Chapter 243: If the Spring Wind Knew How to Pity the Flowers

After a thorough discussion with Reba about the "new knowledge" she'd picked up from the movie *Never Say Die*, when Bai Liang got up the next morning, he couldn't find her anywhere.

After a quick wash-up, he saw a note left on the coffee table.

"I've got to catch an early flight, heading out first~ You've got this!"

Badass.

You see, Bai Liang always gets up early—his biological clock is remarkably stubborn—and this time was no exception.

Yet Reba had somehow managed to slip away before he even got up. Bai Liang half suspected she'd only slept three or four hours.

Guo Fan had been quite considerate the night before, calling it a wrap and announcing rest a little after five.

So Bai Liang hadn't wasted any time either. Now that meeting Reba in person wasn't easy and their "study session" had been left unfinished, naturally he put in every ounce of effort he had.

The two of them didn't rest until the small hours of the morning, and the fact that Reba still managed to get up early and leave—you could already feel how hard she'd had to squeeze to carve out this single day in her schedule.

When Bai Liang had contacted her earlier, she'd agreed right away—he'd even assumed she happened to be free.

"Sister Reba, squeezing time out like this just to make a cameo feels a bit unnecessary, doesn't it?"

Reba's assistant Lingling grumbled.

To free up a day and a half for the commute and the cameo, Dilireba's schedule afterward had been thrown somewhat out of whack.

Her itinerary had already been packed, almost suffocating at times, and now it had only gotten worse.

To this, Reba's answer didn't exactly rise to any grand height—she just pressed her lips together, propped her chin on her hand, and drawled: "I missed him, that's all~"

Lingling: That really is an invincible reason—utterly impossible to argue with.

Though, setting aside the lost time and energy, dropping several hundred thousand on set just to meet up and roll around in the sheets once—the price tag is a bit steep!

So it was all just for a good time? Nothing else to show for it?

Reba: I'm happy to~

Oh wait, one thing needs correcting—it wasn't just one good time.

But that sort of thing can't exactly be said out loud. Right now, although her body was still rather worn out, her spirits were actually quite decent.

Her "Big White" could heal some of her inner weariness.

A genuine remedy—and not at all bitter to the tongue. Sweet~

As for insisting on getting something in return—life isn't always about needing a payoff for every bit of effort.

For some people, the act of giving itself is already the best reward.

However, Guo Fan clearly didn't think that way.

Regarding classmate Reba—so generous, so loyal, coming to help the moment she was asked—he said that if the movie did well and they made a sequel, he'd definitely cast her as the female lead~

Mm. Hopefully by then she can give them a discount on her fee.

Reba's pretty expensive too, after all—she's a top-tier female star, though admittedly she doesn't have much of a track record in film.

At the moment, only her fellow small-town girl Nazha can really go toe-to-toe with her.

In the arena of post-'90s young actresses, the two Xinjiang girls are simply running rampant.

In terms of traffic, Reba has a slight edge; as for actual results—

Nazha: Do you guys know which female actress has the highest cumulative box office as a lead?

Fine, it's Bai Baihe.

But Nazha says her rival only has more quantity—her own quality is higher!

Two films together and they've raked in over seven billion! Don't even get her started on how hard they hit!

*City of Rock*'s box office has already reached nine hundred million; whether it can touch a billion honestly doesn't matter much—the film is already plenty successful.

It certainly can't compare to the terrifying numbers of *Wolf Warrior 2*, but it's more than enough to add another beautiful line to Nazha's résumé.

Little rocket, lifting off~

Among the National Day slate films, the best performers were *Never Say Die* and *City of Rock*—one nearing two billion, the other nearing one billion.

You have to understand, that slate was actually pretty fierce—its competitors included *The Foreigner*, *Chasing the Dragon*, and *Sky Hunter*.

Not a single pushover.

*The Foreigner* had Big Brother Jackie Chan—said to be his last film.

*Chasing the Dragon* was Wang "Fatty" finding a "new track" after so many bad films—a nationalist gangster flick that instantly won back a lot of goodwill.

Everyone discovered this fatty actually knew how to do more than just crank out garbage to make a quick buck.

Mm. At first it seemed like none of them were pushovers, but later on it turned out *Sky Hunter* was actually pretty easy to bully.

This film, the first military movie to hit the market right after *Wolf Warrior 2*, had originally carried quite a few people's hopes and attention.

Who could've known the thing would "crash" so fast—among the more closely watched films of the National Day slate, it couldn't beat anyone.

Even though Fan Fan Xiaopang kept hyping up her own Niu Niu—promoting him everywhere, pulling in attention, fighting for screenings—

The two even staged a full-on proposal campaign, flaunting their love all over Weibo with stuff like "us, forever"—reportedly already engaged.

Didn't do a damn bit of good—still crashed all the same.

And with more than half of 2017 already gone, plenty of people looked up, pulled up this year's domestic film box office rankings—

Apart from *Wolf Warrior 2* sitting high above, lording over all the other peaks beneath it, the number two spot went to *Never Say Die*, still in theaters.

And number three looked awfully familiar—turns out it was *Duckweed*, released during the Spring Festival slate.

Good lord, two out of the top three films have Bai Liang in them?

Still, as for Bai Liang's box-office draw, for now a question mark has to remain.

After all, *Wolf Warrior 2* had Wu Jing, and *Duckweed* had Deng Chao—neither film's box office was cut down by Bai Liang single-handedly.

A lot of eyes have turned to *How Long Will I Love U*, a film reportedly slated for next May Day.

That one, now, would be Bai Liang carrying the whole thing on his own.

Not that he looks down on Miss Jing Tian—if you count her in too, then it's Bai Liang plowing forward under the weight.

Fine, consider it one extra "get-out-of-jail-free card."

If *Crazy Alien* flops, the market will still give Bai Liang more patience.

The blame can be shifted onto Miss Jing Tian~

Normally, that's what everyone else would do, but Bai Da's heart is kind — not to mention he wouldn't flop, even if he really did flop he wouldn't treat Miss Jing Tian like that.

But if this film also succeeds, Bai Liang's box-office draw will truly be established.

There are many who hope he succeeds — for instance, Xu Zheng, Guo Fan, who have direct vested interests.

Those who hope he fails — even more!

But whether it succeeds or not, Bai Liang himself isn't really concerned right now; he doesn't have the time.

Re-entering study mode, he gave Zhao Jinmai an eye-opening experience!

What does a top student's study efficiency look like?

Honestly, if it weren't for trusting Bai Liang so much, swap in anyone else, and even though Zhao Jinmai is young, she'd think the guy was just showing off.

A book flipped through once with a rustle, and it's completely memorized?

For real? That's ridiculous!

Then she tested it a little and found Bai Liang really could remember it.

"My kind of memorization at this stage is just rote learning; digesting it takes a little time too."

"I know! It's like when a computer copies stuff — copy it over first, then look at it slowly when you have time, right!" Zhao Jinmai cut in to answer.

Bai Liang nodded — pretty much that idea — though his super-brain actually digested things very quickly too.

The so-called "look at it slowly" didn't exist.

Wait!

"What stuff are you copying to look at slowly?" Bai Liang suddenly asked.

Zhao Jinmai:

A beautiful young girl's business is none of yours! Hmph~

But her slightly flushed cheeks still gave something away. Bai Liang recalled what he himself was looking at at fifteen. Oh~

He didn't keep on the topic — after all, the little girl has her pride too.

Some of the short videos girls watch are a bit... you know~

When he was in high school, he had a deskmate who lent his mp4 to a girl in the class. After she downloaded some resources and enjoyed them, she returned it, forgetting to delete what she'd downloaded.

The result was that Bai Liang's deskmate had just gotten it back in his hands and hadn't even warmed it yet, when the head teacher discovered it and confiscated it.

This kind of thing is actually pretty common — who in high school hasn't had their phone, mp4, or other electronics confiscated?

But the thing was, that very afternoon the head teacher, with a constipated expression, looked at Bai Liang's deskmate and said:

"Your tastes are quite... unique."

After that, this male deskmate left Bai Liang's side, reassigned to sit with a girl.

And Bai Liang's new deskmate was a Bai Fumei — within two weeks, she was won over with sugar-coated bullets.

Forced into another puppy love.

The chief culprit behind all this was, of course, that deskmate who so casually lent out his mp4.

Anyway, when the puppy love was discovered, that's exactly what Bai Liang told his parents.

Every word correct, every chapter first release, all content in one place to read!

His mother's review: "This version of the story sounds pretty good~ Go on."

So, Bai Liang has very rich puppy-love experience, and can also teach Zhao Jinmai a lesson: puppy love doesn't end well, little girl, focus on your studies.

And a few days later, the other lesson he gave Zhao Jinmai was even simpler, more direct, and far more impactful!

He just changed into a different outfit, and instantly it felt like he became a completely different person.

It's not that he was different from usual, but that he was entirely different from the male lead Liu Qi he was playing.

What is the underlying temperament of Liu Qi's character?

Hot-tempered, reclusive and selfish, yet not lacking a young man's hot-bloodedness and dreams.

But when Bai Liang walked into that space station, even before a single word was spoken, Zhao Jinmai felt the whole person seemed different.

"His gait changed, his habitual little movements were different, even his breathing frequency dropped quite a bit. The key is it's especially natural — doesn't look like acting. That's impressive!"

Uncle Da, the old hand, watched and explained to the little sister at the same time, his eyes full of emotion.

Tsk tsk, this young man... it made him think of an old friend he no longer kept in touch with.

That one was also a genius actor.

It was as if he were suddenly back filming *King of Beggars*, when the director asked that person to play a hollow, desolate feeling, and the fellow sat down on the opium bed and actually started singing Nanyin.

Some performances really can stay with you for a lifetime~

That moment then, much like this moment now.

"He's the most popular young artist in the mainland entertainment industry?" Uncle Da suddenly asked.

Zhao Jinmai was stunned for a moment. "Ah, right, big brother is top-tier!"

Top-tier? The term's a bit new, but understandable.

Very reasonable.

Now Uncle Da felt even more that taking this film was something he wouldn't regret at all — he could even say he felt fortunate.

The director and the male lead of this film both have a bit of that "inhuman" flavor.

And these two just happened to come together — they're bound to make something big happen!

He had a strong premonition in his heart, always feeling that working with them, he'd be written into film history.

For an actor at the late stage of his career to encounter a work like this — from any angle, it's a very lucky thing.

Bai Liang: So hard, Guo Fan is such a freak.

He wasn't as relaxed as he looked on the surface — after chatting with Guo Fan, acting out even a hint of that shadow was no easy thing.

But only by bringing that flavor could the line "learn from him, become him, surpass him" carry real power.

In fact, Guo Fan hadn't really expected Bai Liang to pull it off.

Isn't that just how directors are?

Throw out a really tough demand first, let the actor give it a shot, and if they can't do it, gradually work it down later.

How could he possibly have imagined that freak Bai Liang would actually be this outrageous — this kid is terrifying!

At the same time, the better Bai Liang performed, the more of a headache he was giving Guo Fan.

What exactly does Liu Peiqiang have to go through, and how should the prequel be shot, to make him turn out like this?

Luckily, this problem didn't need to be worried about right now — future matters should be left to his future self to solve.

Guo Fan believed his future self would surely find a way.

For now, he only needed to handle what was in front of him and produce the best possible result.

No need to worry about the deluge that might come later.

The entire "The Wandering Earth" crew, like a fully activated large-scale machine, began surging forward with precision and frenzy.

From a certain angle, Guo Fan, rather than being a director, was actually more like a brilliant project manager.

His management skills far exceeded his directorial skills.

He could self-raise funds, keep the whole picture under control, run a super project, and integrate new technologies into it — and finally, he could marshal a team size rarely seen in the country.

For a crew of such scale to run so smoothly under his hand — the difficulty was honestly no less than running with cheats on.

Honestly, it's a good thing he came to make films; if he'd gone into finance, he'd probably end up at Tilanqiao sooner or later.

Even if he became a Monk, he'd be a master whose begging skills were top-tier.

As filming progressed, Guo Fan grew thinner and thinner, but his eyes grew brighter and brighter — they seemed about to glow in the dark.

That gaunt yet bursting-with-spirit look infected every single person on set.

Almost everyone could sense what kind of project they were taking part in, and what kind of film this was going to be.

The wheels rolled forward.

When he suddenly came back to himself, it felt like just a daze — Uncle Da had wrapped.

The whole crew seemed to pause for just a moment.

Everyone was willing to tap the brakes a little for this veteran actor who had risked his life alongside them.

They didn't throw any flashy wrap party — just a few glasses of wine, drunk on nothing but emotion.

"Kids aren't allowed to drink alcohol — juice for you."

"But you're all drinking," Zhao Jinmai said with a pout, huffing.

Bai Liang, ever democratic, said he was willing to drink juice with her — but the others clearly didn't agree.

So he poured two glasses~

"I was originally planning to go straight to the hospital when I got back, but right now I can't quite bring myself to leave," Uncle Da said with a smile.

He started out smiling, but somewhere along the way he inexplicably grew melancholy.

Zhao Jinmai, clutching her juice, was at a loss — how had the mood changed all at once?

In youth, one rides triumphant on spring breeze, swift as hoofbeats, never believing parting exists in this world.

Later on — if spring breeze truly pities the blossoms, might it grant me back my youth?

——

Three updates, thirteen thousand words — happy New Year's Eve, bros, muah~

Festival's almost here, don't forget to throw me your monthly tickets~

(End of chapter)