Chapter 234: What a male-oriented harem novel

The meal was enjoyed by both host and guest.

Both sides were very satisfied.

The people from New Classics Media had come prepared to be given a hard time, only to find after arriving that things weren't as difficult as rumored.

This "difficult" didn't mean Bai Liang was acting like a diva, but rather that he was picky.

Although the drama *Joy of Life* had significant momentum, whether it would actually succeed was still hard to say.

Male-lead-centric dramas hadn't produced a breakout hit yet; industry confidence was generally lacking.

New Classics Media, holding so many major male-oriented IP resources, was impatient to extract the maximum value from this sector.

Spending the cost to get Bai Liang on board could be considered buying a rather important insurance policy.

To put it bluntly, if they brought in Bai Liang and it still didn't work, then it wasn't an actor problem—they would have to find ways to put in effort elsewhere.

Yanzi: We only recognize money, not people. Since you've sought out our Brother Bai, you have to pay up whether it's useful or not. We won't let you off for even a cent!

In truth, Yanzi's courage had grown much larger than before.

After all, Bai Liang first acted in *Wolf Warrior 2*, then *The Wandering Earth*; Yanzi had even become a credited producer on the latter.

After knowing how much money her Brother Bai had been "tricked" out of by Guo Fan, she had no other choice but to inexplicably expand the studio's business scope.

Although not deeply involved in film and television production, the necessary framework still had to be built.

Moreover, there were already rumors in the circle about a salary cap. Although it was just a rumor for now, Yanzi felt that being prepared was definitely the right move.

In the event that the salary cap really came, if one wanted to avoid a major impact on income, one might truly have to participate more in film and television production in the future.

Of course, participating in production carried risks; no one could guarantee that a drama they starred in would be a blockbuster or have explosive ratings.

But there was no help for it—Bai Liang was just that willful!

Tens of millions, borrowed just like that, and those big sisters and young ladies actually dared to give him the money.

Yanzi: For Brother Bai, I really have broken my heart~

Bai Liang: Yanzi, what would I do without you!

However, he actually did have a small problem.

"Those two roles you want, who are they for?"

"Who they're for? Isn't that just a matter of a word from you, Brother Bai?" Yanzi said with a smile.

Bai Liang understood instantly.

Ah~ he was to use them as favors.

It was true; the salary *Joy of Life* offered him was already very high! Over two million per episode, basically touching the ceiling of salaries in the television field.

So the question arose: for these two supporting roles, who should get them?

Bai Liang did remember that the characters Si Lili and Fan Ruoruo were quite brilliant, but no matter how brilliant, they were still just supporting roles.

The girls he knew who were doing well would definitely look down on them.

Even that love-brained Nazha wouldn't do. She could follow Bai Liang into *Wolf Warrior 2* without caring if that movie could take off, on the premise that she was the female lead.

If she were asked to play the second female lead?

Nazha would probably rather not participate, just be a hanger-on for a cameo, and then be a temporary assistant for Bai Liang than play a second female lead.

Even if she really lost her mind and wanted to act, Cai Yinong could personally crush that idea.

This was absolutely not allowed.

Therefore, he could only look for C-list actors~

Speaking of C-list actors, Bai Liang naturally thought of—

Beijing Yuekai Film and Television Co., Ltd.

Having just finished her promotional tour and been called back temporarily, Meng Jie was bewildered. What's going on?

What kind of trouble was her boss trying to stir up again?

"Little Meng is here, sit down."

Jia Shikai entered with enthusiasm. He wanted to close the conference room door out of habit, but the memory of his last face-to-face encounter with Bai Liang in the car couldn't help but surface, so he just left the door ajar.

He didn't dare close it.

Female stars were already prone to being targets of lewd rumors, especially with their company boss.

"Boss, what's the matter? Calling me back again, our company has too many meetings~"

Meng Jie had originally planned to return to her home in Shanghai to hide out after finishing her tour; she was missing her chocolate~

She had plenty of vacation time and could rest whenever she had nothing to do.

This was the daily life of a small C-lister.

"The female lead role I promised you has arrived." Jia Shikai didn't beat around the bush and revealed the answer directly.

"Really?!"

"Not just that, there's also a supporting role. Both projects are major IPs, but you'll have to make some trade-offs because the filming schedules for these two dramas will conflict."

Happiness came too suddenly; Meng Jie's eyes widened.

"Really?!"

"Would I lie to you? The female lead role is from a female-oriented novel adaptation called *Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation*, and the supporting role is the male-oriented *Joy of Life*. Both are IPs with loud names in the industry."

Jia Shikai analyzed it for Meng Jie, secretly observing her expression during the process.

Ahe, she really didn't know?

So they hadn't given her a heads-up over there.

"My suggestion is to choose *Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation*. Although this drama is a boys' love adaptation, if it were truly a major female-lead drama, it wouldn't be your turn, right?"

Meng Jie nodded, waiting for the other party to continue the bluff.

"But the benefit is that because the original work is a boys' love with two male leads, to pass censorship, they have to weaken that aspect, so they will definitely add scenes for the female lead."

The ending of *Addicted* being taken down was there for all to see; it was impossible for boys' love dramas to be served directly to the audience, at best they would let you do a boys' love adaptation.

Likewise, boys' love adaptations were recognized in the industry as star-makers!

Huang Jingyu and Xu Weizhou were able to shoot up so fiercely relying on a drama that was taken down; the power was evident.

It could be said that this thing was one of the fastest shortcuts for young male artists to reach the top tier.

That sounds pretty good!

Meng Jie blinked; she felt her boss really hoped she would act in this drama.

A female lead under two male leads...

In normal times, she would have jumped for joy!

For a minor, struggling actress like her, this was already a quite good resource.

Even if those two male leads might not have much status, relying on the influence of the IP and the heat of the boys' love adaptation, it might really make her "red."

However, today, she didn't know what was going on, but Meng Jie was exceptionally calm.

So calm that she herself felt it was a bit incredible~

Steadying herself, "Boss, what about that supporting role drama, it's called *Joy of Life*, right?"

"Ah, yes. In terms of screen time, it might not even count as the second female lead, maybe third or fourth."

That's not right~ Meng Jie wittily discovered a blind spot.

If it were really just like that, she felt her boss wouldn't have specifically mentioned this drama.

He would have just killed it and told her to act in *Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation*.

Thus, her big eyes were full of suspicion as she looked at her boss: You definitely have something you haven't said!

Jia Shikai paused, thinking to himself, forget it; if he kept it hidden, he might end up at odds with his own artist.

He simply spread his hands, "The male lead is Bai Liang."

"I want this one!"

Without a shred of hesitation, Meng Jie made a choice that was purely instinctive.

Damn it, as expected!

Looking at Meng Jie's spirited little appearance, Jia Shikai was speechless.

Now she wasn't even pretending anymore.

Fortunately, Jia Shikai didn't think *Joy of Life* was that bad either.

He had already inquired; the cast of that drama was a bit scary. Even if she went to play a supporting role, it could be considered a big pie for Meng Jie.

At most, it was just because there was a choice of *Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation* placed here that made him struggle for a while.

The reason he hoped Meng Jie would choose *Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation* was actually that Jia Shikai wanted to eat both pieces of meat.

Because another female artist in the company, Song Qian, was also somewhat interested in the *Joy of Life* project.

After hearing about this, she came to ask Jia Shikai if she could participate as a special guest.

Although he didn't understand why Song Qian wanted to play a supporting role, Jia Shikai wasn't so lacking in judgment.

This role was clearly given to Meng Jie by that person~

How could he change people without authorization?

Unless Meng Jie herself decided she didn't want it and let her speak up.

Meng Jie: No way! It's mine!

After hearing Bai Liang's name, that *Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation* thing was deleted cleanly from her mind.

Female lead? Whoever wants to act in it can go!

She was already impatient to jump the timeline to next year!

"That character is called Si Lili~ The name sounds so good. What does she do?"

Meng Jie was eager to know everything about the character. "A courtesan from a brothel."

Ah, this~

A courtesan... However, Meng Jie suddenly thought of *The Legend of the Condor Heroes* she acted in with Bai Liang back then.

After it aired, many "sharp-tongued" critics evaluated her Mu Nianci as having lips that were too sexy, and her eyes were always shooting electricity at Yang Kang, feeling a bit improper.

Hmph! This time, I'll be completely "improper" for once!

"I'm so sexy, of course I have to play a courtesan~ I was born to play a courtesan!" Meng Jie said proudly, touching her own face.

Jia Shikai: Sometimes I feel like I'm getting old and can't keep up with the thought process of young girls.

What kind of wild words are those?

Why don't you say your ancestors did this for a living~

Outrageous!

Later, Jia Shikai did go to ask Song Qian, wanting to know if she had any interest in *Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation*, since it was a female lead after all.

Song Qian: What level are those two male leads? I'll play a supporting role for them? Not going~

Double standards were vividly displayed at this moment.

As for the other role Yanzi got, Fan Ruoruo, Li Yitong took it over proactively.

Because Meng Jie couldn't keep things to herself, she proactively shared this good news with her—of course, happy things must be shared with good sisters so that happiness can be doubled!

Li Yitong: Sister, I feel your happiness~ That's really great!

Then the "evil little kitten" went online.

【Content omitted】

Li Yitong was very straightforward, indicating that she also had the schedule, and reached out a little hand toward Bai Liang: I want it too! Can I?

She was quite direct, not playing a game of testing with Bai Liang; this decisiveness helped her.

Because Bai Liang was originally about to call another young lady.

Successfully intercepted by her.

He hadn't actually thought of her originally, because Li Yitong was a famous player who would even pay to play the female lead and didn't care about the salary at all.

Bai Liang thought she wouldn't be willing to play a supporting role~

Li Yitong: I'm not stupid; it depends on the situation!

She quickly had people inquire and understand the *Joy of Life* project, feeling she was making a huge profit.

The best part was that the role of Fan Ruoruo she intercepted was actually the younger sister of the male lead, Fan Xian.

Tsk tsk, the sister and the sister-in-law look alike... Just this alone was enough for her and Li Qin to hype up the topic well.

The two had previously "joined forces" to ride a wave of traffic and create a topic, and the results were actually quite good.

Although they were scolded afterward—she still couldn't forget that explosive description of "slutty sister flower."

It brought great shock to her soul.

But it didn't matter; what if they did it again?

Acting with one's head down had no future; in the current entertainment circle, if you want to do well, you need traffic and topics.

Otherwise, unless the drama explodes, you'll remain a nobody.

Plus, being able to hug Bai Liang's thigh, she felt it didn't matter even if it wasn't the female lead.

However, Li Yitong also made a mistake, the same as Meng Jie.

She couldn't help but show off a little.

Jin Cheng: Eh? There's such a thing?

Sister, thanks for the reminder, I'm also free right now~

Even though by the time she went to inquire about this drama, the main female roles were basically set, she indicated that she didn't mind doing a special appearance, getting a role with little screen time to go to the *Joy of Life* crew and watch the fun.

Jin Cheng, after all, still had some fame and wasn't completely at the bottom of the barrel yet.

If she was willing to proactively join as a hanger-on, there was no reason for the crew to refuse.

However, the person-to-person phenomenon didn't end with Jin Cheng.

She was so bad!

Although she had fallen out with Tang Ren, she hadn't fallen out with Tang Ren's artists~

The friendship was still there!

"Yaoyao, I found a role that suits you very well!"

"Ah?"

"Didn't you have *Wu Xin: The Monster Killer 2* air this year? You were so handsome cross-dressing as a man in it..."

Chen Yao was praised by Jin Cheng until her head was a bit dizzy~ and then she was forcibly sold on a role called "Zhan Doudou."

This role actually wasn't anything special, and the screen time wasn't much, just cross-dressing as an emperor, which felt like it might be a bit interesting.

But after Chen Yao learned about it, she also became interested—her interest was clearly not in the role itself.

Cai Yinong:???

She looked Chen Yao up and down, making her feel a bit uncomfortable.

"Boss Cai..."

"Yaoyao, why are you suddenly interested in such a small role? Helping you contact them is definitely no problem, but..."

What Cai Yinong said was actually already very subtle.

The role wasn't important; even if Chen Yao liked this role and wanted to go have some fun, it wasn't a big problem.

But the problem was... was she going for the role?

To put it bluntly: Yao-mei, have you gone crazy? Are you still thinking about your Sister Nazha's man?!

Cai Yinong truly hadn't expected that the evil Bai Liang had done at her Tang Ren back then still hadn't dissipated.

"That, I just want to try, anyway, I happen to be free." Chen Yao said softly.

"Okay~ if you want to try, then try. I'll just remind you."

Nowadays, Cai Yinong was quite easy to talk to; no help for it, happy events make one's spirit refreshed.

Nazha was doing so well now that it was hard for her mood not to be good along with it.

This small request, fine, fine, as long as Chen Yao is happy.

However, after Cai Yinong inquired about the situation of the *Joy of Life* crew and got a partial list of actresses, she almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.

Those names, how familiar they were.

Every one of them could be linked to Bai Liang, oh right, except for Xin Zhilei and Li Xiaoran.

Checking again, whoa! This IP turned out to be a male-oriented harem novel.

What a male-oriented harem novel.

What does this little bastard Bai Liang want to do?!

Cai Yinong still understood this guy quite well, knowing that his courage had always been very large; after all, he was a player who dared not give her "face" when he first started out, simply daring to defy the heavens.

Even after becoming red, Bai Liang hadn't become cautious; instead, his courage had grown even larger.

The *Joy of Life* crew was a bit confused.

What's going on?

Just after settling things with Bai Liang's side, one after another, female artists jumped out, indicating they wanted to come to this drama to be a hanger-on... it didn't matter if there was a salary or not.

Wonderful!

If they were all those 18th-tier C-list artists, that would be one thing, but honestly, these people weren't C-listers.

Except for Meng Jie, each of them had played a female lead, and their names weren't too small; they could at least be considered third-tier or above artists.

Even Meng Jie wasn't really that obscure.

Meng Jie and Li Yitong were roles Yanzi helped get; Jin Cheng and Chen Yao joined on their own; besides them...

There were actually experts!

Bai Liang's name was too loud, plus he had always had a very generous image... to use the words of a certain big sister: there are quite a few female demons in the circle who gnaw on bones and suck marrow~

However, those holding such thoughts were clearly a step late.

The young female characters in *Joy of Life* who had a bit of screen time and would interact with the male lead Fan Xian were basically all divided up.

To a certain extent, the young ladies silently "guarded" Bai Liang, avoiding the possibility of him being approached by bad women.

"Achoo!"

Bai Liang, who was filming with the *The Wandering Earth* crew, suddenly sneezed.

He himself wasn't bothered, but the little girl Zhao Jinmai next to him was quite concerned: "Brother, did you catch a cold? I have medicine here~"

Bai Liang smiled and shook his head, "No, it must be that a beautiful girl is missing me~"

"How beautiful?" Zhao Jinmai asked curiously, while also feeling a bit unconvinced.

Little thing~

Already at the age of loving beauty?

Bai Liang just wanted to "give her a lesson," indicating that youthful invincibility was the best cosmetic, and she shouldn't be secretly applying lipstick to look mature at this age.

However, the next second, he discovered that the crew, which had been a bit noisy, suddenly became much quieter.

At the same time, the little sister Zhao Jinmai, who had been pouting unconvinced, also had her eyes widened, her mouth open in an 'O' shape.

The sound of high heels hitting the ground was crisp, and the person walking seemed to be getting faster and faster.

By the time Bai Liang wanted to turn his head, a familiar fragrance entered his nasal cavity first.

Zhao Jinmai: How can there be such a thing! She had just asked how beautiful, and immediately she killed her way in front of her to let her see?

For a young girl, this was too frustrating.

Like a novice who had just left the novice village, crashing into a 99-level big shot in full orange gear.

Unfair~ wait until she grows up to compete again!

"Where is my little crocodile?" the person who came asked with her head tilted.