Chapter 189: After This Last Job, I'm Heading Back Home

After yet another award presentation plus guest performance segment ended, the host on stage also reminded everyone in real time about the voting rankings for Weibo Queen and Weibo King.

Right, tonight's biggest award, apparently to clearly distinguish it from all the other various "Best of the Year," "Male God," "Female Goddess" type titles, they just threw in some English.

The first time Bai Liang saw these two titles, he thought they were poker cards.

As for the voting results — on the Weibo Queen side, first place was of course Fan Bingbing with 14.02 million, second place was Dou Dou Xiao Zhao Sister with 13.48 million.

The Weibo King side was way more intense, first place was Bai Liang with 62.65 million, second place was Hearing Hearing Lu Han with 61.05 million.

On the surface, the first and second places on both sides seemed locked in a fierce, hard-to-call battle.

But in reality, Dou Dou Xiao Zhao Sister and Hearing Hearing Lu Han hadn't even shown up.

The winner had long been decided — Weibo wasn't going to hand out a trophy to someone who didn't show up.

Hearing Hearing Lu Han's fans really went hard on voting! Truly worthy of being today's peak top-tier idol.

Bai Liang suspected Weibo had helped rig the votes on his behalf, otherwise he couldn't possibly have beaten the other side — he hadn't even asked Sister Yanzi to mobilize a vote-pulling campaign or anything.

Before coming, he had only planned to casually pick up an award, bring it back to stick in the studio for decoration, and hadn't been eyeing this biggest prize.

Then he just watched the vote count viciously shoot upward.

Actually, Hearing Hearing Lu Han's fans were also filing complaints online, feeling that Bai Liang must have definitely rigged the votes.

Then Weibo stated they would definitely investigate thoroughly, and a few hours later, they even issued a notice saying that through technical means they had canceled some abnormal votes.

Before Hearing Hearing Lu Han's fans could even cheer, they discovered that Hearing Hearing Lu Han's side had lost about a million votes, while Bai Liang's side hadn't budged at all.

Damn it, what kind of nonsense is this!

Getting angry was pointless — after all, on Weibo's own little turf, who would think about charging at Weibo itself?

There's no such logic in this world.

Look up "privilege dog."

Fortunately, the clever fans decided to develop "new territory" elsewhere, like a short-video platform that had recently popped up called Douyin.

The fans' commotion, honestly, didn't really matter to the main stars themselves.

After Bai Liang had crossed paths with Wu Yifan those two times, other top-tier idols in the circle, if not afraid of him, would at least hold a few more measures of wariness toward him.

When there was no conflict of interest, they wouldn't really tear into each other too viciously.

At most it was just fans squabbling in small circles, and it didn't really kick up too big a storm.

At the next-door gala that Hearing Hearing Lu Han attended and Bai Liang didn't, his online vote won.

At the one next to that, the winner was Li Yifeng.

Oh right, there was also the final dance of the three little boys from TF combining forces this year.

Everyone's top-tier, why insist on squeezing together?

When the cake really isn't enough to go around, that's when the head-bashing bloodbaths start.

"My love is like the tide"

"Love like the tide pushes me toward you"

"."

After Zhang Xinzhe sang a song "Love Like the Tide," it was finally time for those two big awards to be presented.

Fan Bingbing didn't even bother pretending, having already tidied her hem, holding the edge of her skirt, fully prepared to stand up.

Bai Liang was still tumbling around in his Asura field~

Like a capybara tossed into a tumble dryer — the fur on his body was soaked, but he still maintained his unflappable composure.

After Bai Liang went to the edge of the stage to pick her up, classmate Reba clearly could no longer contain her feelings and started chatting with him in whispers every now and then.

The whole person was like blooming right there on the spot.

If not for the venue's limits, she would definitely have spun a few circles for Bai Liang right then and there.

The irrepressible delight in her tone was actually quite pleasant to hear, but to Nazha it was noise — like metal scraping against metal.

Oh right, in the middle he went up to accept a "Male God" award, and also took the chance to promote "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" with Lin and Xin, then after getting off stage he went to the restroom and hasn't come back yet.

Wonder if he'll even come back — he's learned to be smart.

Unlike the previous off-frequency chatting, Nazha and Reba had now started talking on the same frequency.

The two even started getting a bit... passive-aggressive.

Li Xin behind Bai Liang looked at him with a very sympathetic gaze, thinking: Being a fickle scumbag really does lead to no good end — might as well just go for the body, not the heart.

Let's see tonight how he handles it!

Although she knew Bai Liang was in pretty good shape, he couldn't split himself into clones — how could he possibly "comfort" everyone?

When the event ends, that's when the real "Asura field" for this guy truly becomes deadly.

To put it bluntly — whose bed is he getting into tonight?

Anyway, Li Xin had already sent over her room number, no other reason, just for the fun of it.

She felt Bai Liang wasn't going to come find her... right?

"Sister, let's add each other on WeChat~"

Li Xin, who had been slightly distracted, turned her head and saw Mencius smiling quite brightly at her, paused for a beat, "Sure, you brought your phone too?"

"I knew I wouldn't be able to go on stage to accept an award, so when walking the red carpet I specifically matched a bag, put the phone inside and brought it in."

Li Xin glanced at her own matching decorative handbag — hey, both were the kind that could only fit one phone.

Sisters, great minds think alike!

Watching Mencius happily amusing herself, Li Xin couldn't help but sigh — youth is really wonderful!

She seemed to just not have that many worries, maybe because she really didn't have too deep a story with Bai Liang? Just friends?

If that's the case, then Mencius's behavior is understandable.

At this moment, Bai Liang, whose name had just been called by the host, was finally "freed."

He rose and walked up onto the stage.

At the steps he met up with Fan Fan Bingbing. They nodded at each other in greeting, then prepared to go up and accept the award.

But then something awkward happened.

Fan Fan Bingbing naturally reached out to take Bai Liang's arm—or rather, offered an arm for her to lean on.

But by accident, she missed.

After that whole romantic sugar-sprinkling move in front of everyone, this guy Bai Liang seemed to have used up every last drop of his gentlemanly grace.

And—wouldn't you know it—that moment was caught by the on-site director, and shown to everyone on the big screen.

"Eh~"

"Eh?"

"Ah, sorry."

Fan Fan Bingbing: You little punk better actually be sorry!

She caught up to him in a few quick strides. Fan Fan Bingbing, who had originally only meant to lean on him lightly, reached out and gave him a proper, solid arm-lock.

She even said with a half-smile: "Little brother, afraid I'll leech off your buzz? Don't wanna make the hot search list with your big sis?"

"I was thinking about something else just now," Bai Liang said seriously.

"What thing?"

"What's for dinner tonight."

"Hmph~"

Honestly, at that moment Bai Liang had this strange feeling like he'd bumped into an upgraded version of Yang Mi.

Compared to Sister Mi, who had just hit the thirty-year-old mark, the woman beside him was a fully ripened big-sister type—if she were a few years older, Bai Liang could have called her "auntie."

Her style was naturally bolder and wilder.

She walked to the center of the stage practically pressed up against Bai Liang.

Full-on attitude of: today's the day this old lady doesn't let go, time to make some big news with this fresh young hunk.

Fortunately, in the end she did let him off—probably because Big Black Bull was sitting right down there.

The Weibo Night director was plenty mischievous too: after Fan Fan Bingbing pressed up against Bai Liang, he deliberately cut to a close-up of Big Black Bull.

The man rubbed his nose a little awkwardly, pretending he hadn't seen anything.

Then the camera just stayed on him. Because after Sina chairman and CEO Cao Guowei presented the award to the two of them, Fan Fan Bingbing began her acceptance speech.

The big screen on-site kept showing Big Black Bull's shot, and the livestream audience got to enjoy a back-and-forth switch between the two cameras.

Naturally, a wave of heckling rose up.

But the focus of this award was never on that "old married couple" of theirs.

After Fan Fan Bingbing finished, Bai Liang stepped forward and took the microphone.

In a flash, the camera locked on—five Misses.

Na Zha and Rebar saw it most clearly: the camera locked on them suddenly tilted up quite a bit.

Giving an overhead angle.

All so the three in the back would be in frame too.

At this moment, Li Xin was still chatting away with Mencius, while Chen Yao leaned her head in and listened quite raptly.

Suddenly being put up on the big screen startled the three of them into straightening up properly at once.

Rebar: Huh? Was so busy tidying up my little hometown girl, forgot to tidy you lot up too.

Na Zha: What are you looking at? One of the ones in the back is under my protection—come at me.

The two exchanged a brief glance, and the air between them seemed to spark with electricity.

But facing the camera, they somehow didn't let a single strange expression show on their faces.

Smiles~

The live audience had already gone wild.

Bai Liang's five CPs appeared on screen together, and another big screen even showed each of their CP photos.

The Weibo Night crew had a real "pull off this one job and head back to the hometown" kind of unhinged energy.

But the audience really loved it! Even Bai Liang, mid-speech, paused for a beat, smiled at the camera, finished the thank-yous he needed to say, then waved at the Misses.

At that moment, not a single one of them would refuse him face.

Every one of them smiled back at him.

Even Na Zha and Rebar were each thinking to themselves: Don't let the one next to me mess this up!

Fortunately, the Misses' chemistry was perfectly in sync at that moment.

This scene was directly voted by netizens as the best shot of tonight's Weibo Night.

The five Misses were poised and graceful, each beautiful in her own way, and Bai Liang on stage wasn't avoiding anything either.

Right—this is what proper drama after-sales service is supposed to look like.

No idea what other actors are even being coy about, acting like they can't even stand on the same stage.

Sugar! Sugar everywhere!

Every CP fan has something to munch on!

Of course, some fans were over there chirping: "Bai Liang, master of balance, sending sugar to five households—why not grab three more and complete the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song achievement?"

The moment those words landed, they got absolutely shredded by Rebar and Bai Liang's CP fans.

"Balance? Balance what?"

"Open your damn eyes! Did you not see him going to the steps to pick up Rebar? Anyone else get that treatment?"

!.

Six of the top ten trending topics were his—this was Bai Liang's "conquered kingdom" on tonight's Weibo Night.

After stepping down, he placed the trophy back in its spot, saying he needed to use the restroom.

Bai Liang really had to pee~

He'd never attended such a grand event and had no idea it could be this stinking and so damn long.

The girls either drank almost nothing before coming—after all, they had to show off their figures, wishing their bellies were completely empty.

Or they were experienced and had already gone to the bathroom before it even started.

Whether you needed to go or not, you had to find a way to drip a few drops.

If your skirt was too long, at least you could ask an assistant for help—but if you felt the urge mid-event, it was trouble.

The instant Bai Liang set down the trophy, Na Zha snatched it up.

Re Ba was a fraction slower. She blamed the little crocodile, convinced it was all because of that thing biting her.

"I'll hold it for him—no need to trouble you."

"Hmph~"

She didn't want to argue with her hometown buddy, but still blamed the little crocodile.

So she took the thing in hand, as if planning to take it home.

But Na Zha wasn't happy again: "If it's yours, then take it?"

Re Ba: "Yours?"

Na Zha: "It's not yours either."

Re Ba: "I'll hold it for him—no need to trouble you."

The enemy had used "Turn one's own weapon against oneself." Clearly, Na Zha didn't know the Six Meridians Sword Art nor possessed Qiao Feng's brute strength—she could only seethe in silence.

After all, she couldn't just reach out and wrestle it from Di Li Re Ba.

Wuuu~ little crocodile~

After feeling down for a moment, she couldn't help blurting out: "You're not planning to smash it after taking it home, are you? Don't be so stingy!"

"You think so poorly of people?"

Re Ba didn't say the next line, but her eyes clearly said: "Aren't you exactly that kind of person?"

All this dialogue was conducted via "encrypted communication."

Anyway, the people beside and behind them couldn't understand a word—they just felt the two were jabbering fiercely at each other.

"Thank you all for staying with us until this moment—tonight's Annual Weibo Night is about to end. Thank you for writing countless miracles with your love over the past year. The power of love is boundless; with 'love,' Weibo can unleash energy capable of changing the world!"

"Thank you all, goodnight!"

"Huh? It's over, but where's he?"

Na Zha muttered there, but Re Ba stood up and walked off.

She couldn't wait around for Bai Liang—her schedule was packed tight, every minute strictly timed.

Besides, this setting wasn't suitable for the two of them to huddle together and talk.

Though she desperately wanted to hug Big White, whisper to him in the car, and be intimate—there simply was no chance.

Gotta go.

Holding her own trophy and the little crocodile, she still made sure to give Na Zha a back view designed to make her envious.

Curvy ass—you got one? Oh right, my chest is bigger too!

"Padded! Definitely padded!"

After the banter, Na Zha felt a little lost. Her own schedule was also tight, but luckily, though she had to fly out of Yanjing overnight, she still had plenty of time.

Turning around, she was now the only one left among Bai Liang's five CPs.

With no choice, she took Bai Liang's trophy and walked out, planning to find her assistant for her phone and contact him again.

Bai Liang hadn't pulled a "urine escape" like Lin Genxin.

He'd been blocked in the restroom.

Neither Re Ba nor Na Zha noticed one thing: Meng Jie had already slipped away.

When Bai Liang set down the trophy and said he was going to the restroom, the little girl quietly followed him from another direction.

"Little Hedgehog!"

"Meng Jie, why are you here? This is the men's restroom~"

"I don't care anymore—I couldn't talk to you over there. I really have something I need to say."

The grievance she'd held back all night burst out in an instant, showing Bai Liang what true tearful acting looked like.

Though she'd smiled all evening, that didn't mean she truly didn't care.

The little pearls fell with a poignant, heart-wrenching charm.

This was Meng Jie's best performance ever—though if she tried to act it deliberately, she probably couldn't replicate this feeling.

As for what she wanted to say? The emotions words couldn't convey were all in her flinging herself into his arms, blinking her big eyes fixed on him.

Tonight, Meng Jie was determined—once again, and again, and again—to eat the grass she'd left behind. No one could stop her.

Bai Liang could only be grateful that no one had come to the restroom at this exact moment.

Except Lin Genxin.

This guy hadn't left—he'd been loitering nearby waiting for the event to end.

After chatting with an acquaintance, he suddenly really needed to pee.

Then he walked in and saw—

Shit!

With no other option, Lin Genxin stepped out to guard the door for Bai Liang, silently muttering: The Immortal owes me another meal.

Fortunately, Meng Jie wouldn't actually eat her words in the men's restroom—she could never do something that explosive.

With her face flushed and her eyes red, she told Bai Liang her hotel and room number, then scurried away in a flash.

He left the venue directly and headed back to the hotel first.

"Bro, everyone else comes to the Weibo Night Gala to grab camera time, but you come here to challenge the limits of human endurance!" Lin Genxin, who had left the restroom with Bai Liang, sighed emotionally: "But I really didn't expect your girlfriend to be this one—totally out of left field."

"Huh? No, we broke up. She's an ex-girlfriend, I guess." Bai Liang said very precisely.

He had actually asked Meng Jie about it once before, but she had simply played dead, so there wasn't much he could do.

"You're something else. I'm done with you, I've gotta go. Whatever disaster comes next, you'll have to figure out how to survive it on your own." Lin Genxin said gleefully.

Yet, what disaster could Bai Liang possibly have left?

Because of the delay caused by Meng Jie, he came out just in time for the crowd to disperse.

He glanced at where they had been sitting—the Misses had all drifted off one after another.

The last one to leave, that Zha, also turned and headed out before he could make his way over.

Bai Liang had no choice but to leave with the main group.

There were a lot of people at that moment, moving slowly. Then a body suddenly crashed into his arms, apparently shoved by someone in front.

Bai Liang looked down. "Oh, Chen Yao."

The slender Chen Yao looked up at Bai Liang, smiled at him, and said: "Long time no see~"

Bai Liang was briefly stunned: "It really has been a while. How have you been lately?"

"Pretty good, thanks to you."

Chen Yao was still the same as before—slow-spoken, her tone gentle.

The last time the two of them had met alone was almost a year ago.

It seemed like everything had changed.

At the very least, Chen Yao knew that she probably would never get another chance to co-star with Bai Liang.

Just like today—even if she could appear by his side, there were still other people between them.

Even last time at the hospital, when she had boldly reached under the blanket, it was only because of the outside influence of Jin Cheng.

Now she didn't dare anymore.

But, looking at Bai Liang's still warm and familiar smile, she felt... as if nothing had changed at all.

As they slowly walked out with the crowd, it was as if they had returned to the time when the two of them had gone on a date to stir up scandal rumors. The slender Chen Yao looped her arm through Bai Liang's solid one, feeling that familiar sense of security return.

Only, just like that "date," in the end they still waved goodbye under the streetlight.

(End of chapter)