personality bore a seventy percent resemblance to Zhao Min's character in the drama, carrying a certain tomboyish brightness.

Looking at her up close, Zhang Yuan finally understood the meaning of a "sweet girl."

How sweet?

When she smiled, Zhang Yuan felt like he was on the verge of a diabetic episode.

Her features and temperament were truly exquisite, like something carved from jade—and most importantly, she was all-natural.

It was a pity that this generation seemed to be the last generation of all-natural beauties.

Originally, Lai Shuiqing wanted to cast Wang Yan as Zhou Zhirou, but after being rejected, Jia Jingwen had made a huge fuss about changing the role so she could play Zhirou's younger sister.

In the end, however, she lost out to the then-prime Gao Yuanyuan.

In reality, Lai Shuiqing had made the right call; the two actresses' personalities complemented the roles perfectly—one dynamic, one serene.

Although Jia Jingwen, like Su Youpeng, was a native Taiwanese, many did not know that she had studied at the Beijing Film Academy, though she unfortunately did not complete her degree.

Her classmates included Xu Jinglei, who constantly cultivated a "talented woman" persona, the great beauty Liu Zi, and Liu Lin—the one who played the First Lady in *The Story of Minglan* and Zhu Chaoyang's mother in *The Bad Kids*.

Even more interestingly, one of Jia Jingwen's most famous scenes was...

"I'm sorry, perhaps my timing is wrong."

In this sequence from *The Flying Dagger*, the ageless goddess Yu Feihong, who ended up leaning on her shoulder, was actually her acting teacher from the Beijing Film Academy.

Jia Jingwen certainly had good taste—she managed to win over both the mentor and the student...

Actually, at the beginning, her life experience was quite similar to Gao Yuanyuan's: discovered by a talent scout in her teens, she began filming commercials, followed by TV dramas and movies, achieving fame at a young age.

Moreover, her father ran a restaurant and had significant connections in Taiwan.

But fate loves to play jokes on people, especially beauties.

That year, her father decided to invest in the mainland, moving the entire family to the capital.

What followed was a seamless chain of events that destroyed Jia Jingwen's once-perfect life.

The business failed, leaving them with massive debts; the family moved from a luxury mansion to a basement in Beijing measuring less than 20 square meters.

But it didn't stop there. Her father was diagnosed with lymphoma, forcing Jia Jingwen to drop out of the Beijing Film Academy to work relentlessly on various roles to earn money.

A year later, Jia Jingwen personally pulled the plug on her critically ill father. She was only 19 years old at the time.

With such a life experience, she was destined not to be an ordinary woman.

Furthermore, she had an excellent tolerance for alcohol and shared several drinks with Zhang Yuan.

As he turned to leave the table, he had only walked a few steps when he heard a greasy, coarse, middle-aged male voice.

"You have to drink! How can a young man not know how to drink!"

Following the sound, Zhang Yuan found the source: Zhang Tielin, who played Yang Xiao in the drama.

At that moment, he was sitting at Chen Zihan's table, holding a bottle of baijiu, his cheeks flushed red, spraying saliva as he spoke.

In front of him were Lin Jing and Gao Yuanyuan, who were repeatedly waving their hands in refusal.

Although Zhang Yuan was the organizer of the drinking session, he loathed forcing people to drink, especially forcing women.

While pressuring men at a banquet could be dismissed as competitive drinking or saving face, ninety-nine percent of those who pressured women had ulterior motives!

Lin Jing was already somewhat afraid of Zhang Tielin. During the filming of *Legend of Lü Buwei*, aside from Ning Jing, he didn't dare provoke anyone... because she was truly hot-tempered and would hit anyone. During her time at the Shanghai Theatre Academy, Ning Jing was known as a "school bully" powerhouse.

He had been handsy with most of the other female crew members, taking advantage of them whenever he could.

Since neither she nor Gao Yuanyuan could hold much alcohol, he was pressing them relentlessly.

"Teacher Tielin, I'll toast you." It had to be Chen Zihan; as a woman from the Sichuan-Chongqing region, she was spirited and brave, raising her glass to block the path for her two friends.

"Good, good!"

Zhang Tielin smiled and shared a few drinks with Chen Zihan. Her face quickly turned red; naturally, she was no match for him.

"Taohong, you drink too," Zhang Tielin turned to the other.

Little Taohong was also worldly and accompanied them with a smile, but her tolerance was limited; after a few drinks, she was also feeling dizzy.

"Haha, now it's your turn, you two." The old fox Zhang Tielin returned to his "original intention."

"Lin Jing, we've acted together before; you wouldn't deny me face, would you?"

"Gao Yuanyuan, there are so many drinking sessions in the entertainment industry, you need to practice!"

He had set his sights on the two of them today.

He would just get them drunk first and see what happened later.

He was quite experienced in such "one-night affairs."

Usually, while filming, he would puff out his chest and act like a dignified senior, but after a few cups of cheap liquor, his true nature would be exposed.

"Teacher Tielin, we really can't drink anymore. If we get drunk, we won't be able to get back."

"That's fine, I'll drive you back to the hotel," Zhang Tielin said with a sleazy, sideways smirk, his eyes filled with seventy percent lust.

A true glutton for sex, a demon of desire.

He was a total pervert.

In that sense, Lai Shuiqing's intuition was accurate; after all, Yang Xiao was a lecherous character who stole Yin Liting's woman.

This was practically method acting.

As a senior who held sway in the industry and was currently at the height of his popularity, how could these two girls dare to provoke him? They could only endure the situation painfully.

"Teacher Tielin, so you were here! I've been looking everywhere for you. I haven't had enough yet!"

At that moment, Zhang Yuan popped up from behind him, holding a glass and a bottle with an expression of lingering thirst.

When Lin Jing and Gao Yuanyuan saw Zhang Yuan appear, a glimmer of light appeared in their eyes, as if they had seen a savior.

"Hey, you've come at the right time. Let's drink with these two beauties together. Two against two, now it's fair," Zhang Tielin insisted, instead treating Zhang Yuan as an accomplice.

*Bah, who's like you!*

If you want this kind of thing, you can pay for it. Even if you pay for a prostitute, it doesn't cost that much.

Even if you do it secretly, you're acting like a bandit.

And then you have the nerve to talk about being well-regarded by the audience...

"Teacher Tielin, of course I want to drink, but there's one more person."

Zhang Yuan pointed behind him. Zhang Tielin turned around and found Zhao Decai, who had been sitting at the main table.

Zhang Yuan was an actor and a junior, so naturally, he didn't take him seriously.

But Zhao Decai was an investor, and investors naturally held authority over actors!

Fatty Zhao had certainly had his fill today; it was his first time on such a large set, and he had been running around asking celebrities for photos.

Crucially, they knew he had helped the crew during the day, so they were all willing to cooperate, calling him "President Zhao" repeatedly, which greatly satisfied his vanity.

Knowing that an old fox like Zhang Tielin wouldn't pay him any mind, Zhang Yuan had pulled Fatty Zhao over.

This time, the "Imperial Father" couldn't ignore it. Caught in the middle of the two, he became the one being relentlessly pressured to drink.

"Teacher Zhang, the sky is cloudless and the ground is dry; that last glass doesn't count."

"One glass to drain, two glasses to toast, three glasses to brew true feelings."

"Four for prosperity, five for blessings..."

Zhang Yuan's drinking toasts were so systematic that even the veteran Zhang Tielin was stunned.

He wondered if this kid had been a male escort in the past; how could he be so good at drinking?

While Zhang Tielin was being besieged, Zhang Yuan quietly turned back and gave Lin Jing and Gao Yuanyuan a forceful wink, then jerked his chin toward the distance.

The two immediately understood. They quickly helped up the already drunken Chen Zihan and Little Taohong and slowly retreated from the scene.

"They aren't just 'plastic sisters' after all; they didn't abandon their friends to run away themselves..."

Halfway there, Gao Yuanyuan turned back, flashed a youthful smile, waved at him, and mouthed a silent "Thank you."

[Received thanks from Gao Yuanyuan: Temperament +2, Beauty +1!]

[Received thanks from Lin Jing: Acting +1, Beauty +1!]

...

Early the next morning, Zhang Tielin woke up to find himself sleeping in the hotel corridor.

He was wearing a tank top and nothing but boxers on his lower half...

He slapped his forehead and slunk back to his room. His memory from the previous night only went as far as drinking with Zhang Yuan; after that, it was a blackout.

Of course, Zhang Yuan was the one who had dumped him there, and Zhang Yuan was the one who had stripped him.

It was a small prank, and a small lesson.

But clearly, the other party didn't take it to heart at all.

And the next day was the scene for Yang Xiao and Ji Xiaofu...

(End of Chapter)