Chapter 132: The Round-Faced One's Hungry Gaze

"Have you ever won an award?"

"Huh?"

Bai Liang, sitting in a chair and munching on snacks, looked at Li Xin with some confusion.

After asking the question, Li Xin also realized she seemed to have said something stupid, and she regretfully tapped her own head with her little fist. "I forgot you've only just debuted for a year."

"Can our drama even be submitted for awards?" Bai Liang asked curiously.

"Probably not, I guess. But you'll definitely win one in the future."

"I'll take your good word for it~"

Bai Liang didn't really know much about winning awards, and wasn't very interested either.

That Zha hadn't had time to give him a course on this yet, probably because she hadn't been exposed to it herself either.

But after hearing Li Xin say this today, he felt he could mention it to Sister Yanzi later, so she'd have a new goal to strive for.

As for how to strive for it, Bai Liang had no idea — just leave it to Sister Yanzi and it'd be fine.

And right now, Li Xin was looking at Bai Liang with a gaze full of scrutiny, her expression even a little odd.

Little brother, aren't you just a bit too amazing?

After that scene was filmed, Director Wu Jingyuan's mouth was about to split from grinning. After calling cut, the way he looked at Bai Liang — anyone who didn't know would think the director of his crew had a taste for men.

Li Xin had been closest at the time, so she saw it most clearly.

How to put it — a good performance is very infectious.

Sometimes when actors film, they can make everyone on set unable to hold back tears — that's no tall tale.

Just now Li Xin had been startled by Bai Liang's gaze. Even though it wasn't directed at her, she still felt nervous and uneasy inside.

But the most amazing thing was, after cut was called, this guy immediately went back to normal.

A little pursed mouth, a smile hung on his face — so utterly harmless!

The current Bai Liang was much easier to get along with~

Oh wait, Li Xin had to correct one thing — the one closest at the time wasn't her, it was Zhao Liying.

She was probably the one who saw every change in Bai Liang's gaze, and who knew what she was thinking now.

Li Xin thought of yesterday's scene where Bai Liang had taken the initiative to find Zhao Liying to rehearse together, only for the other party to act cold, and she found it inexplicably funny.

No wonder everyone loves reading power-fantasy novels.

"I just knew that great-immortal bastard came to put pressure on me again. Damn you!"

At this moment, Lin Genxin and the others who had gone to crowd around the monitor came back, and started cursing the moment they arrived.

Lin Genxin seemed to recall the fear of being "dominated" by Bai Liang during the "War God Zhao Zilong" period.

But he couldn't figure it out, and couldn't help adding: "Last year you weren't this fierce, right?"

Bai Liang glanced at him in surprise. "I've been acting for a year now — how could there be no improvement?"

This line packed quite a punch, practically AoE-level — no one present escaped it.

Heh, a year of acting and you'd improve? Not regressing would already be impressive!

You little bastard — who are you implying?

Seeing he seemed to have stirred up "public wrath," Bai Liang quickly contributed the fruit he'd bought, hoping to let everyone cool off~

But clearly, the pressure had already been delivered.

The brothers' faces all looked a bit heavy.

Except Wang Yanlin, who said: Bro, I'm not playing some female lead's dream-boy — what does a perverted villain need to mean? Just perverted enough is fine~

He had already lain back comfortably, waiting for Bai Liang to carry him to victory.

Felt great.

"Don't stop, keep roasting — I'm actually quite enjoying listening."

Called roasting, actually flattery — Bai Liang did love hearing nice things~

But the brothers said dream on, and directly snatched away most of his fruit to vent their anger, each one hugging their script and going all-out.

That bastard Bai Liang had set the bar so high — when the time came, whoever lagged would lose face!

Not everyone left though — Miss Li Xin didn't.

A smile still on her face, sweet as sugar~ After ingratiatingly smiling at Bai Liang for a few seconds, she very enthusiastically helped peel a grape: "Carry me please~"

This word she'd just learned at yesterday's dinner table — Lin Genxin and the others used it when they arranged to play games with Bai Liang.

Under normal circumstances, Bai Liang wouldn't refuse these little requests — it's just that this Miss was a bit unreliable in how she did things.

That grape of yours — are you going to let me eat it or not?

He didn't say anything, just stared at the grape in Li Xin's hand.

Only after the other party caught on and quickly stuffed it into his mouth did he nod.

"Of course you can — we discuss together, make common progress, solidly promote the in-depth development of acting work, seize timeliness, seize results, only then can we successfully guarantee the filming goals and tasks."

Li Xin's face went blank — those words sounded awfully familiar, like she'd heard them somewhere.

Even more bewildered was Zhao Liying — our Sister Xiao Zhao had just come over and heard such a "long speech," and for a moment even forgot to say hello.

A... a system-insider actor?

"This is the aftereffect of your previous exam, right?" Li Xin caught on quickly, covering her mouth as she laughed.

Bai Liang blinked. "Don't underestimate these phrases — they come in really handy sometimes."

"When?"

"When you're brushing people off."

"That actually makes sense?!"

The young lady gave him a thumbs-up, then quickly switched it to a middle finger — at this moment, Bai Liang felt she really overlapped a bit with Li Yitong.

Oh no, it's been a while since we last met — could it be that she's missing that little kitty?

"What are you thinking about?"

"Thinking about a little stray cat~"

Bai Liang was just thinking that maybe he should start a video call and let Li Xin chat with Li Yitong for a bit — it felt like it would make for great show content.

But just then, a dry cough suddenly came from behind him. "Ahem."

He turned his head, and Sister Xiao Zhao was staring at him with a strange look in her eyes.

Li Xin sprang to her feet in an instant. "Sister Li Ying~"

"No, no, no, why are you being so polite? You startled me."

Honestly, if it were Zhao Liying back when she had just become famous, seeing the former extra-turned-female-lead of her old crew now playing supporting role to her, she probably would have been secretly thrilled.

After all, even power-fantasy novels aren't better than this.

But now, that phase has already passed.

Besides, she didn't come over to throw her weight around or act like a diva, and her target wasn't Li Xin either.

"Bai Liang, let's run through the upcoming scenes."

"Sure~" Bai Liang said very casually.

What was originally a two-person scene had now become a three-person movie. Li Xin had completely lost her earlier ease and cheerfulness; that cold, pitiful look resurfaced on her face, and even her tone of voice had become airy and light.

Though she was a bit deflated facing Zhao Liying, she did feel a bit of "head-high, chest-out" joy from Bai Liang.

Hmph! Yesterday you ignored me, today you're coming over anyway! After a brief moment of internal smugness, she was also curious to hear how these two would run their scene together.

But she kept feeling there was something odd about the way Zhao Liying looked at Bai Liang.

At this moment Bai Liang slapped his thigh. "Ah! I just remembered, in the drama I think I call you 'Little—'"

"Little what?" Li Xin couldn't control her mouth and blurted out the question on reflex.

"Little stray cat."

"Pfft!"

Alright, now there was no three-person movie anymore.

Li Xin, who had laughed out loud, made up some clumsy excuse and slipped away to avoid being "caught in the crossfire" later.

But she genuinely admired Bai Liang — bro, you really dare!

In fact, Zhao Liying also felt like laughing on reflex when she heard that, but she held it in.

At the same time she was a little curious — so the "little stray cat" mentioned earlier wasn't her?

Please... save... your... book...!

She had really thought Bai Liang was using the character's name as a hint — you little punk~

After realizing it was a misunderstanding, her gaze actually softened a bit.

"What do you think about the rebellion scene — how should we coordinate?"

"Empty talk and official platitudes are far from enough. Only by solidly pushing forward the in-depth development of acting work, grasping timeliness, grasping results, can we perfectly guarantee the filming objectives and tasks—"

"That's enough!"

Zhao Liying really couldn't hold it in anymore — she wanted both to be angry and to laugh.

You little punk, you think I didn't hear that "used to brush you off" line just now?

"Huh?" Bai Liang looked completely innocent. He was about to get to the main topic — wasn't he allowed a little wind-up?

But under the fierce gaze of Zhao Liying's little round face, he still behaved.

Alright, alright, let's properly discuss the script~

This sister isn't as fun as Li Xin — she can't take a joke.

But that little round face really did have more presence than he'd imagined.

Bai Liang's main impression of Zhao Liying still seemed stuck on her acting cute in TV dramas. But she was actually already twenty-nine years old.

A proper mature beauty.

Some unconscious little gestures — like flipping her hair — really did carry a few hints of a mature woman's charm.

Not much, after all — a little round face really does make one look younger.

Unlike Big Mi Mi, where just one glance gave off a fully-ripened impact.

The two of them really did properly run through the scene, without any more shenanigans.

But Zhao Liying's attitude toward him was clearly different from when she had first arrived yesterday.

Hmm, not as cold, but still not exactly warm.

Bai Liang vaguely sensed that she seemed to have a very strong guard up.

Not aimed at anyone in particular — she was guarded against everyone.

Hmm. Perhaps a little more guarded against Bai Liang specifically.

Zhao Liying: Can't see through this kid — gotta keep an extra eye out.

At first her cold attitude toward Bai Liang was mainly because the original choice for the second male lead, Dou Xiao, had been her recommendation.

Although there was a scheduling issue, the crew had immediately found Bai Liang to replace him — anyone would feel a bit miffed about that.

But Zhao Liying wasn't Shuazi after all — this wasn't the kind of thing that called for a meltdown.

Still, expecting her to immediately give Bai Liang a warm face after joining the crew — impossible.

This sister not going out of her way to target you, not throwing diva tantrums at you, is already plenty good.

Same old saying — an outwardly tough but inwardly hollow embroidered pillow versus a genuinely skilled tough guy simply cannot receive the same treatment afterward.

The former would want him gone immediately; the latter would be thinking about picking up where they left off next time.

That is the essential difference.

Add to that Bai Liang's recent reversal, and Zhao Liying naturally won't harbor any further thoughts or opinions about him.

She also hopes the co-star performs well, bringing positive feedback to the drama.

This casting is flawless!

Similarly, Bai Liang felt something different toward this, his first official interaction with an 85 Flower since entering the entertainment industry.

These older sisters seemed to be playing in a completely different entertainment circle from the younger girls.

He suddenly became curious—when he meets Yang Mi again in the next production, he'd like to get to know her a bit deeper.

What kind of person would that one be, whose fame and controversy run even deeper?

"Finished chatting? She still doesn't want to talk to you, huh~"

After Zhao Liying left, Li Xin emerged from some corner, his expression clearly eager for gossip.

"How do you know she doesn't want to talk to me?"

"Just a feeling—her look at you is like she's staring at a scumbag."

Bai Liang:???

Really?

Li Xin nodded seriously: Definitely!

Huh. These older sisters are that intense?!

No wait~

Bai Liang frowned at Li Xin: "Am I a scumbag?"

"I don't think so—you're actually a good guy. I'm not giving you the friend zone card; I genuinely feel this way," Li Xin continued earnestly.

"Clearly it's her problem—you're normal."

Li Xin gave a helpless little expression; since yesterday, Zhao Liying had seemed to have a lot of issues with Bai Liang.

Fine, she also thinks it's flawless!

Gossiping behind her back may not be very moral, but it's incredibly satisfying.

And in fact, Li Xin was right.

Zhao Liying indeed had no more complaints about Bai Liang; her attitude became normal again. In the drama, she smiled warmly at him—their characters had known each other since childhood, she was his little wildcat.

But off-camera, aside from discussing the script, she barely spoke to Bai Liang at all.

It was even a bit deliberate! Like she was avoiding him.

This drew mockery and schadenfreude from his good friends:

Great Immortal! You've met your match now?

Until now, all the tricks Bai Liang pulled on Tang Ren had left Wang Yanlin and the others awestruck.

What kind of mystical Immortal is this? A male fox spirit.

Almost swept everything away—so damn slick.

Now, finally, the guys can breathe easy—there's finally a woman the Great Immortal can't charm.

(End of Chapter)