Chapter 529

Noobs always seem to possess a mysterious kind of confidence.

However, there is no need to pay attention to someone as brazen as an evil little kitten.

For a contestant like her, her main style is just all talk.

It's no different from an old guy who has had too much to drink and starts pointing out international trends.

When it comes to winning awards, those who are legitimately nominated are extremely cautious.

Facing media interviews and the like, what they always say is, "Being nominated is a victory," "This is already the greatest affirmation for me," and so on.

Some say this out of humility, while others truly have no confidence in winning.

Chen Du is clearly the latter.

The other party is currently fretting over gains and losses; to be precise, she is lacking confidence.

"Senior, am I going to hold you back?"

"Hold me back? Where did you get that idea?" Bai Liang asked, somewhat surprised.

"I see a lot of people on the internet saying so..."

"Pfft, those are just the internet trolls of the Little Yellow Duck; why look at that stuff?"

Bai Liang did know what Chen Du was talking about; there was indeed such a voice on the internet, saying that if the female lead had been played by the Little Yellow Duck, this movie would have been perfect.

Clearly, this was because the news that the Little Yellow Duck was initially set for the female lead had leaked out.

The other party didn't have the guts to target Bai Liang, but they had plenty of guts to target classmate Dudu!

However, reasonably and logically, it was actually quite normal.

The role had been snatched away right in front of them; couldn't they at least put out some press releases to complain and step on others?

Even Bai Liang felt it was within reason.

Who would have thought that Dudu, the person involved, would get herself caught up in it and actually believe the nonsense on the internet.

To be fair, even if Bai Liang had to choose again, he would definitely still be willing to act with Dudu rather than the Little Yellow Duck, who had better acting skills and more explosive power.

Acting skills are something he can carry on his own.

He couldn't just stop looking at a pretty face just to compete with someone who has better acting skills, right?

A better-looking female co-star is also an external motivation for Bai Liang to act actively and perform well.

Let's put it this way: acting with Dudu triggers at least eighty percent of his motivation.

If it were the Little Yellow Duck, he might not even have fifty percent.

The above well-reasoned analysis was Bai Liang expressing to Dudu how indispensable she was.

And believe it or not, she took it to heart.

After all, this was said by Bai Liang, and it carried a lot of weight in her heart.

Since they were chatting so happily, Bai Liang decided to strike while the iron was hot.

He glanced at Dudu's competitors for the Best Actress award this time, preparing to find some weaknesses in them to analyze, so as to boost Dudu's confidence a bit more.

And Dudu's competitors for the Hundred Flowers Best Actress award this time were Zhang Jingchu, Zhang Ziyi, Kara Wai, and Tan Zhuo.

Hmm.

Even Bai Liang couldn't help but scratch his head.

But facing Dudu's expectant gaze, he obviously couldn't say things like "Let's just wash up and go to sleep" or "We're doomed."

"Ahem, my throat is a bit dry; let me take a moment."

"Senior, drink some water!" Dudu immediately scurried to find a bottle of water for Bai Liang, looking expectant.

Bai Liang:...

Fine!

Since things had come to this, he would fire up his super brain!

"First, let's talk about Zhang Ziyi. Don't look at her fame and awards; what kind of movie did she get nominated for Best Actress this time? 'The Climbers'! If this thing lets her win Best Actress, this year's Hundred Flowers will immediately become a joke. If it really becomes a joke, whether we win an award or not isn't that important; watching fireworks is more interesting!"

Chen Du: Right!

Although Zhang Ziyi is indeed fierce, "The Climbers" was just too weak, making it the least competitive one here; she probably didn't even think about winning the award herself.

"Secondly, Senior Kara Wai; the movie she was nominated for is 'My People, My Country'. This is an anthology film, and I even took up one-seventh of it; the weight is still a bit too low. This film should be aiming for Best Picture."

Chen Du: That makes sense!

"Then there's Tan Zhuo; that movie 'Sheep Without a Shepherd' is a remake, and the perspective is also focused on the male lead..."

As Bai Liang spoke, he suddenly felt something wasn't quite right. Hmm... it seems remakes aren't really a disadvantage; the "Year of Remakes" is coming soon.

But he was just spouting nonsense; he hadn't really studied this stuff.

After all, the Hundred Flowers Awards... even Angelababy and Li Yifeng could win awards; who could say for sure with this thing?

Anyway, looking at Chen Du nodding continuously with her bright eyes, the effect of Bai Liang's analysis was already there.

It's just that it sounded quite strange to others.

Good heavens, it sounded as if Dudu was guaranteed to win Best Actress this time.

Bai Liang didn't just fool Dudu; even her team's staff were getting carried away listening to him.

Look, the stylist currently doing Dudu's hair and makeup seemed to have more drive.

It was quite a "I must do a good job on the styling, we're going to win a trophy later" look, whereas Old Zhou's expression was a bit strange as he listened.

Is Brother Liang just spouting nonsense? The more I listen, the more it sounds like it!

Old Zhou usually comes along when attending award ceremonies and other events, mainly to bring a pile of brand-name clothes for his Brother Liang to choose from.

After all, he is the company's vice president and fashion director.

Occasionally, he also helps solve the dress problems for Bai Liang's female companions, since not every girl can easily borrow high-fashion gowns.

Old Zhou helped a bit with the outfit Chen Du was wearing today.

And what made Old Zhou certain that his Brother Liang was just spouting nonsense was the "analysis" of this last competitor.

Clearly, Bai Liang had run out of things to say!

He just went ahead and spouted nonsense.

"Finally, Zhang Jingchu... I'll handle the color-changing ink, and you handle Zhang Jingchu; that's reasonable, right?"

Chen Du:???

Is that reasonable?

However, ignoring the nonsense at the end, what was said before was actually quite reasonable.

So after Chen Du felt embarrassed for a moment, she automatically filled in the blanks that her Senior was joking and teasing her.

This series of banter, combined with the reassurance and analysis, was quite useful!

The good news is that facing tonight's Hundred Flowers Award ceremony, Dudu was no longer feeling inferior.

But the bad news is that Bai Liang seemed to have reassured her a bit too much; she started to think... Damn, maybe I can win Best Actress!

I, Dudu, am going to lift the trophy today!

No one can stop me!

Bai Liang: Very good, very spirited!

"Senior, what about you?"

"Me? I'll just be whatever; you go for it!" Bai Liang waved his hand, not caring much.

"Mm-hmm!"

Carrying hope and determination, Dudu changed into today's high-fashion battle robe and set off, arm-in-arm with Bai Liang!

A long tassel dress, quite elegant.

Especially since Dudu had played a little trick, wearing a push-up bra and even adding some padding, so even her curves looked quite good.

Standing next to Bai Liang, she instantly upgraded from a girl-next-door to a refined young lady.

Her confidence boosted by another notch!

The hosts for this year's Hundred Flowers Award ceremony were Lan Yu, Lu Yu, Tong Liya, and Wang Junkai.

Among them, Bai Liang was only slightly familiar with Lan Yu, who had the least fame.

Dudu was originally a bit curious why her Senior suddenly asked someone to go back and get a fountain pen...

Bai Liang was quite honest: "That fountain pen was a gift from Lan Yu; she was also a host at the Golden Rooster Awards last time. This is me trying to find a way to pull strings."

"Then, Senior, did you succeed in pulling strings?"

"Not really~"

Although pulling strings didn't succeed, the moment the female host Lan Yu saw the fountain pen clipped to Bai Liang's pocket, the smile on her face brightened by a level.

It was almost visibly obvious that her attitude toward him was much better than the ordinary politeness she showed others; it was quite affectionate.

Chen Du: How strange, but it is indeed Senior's style.

As for the other hosts, they just exchanged simple greetings.

They really weren't that familiar.

However, Tong Liya seemed to have suddenly started developing on the hosting track since the Spring Festival Gala... it seemed a bit strange.

This is very similar to the "Big Baby" next door.

When a married female artist's career path suddenly shows a significant change, and at the same time her husband gradually disappears from her career and life, no need to doubt it—it's ninety-nine percent likely they are divorced, basically just waiting for an official announcement.

The 85-flower divorce squad seems to have started with Yang Mi, one after another.

Can only say it's worthy of Yang Mi; she's faster than everyone else at everything! From marriage to divorce, she's a step ahead!

By the time latecomers want to cash in on the "independent woman" traffic, they can basically only smell Yang Mi's exhaust.

She is almost the only one who can maintain her career peak after divorce.

However, for some reason, Bai Liang felt that he was actually quite popular with divorced older sisters.

In the hallway after entering the venue, Tong Liya stopped him for a bout of awkward small talk, and the smile on her face was no less than Lan Yu's.

Oh right, she also seems to be from an ethnic minority; according to some people on the internet, Bai Liang has a special attack in this regard!

At first, it was just random awkward chatting, but once Tong Liya found the topic of the drama "Nothing But Thirty," the conversation seemed to open up all at once.

After all, the role of Gu Jia in that drama was originally offered to her.

It was only after Tong Liya turned it down that Tong Yao took over.

And then she became popular again, and one could even say she made a desperate comeback thanks to this drama!

"What a pity; if I had taken that role, I could have collaborated with you," Tong Liya said with much emotion.

With a hit drama of that level, it's impossible not to have regrets.

But that's life~ Adults always have to be responsible for their own choices.

"Yeah, yeah~"

Bai Liang echoed while rapidly recalling... for the role he made a special appearance in, besides kissing Mao Xiaotong, did he have any scenes with Gu Jia?

Doesn't seem like it... but since the older sister said so, he couldn't really point it out.

The other party clearly had an ulterior motive.

But to be honest, Bai Liang's main collaborators for filming now are post-90s female artists, and there isn't much left for the 85-flower older sisters.

Behind them, there are post-00s little flowers waiting to be fed.

Even if there really were some roles to collaborate with the 85-flowers, Yang Mi, Zhao Liying, and Jing Tian each occupy an ecological niche, almost filling it up completely.

There's even Ni Ni waiting in the wings... it's really hard to leave any space for others.

This is the consequence of having too many older and younger sisters with whom he has good relationships.

Even though Bai Liang is still working hard to get to know some "newcomers," the difficulty for newcomers to beat the "veterans" is really quite high.

For example, Angelababy, who previously tried to get close to grasp a brand-new future, was met with rotating defense and even had Nazha attack her face-to-face, eventually having to slink away.

Of course, if one purely just wants to know him as a person without too many utilitarian goals, that's actually quite simple.

But in a place like the entertainment industry, it's hard not to have utilitarian goals.

Basically, there are only two types: "naive" young girls and "world-weary" older sisters.

Those caught in the middle are indeed a bit more awkward.

For instance, right now, when Tong Liya wanted to exchange contact information with Bai Liang, Dudu started up.

"Senior, let's go over quickly."

Little White Lotus, performing steadily!

Actually, relying on her alone wouldn't really work, because Dudu's "Death Note" didn't have information on this Tong Liya.

But Lan Yu helped out at this moment, though I don't know if it was for the emotional value of that fountain pen.

Bai Liang always felt her gaze was a bit strange, but not when looking at him; when looking at Tong Liya, her gaze was a bit odd.

As if it were an untouchable minefield.

Bai Liang:???

He just doesn't believe it~

He wants to see what exactly is going on!

But reaching into his pocket, he didn't bring his phone.

Done for!

Bai Liang, while being pulled along by Chen Du, showed a look of pain.

This expression left Dudu stunned, "Senior, do you like exotic styles that much?"

"No, I didn't bring my phone; what am I going to play with later?!" Bai Liang said helplessly.

It's one thing not to bring a phone at other times; he has plenty of better things to play with, but not having a phone at an award ceremony is just too painful!

Chen Du: Ah, this...

So it was because of the phone!

If that's the case, she can start to be happy~

Now it's her turn to comfort Bai Liang; it's okay, it's okay!

She'll be responsible for entertaining her Senior later!

Hmm... first, let's win a Best Actress award to help liven things up!

"Senior, I'll let you play with my trophy later~" Dudu thought of this and couldn't help but secretly pop some champagne halfway.

Bai Liang:???

Play with what?

Simply rebellious!

It used to be him letting the young ladies play with his trophies.

However, regarding Dudu's rebellious idea, Bai Liang continued his "encouragement-based education"; after all, you can't dampen a child's enthusiasm!

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