Chapter 125: The Capybara Is Always at the End of the Road (Extra Chapter, Please Vote with Monthly Tickets)

The car door closed, and the sounds around them seemed to be cut off all at once.

Once she got in the car, Dilireba's smile vanished instantly. She couldn't help but tap on the window, looking back at the crew.

The assistant, who had been chattering away and laying out the upcoming schedule, suddenly found herself at a loss for words.

Her heart softened, and she made a snap "decision that betrayed her ancestors":

"Sis, Xiao Bai-ge is still watching our car. How about you two talk a bit more? Ten minutes should still be doable."

But Dilireba shook her head. "No need~ That's just being mushy."

Her mouth said one thing, but her face said quite another.

That mushy, sour little vibe was practically spilling out of her.

Some people, you just feel like you've gotten lucky the moment you run into them.

After finally waiting until the car was out of sight of the crew, Dilireba finally returned to normal a bit. She took a breath, pumped herself up with full energy: "Off to the next stop!"

On the road chasing goals and dreams, there's no room for even a moment's pause.

Even for him.

At this moment, Dilireba's Dao heart was rock-solid.

Yet a week later, still in a hurry, she finished some schedule and returned to the company Jiaxing.

But the moment she walked in, she suddenly felt a wave of dizziness.

"Sigh~ I think I'm still half asleep today, I really need to catch up on sleep!" she couldn't help but complain to her assistant.

She actually saw Bai Liang at her own company~

How could that be? Maybe she ate some Yunnan mushrooms yesterday that weren't cooked through?

But her assistant's eyes went wide, and she grabbed Dilireba's arm. "Sis, it's Xiao Bai-ge!"

"Huh?!"

Dilireba's voice jumped an octave. She looked again—at the person sitting quietly in the reception area, who else could it be but Bai Liang?

He seemed to be spacing out, chin propped on his hand, looking all obedient and serene.

For a moment, she almost couldn't hold it together. She stood rooted to the spot for several seconds before finally quickening her steps toward Bai Liang.

As she got close, she slowed down again, even tiptoeing a bit, like a little thief.

Finally, she took a deep breath and reached her small hand toward Bai Liang's ear.

Got it!

Soft earlobe, the feel was still amazing—just a little pinch and it was super stress-relieving!

"Huh?!"

The familiar touch on his ear snapped Bai Liang out of his daze in an instant.

His first reaction was to struggle, but the touch and the force made him pause.

Instead of shaking his head off, he smiled at the person who'd come over. "You've got to break this bad habit, you know. You can't greet me like this every time we meet."

"Can't I?"

The way she said it left absolutely no room for refusal?

But pinching ears every time they meet—isn't that a bit too... intimate?

Not a great look.

Yet even as Bai Liang's brain was mulling over how it didn't look great, his head didn't move an inch, still letting Dilireba satisfy her itch.

After pinching for over a minute, she finally seemed to have had her fill, and "let him go."

"How come you're here?" Dilireba asked curiously.

"Oh, I'm waiting for my manager." Bai Liang told her straight.

"Sister Yanzi? Then why would Sister Yanzi be at our company?"

"She came to take care of something~"

"Oh~ something to take care of~"

"."

Dilireba's assistant couldn't take it anymore—damn, the sour stench of love.

If you two say you're not dating, would anyone believe it? Only brain-dead couples would endlessly huddle together spouting ridiculous nonsense.

Even nonsense they could chat about with great relish, because what they enjoyed was simply the act of chatting itself.

As for what they talked about, it actually didn't matter.

Actually, as for why Bai Liang had shown up at Jiaxing, even he himself hadn't thought it through.

Earlier, Jiaxing had baited him, trying to lure him in with the male second lead role in the project "Eternal Love," attempting to sign him.

But back then, Bai Liang refused them cleanly and crisply—no back-and-forth at all.

He'd thought "Eternal Love" had nothing to do with him anymore. But then, after Sister Yanzi finished negotiations with the "Princess Agents" side and Bai Liang went to sign the contract, Jiaxing reached out again.

This time there was no preamble like "let's chat"—they directly invited Bai Liang to join the "Eternal Love" project, and even the role hadn't changed: still the male second lead.

So all that earlier baiting was purely a shot in the dark?

If he agreed, great deal, no loss; if he didn't, fine too?

If he hadn't arrived at Jiaxing and seen that most people in the company were rushing around in a frantic hurry, Bai Liang would have thought he'd stumbled into a "capybara" company.

They weren't actually calm and easygoing—they simply didn't have the time or energy to haggle with Bai Liang.

Still, joining the cast didn't actually go that smoothly.

On one hand, there was the schedule—Bai Liang had already confirmed he'd star in "Princess Agents," so the two schedules had to be staggered.

Luckily he was only the male second lead, so staggering wasn't too hard, and the two dramas weren't filming at the same time, with little overlap in shooting periods.

If arranged well, he could go straight from one crew to the other without a gap, not delaying either side.

The more difficult aspect was the salary.

Sister Yanzi naturally wanted to secure a high salary for Bai Liang—after all, it couldn't be lower than what they paid for "Chu Qiao Zhuan."

But "Three Lives Three Worlds" didn't want to pay that much; they were cutting costs.

They were under a 300-million-KPI pressure, and as one of the investors in this drama, every yuan could be saved. One advantage of the Jia Xing big gift package was that it saved money while promoting their own artist—once promoted, they could earn money from it.

Now, to quickly achieve Bai Liang and Dili Reba's second collaboration and cash in on the traffic, they'd already given up the important role of second male lead—how could they let Bai Liang make outrageous demands?

So Sister Yanzi went to war with Jia Xing's people.

They were still shouting inside the conference room.

Neither side were pushovers; Bai Liang's ears ached from listening, so he stepped aside and let these women unleash their full bargaining skills.

As long as they didn't start fighting, that was fine.

"They won't really fight, will they?" Dili Reba was fascinated by the topic and leaned forward, peering toward the conference room.

Hmm, no big commotion—probably not~

"Sister Yanzi is pretty fierce, but even if they did fight, I'm not worried—you Jia Xing guys probably can't beat me."

Bai Liang rubbed his chin, already imagining himself charging out wielding a Fangtian Huaji in a high-octane scene.

Boys just love fantasizing about this kind of nonsense.

"Boasting! We have male artists too, and some are bigger than you."

Please... collect... 6... 9... Shu...!

Dili Reba instinctively rebutted, but then suddenly recalled the muscle density she'd felt during the pool scene—hmm, maybe he wasn't boasting.

Even if Jia Xing had male artists over 1.9 meters tall, she still thought Bai Liang was stronger.

"I'm not boasting—next time I'll teach you a few moves. You probably can't beat men, but you can bully the other female artists in your company—I guarantee they'll scream."

Bai Liang spoke with scientific rigor.

The strength difference between men and women is too great to be erased by a few training moves.

But if the target is women—it's a cinch.

"Why would you hit them?" Dili Reba asked, astonished.

"I just feel you'll get bullied later—then you'll need to strike back hard."

Hearing this, Dili Reba first covered her mouth and laughed, then blurted out: "Then you protect me."

After saying it, she fell silent, realizing it was too much. She feared Bai Liang would stay silent or pretend not to hear—but she also hoped he'd pretend not to hear.

"Fine~ I can occasionally cameo as a passing Masked Rider."

The conversation ended there.

Even with Dili Reba's assistant helping cover for them, they'd talked too long.

Someone had to go remind them: "Sis, we've got things to do."

This time, as she left, Dili Reba felt little regret.

After all, she knew they'd collaborate again soon—they'd see each other before long.

Oddly enough, facing the upcoming "death schedule" where even the New Year wouldn't grant rest, she suddenly felt more resolve and strength.

You can handle it! Keep going!

A strange thought crept into her mind: even if their paths didn't align and they couldn't walk side by side, no matter which road she took, that Capybara would always be waiting for her at the end of the journey.

She wasn't a love-struck girl, so a spark of ambition rose: next time, she'd walk ahead—and wait for him!

"Goodbye~"

Though she'd left, Bai Liang still gained something.

A baseball cap.

Dili Reba had worn sporty clothes today for her shoot—an athletic jacket with a baseball cap.

During their chat, she'd taken it off, but forgot to pick it up when she left.

When Bai Liang messaged her, she replied: "It's a gift for you~"

So Bai Liang leveled up his gear again.

More than ten minutes later, Sister Yanzi still hadn't emerged from the conference room, but Bai Liang had already heard the sound of fists slamming on the table.

This "negotiation" was intense!

Indeed, an agent was vital for an artist—some harsh words simply couldn't be spoken by the artist themselves, and haggling felt undignified.

Acting was art—how could art be tainted by dirty money?

But Bai Liang grew bored waiting. He wandered around Jia Xing's company but didn't see Yang Mi, whom he'd met once before.

He was curious about the "85 Flower" group—after all, novels loved writing about them.

Each of them had rich, compelling stories; it was natural to be curious.

Unfortunately, Yang Mi was even busier than Dili Reba—it was nearly impossible to spot her at Jia Xing.

Not to mention her—Bai Liang had visited Tang Ren several times and never seen Liu Shishi or Hu Ge.

Finally, Sister Yanzi's negotiation outcome came out: roughly a mutual compromise.

Bai Liang's salary was set at four million—same as "Wei Wei," but his workload was definitely much lighter, since he wasn't the male lead.

This price was barely acceptable to Sister Yanzi; protecting Bai Liang's "value" was now her top priority.

Even if she made concessions for the role, it absolutely couldn't be a bargain-basement price.

Once a price drops, it's never easy to raise it again.

"Sister Yanzi, how would I survive without you?!"

"Oh, you're exaggerating!"

As they finished signing the contract and prepared to leave, Sister Yanzi suddenly spotted a blind spot: "Xiao Bai Ge, isn't there someone sneaking glances at you over there?"

"There is a little thief, probably out of curiosity~" Bai Liang said, unsurprised.

——

There's another chapter later, please vote with monthly tickets!

(End of chapter)