Chapter 279: The Bearing of the Female Lead

Who was the most headline-grabbing actress in film in 2017?

Without a doubt, it was Na Zha.

Among the top ten domestic films at the box office, she was the female lead in two of them, and her screen time was substantial — not the purely decorative vase kind of female lead.

With that boost, Na Zha, who had always been stuck in a rather awkward tier, rocketed straight up on the spot.

Taking off~

So Na Zha this year is very busy — busy to the point of barely touching the ground.

Her workload in the last half year is probably even more terrifying than Di Li Reiba's.

This isn't Cai Yi-nong squeezing her dry; on the contrary, Cai Yi-nong even made a special phone call to Bai Liang, asking him to talk some sense into Na Zha. Money can't be earned forever, there's no need to go at it like this~

Even the capitalists can't stand watching anymore.

Yet Na Zha's reply to Bai Liang was: she had to consider whether this might be the only chance of her life.

She felt her peak fame was probably just this year or the next, and she had to seize the opportunity and make money hard.

Na Zha isn't exactly the sharpest, and in career planning she's somewhat content to muddle along, but in a certain sense she's remarkably clear-headed.

"I know my acting isn't really any good, winning awards is definitely hopeless, and later on it'll be way too hard to land another role that's both a good fit and standout, in a film with high box office. Rather than thinking about continuing to climb higher and develop, better to grab the good moment now and make more money — what if later I can't earn as much as I do now?"

Hearing this left Bai Liang a bit dumbfounded. Surely not? At the same time he couldn't help thinking — why does Na Zha seem so much like someone who's been reborn? Could she possibly already know the salary cap order is coming?

So she's making a mad dash to earn money while the salary cap order hasn't arrived yet?

That's a kind of accidental bullseye too~

After all, she's also one of those typical players where a dummy beats the master.

Still, that one worry of Na Zha's is actually a bit unnecessary. If she later can't land any reliable films, she can just come act alongside Bai Liang.

But she flat-out refused that too.

As for the reason — right now Bai Liang doesn't need her, and she also doesn't want to hold Bai Liang back~

Today's Na Zha, dressed like a little thief, was wrapped up head to toe.

After entering the room and closing the door, she still had her mask on when she jumped up and pressed her lips toward Bai Liang's.

After their lips rubbed together through the mask for a moment, she finally caught herself and hurriedly stripped off her disguise.

Then she let out a snort of laughter, her expression like a little hamster, a bit mischievous: "I'm so silly~"

"What you actually want to say is that being silly is cute, right?"

Bai Liang now knows Na Zha's little verbal tricks inside out — she absolutely loves being complimented.

Sure enough, the moment those words left his mouth, Na Zha's eyes lit up and she let out a giggling laugh: "You think I'm cute? Actually it's nothing special, flattering me like that~"

Little green tea, behold my sword~

Coquettishness, cuteness, smugness — whatever the emotion, Na Zha always manages to give it a green-tea flavor; you could call it her innate skill.

Meng Jie's way of talking already feels pretty affected, but Na Zha takes this flavor to an even more ridiculous extreme.

So up to now, when it comes to winning fans, she's still not as good as Reiba.

Mainly because her female-fan base is still too small, and the fan-circle ecosystem is mostly made up of female fans.

Girls generally don't like someone too "tea," but guys absolutely love it.

Bai Liang is quite susceptible to this too — a pretty little "lieword" with looks that good, aren't those all plus points?

"Why did you sneak in? Were you nearby?"

"It's not that I happened to be nearby, it's that it happened to be nearby." At this point Na Zha lifted the pet carrier in her hand and pulled the little kitten out of it.

After not seeing each other for a while, the little thing seemed to have gotten a bit rounder again, looking adorably chunky.

But it had apparently been sleeping in the carrier just now; after being taken out it let out a couple of purrs, glanced up at Bai Liang, then skillfully draped itself over his lap and went back to sleep.

"It's been exhausted lately — just finished shooting two commercials," Na Zha explained.

Unlike Ni Ni, who deliberately staked out the place, Na Zha's visit this time really was a coincidence.

The kitten was shooting a commercial; after finishing her own schedule she came here to pick it up, and after learning Bai Liang was doing a roadshow nearby, she contacted Sister Yanzi — and snuck in just like that.

Oh right, just like Na Zha, this little thing has had it pretty tough this year too — working hard for cat food and cat cans.

Besides shooting commercials, sometimes it has to run schedules too~

Although the workload is far less compared to a real artist's, it's just a little kitten — it's been through the wringer.

But it hasn't lost weight even under these circumstances, probably because wherever it goes, someone feeds it.

"Why did we come next door? Was the room just now not convenient?"

After cuddling the cat with Bai Liang for a while, Na Zha asked, seemingly offhandedly.

"Too many people over there~" Bai Liang, for his part, was succinct.

"Too many people? Wasn't it just Miss Jing Tian and you doing the roadshow together?"

"Ni Ni's there too. Are you close with her?"

"Not really close... why is she here?" Na Zha asked.

"Mm, she said she was just wandering by~"

Right~ why indeed? Miss Jing Tian has plenty of grievances about this too.

Before she even finished clinging to that thigh, someone couldn't wait to jump out and stir things up.

Still, Miss Jing Tian's mood right now is unusually strange.

Upon learning that Na Zha had come and was right next door at this very moment, her first reaction was a bit unhappy.

After all, back in the Spring Festival Gala backstage, she had seen the closeness between Bai Liang and Na Zha with her own eyes.

And that night when they ate New Year's Eve dinner together, she could be even more certain the two had definitely slept together that night.

Especially after personally experiencing these past few days, she felt these two had very likely been at it from the Year of the Rooster all the way into the Year of the Dog.

So, after Na Zha arrived, Miss Jing Tian's originally happy and somewhat intoxicated state seemed to be yanked back to reality in an instant.

The little devil straight-up knocked over the little angel.

Together? Official announcement? Let's deal with the new Jiang sisters first~

And there are two of them!

But when she looked at Unlike Ni Ni again, she felt just a tiny bit of schadenfreude.

It gave off a strange sense of déjà vu—like a weakling with a combat power of five who couldn't take anyone down, but figured one of their "enemies" could take down the other "enemy."

Hmph! Let's see how you handle that!

"I'll go over and say hello."

After saying that, Miss Jing Tian walked off on her own, leaving Unlike Ni Ni standing there with a conflicted look on her face.

Oh no, the difficulty just shot up!

Now, who in the entire domestic entertainment circle doesn't know Bai Liang has two new Jiang "fangirls."

These two new Jiang Misses have been fighting over him for so long, their CP bond is rock-solid—even someone like Miss Jing Tian probably couldn't shake it.

Of course, that's the public relationship; what's actually going on behind the scenes is unclear.

After all, one of the entertainment circle's rules is: the truer something sounds, the more likely it's fake; while some things that look fake at first glance and seem absurd might actually be true with a high probability.

And with people like Na Zha and Sister Reba making such a huge fuss over their scandals with Bai Liang, people can't help but wonder—hey, is this a joint publicity stunt?

It really feels like two or even three teams are coordinating.

Otherwise, with all the romantic plotlines each of them has had with Bai Liang, there's enough material to write a romance novel—so why can't they manage an official announcement?

In the end, Unlike Ni Ni figured, well, I'm already here~

So she stamped her foot and went to meet them!

Now the whole group has relocated.

Na Zha looked curiously at these two "Eighty-Five Flowers" contestants who had appeared before her, thinking to herself: why do they look like bullfrogs, all puffed up like that?

Hehe, she's not as pretty as me! And she's not as tall either~

After comparing and finding such a "massive" advantage, Na Zha cheerfully greeted the two of them.

She and Miss Jing Tian were "old acquaintances"—they'd started interacting from the Spring Festival Gala rehearsals, and later even had New Year's Eve dinner together.

At one point, the relationship between them was extremely tense, almost coming to blows.

To be precise, Na Zha almost got beaten up by Miss Jing Tian~

But then things inexplicably calmed down, and that New Year's Eve dinner could be considered a "peace-making drink."

After that, the two of them had no more contact, and didn't want any.

The "ditzy adorable airhead beauty" lane can't fit two people.

In the entertainment circle, sure, but not by Bai Liang's side.

As for Unlike Ni Ni, she'd had even less interaction with her.

But it doesn't matter—guests are guests~

"Hello there! Ah, Sister Ni Ni, thank you for coming to support his movie." Na Zha put on a smile, making it clear she'd never give a sour face to someone who came to show support~ Absolutely not. Bai Liang gets a share of this movie's profits, and a big one at that!

Unlike Ni Ni:???

Good lord, the way Na Zha said that instantly set off alarm bells for her.

This was clearly the posture of the lady of the house.

"Huh? Sister Ni Ni, aren't you treating him to dinner tonight too? Na Zha, do you want to come along?" Miss Jing Tian suddenly blurted out of nowhere.

Very obviously stirring the pot.

That provocation job was way too clumsy.

Unlike Ni Ni looked at this big dummy speechlessly and said, "Sister Tian Tian, you're older than me."

"Huh?"

"We were born in the same year, you're twenty days older than me."

"... But by the lunar calendar, my birthday is later than yours."

This left everyone speechless—it felt like Miss Jing Tian was insulting everyone's intelligence.

No errors in any chapter, no missing content!

"Hey, Na Zha, did you invest in this movie?" Unlike Ni Ni decided to ignore Miss Jing Tian and try to deal with the new Jiang girl directly.

Her words were meant to push back—don't act like the lady of the house here, you two haven't made an official announcement or gotten married, and what does this movie have to do with you?

Miss Jing Tian didn't even say that!

But Na Zha, seemingly clueless, also chimed in: "That's right~"

"Huh? How much did you invest? Then you must've made a fortune!"

"Ten million." Na Zha blurted it out without hesitation.

Seeing that she didn't look like she was lying, Unlike Ni Ni actually felt a twinge of envy.

The movie's production cost was supposedly only a few tens of millions—so she really made a killing!

I heard she also got a share of "Wolf Warrior 2"—damn, just how rich is she now?!

She couldn't help but glance at Miss Jing Tian, seemingly wanting to confirm whether Na Zha's claim was true.

Miss Jing Tian: Money, money, money—how vulgar!

She didn't pay attention to this kind of thing at all, so if Na Zha said it... maybe, possibly, probably it was true~

Whatever~ It's not important anyway.

But Bai Liang was a bit confused—didn't Na Zha's ten million go to "The Wandering Earth"? When did it go to "How Long Will I Love U"?

Na Zha: I gave you ten million either way, I don't care how you spend it~ Let's blow this up first.

But what happened next exceeded her imagination.

Because Unlike Ni Ni and Miss Jing Tian had gotten into a tussle.

"Sister Ni Ni, are we still having dinner together tonight?"

"Sister Tian Tian, no rush on that."

"Sister Ni Ni, we're about to start the roadshow soon, time's really tight, we probably won't have time to meet with you again."

"Sister Tian Tian, I'm not asking you out to dinner either."

"."

Holy crap, what's going on?!

Na Zha was stunned.

The two of them were frantically calling each other "sister," and the gunpowder in their words grew thicker and thicker.

No way, what's there for two "old women" born in '88 to fight over? She's still standing right there.

Na Zha couldn't help but glance at Bai Liang, figuring this mess must have been stirred up by her own troublesome guy.

But Bai Liang was over there looking thoroughly entertained.

Na Zha found it both funny and exasperating, and couldn't help but poke him.

Bai Liang: Huh? Wasn't me, didn't do it, don't talk nonsense.

Stir up trouble?

He hadn't touched Unlike Ni Ni from start to finish — let alone touched her, he hadn't even held her little hand.

He absolutely would not take that blame.

Though as for Miss Jing Tian's side, he really had gone all the way.

Maybe it was because of that, Miss Jing Tian had inadvertently had her Ren and Du meridians opened by him.

She actually looked like she was getting stronger the more she fought.

And she suddenly killed the match with a single line.

"Sister Ni Ni, I think you'd better go have dinner with your boyfriend. I feel some things just aren't appropriate, and it'd sound pretty bad if it got out. What do you think?"

Hearing this, Unlike Ni Ni froze for a moment, about to instinctively say she'd already broken up with Jing Boran and was single now so she could do whatever she wanted.

But she suddenly realized she'd only told Bai Liang about this matter.

Bai Liang winked at her: That's right, I helped you keep the secret.

Unlike Ni Ni: A little touched, but actually there was no need.

The good news was, Bai Liang's character really was excellent — he hadn't told anyone this kind of gossip.

But the bad news was, his character was too good — damn, Unlike Ni Ni felt she probably couldn't dig out this wall.

Wait no—

She glanced at Miss Jing Tian, then at Na Zha, and suddenly smiled seductively.

Who said she was digging at the wall?

She wasn't here to break up this "family" — she was here to join this "family."

"Tian Tian~"

"Sister Ni Ni, what's up?"

"That 'sister' sure sounds sweet!"

Miss Jing Tian:???

Can't understand what nonsense you're babbling about — you have a boyfriend and still come out flirting around, bad woman! Pah!

By now Na Zha had watched for a long time and finally figured it out. Oh~~

"Sister Ni Ni, he's having dinner with me tonight, he promised me ages ago." Na Zha suddenly said.

Hearing this, Unlike Ni Ni was briefly stunned, but showed no sign of discouragement.

Some things, you know — when people fight over them, it really means they're good stuff!

"What a shame, I'll just wait till next time~ It's getting late, I won't disturb your roadshow. I'll take my leave now — wishing the movie continued box office success!"

After saying this, Unlike Ni Ni waved at Bai Liang again, twisted her hips, and turned to leave.

Oh right, she wasn't like Na Zha, who had come sneaking in.

She could just walk out openly and aboveboard right now.

The moment she stepped out, reporters swarmed. Unlike Ni Ni faced the cameras, expressed her love for the movie "How Long Will I Love U" and her appreciation for Bai Liang, then swept away.

As for the reporters asking why she hadn't supported "Us and Them," the movie starring her own boyfriend, she didn't answer.

Not saying anything — that's how you play the expert.

Before the official breakup announcement, getting on a few more trending topics isn't too much.

And online had always said she and Jing Boran were a contract couple, so their CP popularity had never really taken off.

Not many CP fans either.

Tsk tsk, so here's the question — were they really a contract couple?

At least now, both Na Zha and Miss Jing Tian thought so — otherwise where would Unlike Ni Ni get such a shameless nerve.

"Let's be a contract couple too~"

In the rest room, a rather outrageous line was spoken from the Miss's mouth just like that.

It almost made Bai Liang spit out his water.

Of course this could only have been said by Miss Jing Tian — hehe, learning from the barbarians to beat the barbarians, she'd gotten inspiration from Unlike Ni Ni.

Thank you, Sister Ni Ni!

Miss Jing Tian had quite the air of "the bolder the fighting, the braver the spirit."

But before Bai Liang could even speak, Na Zha couldn't hold back any longer, stepped forward directly, "Dream on, absolutely not!"

(End of this chapter)