Chapter 159: Who

Because San Sheng San Shi wrapped early, Bai Liang had a few days free before heading to shoot Yi Nian Ji.

So he planned to shoot a fashion magazine cover first, then contact the brand after the show finished filming.

Ordinary endorsements didn't require Bai Liang's personal presence—Sister Yanzi could handle background checks and negotiate prices.

But this endorsement was slightly more prestigious: Mercedes-Benz.

Sister Yanzi had long wanted Bai Liang to take on a car endorsement; after he blew up, the brand came knocking on their door.

Of course, Bai Liang's "Track Torpedo" nickname earned in Shanghai might've also helped.

If this deal went through, he might never have to spend his own money on cars again—the brand would foot the bill.

But that girl was a little upset.

One reason was she had to return to Shanghai first to explain face-to-face to Cai Yinong.

Cai Yinong: This is insane! Everything's turned upside down!

Originally, when that girl asked for leave, she was reluctant—but she figured since she was the top diva, indulging her a bit was better than her suddenly quitting in a fit.

But she never imagined that girl and Bai Liang together could cause this much chaos.

Getting a movie resource should've been a good thing, but this "good thing" had nothing to do with Tang Ren.

Because of that girl's "sudden inspiration," it counted as an investment! Tang Ren couldn't take a cut.

In a sense, she was acting for free.

It made Cai Yinong furious, but she had no real way to stop it.

The film industry was out of reach.

Tang Ren was just a company in the TV drama circle; no matter how famous, it was confined to TV.

Even Wu Jingniao wouldn't give her a second glance.

Otherwise, Hu Ge's movie resources wouldn't have been so scarce—he'd long wanted to break into films, but ended up achieving nothing.

This incident wouldn't make Cai Yinong retaliate against that girl—she was the top diva, after all!

Besides, Bai Liang's influence was growing; if that girl suddenly decided to quit and form a "husband-and-wife company" with Bai Liang, Cai Yinong would be powerless—she could only delay contracts.

But she also harbored reservations about Bai Liang's reputation as a "strange wizard"—though it started as a joke, the more people said it, the more it seemed he had some mystical aura.

Unless absolutely necessary, Cai Yinong didn't want to burn bridges with Bai Liang.

But some necessary warnings were still required: "Zhan Lang 2"? Fine, shoot it—but before that, she had to give that girl a lesson.

Hmm. Besides scolding, she also needed someone to teach her about precautions after arriving in Africa—like skin care.

She didn't want that girl, so fair and soft, to return as a little darkie!

Besides this matter making that girl feel down, another thing also annoyed her a bit.

Mainly that show, Yi Nian Ji.

What's so great about going on that show?

She asked Sister Yanzi why Bai Liang accepted such a show—it didn't seem to help his career at all~

Or rather, who's even on that show?

Sister Yanzi: I dare not say~

According to that girl's old personality, she'd have signed up herself to join Bai Liang and meet Mencius Yi.

Using her signature offline dominance.

But now, she no longer "took Meng Jie seriously"—this minor player wasn't worth her attention.

That girl felt she had so many strengths: beautiful, gorgeous, and stunning.

So now her main rival was only Little Hometown!

Mencius Yi gave her no pressure, but Little Hometown's Reba gave her too much.

It even gave her PTSD—by the time Wei Wei finished airing, she still hadn't checked online for updates, and she hadn't watched the drama at all, even though Bai Liang starred in it.

Plus, who knows how many times she'd secretly practiced spinning—yet after all that practice, she still felt inferior to the other.

It didn't make sense—they were both from Xinjiang; in dancing, she didn't think she was worse.

In summary: as if facing a formidable enemy, as if a bone stuck in her throat, as if thorns pricked her back—she threw every word she knew at it, regardless of appropriateness.

This rushed trip to Beijing was mainly because Jia Xing was also in Beijing.

Although Di Li Reba hadn't posted a wrap message on Weibo, what if?

Now that she knew the other was still on set, she breathed a sigh of relief—she could return home to face Cai Yinong's scolding.

After all, once Bai Liang returned to Shanghai, back to that neighborhood, it would be her territory.

She felt incredibly clever! —

The magazine shoot in Beijing was for Harper's Bazaar.

Bai Liang had heard of this magazine during his male model days, though he didn't know much about its content—only that it was pretty prestigious.

Originally, Harper's Bazaar, as a women's magazine, didn't feature male celebrities on solo covers—but once the first happened, everything else followed naturally.

That first was taken by Lu Han; as a senior, he paved the way for everyone.

Was Bai Liang's visit now an expansion and deepening?

Compared to the magazine itself, Harper's Bazaar was more famous for its annual charity gala.

It was said that people often fought over the center position for photos.

A typical scene of fame and fortune.

Oh, by the way, we must mention the so-called "Female Demon of Chinese Fashion," Su Mang.

The Harper's Bazaar Charity Gala was a genius-level marketing move, entirely conceived by this woman.

It provided many female stars with a "legitimate" stage for drama and dominance.

After she became president of the fashion group two years ago, she seemed to thrive even more in both fashion and entertainment circles, always posting selfies with top female stars.

At the same time, this person also had a whole series of bizarre moves, including online posts and offline behavior. For instance, Old Zhou had specifically briefed Bai Liang on a few things, like: how to politely decline an older woman's dinner invitation, or how to protect himself when the other party started groping around indiscriminately.

Bai Liang listened and was thoroughly amused.

"Liang-ge, don't brush it off — you used to be a model too, you know how this circle is."

"Oh, oh, I get it. I just don't really understand how print media is still surviving~"

The question suddenly rose to a higher level, and it stumped Old Zhou too.

Right though — who exactly is buying these magazines?

Supposedly the target audience is urban women, but it somehow feels off — are urban women really that flush with purchasing power?

There are so many first-tier and second-tier fashion magazines out there — how much do they spend on these every month?

"Fan circles." Sister Yanzi ended the topic, finding the two men utterly boring.

Still, keeping an eye out for fashion-circle female perverts was indeed necessary.

Just like female celebrities have to guard against wandering hands, male celebrities face the exact same situations.

!. Read

Besides, if Bai Liang ever actually picked up some luxury-brand endorsements someday, he'd inevitably have to attend events and interact with those rich older sisters.

Old Zhou: Liang-ge knows this stuff inside out!

Back in the day at the business KTV, he'd already felt that although Bai Liang wasn't as pushy as the others, he somehow had a quality that rich older women liked.

Otherwise, was he really just going to sit there wolfing down fruit platters?

Old Zhou's thinking actually clashed with Sister Yanzi's in certain respects.

He held the belief that a man's knees were worth gold — and now was the time to cash in.

Forget kneeling on both knees, at the very least one should bow like a gentleman, with a rose in hand~

Can't let the older women take advantage — true enough.

But providing emotional value to rich older sisters was also very important.

"Protecting" yourself within reasonable limits was far better than putting on some aloof, pretentious act and keeping everyone at arm's length.

The fashion circle — that's just how it rolls.

Old Zhou's experience was indeed quite substantial, and he offered a lot of useful advice and methods.

But this made Sister Yanzi start suspecting that this guy might have harassed female models in the past, which was why he knew these harassment tactics so well.

When the actual shoot finally began, Su Mang — who had originally said she'd come by the set to take a look — never showed up.

Halfway through the shoot, they heard that on her drive over, she'd accidentally been bumped up onto the curb.

But before Sister Yanzi could even breathe a sigh of relief, word came that after handling the minor situation, she'd taken a cab over.

Hiss... damn, is she that thirsty?

"Xiao Bai-ge, once the shoot's done we need to be careful, the incoming party means trouble!" Sister Yanzi whispered.

Bai Liang:???

Really? He didn't buy it~

If they really meant trouble, they definitely wouldn't be able to make it.

He just leisurely continued posing for photos. The Harper's Bazaar photographer was incredibly enthusiastic, showering him with praise — versatile aura, great physique, could pull off all kinds of styles, a born fashionista, that sort of thing.

The level of enthusiasm made even Sister Yanzi a little wary of her.

The photographer was also a young lady, probably only a few years older than Bai Liang.

She'd always thought her Xiao Bai-ge's way with women was a good thing — wherever he went, he made friends, even Zhao Liying and Yang Mi had made it into his social circle.

But looking at it now, it wasn't entirely a good thing.

The entertainment and fashion circles were full of too many female vixens!

Tap, tap.

When the sound of footsteps suddenly rang out, although Sister Yanzi had never seen Su Mang before, she somehow had an inexplicable feeling: she's here.

She turned to look, and sure enough, a bunch of Harper's Bazaar staff were already over there greeting her respectfully.

The other party wore a face full of smiles, seeming quite happy, with no trace at all of having just been bumped up onto the curb.

A minor incident, not worth mentioning.

"Wow! So this is Bai Liang? I'm your fan! So handsome!"

Bai Liang heard the voice, looked up, and saw a beaming middle-aged woman walking toward him.

He blamed Sister Yanzi and Old Zhou — those two had spent half the day hyping up warnings about female perverts, and now he couldn't help feeling a little flustered.

It really felt like he'd transmigrated into Attack on Titan.

Ahem, she's a "fashion devil," not a "fashion pervert" — reading too many weird rumors online does this to you.

But when he noticed that the other party actually had a somewhat spring-like glow on her face, he did find it strange.

It can't be real, can it?

Bai Liang never liked thinking the worst of people, but this one was, after all, a fierce character who'd dared sit on someone's lap right in front of the cameras.

He wasn't really worried about himself — mainly afraid the chandelier overhead might come crashing down.

If it hurt the flowers and plants or anything, that wouldn't be great.

Just as the two were shaking hands, a clear voice suddenly rang out not far away.

"Bai Liang?! Old classmate!"

Su Mang turned to look, her heart giving an initial jolt, and an especially brilliant smile instantly spread across her face.

Holy crap, why is the money bag here?!

Sister Yanzi and Old Zhou were equally dumbfounded — who was this? They didn't recognize her at all.

Bai Liang: Mm, an ex-girlfriend. Sister Yanzi, get ready — today we'll also casually discuss a luxury-brand endorsement.

——

My condition today is terrible, so I owe everyone an apology — there's only an eleven-thousand-character update.

(End of chapter)