Chapter 202: Teeth giving out this quickly?

"Brother Xiao Bai~ Having fun?"

"Pretty good, actually. Made money while playing around—being a celebrity really is a happy profession."

Hearing this, Sister Yanzi scratched her head; she had still wanted to ask whether this season of the show had any drama like the last one.

But hearing her own Brother Xiao Bai say it like that, it was probably quite warm and harmonious.

Of course, she would definitely still need to follow up on the post-production editing afterwards.

At least before the finished cut aired, she'd need to watch it over several times.

"So do you want to rest another couple of days? Usually people are pretty tired after coming back from a trip."

"I'm fine. I've already rested for twenty days."

Bai Liang really didn't feel any fatigue at all; during all that time filming the show, he basically hadn't had much chance to train.

That bit of energy expenditure really wasn't all that much, so right now he was still full of vim and vigor.

Sister Yanzi seemed to have known he'd say that all along, and immediately began arranging the work schedule starting from tomorrow.

The advertisements, magazine shoots and the like went without saying—the main focus was still on film and TV drama projects.

Sister Yanzi was a very reliable agent; during the time Bai Liang was "out playing," she had been in constant contact with various production companies.

No way around it—this year's Bai Liang doesn't even have a single male lead drama!

What's that called? That's called a gap period!

Apart from the Spring Festival period's "Riding the Wind and Waves," which counts as a dual male lead film, but that thing was at the beginning of the year, and its influence can't be sustained for too long.

This was actually her being overly sensitive—a male lead film with 1.7 billion at the box office brings enormous benefits to Bai Liang.

At least in the film field, it should be good for at least two years, and that's with Deng Chao still overshadowing him.

But as an agent, Sister Yanzi naturally had to consider more.

This year, including the still-airing "Eternal Love," the upcoming "Princess Agents," and "Wolf Warrior 2" releasing around August.

In all these projects, her own Brother Xiao Bai is the second male lead.

She urgently needed to help Bai Liang land a few more reliable male lead, carry-the-show projects.

Let's put it this way—if it weren't for the fact that the female lead of "The Story of Ming Lan" was Zhao Liying, Sister Yanzi would have wanted to turn down this female-driven drama.

After all, Sister Xiao Zhao is someone she has a relationship with, and it wouldn't look good for her to bring her own screenwriter onto the set to rewrite a female-driven drama into a male-driven one.

That's right, the current Bai Liang really does have the qualifications to mess around like that.

Even someone of Sister Xiao Zhao's stature could go head-to-head with him for a bit.

But the premise of that whole thing doesn't even hold up.

How could Bai Liang possibly fight Sister Xiao Zhao for screen time? The two of them get along so well.

In the end, Sister Yanzi could only give up on her rather "bold" idea and turn her sights toward the drama "Ming Dynasty."

This drama starts filming much later, and there's room to negotiate.

The production company was fairly sincere, but Sister Yanzi hadn't given her approval after getting the script.

The main reason was that after her own Brother Xiao Bai read it, he told her some of the scenes had been altered so wildly it was a bit over the top.

Probably to highlight Empress Sun Ruowei, that legendary beauty, some of the plot completely ignored history.

At the time, Bai Liang casually quipped: "This drama feels like it's going to get roasted by Ming Dynasty fans."

He actually quite liked the first half of the script, but the second half got a bit ridiculous.

Sister Yanzi seized on this point and went back and forth with the production company.

She had only one goal—to knock that damned Sun Ruowei down from her female lead position.

Anyway, it's currently a "seller's market," and there's plenty of time; Sister Yanzi wasn't in any hurry at all.

Besides that, the focus of her project search was on films—and there she was even more cautious.

A great many films came chasing after Bai Liang's so-called "guaranteed 500 million box office" reputation, and Sister Yanzi had to try to pick out the better ones from that pile of "crap."

Among them, there was actually one film project that "stood out," and they were in a great rush—rushing to start filming.

"'How I Lived a Merry-Go-Round Life'?"

Bai Liang scratched his chin; the name was actually not unfamiliar to him.

"Yep, the director is Su Lun, previously the assistant director on 'Lost in Hong Kong.' He's pretty much a newcomer in the industry, but the producer of this film is Xu Zheng."

Banking on Xu Zheng's name, Sister Yanzi said she was willing to give the new director a chance.

The plot of "How I Lived a Merry-Go-Round Life" is easy to summarize.

It tells the story of Gu Xiaojiao, a frustrated young woman from 2018, and Lu Ming, an unsuccessful young man from 1999, who due to overlapping time-spaces accidentally end up living in the same room, leading to a series of hilarious, bittersweet romantic events.

"Who's the female lead? Tong Liya?" Bai Liang asked, trying to recall.

He thought to himself, am I really going to run into a third famous beauty from Xinjiang? Though this one's already married.

"No, Director Xu Zheng contacted me personally and said the female lead is set as Jing Tian."

Sister Yanzi's tone was a bit odd—after all, the reputation of "the unmarketable Sister Tian Tian" was pretty well-known in the industry.

When she first heard that name, she had shuddered and instinctively prepared to reject the whole thing.

This sister could be called "distinguished in battle record" in the industry—right from her debut, she took the path of a worldly rich and noble flower, blinding a whole bunch of dog eyes.

Even just looking from the year Bai Liang debuted, she acted in Lao Mouzi's "The Great Wall" and the Hollywood blockbuster "Kong: Skull Island."

Last year it was "Pacific Rim: Uprising."

If it weren't for "Glory of Tang Dynasty," which had just aired recently and finally let this unmarketable Sister Tian Tian hold her head up high for once, with her reputation improving quite a bit, Sister Yanzi would have really been ready to reject this film without a second thought.

Bai Liang: Huh? Why is it Sister Tian Tian? Are my memories getting mixed up?

He couldn't quite figure it out, so he decided not to keep thinking about it.

His super-brain reminded him: No need~

Still, he figured he could give it a look; he didn't mind Jing Tian's so-called "unmarketable Sister Tian Tian" mystical nickname.

No one can play metaphysics in front of him.

He even thought it was rather interesting—really, a film destined to flop? He refused to believe it!

Oh right, this one is also a famously rich woman in the entertainment circle!

Bai Liang proposed a bold idea: "Sister Yanzi, do you think they might have come specifically for me?"

Sister Yanzi: "Huh?"

Her first reaction wasn't to think her own Brother Xiao Bai was narcissistic; instead, she felt... there was some logic to it!

Xu Zheng is from Shanghai. Although some of the regional bashing of Shanghai online is rather inappropriate, this fellow does indeed carry a few of those stereotypical traits.

For the film "How Long Will I Love U," the original choice for the male lead was Liu Haoran.

However, for various reasons, it didn't work out.

At this point Xu Zheng proposed getting the already-famous Lei Jiayin, but before sending the invitation, Bai Liang's reputation in the film circle "blew up."

What does it mean to come with a built-in 500 million yuan at the box office?!! (Leans back tactically)

Xu Zheng had his eye on him almost immediately, but... a top-tier star was too expensive! He was a bit reluctant to spend that kind of money.

Spending little to do big things is one of his guiding principles.

Moreover, if the male lead was Bai Liang, then the female lead's caliber couldn't be too shabby either, or else she wouldn't take the role either.

Under such circumstances, Xu Zheng pulled a slick move, and that's how Miss Jing Tian came into the picture.

Upon hearing that the male lead of this film was tentatively set as Bai Liang, Jing Tian—who had just left her loyal film circle to "lower herself" and go shoot TV dramas—immediately saw her chance to fight her way back.

Top-tier star, well-received acting, excellent public affinity—a whole string of positive buffs—followed by a massive tag: "Male Lead of a 1.7 Billion Yuan Box Office Film."

Is there any better "big shot" to latch onto than this?

Jing Tian immediately declared on her side: if the male lead was Bai Liang, she was willing to take a pay cut to appear in the film.

Nowadays, artists' pay and appearance fees have been skyrocketing; many artists have run off to variety shows to make easy money. At a time like this, someone who can shout "I'll take a pay cut" is truly desperate.

Having risen to today with the momentum of an entertainment circle's Ziwei Star, Jing Tian really couldn't land any better projects.

Thus, Xu Zheng essentially got a hugely famous—though slightly debuff-laden—film female lead for free, and now wanted to turn around and sweet-talk Bai Liang's side.

We've got A-list actress Miss Jing Tian as the female lead! Brother, hurry up and come~

A classic case of playing both sides.

Oh right, he also didn't want to pay full salary; he wanted to give part of the fee and convert the rest into an investment stake... this ability to snatch a white wolf with empty hands rivals Wu Jing's.

After a round of speculation, Sister Yanzi had also reached this conclusion.

Damn it, why are people in the film circle so shady?!

Xu Zheng: The inspiration came from Wu Jing.

Because that guy has a big mouth and goes around telling everyone Bai Liang is loyal and righteous and whatnot.

Immediately, someone took Bai Liang for a "sucker," thinking they could use the same method to "sweet-talk" him.

In response, Sister Yanzi, who had already been casually tipped off by Bai Liang, had just two words: "Raise the price!"

She directly quoted a top-tier external asking price—one usually used to fool outsiders; whoever believes it gets scammed.

After all, sometimes there really are people who don't know the industry and think celebrities' appearance fees really are that high.

But anyone in the industry knows the price can be negotiated to a suitable level.

It's a bit like the antique market—outsiders come in and pay tuition first. Just as Sister Yanzi went off to haggle with Xu Zheng, Bai Liang, after running two appearances, also found time to go try on makeup for the "The Story of Ming Lan" project.

It was actually a screen test of sorts. For this project, as long as his period-drama look didn't feel out of place and could pull off the effect, the contract could be signed very soon.

Sister Zhao came in person, seemingly to give Bai Liang some guidance.

"Can you handle it? For this drama, you need to play it more mature."

Although she said that, Sister Zhao clearly thought he could definitely handle it—there wasn't any worry in her eyes.

"How mature?"

"In the novel, Gu Tingye is ten years older than Minglan."

Bai Liang felt there was no problem. Sister Zhao's little round face was quite deceptive when it came to age.

Her playing someone younger comes without any sense of incongruity; likewise, if Bai Liang wanted to play it more mature, he could handle that too.

"Pretty interesting—off-screen I'm five years younger than you, but in the drama I'm ten years older. Back and forth, that's a fifteen-year gap."

!. Read

"I feel like you're secretly mocking me. I'm six years older than you, right?"

"I was born in February, so saying five years is fine—it's just narrowing the distance a bit." Bai Liang said casually.

"Smooth talker~"

Smooth-talking off-screen, but once he stepped into the role, Bai Liang immediately gave people that sense of maturity.

This made the Zheng Wuyangguang crew click their tongues in wonder—they probably hadn't expected that among today's fresh-faced idols, there really was someone with real skill.

Sister Zhao was visibly a little proud, as if to say: the person I recommended is definitely flawless!

"Hey, aren't we doing our third collaboration now?" Bai Liang asked curiously.

"You're only just noticing?"

"Three collaborations and not even a rumor—does that mean we have no CP chemistry?"

That one line nearly made Sister Zhao's CPU overheat.

Is... is that how it is?

That's not right! Clearly, in "Duckweed," the pairing of the two was quite well-received. She'd seen the comments—netizens all said there was no sense of incongruity, that they were a good match.

"The TV drama hasn't aired yet, and the film's runtime is limited, so people don't really focus on the male-female CP..."

Normally, Sister Zhao would have started scolding, but this time she actually explained.

But she quickly skipped the topic and suddenly said: "I heard you're going to work with Jing Tian on a film?"

"Huh? Who did you hear that from?"

"Don't worry about it, just hearsay. Is it true?"

"Still negotiating. I'm not sure either, you'd have to ask Sister Yanzi."

Just as they mentioned Sister Yanzi, she called. "Brother Dou Xiao Bai, you got photographed by the media at today's audition."

"Really? Shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"It's not a problem, but Director Xu Zheng is also in Yanjing. He said he wants to have a meal with you and chat in person, and Miss Jing Tian too."

Bai Liang glanced at Sister Xiao Zhao. "Then ask him if I can bring a friend?"

"Who?" Sister Yanzi asked first.

"Zhao Liying."

This way of using her full name earned an eye-roll from Sister Xiao Zhao, but since Bai Liang was on the phone, she didn't bother arguing with him.

Sister Yanzi on the other end of the line nearly laughed out loud. Bringing Zhao Liying along? For some reason it felt like giving the other person a show of force.

She quickly brought back a new reply: Sure~

"Sister, weren't you just curious? I'll take you straight to the scene, close-up melon-eating."

Sister Xiao Zhao spread her hands: "I wasn't that curious. So today you were treating me to a meal, but in the end someone else is paying, right~ Getting a meal out of you is really hard."

"I can go pay too." Bai Liang said very earnestly.

"Forget it. With that big Sister Tian Tian there, you think you can pay? Not happening."

"Is she really that loaded?" Bai Liang asked curiously.

"Anyway, that's what everyone says. Heard she's pretty decent too. Hmm?"

Sister Xiao Zhao's gaze suddenly gained a few degrees of danger, as if considering the purpose behind Bai Liang's question.

You brat, lost your edge already?

Bai Liang scratched his head: Hey, professional habit~—

Jing Tian has indeed left many legends in the entertainment circle. People have been curious about this mysterious yet endlessly resourced actress for far too long.

She can be said to be a special existence in the entertainment circle—no one can match her resource advantage. Right after debut, she could collaborate with top-tier stars.

The topics surrounding her are almost always: big background, tough backing, poor acting.

Through it all, no interesting dirt was dug up, and then they actually waited for the Ziwei Star to "descend to the mortal world."

Jing Tian actually went off to film a TV drama. The very notion sounds odd.

And it was precisely because of the TV drama that her long-standing reputation—where audiences saw her and immediately judged it as garbage—improved quite a bit.

Not long ago, she even livestreamed washing her face and removing makeup, which earned her a wave of fans.

Bai Liang saw the trending topic back then and even egged Nazha on to learn it too, but Nazha's eyes were full of Dilireba, and she didn't take it in.

Meeting this Ziwei Star among the 85 Flowers for the first time, Bai Liang only felt... she actually looks kind of cute.

Her face has no aggression to it. When her eyes go wide, she looks like a sad frog.

Quite comedic.

"Hello~ I'm Bai Liang."

"Hello." Jing Tian curiously sized up Bai Liang. She looked very quickly, then immediately pulled her gaze back.

For some reason, Bai Liang actually felt like the other party seemed a little afraid of him.

This feeling came too strangely, even somewhat baffling.

So he instinctively glanced at Sister Xiao Zhao. When she first met him, her reaction was also strange.

Of course, she definitely wasn't afraid—back then she had a grudge against Bai Liang.

Sister Xiao Zhao glared at him: What are you looking at? I'll gouge your eyeballs out.

Mm, now it's completely different from back then.

"Come, come, come, let's order first~"

After a few brief greetings, Xu Zheng enthusiastically handed the menu to Bai Liang.

His manner immediately made Bai Liang decide to hand over the title of "most comedic person at the scene" to him.

That big bald head was indeed gleaming! Combined with Xu Zheng's slightly mercenary smile, it was way too comedic.

Although he was good at ordering, Bai Liang casually passed the menu to the two ladies.

Sister Xiao Zhao didn't stand on ceremony. She came today to eat and watch the show—just eat and that's that.

Together with Jing Tian, she studied the menu of this high-end private kitchen, too lazy to even glance at Bai Liang and Xu Zheng.

After that came the usual pleasantries, mutual flattery, then gradually getting down to business.

Xu Zheng stopped pretending. At the dinner table he started chatting with Bai Liang about the film, casually bragging a few times, saying that with Bai Liang joining, this film could easily hit the billion-yuan tier.

Jing Tian beside them widened her eyes a lot: So he hasn't even joined yet?!

Of course, she actually hadn't signed a contract either. After all, with a team vetting things, she couldn't be sweet-talked into signing on the spot.

But she considered herself already part of this project, so naturally she felt a bit anxious inside.

Sister Xiao Zhao glanced at her, sensing a whiff of "foolishness."

Having come up from grassroots, she and a Ziwei Star like Jing Tian were clearly not from the same world.

But hey~ now the other party is going downhill while she keeps climbing higher. Oh hey, feels great!

While secretly delighted inside, her face naturally stayed composed, still inviting the other to order~

But how could Jing Tian still have the mind to order? She just sat there pricking up her ears, listening to the two people beside her chat.

While chatting with Xu Zheng, Bai Liang did a simple comparison between his and Wu Jing's way of "sweet-talking" people.

Mm. Xu Zheng's eloquence is better—he lays it out in neat little packages.

Wu Jing's style, on the other hand, is wilder. One line: it's all in the wine.

The methods of these two actually weren't all that different in quality, and neither could really be called a succubus.

It's just that one took the profit route, while the other took the pure emotional route.

As for the effect—on Bai Liang, it really couldn't be reflected.

Because before these two even started their "sweet-talking," he had already been ready to agree.

Anyway, the specific price would still be up to Sister Yanzi to negotiate; he generally didn't stick his hand into this sort of thing.

After that, it was purely watching the "performance."

Bai Liang was actually looking forward to it—the day some truly formidable "succubus director" would pop up and sweet-talk him properly.

At this moment, a certain director surnamed Guo suddenly received terrible news: the male lead had run off! —

Third watch, fourteen thousand, see you tomorrow, muah.

Begging for monthly tickets.

(End of chapter)