Chapter 101: The Girl Got Too Close (Requesting Monthly Votes)

The launch event wasn't entirely harmonious—there were still some "sharp" questions raised on site.

But it had nothing to do with Bai Liang; right now, those book fans only recognized him, and anyone raising objections would likely get torn apart.

They were there for Dili Reba.

Something like whether a girl with such exotic features would feel out of place playing Bei Weiwei.

Dili Reba herself naturally said things like "I did my homework well" and "I prepared thoroughly."

But it probably wouldn't stop the doubts.

Fortunately, her "predecessor" was Shuangzi, who was even less suitable for the role.

Just her physique alone was enough to crush the competition.

Although Dili Reba's figure wasn't as voluptuous as Yang Mi's, and today she was dressed rather conservatively.

But when she'd applied makeup to Bai Liang earlier, the curve of her bent knees as she leaned forward had already revealed the truth.

Na Zha lost fairly~

Still, Bai Liang didn't understand what Dili Reba meant by "thank you for the recommendation."

After the launch event, although the original fans weren't necessarily fully satisfied with Dili Reba, landing a male lead so perfectly suited to the role felt like New Year's Day.

They became somewhat more tolerant of the female lead too; only a few still claimed her exotic style was inappropriate.

After all, how many casting choices are perfect? It's already far better than the neighboring movie version~

Jing Boren: I knew it.

As for the confusion over "thank you for the recommendation," Bai Liang got the answer from Sister Yanzi.

It was the gossip they hadn't finished discussing earlier.

"Huh? You told Director Lin Yufen?"

"I don't know if it helped at all—I just thought saying Na Zha's name directly might've been too awkward, so I said, 'Brother Dou Xiao Bai, you want to work with the Xin Jiang Miss,' and then Dili Reba showed up."

Sister Yanzi sounded somewhat dejected, as if she'd failed terribly by not making things happen for the two of them.

Bai Liang didn't actually believe that, "Director Lin was just teasing you—he'd probably already decided by then."

He remembered Yang Mi's appearance earlier; that top-tier actress couldn't have shown up for nothing—she might've pulled off some py deal back then.

Thinking like that, Na Zha probably never had a chance from the start.

His head was itching—he was too lazy to ponder these messy things anymore.

The launch event was over, and part of his fee had already been wired over.

A peculiar number: 2.08 million.

After paying off the remaining balance on the RV, there'd still be enough left for Sister Yanzi to run the studio.

But now Sister Yanzi wasn't too worried about money—actor fees made up only a small portion of an artist's income.

The real big money came from commercial deals.

Like endorsements.

Every top-tier idol currently in vogue had double-digit endorsements.

If each endorsement brought in a few million per year, the total added up to a truly staggering sum.

That was way faster than miserably acting for months.

But Sister Yanzi wouldn't rush to sign Bai Liang up for a pile of endorsements—she'd long realized her Brother Dou Xiao Bai cared more about acting than making money.

He didn't care much about pay or billing order.

At the launch event, the production team had specifically come over to explain that Bai Liang was the lead.

He responded with zero interest, completely indifferent to the topic.

——

After the launch event, the production team of "A Smile Is Beautiful" seemed to hit the accelerator.

As if trying to make up for all the time they'd wasted.

Start shooting immediately!

The filming location was naturally in Shanghai, mostly at Songjiang University Town.

Such a filming site naturally drew crowds of students.

But college students are always a strange group—some of course chased stars, no different from ordinary fangirls.

But a significant portion felt nothing for most celebrities; many stars had "taken hits" on campus.

Some production teams had even been reported when they came to film.

"Students who want autographs, please line up orderly—don't push, everyone will get one."

Sister Yanzi struggled to maintain order; luckily, production staff helped, or her voice would've gone hoarse.

Bai Liang's popularity on campus far exceeded expectations!

Logically, this was very abnormal—he'd only just exploded in fame; his popularity shouldn't have accumulated to this level.

Dili Reba had also had a surge of fame before, though not as extreme as Bai Liang's, yet the contrast between them now was striking.

One side was packed to bursting, the other had only two or three cats.

This made people feel odd—why such a stark contrast? After signing autographs and taking photos with her fans, Dili Reba couldn't help peeking over at Bai Liang.

The crowd hadn't thinned—it had grown even larger.

"He's so amazing! Is he really this popular?"

"Pfft~"

Mao Xiaotong beside her couldn't hold back anymore, covering her mouth as she shook with laughter.

Dili Reba really wanted to ask what she was laughing at, but they'd just met and weren't close.

Fortunately, Mao Xiaotong quickly volunteered an explanation: "I just went over to take a look—there aren't actually that many fans; most are just here for the good luck."

"Huh?"

"All those students came to get his autograph with their civil service and graduate entrance exam materials."

Hearing this, Dilireba could no longer hold back; she pressed her lips together, then, like Mao Xiaotong, covered her mouth and began sneaking laughs.

Please... collect... 6... 9... Shu... for... me...!

What a lucky mascot!

These college kids are really amusing—believe in science normally, but turn to mysticism during exams?

Actually, Mao Xiaotong wasn't entirely right; not all those seeking Bai Liang's "blessing" were civil service or graduate exam candidates.

Many older guys who played games also mingled among them, handing Bai Liang mousepads to sign.

Among college students, Bai Liang's reputation for the national civil service exam and judicial exam was by far the strongest.

Second was his identity as an esports player.

These two things were very familiar to college students.

In contrast, the roles he acted in, many of these students might not have actually watched—but they still knew who he was.

Other celebrities build personas by fabricating vague academic credentials or claiming they've read certain books; such pretense may work, but lacks real credibility.

But exam scores? They can't be faked!

Beneath Bai Liang's Weibo, a significant number of exam candidates were now shouting at him to share more exam tips.

Because his scores were genuinely extremely high—and he'd never attended any prep courses.

After all, with such massive popularity, if he'd really enrolled in any civil service or graduate exam prep class, those institutions would've jumped out to claim him immediately—what perfect publicity!

In fact, Sister Yanzi had indeed received business inquiries on this front—from major examination institutions wanting to pay Bai Liang to be their official spokesperson.

The offers kept getting higher and higher.

After learning Bai Liang had been turned into a "lucky mascot," Dilireba felt a bit sorry for him.

They weren't even fans—they probably wouldn't support his works—and it felt like a waste of effort.

But Bai Liang himself didn't seem to think so.

"Study hard, don't fail worse than an actor."

The boy who just got the autograph looked bewildered. "Huh? Are you just habitually adding pressure? Who could possibly score higher than you?"

"Hey! You're taking the civil service exam and still playing games?" Bai Liang immediately caught him red-handed.

After finally finishing signing autographs for these excited students, he could finally take a breath.

"Come over here," Mao Xiaotong called from the rest area, waving.

But when Bai Liang walked over, he sat down without hesitation beside Dilireba.

"Hey, ever since you became the male lead, you've changed your attitude, right?" Mao Xiaotong said bluntly.

Yet after she said this, Dilireba grew slightly flustered.

So Mao Xiaotong quickly added: "I was just joking with him."

Our female lead is a bit sensitive, huh~

Bai Liang sipped some water. "No, you have a boyfriend. Getting too close to you, if someone takes a photo and leaks it, it wouldn't be good."

Oh right~

Mao Xiaotong glanced around and noticed that far off, quite a few people were holding up phones and even cameras to photograph them.

In a production setting like this—not fully closed off—actors still needed to be careful about their behavior.

Especially between opposite-sex actors, the boundaries of interaction had to be well managed.

Unless you'd deliberately planned a publicity stunt, releasing ambiguous, half-true leaks wouldn't matter.

But no one had ever heard of the male lead and the second female lead staging a scandal.

"I give you a like—thoughtful of you!" Mao Xiaotong said cheerfully.

Dilireba stayed silent, her big eyes darting back and forth, as if finding his reasoning perfectly reasonable.

Yet she didn't seem to realize how close she was sitting to Bai Liang.

(End of Chapter)