Chapter 322: To Wear the Crown, One Must Bear Its Weight

"Morning, Meng Jie~"

When Bai Liang woke up, Meng Jie was lying on his chest, drawing little circles on his face with her finger.

Obviously, today's Bai Liang got up unusually late — it was almost eleven o'clock by now.

Judging by his usual biological clock, this was clearly abnormal.

But — fake liquor and poisonous mushrooms — Bai Liang figured it wasn't a big deal.

That he was still alive~

Was already a stroke of cosmic luck!

Normally speaking, the probability of waking up and finding your head no longer attached to your body isn't actually that small either.

At this moment, Meng Jie was staring at Bai Liang with a complicated look in her eyes, plus a bit of a sulky pout.

And Bai Liang had finally spotted the "blind spot."

How wonderful!

Li Xin had actually turned into Meng Jie!

Without a doubt, there was only Meng Jie on his bed at this moment — there couldn't possibly be anyone else.

Just before opening his eyes, Bai Liang had reached out and felt around — otherwise, how would he have dared to open his eyes?

So the question arises.

Just how deep was the poison he took yesterday, that at first he mistook Meng Jie for Li Xin

"Little hedgehog~" Meng Jie muttered at this point, as if talking to herself.

"What's up?"

Bai Liang wrapped an arm around her slim waist, feeling that delicate yet springy texture, and asked.

"Lucky I didn't get carried away back then. If I'd really still been dating, or exaggeratedly gone to get a marriage certificate, wouldn't I have turned into Xianglin Sao by now~"

"Xianglin Sao is the tragic epitome of feudal society's oppression in Mr. Lu Xun's writing. We're not in feudal society anymore, so that analogy doesn't quite work, you know."

"Doesn't it?" Meng Jie's big eyes stared fixedly at Bai Liang. At this moment, she didn't look the least bit like her usual odd-brained self.

However, before Bai Liang could organize his words, Meng Jie suddenly gave up on her own.

After a soft "hmph," she vanished from Bai Liang's line of sight.

She hadn't actually left — she'd burrowed into the blankets.

Bai Liang let out a long sigh, hands clasped behind his head, reflecting that fake liquor harms people, and poisonous mushrooms harm them even more!

Back when he went on "Longing for Life," he hadn't been "poisoned" by Teacher Huang, yet this time he actually "took the hit."

Meng Jie: I'm the one who ate the poisonous mushrooms.

But her "sage moment of calm" lasted only that brief instant after Bai Liang opened his eyes.

This little girl still seemed a bit unhappy, but before Bai Liang left, she stepped on his foot — and then kissed him anyway.

Her parting words were: "Sister Qian Jie says come over for a meal when you have time. Your room's been kept ready for you all along — don't let her down, okay?"

"Okay~"

After getting a positive answer, Meng Jie's mood instantly cleared from cloudy to sunny.

As for Li Xin and Zhang Tian'ai — well, didn't see them.

The two of them seemed to have pretty heavy filming schedules today and hadn't come to see Bai Liang off at all.

——

After bidding farewell to the "Chinese Captain" crew, Bai Liang finally returned to his loyal "The Longest Day in Chang'an" crew.

The moment he got back, he saw Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni looking at him suspiciously: "Why do you look so tired?"

Bai Liang waved his hand: "Don't even mention it — I ran into a Nezha."

"Nezha? Are you sure it's Nezha and not Nazha?" Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni teased.

But seeing him rubbing his waist, Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni's thoughts drifted to two people.

One was Nazha, who had appeared with him at the Film Night; the other was Miss Jing Tian, who had been doing promotions with him.

It must have been one of them who wore him out like this — they really don't care about a person's wellbeing~

Miss Jing Tian seemed the more likely candidate — after all, a woman at thirty is like a wolf~

Don't be fooled by Sister Tian Tian's dignified, cute appearance — who knows what she's like in bed.

Could very well be a contrast.

But Nazha also looks like the type with extraordinary bone structure — that exotic charm might mean she's extra passionate and unrestrained in certain ways.

"…I'm sure. Three heads and six arms — of course it's Nezha."

Bai Liang rubbed his own waist, feeling it was slightly sore.

Clearly, his body didn't seem to be in as good shape as he'd imagined.

He really had to keep up the workouts — maybe even push a little harder.

Nutrition had to keep up too. He could find a dedicated nutritionist to customize a meal plan when he got back.

Otherwise, how would he ever beat Nezha!

Three heads and six arms, after all.

Definitely way more formidable than that demon kid in the Director Jiao Zi movie.

"Speaking nonsense," Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni quipped. "Hurry up, will you? The crew's been waiting for you all these days — a lot of filming has been delayed. You're not going to ask for more time off when you get back, right?"

Bai Liang thought for a moment and answered very honestly: "I do need to take one more day off."

"Are you serious or what…"

"The Golden Eagle Festival — aren't you going?"

"Like hell I'm going. On the strength of 'Rise of Phoenixes'? Even if they wanted to invite me, I'd be too embarrassed to show up."

Now, talking about TV awards to Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni gives her a headache.

She wishes she'd never acted in *The Song of Tian Sheng*—filming it felt like getting a criminal record.

But lately, it seems there's someone even worse off than her.

A drama called *The Legend of Ruyi* has just launched, and as the sister series to the hugely famous *The Legend of Zhen Huan*, it drew massive attention from the moment it was greenlit.

The female lead even recruited Zhou Xun, Chen Kun's fellow disciple; both came from Rong Xin Da and used to be with Li Xin and Yang Yang.

Zhou Xun's reputation needs no explanation—she's also one of those "descended from heaven" to act in TV dramas, and she's arguably among the top actresses in the Chinese-language film industry.

So before its premiere, the whole nation was buzzing, eagerly waiting to binge-watch.

But just before launch, a "Chen Yaojin" crashed the scene.

*The Story of Yanxi Palace*.

Both dramas tell love stories set in the Qianlong era, just with different protagonists.

Using *My Fair Princess* as a reference, Zhou Xun's Ruyi is the Empress, while Wu Jinyan's Wei Yingluo is the Consort Ling.

Naturally, they'd be compared side by side.

After *The Legend of Ruyi* aired, Huo Jianhua—who once ranked among the "Four Beauties of Tianya"—became known to audiences as "Trash Dragon."

Add in some interview clips, and Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni suddenly felt her suffering on the *Tian Sheng Chang Ge* set wasn't so bad after all.

She'd merely gone down with Chen Kun—everyone was "dead."

At least she hadn't suffered stomachaches or collapsed from rage like Huo Jianhua.

The funniest part? In one interview, when Huo Jianhua spoke of Ruyi's death, she claimed guilt and remorse—but then started laughing.

"You feel sorry for her? *The Legend of Ruyi*'s online streaming numbers are pretty good, right~"

Bai Liang shot straight to her heart—Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni, who had been smiling, instantly stopped.

Right, she'd been so busy looking for the unluckiest person that she ignored the fundamental difference.

*The Legend of Ruyi* may have been heavily criticized, and Huo Jianhua may have been tortured, but its results were still undeniable.

Even if it couldn't beat *The Story of Yanxi Palace*, it crushed her *Tian Sheng Chang Ge* effortlessly—no problem at all. Thinking this, Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni felt even worse, and couldn't help muttering: "Is my foot beautiful?"

She was curled barefoot on Bai Liang's car sofa, no socks on, her two stacked feet pale and soft—at first glance, rather… cough, cough.

But Bai Liang, who had just defeated Nezha, remained utterly calm, and asked curiously:

"What kind of phrase is that?"

"Zhou Xun's line—also 'I'm going to take a nap'~ Isn't that funny!"

"Funny."

Hearing this, Bai Liang felt the real contender for this year's drama crown against *The Splendor of the Great Ming* was *The Story of Yanxi Palace*.

Though a bit hasty, he thought these lines were just too outrageous—if it really was this bad…

Then the script must be brilliant—who wrote this genius?

Actually, *The Story of Yanxi Palace*, *The Legend of Ruyi*, and *The Splendor of the Great Ming*, which premiered close together, were true competitors on the same track.

*The Qi of Wu Dong Qian Kun*, which relied on actor feuds to piggyback, couldn't even claim thematic similarity, let alone compete in ratings.

All were historical adaptations, but two were female-led, and one was a female-led story turned male-led.

Fighting Yang Yang was just for fun—the real battle was one Ming dynasty drama against two Qing dynasty dramas.

At first glance, it seemed disadvantaged, but *The Splendor of the Great Ming* had multiple emperors on screen at once—so from this lineup, it wasn't weak at all.

!

Of course, all three casts were stellar, and their online data after launch weren't wildly different—even their initial ratings were nearly identical.

*The Splendor of the Great Ming* had the highest rating; *The Legend of Ruyi* had the lowest.

But ratings were just a reference—Bai Liang stood there, and even if *The Splendor of the Great Ming* had been filmed like shit, its rating wouldn't start too low, since he was a top-tier idol with exceptional public favor.

Everyone said his films automatically guaranteed at least 500 million in box office, but his boost to TV dramas was even more terrifying.

Fan girls might not buy movie tickets to support him, but most of them loved watching dramas.

And coincidentally, the streaming platforms for all three dramas were exactly AiYouTeng.

And all were exclusive.

It felt like a battle for drama crown among the three platforms.

Of course, *The Legend of Ruyi* was slightly inferior to *The Story of Yanxi Palace* in every aspect—their outcome was already decided.

What followed was mostly the indirect showdown between the latest to air, *The Splendor of the Great Ming*, and *The Story of Yanxi Palace*.

"Then you've already lost—both are online-only dramas, airing exclusively on platforms, not yet broadcast on TV. Your drama aired on Mango TV too, so your online data can't match theirs."

"Not just that—to be this year's drama crown, you still have one more hurdle to clear~" Zhou Yiwei, who came to rehearse with Bai Liang, overheard their conversation and said casually.

"What?"

"*The Mother's Way*—its viewership rating broke 2. Can you hold up against that?"

*The Mother's Way* was produced by Guo Jingyu and his Guo Family Troupe; he was also an old acquaintance of Bai Liang's.

Didn't expect it to be this fierce.

But it was also heavily criticized—in some ways, the criticism *The Legend of Ruyi* received was nothing compared to a single lash from *The Mother's Way*.

Its Douban rating sank to the bottom, under three points—truly enough to stun viewers.

Of course, this might be due to its subject matter; the ideals of filial piety, loyalty, chastity, and lineage were bound to be shredded by today's netizens.

Add to that, Douban's user base is full of demons and monsters—do you think they'd indulge you?

But Bai Liang felt a strange sensation… why was he comparing his viewership to *The Mother's Way*, or his online data to *The Story of Yanxi Palace*?

And why were the crew of *The Twelve Hours of Chang'an* so obsessed with *The Splendor of the Great Ming*'s performance?

They all seemed to know more about it than he, the lead actor, did.

He casually grabbed Xi Zi Ge—and found he could chime in too.

And he added the most crucial line: "You still have to beat your own previous drama, 'Zhi Nü.'"

Bai Liang:???

Damn, I forgot about this thing.

'Zhi Nü' is also a drama from this year!

This isn't hard to understand: 'Zhi Nü' is a female-led drama, Xiao Zhao Jie is the lead, Bai Liang is the second lead.

It's less about oneself fighting oneself, and more about toppling Xiao Zhao Jie's dominance in the television drama field over recent years.

The setting of 'Zhi Nü' is the Song Dynasty.

Brilliant! Song, Ming, Qing, and Republican era—let's have a free-for-all~

A battle across dynasties?

But Bai Liang still couldn't quite grasp it—why must he fight? TV dramas aren't martial arts tournaments; there's no rule saying you must determine a clear winner.

Unless it's a super-hit drama that everyone universally recognizes as the Drama King, otherwise, all you need is good ratings, the production company makes money, and the actors gain visibility.

Is this just kids fighting, trying to knock everyone else down?

Fortunately, Sister Yanzi told Bai Liang why.

Praise to kill!

While 'Great Ming Splendor' was airing, strange voices emerged online.

As if they had already pre-awarded Bai Liang this year's male lead drama throne, lavishing him with absurd praise.

Fortunately, the premiere data for 'Great Ming Splendor' was stellar, not disappointing at all; otherwise, Bai Liang would have been met with a tidal wave of mockery.

To wear the crown, you must bear its weight!

Bai Liang has drawn too much attention these past two years, and his results have been too outstanding.

Countless eyes are watching him in secret.

At the same time, his enemies are growing more numerous.

Even some artists with whom he has good personal relationships may have companies and capital behind them that deeply resent Bai Liang—and if they get a chance to quietly take him down, they won't miss it.

Even if those capitals have just extended an olive branch to Bai Liang, seeking collaboration.

Wanting to collaborate with him and wanting to "destroy him" aren't always mutually exclusive.

It's all about profit—and greater profit.

Among the younger generation—even extending to age thirty-five—Bai Liang's lead in every aspect is absurdly overwhelming.

Too many eyes are fixed on him alone, like a vacuum pulling everything in.

With him standing there, all other so-called top flows and young powerhouses suddenly seem to drop a tier.

He has blocked the paths of countless people.

As the saying goes: cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents.

Sister Yanzi has been watching closely—all eighteen water armies are poised and ready.

If the premiere flops, she will unhesitatingly stir up chaos, first blaming Miss Jing Tian, then figuring out what to do next.

In this situation, Sister Yanzi only cares about her own Xiao Bai Ge; other young ladies can be tossed out as scapegoats.

But she cannot stop this widespread, tacitly coordinated campaign against him.

Every script bears Sister Yanzi's fingerprints—this statement sounds incredibly powerful, but also incredibly provocative.

Why should everyone eat the scraps left by Bai Liang?

Could you please just "die" so everyone can eat their fill?

Making money is important! Bai Liang is important—but without Bai Liang, everyone is more important!

Bai Liang: Ah~ So that's how it is! Fine~ I'll satisfy you.

Sister Yanzi was startled: Xiao Bai Ge, you're not actually going to "die," are you?

Bai Liang: Isn't this about fighting?

Sister Yanzi: Then fight!

——

Third watch, mu mu da! Requesting monthly tickets!

(End of chapter)