Chapter 26: Career Should Come First

Since he was going to be joining the crew again, Bai Liang didn't need to rent a place.

Otherwise, paying rent and leaving it empty just felt a bit stupid.

Regarding his way of putting it, Na Zha expressed a certain degree of displeasure, but she didn't take him to task over it. Instead, she started worrying about what to do with his luggage.

Bai Liang:???

Just bring the luggage straight to Hengdian — he didn't have that many big and small bags anyway~

Na Zha: You do!

You know, boys really do seem a bit weak and helpless at times like these.

Even if you don't, you still do~

It happened on the spur of the moment — Na Zha had basically just slapped her forehead and suddenly came up with the idea.

After settling things with Bai Liang, she sneakily sent a message to her own little assistant, telling her to rush over and quickly tidy up the place a bit.

After being brought home by Na Zha, Bai Liang wasn't awkward at all. He walked in, first put his slippers in their place — right in the middle of the shoe rack, the most conspicuous spot.

Then he took the slippers back down and put them on.

The move seemed pretty redundant, but it somehow made Na Zha feel a bit parched.

It wasn't that she was craving Bai Liang's capybara-print slippers — the key was that his gesture really made it hard not to overthink.

It looked just like staking a claim.

At the same time, Na Zha also felt that spot was indeed a perfect place for a pair of men's slippers.

"Your slippers are kinda cute!"

"Look at the way you talk — if you saw my onesie cartoon pajamas, what then?"

Bai Liang wasn't trying to act cute on purpose; the main thing was that onesie cartoon pajamas really were comfortable to wear!

You'd know if you wore them~

Na Zha's eyes lit up. The moment she pictured Bai Liang standing there all spaced-out, wearing cartoon pajamas, she felt the image would definitely be interesting!

She wanted to see it!

But the moment she turned her head, she was dumbfounded.

The house wasn't really dirty or messy, and there were no bras or socks tossed around on the sofa or anything like that.

Still... it was a bit casual, mainly because Na Zha herself had wanted Bai Liang to walk in and see everything neat and clean.

At that moment, the little assistant finally came huffing and puffing out of the elevator.

She first flashed a big grin at Bai Liang, then turned to Na Zha with a mournful look: "Sis, I'm late~"

"Huh? Why are you here? Perfect — you can help him pack up his stuff...."

Na Zha frantically winked at the little assistant, who immediately caught on: "Oh right, what a coincidence!"

Bai Liang:....... Bro has already read dozens of professional books on acting.

Still, he didn't expose anything and just took a look around Na Zha's place.

Even though it was a rental, you could tell she'd put some thought into it.

It was just that the overall cool-toned style didn't quite match Na Zha's actual personality.

When she kept a straight face, she really did have that aloof goddess vibe, but when she smiled, she'd flash her teeth all the time — very outgoing.

Yet the house used this so-called "sex冷淡" style of decor and furniture.

"I was originally planning to use this room as a study, but then I realized I'm not really much of a reader...... and the bed isn't easy to move either....."

The place Na Zha rented was a two-bedroom, one-living-room layout — she wasn't lying about that.

The area was a bit smaller than the place she'd just bought and not yet renovated, around sixty or seventy square meters.

Bai Liang didn't wander his eyes around. He put his stuff down and called for Na Zha and the little assistant to go out for a meal together.

Even the pair of slippers he'd instinctively taken out to place on the shoe rack, he put away.

The behavior showed a real sense of boundaries — he didn't treat the place like home at all.

Na Zha felt a bit disappointed and a bit happy at the same time; her feelings were quite complicated.

On one hand, she felt Bai Liang's character really was decent, but honestly..... there was no need to hold the boundaries so tightly.

What was the big deal about putting the slippers out?

"Just leave your slippers by the door — it'll be more convenient next time you come."

Bai Liang figured that made sense too, and even helped Na Zha come up with a better reason: "A girl living alone really should put a pair of men's shoes by the door — it makes people think there's a man in the house, which can add to safety sometimes."

"Just have a man live in the house — even safer." The little assistant blurted out.

Na Zha: Hehehe~

A silly, dopey smile spread across her face. She reached up to smooth her hair, then touched her own face and ears..... giving off the impression that her hands were very busy, yet no one knew what they were busy with.

Logically speaking, once a man and a woman had reached this point, there was barely a thin sheet of paper left between them.

The little assistant was on the front line of the melon-eating brigade. Although she knew the company didn't want Na Zha to keep being love-brained, from a personal standpoint..... could you two hurry up and give me a French wet kiss right in front of me?

But the two of them didn't move a muscle.

Bai Liang didn't even bother asking what the master bedroom Na Zha lived in looked like~

One of them never took the initiative, the other had too many things tangled up inside, and after being repeatedly "brainwashed" by the company, couldn't make up her mind for the moment.

It drove the little assistant crazy!

Still, from the team's perspective, she gave Na Zha a thumbs-up.

What restraint!

A rising female star should put her career first.

Bai Liang actually felt the same way — the place Na Zha bought was too small; he was looking forward to the day she upgraded to a big villa.

Two days later, the cast of "Xian Jian: Yun Zhi Fan" assembled in Hengdian.

Returning to Hengdian, he no longer felt the novelty of last time—Bai Liang felt like a seasoned veteran already.

The script Tang Ren had given him was long since memorized; the role he was playing this time didn't carry the same weight as Lu Bu from before.

Long Ming.

Just looking at the name, it already sounded impressively badass.

The character setting was some kind of sovereign of the Netherworld Race realm—meticulous and sharp in his actions, with extraordinary courage and bearing; even though he deliberately concealed himself from the companions at his side, it was hard to hide his regal air.

What on earth is "regal air"?

Bai Liang didn't really get it either, but he had seen *Chinese Paladin 3*, and felt the character setup was a bit like the Demon Lord Chonglou.

But it didn't seem quite that high in stature.

The character's fate was pretty much the same as the Lu Bu he played before—about to bite the dust again.

Die once per drama... oh right, he'd also gotten the script for *Wu Xin Fa Shi*—and he'd have to die in that too!

He had no idea when he'd finally get to play a character who could survive until the finale.

After putting away his personal belongings at the hotel, Bai Liang received a summons from the production crew, asking the actors already in the troupe to gather for a meet-and-greet—seems they were also doing some kind of script reading.

This was a refreshing novelty, an entirely new experience he hadn't been through, so he headed out in high spirits.

He had barely opened the door and turned the corner when, passing by a room, a big black "mouse" darted out and crashed straight into him, full on.

His gym workouts hadn't been for nothing—Bai Liang only swayed slightly before steadying himself.

The Miss who had darted out, on the other hand, let out an "Ouch—," tilted her head back, and started to fall backward.

To prevent the back of her head from making intimate contact with the hard tile floor, Bai Liang reacted quickly and scooped up... the other's slender waist.

The waist was slim, but not the kind of slim waist that came from crash dieting.

Because the other was wearing only a white T-shirt, Bai Liang's hand even felt her abs line.

With another pull, the Miss was sprawled right in his arms.

The Miss's waist was slim and felt nice to the touch, but Bai Liang didn't linger on it—once he'd steadied her, he let go.

But the little lady didn't leave his arms; instead, she instinctively raised her head to look at him.

Was it his imagination?

He couldn't shake the feeling that the Miss's eyes had lit up for a moment.