Chapter 324: You

The Golden Eagle Goddess is the official mascot of the Golden Eagle Television Arts Festival, selecting one young actress every two years who excels in both popularity and body of work.

The winner appears at the opening ceremony in a lavish costume, symbolizing "youthful vitality."

Liu Yifei, Li Xiao Lu, Wang Wang Luodan, Liu Shishi, Zhao Liying, Tang Yan.

These are the past winners of the Golden Eagle Goddess title.

From this list, it's clear this award is truly based on popularity and traffic.

It simply selects the currently most popular young female actress.

Among this year's contenders, only Yang Zi can truly compete with Di Li Re Ba.

Others like Guan Xiaotong, Zhou Dongyu, Li Xin, and Kan Qingzi are just there for the show.

When Bai Liang made a cameo in The Chinese Captain, he never heard these two mention this thing.

Clearly, they'd already given up, letting Mango TV just fill the numbers.

There was also Na Zha among the candidates.

In the past two years, she hasn't been entirely inactive in TV dramas, but she's certainly achieved nothing noteworthy.

She's entirely propped up by her film work; her TV dramas have made not even a ripple.

Likewise, she has no work nominated for any Golden Eagle Festival award—she has no intention of attending at all.

And there's another crucial reason: Yang Zi can't beat Di Li Re Ba—I don't want to go watch her show off!

Just imagining Di Li Re Ba shining on stage while she sits below as an audience member makes Na Zha feel ants crawling all over her skin.

Absolutely not going!

But as her longtime rival, she knows exactly how much traffic Di Li Re Ba currently has.

If she doesn't enter, no other young actress can match her annoying little hometown rival.

But she never expected her little hometown rival to be this "brazen."

He could win on his own—why is he bringing in outside help?

Doesn't this person have even a shred of "adventurous spirit"?

Na Zha is genuinely sour because Bai Liang is pushing too hard.

First Weibo post: A routine vote-pulling post asking fans to vote for Di Li Re Ba, with a link attached.

Less than a minute later, apparently feeling the post was too half-hearted, he posted another: "Di Li Re Ba said she'll treat me to dinner—please vote for her!"

Two minutes later, another post: "A little kid entered the 'Golden Eagle Goddess' Active Baby Online Contest—friends who like her, please support her."

Below it was a photo of Di Li Re Ba as a child.

The frequency and intensity of these vote-pulling posts made his fans laugh out loud.

"Big Immortal, is there a knife at your throat right now? If so, blink twice~"

"Holy crap, he posted a week's worth in one go—definitely a py deal!"

"Big Immortal never posted this much even when promoting The Great Ming Splendor."

"What lazy dog? He's a capybara—too lazy to move. The lazy dog next door is Lin Genxin."

"A knife at his throat? Unlikely—but Di Li Re Ba is probably pinching his ear and forcing him to post these Weibos~"

"Alright alright, I'll vote, I'll vote—isn't that enough? I'm actually a Na Zha CP fan, but unfortunately Na Zha isn't even entering this competition."

"You're definitely a fake CP fan—Na Zha's fans should be voting for Yang Zi, right?"

"You're the fake fan—we fight among ourselves but never help a third party; why would we vote for Yang Zi?"

"Cough cough, Na Zha and Yang Zi actually have a grudge too—recently Yang Zi's fans even attacked her, accusing her of stealing the role."

"Is this Big Immortal's official announcement? If he announces it, I'll vote immediately!"

"."

After Bai Liang's extremely "enthusiastic" Weibo posts, Di Li Re Ba's votes in the Golden Eagle Goddess poll surged without doubt.

She easily surpassed Yang Zi, who had just barely taken the lead, and began widening the gap further.

It completely shattered the original two-way rivalry.

It seemed as if this male top streamer's involvement had decisively determined the final outcome of this year's Golden Eagle Goddess.

At least, Di Li Re Ba's fans believed so—large numbers of CP fans flooded Bai Liang's Weibo to start group-building.

In fact, Di Li Re Ba was never going to lose; her title as the top traffic-generating young actress isn't just hype.

The so-called tension now is mostly manufactured by the Golden Eagle Festival for hype.

Bai Liang's move ruined their plan.

Fortunately, the Golden Eagle Festival officials don't mind—their real goal is to stir up attention, and now the attention is clearly higher.

Bai Liang merely helped Di Li Re Ba with voting, posting a few extra Weibos, and it already trended.

Clearly, this pairing works even better!

Poor Yang Zi's fans—just when it looked like she had a chance, this boss showed up. Unfair! Re-do the vote!

Of course, there's someone even "poorer" off~

"If I'd known, I'd have entered too, and had him pull votes for me—just to piss off that evil woman Di Li Re Ba."

Hearing Na Zha muttering to herself, her assistant barely held back a laugh.

Enter what? Both teams had already agreed on this beforehand.

But seeing Na Zha pouting, she still said: "Sis, if you officially entered, the Golden Eagle Goddess would definitely be yours!"

"Of course it would~ I just had no interest in competing with her!" Na Zha immediately declared with a haughty air.

Her assistant promptly reminded her: "Sis, next year."

"Huh?"

"Next year's Golden Eagle Festival—your drama with Xiao Bai Ge might just be ready by then. Why not aim for Golden Eagle Goddess then? Maybe even win the Popularity Award Crystal Cup."

Hearing this, Na Zha's eyes lit up!

That's right! Next year, I'm officially collaborating with Bai Liang on a drama.

The project "Honey-Braised Squid" has now been officially renamed "My Dear Love," with filming expected to begin around mid-next year.

Modern dramas wrap up post-production quickly, with little to no special effects—there's a chance we might even make it to the Golden Eagle Festival the year after next.

Of course, it'd be safest if Mango TV buys it.

Mango TV is already treating Bai Liang like a deity, especially after he came to their rescue during "The Splendor of Great Ming," so they'll definitely want to buy it.

But even if they want it, they might not get it.

The project hasn't even started filming yet, and several satellite channels have already come sniffing around—who wouldn't want this traffic?

Similarly, Dili Reba's "You Are My Glory" is the same.

Both are projects that turn a profit the moment they're greenlit.

Put bluntly, as long as the quality of these two dramas doesn't sink too badly—even if they're shot in a mediocre, run-of-the-mill way—they'll still make a fortune.

Bai Liang has already reached the point where he can carry a drama—he can single-handedly boost its ratings through his own traffic and reputation.

Add to that his "bonding bonus" with two rising top female stars, and it's nearly impossible for these two dramas not to go viral.

Under these circumstances, as long as no powerhouse emerges out of nowhere with a super-ultra female-led blockbuster, Na Zha really could win the Golden Eagle Goddess award the year after next.

After all, since Dili Reba won this year, she won't be competing for it again next year.

And who else besides her little hometown girl could challenge her?

Thinking of this, Na Zha grew cheerful, even tempted to mutter: "The heroes of today are…"

Never mind—Dili Reba doesn't deserve it!

"Sister Reba, we don't need Brother Dou Xiao Bai's help to win the Golden Eagle Goddess vote, right?"

"Mm-hmm~" Dili Reba grinned, cradling her cheeks.

"Then why—have you fallen in love yet?"

"Nooo~"

"Then fall in love, and you'll understand."

The way she said it—pure dog food!

Fortunately, Reba still explained to her assistant: "I want everyone to think he helped me win the Golden Eagle Goddess."

"Won't that seem like cheating?"

Well said!

Of course it will.

But Dili Reba said: So what?

Winning on your own does carry more prestige—it showcases your status as a top female star.

But… it's not feminine enough.

Sometimes, I just want to be cute~

Pushing forward relentlessly, putting career first, is certainly the right path—and honestly, this kind of relationship suits Reba just fine.

After all, only those who walk in step can last long.

But not long ago, the senior management of Jiaxing held a meeting, and as one of the company's top artists, Reba naturally attended.

!

The meeting mainly discussed resource allocation and future plans for the two top artists.

But just before it ended, something explosive suddenly came up:

Yang Mi is about to officially announce her divorce!

Dili Reba had heard rumors within the company about this, but hadn't bothered to investigate.

Still, the sudden, blunt revelation shocked her.

At the time, she couldn't help glancing at Yang Mi sitting beside her—and found her expression unchanged, even smiling.

As if the one getting divorced wasn't her at all.

Noticing Reba's surprised and reflective gaze, Yang Mi remarked with meaning: "Reba, being the lead female in your career is good—but sometimes, it's fine to be a little girlish. It's not shameful. This is a small piece of advice from a divorced woman to you~"

"Sister Mi, I'm not some tomboy."

"Oh, dummy, think about it yourself."

Reba truly thought about it—and then connected it to her little hometown girl.

Though she'd always looked down on Na Zha, thinking her dramatic, cutesy, and clueless, with her career relying entirely on luck and destined to decline,

she had to admit: Na Zha was a textbook little girl.

Flirting, pouting, playing the victim—she could do all of it effortlessly, almost instinctively.

Love-driven, above career-driven—someone like that in the entertainment industry would likely survive only on looks.

Yet she kept getting better and better, climbing upward thanks entirely to her love-driven mindset.

It was a direct blow to career-focused competitors—sometimes she truly wanted to mutter: How does she even deserve this?

So the question is: Is Na Zha's way of surviving in the industry fun?

The answer proved: more fun than imaginable.

Being the lead female is cool, but having someone stand in front of you? That's genuinely reassuring.

Reba only experienced it briefly—and almost got hooked, thinking: Maybe I should just lie down too. Why be a hardworking grind?

The company's last hardworking grind, Yang Mi, even had her marriage collapse.

Being a lead female… isn't as easy as it seems~

But this time, Reba only dipped her toes in.

After all, this wasn't a critical moment where Bai Liang would step down from a rainbow cloud to appear as a legendary hero.

If it were like that, she might really have cracked.

As for now,

After feeling it, you must put on your battle armor and keep fighting.

She hoped this year's Golden Eagle Goddess gown would look better.

However, after taking a phone call, Reba's mood turned noticeably off.

She seemed to be wrestling with something, biting her lip, and even afterward unconsciously gnawed at her fingernails.

Had her assistant not reminded her, her freshly done manicure might have been completely ruined.

"What's wrong, sis?"

Reba hesitated, then spoke slowly: "Do you think I can win this year's Golden Eagle Best Actress?"

"Best Actress? The crystal cup is voted on by the audience—it doesn't really count as Best Actress, does it?"

The Golden Eagle Awards have no Best Actor or Best Actress categories.

But they do have Audience-Loved Male and Female Actors, and Most Popular Male and Female Actors.

The former is the gold cup; the latter is the crystal cup.

One could reasonably consider the Audience-Loved Male and Female Actors award—the gold cup—as the traditional Golden Eagle Best Actress and Best Actor.

The one who wins the crystal cup is generally not called Best Actress or Best Actor, since it's purely audience-voted.

Without doubt, Reba's goal is the crystal cup.

She's fairly confident about winning Most Popular.

Assuming no surprises, since she'll win it alongside Bai Liang, both getting the crystal cup, it'll become a celebrated story and benefit their couple's promotion.

The organizers surely want this wave of traffic too.

But now a temptation has been placed before Reba.

When her assistant realized Reba was talking about the gold cup, she too was stunned.

"Sis, are you serious? The competition is brutal."

Ding Liuyuan, Sun Li, Liu Tao, Yuan Quan, Yin Tao.

Reba competing with these people for Best Actress?

It felt like a fairy tale.

Among the Best Actress nominees, she and Yang Zi were just fillers—types who made the list just by being nominated.

Not to mention her—even Bai Liang had a low chance of winning Best Actor.

His opponents were Yu Hewei, Sun Weimin, He Bin, Zhang Jiayi, Liu Yunlong, Zhang Yi.

All of them are heavyweights!

The assistant knew quite a bit about these things and suddenly realized, "Sis, if the company really gets you the Best Actress award, you'll get torn apart."

Reba nodded silently; she wasn't stupid—she'd thought of this too.

But the temptation was simply too great.

The Golden Eagle, Feitian, and Bai Yulan—these three are the most prestigious awards in television. For her, the Golden Eagle Best Actress might be the only one within reach in the next few years.

Because the Golden Eagle has actively embraced traffic.

People are like this: even when they know gaining something might bring bad consequences, they still cling to wishful thinking.

There'll be two Best Actresses; maybe people won't focus on her then.

What if this is her only chance in life?

It's not certain she'll be torn apart—she has a solid fan base.

A flood of thoughts filled Reba's mind, leaving her indecisive.

At that moment, her junior assistant reminded her: "Sis, you have another drama with Brother Xiao Bai next year."

In an instant, her mind cleared completely!

(End of Chapter)