Chapter 269: Interrupt the Casting!

The warm interaction between Bai Liang and Zhao Liying below — not to mention, it was quite sweet.

It's just impossible to tell exactly what kind~

If you say the two of them look like an older sister and younger brother, there's no sense of incongruity at all, but if you raise it a notch higher... it doesn't seem impossible either.

Only, Miss Jing Tian, caught in the middle, looked a bit aggrieved.

Being gently pushed aside by Bai Liang with his hand on her head was one thing — she didn't really mind that part.

The main thing is... you look down on people!

Why on earth do you look down on people?!

Could her great Sister Tian Tian really not even cook a single pack of instant noodles?

Hateful!

She insists on making noodles for you to eat! Even if you don't want them, you still have to eat them!

How strong is Bai Liang's sense of crisis~ It's absolutely more reliable and faithful than Spider-Man's "Peter tingle."

He immediately sensed a wave of "malice," so he quickly changed his tune: "Tian Tian, you're in charge of frying the egg~"

"Fry two?"

"Mm, one is enough." Bai Liang figured at least one egg should be edible.

Miss Jing Tian didn't fuss over the number either, and immediately went from overcast to sunny, grinning as she said: "Actually, I've always really wanted to try cooking for myself."

"Really?"

Bai Liang felt that her so-called "always really wanted to" was probably a thought that had only just popped into her head.

However, when Miss Jing Tian also showed a strong interest in the kitchen, Teacher Huang's eyelid twitched for no apparent reason.

The right eye.

Left eye twitching means wealth, right eye twitching means disaster... Not good! His beloved and loyal kitchen might be in for a calamity today~

And he's none other than Chef Huang — his role on this show is the head chef who does the cooking, so why are today's guests trying to steal his job?

No way! He had to pull himself together and give them a few pointers.

"Ahem, actually, cooking instant noodles also has its own tricks to it."

Regarding Teacher Huang's instant noodle cooking lesson, Miss Jing Tian actually listened quite attentively, just short of pulling out a little notebook to take notes.

Seeing her play along so well, Teacher Huang was quite pleased, the smile on his face growing considerably, and naturally he was generous in sharing.

Only, his worry about his own kitchen seemed to deepen by another layer.

Miss Jing Tian was absolutely determined to give it a try today!

And she even had a wingman backing her up.

Xu Zheng kept egging her on from the side, saying Miss Jing Tian looked exactly like the kind of girl who could handle both the parlor and the kitchen, and he also pitched in a recommendation for heart-shaped fried eggs, saying she could try making those.

This bald man's desire to stir up a scandal between Bai Liang and Miss Jing Tian was almost completely undisguised — he'd have been thrilled if the two of them kissed on the show.

Speaking of which!

"I was just in the kitchen and heard someone outside saying something about a venomous snake flicking its tongue, and then someone with a Shaanxi accent chimed in with something about no footprints — who's exchanging code words?" Teacher Huang asked curiously.

Miss Jing Tian, a little embarrassed, cupped her own face in her hands, looking like the classic "three hundred taels of silver not buried here."

"Tian Tian, what exactly do those code words of yours mean? Can you tell us?" He He He He Laoshi also leaned in with a smile to join the fun.

"Haha, I actually guessed a bit of it." Xu Zheng slapped his thigh — that's right! This was exactly the rhythm needed.

"What is it?"

"Just flicking the tongue~"

The few older men immediately showed strange smiles on their faces, as if every one of them got it instantly.

In fact, none of those present were minors — they all understood.

But just... it couldn't be said outright.

This line could only be said by Miss Jing Tian herself. Fortunately, the young lady still remembered what she had actually come here to do.

The director of *Super Space-Time Cohabitation*, Su Lun, had called Miss Jing Tian yesterday, saying he wanted to release the behind-the-scenes footage of that kissing scene as promotional material.

After all, in the actual film the two of them didn't kiss with that much intensity, and cutting it in would change the flavor.

But Su Lun had watched it many times and felt that the segment where Miss Jing Tian couldn't help flicking her tongue was really electrifying.

Just watching the two of them kiss gave one a warm current rushing downward.

It would be such a waste not to let everyone see this footage — even putting it in the end-credits bloopers would work~

However, this still required Miss Jing Tian's own consent.

Miss Jing Tian: Why do you even have to ask? If you ask me, I'll definitely be too shy and say no~

Su Lun: Understood, pretend I never asked.

"Ahem, this — once the movie is released, you'll all find out."

"It was cut into the film?" Bai Liang asked after a brief pause.

"Oh no no no, it's in the behind-the-scenes footage." Miss Jing Tian quickly explained.

He He He He Laoshi slapped his thigh: "Can you two stop being so cryptic? You've got me more and more curious. Fine, I'll buy a ticket, alright! So here's the question—"

"When exactly is the movie being released?" Peng Yuchang immediately chimed in.

Xu Zheng directly gave this kid a thumbs-up — now that's how you play the game!

Miss Jing Tian's cheeks puffed up like little buns, feeling that in the future she was probably going to keep seeing videos or GIFs of herself and Bai Liang kissing and flicking tongues online.

It was honestly quite embarrassing~

So she stretched out her foot again and lightly kicked Bai Liang.

When he glanced over to ask what was going on, she blinked at him meaning: nothing~

This behavior made Bai Liang feel exactly like back in school, when the girl sitting next to him would poke him with a pen.

No particular reason, just purely trying to draw a little attention.

Miss Jing Tian really does seem to get younger and younger as the days go by.

Now she's just diving straight into the minor-age phase?

Little Zhao, off to the side, was quite composed, watching Miss Jing Tian's little antics with a smile, then glancing at Bai Liang, her mind going: Tsk tsk tsk!

Compared to the promotional push and little skits for "Super Space-Time Cohabitation," Little Zhao didn't seem to have any intention of doing a similar bit with Bai Liang.

She's in no rush~

And He He He He Laoshi, truly the entertainment circle's king of playing along, noticed that Zhao Liying had no intention of bringing up the TV drama for the moment, so he reached out and poked the chocolate dog she was holding in her arms, then asked: "You brought Mencius's dog onto our show — isn't she going to be very lonely over on the set of 'Joy of Life'?"

Bai Liang waved his hand. "It shouldn't be. Our set is still pretty lively, lots of group activities."

"Script read-through?" Teacher Huang seemed to sense this fell within his "area of expertise" again, sat up a little straighter, and chimed in.

"Script read-through?" Bai Liang was a bit amused. "Playing cards!"

"Pfft!"

Clearly everyone was having a bit of trouble holding it together.

Just as Teacher Huang was about to offer some critical commentary on the matter, Bai Liang suddenly dropped: "When I came out to do the show for promotion, Teacher Chen Daoming had some pretty strong opinions about it."

Teacher Huang nodded, just about to chat a bit about the professionalism of veteran actors and how they can't stand even a grain of sand in their eyes

But Bai Liang didn't give him the chance. "Before I left, I played cards with him and won so badly he got heated. He was insisting on a rematch today, but I ran off anyway. Going back, I'll probably have to beat him into submission at the card table first."

Teacher Huang:.

Wait — you mean Chen Daoming?

But it didn't really seem like Bai Liang would make fun of Chen Daoming or make up something like that about him.

So it had to be true. It could only be true.

But picturing that scene, something just felt a little off~

Chen Daoming got heated?!

But since Chen Daoming had already been brought up, Teacher Huang obviously couldn't offer any criticism on that front.

Honestly, it gave one quite the feeling of ants crawling all over.

He didn't have any major flaws, just a slight tendency to lecture the younger generation. At his age, who wouldn't have a bit of that paternal air? But getting his flow interrupted every time by Bai Liang was just too uncomfortable.

However, Master Strategist Teacher Huang still had a move!

Today he just refused to believe it — no matter what, he had to "teach Bai Liang a lesson."

He immediately shifted the topic. "Dou Xiao Bai, you're not a professionally trained actor, right?"

"Right, I graduated from Jin Ling University of Technology."

"Actually, you could go get a graduate degree~"

"I feel like my education is enough as it is. Best case scenario, my alma mater would wise up someday and upgrade itself into a 211 or 985, then I could brag about it later. Right now it's still a Double Non-211/985~"

He He He He Laoshi picked up the thread. "You still need to brag about that? I remember when you first debuted, the first thing everyone knew about you was your top-student moves — the national civil service exam and the judicial exam. The impression was really deep."

"Right, right, right, I know about this! So impressive, bro!" Peng Yuchang immediately jumped in as the straight man.

"I still think you could study further. There's no end to learning, after all." Teacher Huang still wasn't willing to give up — he was still trying.

But this time, Bai Liang actually "granted" his wish!

He thought for a moment. "I really could take another grad school exam or something. It's been ages since I put out guides for my fans."

No errors in any chapter, no missing content — read it all on one site!

Bai Liang had always been pretty generous to his fans, but unlike typical top stars who use their handsome photos as fan perks,

he liked to come up with something a bit more hardcore.

He'd previously compiled quite a few tips for the national civil service exam and the judicial exam, sharing them unconditionally.

Even to this day, people were still "praying" or "giving thanks" under his Weibo posts.

Later he also shared some how-to guides for fun skills like racing and skydiving, but the fans said skip this one, they didn't dare learn it — give them something more down-to-earth, they didn't have his lucky birth chart.

Doing practice problems was still the most suitable thing to share widely — the audience was big enough!

Over the past year or so, Bai Liang felt he'd been a bit lazy in this area — time to give his "family" some perks.

Teacher Huang: Ruzike Sect!

However, a graduate program at a film academy was a bit different — it didn't really require Bai Liang to put in that much effort to take the exam.

"If you're interested, I could ask around for you."

"No need, Teacher Huang, I'll take the exam myself. For grad school, don't you need to get admitted before you can find an advisor~"

"Bro, where are you applying?"

Before Teacher Huang could react, Peng Yuchang — being young, and having already caught a faint whiff of "showing off" — had already caught on.

"If I'm putting out a guide, of course I've got to aim somewhere impressive. Peking University."

Pfft!

Teacher Huang: Wait, what?! Not a film academy?

Bai Liang said he'd even thought of the title for this guide: "Three Years Into My Career, Starting From Zero and Getting Into Peking University for Grad School."

If any other artist said something like this, it would naturally be dismissed as hot air.

But Bai Liang actually had the track record to back it up.

He He He He Laoshi's eyes lit up. He picked up his teacup. "Once you get in and run into Professor Sa Beining, you've got to say this to him."

Bai Liang instantly got it: "Peking University isn't bad?"

"That's the one!"

Full of paternal air with nowhere to unleash it, Teacher Huang felt a fair bit of defeat.

Today he'd run into a "monster." No wonder everyone in the circle said this kid Bai Liang was no ordinary mortal~

This freaking thing is barely human anymore.

Teacher Huang: Where's the kitchen?! I'm about to start cooking!

At this point the production crew also gave a reminder, stating that the ingredients for tonight's Buddha Jumps Over the Wall would require transplanting rice seedlings across six hundred square meters to obtain.

And this was only what Xu Zheng ordered; the fish Miss Jing Tian ordered came with additional tasks.

"Let's catch the fish ourselves~" Bai Liang said he'd had his eye on that little lake—or the island in the middle of the small reservoir—since he arrived. It was practically a fisherman's holy land!

He hadn't fished in ages; not casting a line or two would make his whole body itch.

The production crew had no objections and simply split them into two groups.

Xu Zheng and He He He He Laoshi, taking Peng Yuchang along to transplant rice seedlings; Bai Liang took the two young ladies fishing.

As for the instant noodles Bai Liang ordered—gifted to him on the house~

However, Zhao Liying suddenly chimed in: "I'll go transplant seedlings with you. A place that big, you three won't finish by nightfall."

Miss Jing Tian: Oh!!

At this moment she suddenly felt that Zhao Liying was truly beautiful inside and out~

She even wanted to call her "Big Sis Zhao," and the other really was a year older than her, after all.

"Got any helmets? Get two helmets ready."

Peng Yuchang, who was helping Bai Liang look for fishing rods in the shed, was stunned. "Why do you need helmets for fishing?"

"Of course you need helmets when fishing! Especially when it's two people~"

Though he didn't understand, Peng Yuchang still found Bai Liang two... straw hats.

There really wasn't any such thing as a helmet, so they'd have to make do.

"Let's go!"

Miss Jing Tian seemed even more interested in fishing than Bai Liang. With a slightly ill-fitting straw hat perched on her head that kept slipping down, she kept reaching up to steady it—somehow managing to look utterly adorable.

At the same time, the two of them weren't entirely alone.

Setting aside the production crew's cameramen, there were still the dogs.

Paw Patrol, move out!

Four dogs scampered along behind the two of them. When it came to "affinity" with small animals, Bai Liang was practically supernaturally gifted, which left Miss Jing Tian quite envious.

"Were you so at ease in Africa because of this supernatural gift too?" Miss Jing Tian asked curiously.

Bai Liang:???

"What supernatural gift?"

"Making small animals like you! That honey badger was really fond of you."

Clearly, Miss Jing Tian had watched *Divas Hit the Road 3*; the honey badger, the breakout star of the first half, had left a deep impression on her.

"It didn't like me—it liked egg yolk pies."

"What about them, then?" Miss Jing Tian said, glancing at the dogs that kept following Bai Liang.

"Here, take these."

Bai Liang pulled a big handful of dog biscuits straight from his pocket—snacks he'd specifically gotten from Meng Jie.

She'd worried that chocolate wouldn't eat well while out with Bai Liang—spoiling him rotten, truly.

The moment the biscuits landed in Miss Jing Tian's hands, the dogs predictably started crowding around her.

Miss Jing Tian: That real? My illusions are shattered!

But she was easily distracted, and immediately steered the topic back to fishing: "Are you any good at it?"

"It's not a matter of being good or not. Put it this way—if there's a Kyogre in this lake, I could catch it!"

Miss Jing Tian paused. Instead of doubting Bai Liang was bluffing, she looked a little troubled:

"But do we have a landing net that big?"

(End of chapter)