Chapter 150: Is the Young Man's Firepower Really This Intense?

Taking leave is definitely necessary.

Yang Mi's so-called "disagreement" was just her trash-talking with Bai Liang.

After all, back when they were fighting to land Dilireba the female lead in "Weiwei," Jiaxing still spent quite a bit of effort on it.

But it wasn't as if Sister Yanzi's line on Bai Liang's behalf—"Hope it's a new Jiang Miss"—could really seal the deal.

In fact, at the time Yang Mi even pulled a classic feint: she negotiated first by offering herself as the lead.

But once she "found out" who the male lead was, she started haggling with the "Weiwei" production side.

After a round of wheeling and dealing, she finally succeeded in pushing Reba into the role.

Of course, at first the one she was even actively trying to push wasn't Reba, but other female artists in the company.

Jiaxing had already tasted the sweetness of Reba's breakout and wanted to replicate it.

Highly efficient "workhorses"—of course the more the merrier!

But the "Weiwei" side would have to be out of their minds to pick a female lead whose star power was still far below Bai Liang's—do that and the sponsors would all run for the hills, wouldn't they?

After the two sides sparred for a while, Reba finally ended up as the successful substitute.

Actually, the real publicity campaign started last year.

You may not believe it, but the official Weibo account for "Weiwei" was registered and verified even earlier than Bai Liang's own Weibo account.

It's been active and running for almost half a year now, with over a million followers, and the number is still climbing.

It's foreseeable that once the drama airs, it'll likely see another explosive surge.

The official account's first big spike in popularity came from posting behind-the-scenes interactions between the male and female leads on set.

Among them you can even find a set of photos of Dilireba pinching Bai Liang's ear.

A simple plain-colored cushion by the window, the male and female leads sitting on either side—holding flowers, lowering their heads, smiling softly, looking back, pinching ears~

Simple actions yet full of chemistry; the pure white tones seem to render innocent, simple youth even purer and warmer.

Oh right, that was staged.

After all, if it had been candid, the way Dilireba looked at Bai Liang would have been a bit less innocent, and wouldn't quite fit the pure, sweet youth theme.

This photo was rated the best by all the original-novel fans and CP fans, with everyone screaming "Mommy, I'm in love again."

Of course, in fans' eyes the real killer move is still that "loving spin" that's been widely circulated to this day.

Dilireba's inspired move perfectly demonstrated the right way to create a viral iconic photo.

No forced posing, no overthinking—when the feeling is right, everything just flows so naturally.

Under the gentle dusk, this photo is like the evening breeze on a beach at sunset; the only touch of playfulness is her spinning with arms raised at the center of the frame.

It went viral on the spot, popularity exploding.

Even now people are still discussing it; you can often see it online.

This thing might even accompany Dilireba throughout her entire career as an artist—when she's old, netizens might still be savoring it.

Just look at those Hong Kong circle beauties back in the day~

Too bad that when Bai Liang and Reba went on two variety shows, everyone wanted to see Reba do the spin live, and she happily obliged, but no matter what she just couldn't recapture that feeling.

But when in private Bai Liang asked Reba to spin for him, somehow the feeling was back.

Amazing!

They ran around to several variety shows and attended some events.

The promotional schedule squeezed out from filming time was quite packed.

Bai Liang and Reba's entourage were all exhausted to death.

Even those Jiaxing staffers who had been honed through a year-plus of frantic internal competition were visibly showing signs of fatigue.

But the two busiest ones with the heaviest workloads were still full of energy.

For Dilireba, the meaning was simply different—unlike those crazy death schedules of通告 she used to have, this time she was busy too, but there was real hope, and Bai Liang was right beside her, always in step.

They say the future is bright, but the journey is urgent.

But people walking in step can naturally travel together for a stretch—even if that time isn't long.

So she cherished this period dearly, even feeling that these busy days were too short.

As for why Bai Liang wasn't tired—he really was just pure boundless energy.

While running promotional events, he still found time to go running and work out—when this got back to the crew, Yang Mi exclaimed, "What the hell kind of ultimate workhorse is this?!"

Is the young man's firepower really this intense?

Honestly, I'm quite envious of Reba.

As for the reason—don't ask~

But the moment she thought that such an energetic workhorse couldn't be used for her own benefit, Yang Mi felt a pang of frustration~ uncomfortable everywhere.

How about... increasing the "dosage"?

But Bai Liang successively joining Han Han and Wu Jing's films made her feel that Jiaxing's resources were looking a bit shabby by comparison.

Once "Weiwei" really blows up, Bai Liang won't be lacking TV drama resources—so what does Jiaxing have left to offer?

Thinking this way, Yang Mi had completely lost the feeling she'd had when first joining the crew, that she could easily handle Bai Liang.

She didn't know if it was really because his firepower was too intense, or because some "schemer" was stirring things up behind the scenes.

After finishing the outside promotional rounds and just getting back to the crew, his butt barely warm in the seat, Bai Liang had only just climbed back into his trailer, turned on his fully-loaded computer, and was thinking about playing a couple of games, when he was told there was still an interview to do.

They chased him all the way to the crew?

Bai Liang found it strange—the interviews he should've done were pretty much all done by now.

But when he saw the reporter who'd come to interview him, he immediately realized what "using public resources for private purposes" really meant.

"I did the Sina Entertainment interview a couple days ago."

Bai Liang's fan and part-time reporter Xiao Shui grinned at him, "I was on a business trip a couple days ago~ and that previous interview was a joint CP-marketing piece with you and Dilireba together. This time I'm doing a solo interview with you—it's not about promoting the drama, it's about getting to know you as a person."

Bai Liang didn't really believe her nonsense—this little reporter wasn't as simple as she looked.

Chasing stars with public funds?

But the other person was still pretty decent, because she said she'd treat Bai Liang to hotpot.

Generally speaking, for media exclusive interviews and the like, it's the reporter who gets the red envelope stuffed with cash.

Bai Liang had seen Sister Yanzi or people from Jiaxing do this more than once, but having the wool pulled off the reporter in return was genuinely a bit of a novelty.

Just for this point alone, he definitely had to cooperate properly with her work!

"How about this—since you've already offered to treat me to a meal, I'll give you a few other artists? Help give your work some face?"

Bai Liang didn't know Xiao Shui's exact identity, only feeling that the other party was just a little reporter.

The other person also claimed to be his fan, looking all "pitiful," so he might as well throw in a buy-one-get-one-free.

Support his little fan's work, after all.

"Sure, but don't call Dilireba—have the guts to call other female artists."

Xiao Shui verbally said it was a solo interview, but how things actually went was, of course, up to her.

Because she's now the editor-in-chief!

Interview work like this would never normally fall to the editor-in-chief to handle in person—except for Bai Liang.

The reason she wouldn't let him call Dilireba was naturally because Xiao Shui had other thoughts. She wasn't a CP fan, you know~

But she'd originally assumed that when Bai Liang said "call other female artists," he was just saying it offhand.

But upon seeing Yang Mi, Xiao Shui was genuinely speechless. Bro, you're serious?

Yang Mi curiously sized up Xiao Shui, wondering which media outlet's reporter was this star-struck.

She was an old hand at the game—she knew this sort of thing inside out.

She'd thought Bai Liang invited her along to avoid suspicion~

In the industry, many artists—especially male artists—often come into contact with girls who chase stars through various means.

Including but not limited to reporters, business staff, hotel employees, brand representatives, and so on.

Some just want to meet and chat, while some are more direct and want to "borrow seed."

Some male artists sleeping with fans and picking concubines simply couldn't resist such temptations.

Thinking about it this way, Bai Liang seems pretty well-behaved~

This little reporter in front of him was actually quite pretty—being able to resist this kind of temptation, thumbs up.

Made her want to "have" him even more!

But was her Big Mi Mi really used for this kind of work? Bai Liang had put on makeup.

Why use a sledgehammer to kill a chicken!

Especially coming to eat hotpot—once the steam hits, if the makeup can't hold up and starts sliding off, it'd be a total mess!

Her beautiful eyes lifted, and she shot Bai Liang a light glare, as if to say: you little punk, just you wait~

Bai Liang ignored her, focused on studying the menu~

After picking a few things he liked, he didn't forget to ask about their tastes.

This book's latest updates are on ##!! Update!

When it comes to ordering food at meals, he's always been both skilled and serious—good food must not be wasted.

While he was studying the menu, Yang Mi and Xiao Shui started chatting casually.

Originally her attitude was still very relaxed, thinking she was just doing Bai Liang a favor.

But then

"Sister, which media outlet are you from?"

Yang Mi didn't see any media badge on her, and secretly guessed it wouldn't be some unheard-of small-time outlet, would it.

Xiao Shui smiled, showing no emotional波动 at all facing Yang Mi, this A-list actress: "I'm from Sina Entertainment, just became editor-in-chief."

Pfft!

Yang Mi nearly spat out a mouthful of water—what? Editor-in-chief? An editor-in-chief this young?

The key thing is—Sina!

The Sina that has Weibo.

This kind of "contested ground" in the entertainment circle has always been an entity that various entertainment companies need to maintain good relations with.

Sister, you don't want to see only dirt about yourself when you trend on the hot search, do you?

She suddenly recalled that the company had mentioned Sina Entertainment getting a new editor-in-chief, and she'd assumed it was some veteran media person with an especially impressive resume.

But it turned out to be a pretty young girl who didn't even look thirty?

Of course she wouldn't underestimate the other party!

If the resume might not be impressive enough, then the other party's background must be quite "impressive"!

She immediately straightened her back!

When Bai Liang finished ordering and looked back at the two of them, he found they were chatting quite happily.

As expected of Yang Mi~

There's a bit of that smooth-operator flavor—able to chat this happily with a little reporter, getting to where she is today really isn't for no reason.

"What are you chatting about? Let me in~" Bai Liang said eagerly, wanting to join in.

"I asked her to arrange an exclusive interview for me too later—I'm riding on your coattails this time." Yang Mi said with a smile.

"Riding on coattails?" Bai Liang felt that sounded odd. "Sister, you still need this? Did she fool you?"

"Not at all~ Sister Mi is really nice." Xiao Shui blinked, glancing back and forth between Yang Mi and Bai Liang a few times.

Secretly guessing—sister? Not that kind of sister, right?

However, seeing that Bai Liang hadn't deliberately avoided any impropriety and his attitude was especially natural, she dismissed that thought.

As expected of the star she likes!

The atmosphere of this meal was still quite pleasant, just nothing like a so-called exclusive interview.

But Xiaoshui still managed to dig out some recent news about Bai Liang through casual conversation.

For example, the details of how he landed leading roles in two films thanks to his racing and gun-handling skills.

Tsk tsk, truly a treasure boy—the more you dig, the more you find!

That phrase "the male lead who walked out of a book"—its gold content keeps rising!

"Little brother, I'll owe you a personal favor for this one."

On the way back to the hotel after the meal, Yang Mi suddenly said to Bai Liang.

She had assumed this was Bai Liang showing off his connections to her.

She also felt this was a rather good sign—although it seemed the other party was drifting further and further from Jiaxing, unable to come up with sufficiently matching resources and conditions.

But with her, Yang Mi herself, they were getting closer and closer!

Good little brother!

"Hmm?" Bai Liang hadn't heard Xiaoshui and Yang Mi's earlier conversation and found it a bit strange. "Having a meal with a little reporter counts as owing a favor? Does she have some kind of background at home?"

"You didn't know?" Yang Mi was genuinely surprised now, looking Bai Liang up and down, speaking with some disbelief.

"Didn't ask, but judging by appearances her family conditions should be pretty good, and my family's conditions are pretty good too~ What's so strange about that."

"How good are your family's conditions, exactly?" Yang Mi suddenly asked somewhat cautiously.

"My house got demolished for redevelopment."

Pfft!

Yang Mi still couldn't help rolling her eyes at him. "That's not the same thing at all. She's the editor-in-chief of Sina Entertainment—didn't you know that?"

"Didn't know."

"I give up on you. When you make friends, don't you even bother to find out who they are?"

Hearing this question, Bai Liang inexplicably thought of Young Master Wang's famous quote: When I make friends, I never look at whether the other person has money—after all, none of them are as rich as me.

But Bai Liang didn't quote the "famous saying." Instead, he said quite matter-of-factly: "It's not really necessary. I've never inquired into your background either, sis."

"My background—you can find out everything with a quick search online. Why would I need to inquire?" Yang Mi shook her head, laughing in exasperation at him.

But then she froze for a moment.

The seasoned veteran's mind quickly started working: when he said "background," did he mean it literally?

She looked at Bai Liang deeply, then felt as though he wasn't actually making an innuendo.

At this moment, Yang Mi finally felt that this young man seemed shrouded in a layer of fog—somewhat impossible to see through clearly.

But~ it wasn't necessary to see that clearly.

She just felt that the more she looked at this capybara, the more pleasing to the eye it became. She couldn't help thinking: if only she were five or six years younger.

So before getting out of the car, Yang Mi, this "old rogue," brazenly launched a sneak attack on Bai Liang.

She actually pinched his face!

"Feels pretty nice~ Does Reba like pinching like this too?"

"She prefers ears, actually?" Bai Liang looked up and found Yang Mi smiling like a fox.

Oh my, the 85-flowers are indeed all wicked!

However, the other party didn't seem to have any intention of continuing to pursue or dig deeper.

With a wave of her hand, Dou Xiao Nai's voice delivered today's goodnight.

(End of this chapter)