Chapter 54: "Tai Chi Master" Secured! (Second Update)

As the saying goes, spring rain is as precious as oil.

Sometime during the night, an unexpected shower had fallen. When Li Xiaoran woke, she saw droplets clinging to the persimmon tree in the courtyard, glistening beautifully.

Wrapped in a thin blanket, she stood by the window and gazed outside.

She had wrestled with herself for a long time the night before. Any young woman would have. She had tossed and turned in bed, going over it again and again. In the end, though, she had climbed out of bed and gone to Brother Ma’s room.

She had made up her mind to leave her girlhood behind.

There wasn’t any particular reason. Or perhaps there were plenty. She had been kept under such strict control before, after all. She wanted to be free. Or maybe she figured that since she was already living here, what had happened last night was bound to happen sooner or later.

Whatever the reason, it had happened.

And it had been far beyond anything she had imagined. She’d never expected Brother Ma to have such depths. She had underestimated him.

In a way, she had entertained some strange fantasies before. Being taken by some old, fat, ugly rich man, for instance…

Perhaps that had been an important reason, too. Brother Ma was young and handsome, wealthy and capable. And in that department, he was… Remembering the details of last night, Li Xiaoran felt her cheeks burn.

Just then, she sensed someone behind her.

“Why didn’t you sleep a little longer?”

Ma Xun gently slipped his arms around her from behind.

The girl was something else. Last night, she had made it impossible for him to hold back.

Now he embraced her from behind. Her tall, slender frame left her bare shoulders exposed, and he couldn’t resist kissing them.

Her skin was so fair, as smooth as milk. Even though he had already had his fill the night before, he couldn’t help stealing a few more kisses.

Xiaoran’s beautiful eyes drifted shut, as if she were enjoying it.

In truth, she was.

Brother Ma was actually quite gentle.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?”

Ma Xun’s question made Li Xiaoran open her eyes.

“Well… I…”

She knew exactly what he meant by “tell me.”

“Listen, little sis. I still have to remind you of something. If you want to become a star, you need to give up some of those girlish fantasies.”

“What fantasies?”

“Love.”

“I understand.”

“Do you really?”

“I do.”

“Good. Remember: your career comes first.”

“I will.”

Ma Xun had been a little surprised the night before. He hadn’t expected Li Xiaoran to still be a virgin.

But he was no pushover himself.

He could honestly say he had treated her well. Still, now that she was entering show business—and had no powerful family or connections to back her—she would be better off focusing on her career.

It wasn’t that Ma Xun was coldhearted. It was simply the way things were.

That didn’t mean there was no love in show business, or that no one could find true love. Daiyu and Yang Xiu had seemed to have something good between them, but who knew what had happened later? Daiyu had ended up taking the veil.

To put it bluntly, if you were looking for love, why enter show business at all?

This place was also known as a “field of fame and fortune.” In a field of fame and fortune, surely you should be seeking fame and fortune.

This was Ma Xun’s first lesson to Li Xiaoran as a woman.

Of course, now that she belonged to him, Ma Xun would do what he was supposed to do for her.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep every promise I made you.”

His words made Li Xiaoran’s heart ache.

She was barely past twenty; it was only natural that she still had dreams. But what Ma Xun said also made her trust him more.

Then Ma Xun’s phone rang.

Before answering, he glanced at the clock. It was already ten. They must have worn themselves out the night before; no wonder they had slept so soundly.

“Hello, Sister Hong.”

“Ma Xun, I got to Beijing Sport University first thing this morning. You were right—they’re training right now. I spoke to Teacher Zhang, and the old man was thrilled.”

“Of course he was. That’s what a ten-million-yuan deal will do, even if the money doesn’t arrive all at once.”

“What about the newcomer? Teacher Zhang said there’s no time to lose. I’ve already called Hao Lei and the others.”

At that, Ma Xun looked over at Li Xiaoran.

Was she really about to get a part?

Xiaoran nodded again, her gaze resolute.

Wasn’t that what he had said? Career first.

Ma Xun gave a helpless smile and said into the phone, “Tell me exactly where to go. I’ll send her over right away.”

“Fine.”

Sister Hong quickly gave him the building number. After hanging up, Ma Xun turned to Li Xiaoran.

“I haven’t even told you what the project is. Why are you in such a hurry?”

“Didn’t you say my career comes first?”

That was a pretty convincing argument.

“But this time it’s a martial arts television series.”

Only then did Li Xiaoran realize she might have jumped the gun. But there was no helping it. She had already rushed into it—she might as well take the consequences.

“I’m not afraid! I can handle it!”

She was about to leave when Ma Xun went to his wallet and pulled out a thick wad of cash.

For a moment, Li Xiaoran felt indignant.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Don’t get the wrong idea. You’re mine now. You need some clothes that’ll help you look the part.”

“Oh.” Blushing, Li Xiaoran accepted the money. A warm feeling spread through her.

But then Ma Xun added, “Throw out those old bras. Don’t keep them too tight. Let them grow freely… just like you.”

Li Xiaoran flushed scarlet.

Brother Ma was such a tease!

…

When she arrived at Beijing Sport University, she soon found the gym where the production crew was training.

Zhang Xinyan and Silver Metropolis had an amusing way of finding actors: they were always looking at Beijing Sport University. Quite a few performers had been discovered there—not only Jet Li, but also Zhao Wenzhuo.

To be fair, even though Zhao Wenzhuo often played villains, he was seriously handsome.

For this production of The Taiji Master, they were keeping much of the original team—the people from Beijing Sport University.

Wu Jing was still quite green, and several of the other actors were his seniors.

As soon as Li Xiaoran arrived, Sister Hong, Hao Lei, and Yuanyuan spotted her.

“So you’re the newcomer Ma Xun told us about?”

“That’s me.”

Introductions followed, and they quickly got acquainted.

This was really just an audition. Teacher Zhang Xinyan was the one who mattered.

And the result…

“Wow! Chen, these young ladies are gorgeous!”

“Haha… Teacher Zhang, I told you I wasn’t exaggerating.”

“Your people really are all top-notch.”

“Teacher Zhang, you flatter me.”

“All right, good. I won’t say much more. You’ve shown such sincerity, so let’s work together.”

Just like that, she was in?

Li Xiaoran hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly. She had already read the information on The Taiji Master. Since the production came from Hong Kong, she had assumed it would be difficult to get cast.

And now… Brother Ma really had a way of making things happen!

Actually, the timing of Chen Hong’s arrival had been perfect. Zhang Xinyan had only just put the pieces of The Taiji Master together. Wu Jing, Master Yuen Woo-ping, and Teacher Yu Hai had already been confirmed, but they still needed to wait before deciding on the actresses.

At first, they had planned to audition actresses from Hong Kong and Taiwan. But Chen Hong’s arrival changed Teacher Zhang’s mind in an instant—especially when she said she had several promising young actresses under her management.

Actresses from Hong Kong and Taiwan wouldn’t come cheap. That was simply the state of the mainland entertainment industry at the time.

Zhang Xinyan’s main concern had been whether Chen Hong’s actresses were good enough. Now that he had seen them, he was convinced they would do just fine.

Best of all, they’d save money.

Silver Metropolis had lost a fortune on the film Kung Fu Kid Meets the Challenge of Love. It had made less than a million Hong Kong dollars at the box office there.

That was all.

But look at the cast. Wu Jing, of course—but the real draw had been the Hong Kong actresses: Christy Chung and Hu Huizhong.

With those two names on the poster, what more needed to be said?

And Chen Hong had told them there was no need to worry about the actresses’ fees; she would count them as part of her investment.

They had even offered a price of ten million yuan.

These were excellent terms.

The Taiji Master had originally been budgeted at thirteen million yuan. By using young mainland actresses instead of performers from Hong Kong and Taiwan, they would save at least three million.

And the whole reason for making the series in the first place was to sell it for broadcast in Hong Kong. The mainland rights had been valued at ten million yuan.

What was there to think about?

“Teacher Zhang, as I said before, the funds will have to come in stages.”

“That’s no problem!”

That was how these things were done in those days. In fact, the financing for the series was already in place.

Zhang Xinyan agreed to the deal on the spot. Only a fool would have turned it down.

Chen Hong beamed.

What Zhang Xinyan didn’t know was that Ma Xun had just spoken to Chen Hong on the phone. He had laid out a Plan B: if the old man refused, they could offer to buy the rights to Kung Fu Kid Meets the Challenge of Love as part of the package.

But now the old man was practically beside himself with joy. There was nothing more to say.

“Teacher Zhang, then we have a deal.”

“A deal it is! Settled!”

“Then let’s decide on the roles.”

Chen Hong’s meaning was clear: Which of the three actresses under her management did he think would make the best lead?

Zhang Xinyan understood. And with his next words, he revealed his own weakness.

“You know, I’ve always made movies about men. This series is mostly action and martial arts too, with more parts for men. All three of these young ladies are very pretty. Why don’t we give the lead to whoever’s the strongest actress?”

Just like that?

It seemed reasonable enough.

Chen Hong said nothing. She simply looked to the three young women.

What was interesting was that Hao Lei and Yuanyuan exchanged a glance.

“I really admire Sister Hao’s acting,” Yuanyuan said first.

“I’ve only been studying acting for a year,” Hao Lei replied modestly.

What about Li Xiaoran?

She immediately realized she was in a bad position.

“I’ll follow your decision.”

Anything was better than what she had before.

Sister Hong was delighted.

“Good! Then Hao Lei, you’ll be the lead. Yuanyuan, you’ll play the junior apprentice. And Xiaoran, there’s a princess in the series. I can tell you’re a local girl from Beijing, so that role should suit you perfectly.”

Zhang Xinyan clapped his hands. “That’s settled!”

Everyone was pleased.

Li Xiaoran was happy too, and she became even more certain of one thing:

Sticking with Brother Ma was the right choice.

But then Teacher Zhang said, “This is a martial arts series. You don’t have many fight scenes, but I still need to see what you can do. Come on, let’s give it a try.”

Li Xiaoran’s face fell.

She gritted her teeth and stepped forward.

There was more to come.