Chapter 138: I Don't Like These Rules

Sister Yanzi has been following Bai Liang for almost a year now.

From the humblest rookie little agent at the start, sucking up to everyone she met, to now rolling up her sleeves and slamming the table trading barbs with people from big companies.

This progress, one has to say, is considerable.

Sometimes she herself thinks back and finds it unbelievable.

The her of a year ago could never have imagined that one day she would be in some Jiaxing meeting room, slamming the table and yelling, "Is your company about to go bankrupt or what!?"

Of course, haggling is just like that.

On the negotiating table, cursing and swearing, cursing someone's mother — even throwing out some dirty words is no big deal.

But once you step away from the table, everyone's a respectable person doing cultural work.

Anyway, after that passionate trash-talking session with the Jiaxing people that day, Sister Yanzi didn't forget to warmly hug and shake hands with them, expressing how pleasant the cooperation was.

By the same token, the other side felt pretty much the same~

From that point on, Sister Yanzi could be considered to have "transformed."

From a little rookie agent, gradually turning into a sharp-edged "assassin" at the negotiating table.

But even so, she still felt she couldn't quite keep up with her own Little Bai-ge's rhythm and pace.

Bai Liang: Yo~ Not bad, Yanzi, you actually took on the Jiaxing dungeon! Then next round, you face Han Han head-on and put pressure on him.

Sister Yanzi: Mm.

Of course she agreed with great bravado on the surface, but the moment she actually sat down in front of the guy, she immediately got nervous.

There's a gap in our levels here, Little Bai-ge!

Fortunately, Han Han wasn't doing much better himself.

After his one-on-one "PK" with Bai Liang, he felt kind of dazed.

This young man is completely different from how he himself was at that age — he doesn't use any intense rhetoric to make his voice heard.

He just sits there, calm and plain, and apart from being a bit absurdly funny, he somehow has this ability to cut straight to the heart.

Han Han even had a strange illusion.

Even at his most damn arrogant, he seemed to still be a level below Bai Liang.

But this guy, on the surface, doesn't seem to have anything to do with arrogance at all.

Mm. The "torpedo" thing on the track is another story.

Such a complex sense of contradiction — honestly, whether as a writer or a director — gave him a very strong interest in Bai Liang.

Good bros: The Great Immortal is at it again, casting his damn spell to "hook people."

In short, in Han Han's eyes, Bai Liang was absolutely no "ordinary person."

So much so that he subconsciously looked at Sister Yanzi in a much higher regard as well.

He figured this overly young agent must not be simple either.

Besides, this girl looked like she was a bit "not to be trifled with" — lips tightly pressed together, eyes sharp.

"Bai Liang's schedule"

"The schedule's fine, Han Dao, you're a busy man. Let's just talk about the pay and the billing order." Sister Yanzi said at a rapid pace.

She was a bit nervous inside, feeling that this process wasn't right!

How did it suddenly jump to facing the director and discussing these things?

Ah! Quick and decisive! Truly a super capable player.

But Han Han just scratched his head helplessly.

Billing order?

This thing is a bit of a hassle.

If it were the previous Peng Yuyan playing the second male lead, regardless of status or screen time, first billing Deng Chao, second billing Peng Yuyan, Zhao Liying ranked third.

That would be quite reasonable.

Because although Zhao Liying is very popular, that's in the TV drama field; in the movie circle, her competitiveness isn't that strong.

Let alone proper box-office draw — there aren't many actresses in the entire entertainment circle who are strong in this aspect, it's only relatively comparable.

In this regard, Zhao Liying is quite lacking; one could even say she hasn't really starred in any proper movies.

Her film resume is quite blank, so third billing is reasonable.

But it also depends on who you're comparing her to!

Bai Liang is even worse off than her — in TV dramas he's getting beaten down by her, and in film, Han Han suddenly realized that this unfathomable young guy damn hasn't acted in any movies at all.

Damn!

Careless!

But Sister Yanzi's stance of wanting to have a proper discussion about Bai Liang's billing order made Han Han feel... a bit of a headache.

"Han Dao, our Little Bai-ge is also about to blow up right now. He's got a big male-lead drama about to air, and he's going to be super, super popular then!"

About to blow up? What does that word mean?

Han Han's face was full of confusion.

Sister Yanzi: I'm just bullshitting randomly, don't mind it.

When she realized Han Han wasn't one of those "terrifying" directors and actually seemed pretty easy to talk to, she was about to perk right up.

Just spout a bunch of nonsense straight away — a wild punch can beat the old master.

Billing order? Sister Yanzi never intended to drag this out on that topic.

Because she knew Bai Liang didn't care, and even if they were to fight for it, it couldn't be fought for right now.

The real goal — the pay! The pay! It's still damn the pay!

Generally speaking, an actor's pay for TV dramas is much higher than for movies.

Especially when TV drama actors go on to act in films, getting their pay slashed heavily is completely normal.

The worst cases — or those with inflated traffic — might even only get one-tenth.

For example, a TV drama pays a hundred million, but a film only pays ten million.

Of course, that's just the asking price, and it's a pretty extreme example.

Usually it's not that exaggerated, but the gap really is fairly large.

Still, for most actors, the comfort zone thing — subjectively they'll never admit it, but objectively it definitely exists.

Plenty of actors who sail smoothly through TV dramas and become huge stars, the moment they act in a film, their true colors are immediately revealed.

Why do film actors rank above TV actors in the entertainment circle? The reason this鄙视链 exists is because there's a reason for it.

What Sister Yanzi needs to do is raise Bai Liang's price by every possible means, then raise it some more.

Otherwise, with his current pay of a few million per TV drama, he might not even get a million for a film.

Mm, she's trying to figure out a way to bluff Han Dao Han.

It's not entirely bluffing, though.

"Love O2O" aired before "The Mermaid" was filmed, so Sister Yanzi is essentially cashing in advance on Bai Liang's "explosion in popularity" for the second half of the year.

Nothing wrong with that!

Han Dao Han: Do I look like an idiot or a stupid donkey to you?

He really almost got bluffed by Sister Yanzi, but the young lady was still too green after all — her purpose was too obvious.

"'About to explode.' Nice-sounding phrase, but that drama hasn't even aired yet and you're already saying he'll definitely blow up. I'm not stupid." Han Dao Han said, a bit speechless.

Sister Yanzi looked up at the sky. "Han Dao, we don't have to fuss over billing position — Sister Li Ying still takes good care of our Brother Bai — but the pay thing benefits you too, you know."

"How does his high pay benefit me?" Han Dao Han asked, baffled.

Sister Yanzi let out a嘿嘿 laugh, her face looking almost a bit Han Dao Han-ish, but the words coming out of her mouth were a little wicked:

"Brother Bai still owes you money~"

Han Dao Han:??? —

Just as Sister Yanzi was playing the "shameless" card with Han Dao Han, Sister Xiao Zhao had already flashed back to her trailer.

Han Dao Han's visit to the set was pretty low-key, so he didn't cause any stir on set.

The meeting just used the lunch break — there were still scenes to shoot in the afternoon, so everyone arranged to have dinner together in the evening.

It's just that after coming back, Sister Xiao Zhao seemed a little strange.

Her little round face was pressed against the trailer table, looking like she was racking her brains and still couldn't figure it out.

"Sis, what's wrong?" her assistant asked curiously.

"Mm, so weird~ What do you think of Bai Liang as a person?" "Uh, he's alright."

"Honestly." Sister Xiao Zhao narrowed her eyes and looked at her assistant with great presence.

"Fine, fine, he's a really great guy. I've had fruit he bought a few times — he's handsome, and gentle, and funny."

"Okay, you can stop praising him now."

Sister Xiao Zhao was truly a bit dumbfounded — when did her little assistant "fall"?

Didn't notice it at all!

"Sis, you don't... no way, right?!"

Seeing her assistant covering her mouth in shock, Sister Xiao Zhao immediately realized what the little girl was thinking and quickly waved her hand. "Don't let your imagination run wild."

"A gentle younger boyfriend. Wow~"

"I told you not to let your imagination run wild. Oh right, this brat still owes me money!"

The moment that complaint slipped out, Sister Xiao Zhao regretted it, because her assistant immediately looked at her with a very strange expression.

Please... bookmark... 6... 9... book... bar...!

That gaze seemed to have the words "kept woman" written all over it.

Pfft! She's not the kind of woman who'd go after a Dou Xiao Nai — anyone who likes that flavor should go next door.

Actually, before Han Dao Han came, the other party had already asked her about Bai Liang's professional ability.

At that time Sister Xiao Zhao still had a bit of a "grudge" against Bai Liang, but she still spoke fairly of him without bias.

Very objective.

Meaning, a whole session of wild praise.

After all, she did have a small grudge against Bai Liang back then, but she had truly witnessed his acting.

At the same time, although she had no conflict with Peng Yuyan, she also knew that after all these years of acting, his Mandarin still wasn't standard.

Lines — sometimes they don't matter that much, but sometimes they really pull you out of the scene.

Even though he's the entertainment circle's "poster boy for hard work," after working so hard for so long, why has his accent never improved?

Oh right, he does seem pretty diligent about working out.

But as said before, Sister Xiao Zhao hasn't seen Peng Yuyan work out, but she does know how disciplined Bai Liang is.

Except for those few days before Li Xin wrapped her scenes.

Tsk~ That little thing can't escape her eyes! Her eyes are the ruler!

But these things actually aren't that important. What really made her feel she couldn't figure it out was the way Bai Liang "handled" Han Dao Han today, and that sudden "accident" — it truly caught her off guard.

God knows how much of a shock that line "That's his problem, he solves it" gave Sister Xiao Zhao.

She's never seen anything this absurd in the entertainment circle!

"Hey, sis, he's over there."

Hearing her assistant's movement, Sister Xiao Zhao didn't even turn her head — she really doesn't have any interest in Bai Liang in that way. She doesn't like younger guys!

Especially ones this much younger!

Is it going to rain again today? Can we still shoot the afternoon scene?

Junior assistant: No wonder you're my sister! So amazing! You only care about work and your career!

Unlike those love-struck female stars in the entertainment circle, who go crazy when they fall in love.

She thought her sister wouldn't even think of love, let alone marriage—she'd stay completely clear-headed, never letting it affect her career.

This is the real leading lady!

Inside her small, round face lies boundless energy.

The next second~

"Go get Bai Liang for me~"

"Huh? Bring him up to the RV?"

"Just leave the door open—be open and confident, no need to feel guilty."

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh~

Heavy rain poured down.

The very next second after Bai Liang stepped onto Xiao Zhao's RV.

Now they couldn't leave the door open—not without soaking the whole RV.

"What's up?" Bai Liang wasn't nervous at all, only curious as he glanced around the A-list actress's RV.

It felt like stepping into a private chamber.

Hmm. Pretty simple, nothing flashy, colored only in the most basic, elegant white.

"Don't even call her 'sister'? You were calling her so affectionately just now in Han Dao Han's presence."

Bai Liang thought for a moment, then spoke plainly: "Age-wise, I could call you that—but now we're sitting face to face, I just can't say it. Don't put me on the spot."

Hmph~ This little brat is sneakily complimenting how young she looks?

Xiao Zhao felt she'd seen right through this little scoundrel's true nature, and let out a light laugh: "We're about to film our second collaboration—getting to know each other better will help the acting."

"Aren't we already well-acquainted?" Bai Liang said, slightly surprised.

They were already at the level of borrowing money from each other—practically inseparable!

"I don't know you."

Though she didn't want to admit she couldn't really read Bai Liang, Xiao Zhao still told the truth honestly.

"You only need to understand Xu Zheng in the script."

"So confident?"

Bai Liang said nothing—his smile said it all.

Xiao Zhao: Damn, he pulled it off!

Whether from the dignity of a senior or the goodwill after growing closer, Xiao Zhao thought for several seconds, then decided to give Bai Liang a warning.

"Han Dao Han is self-taught—he's very different from many other famous directors in the entertainment circle. Don't ever use that tone of voice again—it'll get you into trouble."

"Trouble? Then how should I speak?" Bai Liang wasn't rebellious—he listened attentively.

Xiao Zhao: So well-behaved!

Round-face mini-lesson begins!

"In this entertainment circle, class distinctions are sometimes... very clear. You should show more respect—at least make others feel you respect them."

"Just flatter them, make them feel good~"

"Pretty much. Saying a few kind words, smiling and flattering won't cost you anything. Being too independent isn't always a good thing."

"I'm actually fine—I treat everyone equally, and I'm always polite and courteous."

"Exactly!" Xiao Zhao's assistant couldn't help but chime in, vouching for him!

Good job! The fruit wasn't eaten in vain~

But Xiao Zhao shot her a sharp look, then turned back to Bai Liang: "You can't treat everyone equally! Do you understand hierarchy?"

Bai Liang understood—but a strange smile curled at his lips.

Not obvious disdain, not mockery or anger.

Rather—it seemed... interesting?

Like watching cats and dogs fight~

This made Xiao Zhao unconsciously pause, sensing something was off.

But he quickly regained composure—his demeanor remained gentle, yet he shook his head without hesitation: "I don't like this set of rules. Forget it."

"It exists whether you like it or not! Be careful—you'll suffer big losses later!" Xiao Zhao insisted she wasn't exaggerating—it was hard-won experience.

Existence implies reason.

To survive in this circle, sometimes you must follow its logic.

If you insist on showing off your individuality, you'll only learn pain when you smash your head against the wall.

Bai Liang: Mm, you're right—but I wonder just how hard this wall really is~

Looking at his expression, Xiao Zhao thought he'd actually listened—yeah, probably—he looked so serious.

So she smiled too, extending her small hand: "Wishing us a smooth second collaboration, high ratings, and box office success!"

Bai Liang gently clasped her fingertips and grinned: "Sister, please take me under your wing."

Hearing him say "sister" felt so good!

Zhao Liying smiled brightly at Bai Liang for the first time—genuinely.

(End of chapter)