Chapter 280: I

Bai Liang had seen girls fight before; when Reba and Nazha had their encrypted calls, it was even more intense than this.

The pace of speaking in one's native dialect is always different from usual.

It was like two tiny machine guns.

But today's three-way brawl was refreshingly new.

Nazha and Sister Tian Tian were truly amazing—they'd already driven Ni Ni away.

Bai Liang found her genuinely annoying, at least he used to.

Then suddenly she brought up "contract lovers"? What the hell is this?!

He instinctively glanced at Miss Jing Tian, wanting to understand just what these "contract lovers" were about.

But Nazha clearly wasn't letting the suddenly "crazy" Miss Jing Tian off the hook—she used her height advantage to loom over her.

Miss Jing Tian: What's so impressive about being over 1.7 meters? You big dummy? If you're so confident, lie down and see who's taller!

So she thrust out her chest.

Nazha: Isn't that Reba's move?!

She instinctively stepped back a pace—otherwise she'd have been pressed right up against it; the standing height advantage and the lying-down "height" advantage were now equal.

But Nazha declared she was going to teach Miss Jing Tian a lesson today!

"What contract lovers? What are you trying to do?"

Miss Jing Tian, startled by Nazha's sudden aggression, instinctively wanted to hide behind Bai Liang—only by being his little tail could she feel safe.

But anyone who's played Eagle Catching Chickens knows: tall people have long arms and legs; their defense isn't easily breached.

Hmph. Eagle catching chickens, old hag, shameless!

Nazha cursed inwardly, as if she saw right through everything.

"I just mentioned it for movie promotion—it has nothing to do with you."

Hearing this, Nazha got angry: "I invested in this movie! How could it not involve me?!"

"Um, Nazha, you didn't invest in this movie." Bai Liang, as Dragonfly Captain, had to correct her slightly.

Nazha blinked. "Huh? Not really?"

"Not at all."

"Oh~ Then forget it. But it still involves me—you can't even think about it!"

"I'm not talking to you."

Just moments ago, Miss Jing Tian had been fully firing at Ni Ni—now she suddenly shrank, afraid to confront Nazha.

"Don't you dare leave!"

But today, Nazha wore the full demeanor of a shrew—she grabbed Miss Jing Tian's arm and even played the victim, pouting: "Oh! You hurt me!"

Miss Jing Tian:???

Isn't that my line?!

You grab my arm and say I hurt you? Where's the law? Where's justice?!

Green tea!!!

Seeing Miss Jing Tian's wide, incredulous eyes, Nazha felt a little embarrassed.

"Cough, cough—I'll just say your line for you first."

"You're something else," Miss Jing Tian complained.

"You can scold me all you want, but I won't let you ruin him!"

At that moment, Nazha's little face hardened into serious resolve, glowing with the light of righteousness, dedicated to crushing Miss Jing Tian's "heretical schemes" on Bai Liang.

Miss Jing Tian: "Huh? Who's ruining him?"

"Contract lovers aren't ruining him? He's a top idol! After Lu Han's official announcement, you didn't see how he was? You don't know—or are you pretending not to know? His career is doing way better than Lu Han's now—how dare you mess with him at a time like this?"

Nazha thought for several seconds before coming up with the most "vicious" tactic.

"If you dare mess with him, the moment you make it official, I'll pop out and say you're the third wheel! I'm gonna blow this wide open!"

Tough? Then no one gets to do it!

This tactic Nazha learned from Cai Yinong.

Back then, Cai Yinong's "F*** her, I'm blowing this wide open!" had left an indelible impression on Nazha.

So cool!

Today, she finally had a chance to say it herself.

She felt incredibly cool~

Watching Nazha like a self-detonating truck, Miss Jing Tian gave up.

What a terrifying woman—are all 90s this scary now?

You can't steal a boyfriend like this! Even if we're competing, we could use more civilized methods.

But Nazha's words also startled Miss Jing Tian.

How much do you really like him?

All you talk about is Bai Liang's career—what about your own?

A sensation called "Wang Yanbing shock" made Miss Jing Tian's head buzz.

She began to feel unworthy—she could never be as outrageous as Nazha.

So, did she not love him enough?

So, almost unconsciously, Miss Jing Tian murmured:

"Then I'm sorry~"

"Huh?"

This puzzled voice came from Bai Liang.

He never could have imagined that the conversation between these two Misses would end with Jing Tian's apology.

Wait, isn't that Nazha just PUA-ing the other person?

When it comes to feelings, who says you have to sacrifice for the other person for it to count as true love? Besides, you can't use that as a premise in the first place.

Bai Liang felt a strange taste in the air.

It was as if he hadn't done a thing, yet Nazha had already played the scumbag for him, started PUA-ing Jing Tian over there, and achieved phased success.

This can happen too?!

When facing "difficulties," Bai Liang always habitually "lies flat" over there, because one of his great pleasures in life is—facing this kind of situation, what will you do about it, Lady Luck~

Come on, let this bro see what you've got.

But this time, it genuinely startled him a little.

Even without him going to PUA anyone, the young Miss was perfectly normally wanting to date him and go public—and yet Nazha jumped out, did a bunch of messy moves, and directly left Jing Tian completely confused.

This... is this appropriate?

"I'm leaving now, you focus on promoting the movie, don't overwork yourself. You're not allowed to mess around, or I'll blow up on you!"

The first half was directed at Bai Liang, the second half at Jing Tian.

Before leaving, she didn't forget to "threaten" Jing Tian a little—today's Nazha really did have quite the female lead aura.

It's just that her version of being a female lead was a bit strange, because she helped Bai Liang resolve the deadly incident of a scumbag being forced to go public.

Even though after Nazha left, Bai Liang told Jing Tian: "Um, don't take her words to heart."

As a result, Jing Tian first nodded, indicating she wasn't stupid—how could she believe everything Nazha said just because Nazha said it.

But!

"She likes you so much... it just makes me feel kind of defeated, like I can't compare to her."

"Some things aren't suitable to compare side by side; people are all independent individuals." Bai Liang figured comparing yourself to a love-brained person over this stuff—wasn't that just asking for humiliation?

But Jing Tian's behavior told Bai Liang: she's a love-brain too!

Nazha's little moves couldn't actually PUA others, but they really could cure Jing Tian.

It wasn't that her techniques were all that brilliant—purely a case of the right specialist for the job.

"I'm not comparing myself to her..." Jing Tian gave Bai Liang a resentful look, "I really didn't think things through completely, but you too—can you be a little more responsible for your own career? I'm a bit dumb, I didn't think that much, but aren't you the smart one? If I had really made a request, were you planning to agree to me today?"

"Uh—" Bai Liang scratched his head, feeling that if he admitted it, he'd be a bit shameless.

But Jing Tian took his silence as a tacit admission. "Childish ghost! Of course career is more important! You're a man! Don't be like that idiot Lu Han..."

Honestly, if Lu Han were here today, he'd probably cry out loud.

Being constantly used as a negative example by the young Misses, getting flogged from every angle.

He clearly had backbone and was responsible, but in their mouths he was no different from an idiotic loser.

Meanwhile, Bai Liang, this scumbag—even though he hadn't even thought about whitewashing himself—couldn't stop the young Misses from PUA-ing each other over there.

Where the hell do you go to reason this out! —

In two weeks' time, the box office of "How We Love" reached the figure of 2.5 billion. It stunned the eyes of everyone in the industry.

From a certain angle, this box office figure rivals the box office myth of "Wolf Warrior 2."

No matter what, "Wolf Warrior 2" was Wu Jing's life-risking masterpiece—he staked his entire fortune, traveled to Africa, went through so much... and the production cost was also a blockbuster exceeding two hundred million.

A blockbuster with a high box office is perfectly reasonable—the only unreasonable thing is that it's a bit too high.

But damn, a low-budget romance film raking in such an exaggerated box office is just too outrageous.

Casually falling in love in Shanghai and making money while at it?

The biggest hardship in here is probably just the Miss's tears~

I'm talking about the scene in the movie where Jing Tian's tear drops into Bai Liang's mouth—netizens have sharp eyes.

But compared to the bitterness of a single tear, that pretty young Miss's sweet little mouth—Bai Liang this guy didn't get to taste it any less.

In fact, he tasted it even more.

Damn, enjoying yourself while making money?

Two-something billion, one billion—that's where a dark horse like this should land for a box office explosion.

It was only after the roadshow ended that Jing Tian gradually understood why Unlike Ni Ni was so crazy, so "shameless."

No errors, no omissions—read it all in one place!

During the screening period and after release, the entertainment circle seemed to open a new side to her.

A side full of goodwill.

Open Weibo, and it's all people praising her—the few haters aren't worth bothering with at all.

Fans who used to be too timid to speak up also perked up, one by one congratulating Sister Tian Tian on finally turning things around.

The team's scripts they can now access are also better, invitations to various shows—setting aside how much the price tag is, the sincerity and tone alone sound super comfortable.

"Sis, sis, how's it going? We're probably going to be pretty busy with work after this—can you handle it?"

Looking at her team's excited staff, Jing Tian grinned, "Of course I can! I'm full of energy right now!"

"Sis, you definitely won't be tired—you've been sucking up essence lately, right~ Little Bro Bai, what a tonic!"

Jing Tian's assistant teased in a voice only the two of them could hear.

With something like this, there's no way a personal assistant could be kept in the dark.

The other party had even entered the room several times, catching the scene of Bai Liang holding Jing Tian in bed—and who knows whether they were wearing anything under the covers.

"Ahem, don't talk nonsense!"

After giving a small warning, Jing Tian felt a strange sense of longing in her heart.

Ten consecutive days filled with work during the day and filled with Bai Liang at night—such a fulfilling life suddenly gone—how could one not feel a touch of wistful loss.

But there's no help for it—whether the official announcement succeeded or not, the two of them couldn't stay glued together forever.

So now, Bai Liang has to face the whirlwind of admirers in the entertainment industry all by himself?

Miss Jing Tian couldn't help but worry for him—could he even handle it?

Bai Liang: Actually, it's fine~

Back on the set of "The Legend of Qiyuan," he wasn't exactly "alone," since even though some girls had left, there were still plenty left!

Like the crew's old Lai, Meng Jie, and also Chen Yao, who just joined.

The two of them got along well—when Bai Liang returned, he happened to see them holding hands, chatting and laughing.

Although Li Yitong was some kind of triple-fold, always popping up wherever you looked, the real social prodigy was still Meng Jie.

Oh right, there's also Xin Xin Zhilei, the girlfriend of Dr. Zhai.

But her girlfriend doesn't count—Bai Liang doesn't have that habit.

Still, Xin Xin Zhilei was quite casual—after he returned to the set, she ran over, shook his hand, and it was kind of funny.

"Let's get to know each other again—I'm Xin Xin Zhilei."

"Sister Lei, what are you doing?"

"Hey! I was kinda startled—you're too intense! How many hundred million did you pull in at the box office?"

"Over two billion."

Xin Xin Zhilei gasped—this was insane.

He went out for a bit, and the male lead single-handedly delivered this kind of box office result.

No wonder, even though Bai Liang had originally requested a week off, he didn't return for over ten days—the director and producers weren't worried at all, even smiling all day.

Every extra day the set was shut down meant lost money!

Later, they found out—the main investor had added more funding and sponsorship.

Why? Naturally, it was because of the male lead out there hustling.

Just then, as Xin Xin Zhilei came over, the director and others arrived too.

After a round of congratulations, they announced they'd throw Bai Liang a welcome-back dinner.

Although throwing a welcome-back dinner for someone returning from leave was a bit odd, Bai Liang couldn't refuse with everyone so enthusiastic.

But at dinner, he realized that besides Chen Yao, the set had gained another person he'd almost forgotten.

Xiao Zhan.

This future top idol was still just a minor player—his drama that would catapult him to top status, "The Untamed," wouldn't air until next year.

Oh right, that was the drama Meng Jie could've played the female lead in.

He and Bai Liang debuted around the same time—both in 2015.

Bai Liang went straight to Hengdian to act in TV dramas; Xiao Zhan debuted as a trainee on a variety show called "Burn, Boys!"

Unfortunately, "Burn, Boys!" clearly wasn't as popular as this year's "Idol Producer," so he couldn't become a top idol just from the show.

So now, this guy was still low-key, sitting quietly in the corner, not drawing attention.

If Bai Liang hadn't spotted him, he'd have missed him entirely.

But when Meng Jie noticed Bai Liang looking at him, she slipped in a little report: "After he joined the set, he asked me why I didn't take the role in 'The Untamed'—it's an adaptation of the novel 'Mo Dao Zu Shi,' a danmei drama."

"Asked you? What's he trying to do?"

"Just asked—sounded kinda regretful. Hey, I'll tell you, I'm still popular!"

Got it—Meng Jie was just showing off.

Bai Liang figured Xiao Zhan had just joined the set, didn't know anyone, spotted someone vaguely familiar who'd almost worked with him—Meng Jie—and said hello.

But in Meng Jie's version, it became that he was deeply regretful—sometimes this girl was just shameless.

Chen Yao's face, barely holding back a smirk, said it all.

"Danmei dramas have a really high chance of going viral—I have a good buddy who blew up that way."

"Huang Jingyu? I know him—you even recommended that drama 'Addicted' to me before."

Chen Yao chimed in politely: "You recommended it to me too—I watched some."

Meng Jie picked up again: "In danmei dramas, audiences only care about the two male leads—the so-called female lead? I think she's just there for censorship. No loss at all—playing her might even get you roasted."

Though this sounded like self-reassurance—Meng Jie hadn't taken the role, so whether it was good or bad, they'd have to wait until it aired to know.

Still, she insisted she'd never regret it—firmly so.

But actually, Meng Jie's analysis this time was spot-on~

And the side effects of danmei were pretty sticky—once you got involved, it was hard to shake off.

Huang Jingyu barely managed to shed the label from "Addicted" thanks to "The Battle of Red Sea."

Barely—his future career would still be haunted by BL-related topics; he'd never truly escape it. Those fujoshi fans were "loyal" as hell.

This topic didn't last long—Bai Liang and Xiao Zhan exchanged no real conversation, just a greeting.

This future storm-bringing danmei top idol was, at this moment, just a minor player from Chen Yixun's lyrics—"standing like a lackey."

Bai Liang, meanwhile, was the center of attention—everyone's topic always circled back to him.

Compared like this? No, Bai Da didn't "bully the weak"—he'd wait until the guy became a top idol before comparing.

He didn't bully anyone who wasn't a top idol.

—

Three chapters, fourteen thousand words—see you tomorrow, muah!

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(End of chapter)