Huayu: This top star doesn't play by the rules.

Director Wu Jingyuan nodded with even greater satisfaction as he watched Chen Chao's performance in front of the media.

The fact that Chen Chao could remain so calm and speak so tactfully in the face of such a media onslaught proves that he has excellent mental fortitude. After all, you need to have good mental fortitude to survive in this industry.

Of course, Wu Jingyuan also knew that he couldn't let Chen Chao perform all the time, taking up other people's interview and publicity time. So he gestured to the host, who then took the initiative to guide the interview process.

With the host's guidance, the reporters no longer focused their attention on Chen Chao, but mostly asked questions about the male and female leads, Zhao Liying and Lin Gengxin, and occasionally asked questions about other actors.

The press conference, which lasted for more than an hour, quickly came to an end. As the main creative team got up and left the stage, the fans screamed again.

Among these fans, besides those calling for Lin Gengxin and Zhao Liying, there were also those calling for a completely unexpected newcomer.

"Chen Chao! Chen Chao!"

"Chen Chao, keep going! We'll always support you!"

"Young Master Yan Xun is so handsome!"

Hearing someone call his name, Chen Chao stopped and turned around to wave to the fans below the stage, revealing a bright and cheerful smile. This action instantly triggered an even more enthusiastic scream.

Backstage, while Chen Chao was resting, Zhao Liying suddenly walked over to him and said with a smile, "Not bad, Chen Chao. You did very well in dealing with the reporters' questions. I thought you would make a mistake because you were nervous."

"It's alright, Sister Liying." Chen Chao smiled and scratched his head. "Actually, I was a little flustered just now, but I didn't show it."

Lin Gengxin, the male lead of the drama, also came over, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "Not bad, brother, you have a bright future. I'll protect you in the future on set."

"Then thank you for taking care of me in the future, Brother Gengxin." After hearing Lin Gengxin's words, Chen Chao responded in a very cooperative manner.

Besides the male and female leads, Li Qin, who plays the second female lead, also came over and said with a smile, "Chen Chao, your performance just now was really outstanding. I saw a lot of reporters taking pictures of you."

"Just lucky," Chen Chao said modestly in response to Li Qin's praise.

And so, the group walked toward the dressing room, chatting and laughing.

........

That afternoon, the internet exploded, with the hashtags #PrincessAgentsStartingFilmingPressConference# and #ChenChaoYanXun# quickly climbing to the top of Weibo's trending topics list.

Photos and videos from the press conference are going viral online, and Chen Chao's casual suit look has amazed many netizens.

"My God! Chen Chao is so handsome! His looks are just as good as mine."

"I was worried he wouldn't portray Yan Xun well, but now it seems I was completely overthinking it! This is exactly the Yan Xun I envisioned!"

"Handsome, talented, a great singer, and such a fantastic actor—Chen Chao is an amazing artist!"

"I'm completely captivated by Chen Chao! I can't wait for 'Princess Agents' to air!"

As photos and videos spread, Chen Chao's Weibo followers surged by hundreds of thousands in just a few hours after the press conference, directly breaking the four million mark.

His fan community was filled with jubilation, with fans posting messages expressing their full support for Chen Chao's first TV drama as the second male lead.

At the same time, director Jiang Jiajun, an important mentor to Chen Chao, and Chen Chao's good friends in the "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" crew also posted articles, giving high praise to Chen Chao's performance at the press conference.

After the dinner party following the launch event, Chen Chao returned to his room and, looking at the constant stream of messages on Weibo, couldn't help but smile slightly.

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The day after the press conference, the crew of "Princess Agents," which had already finished the script reading phase, officially entered the intense pre-filming training phase.

As a historical drama about political intrigue, "Princess Agents" naturally has a lot of action scenes and equestrian scenes, so the actors definitely need to undergo training.

The training base is located in a professional equestrian club near Hengdian World Studios. It has complete training facilities and a professional coaching team, which can meet the training needs of the actors.

After training began, Chen Chao returned to his regular daily routine, arriving at the training base promptly at around 6 a.m. every morning.

First, there is an hour of physical training, including running, push-ups, sit-ups, squats, etc., to improve endurance and explosive power. Then there is two hours of martial arts training, and finally three hours of equestrian training.

The daily training sessions lasted up to eight hours, which was too intense for many actors.

Many actors complained bitterly when they first started training, and were so tired after each day's training that they couldn't even lift their arms. But for Chen Chao, this was not his limit.

The martial arts instructor in charge of guiding Chen Chao and his team was Li Houcai, a well-known martial arts choreographer in the industry. He had directed many period martial arts dramas and had a wealth of experience.

At first, Li Houcai was a little worried about Chen Chao, after all, Chen Chao was famous for his songs. Although he had filmed some action scenes in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", Yan Xun and Ouyang Ke had completely different fighting styles.

Ouyang Ke's movements are graceful and agile, carrying the elegance and frivolity of a young master, emphasizing handsomeness; while Yan Xun's movements, especially Yan Xun after the Nine Nether Platform, require crisp and clean movements, each move deadly.

But after Li Houcai officially began to instruct Chen Chao, he found that his worries were completely unnecessary. Chen Chao's learning ability and physical coordination were simply outrageous.

Li Houcai only needs to demonstrate many difficult moves once or twice, and Chen Chao can imitate them almost perfectly. After a little guidance on the details, he can do better than many professional stunt doubles.

"Great! That was a beautiful move!"

Watching Chen Chao cleanly and neatly complete a triple backflip without the aid of props, and then land steadily, Li Houcai couldn't help but shout his approval.

Li Houcai strode over to Chen Chao and patted him on the shoulder, his face full of admiration: "Chen Chao, you are truly the most talented actor I have ever seen in terms of action."

"I've been a stunt coordinator for over 20 years, and I've never seen a newcomer who hasn't trained before master these moves as quickly as you."