After listening, Shinohara Mirai and Matsushima Kui felt a bit embarrassed, knowing it was all a misunderstanding, but they weren’t disappointed. After all, Li Yan left them with the impression of being a free-spirited man full of mystery. If he were truly a film director, perhaps he wouldn’t be playing with them.

Starting from the discussion about the leading stars of "Springtime Leaked," they began talking about Yun Country stars they knew. Li Yan found that he could surprisingly engage in casual conversation with them!

This was because they were not typical girls from Yun Country, who like and know young idols that Li Yan isn’t familiar with due to their fast-changing trends. Instead, they knew the older generation of movie and pop stars like Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Zhou Runfa, Stephen Chow, Liu Dehua, Leslie Cheung, and Wang Fei.

This was not just about the gap between different countries and cultures, but also about the difference in influence.

Beihai Country has always been at the forefront of trends in East Continent, with its popular culture starting early and being well-developed. Cloud Island pop songs used to cover Beihai songs extensively, with many well-known classics being covers of Beihai songs; many stars from Cloud Island and Lan Island also mimic Beihai stars, Cloud Island dramas often copy Beihai dramas; whereas popular songs and films from Yun Country started even later, built upon mimicking Cloud Island and Lan Island. Even now, despite the development, there are still gaps. Except for the old generation who conquered the world with their kung fu films and other Yun Country specialties, the influence of young idols is generally confined to their locality.

The influence of culture is proportionate to the country’s strength and the coverage of its language. Like how Yun Country people know many Si Country stars, and Beihai and Li Country stars also know some, but what about Star Country and Borola stars? It’s hard to name a few. The film market in Beihai Country has long been the second largest, just after Siro Continent; Yun Country only squeezed into the world’s top ten in 2009, and that’s the gap.

Chapter 294: Huang Ying’s Unexpected Ease

Li Yan drove at a high speed. When he arrived at the hotel, he first settled in and then took them to the guest rooms and called Huang Ying.

Yu Xiaodi arrived afterward and joined them in the hotel guest room.

Huang Ying had already arrived at the location Li Yan mentioned, waiting nearby for a while now, and had seen this five-star hotel. She had been daydreaming about whether to drink wine during dinner? Would they go straight to the hotel to get a room after eating?

She was waiting for Li Yan’s call. However, unexpectedly, upon hearing his call, he told her to come to the hotel, and directly to the guest rooms. This made her stammer a bit: "Wha-? Ho... Hotel? Gu... Guest room? You’ve already got a room ready?"

Isn’t this a bit too straightforward? Shouldn’t they at least have dinner first to set the mood?

But then she thought about it, Li Yan still had to go home at night, maybe he couldn’t stay with her overnight, and it was already late. So he needed to make the most of the time. The night is precious, so dinner could wait...

She felt the same way; if she were home alone as before, spending a night away wouldn’t be a problem. But now that her mother was back, even though there was a nanny to take care of her, she shouldn’t stay out too late, indeed needed to make the most of the time.

Thinking this way, didn’t even allow her a moment of heartache. With a nervous and uneasy feeling, she said, "Alright... Let’s make the most of the time... Wait for me... I’m heading over now..."

Li Yan was left dumbfounded by her words: Already got a room ready? Make the most of the time?

"Cough... I’ll come down to pick you up!"

"Okay, okay... I’ll wait at the entrance!" Huang Ying immediately responded. She had never been out traveling much, nor had much chance to stay in hotels. Even if necessary, it wouldn’t be a five-star hotel. Although she knew this hotel was nearby and saw how to get to the entrance, she hadn’t been to such a place, feeling anxious. She didn’t know how to deal with this once inside, if anyone questioned her, how to respond, where to go, searching places, or if she’d be mistaken for a call girl.

These concerns troubled her, but with Li Yan already inside and speaking of having a room ready for her, she could only muster the courage to enter. Now hearing Li Yan would come down to pick her up, she gladly agreed.

Li Yan was used to staying in hotels, and had booked rooms with many individuals. Plus, with Shinohara Mirai, Matsushima Kui, and Yu Xiaodi here, he hadn’t considered Huang Ying’s situation.

He greeted the ladies, saying he’d go down for a bit, letting them settle in, and meeting downstairs in the lobby before going for dinner together.

Yu Xiaodi saw him making a call, not knowing who he was calling, but as it was about entertaining company clients, it might be company-related, or maybe Wen Qianyi was coming too. As he went out, she naturally agreed to do the hosting, promising to take good care of the two guests.

...

When Li Yan came downstairs to the hotel entrance, he saw Huang Ying hesitating outside.

She had never been to such a place, seeing luxury cars coming and going, and only she walked over, the majestic entrance made her nervous.

Today she came prepared, wearing clothes that were expensive from the time when Li Yan and she shopped together. However, even with expensive clothes, the bag she carried was cheap. Coming here, she felt completely mismatched. Although no one paid special attention, she always felt that whether it was the doorman, security guard, or other guests, it seemed they were staring at her, which made her even more reluctant to muster the courage to go in.