Chapter 111: Male Models Dream of the Entertainment Circle

"It's fine."

"Really fine? You look pale."

"I really am fine!"

If it's fine, then it's fine—why shout like that~

Bai Liang wore an expression of utter innocence, staring at the suddenly agitated Dili Reba, unsure what he had done wrong.

But he was good at thinking, and naturally recalled the pool incident, so he glanced at his left index and middle fingers.

Hmm. It probably wouldn't be that bad—he respected girls too much to actually do something like that in the pool.

And if it really were that outrageous, wouldn't she have slapped him right away!

But to Dili Reba's eyes, his gesture carried a completely different meaning.

The motion of rubbing his fingers together resembled pinching and rubbing her ear.

Come to think of it, it was truly strange—she had never realized her ears were so sensitive before.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, until anger gave her boldness.

"We're here~"

The car pulled back to the hotel, and Bai Liang shot forward like a student sprinting to the cafeteria the moment the bell rang.

Dili Reba's "sinful hand" hadn't even touched his ear when he'd already dashed off.

Her hand still hung suspended in midair.

"Reba, we're here. Go back and rest well. Don't catch a chill."

"Ah, okay~"

She awkwardly pulled her hand back—one moment of boldness had cost her a lifetime of shyness.

She didn't know if anyone else on the car had seen it. Either way, she felt both embarrassed and furious.

Dazed, she returned to her room and placed the swimsuit she'd worn on the bathroom sink.

Since she'd worn it directly against her skin, she naturally wouldn't return it to the production crew.

She kept her arms crossed for nearly a minute, then finally couldn't resist picking it up and sniffing it. Naturally, there was no smell.

She muttered under her breath: Could it be an illusion?

At that moment, her company called. Dili Reba hurriedly answered.

Minutes later, her expression was strange—hard to tell if she was happy or sad—but her features twisted vividly, even more innocent than Bai Liang had been in the car.

Inquiring about whether Bai Liang had plans to sign with a company clearly fell outside her duties as an artist.

In the past, she would've started humming.

But this time—she'd hum too.

Hum in a different way.

"Hey? Did you hear a strange sound?"

Bai Liang turned to Sister Yanzi in the hallway, asking with suspicion.

"It sounds like… someone's singing mountain songs?" Sister Yanzi replied uncertainly.

"It's definitely a mountain song—sounds like 'Old Driver, Take Me Along.'"

"Boss Bai, you really don't need to sing it out loud."

Sister Yanzi was barely holding it together—she felt the guy singing mountain songs somewhere in his room was just as odd as their boss standing right here.

"You've got to broaden your aesthetic," Bai Liang said seriously. "Mountain songs are interesting, especially Yunnan mountain songs."

"Huh? You've studied them too?"

"They're fascinating—'Two Wives, One Husband,' 'Pinch Her Thigh,' 'Sixty-Year-Old Woman Marries a Handsome Guy.'"

Just as Bai Liang and Sister Yanzi were enthusiastically explaining how fun Yunnan mountain songs were, the door ahead opened.

Dili Reba stepped out, holding a bag, seemingly also going out.

And from her lips still hummed the familiar melody from before.

"Small world—you're going out too?"

"I'm taking my clothes to dry," Dili Reba said, instinctively hiding the bag with the swimsuit behind her back, forcing a smile.

"Alright, bye~"

Bai Liang gave a simple farewell—he'd rushed out of the car earlier because he needed to get to the airport.

His leave started tomorrow, but he had to fly there tonight.

Dili Reba watched helplessly as Bai Liang passed by, her lips moving as if to say something, but nothing came out.

After his figure vanished around the corner, she instinctively wanted to slap herself.

Then, suddenly, Bai Liang poked his head back around the corner, "Want me to bring you some snacks?"

"Ah? Yes!"

"Alright~"

Bai Liang gave an OK sign and finally left for real. Sister Yanzi was astonished: "I always thought Dili Reba was that cold, gorgeous type of girl."

"Is she cold?"

"I haven't interacted with her much. I haven't been on set constantly lately, but she doesn't talk much—mostly just smiles at the crew."

Sister Yanzi shook her head. "The one singing mountain songs in her room just now was her, right? Her voice was pretty loud~"

"Everyone has hobbies," Bai Liang said fairly. "And she's not that cold."

Sister Yanzi rolled her eyes. "Of course she's not cold toward you, Boss Bai~"

You two kissed on your first meeting—how could she be cold?

Yet she still pretended to be unfamiliar on set, and actually pulled off that act—Sister Yanzi was genuinely impressed.

Because of this, Sister Yanzi rarely came to the production's hotel at night to see Bai Liang.

She mainly worried that after knocking, there might be more than one person inside.

This beautiful misunderstanding will likely continue until the day it becomes true.

Please... collect... 6... 9... Book...!

On the way to the airport, the car stopped halfway, and someone got in.

It was the person Sister Yanzi had recently wanted to hire into the company.

The person had already been interviewed, and Sister Yanzi thought he seemed quite reliable.

But since the studio was just starting out, she felt she absolutely had to let Bai Liang meet him in person.

The moment they met, Bai Liang nearly laughed out loud, "Old Zhou?"

"Hey~ Brother Liang, it's me."

"You know each other?" Sister Yanzi said, incredulous.

Old Zhou smiled but didn't answer that, instead turning to look at Bai Liang.

Hmm, a real slick one~

"Before I acted, I was a male model. Not just me—I know him; Huang Jingyu knows him too. He used to be their modeling agent! No wonder you said he had fashion resources and knew the Shanghai business scene well."

"What a coincidence~" Sister Yanzi sighed.

Seeing Bai Liang had no qualms about talking about his past as a male model, Old Zhou seemed to relax, a smile spreading across his face: "It's not coincidence—I came here specifically for Brother Liang. Our studio is called Bai Liang Studio; how could I not know who you are?"

"Aren't you still working as a modeling agent?"

"It's really hard these days. After you and Huang Jingyu became famous, everyone under me couldn't hold back anymore."

Old Zhou's tone carried a hint of resentment—this really did have to do with Bai Liang and Huang Jingyu.

The male models' thinking wasn't strange: we're all male models; why can't we become famous too?

Suddenly, Old Zhou's "resources" scattered like monkeys fleeing a fallen tree—the higher-quality the model, the cleaner their departure.

He himself was straightforward: if things were getting too hard, then just quit!

The male models longed for the entertainment circle, wanting to become the next Bai Liang or Huang Jingyu; Old Zhou was more direct: I'm just going straight to join them.

He still had some confidence, partly because he wasn't boasting.

After years in this industry, he truly had fashion connections—various fashion magazines had some ties with him, and he even had acquaintances among luxury goods brands.

Of course, his level wasn't very high.

In business matters, he was even more familiar—he was the man who had taken Bai Liang and others to commercial KTVs for events.

At this, Sister Yanzi's eyes widened!

"Don't you dare mess around! If you set up some weird party for Brother Dou Xiao Bai, I'll kill you!"

Little Tiger was showing her claws.

Sister Yanzi had, after all, gone through fire and sword with Bai Liang; one of her greatest strengths was that she dared to bare her teeth at anyone.

Old Zhou was genuinely intimidated and replied earnestly: "I'm not a pimp. Those kinds of commercial KTV gigs are extremely rare, and I never made models sleep with rich women—you can ask Brother Liang, he knows."

"Huh? I don't know anything~" Bai Liang said, innocent and bewildered.

"Come on, that time at Sister Yang's party—you showed off so many fruit platters, and they didn't say a thing, just joined in the fun."

"Sister Yang?"

Sister Yanzi suddenly understood something—she felt she'd just heard a huge scoop.

So this was how Bai Liang and Huang Jingyu met Sister Yang~

The moment she heard Old Zhou say Bai Liang "showed off fruit platters," she believed him completely.

This was definitely something her own Brother Dou Xiao Bai would do.

Strolling through a KTV packed with male models, casually showing off fruit platters? That style—perfectly him.

"Brother Dou Xiao Bai, should we hire him?" Sister Yanzi wasn't sure herself and asked Bai Liang.

"You decide. I trust your judgment."

Sister Yanzi: I don't trust myself at all!

"Just this once—next time I'll decide myself, please~"

Bai Liang thought for a moment: "Hey, Old Zhou, do you have a driver's license?"

"Of course I do—I even have a B1 license. When I first started, I drove the minibus myself, taking models to gigs."

"Welcome to the studio!"

(End of Chapter)