"Jiang Yuyan's Legend?" Nazha furrowed her brows.
Actually, now that she thought about it, the name Jiang Yuyan did ring a bell, but she couldn't quite remember why.
After racking her brain for a full half-minute, she gave up. "Brother Yang, who starred in that TV series? It sounds familiar, but I can't remember."
Zhang Yang had been waiting for her to ask. "The male leads were Xie Tingfeng and Zhang Weijian."
"Impossible!" Nazha instinctively objected. "I'm a huge Xie Tingfeng fan. None of his TV series or movies was ever called The Legend of Jiang Yuyan, let alone one co-starring Zhang Weijian."
Like Da Mimi, Nazha had been a fan of Xie Tingfeng before her debut and after she became famous.
If Xie Tingfeng hadn't become so hopelessly obsessed with cooking, been hit hard by what happened in 2008, and seen the Hong Kong entertainment scene decline, he might have achieved even more. Of course, his accomplishments were already impressive.
"Then tell me, what TV series did Xie Tingfeng and Zhang Weijian star in together?" Zhang Yang asked in return.
"Of course I know: The Little Fish and His Flowers." Nazha answered without hesitation.
"Then what was the name of the biggest female villain in that series?" Zhang Yang pressed on.
Liu Xi's name flashed through Nazha's mind, but then she remembered he was a eunuch.
As far as female villains went, Yaoyue was the one who was ruthless and merciless. But in the end, Jiang Yuyan had absorbed her martial arts.
"Jiang Yuyan!?" Nazha finally caught on.
"You took six seconds to answer." Zhang Yang glanced away from his watch and smiled. "You're a little slow on the uptake."
Nazha fought the urge to roll her eyes. "It's called The Little Fish and His Flowers. Why did you call it The Legend of Jiang Yuyan? Jiang Yuyan wasn't even the second female lead, was she?"
Zhang Yang felt he ought to take back what he'd said earlier.
Nazha wasn't just a little slow. She was incredibly slow.
But she had no idea, and kept reasoning aloud. "Going by the official pairings, the female leads were Su Ying, played by Yuan Quan, and Tie Xinlan, played by Fan Xiaopang. My favorite, Little Fairy, must have been the second female lead, right? I think Yaoyue and Lianxing had plenty of scenes too..."
In other words, did Jiang Yuyan even rank?
Zhang Yang crossed his arms and studied her face with interest. "Which of those people you just mentioned was still alive at the end?"
Nazha's voice abruptly cut off.
She suddenly remembered the shadow Jiang Yuyan had left on her when she watched the series back then.
Because she loved Hua Wuque and wanted him for herself, Jiang Yuyan killed without batting an eye. She'd tried everything: inviting him into the palace, seducing him, tripping people up, and slaughtering her way through the cast. She'd gone to extraordinary lengths.
In the end, she still failed to get what she wanted—but she managed to get all the other female characters killed.
"Yikes." Nazha suddenly understood. "She killed everyone until all that was left was the title."
"That's a pretty spot-on summary." Zhang Yang snapped his fingers and smiled. "A woman who fought her way through the entire cast and even controlled the emperor would've survived in the end if she hadn't fallen for Hua Wuque."
"From an illegitimate daughter who suffered one hardship after another to someone who held all the power in the land. Don't you think the series deserves to be called The Legend of Jiang Yuyan?"
Nazha was a Xie Tingfeng fan, so she'd watched the series from a biased perspective. It was only natural that she hadn't noticed this.
Now that Zhang Yang had pointed it out, she had to admit his summary was spot-on. But it only left her with more questions. "What does that have to do with you doing so much for Zhao Kuangyin, a minor character?"
"I say you're slow, and you really stop thinking altogether." Zhang Yang laughed at Nazha.
Nazha wanted to ask him how she'd stopped thinking.
The Little Fish and His Flowers being reduced to a series with nothing left but its title—or even renamed The Legend of Jiang Yuyan—had nothing to do with Zhang Yang's role as Zhao Kuangyin.
Zhao Kuangyin wasn't Jiang Yuyan.
Wait!
Nazha suddenly understood. She glanced around and asked in a low voice, "Are you trying to make Zhao Kuangyin the legend of the series?"
"You're reading too much into it." Zhang Yang shook his head. "I'm not a big name, and I'm not an investor. Zhao Kuangyin is a minor subplot in this series. They won't give him that much extra screen time."
He remembered that filming for The Legend of Dugu was scheduled to wrap on April 6, just twenty days away. Many actors had already finished their scenes and left, and the leads had nearly completed their parts. There was no way they'd shoot more just for Zhang Yang's character.
"So you still want more screen time, even if you can't get that much?" This time, Nazha was quicker on the uptake.
"Mm." Zhang Yang nodded.
"Can you really pull it off?" Nazha thought it would be difficult. Zhang Yang himself had already explained why.
"Where there's a will, there's a way." Zhang Yang's gaze drifted into the distance. "Do what you can, then leave the rest to fate. If you don't try, you definitely won't succeed."
If he pulled it off, once The Legend of Dugu aired, he might end up winning over the male lead and second male lead despite having fewer scenes—and in the long run, he might even gain more from it.
He had a fair amount of faith in Tangren, a veteran company with a knack for publicity.
Keeping his plans to himself, Zhang Yang went to see Yan Yikuan after he wrapped for the day and tried to build a connection.
There was no night shoot scheduled for today, and even if there had been, it wouldn't have involved Zhang Yang. He and Nazha ate boxed meals on set, then returned to the hotel, where he began writing the plot he'd come up with.
It was almost eight when his phone suddenly rang.
"Is he here?"
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Zhang Yang's mouth.
He changed into a casual outfit, grabbed his phone and room key, and opened the door.
"Whoa!"
Zhang Yang jumped when he saw Nazha standing outside. "What are you doing here?"
Nazha hadn't expected Zhang Yang to open the door so suddenly, and she'd been startled too.
But it was the first time she'd seen Zhang Yang lose his composure, and she found it pretty funny.
She looked him up and down, then asked, puzzled, "Brother Yang, are you going out?"
"Yeah. I'm meeting up with friends, so I can't take you." Zhang Yang immediately cut off any chance of Nazha tagging along.
"It's the middle of the night. Even if you invited me, I wouldn't go." Nazha thought, Who'd want to go anyway? But she was actually a little bothered.
Meeting Zhang Yang's questioning gaze, she spoke frankly. "At the set today, I watched you do all those things, and I got curious. Do you really have to learn all that?"
Maybe because she was new to the working world, she thought it all sounded like such a hassle.
Couldn't things be simpler? Couldn't she just be a pretty face—or focus on being an actress?
Nazha's question made Zhang Yang think of Reba.
By 2024, Reba had been a top star for ages. Compared to the 85 Flowers, even actresses who'd debuted around the same time and the 95 Flower cohort had set up their own studios and gone independent. Yet Reba was still just an actress contracted to Jiaxing, and she couldn't even get a makeup artist to do what she wanted on set.
People who were kind got pushed around, and those who were honest got taken advantage of.
You could be capable without taking advantage of others, but you had to be capable of not letting others take advantage of you.
"If you only want to focus on being an actress and celebrity, then you just need to understand how things work, not learn to do everything yourself. That way, you won't get sold off and end up counting the money for the person who sold you." Zhang Yang spoke earnestly. "If you plan to become an agent, or even train your own talent someday, then learn what you can while you have the chance. If you don't have the talent and can't learn it, just be content to be a celebrity."
Nazha nodded. "Got it. You don't want to be just an actor and celebrity. No wonder Sister K doesn't like you."
Zhang Yang: "..."
"Anything else?"
"Nope. Have fun tonight." Nazha flicked her hair and took her leave.
Zhang Yang didn't pay her much mind. He put on a mask and headed to the nearby XX Queen Bar, where he went into a private room.
He pushed open the door and saw Huo Jianhua, who'd been as reserved and aloof as an old cadre during the day, drinking and singing. A few gorgeous women sat beside him, pouring drinks and offering him fruit.
Zhang Yang took off his mask and smiled. "Brother Hua, long time no see."
And it had been a long time since they'd had a proper night out together.
Before you continue