Hu Jing woke up in a daze, a faint flush lingering on her cheeks and a touch of alluring charm remaining in her expression.
Moving slightly in bed, Hu Jing's eyes suddenly snapped open. With an expression of sheer disbelief, she reached her right hand downward—
"How could I possibly... have a dream like that? And of all people, about that Li Boda?" Hu Jing couldn't help muttering to herself, finding it utterly inconceivable.
Now, as far as looks went, Li Boda was not bad-looking. But what kind of place was the entertainment industry?
It was a gathering place for handsome men and stunning women, so Li Boda's appearance could only be described as decent. Yet last night, Hu Jing had actually dreamed of Li Boda—and what was more, she had dreamed of herself in the role of Ling Xueyan, the character she played in Young Zhang Sanfeng, being together with him, who played Yu Daiyan in the same series.
The original plot clearly had Ling Xueyan ending up with Song Yuanqiao after realizing that Zhang Junbao didn't like her.
Last night, on the premiere day of Young Zhang Sanfeng, she had even intentionally watched the TV series in her room. She had actually complained inwardly, wondering if Ling Xueyan had gone blind or something, choosing Song Yuanqiao—especially since Cao Jun, the actor playing Song Yuanqiao, was truly quite ugly (this Cao Jun was not the famous child star Cao Jun). If it were up to her to choose, wouldn't both Zhang Cuishan and Yu Daiyan be much better-looking than Song Yuanqiao?
And then, when she went to sleep, she directly dreamed of Li Boda—no, of Yu Daiyan.
The rest of the dream was hazy and she couldn't remember the details clearly, but the scenes of her and Yu Daiyan passionately making love were remembered with crystal clarity. This made her feel a little awkward; she certainly didn't think of herself as some kind of little lech.
(Regarding the fact that women also have such dreams, let's clarify: women don't dream of elaborate plots; they simply have a dream. Aside from the intimate encounters with the male lead, they don't dream of anything else, nor is there any scenario where a woman has a dream and suddenly acquires some kind of skill!)
***
Li Boda woke up early in the morning and immediately started washing his underwear.
Li Boda never expected his Golden Finger to undergo this kind of change.
The previous two times the Golden Finger had been triggered, because he had only played bit parts, he had merely dreamed of the characters' entire lives.
This time, however, he had played a named character, giving him much more freedom during the dream—it felt almost as if he had time-traveled into the world of Young Zhang Sanfeng, soul-transmigrating into Yu Daiyan.
Since it was his first time living in the world of Young Zhang Sanfeng in the identity of Yu Daiyan, he hadn't dared to act too out of line, generally following the original storyline. Well, for the role of Yu Daiyan that he played, he had originally only received the script for Yu Daiyan himself. As for the plot of the entire Young Zhang Sanfeng television series, he only understood it vaguely, with many things and the direction of the story remaining unclear to him.
Anyway, he simply played his part honestly as Zhang Sanfeng's disciple and diligently learned martial arts within the dream.
If there was any difference between his actions and those of the original Yu Daiyan, it was probably that he was handsome. After Ling Xueyan suffered unrequited love, she didn't end up with Song Yuanqiao; instead, she developed feelings for Yu Daiyan, and the two of them got together.
Naturally, after getting married, the two of them did what men and women are supposed to do.
And then, upon waking up in the morning, Li Boda started washing his underwear.
After hanging up the freshly washed underwear, Li Boda assumed a horse stance and practiced a routine of Tai Chi!
At first, he felt a bit rusty, but after running through it a few times, he became increasingly proficient. His body even developed a subtle sensation—as if he had practiced Tai Chi before, only to set it aside and let it gather dust for a long time, and now he was simply picking it up and resuming his practice.
"It's different, truly different! The harvest from playing Yu Daiyan this time is far greater than my previous stints as an extra."
"First of all, inside the dream, my freedom with the character of Yu Daiyan was much higher. It felt as if I had directly transmigrated into it—especially since Hu Jing is truly smooth and supple—ahem."
"The operability in the dream has become stronger. And then, upon waking up, although I only remembered a single routine of Tai Chi and no internal cultivation arts whatsoever... back then, when playing Zhang San, he only allowed me to remember six or seven tenths of the Hengshan Sword Technique, yet there was no physical feedback to my body, and I still had to practice from scratch. But this time with Tai Chi, I remembered almost ninety percent of it directly. Moreover, my body seemed intimately familiar with Tai Chi, as though I had practiced it before and was now simply picking it up again."
"In other words, playing a named character not only gives me greater freedom of action, but it also alters my body, allowing me to master martial arts much faster."
Muttering to himself, Li Boda practiced the Tai Chi routine once more. This time, his movements were even more fluid and skilled.
Furthermore, the Tai Chi he practiced didn't quite seem to match the Tai Chi found on the open market. It felt like a version of Tai Chi that could genuinely be used to fight, complete with techniques like using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds, as well as absorbing, neutralizing, and issuing force.
It possessed a much higher degree of practical combat effectiveness.
Yet this Tai Chi still felt to Li Boda as though it lacked one crucial element: presumably, the internal cultivation method that should accompany the Tai Chi.
"What a pity that there is only this single set of Tai Chi movements, lacking any internal cultivation manual. If the role I played hadn't been Yu Daiyan, but the male lead Zhang Junbao instead, would I be able to directly obtain Zhang Junbao's internal cultivation manual upon waking up from my dream? Might I even have directly acquired Zhang Junbao's terrifying level of internal energy?" Anticipation began to grow stronger and stronger in Li Boda's heart, looking forward to the day when he could play a leading role and reap even greater rewards.
"Still, this Young Zhang Sanfeng is not a Jin Yong drama, yet the Golden Finger still triggered. Therefore, the mechanism for triggering the Golden Finger shouldn't be limited exclusively to Jin Yong dramas."
"So what exactly is its triggering mechanism? Is it all martial arts dramas?"
Because instances of triggering the Golden Finger were still too few, Li Boda was unable to analyze more intelligence and remained uncertain about how the Golden Finger was actually triggered.
Overall, however, it still came down to acting—filming in different crews and securing named roles whenever possible.
Just like this time with Young Zhang Sanfeng, even if he hadn't acquired a martial art like Tai Chi, the mere fact that Hu Jing was so exquisitely soft and supple was already an enormous harvest for Li Boda.
"I wonder if Hu Jing has that mole on her body," Li Boda thought with a slightly wicked smile.
However, Li Boda had no intention of pursuing Hu Jing in reality.
After all, that was just a dream; the Ling Xueyan in the dream was not the Hu Jing of reality.
Not only was the dream version of Ling Xueyan gorgeous, but her personality was also exceptionally gentle and submissive—a traditional woman who typically regarded her husband as her universe.
Doing laundry, cooking, taking care of people—she was willing to do it all. But Li Boda didn't expect women in reality to ever reach that level.
So, it was best to simply film more with pretty actresses and enjoy oneself in dreams. As for real three-dimensional women in reality—don't touch them!