For the convenience of work and to save costs, Xie Lin didn’t rent a house in Hengdian Town. After all, there are high-speed trains and subways here, making transportation very convenient. Within limited conditions, he only considered the price when renting a house.
When the two came over, they took the subway from Dongyang City. Li Younan’s car was still parked at the hotel in Dongyang City, so there was no rush to drive. The two took the subway all the way, then transferred by bus back to Xie Lin’s place.
On the way, Xie Lin talked about his girlfriend: "My girlfriend has the same surname as you, also Li, her name sounds a bit rustic, Li Juhong, because she was born in autumn. She’s three years younger than me, only twenty-two."
Li Younan asked: "How long have you been together?"
Xie Lin looked out the window, there was only one stop left. He stood up, grabbed the handrail on the bus, and said: "We’ve been together for more than two years. She has a good job, as a waitress at a hotel restaurant near our rental apartment. Although she doesn’t earn as much as I do, it’s close to where we live. We plan to get married at the end of the year." Saying this, Xie Lin grinned and asked, "What about you, buddy?"
Li Younan paused for a moment, it seemed regardless of material conditions, everyone was really happy, and said: "I might wait a few years."
Xie Lin nodded: "Well, you’re so handsome, no need to rush."
At this moment, the bus reached the stop, Xie Lin patted Li Younan and said: "Let’s go, we need to get off."
After getting off the bus, they walked over twenty minutes and arrived at the apartment Xie Lin rented. It wasn’t a very new community, but the environment looked pretty good.
Xie Lin smiled beside him and said: "The place I lived before was quite bad. Last year, Juhong and I discussed it and moved here. The annual rent is about 6,000 yuan, but I think it’s quite worth it."
Li Younan observed Xie Lin’s expression, from the moment he saw Xie Lin today, this guy had been smiling all along. But his kind of smile wasn’t to please anyone; you could feel that each time he smiled was due to his satisfaction with life.
Li Younan had a peculiar feeling, that the most important thing in life is emotional joy, and the happiness from completing a multimillion-dollar project isn’t necessarily greater than the happiness brought by moving to a better environment for the common people.
Li Juhong was a petite girl, who came from a rural place in the north to work. When they arrived downstairs in the community, Li Juhong was about to go up with groceries she’d just bought. Xie Lin called out to Li Juhong, and the three went upstairs together.
Although Xie Lin had already introduced Li Younan to Li Juhong over the phone, facing Li Younan, Li Juhong was still very shy, her gaze a bit evasive, not daring to look directly at Li Younan’s face. When Li Younan occasionally teased the two, she hid beside Xie Lin, just constantly laughing.
Xie Lin said: "Juhong is a bit shy, don’t mind it."
Even though Xie Lin said so, Li Younan had no doubt that if he truly showed that he minded, this guy would turn against him in no time.
The apartment Xie Lin rented was small, a two-bedroom apartment, but the furniture was all there. The two only used one bedroom, with an empty room to store some miscellaneous items.
Xie Lin took Li Younan to tour the empty room, which mostly stored items used during acting.
Xie Lin explained: "Although the crew provides costumes and props, to put it this way, the armor, clothes, and even boots are trucked in. Apart from the newcomers, nothing is new. Since the third year, I’ve been buying official boots, straw sandals, ancient clothies and such myself. You never know what situation the previous user had."
Li Younan asked: "Right, extra actors have to be categorized, right? Can you tell me about it?"
Talking about his profession, Xie Lin got excited, nodded and said: "That’s right, outsiders think extras are just extras, but in fact, extras are divided as well."
"They mainly fall into three categories. The most basic is our kind who act as background extras, requiring no specific attributes, regardless of height or weight, anyone can act, but the pay is also the lowest, about 100 to 200 a day. A bit better are the foreground extras, the ones with screen time, requiring specific height and looks. Men need to be above 1.78 meters, women above 1.6 meters. Their pay is higher, roughly double that of background extras. The best are those with lines, requiring auditions, called special extras. Some drama academy or opera academy students come to audition, and can earn six hundred to eight hundred a day!"
Apart from being an extra himself, Xie Lin is slowly transitioning to being a group head.
After hearing Xie Lin’s introduction, Li Younan had a rough idea of the system tasks ahead; it meant he had to experience the daily life of these three types of roles separately.
After touring Xie Lin’s storage, the two returned to the living room. Xie Lin poured a cup of hot tea for Li Younan, while Li Juhong was busy in the kitchen.
Li Younan asked: "If I want to experience being an extra, how should I go about it?"
Xie Lin’s expression became a bit odd, truth be told, being an extra actor isn’t an easy thing. However, having been here so many years, he knows quite a few people, has some networking resources, and is starting to transition to a group head. He’s been through all experiences, long adapted to the life of a background actor. But university students like Li Younan may not be able to handle such hardships. Just to experience it, he could understand, pursuing novelty is an instinct of everyone.
Xie Lin thought for a moment and said: "If it’s for ordinary people, it’s actually simple. You just need to get an actor certificate in Hengdian, then join a group and wait for the group head to post calls for actors, that’s it. For foreground and special extras, it’d be a bit more troublesome." But then Xie Lin laughed and said, "But if you want to experience it, I can introduce you to a crew. You’re so handsome, getting a foreground role won’t be an issue."
Li Younan nodded. Meanwhile, the sound of washing vegetables came from the kitchen. He got up and walked into the kitchen. Li Juhong was washing a tomato seriously.
Just then, Li Juhong received a call. Knowing it’s impolite to eavesdrop, Li Younan sensibly retreated to the living room.
A while later, Li Juhong came out looking a bit anxious, saying: "There’s something at the hotel, I need to go over for a bit." She hesitated for a moment, glanced in the direction of the kitchen, and then said to Xie Lin: "The dishes are all prepared, I’ll come back and cook them later."
Xie Lin’s face looked a bit concerned, asking: "It’s nothing serious right?"
Li Juhong smiled and said: "Nothing serious, can be sorted out in half an hour max."
After Li Juhong left, Li Younan asked Xie Lin: "Does your girlfriend often work overtime?"
Xie Lin smiled casually: "It’s alright, she works at the hotel restaurant, her daily work hours are regular, only occasionally needs to work overtime." He hesitated, a bit embarrassed and said: "But dinner will have to wait a bit longer."
Li Younan pondered and asked: "Don’t you usually cook yourself?"
Xie Lin chuckled: "I’m not good at cooking. Usually if I’m alone, I’ll just make instant noodles, it doesn’t matter. But today, I want you to try my girlfriend’s cooking. After all, she’s at a restaurant, learned quite a bit from the chefs!"
Li Younan stood up and went into the kitchen, glanced at the ingredients: tomatoes, beef brisket, green peppers, pork belly, and cabbage, eggs; it was clear that Xie Lin’s girlfriend intended to make stir-fried tomatoes with eggs, green pepper beef, stir-fried cabbage.
Li Younan put on an apron.
Xie Lin’s expression became stunned: "Wait, buddy, what are you doing?"
Li Younan pointed at the cutting board: "Your girlfriend works so hard, let me cook this meal instead!"
Xie Lin promptly refused: "No way, you’re a guest, guests don’t cook!"
Li Younan disregarded him, walked to the cutting board, picked up the green pepper, and calmly glanced at Xie Lin: "Distinction between host and guest, do you really draw such a line?"
This sentence left Xie Lin speechless, almost as if refusing Li Younan’s offer was not treating him as a friend. As someone who wasn’t used to refusing others, Xie Lin could only give an awkward smile: "I didn’t mean it that way, but you... can you even cook?"
Li Younan chuckled, slapped the green pepper against the cutting board, and a series of quick, rhythmic "thump thump thump thump thump" sounds followed.
The green pepper turned into neat shreds.
After showing off his knife skills, Li Younan gently blew his bangs: "Go sit outside."

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