Chapter 225: Dote on Him, Love Him, Give Him Her Very Life

"Sis? Where did you go?"

When Yang Mi's assistant called for the car but found that her own boss had vanished, she was more than a little panicked.

It had been less than a minute front to back—how could she have suddenly disappeared?

Looking left and right, unable to find her, she hurriedly sent a message to ask.

Fortunately, Yang Mi hadn't gone out of contact. In fact, so as not to worry her assistant, she even called over: "I've got something going on here. You head back and rest early."

"Sis, but how did you just vanish like that?"

"I went back to the premiere venue. Someone will give me a ride back later." Yang Mi said in a calm tone.

Naturally, she wouldn't let her assistant pick up on anything off.

And the assistant didn't think too much about it either. Since Sister Mi had spoken, she'd just clock out.

After seeing her assistant drive off, Yang Mi looked at Bai Liang beside her and said in a strange tone: "Aren't you supposed to be rushing to the airport?"

"Yeah, but I just changed my flight, so I've still got some time." Bai Liang wasn't lying—he definitely couldn't stay in Yanjing tonight.

It's just that before leaving, he'd noticed a slight something off about Yang Mi's expression.

Knowing her personality, it definitely couldn't be because he hadn't performed well in the film, falling short of the other actors.

So—

A capybara doesn't initiate, doesn't refuse, but is very responsible.

And Yang Mi at this moment was smiling sweetly, not much different from when they'd first met. Tilting her head, she asked: "Then how much time do you have?"

"Mm? A little over an hour, I guess. I can keep Sister Mi company for a chat."

"You keep hinting at my age. If I keep chatting with you any longer, I'm really going to grow wrinkles."

Bai Liang was about to speak up and say that wasn't what he meant, but he didn't get the chance.

Yang Mi pressed right up against him, and from top to bottom, a fiery, urgent atmosphere began spreading through the car.

The so-called domineering aggression of a "little puppy turning into a little wolf" that she'd imagined before—Bai Liang hadn't shown it to her. Instead, she was the one coming to "teach him a lesson."

Like a hungry leopardess, looking as though she wanted to swallow him whole.

Since the big sister had chosen to get in the car at this moment, she wasn't here to yap with him.

An hour or so wasn't enough time to go anywhere else—the wind-up was too long.

She felt the car had plenty of room.

For Bai Liang, a guy pushing six feet tall, it might be hard to stretch out, but Yang Mi, at a little over five foot two, said she could nimbly maneuver just fine.

Kneeling on the seat, but her bottom not touching Bai Liang's thigh, body held straight—this actually put her in the position of looking down at him.

Quite the queenly air.

A pair of almond eyes seemingly ablaze fixed on Bai Liang for two seconds, then she lowered her head and, in another way, fiercely exchanged opinions mouth-to-mouth.

Two minutes later she grabbed Bai Liang's head again, seemingly wanting to smother him.

Feeling her fingernails lightly scrape across his scalp, Bai Liang managed to shift his head a little and glanced at the moon outside the car window.

The moon was very considerate—it had ducked into the clouds.

That's enough for now.

Next is Bai Liang's turn.

Oh right, he really likes her red-soled high heels.

So he didn't take them off either.

An hour seemed to pass in the blink of an eye.

Inside the dark commercial vehicle, Yang Mi lazily reached out, seemingly wanting to grab her clothes.

Such a simple motion, yet it seemed to take an unusual amount of effort.

Because she felt as if her whole body had fallen apart.

But the next second her wrist was caught, a slight ticklish itchiness came at her neck, and a gentle voice sounded by her ear: "Sister Mi, you smell so good~"

"Time's about up. You should get going, be good~"

Bai Liang said nothing, just continued.

Yang Mi gave him a slightly reproachful glance, her eyes and brows full of coquettish charm.

"I really can't do anything with you."

What can a big sister do with a little brother like this?

Of course—dote on him, love him, give him her very life~

Mm. In the car she can give it; once she's out of the car, no more.

Still, the wonderful mood from the car carried over.

Even when she learned the next day that "Brotherhood of Blades 2" had an opening-day box office of only a little over thirty million, its score lower than the first film's opening, and the internet was full of attacks on her acting, Yang Mi's mood wasn't much affected.

What's the big deal? Since her debut, what storm hasn't she seen~

Even on the way to a roadshow, she was wearing earphones and humming a little tune, in quite a good mood.

"Sister Mi, you look great today!"

"Right~ Does it feel like I've turned back twenty-something?" Yang Mi said with a sweet smile.

The assistant nodded and, taking the chance, served up some flattery: "More than twenty-something—clearly eighteen!"

"Now you're just talking nonsense. I wasn't this pretty at eighteen~ Back then everyone said I was a tender, square-faced mess." Yang Mi said with a chuckle.

Ah—

The assistant immediately didn't dare to respond.

But Yang Mi wasn't secretly setting a trap for her either. Listening to the song, she gently swayed her head, feeling as if some pressure had been thoroughly released.

So light and free all over!

She couldn't help but lick her lips, and a strange thought popped into her head: this kid is like a tonic.

No wonder Reba, that little girl, was suddenly full of energy a while back — turns out she was also "eating tonic"?

Of course, her thing with Bai Liang was just a nice little story born of coincidence, and it wouldn't affect or hinder anyone.

Yang Mi said she wasn't the her who still believed in love back then; some fate, she figured, was just right staying at this level.

They're all adults now, and she wouldn't make Bai Liang take responsibility.

She still has a little one she has to take responsibility for herself.

Mm. The other guy wouldn't go so far as to flip the natural order and make her take responsibility, right?

Normally Yang Mi wouldn't have such strange thoughts either, but that guy Bai Liang often has nothing to do with the word "normal."

Just thinking about that guy solemnly saying things like "Sister, you have to take responsibility for me," she instantly found it cute and couldn't help laughing out loud.

Her assistant secretly observed for a moment and felt that her boss's mood really did seem quite good.

But the movie's opening-day box office was poor, so it could only be because of other things that her mood was good. The company's bet had already been completed?!

Yang Mi: Hey-hey, it's really almost there.

Thinking about it, Bai Liang deserves some credit for this too~

This kid. A lucky star!

With over thirty percent of the market's screenings, an opening-day box office of only a little over thirty million was clearly unacceptable for "Brotherhood of Blades 2," a film whose production plus marketing exceeded a hundred million.

However, what was even more unacceptable was yet to come.

The next day's screenings dropped slightly, but were still around thirty percent, and the result was a box office of only just over twenty million.

The producers of "Brotherhood of Blades 2" were all dumbfounded.

Huh?!

A 397-million joint guarantee — there's no way it'll end up without even two hundred million at the box office, right?!

Honestly, the quality and ratings of this film weren't actually bad; even if Yang Mi had some influence, it wouldn't be to this extent — her so-called female lead share was simply not that heavy.

Even the feedback from many moviegoers was basically positive.

Yet compared to the film's opening-day box office, the reputation it gained, and the expectations moviegoers had for it, the performance was still too much of a contrast.

It had a bit of a "critical darling, box-office dud" flavor to it.

Director Lu Yang was actually quite familiar with this feeling; the original "Brotherhood of Blades" had also been a critical darling, but its final box office was only a little over ninety million.

This time was even worse — the film might not recoup its costs.

It seemed the Wu Xia genre really was on the decline.

For now, they could only pin their hopes on the overall decent word-of-mouth and hope for long-tail box office.

People, after all, won't give up until they see the Yellow River.

One still has to have some illusions.

"Not even two hundred million at the box office? That can't be, right?"

Bai Liang was a little puzzled; in his memory, this movie wasn't that much of a flop.

He scratched his head — what was going on? Because Yang Mi had been heavily drained by him, so the movies she starred in also got their "luck" drained along the way?

Of course, this was just a joke, because it wasn't only "Brotherhood of Blades 2" that flopped.

All the movies currently in the release window seemed to be performing poorly; people were already talking down the overall market, because on the whole, the entire film market really did seem to be shrinking.

And it was a very strange kind of shrinkage, somewhat at odds with past experience and objective laws.

Some film industry professionals even started "fearmongering," saying things like Chinese films have no future.

Panic within the industry wasn't quite the case, but it did spark quite a bit of discussion. After all, this was the summer slot — it shouldn't be this bad.

What happened, did audiences suddenly collectively not want to watch movies?

Because of this situation, the several films scheduled for release next week also got pre-emptively talked down.

In short, the market isn't doing well right now; it's not for lack of trying.

Mm. Feels a bit like some films with no confidence in their quality are starting to build momentum and find excuses ahead of time.

"Don't worry, the market goes up and down, that's normal. The movie you're starring in won't be that bad — maybe other things have been too hot lately, and you haven't noticed how many trending searches you've stolen?"

Hearing Sister Xiao Zhao say this, Bai Liang suddenly had a feeling of "awakening."

Oh~ so it's his fault~

"Wu Yifan also did it, and his popularity hasn't been small lately either."

"The one from 'The Rap of China'? That makes some sense — you top-tier stars hopping around and making a fuss like this must affect some of the traffic."

Sister Xiao Zhao actually didn't know much about this stuff either, but she was quite happy to chat with Bai Liang about it.

The film circle — she wanted to venture into it too.

No errors, no missing content — read it all here!

Many actors, after becoming famous through TV dramas, find ways to put effort into the film side.

Sister Xiao Zhao was naturally no exception.

And she already had "Duckweed" as a foundation, so her path was going reasonably well.

Bai Liang didn't really rack his brain over this either — next week "Wolf Warrior 2" would be released, and then they'd know what was going on.

If it really had to do with the promotional window, "Wolf Warrior 2" was certainly not lacking in promotion; Bai Liang alone had pulled the film's popularity up very high, and Wu Jing drinking so much that day wasn't for nothing.

Speaking of alcohol.

"Sister, did you drug me that day?" Bai Liang asked curiously.

Sister Xiao Zhao was completely stunned hearing this, seeming a bit flustered and breaking composure, apparently not expecting Bai Liang to just ask it outright.

You're way too direct!

"You this..."

"I've been drugged a few times before—I still feel something similar~"

Bai Liang said this mainly because Xiao Zhao Jie's mistakes were too many. She probably had never drugged anyone before~"

But the other side hesitated, "Actually, I never got the chance to dose you."

"Huh?"

As if realizing she'd already confessed, Xiao Zhao Jie stopped pretending, "How could I dare randomly dose you? What if it's unreliable and seriously harms your body?"

"You really planned to drug me?!"

"You keep getting yourself into trouble, and yelling at you does no good," Xiao Zhao Jie admitted she was in the wrong, yet muttered under her breath.

After all, she never actually dosed him~ At most, it was attempted crime abandoned.

And the sudden impulse to do it came from being provoked after seeing Bai Liang's antics on the show.

Xiao Zhao Jie said she was thirty and couldn't take this kind of stimulation.

Plus, her family was pressing her hard. So she entertained a wicked thought.

Bai Liang: Again, it's my fault?

"Wait, if you didn't drug me, how did I pass out? And you took time off to rest and praised my health."

At this, Xiao Zhao Jie's expression grew even more awkward, "That bottle of wine was fake—I only found out later. I ran into a dishonest merchant."

How could she not praise his health!

She'd drunk just one glass, and by late that night she started feeling ill; it took over a day and nearly two days to recover. But Bai Liang just slept through it and woke up as if nothing had happened—his body was as strong as a calf.

Okay okay, so it really was fake wine~

Bai Liang had never doubted his luck, so he never thought along that line afterward.

Now that he thought carefully, if that fake wine didn't harm him but instead made him easy for the older sister to "pick up," wasn't that the same as being drugged?

His luck really doesn't guard against this kind of thing.

Otherwise, how did all those older sisters succeed before?

"So did you do anything bad?"

"I drank the fake wine too—what could I have done? Besides, I found I couldn't bring myself to do it—I started seeing you as a little brother."

Xiao Zhao Jie looked relaxed, as if to say: I've confessed everything—what do you plan to do now?

Giving up!

Honestly, her "open and honest" attitude made Bai Liang find it perfectly reasonable.

In fact, it was perfect!

Because she actually managed to explain it all!

Bai Liang couldn't help but marvel—older sister contestants, each one possesses extraordinary skills!

"I have one last question."

"Why do you have so many questions? Ask quickly."

"Did I get up to use the bathroom after I got drunk?"

This question truly stumped Xiao Zhao Jie; she hesitated for a long time, then helplessly said:

"You forced me to say it—this guy of yours messed up a lot of stuff in my living room bathroom."

Bai Liang: What do I do about this embarrassment?

"Uh… you saw?"

"Saw? I personally put you back!" Xiao Zhao Jie, now fully resigned, blurted out boldly.

Of course, she was a little flushed too, but her momentum remained intact.

Bai Liang completely surrendered, but now that he confirmed she hadn't drugged him, at least the mystery was solved.

Only one doubt remained.

Did Xiao Zhao Jie really put him back?

But he dared not ask further, afraid of uncovering more embarrassing black history, so he could only join her in sighing: Fake wine harms people~

Meanwhile, Bai Liang was still thinking too comprehensively.

So he spent some time sending Xiao Zhao Jie a few carefully selected links.

All were high-quality electric toys.

They were probably what she needed~

Then he was blocked on WeChat by her, and didn't get unblocked until a full day later.

As for whether she really did put him back that day, it remained an unsolved mystery.

——

Two days before the official release of "Wolf Warrior 2," Episode 8 of "Flowers and Youth 3" aired.

The main content was everyone experiencing wildlife conservation work in Africa.

Meanwhile, netizens recognized a certain unlucky cheetah.

Many confidently claimed: That thing was the same cheetah whose prey Bai Liang had stolen.

Otherwise, there was no reason it would hate Bai Liang so much~

Besides that, in this episode, Na Zha faithfully fulfilled her role as a tour guide while demonstrating expert-level leg-hugging skills.

Her constant cries of "Save me!" to Bai Liang were wildly mocked by netizens.

Everyone now treated her with real kindness.

While other cast members on the show treated Na Zha as a Princess, now the audience did too.

If any other cast member acted so spoiled, netizens would have started yelling.

But with Na Zha, everyone knew exactly who she was pouting to, exactly who she was being spoiled with.

After all, there will always be some all-powerful guy to back her up.

The comments under Bai Liang's Weibo have all adopted a uniform format.

"Just keep spoiling her~"

This episode looked like a group trip with a slower pace, yet it still featured a rather interesting little interlude.

Connections!

They weren't Bai Liang's connections, but Nazha's.

She actually ran into people in Africa who recognized her, and they gave her all kinds of preferential treatment and care.

It made everyone's journey that day especially smooth.

The viewers watching the show were quite puzzled—hold on, isn't this a bit too fake?

Bai Liang's stuff is admittedly hard to explain, so we'll let it slide, but the production team can't just hand Nazha plot armor like that!

It's a bit too biased.

The answer seemed to appear at the very end of this episode.

"Oh! Mr. Lucky!"

——

Third watch, fourteen thousand characters, see you tomorrow, muah~

Begging for monthly tickets.

(End of this chapter)