“Who told you to use force? Wasn’t it agreed to fake it?”

The man in the army-green sweater didn’t respond. He just gave Lu Yan a disdainful glance, adjusted his collar bit by bit, and turned to leave. After only a couple of steps, Lu Yan grabbed him again.

The man was about the same height as Lu Yan, but his dark skin, tall and muscular build, and rugged appearance gave him the look of a tough, no-nonsense individual. His muscles weren’t the kind you get from gym workouts—they were the real deal, honed through hard work.

Yu Yan thought to himself, This guy could probably knock out two of me with one punch.

“Are you deaf? I’m asking you a question!”

Jian Ran rushed over and grabbed Lu Yan’s wrist to stop him. “Lu Yan, I’m fine. I told him to do it.”

After a moment of tension, Lu Yan snorted coldly and let go of his hand.

Jian Ran immediately waved at the man in the army-green sweater to leave quickly, then began calming Lu Yan down.

Yu Yan had seen that man earlier on the set. He was playing the role of a troublemaker, with only a small part and no lines, but his performance was impressive.

Before the shoot, Lu Yan had made it clear to everyone that no one should come near Jian Ran during scenes. Yet this man had gone ahead anyway.

His moves looked powerful and aggressive but were actually restrained. The intensity was there, but he didn’t hurt anyone.

“I’m fine, I didn’t fall,” Jian Ran kept reassuring him, as if he was the one who had been hurt.

Lu Yan, like a lit firecracker, snapped in a tone that carried a hint of grievance, “How can you say you’re fine? With that much force, there’s no way you’re not hurt! And now you’re defending him?”

“I’m not defending him,” Jian Ran replied patiently, speaking slowly and holding tightly onto Lu Yan’s sleeve as if afraid he’d storm off to settle the score again. “I’m really okay.”

“Impossible. Let me see. It’s probably bruised. I’ll have the assistant bring some medicinal oil.”

Jian Ran was taken aback. “Right now…?”

“Of course.”

The injury was on his waist, and with so many people around—including female actors and children—it wasn’t appropriate.

“There are too many people here. It’s not a good idea. Let’s check it tonight, back at home.”

Lu Yan scanned the surroundings, and his gaze landed on Yu Yan, who was leaning against a tree playing with snow. His expression grew colder.

“Do you need something?”

Yu Yan clapped his hands clean and cleared his throat. “Uh… Who was that actor just now?”

To prevent Lu Yan from saying anything offensive, Jian Ran immediately jumped in. “He’s an extra the director hired.”

That face, that build, and that acting talent—it seemed like a waste for him to be just an extra.

This ensemble cast had hundreds of extras, all waiting in one place, making it difficult to find someone specific.

Yu Yan thought it was a shame and decided to ask the director later.

“Young master, is there something you need from me?” Jian Ran blinked a couple of times.

Yu Yan came back to his senses. “The production team for that variety show Hello, Friend contacted me. Filming starts this weekend.”

“What about Director Fang’s project?” Jian Ran looked slightly hesitant.

“I’ve already talked to him. Don’t worry.”

The filming schedule for the variety show had shifted again, coinciding with the start of Twenty Years. The timing wasn’t ideal.

If Jian Ran joined the variety show, it would inevitably affect Twenty Years.

Yu Yan had already discussed this with Director Fang, who suggested shifting Jian Ran’s scenes slightly. If Jian Ran became popular because of Hello, Friend, it would bring benefits when Twenty Years aired.

Yu Yan glanced at the time. “This weekend, I’ll have someone escort you to the show.”

“He’ll go with me,” Lu Yan interjected, casting a glance at Yu Yan, seemingly annoyed at his lack of tact.

“No, absolutely not,” Jian Ran immediately shook his head, looking sincerely at Yu Yan. “I’ll listen to you.”

Before Yu Yan could reply, Lu Yan exploded.

“What’s that supposed to mean? You’re already tired of me after just a few days?”

“It’s not that. I don’t want to ride on your fame,” Jian Ran quickly explained.

Lu Yan instantly understood what he meant. “I don’t mind if you do. Who cares what those idiots think?”

Yu Yan’s eyelid twitched. “How about sticking to the company’s arrangements? If you two go together, you’ll end up on the trending list again. Jian Ran doesn’t have many works yet, so he’ll just get criticized. You don’t want that, do you?”

After a moment of thought, Lu Yan didn’t argue further. His cold expression suggested he begrudgingly accepted the suggestion.

Yu Yan let out an imperceptible sigh of relief, exchanged a few more words with Jian Ran, and quickly left the tense scene.

How does Jian Ran even put up with him?

The things Lu Yan said in private could easily ruin his career if even a few were leaked.

After wandering around the set, Yu Yan still couldn’t find the extra in the army-green sweater, so he decided to ask Director Fang.

The man was distinctive enough that anyone who had seen him would remember his face.

As expected, Director Fang immediately blurted out a name after hearing Yu Yan’s description.

“You mean Cao Yuanye?”

“That’s him! Do you have his contact information?” Yu Yan’s eyes lit up, nodding eagerly.

“You want to sign him?”

“Yes!”

“Forget it, no chance.” Director Fang waved dismissively and turned back to adjust the camera.

Yu Yan trailed behind him. “Why not? Is he just here as a side gig?”

He couldn’t believe anyone would willingly remain an extra without signing with a company.

Extras earned meager wages, usually paid daily—around 100–200 yuan. Even working tirelessly for a month would only net 5,000–6,000 yuan.

“He’s Chen Hao’s dedicated stunt double. He’s under contract, and you won’t be able to poach him,” Director Fang explained kindly.

A stunt double?

With that face, those skills, and that talent, he was just a stunt double?

That’s real suppression.

Wait… Chen Hao…

Yu Yan asked in a serious tone, “Is Chen Hao the triple-award-winning actor?”

“Triple-award-winning?” Director Fang frowned, pondering for a moment. “Has he reached that level already?”

An assistant director whispered from the side, “Not triple yet—just one so far.”

Yu Yan suddenly remembered something and pressed further, “Does Chen Hao forbid Cao Yuanye from acting in movies?”

“Whether an artist can act is up to the company, but Chen Hao owns shares in their company.”

The assistant director seemed to know more but chose to express his thoughts through hints rather than outright stating them.

Cao Yuanye was Chen Hao’s dedicated stunt double, blocked from taking roles by Chen Hao himself.

In the original plot, there was a subplot where a well-known award-winning actor’s performance significantly declined.

He had previously marketed himself as a tough guy on screen, taking on challenging roles and performing dangerous stunts, earning a reputation for dedication.

But a few years later, he suddenly became delicate, accepting only domineering CEO roles and leaving all the risky scenes to stunt doubles. His movements had also become noticeably stiff.

Later, it was revealed that Chen Hao’s exclusive stunt double drowned while trying to save a child who had fallen into the water. The replacement stunt doubles did not work well with him, which caused his action scenes to become stiff and gradually affected his other performances.

Looking at it this way, Chen Hao must be the triple-award-winning actor from the original book, while Cao Yuanye is his exclusive stunt double.

What a shame for someone like Cao Yuanye to be suppressed by Chen Hao, isn’t it?

After confirming Cao Yuanye’s identity, Yu Yan became even more determined to sign him.

In the end, Yu Yan managed to get his contact information from Director Fang, though not without Fang advising him not to push too hard.

That afternoon, there was an action scene involving Chen Hao, and Cao Yuanye was still on set and hadn’t left.

With the contact information in hand, Yu Yan quickly found him.

However, when Yu Yan explained his intention, handed over his black-and-gold business card, and promised the top-tier contract with high bonuses, he was unexpectedly rejected.

Rejected!

Yu Yan was momentarily stunned and instinctively blurted out, “Why?”

Cao Yuanye responded indifferently, not even glancing at the card. He simply replied, “No reason,” before turning and leaving.

At that moment, Yu Yan finally understood why Director Fang had given him that caution when sharing the contact information.

Cao Yuanye had been following Chen Hao from crew to crew for years. Yu Yan wasn’t the only one who saw his shining potential—others had noticed too. But due to Chen Hao’s interference and other factors, no one had managed to sign him.

Yu Yan’s disappointment didn’t last more than half an hour before he regained his composure.

If Cao Yuanye were that easy to sign, it wouldn’t be his turn anyway.

With most of his artists already involved in productions, Yu Yan busied himself securing variety shows and advertisements for a few of them. In the meantime, he stayed at the set for networking and, most importantly, to try and sign Cao Yuanye.

He approached Cao Yuanye a few more times, but, as expected, was rejected each time—and without any explanation.

Eventually, not only did Yu Yan fail to sign Cao Yuanye, but he also earned Chen Hao’s grudge.

Before the first episode of Hello, Friend was filmed, Yu Yan made a special trip to the Twenty Years set to pick someone up, taking the opportunity to chat briefly with Jian Ran and Song Yunjing.

After much insistence from Yu Yan and Lu Yan’s manager, Lu Yan finally agreed to separate from Jian Ran and head to the program team alone.

An hour earlier, Lu Yan had already left, but Yu Yan suspected he would dawdle on the way and decided to wait another hour before leaving the set himself.

While sitting in a crew chair and explaining filming tips to Jian Ran—details Yu Yan had gathered from various sources—the most important advice he shared was to keep a distance from Lu Yan.

Suddenly, a mocking, heavy voice came from behind.

“Of course, if there’s clout handed to you on a platter, you’d want to leech off it.”

“Too bad we have self-respect and won’t stoop to knocking on someone’s door in the middle of the night.”

The speaker was Chen Hao’s assistant, delivering the snide remarks with a dramatic flair and eye rolls, almost directly pointing a finger at Jian Ran’s nose.

Chen Hao stood between his two assistants, not only failing to stop them but also casting a provocative glance at Yu Yan.

Clearly, this was aimed at him. Jian Ran was just caught in the crossfire.

Yu Yan shot him a cold sideways glance. “If you really had any self-respect, you wouldn’t even be standing here talking to me.”

Chen Hao’s acting skills were well-regarded, with his advantage lying in fluid action scenes and a rare tough-guy image in the entertainment industry.

But without Cao Yuanye as his stunt double, he would practically be invisible in the industry.

Suppressing Cao Yuanye and confining him to the role of a stunt double—now that’s shameless.

“You—” Chen Hao’s face immediately darkened, but for some reason, he stopped himself from speaking further.

Yu Yan sneered, “If I find out you’re giving my people trouble again, I’ll expose everything about you.”

Chen Hao’s expression grew even uglier. He looked around at the onlookers, seemingly about to retort, but his manager pulled him away.

“He’s from the Yu family. You can’t afford to mess with him.”

“Why bother arguing with him? Just keep an eye on Cao Yuanye.”

As the voices faded, Yu Yan clenched his jaw in frustration.

He suspected that Cao Yuanye wasn’t the type to let himself be entirely controlled. There was likely some kind of unfair deal between him and Chen Hao.

“Finally!” Song Yunjing laughed twice. “That guy’s been causing us trouble constantly these past few days. It’s about time someone put him in his place.”

“He’s been bothering you a lot?” Yu Yan frowned.

Song Yunjing thought for a moment. “He’s more restrained when there are more people around. Do you have some dirt on him? What’s the tea? Spill it.”

“Isn’t he most worried about his stunt double being exposed? Threatening him with that always works.” Yu Yan shrugged.

“That’s it?”

“Yeah.” Yu Yan nodded.

“Uh…”

Song Yunjing fell silent, recalling the time when Yu Yan had almost been stripped of his pants at Que Ming Club. In hindsight, this tactic seemed fitting.

Perhaps Yu Yan had been so sheltered that he wasn’t familiar with the explosive scandals of the entertainment industry and thought something as simple as “stunt double” was enough to threaten Chen Hao.

But to Chen Hao, Yu Yan’s warning probably conveyed something else entirely.

If a matter as trivial as this could threaten him, he would’ve been kicked out of the industry long ago.