Chapter 27: A Straightforward Heart, No Regrets

"You… how long are you going to keep hugging me?" Jin Cheng blinked her eyes and blurted out.

Bai Liang:???

He immediately performed a French military salute to prove his innocence.

Huh?!

Now it was Jin Cheng's turn to be embarrassed—she'd rushed out too fast and had just collided into him, dazing herself.

She'd instinctively assumed she was being held in someone's arms… and this guy smelled nice, and he was handsome too.

So Jin Cheng didn't dwell on the "collision," instead teasing him lightly to lighten the mood.

And then she socially died.

He hadn't hugged her at all!

It made her seem like she'd imagined it… and that she was unattractive.

Of course, there was also the possibility that this handsome guy was simply a pure gentleman with no intention of taking advantage of a girl.

Jin Cheng wasn't an ordinary girl—she quickly adjusted her words: "Why'd you say it out loud? I just wanted to take a little advantage!"

"Then you should've said so earlier~"

The next second, Bai Liang's arms wrapped around her again—but not for long, just briefly letting Jin Cheng "enjoy it a little."

Oh come on, you're such a jerk!

At this point, she recognized who Bai Liang was—after all, everyone in the cast had a general idea of who the main players were, especially since this was Tang Ren's self-produced drama.

She'd looked up a bit about the actors she'd have scenes with.

Unfortunately, Bai Liang had almost no online presence—she only knew he existed, and couldn't find anything about him online.

She'd only confirmed it now because someone had told her he was a huge hottie.

"Stranger" and "huge hottie"—those two keywords together could only mean this guy right here.

"Hi, I'm Jin Cheng, I play Ling Yin and Ling Bo."

Jin Cheng extended her small hand, as if the earlier incident had never happened.

"I'm Bai Liang. Did you get hurt just now?"

"No… well, a little—I feel something's off with my waist…" Jin Cheng instinctively denied it, then suddenly changed her tone.

But Bai Liang wasn't fazed by this "aggressive" type—he gave her serious advice: "Go get registered at a Chinese medicine hospital, have the doctor give you a massage. If it's not serious, I recommend a certain ointment—it works well, feels cool when you stick it on…"

"Pfft~ You're such a funny guy!" Jin Cheng grinned, her eyebrows curling up.

"You smile nicely too—like a crescent moon."

Huh?! Dude, you're actually good at this!

Jin Cheng wasn't sure if he was complimenting the way her eyes crinkled when she smiled, or if he was referring to the name of the female lead she'd play in the upcoming "Wuxin Fashi"—Li Yueya.

Li Yueya.

Either way, it felt good.

How long has it been since you broke up, and you're already hitting on another one?

In the hotel conference room, Na Zha, sitting beside the center seat, clenched her fist instinctively as she watched Bai Liang and Jin Cheng walk in laughing and chatting.

Then she pricked herself with her own fingernails~

If she hadn't been attached to her freshly done nude manicure, she'd have cut them off today.

But what surprised her was that Bai Liang, upon seeing her, walked over voluntarily, pointed to the seat beside her, and asked, "Can I sit here?"

"Of course!"

Na Zha brightened up again, deciding not to hold a grudge against her nails.

Bai Liang found it odd—wasn't the entertainment industry hypersensitive about seating and positioning?

There was even this concept of "inadequate virtue for the position"…

Bai Liang figured his role's weight wasn't so low he'd have to crawl under the table—he should at least sit further back.

That's exactly what Na Zha had taught him!

But since she didn't mention it this time, he didn't care—and even thought leaving the best viewing angle for the director and producers was better.

After greeting them, Jin Cheng sat down too, right next to Bai Liang.

She and Na Zha had him sandwiched between them.

At the same time, Jin Cheng's gaze was oddly fixed, flicking back and forth between Na Zha and Bai Liang… sensing gossip.

Just now, Na Zha's tone had practically turned into a baby voice!

But Jin Cheng had assumed that with Na Zha beside him, Bai Liang would definitely ignore her.

Turns out, that wasn't the case at all.

He just kept chatting normally!

In fact, when he noticed she was quiet and looked a bit pitiful, he even proactively gave her topics to talk about.

Now Jin Cheng was confused—do you two actually have something going on? Do I not even need to keep my distance?

Bai Liang: I'm upright and have a clear conscience—why should I avoid suspicion?

Besides… he and Na Zha were only at an ambiguous stage—he could easily treat everyone equally.

Jin Cheng: Pfft! You're a central air conditioner!

They were among the earliest to arrive; the next ten minutes saw the main crew gradually show up.

There was the sturdy, slightly naive male lead Han Dongjun, the effeminate male second lead Zheng Yuanchang, Liu Yase, Dou Xiao Nai, and others.

Dou Xiao Nai? That girl who spins around?

Bai Liang glanced at her curiously—she'd grown up so much~

Sensing his gaze, the underage girl blushed, embarrassed to be stared at like this.

He was quite shy.

Fortunately, Bai Liang's gaze was gentle enough, and he even smiled at her, so the little Miss returned the favor, flashing two tiger teeth.

"Hello everyone, I'm Bai Liang, very glad to meet you all."

During the self-introduction segment, Bai Liang made everyone feel like he really was quite happy.

To be able to make pleasantries sound not so pleasantry-ish, this kid's got talent!

Sitting across from Bai Liang, Han Dongjun was somewhat impressed — mainly because all the Misses sat in that row, and Bai Liang was the only guy stuck between Miss One, Miss Two, and Miss Three.

This feeling of being surrounded by beauties — who wouldn't want it~

After the self-introduction segment, there was nothing left for Bai Liang.

His role really didn't carry much weight; even the on-set director couldn't think of anything worth bringing up about him.

Unlike Han Dongjun and Nazha — those two were given strict instructions, looking every bit afraid they'd ruin the Xian Jian IP.

You could tell both of them were under a lot of pressure.

After all, the influence of the first two Xian Jian films was too great — from Fairy Sister to the Three Beauties of Xian Jian, people kept bringing it up even after more than ten years.

Plus the saying "no Hu Ge, no Xian Jian" — you could already feel Han Dongjun sweating buckets.

If he botched it, people would jump up and curse him!

Han Dongjun's pressure was indeed considerable, especially when he turned his gaze to the two leading ladies who should have been feeling the pressure, only to find both of them spacing out at the same time.

Nazha was spacing out so hard the corners of her mouth were curling up!

Han Dongjun:???

Are you two acting me out?! Am I the only one taking this seriously?

Nazha indicated that the pressure before she came was indeed considerable.

The Tang Yurou she had to play was a gentle, graceful Jiangnan lady — tender, kind, elegant in bearing.

The latter two keywords she could pull off, but the first one was a bit of a stretch... she, an exotic Xinjiang beauty, playing a Jiangnan Miss — just hearing it sounds off.

From a purely rational standpoint, she'd best not play this role; swapping with Jin Cheng might work better.

But how could that happen!

She's the top star — the top star playing second fiddle to other younger actresses with less fame in such an important company project?

Even if she were willing to be that generous, the company wouldn't agree.

Fortunately, Nazha's attention wasn't on this matter for the moment — as long as she didn't think about it, there was no pressure.

Otherwise, how would she sleep at night?