Chapter 320: Why Does Your Majesty Surrender First?

Belts, as a thing, shouldn't logically be considered consumables.

Normally, they last a long time, and most get replaced not because they break, but because they deform or similar reasons.

But when it comes to Jin Cheng, the damage rate immediately spikes—Bai Liang doesn't know if it's because she's too rough and tough, or if luxury belts just have terrible quality.

If it's the latter, Bai Liang actually wants to suggest she buy a fifty-yuan one.

She might not even break the belt~

Still, this kind of pep-talk method really does work.

Bai Liang gave a faint boost, then posted another Weibo reminding fans to tune in on time.

And yet, this weird-ass Weibo still pulled off a dazzling show effect.

Because the comments below were insanely lively.

It wasn't fans stirring things up—it was the girls doing it.

Compared to Bai Liang's "half-hearted" effort, the girls were fully fired up.

Under Jin Cheng's call, each one declared they'd "definitely come support."

Seeing Bai Liang's post, they just went over together for a "team-building" session, all cheering and vowing support, commenting then reposting.

But when Bai Liang looked closer, it seemed like something strange had slipped in.

Huh? Meng Jie? What are you doing here?

About this, Meng Jie had already been scolded by her sisters in the group chat.

"Meng Jie, don't you know Yuekai produced 'Wu Dong Qian Kun'? Jia Shikai's gonna call you up to yell at you."

"Weren't you even at Yuekai when this drama was filmed? Otherwise, I bet Ying Huanhuan or Ling Qingzhu would've been yours."

"Good thing you didn't join—otherwise Jin Cheng might be yelling at you right now, hehe~"

"Run, Meng Jie! Your boss is coming to get you!"

"."

But facing all these sisters' "advice," Meng Jie remained stubbornly defiant: "I won't delete it—I'm not scared of our boss!"

The sisters all liked her post, cheering: "Meng Jie is awesome!"

Still, though she gained face this time, she felt a little uneasy inside—after all, it felt like she'd "stabbed her own company in the back."

Then!

There were even higher-level players!

Zhang Tian'ai: Keep it up! Wishing you a massive ratings hit.

Caught red-handed!

Holy shit, the female lead just openly defected?

A wave of "disappointed but still hoping" commenters appeared under her comment.

"Xiao Ai, come on, use your head. Your own drama airs the same day! Why are you here cheering for the competition?"

"Yang Yang is sobbing in the bathroom—her drama's about to air, and her own female lead's going to support the rival?"

"Poor Yang Yang—he keeps running into the Immortal. His fate's just cursed."

"Can Bai Liang + Miss Jing Tian beat Yang Yang + Zhang Tian'ai?"

"Almost certainly a one-sided thrashing—this duo just smashed 2.7 billion at the box office! Their public goodwill skyrocketed; this result beats even what he scraped up in 'Wolf Warrior 2.'"

"First, Yang Yang's never beaten the Immortal—he's just a walking disaster, crushed every time he shows up. Second, Zhang Tian'ai can't even compare to Miss Tian Tian—nowadays, Miss Tian Tian's a real-life golden flower with proven success. Her drama 'The Glory of Tang' did well too, and this one, 'The Splendor of Great Ming,' with a name like a sister series, won't be a weak link."

"Why not just surrender and lose half? Has any male-oriented xuanhuan IP adaptation ever had huge success? Going head-to-head with a historical drama? Just the cast lineup alone can crush him—Bai Liang's team is just too stacked."

"."

Surrender and lose half?

Yang Yang immediately studied the founder's "Dafag" strategy and thought it had real potential.

So he showed up under Bai Liang's Weibo too.

The female lead defected? Fine, I'll defect too.

If I move my whole base over, it's not defection—it's relocation!

He left a question mark under Zhang Tian'ai's comment, then posted a separate comment with a crying emoji.

Li Xin: I told you he cries all the time!

Zhang Tian'ai: Seriously, he does~

This move? Honestly, it really diluted the original tension, making this top-stream showdown feel oddly abstract.

Yang Yang's fans were all a bit stunned?

Wait, you're playing it like this…

Your subjects are ready to fight to the death—why does Your Majesty surrender first?

But to be fair, Yang Yang's fans also felt a bit relieved—they could now charge forward and fight Bai Liang's side!

But everyone knew deep down whether they could actually win.

After repeated defeats, just seeing Bai Liang on the opposite side now made them uneasy.

His track record was genuinely terrifying!

And he's the most dominant of the four top-streamers—our side is barely holding the gate. Good thing Yang Yang himself is very "well-behaved," stepping forward to tell fans not to feel so much pressure.

Now it's settled—let's all play along and have some fun.

This was unquestionably a coordinated publicity stunt.

When the event trended and everyone started joking about it, some people who hadn't even noticed the drama release dates accidentally got recommended.

The mastermind behind it all was Sister Yanzi.

Besides being ruthless, she's also extremely skilled at these kinds of tactics.

Of course, this scheme wasn't Sister Yanzi's idea.

The first to "defect" and "submit" wasn't Zhang Tian'ai or Yang Yang, nor even Meng Jie, who just joined in for the fun.

It was Jia Shikai.

This guy actually had some chops—everyone knew male-oriented IPs weren't doing well right now, and how could Jia Shikai not know that?

Jia Shikai: The inspiration came from that previous basketball variety show.

The low-key submission of Li Yifeng and Wu Moufan successfully inspired him.

Even people with real grudges and bad relationships could play this way—so Yang Yang could too!

Even if "Wu Dong Qian Kun" has Yang Yang's traffic boost, other male-oriented IPs have traffic boosts too~

The facts have long proven that traffic alone isn't enough!

Unless the traffic reaches Bai Liang's level—but this guy has never just had traffic; he's got too many other random bonuses, making him impossible to use as a reference.

Similarly, "Great Ming Splendor" and "Wu Dong Qian Kun" don't really compete—so-called competition is just simultaneous airing, plus the "feud" between Yang Yang and Bai Liang.

The audiences of these two dramas actually don't overlap much.

Under these circumstances, instead of rolling up sleeves to fight head-on, both sides should work together to generate more topics and suppress the heat of other dramas airing at the same time.

Who says top flows must fight each other? Yang Yang has pioneered a new path for top flows: "submitting." Of course, this carries risks.

The main risk comes from the fanbase.

Like many celebrities who accidentally cause scandals but just pretend to be dead and ignore everything.

They could simply admit fault or clarify openly—but they stay completely silent, leaving the public utterly confused.

But from the celebrity's perspective, not responding is the right move—even if it means enduring mockery from the public!

Because they can't betray their own fans.

Especially idol stars.

Their core base comes entirely from those fans; sometimes, a simple apology won't solve anything.

To fans: I'm out here fighting fiercely for you, and then you apologize?

What does that make the fans? Clowns?

So Yang Yang's move carries this exact risk.

A top flow "submitting" to another top flow? This could easily trigger a fanbacklash.

But now, the facts prove the worst fear didn't happen.

!

Fans have absolutely no complaints.

They even think: fine if others do it, but submitting to Bai Liang? Not embarrassing at all.

Yet this situation makes Yang Yang feel stifled inside—glad the core base is safe, yet deeply bitter.

Damn it, now even fans think I'm not as good as him~

So painful!

The facts prove it: he really is better.

"Great Ming Splendor"'s premiere rating broke 1.5 directly; "Wu Dong Qian Kun" barely crossed 0.5. The online streaming gap isn't as wide, but that's before water removal.

Who knows what the real numbers will look like after water removal?

No doubt, one is a potential hit, just waiting to see if it can hold steady; the other is basically a flop, needing to figure out how not to fall too disgracefully.

As for a reputation comeback?

Both dramas' reputations mirror their ratings—directly proportional.

Seeing the nearly threefold gap, Yang Yang was speechless. Looking at the "friend fee" he'd just sent Bai Liang—no, "loser"—he felt truly pathetic.

This money was sent to treat Bai Liang and the girls from "Chinese Captain" to dinner.

The first meal was paid for by Lu Han; the second was paid for by Yang Yang—perfectly reasonable.

After all, one had his girlfriend there, and the other had his current gossip girlfriend present.

Didn't they have to pay?

And Bai Liang, who took a pre-tax eight million from the crew, only acted a cameo role for two days, yet still wanted to give back.

He treated the crew to extra meals, milk tea, and dinners for the girls.

Result? Two "suckers" took turns handing out money.

It made it seem as if Bai Liang wouldn't move unless they paid.

It even gave off a strong NTR vibe.

But during the second meal, Zhang continued arguing with Li Xin, so much so that she could barely eat.

"Wu Dong Qian Kun"'s performance really is a flop.

At this moment, Meng Jie dropped a hard truth: "If it hadn't piggybacked on Little Hedgehog's traffic, wouldn't it be even worse?"

It's true—but saying it outright like that? That's pretty hurtful, sis.

Seeing Zhang Tian'ai's resentful gaze, Meng Jie realized she'd touched a raw nerve—she'd forgotten the "party involved" was right there.

She was just commenting from Kaiyue Entertainment's perspective; seeing her own company's drama look like a dead horse made her heart ache too!

At this point, Li Xin stopped arguing with Zhang Tian'ai—partly because more people had shown up.

Like Ou Hao, Du Jiang, and Yuan Quan had also arrived.

Bai Liang was chatting happily with Yuan Quan—they'd collaborated before on "The Longest Day in Chang'an," though Yuan Quan's role was only in the opening.

The girls had never acted with her; only Bai Liang had interacted with her.

This cultured older sister smiled and instantly calmed the scene.

And the young girls naturally became well-behaved.

Yuan Quan swept a glance over the few young ladies and immediately saw what was going on, sighing inwardly:

This kid sure knows how to play.

But she still had a pretty good impression of Bai Liang, so she didn't really care much about this kind of private-life matter.

She'd been around the block, and didn't read too much into that sort of thing.

Besides, when she was young, she was no slouch either — she'd seen plenty of the world.

This is all small potatoes~

Only, Yuan Quan was a little curious — weren't there a few too many young ladies?

Bai Liang was only staying with the *Chinese Captain* crew for two days, so how was he fitting them all in?

Guan Xiaotong: None of my business, I'm just here for the gossip too.

Meng Jie: I've been following the gossip lately too. I'd almost forgotten about this bit.

Young girls are easily distracted by other information — especially with Li Xin and Zhang Tian'ai suddenly acting so at odds with each other.

Li Xin: Otherwise why would I suddenly start tearing into Zhang Tian'ai like that~

There was actually a fair bit of performance to it.

On one hand, it brought the *Joy of Life* sisters closer together, letting her truly blend in instead of just being close to Li Yitong like before.

On the other hand, the effect was more straightforward — she'd successfully gotten rid of two bottles of champagne.

Who told Meng Jie, that little girl, to spend all her time holed up in her room holding group chats with the sisters — not a shred of "competitive spirit" at all.

Which in turn made Li Xin feel she'd made a bit of a mountain out of a molehill.

The little bit of scheming she'd finally managed to squeeze out, wasted on someone with no scheming at all.

But.

Tomorrow Bai Liang would be leaving. Li Xin thought of the leftover champagne she'd bought, and figured tonight she could do a bigger round at no extra cost — blow through the whole stockpile in one go.

And Guan Xiaotong had really set her up beautifully — she'd actually invited Meng Jie to her room tonight for a long gossip session.

Because their characters were about to wrap filming too — they were just minor supporting roles with barely any screen time to begin with.

Meng Jie hesitated, glanced at Bai Liang.

In the end she couldn't resist the gossip bait dangled by her newly-met little sister — the little hedgehog wasn't going anywhere, she could always see him again next time.

Li Xin: Exactly! That's right!

Only, tonight the ones with plans were clearly not just her.

(End of chapter)