Chapter 142: This Girl's Hygiene Standards Are a Bit Lacking

The audition left behind a "legend."

Then he flashed away with a swagger.

In Huang Jingyu's words: Bai Liang is the guy who exists specifically to crank up the difficulty for his bros!

To this, Wang Yanlin expressed considerable agreement.

Though he'd gotten used to it by now, and was even starting to enjoy it~

No one wanted Bai Liang to land the audition more than he did.

Great Immortal, take your bros for one more run!

Unfortunately, after the audition it was Sister Yanzi's turn, and her conversation with the *Operation Red Sea* crew didn't go all that pleasantly.

Of course they didn't argue, and she didn't offend them either—it was just that the two sides' demands didn't line up.

Standing from Bai Liang's side of things, Sister Yanzi absolutely would not agree to let him take any role below second male lead.

The film was an ensemble piece to begin with—anything below second male lead, what's even the point of acting in it?

So the only target was the one and only male lead.

Sister Yanzi didn't even fuss much over the pay this time. For the male lead, that stuff really wasn't that important.

The crew's side found this proposal quite the headache.

At one point they even floated an idea: shove Huang Jingyu off to play third male lead.

That's right, they were serious.

Once they learned that Yang Xing and Bai Liang were on friendly terms, some things could indeed be laid out in the open.

Huang Jingyu only had one BL drama to his name, and while Bai Liang didn't look like he had any single drama poised to explode, he'd acted in far too many.

Add to that some bizarre "off-field plays," and his fame was in no way weaker than the other guy's. On the contrary, because his dramas kept airing, his buzz had never really dipped.

*Love O2O* had already begun small-scale pre-broadcast promotion, the response was quite good, and it even trended on the hot search list twice.

If this drama exploded, Bai Liang would most likely rocket straight to top-tier.

Even if it didn't explode, it'd at least be a hit show—some things aren't hard to figure out.

Wasn't there that saying?

Film actors rank above TV actors?

Mm. That thing has its era-bound limits too.

Bowing to traffic isn't exactly rare these days.

"Have me play third male lead?" Huang Jingyu scratched his head after hearing this, his expression utterly bizarre.

It was pretty damn absurd—Bai Liang really had come to crank up his difficulty!

He'd originally figured they were bros, acting together and having a good time.

And the next thing he knew, he'd been set up to "become enemies" with the guy, locked in one-on-one combat? The plot twists were coming too fast—easily enough to lead to "severing all ties."

This entertainment circle was way too damn dark! His very first read on it had been spot on.

"What do you think?" Yang Xing asked, looking like she was soliciting Huang Jingyu's opinion.

The guy wrestled with it for a moment, then ended up borrowing one of Bai Liang's catchphrases—

"Works for me~"

"Pathetic." Yang Xing laughed and cursed outright. "That guy Dou Xiao Bai only acts as male lead—he won't even look at second male lead."

"He's full of it," Huang Jingyu said, breathing a sigh of relief while also swearing it on his honor.

"Then it's just that he's doing you a favor out of friendship—which one do you want to admit to?"

Either one felt mortifying~

Bro, if you do too well, people really want to take a swing at you!

Yang Xing shook her head, squinting at him. "Bury that 'works for me' of yours in your gut forever. You're not qualified to say it. From now on, whenever something like this comes up—even if it's Bai Liang across from you—you fight for it to the end. Even if it means bloodied heads and torn faces!"

Faced with Sister Yang's sudden seriousness, Huang Jingyu opened his mouth, not quite sure what to say.

He could understand what she meant, because this was the entertainment circle—resources had to be fought for, even torn at.

Sometimes, the gain or loss of a single role could really decide an artist's development over the next several years.

He understood the logic, but he'd only been in the circle for how long? Asking him to immediately flip on his bros and stab them in the back—what kind of innate darkening saint physique is that?

But then Sister Yang tossed in another line: "Forget everything I just said, Dou Xiao Bai excepted."

Huang Jingyu:

That big gasp of a pause really had his heart lurching up and down—he'd already started running scenarios in his head.

"Why though?"

"Because he doesn't need to fight you for it, and you can't learn from him. Just obediently follow the 'rules.'"

Yang Xing recalled all of Bai Liang's various miracles and conceded that there was no arguing with it.

Honestly, even if Bai Liang signed under her, she couldn't hand him as many resources as he'd scrounged up going solo.

It was just too outrageous!

Yang Xing had genuinely suspected at one point that Bai Liang was hiding some impressive background, and she'd even made inquiries in the circle—only to find that the "Bai Liang background" everyone was passing around turned out to be her.

Damn it—if she had that kind of ability, would she have needed to run off to Xiangjiang to develop back then? She'd have turned the mainland entertainment world upside down long ago.

As for why the guy was so miraculous?

Yang Xing closed her eyes and felt like she could see Bai Liang stroll up with a grin and say: Works for me~

She shook her head helplessly, thinking that at least this time it counted as Bai Liang failing the audition.

As far as she knew, this was the first time Bai Liang had ever auditioned and not landed the role. Before today, his audition success rate had been one hundred percent.

Wrong!

Not just one hundred percent—two hundred percent.

Because he still had that magical plot where Mingming went to audition for a small role, yet somehow ended up as the lead, even the male lead.

This time it counts as breaking his "undefeated golden body."

There's no way he'd turn around and somehow pick up an even better role, right~ No, he can't!

Yang Xing didn't keep mulling over Bai Liang's affairs, because it had already exceeded what she, a veteran agent, could imagine; she couldn't see through it.

She simply set her mind on Huang Jingyu instead—using Bai Liang to push him might be a good choice.

"Keep it up~ You both entered the entertainment circle at the same time; don't get left too far behind by Dou Xiao Bai."

That kind of talk really gets under one's skin, as if grabbing him by the ear and telling him: you're not as good as Bai Liang.

How could Huang Jingyu accept that?

But his dissatisfaction didn't mean he'd put in the work on his professional skills, or think about how to play the villain.

His choice was very direct.

He directly challenged Bai Liang to a one-on-one!

The previous one doesn't count—a sneak attack doesn't count~ Rematch.

To this "death-wishing" invitation, Bai Liang gladly agreed, though he said he might bring a spectator.

"Bring a spectator? Who?"

"My scandal girlfriend, of course. We're shipping the CP."

"Damn, how are you shipping a CP again?" Huang Jingyu said, somewhat incredulous. It's only been that long, and it's already the fourth one!

"You've filmed too few dramas; it's hard for me to explain this kind of thing to you. Professionalism, you know."

The promotion for "Weiwei" had gradually begun—Xiao Nai and Bei Weiwei, time to give the audience some sweetness first.

Shipping CPs could be said to be one of the things he'd done the most since entering the entertainment circle.

For this kind of work, Bai Liang always carried it out meticulously.

Widely praised!

Online, people were already saying he had CP chemistry with anyone.

This time was no exception~

So that evening, Bai Liang really brought along a ridiculously pretty girl, and with her cheering him on, he once again rubbed Huang Jingyu into the ground good and proper.

Even Wang Yanlin, who'd been roped in to guest as referee, was baring his teeth.

Too brutal!

He hadn't known before that the Great Immortal could fight like this!

Truly·equally skilled in both literary and martial pursuits!

Although he knew the guy worked out every day, working out for muscles didn't necessarily mean he could fight, and the Huang Jingyu opposite was clearly also a muscle guy.

At first glance, his build was actually a bit burlier than Bai Liang's.

That was referring to the visual effect with clothes on—take the clothes off and it was hard to say.

Bai Liang was the textbook case of looking slim in clothes. "Go for it!"

"Ya! Careful~"

"Sister-in-law, who are you telling to be careful?" Wang Yanlin really couldn't hold back, glanced at the side of the court and asked.

Dilireba blinked her eyes. "Bai Liang, of course~"

"Does he need to be careful? He could beat that guy across from him to death!"

"I'm afraid he'll get hurt. Wait, what did you just call me?"

"Sister-in-law~ I'm three years older than the Great Immortal." Wang Yanlin said with a grin, clearly having already forgotten his "duty." Anyway, Bai Liang wouldn't really beat Huang Jingyu to death, so he simply decided to play wingman for his good brother for a while.

Sure enough, he made Reba feel embarrassed.

Head lowered, silent, neither admitting nor denying nor explaining.

This behavior was a bit "toxic girl"—practically the male equivalent of "not initiating, not refusing, not taking responsibility."

Regarding such behavior, Wang Yanlin declared he must resolutely strike it down.

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

Can't let the Great Immortal shed blood and tears. Seems like no blood was shed—sweat, then.

But his assist seemed to backfire.

He actually forced Dilireba to blurt out: "We're actually not together yet."

Ah this~ That's bad!

Wang Yanlin pretended he hadn't said anything, to avoid being pressed into the ground and pummeled by Bai Liang later.

He hurried over to resume his duties as referee.

That said, although Huang Jingyu's combat power was lacking, his willpower was quite tenacious.

The "beating" continued.

Dilireba stood on the sidelines in a daze, then suddenly let out a snort of laughter, didn't even blink, and kept cheering Bai Liang on.

Just like back when they were filming the basketball scene~

Although they'd agreed on a date, bringing her along to fight people was admittedly a bit strange.

But she didn't mind—boys being a little childish was perfectly normal.

After the fight, she had another meal with Bai Liang's friends, and was even more satisfied.

The food really suited her taste!

"How did you know I love eating those?"

On the way back to the hotel, Dilireba held an ice cream cone, eating as she curiously asked Bai Liang.

"Didn't we eat together several times at the set?" Bai Liang said casually.

Dilireba's eyes widened slightly. "You remembered all of that?"

"My memory is a bit better than average."

Not just her tastes—Bai Liang remembered the preferences of a whole group of friends. He'd told her: he was great at ordering takeout!

Ordering food was the same.

"Great memory~ Really nice!" Dilireba nodded vigorously, her toes seeming to lift slightly with each step.

"Your ice cream cone is melting."

Bai Liang noticed she'd forgotten she was still holding it and quickly reminded her.

"Ah~ Right." Dilireba quickly stuck out her tongue to lick it, but the cold was too much—she shut her eyes and dramatically shuddered, pulling her neck in.

Sometimes she was quite anime-style.

"Too cold, and I can't eat any more."

Dilireba felt annoyed—she hadn't been able to control her mouth today.

Normally, even when she craved snacks, she wouldn't eat anything too high in calories.

The foodie persona was just part of her image—who'd ever believe a real female celebrity actually ate that much?

Today was a special case.

And Bai Liang, as a "professional" fitness person, had taught her some ideas about cheat meals.

She'd forgotten the details, but the gist was: cheat and be done with it.

So after dinner, she blinked her eyes at the passing McDonald's, stayed silent, and somehow used this method to "hint" that Bai Liang should buy her an ice cream cone.

Now the guilt of having eaten too much came crashing down.

Still, when that ice cream cone was brought to her lips, Bai Liang was taken aback.

"For me to eat?"

"Mm!"

Ah, now he noticed—this Miss seemed a bit unhygienic.

This flaw had to be noted down; Bai Liang had "big data" backing him up.

An "unhygienic" Miss was more accepting in certain areas.

As for the ice cream cone?

Wasting food was a shameful act.

"Did your company teach you this trick? Is someone filming?" Bai Liang asked curiously as he ate the cone.

Honestly, the effect must be pretty good.

Sharing a bottle of water or something like spicy pepper soup with someone of the opposite sex instantly cranks up the romantic tension.

It's a fast track to shipping them as a couple.

Normally, if two people hadn't shared mouth-to-mouth contact, they wouldn't be so careless in these everyday details.

Dilireba paused. "Today, are we being filmed?"

"We're being shipped as a couple—there must be paparazzi around."

Bai Liang was also confused. "Didn't your company tell you?"

"... No."

Clearly, Dilireba's smile, which had lit up her big eyes moments before, suddenly dimmed.

"Oh, I thought you just asked me out."

As she spoke, she glanced around, as if trying to spot the hidden paparazzi.

Or perhaps the gesture was just to mask something—like her current mood.

Clearly, she'd been foolish.

Given her work intensity and Gaxing Company's nature, would they really give her a full day off?

But it didn't matter. Bai Liang thought for a moment. "After you finish this ice cream cone, our work is done. From now on, it's personal time."

"Huh?"

"Are you free? Want to go see a movie together?"

The brightness vanished moments ago returned instantly!

"Sure!"

Of course, before that, Bai Liang still had some essential tasks to complete.

For example: find the paparazzi following us!

We agreed it was personal time—no paparazzi could trail us anymore.

Otherwise, the vibe would be off.

For the "catching paparazzi" activity, Dilireba clearly became more interested—she widened her eyes and followed closely behind Bai Liang, eager to see how he'd do it.

Bai Liang: Just luck, I guess~

"Hey, buddy, shift's over."

(End of Chapter)