Chapter 249: A Flickering Chopping Knife

As everyone knows, most Chinese people love to gather for excitement.

So the question is: which kind of excitement do they love most?

Bai Liang couldn't think of anything more thrilling than "catching a cheating couple in the act."

Who wouldn't love to join that kind of excitement?

At the same time, Bai Liang never expected that Mao Xiaotong — whom he'd met while filming "Love O2O" and gotten along quite well with — would actually ask him for this kind of favor.

Calling him to help catch a cheating partner. That's too outrageous!

So he really wanted to go, no other reason — just wanted to see it for himself.

Coincidentally, Bai Liang and Jing Tian happened to not be at the film crew right now; otherwise it would have been impossible to rush from Hengdian to Yanjing to help catch a cheater.

Both of them were in Yanjing, with the purpose of attending the Spring Festival Gala rehearsal.

Their programs were of course different — neither was booked at the same time.

Bai Liang originally had no interest in the Spring Festival Gala, thinking it was better to just go home and eat New Year's Eve dinner.

Sister Yanzi also had no interest — her family's Xiao Bai-ge didn't lack "this bit of" exposure from the Spring Festival Gala.

Especially since the Spring Festival Gala's reviews have been getting worse and worse in recent years.

But his grandma quite liked watching the Spring Festival Gala. For grandma's sake, coming to lip-sync a bit wasn't unacceptable.

As for singing, although Bai Liang wasn't as abstract as Meng Jie, he wasn't some master either. But if he were to perform a song and really push himself, he might just be able to recreate the move that Yang Yang pulled off at the Spring Festival Gala two years ago — singing himself to tears.

Possible, but unnecessary. Just tag along and blend in, let grandma see her good grandson on TV at the Spring Festival Gala, and that's enough.

However—

"Where are you going? What does it have to do with you?" Bai Liang looked at Jing Tian, who was even more excited than he was, and really didn't want to bring her along.

What could those little arms and legs of hers do? Wave flags and cheer him on~

"Take me, take me, please please please!" At this moment, Jing Tian had completely lost the "elder sister" aura she'd always maintained, instead resembling a little puppy wagging its tail frantically.

Bai Liang used this comparison not to insult her, because it really was fitting. If Jing Tian had a tail on her butt, it would probably be wagging so hard it'd fly off!

Damn, so cute!

Resisting the urge to reach out and pinch her face, Bai Liang looked up at the sky. "It's her private matter, how could I just randomly bring someone along."

"Brother~"

To be able to participate in this activity, Miss Jing Tian had gone completely mad.

That "brother" she called out could melt anyone~ She actually used her cutesy voice too!

Bai Liang struggled to keep waving his hand in refusal. "No no no, that's too improper."

"I'm going with you! Just say... just say I wasn't reassured!"

"What are you worried about? Afraid I can't beat that guy?"

If that's how she put it, Bai Liang's competitive spirit was roused!

As a result, Miss Jing Tian suddenly showed Bai Liang just how fast a person's brain could spin when pushed to the limit.

She straightened up at once, one hand on her hip, the other waving about, seemingly trying to use this body language to strengthen her persuasion.

"She's a female celebrity! And she's so sure of herself — she must have already gathered evidence or gotten wind of something. But for catching a cheater, why would she ask you to come along?"

Bai Liang was slightly intimidated by her "finger-pointing" act, and couldn't help but play along and ask: "Why?"

"A heartbroken female celebrity... you tell me why?"

"You might as well spell it out more clearly."

"Catch the cheater, condemn the scumbag, turn around and leave, throw herself into your arms and cry... and then what? You'd have to comfort her, right? After comforting her, then what? It's the middle of the night — what are you two going to do?!"

Holy crap!

Tian Tian, is that you, Tian Tian? This girl who spoke so sensibly and analyzed things with such perfect logic — is that really Jing Tian?

Under Bai Liang's incredulous gaze, Jing Tian was actually a little embarrassed, shrinking back slightly.

Then she immediately straightened her back — today was the most glorious day since she'd met Bai Liang!

"Call me 'elder sister'!" she said in a tsundere tone.

"Elder sister~"

This time Bai Liang was very obedient, having been defeated by Miss Jing Tian's "wisdom."

Jing Tian: Hmph, I'm a woman too — how could I not know what a woman's thinking?

Especially since the other party was a girl her own age.

Both belonged to the category of older women approaching thirty.

Both were the cute-but-clear-headed type, and their brainwaves synced up across the distance.

Because this whole thing was unreasonable to begin with — she's a female celebrity, she has a team.

A celebrity's romance, especially one officially announced, is always tied to commercial value to some degree.

When love reaches its end, or even turns into enmity, the team handles things far more professionally than an individual having a meltdown.

In this kind of situation, she specifically wants to find an "outsider" to come along and back her up.

Either she has an agenda, or she has an agenda.

At the very least, it's also because Bai Liang, this capybara, had left such a good impression on her that when something happened, she instinctively thought of him.

But this kind of situation is also very "dangerous."

No matter how strong a girl is, in such a state she still wants someone to lean on.

The above is a little bit of knowledge that this "elder sister" Jing Tian imparted to Bai Liang~

Bai Liang: Professional. Applause!

So, Jing Tian wanted to go over and watch over him, to prevent him from being forced to "take advantage of the situation"?

Jing Tian: That's right, that's right! That's exactly what I mean~ Watching the excitement is only secondary.

Originally, she really had just wanted to go watch the excitement—she was dying to be a rubberneck.

But now, after thinking it over, she'd caught on to what was really going on.

Miraculously, the reason she'd come up with not only convinced Bai Liang, but convinced herself as well.

This trip might be risky, but if you're determined to go—if you don't bring her, she'll sneak along anyway!

She'd made up her mind to watch the show; nobody could change that, hmph!

And Bai Liang thought for a moment: "Pack up, let's go!"

"Yay!"

Regarding her own Dou Xiao Bai going off to do something this outrageous, Sister Yanzi's take was: can I come too?

She wanted to go so badly too!

Of course, as for Miss Jing Tian going along, Sister Yanzi was all for it—hands and feet raised in approval.

She didn't bother considering whether Mao Xiaotong had some kind of interest in her own Dou Xiao Bai; it'd be stranger if she didn't, she was used to it by now.

What Sister Yanzi was actually more worried about was: if her own Dou Xiao Bai went over alone to rubberneck, he'd easily get dragged into the subsequent mudslinging between the two sides, used as ammunition by that guy.

Generally speaking, even celebrity breakups tend to stay relatively dignified.

If they don't stay dignified, what follows is guaranteed to be a massive public fight! Almost no exceptions.

Obviously, besides the offline spectacle to enjoy, the online netizens would also get to feast on the drama.

But this drama mustn't drag her own Dou Xiao Bai into it—that was Sister Yanzi's bottom line.

Now with Sister Tian Tian coming along, it was simply perfect, foolproof, pure entertainment.

But then—Liang Chen Mei Jing?

The question was right here: was it Mao Xiaotong who was losing her head, or... was it her?

Someone had to be losing their head, the only question was who. Before leaving, Sister Yanzi winked at Bai Liang: "I'll be waiting for good news, Dou Xiao Bai~"

Miss Jing Tian, who'd been urging them to hurry up, froze for a moment at those words, feeling there was some hidden meaning.

But she didn't think much of it—her mind was now full of the excitement to come!

Whoosh—in an instant, at the agreed time and place, outside a certain residential complex in Yanjing.

Miss Jing Tian, who'd arrived bursting with enthusiasm and had even let her imagination run wild, having a mental orgasm beforehand, was now actually a bit chicken.

After all, the other woman was storming over in a rage to catch a cheating partner, while she was coming to watch the show with a grin on her face—kinda asking for a beating.

Regarding this, Bai Liang imparted another trick to her.

"Put yourself in her shoes. Imagine it's you, sharing her righteous anger."

Miss Jing Tian heard this, blinked, and figured it made some sense.

Then, she started staring at Bai Liang.

Bai Liang:???

Not long after, Mao Xiaotong, who'd rushed back from somewhere farther away, also arrived, striding with purpose, bristling with fury.

That face she'd always thought was pretty cute was now set in a tight, stern expression—and somehow still looked cute.

This was the weakness of the cute-type female stars; it was genuinely hard for them to look properly fierce.

No errors, no misses—every chapter, every update, all in one place!

Even Little Sister Zhao couldn't manage this yet; she was still lacking a bit of polish.

At this point, Miss Jing Tian's little face was flushed red.

The roleplay had worked—she was now absolutely furious!

Except her eyes kept darting to Bai Liang, which made him feel a bit creeped out, and he instinctively rubbed the back of his neck.

He kept sensing a firewood cleaver flashing in and out.

"Thank you for coming, honestly I didn't expect you'd really come. I was just acting on impulse at the time..."

This explanation was reasonable enough, but when Miss Jing Tian poked her head out of the car window, Mao Xiaotong's expression clearly stiffened for a moment.

"Sister, don't say another word! Let's go tear apart that scumbag right now!"

Ah, well—let's get the job done first!

The three of them took the elevator upstairs!

Bai Liang glanced at the surveillance cameras in the elevator and hallway, thinking these were all evidence.

Still, Mao Xiaotong was pretty thorough—she should've already arranged all this.

But just as Bai Liang was about to exercise some initiative and test whether he could break through a security door, a rather exasperated Mao Xiaotong stopped him.

And pulled out a key.

The door opened!

This young lady charged in first, timing it perfectly.

Chen Xiang, bare from the waist up, and Jiang Kaitong, who'd hastily found somewhere to hide, seemed to explain everything.

Caught red-handed, ironclad!

At this moment, Chen Xiang naturally launched into a frantic explanation, struggling and trying to squirm out of it.

When he saw Bai Liang, the guy's eyes actually lit up.

He'd just been about to point at him and say something, but the next second Miss Jing Tian grabbed onto Bai Liang's body and peeked her head out, making him swallow his words instantly.

Still, the guy insisted on explaining—saying he was popping a pimple—almost making people laugh out loud.

Popping a happy bean?

Honestly, at this point he was dead anyway, so he might as well say "You came just in time."

Of course it'd be useless, but at least he could "die" with some style.

After all, being handsome and looking cool is a lifelong pursuit—even if it might earn him a big slap across the face.

Bai Liang didn't actually use his advantage in fighting ability—after all, Mao Xiaotong hadn't asked for that kind of help. But for a friend's sake, he could have held the guy down so she could get a few good punches in.

This had nothing to do with punishing a scumbag boyfriend; it was purely a matter of principle.

If he were Chen Xiang's friend, he'd probably have to help cover for him.

And if he really wanted to empathize, Chen Xiang—who had just been standing there bare-chested—seemed more worthy of putting himself in that guy's shoes.

He couldn't help but imagine himself getting caught in a similar situation.

Too bad, he couldn't picture it—how could something like that ever happen to him~

A capybara doesn't need to worry about these things; he just needs to live well with the girls.

The gap between people is sometimes bigger than the gap between people and dogs.

What followed was fairly routine.

After hearing a few of Chen Xiang's explanations, Mao Xiaotong felt he was talking complete nonsense, and immediately started packing her things, ready to cut the Gordian knot.

Miss Jing Tian scampered over to help her pack, seeming a little disappointed that there wasn't a more dramatic scene.

What happened to the promised man-tearing show, sisters? You're just letting him off like that?

Mao Xiaotong: Don't rush! We're all in the entertainment business—what's the fun of doing it offline? A clash online is where the real excitement is!

Of course, after all, that winter when the two of them first got together, they had truly been in love for several years~

If today it had only been her, Mao Xiaotong could absolutely have held it together, impossible to show any weakness in front of him.

But she had insisted on calling friends to back her up, and the more she thought about it the less she could hold it together. In the end, when she dragged her suitcase toward the door, her face was all blotchy from crying.

Chen Xiang is done for.

The harder Mao Xiaotong cries now, the harsher her revenge will be later!

Even Miss Jing Tian joined in the wailing, which somehow made it look a bit comical.

Before leaving, Bai Liang stood at the door, looked at Chen Xiang, and delivered his first line of this operation:

"Your taste isn't all that great~"

One sentence, and even Mao Xiaotong, who was waiting for the elevator, froze—her little face full of disbelief, like, where did you come from?

Then Bai Liang immediately added: "Just now, that other girl—what was her name, Jiang something—when she was sneaking off, she even made a point to chat me up. She was just short of asking for my contact info."

As he finished, with a ding, the elevator arrived. Bai Liang shook his head, patted Chen Xiang on the shoulder, turned and left, his merits and fame hidden deep within.

The whole sequence flowed like clouds and water—absolutely just right.

After he stepped into the elevator, he saw two little faces with eyes red from crying, staring at him in a daze.

The elevator doors closed.

Mao Xiaotong couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing with a snort: "Kill him and then destroy his heart? Who taught you to get under his skin like that?"

Miss Jing Tian gave Bai Liang a thumbs-up: "You're so smart! You can even curse someone out like that~"

Bai Liang looked utterly innocent. "I'm telling the truth."

He swore he hadn't made up a single word—that woman really had wanted his contact info at the time.

From a certain angle, she was quite a formidable character.

"Stay away from that woman!" the two said in unison.

Tonight's story clearly wasn't over yet.

The scumbag upstairs had already been dealt with.

Now it was time to talk about the "scumbag" right in front of them.

While comforting Mao Xiaotong, Miss Jing Tian's gaze at Bai Liang grew more and more off. Who knew what she was imagining.

From a certain angle, it would even be reasonable to say Mao Xiaotong might be a plant Miss Jing Tian had brought along.

This net wasn't cast for Chen Xiang at all—it seemed aimed at him, Mr. Bai!

—

Third watch, fourteen thousand words—everyone hurry up and throw in your monthly tickets, if you don't they'll expire.

No need to wait for the double period; the next double period is in April.

(End of chapter)