Chapter 288: Are We Manufacturing Headlines Here?

"You're sure Bai Liang is at Chen Yao's place right now?"

"President Cai, how could I not be sure about this. Great Immortal, Bai Liang is way too freaking arrogant—his company's car is parked right downstairs, been there for two days! Goes out during the day, comes back at night."

Someone capable of pulling this kind of stunt has to be him, no doubt.

Honestly, Cai Yinong was pretty speechless too—anyone who didn't know would think this Bai Liang guy was about to make an official announcement.

But Bai Liang has never been one to play by the book, and he's pulled similar stunts before—back then he was even "co-renting" with Na Zha.

They called it co-renting, but in Cai Yinong's judgment, that kid definitely didn't pay rent.

If he weren't doing so well now, she'd say he had the makings of a freeloader.

Oh right, according to the "intel" Cai Yinong had gathered, Bai Liang still didn't seem to have bought a house.

But she had heard he'd bought another large RV, the kind costing over ten million, and with all sorts of custom modifications—who knows how much money he'd dump into those two vehicles.

So this little bastard won't buy a house, but he'll go live at some girl's place instead?!

His whole philosophy: as long as I don't have a home, everywhere is home?

Although her mind was full of complaints, Cai Yinong didn't let these messy thoughts affect her judgment.

Her judgment now was: back Chen Yao!

No other reason—just follow Na Zha's playbook.

Tang Ren Pictures had already started falling behind and becoming outdated within the industry; even though Cai Yinong herself didn't want to admit it, it remained an indisputable fact.

Their company's self-produced dramas—not only did Na Zha not want to act in them, Hu Ge didn't either.

Both the top actor and top actress rejecting them at the same time said everything.

Overall, Cai Yinong was conservative, and precisely because of that conservatism, she hadn't embraced the new era's industry transformation, which led to Tang Ren Pictures falling behind.

Still clinging to operations like "top actress" and "top actor"—there's a whiff of that decade-old "decadence" to it.

And her approach of being "stubbornly principled" in certain ways could, at times, produce some rather odd effects.

The "principle" she clung to now was: Bai Liang.

You kid don't want to "package" Tang Ren's female artists?

Here you go!

Once packaged, you can't just leave them hanging, alright~

Though this way of thinking sounded a bit shameless, it was more out of helplessness.

If she could produce her own stars, why resort to these "off-the-field tricks"?

No good!

Cai Yinong felt it still wasn't safe enough.

So she decided to launch a "surprise attack" herself, to corner Bai Liang at Chen Yao's place.

Not that she intended to do anything or threaten anything—that wasn't necessary.

She just wanted to bring this matter out into the open to some extent.

Consider it a little reminder to this kid.

"Huh? President Cai?"

Chen Yao looked surprised when she saw Cai Yinong at her front door.

"I happened to be handling something nearby, so I thought I'd drop by your place—after all, I haven't seen your new home yet."

Cai Yinong didn't come empty-handed—she'd brought a bottle of red wine and some goblets.

However, Chen Yao looked at those three glasses... and felt something was off.

"Just you at home?"

"President Cai, I live alone, of course it's only me at home—no wait, there's also it~"

Looking at that adorably dopey fat cat, Cai Yinong said the one she was looking for wasn't this.

Unfortunately, the person she was looking for had left half an hour ago.

Chen Yao: That was close, that was close~ how awkward would that have been!

Cai Yinong: Could it be that there's a spy planted around me?

After confirming that there really wasn't a single man to be found anywhere in Chen Yao's home, Cai Yinong was a bit helpless. "Where's that kid?"

"President Cai, I really don't have a boyfriend..." Chen Yao said weakly.

The other party waved her hand, unbothered. "I know, where's Bai Liang?"

Hearing this, Chen Yao froze for a moment, then said stiffly, "How could Brother Xiao Bai be at my place, President Cai, you must be joking."

What a stubborn refusal to admit it.

The déjà vu of this scene made Cai Yinong feel it was all so familiar.

Back then Na Zha was the same way—flat-out denial, asked and she'd say no, asked again and she'd say she didn't know.

The stubbornness and play-acting of these girls at certain moments made Cai Yinong feel that even if she pulled out a bed photo, they'd dare say it was photoshopped.

Of course, she didn't have a bed photo either.

But pulling up surveillance footage shouldn't be difficult.

However, regardless of whether Chen Yao was stubbornly denying it, just the fact that her situation mirrored Na Zha's so closely meant she was destined to be Tang Ren's future top actress.

It just turned Cai Yinong from the imagined aggressor into the one on the back foot.

Still unable to get a handle on that troublemaker Bai Liang at all.

"Then can you tell me where he went?"

"He went to attend the premiere of 'Dying to Survive.'" Chen Yao blurted out.

Cai Yinong: Damn, you sure know every little detail.

Under President Cai's strange stare, Chen Yao couldn't quite hold up—but her "couldn't hold up" didn't mean she'd come clean; she just lowered her head to look at the floor.

——

Early screening is not the same as early streaming.

The latter hasn't appeared yet—it was only introduced by Tencent after "The Untamed" became a hit next year.

Paying for membership and then paying extra for early streaming? Absurd.

Early movie screenings are essentially a "double-edged sword" in film marketing, their effectiveness depending on how well the film's quality matches its promotional strategy.

It's just a "small-scale" release, usually aimed at building word-of-mouth.

Only those with strong confidence in their film dare do this.

Otherwise, if the early screening's word-of-mouth collapses, even gods can't save it.

Many low-quality films sometimes rely on audience ignorance to trick them into buying tickets.

If you do an early screening and the word-of-mouth blows up, it'll be hard to trick people into buying tickets afterward.

A good example is Xiao Zhao's sister's film "The Kingdom of the Women."

I wonder where the distributor got such insane confidence.

As for this early screening of "I Am Not a Pharmacist," strictly speaking, it should be called large-scale early screening.

The words "large-scale" are crucial.

Because yesterday Li Yifeng's "The Animal World" was released, earning seventy million on its first day.

Today, "I Am Not a Pharmacist" launched its large-scale screening.

Bai Liang vaguely remembered he still had a "rivalry" with Li Yifeng~

Although it was just something fans stirred up online, once the topic gained traction, neither side needed to officially respond—it was effectively tacit consent.

Let's fight then~

But "The Time Traveler's Wife" ultimately earned 2.7 billion, and online at the time there was already a voice declaring "the winner is decided."

It seemed the answer to who was the top among the four top flows was already clear.

Li Yifeng's team dared not continue promoting this topic, but his fans clearly didn't understand "the height of heaven and the thickness of earth."

Bai Liang can do it—why can't our brother?!.

They directly shouted a 3-billion-yuan box office slogan!

This might be partly due to Wu Jing—after "Wolf Warrior 2"'s box office stood there, everyone now feels 3 billion isn't that far-fetched.

Or perhaps fans, as a species, simply believe too much in their idols.

Good! Very spirited!

Then here's a reward: a dimensional strike from an iconic rival. The real 3-billion-yuan movie has arrived.

Just as Xu Zheng had promised Bai Liang before: a gaming power-leveling service.

"What are you thinking about? Smiling like a weasel~"

Xiao Zhao's sister glanced at Bai Liang and casually compared him to a small animal.

"Really?"

"Answer my question first."

"Oh, I was thinking about Li Yifeng."

"Thinking about a guy?"

Xiao Zhao's sister said that was fine, then let him keep thinking.

She didn't want to interfere in the battle between two top flows, since she'd also collaborated with Li Yifeng and got along well with him—she couldn't just jump in and stab him in the back.

But Xiao Zhao's sister felt no help was needed—Bai Liang's current momentum was like wiping out anyone he faced.

No single line, no single shot, no single detail is wrong!

Ever heard of the Hundred-Billion Box Office Mr.?

He's still fighting other so-called "top flows"—it feels like an adult bullying a child.

Bai Liang: I love kicking the Beihai Kindergarten.

And all this bickering, fighting this one, fighting that one—isn't that just the correct way to operate in the entertainment circle?

Bai Liang thought he'd never actively provoked anyone, but according to Sister Yanzi's words: once you're in this circle, if you're successful, rivals will come to you without you lifting a finger.

Indeed, Bai Liang has passively crushed several top flows.

When Xiao Zhao's sister and Yang Mi and the other 85s were fighting each other, none of them let anyone off the hook.

What deep grudges could they possibly have against each other?

As for why Xiao Zhao's sister appeared with Bai Liang at the "Pharmacist" early screening today, it was obviously to create buzz by appearing together.

"Zhi Nü" is launching today.

She's now "clinging" to Bai Liang to get more trending topics with him.

Although the lead role in the TV series is hers, fortune turns like a wheel~

She had to admit this kid's status was now far higher than hers.

She couldn't help poking Bai Liang, "You won't take any more female-lead roles anymore, right?"

"Huh? Doesn't matter—I'll just act in whatever interests me."

"Really?" Xiao Zhao's sister muttered, skeptical, but didn't press further.

She feared he was saying this to save face—what if asking more embarrassed him?

Not just female-lead roles—Xiao Zhao's sister even suspected Bai Liang would only accept roles where the male lead dominates and the female lead has little presence.

Put bluntly: in TV dramas, who could possibly share equal screen time with him? Which young female actress could manage it?

Among peers—the 90s young actresses—only Dilireba and Gulinaiza might match him.

But in reality, they still lagged in status—none could truly share equal billing with Bai Liang.

As for the even bigger-name 85 Beauties, Xiao Zhao Sister now has no confidence at all.

Moreover, the fact that Miss Jing Tian cut her own scenes after taking on "Great Ming Splendor" is no secret in the industry.

Everyone thinks it's quite reasonable.

The strangest part is, after it spread online, Miss Jing Tian's fans also thought it was reasonable, and didn't feel she was insulted by not playing the female lead.

After all, you have to see who the male lead is~

If it were some ordinary flow star, or even just a minor nobody, her fans would definitely riot and rage at the producers.

Bai Liang? Then it's fine.

After all, Bai Liang already lifted Miss Jing Tian to stardom with his films; it's normal for her to play a supporting role in his TV drama.

This is called "repaying kindness."

Miss Jing Tian herself found such remarks irritating— even her fans thought she was mediocre.

What kind of repayment for Bai Liang? She already "repaid" him long ago; when he manipulated her, he didn't hold back at all.

Before certain events happened, she really did climb onto a powerful man's leg to rise.

But after those events, she stood firm with righteous confidence.

—

Today, Bai Liang and Zhao Liying's main role at the "I Am Not a Pharmacist" movie set was to contribute some cut scenes.

That is, the kind of content still popular online: celebrity reactions.

Like Wu Jing watching a movie and slapping his knee in awe! Wu Jing watching a drama and bursting into tears! Why is it always Wu Jing? Because he's currently the biggest name.

"Sister, here~"

"What's this?"

"Tissues. For wiping your tears later."

"Hah!" Xiao Zhao Sister swept the pack of tissues away with a casual and disdainful gesture, "How could I cry? Just squeezing out two tears to cooperate is already plenty! Keep them for yourself—if you end up sobbing uncontrollably, don't come crawling into my lap for comfort."

Bai Liang claimed he had no emotions, because he'd spent ten years killing fish at Dahrunfa.

Perfect!

Xiao Zhao Sister nodded in satisfaction—he was a worthy teammate.

Still, she thought that for the sake of the show's effect, she could let Bai Liang support her arm later.

For the TV drama's promotion~

Nowadays, Bai Liang's CPs or rumors have already reached a consensus.

They all started after Miss Jing Tian.

Netizens have already summarized the pattern: whenever there's a screening period or promotional period, Bai Liang always "performs" with the female lead in various ways—this is almost always fake, just because he's an excellent actor; don't be fooled by them.

So what's real?

Reba and Naza are real.

Bai Liang strongly suspects this theory was paid for by either Reba's or Naza's team—or worse, their teams have secretly teamed up again.

Interestingly, compared to Reba and Naza themselves, who tear into each other on sight as if they're mortal enemies,

their teams actually get along quite well—it's all for the artists' better development; mutual cooperation brings mutual benefit, so why not work together?

And this kind of marketing is actually good for Xiao Zhao Sister.

She has always avoided rumors with Bai Liang; even after three collaborations, no scandalous rumors have ever surfaced.

Now, this online narrative lets her be a little more "liberated" during the TV drama's screening period.

Indeed, after greeting Xu Zheng and Wen Wen Muye, as soon as the movie started, Xiao Zhao Sister reached over and linked arms with Bai Liang.

Her face beamed with a smile, as if she was in high spirits.

"If you dare move around, I'll break your fingers. We're creating buzz here~"

"Oh, I didn't mean that—sister, are you really sure you don't need tissues?" Bai Liang asked again, kindly.

"Hah!"

Alright, so Bai Liang handed his own tissues to a girl behind him.

The girl sitting behind him was Xiao Shui.

This editor-in-chief planned to give him a short interview after the movie ended.

On one hand, to formally respond to the previous shady contract; on the other, to help promote "Zhi Fu."

Clearly, Xiao Zhao Sister was far too confident!

No tissues? Just squeeze out two tears to cooperate?

She had no idea what a phenomenon-level realistic film truly meant.

If "I Am Not a Pharmacist" couldn't make people sob uncontrollably, how could it be called phenomenon-level?

"He just wanted to live—what crime did he commit?!"

When Xu Zheng roared this line in the movie, Xiao Zhao Sister completely broke down.

She collapsed into Bai Liang's arms, wailing loudly.

As for tears? She wiped them all over his clothes.

She'd originally planned to take back the tissues from Xiao Shui, but Xiao Shui's tear ducts were even more prolific—she was already using them up fast, wiping her snot too.

Bai Liang: Ruined. His shirt was already overflowing—no way! Don't wipe your eyes over there!

After the movie ends, won't everyone think he was watching a urine commercial?

(End of Chapter)