Chapter 22: So You Got to Eat That Soft Rice, Kid? (Begging for Monthly Tickets)

Bai Liang was quickly led to a room that looked like a lounge, where a group of young people had already gathered.

He nodded amicably and put on a smile, but his warm face was pressed against a row of cold backsides.

Most of them didn't really want to pay him any mind, each and every one so young, yet so burdened with worries.

Except for one older brother sitting by the door, who had been propping his chin in his hand, spacing out in boredom, and every now and then smacking his lips twice.

He felt more than a little resigned to the atmosphere.

In fact, Bai Liang wasn't even the first person to get the cold shoulder; when this older brother had first arrived, he'd also enthusiastically tried to say hello to everyone, and the result was that nobody wanted to pay him any mind either.

Why are all the young people these days so deep and brooding?

So when Wang Yanlin finally saw a cheerful contestant arrive, his grin stretched crooked across his face: "Hey bro, you here for the audition too~"

"Yeah, has it started?" Bai Liang didn't mind the guy's over-familiarity, and even felt that this fellow's Northeastern accent was absolutely authentic!

Great, great, great, a Northeastern buddy, wonderful!

"Dunno, I reckon it'll still be a while, seems like there's more than one drama auditioning."

More than one drama?

If it were anyone else hearing such a key piece of information, they'd probably try to fish for details or just ask outright.

But after hearing it, Bai Liang had no reaction at all—however many dramas it was, snagging a single role would do.

Still, since this older brother had shared intel with him, Bai Liang felt he shouldn't be stingy in return.

"I've got a bit of inside info on my end too!"

In a flash, most of the people in the lounge turned their gazes toward Bai Liang, each wearing a different expression.

Bai Liang himself was fine, but he startled Wang Yanlin, who lowered his voice: "Bro, bro, keep it down, they're all our competition."

"That many people competing for the same role?"

Faced with such a guileless little brother, Wang Yanlin felt a bit embarrassed to play any tricks on him, and spread his hands helplessly: "Folks like me who have a company are here to grab a role, though it's only a supporting one, but some of them are probably still in school and haven't signed with any company, so it's hard to say with them. By the way bro, have you signed with a company?"

"Nope~"

"Then you're also here eyeing the future top dog spot at Tang Ren, huh."

After all, he was on someone else's turf, so Wang Yanlin didn't dare spell things out too plainly.

Everyone knew that no matter whether Jiang Jinfu won or lost his lawsuit, in the future there were only two paths for him: parting ways or being frozen out.

The resources Tang Ren had poured in trying to launch a new top dog had gone down the drain, but at least it had given people a chance.

If the predecessor doesn't "die," where does the chance for the newcomer come from~

Although the Tang Ren brand had fallen somewhat into decline, looking out of place amid the current flood of capital and unable to keep up with the times, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse.

It was still that illustrious star-making factory, and the stable of artists it had made famous were the best examples for newcomers.

Even if you can't become the next Hu Ge, being a Jiang Jinfu would be pretty good too.

Likewise, most of those who came here with this kind of thinking and approach had done their homework.

They knew Tang Ren's company operated on a pyramid scheme format—only after the most favored ones ate their fill did those below get a turn.

So the competitive atmosphere was naturally intense, everyone looking at each other as rivals.

Wang Yanlin, by contrast, who was just here for a role, seemed very relaxed; he had an agency, and this trip was simply to find work.

Bai Liang: Northeastern bro really is enthusiastic!

They just met, and he's already spilling everything.

"Is being top dog that great?"

Hey, the way you talk!

Wang Yanlin lit up. "How could it not be? Definitely awesome as hell!"

You really know your stuff, bro! Bai Liang asked curiously: "Are you the top dog at your company?"

"Bro, if you put it that way... I can only say our company doesn't quite deserve that word yet."

"Then that's the company's problem, not yours."

"Right, right, right, absolutely right, bro!" Wang Yanlin beamed, saying the guy really knew how to talk.

"Can you two keep it down?!" A handsome guy not far off said, his face full of impatience.

He'd pricked up his ears and listened for a while, only to hear these two chatting about nothing but pointless topics, and just couldn't hold it in any longer.

Wang Yanlin frowned; he figured their voices weren't that loud, so how dare this eavesdropper be so shameless?

He was also rough on the surface but shrewd underneath; after Bai Liang blurted something about "inside info," he immediately steered the topic away.

He himself didn't need it, and he also didn't want Bai Liang to foolishly take a silent loss.

If the little brother was just shooting his mouth off, that was fine; what he feared was that he actually had some real info and carelessly blurted it out.

Just as Wang Yanlin was exchanging rather unfriendly stares with the guy, Bai Liang patted him on the shoulder, then looked at the fellow who'd told them to keep it down, and smiled at him:

"You glared at him, so you don't get to glare at me, okay?"

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

Wang Yanlin: Oh-ho, you little punk!

Thanks to Bai Liang's line, the two of them, who had been glowering at each other, at least had a way to step down.

Young people have short fuses; sometimes they really do explode at the slightest spark.

The handsome guy, who had seemed to be the one picking the fight, even apologized.

In fact, compared to Wang Yanlin, a comedic type whose looks weren't all that striking, Bai Liang, the moment he walked in, was quite the eye-catcher even without saying a single word.

Some of the more calculating contestants immediately pegged him as a major threat!

Who didn't know that Tang Ren's boss Cai Yinong was a sucker for looks.

And on top of that, this guy had even said something about "inside info"!

The previously calm lounge naturally began to seethe with undercurrents, each person guessing what inside info it was, and where Bai Liang had gotten it from.

Just then, the door to the rest room suddenly opened.

Gulinaza peeked in sneakily, and upon spotting Bai Liang not far from the door, she broke into a silly grin, a bottle of yogurt in her hand. "Hey~ Are you thirsty?"

"A little, but could you bring one more? I've got a friend here too."

Bai Liang not only accepted the yogurt Gulinaza was feeding him, but he also didn't forget Wang Yanlin, whom he'd just met, and gave a brief introduction.

Wang Yanlin:???

He looked at Bai Liang, then at Gulinaza, who had answered and turned to leave to fetch the yogurt, and an inexplicable emotion called "awe" welled up inside him.

He had actually just thought the young brother was talking nonsense?!

Not only did the guy have inside information, he had practically already infiltrated the inside!

And he was even genuinely touched inside—bro, we just met not long ago, and you still thought of him while being fed by a great beauty. This friend is worth keeping!

Wang Yanlin was already in awe, and the rest of the people in the rest room were even more utterly gobsmacked, one after another.

Looking at Bai Liang, the gazes shifted from the earlier hostility and suspicion straight to contempt, envy, jealousy, and hatred.

Such fragrant soft rice has fallen to you, kid?

Damn!

Unfair! Rematch!

Bai Liang felt the gazes around him and smiled, nodding to greet them once more.

Still polite and gentle, but somehow a bit heartbreaking.

On the spot, two bros stood up and left—gone! Not playing anymore! What the hell kind of shady deal is this!

Fortunately, most people still had some self-control—after all, they'd already come all this way.

Strangely, the previously somewhat brazenly hostile gazes gradually disappeared for the most part.

Obviously, although classmate Nazha was silly and cute, her name did carry a certain "deterrent effect."

Get to know Tang Ren's Number One Sister!

(End of this chapter)