Chapter 323: The Approaching Golden Eagle Festival

"Huh, isn't this exactly the treatment Wu Jing got before!"

After giving Sister Yanzi a little pep talk, Bai Liang suddenly felt the scene was a bit familiar.

Wu Jing: Now you know how your brother felt back then?

Being one step ahead is fine, but being too many steps ahead makes you a thorn in many people's eyes, a splinter in their flesh.

Six point six billion. It's been almost a year now, and Wu Jing still finds it a bit unbelievable whenever he thinks about it.

How on earth did the box office get that high?

He himself thinks so, so naturally others are even more envious, jealous, and hateful, wishing he would just hurry up and die.

At the same time, it doesn't stop every film project under the sun from wanting to sign him.

You could say the two of them really do get pretty much the same treatment now.

Scripts for young actors all want Bai Liang; scripts suited for the middle-aged generation, Wu Jing is the biggest box-office guarantee.

Of course, if Wu Jing got to choose again, he'd still want that six-point-six-billion box office.

Scared of what hammer? Just do it and be done with it!

But Wu Jing has always found it strange — this kid Bai Liang is doing so well, yet he's never really faced any serious targeting.

Besides, Bai Liang is a top-tier star, his attention and exposure are actually way higher than Wu Jing's, he's clearly the best target.

Yet somehow nobody "opened fire" on him.

That's pretty unreasonable~

And very much not how the entertainment circle works.

Now it's comfortable.

Come on, come on, the two of us brothers can "fight side by side" again.

Actually, logically speaking, he should have been enjoying similar treatment long ago — at the very latest, after the box office of "How Long Will I Love U" came out, he should have had it.

But not long after, the Fan Bingbing incident blew up.

Which successfully helped drag things out for Bai Liang for quite a while longer, because too many people had shit on their pants that needed wiping, who had the time to bother with all this messy stuff.

But during that incident, Bai Liang also stole the spotlight several times, the most eye-catching being the tax-paying model.

Oh, so YOU know how to pay your taxes?!

While being held up as a positive model by the higher-ups, Bai Liang was also drawing more and more hatred.

"Minglan" was just a prelude, behind it there's also "The Wandering Earth" — the public-opinion environment for these two projects is bound to be very, very targeted.

The tactics aren't anything new, for now it's just the kill-with-praise routine.

First we pop the champagne for you at halftime — if you don't get cocky, we'll help you get cocky.

Recently the number of puff pieces praising Bai Liang has clearly increased a lot, and the praise is getting more and more exaggerated.

These puff pieces aren't here to help him; on the contrary, they're damaging his public goodwill.

Way more excessive than the puff pieces Peng Yuyan used back then to step on all the fresh little meats.

Taking the brunt of it, "Minglan" got hit with puff pieces like "Bai Liang's acting crushes the veteran actors in the cast" — what normal marketing would do that?

The puff pieces Sister Yanzi usually puts out, at most it's something like "Bai Liang holds his own against veteran actors in a scene" to praise him.

Even Little Zhao Sister didn't escape — "The Story of Minglan" got dragged out again, as if they were going to give her a serious beating.

But actually, the drunkard's heart is not in the wine.

The small-scale clashes between Little Zhao Sister's fans and Bai Liang's fans back then seem about to be reignited.

Even Miss Jing Tian didn't escape — at first she was saying things like "Aiya, I'm being praised~"

But now her thigh-hugging behavior has been magnified in every way. Anyway, it's all Bai Liang's credit, it has nothing to do with her whatsoever.

Mm. Using this trick on her is pretty useless.

Jing Tian herself even liked the marketing account that was doing this stuff, and her fans also said: Yeah yeah, what's the problem?

The fool beats the master, once again made concrete.

But all this messy stuff online can't really affect Bai Liang himself.

Watching Sister Yanzi looking so fulfilled, busy, and full of conviction, he felt this wasn't bad either.

To put it in a chuunibyou way, this is all "nutrients" for Sister Yanzi's growth~

As for Bai Liang himself — he's watching the show.

Today the "The Longest Day in Chang'an" crew filmed a big scene.

The Lvbeng versus the Wolf Guards.

At first glance it looks like a clash of titans, but in reality it's a one-sided slaughter.

The top-tier coordination of swords, shields, and crossbows — practically ancient urban special ops.

Add full armor versus no armor, and it's literally mashing them into the ground.

So Bai Liang watched from the side, pondering his own upcoming scene — how does Zhang Xiaojing solo a whole squad of Right Xiaowei?

The Right Xiaowei also wear armor; even if they're spoiled young masters, that armor of theirs is the real deal.

Nurhaci started his empire with thirteen sets of armor.

Armor in ancient times was way more terrifying than swords and spears.

Pair it with war horses, and horses also wearing armor — that's basically the ancient equivalent of a modern tank.

Bai Liang thought for ages and couldn't figure out how to win, after all "The Longest Day in Chang'an" doesn't have any of that exaggerated internal-energy stuff.

Even if Zhang Xiaojing is the ceiling of frontier-army combat power, it still feels way too exaggerated.

Unless the one going up isn't Zhang Xiaojing, but Bai Liang himself.

On this question, Bai Liang ultimately chose to ask Zhou Yiwei.

After all, the character he plays, the money-grubbing swordsman Ding Xiu, as the combat-power ceiling of the "Brotherhood of Blades" film series, single-handedly slaughtered an entire squad of Jurchen cavalry.

This difficulty is no less than Zhang Xiaojing taking on a group of fully armored Youxiao Guards alone.

The combat power of the characters in The Embroidered Knife should be about the same as in The Long'an Twelve Hours.

Then Zhou Yiwei spread his hands: "I don't know—Director Lu Yang never filmed it at all."

"Huh?"

"Director Lu Yang didn't know how to make Ding Xiu win either, so I just shot a scene of him waiting for the cavalry to charge, then cut straight to the aftermath—turns out they were all killed."

So they solved it this way?

That's insane!

The director didn't know what to do, so he just skipped it outright—what a sneaky bastard.

Obviously, any normal human faced with this situation would stand no chance of winning.

But this method clearly can't be used directly in The Long'an Twelve Hours—Bai Liang must actually fight.

How to make Zhang Xiaojing reasonably defeat a group of Youxiao Guards is clearly a topic well suited for men.

Soon, Wu Xiaoliang, Lu Fangsheng, and others from the crew gathered around, actively helping Bai Liang brainstorm solutions.

This topic is great! Who wouldn't be interested?

It's like debating whether a dagger or an iron rod is stronger.

But in the end, it was the stunt coordinator who offered the decisive advice.

Direct confrontation is clearly impossible, but fortunately, there's the wisdom of Laozu:

Qin Wang circles the pillar.

Put plainly, it means letting Bai Liang parkour, running while fighting.

"But Zhang Xiaojing is also armored—can he even move? That armor is real gear."

The authenticity of filming in armor is unquestionable, but the physical demands on the actor are far too high. Many unarmored stunts can be performed fluidly and beautifully, but once armored, movements become clumsy and lose their grace.

Fortunately, this problem was solved the moment Bai Liang, clad in armor, flipped cleanly over the wall.

Demonstration of physical fitness~

Everyone immediately exclaimed: "Awesome! So strong!"

Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni: "Pfft, what good is that? He still came back clutching his waist, legs trembling."

No matter how "heroic," he couldn't withstand the softness of a woman's touch~

Seeing Bai Liang so fierce, Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni couldn't help but wonder: who exactly is he? Truly capable.

But after this display of masculine prowess, several girls from the crew couldn't help but drift over.

These were all contestants too timid to sneak into Bai Liang's trailer, unable to break through Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni's defenses.

Yet they still wanted to get on Bai Liang's good side—even to have a relationship with him.

Seeing this, Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni curled her lip and quietly warned Bai Liang: "There've been more paparazzi around the set and hotel lately."

Her intent was to remind Bai Liang to keep his pants zipped, not to stumble now at this critical moment.

There might even be moles in the crew.

But Bai Liang blinked and said, "Then you should be careful."

!

"I didn't even go into your room. Why should I be careful?"

"But you did come into my trailer. By the way, you absolutely cannot go quiet for the next two years," Bai Liang smiled and reminded her.

Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni frowned, "What do you mean?"

"If you disappear for months or half a year, people will definitely claim you secretly got pregnant and had a baby," Bai Liang reasoned logically.

Take Zhang Bicheng—she used to appear on shows with Huang Jingyu, but now there's not a single update.

But she was never very famous, so her sudden disappearance isn't that unusual; few people noticed.

But for a well-known female artist like you, if you vanish for over half a year, unless you're completely ruined, any slight comeback could trigger a smear campaign.

Especially since you've been filming with Bai Liang—should you disappear too long, rumors that you're pregnant with his child could spread like wildfire.

Why, they've already pre-assigned the "father" for you.

No other reason—it's just that you walked right into it. How convenient.

"No way, that's ridiculous."

Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni's expression froze. Suddenly, she realized that while the leg she wanted to cling to was still a leg, the risk of getting closer had grown dramatically.

Anyone with a bit of experience could smell what was going on in today's online atmosphere.

At first, it was pushing the "Great Ming Splendor" narrative, as if Bai Liang were going to indiscriminately "beat up" every other competitor.

But now that this drama has aired, it seems to have slightly edged out The Story of Yanxi Palace, and the tide has begun to shift again.

Combined with the increasing number of paparazzi around the set,

Someone—or many people—want to dig up dirt on Bai Liang!

Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni suddenly felt relieved: thank goodness every time she went into his trailer, the door was open, and often others were there too.

Otherwise, she'd get no benefits, yet be covered in scandal—what a loss.

As for the other female artists on set—minor unknowns don't need to worry; some of them would welcome the real thing.

Bai Liang: Actually, if you really shut the door, walked in, and took off your clothes right away, no one might even get footage.

By the way, yesterday Sister Yanzi told him: she suspects Lu Han's official announcement of his girlfriend wasn't truly voluntary—perhaps he was caught with something incriminating, and since he couldn't save face, someone else stepped in to "save" him.

At that time, Lu Han was a top-tier superstar.

Of course, this is just a conspiracy theory—Lu Han might simply have been love-struck and genuinely adored her.

But Bai Liang's current momentum is far more exaggerated than Lu Han's peak—there will surely be even more people eager to "save" him.

Yet Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni couldn't understand: why is this guy so calm?

Still playing games?

"Are you playing or not? If you don't, I'll go find Xi Zi Ge. But this kid's been locked down by his agent lately—Ning Wei's got him swamped with shoots today."

"The team behind him probably hopes you 'die' too," Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni couldn't help reminding him.

If the big ones on top don't die, how can the little ones below rise up?

Moving through the entertainment circle feels no different from joining a gang.

Bai Liang simply replied: "Oh~"

"You just say 'Oh'?"

"It's not that big a deal. When the boat reaches the bridge, it'll find its way. Wanna play games?"

Hearing Bai Liang's usual casual tone, Unlike Unlike Unlike Ni Ni was certain—he wasn't faking calmness; he was genuinely calm.

He really isn't afraid at all!

If he isn't afraid, why should I be?

"Fine! But let's play Honor of Kings today."

"Sounds good~"

——

Bai Liang certainly wouldn't become a target for everyone or a lonely outcast just because he was too popular.

Though many now wanted him to "exit gracefully," just as many wanted him to keep standing strong.

Mango TV was one of them.

They were practically bloodthirsty—finally, after waiting so long, they'd gotten Bai Liang to fill the massive hole Chen Kun had dug. Now someone wanted him to "die"?

How could that be allowed?!

As the number-one satellite channel, didn't they care about their face?

This was the most direct stakeholder, and many other parties also absolutely refused to let Bai Liang face any sudden trouble now.

This was also one of the reasons Sister Yanzi dared to "go to war."

With her eighteen factions of water armies supporting her, plus intervention from other stakeholders, the sky wouldn't collapse—for now.

Unless Bai Liang suddenly did something truly catastrophic.

As "Great Ming Splendor" continued airing, discussions and trending topics about the drama naturally rose steadily, growing hotter and hotter.

Mango TV's viewership had consistently stayed above 1.5, giving Mango's staff a sigh of relief.

They're back! All of them are back!

Sponsorships, advertising, brand endorsements—though they couldn't fully recover the losses from "Tian Sheng Chang Ge," since "Great Ming Splendor" was always meant to air on Mango anyway, losses remained losses; now they were just earning what they were owed.

The real impact was "stabilizing morale," preventing further unexpected losses.

As for the title of Annual Drama King, that depends on whether they can hold steady until the finale—but for now, at least it won't be worse than "The Story of Yanxi Palace."

Still, Mango's internal ranks weren't completely unified.

The upcoming Golden Eagle Festival was clearly destined to be anything but peaceful.

Bai Liang had been nominated for Golden Eagle Best Actor.

At the same time, Di Li Sister Reba's name, which hadn't appeared alongside his in public for some time, reappeared with his once again.

She was also nominated for Golden Eagle Best Actress.

Meanwhile, the voting results for this year's Golden Eagle Goddess were about to be announced.

The competition between Di Li Sister Reba and Yang Zi had reached its final, heated stage.

Although the former had led most of the time, Yang Zi was currently at her peak popularity, while Sister Reba hadn't had a breakout drama this year.

She had once been overtaken.

It was at this moment that Bai Liang received a call from Sister Reba.

"Big Bai, help me get some votes~"

(End of Chapter)