Chapter 334: A Thoroughly Riveting Performance

"Wow~ so many people!"

"Brother Dou Xiao Bai, if you keep sighing, you're gonna be late~"

Yanzi covered her mouth and laughed; today's "exam send-off" gave her the feeling of going back to school days.

But she couldn't shake the sense that her role was more like a nagging old housekeeper—still fussing over things like the admission ticket, ID, pens, asking if he'd forgotten anything.

The fun part was yet to come.

Before Bai Liang could slip away, his mother called.

"Handsome boy, I heard you're taking an exam today? Go for it!"

Hearing his own mother's voice brimming with energy, Bai Liang couldn't help but laugh. "If you'd called a few minutes later, I wouldn't have even been able to pick up."

"I forgot, who knew that at your age you'd actually still be going to exams. When I told your dad about this, he laughed himself half to death."

"What do you mean 'at my age'? I'm only twenty-six this year, right?"

"Twenty-six? You're really twenty-six, nominally twenty-seven, loosely twenty-eight, basically twenty-nine—round it up and you're thirty, and before you know it you're heading for forty. I think you're practically old already, handsome boy."

"I'm thirty?" Bai Liang felt a little dazed and couldn't help pulling out his ID to take another look.

No doubt about it, he was born in '92.

Mothers all seem to be pretty good at this one trick.

When she used to wake him up as a kid, she'd always say something like, "It's ten o'clock and you're still not up?"

He'd crawl out of bed and check—8:10.

8:10 already?

"Brother Dou Xiao Bai, you've got five minutes—if you don't go in now, they won't let you in." Yanzi seized the chance to remind him.

Bai Liang vanished in a flash, tossing his phone to Yanzi—the call wasn't even hung up yet~

Mom Bai: found a Yanzi to "torture."

"Yanzi, you're not young anymore either—seeing anyone?"

Yanzi:.

It feels like once you pass twenty-five, everyone has to face this stuff.

She'd picked up on it just now too—Mom Bai seemed to be nudging toward marriage.

But for her own Brother Dou Xiao Bai, the hard part wasn't finding someone willing to marry him.

It was figuring out who would be the better choice~

If mishandled, this could blow the entire entertainment industry sky-high.

After all, the young ladies might turn a blind eye to certain things, but once it reaches this level, it wouldn't be the least bit strange for a few "crazy" ones to jump out.

They're all rushing into Shuangzi's unhinged lane now—so what happens to Shuangzi?

Wait, no! Shuangzi might go even crazier. She's not in the "girlfriend" niche—she's in the "disciple" niche.

Yanzi just had to imagine that scene and it gave her the creeps.

Immediately, from her stance as a professional manager, she gave Mom Bai a lecture on why artists tend to marry and have kids later, and how well Brother Dou Xiao Bai was doing now, that he had to seize the opportunity and so on.

Of course, in the end, what actually dispelled Mom Bai's matchmaking thoughts was one brutally honest line.

"Auntie, you said you want to have a meal with Brother Dou Xiao Bai's girlfriend—I can arrange that. But you'll need to set aside at least a week, and I'll have to coordinate their schedules."

Mom Bai:???

Schedules?

That word sounds so unfamiliar.

How many people does she have to eat with?

Still, thinking back on those little girls she'd bumped into on the set of "Joy of Life," she didn't doubt Yanzi was lying to her.

She just worried whether her handsome boy might one day get struck by lightning.

The news of Bai Liang showing up at the graduate exam site was naturally impossible to keep under wraps.

Besides the media, who'd long since found out where to stake out, plenty of students recognized him too.

Even though he'd gone full camouflage today, one female student somehow spotted him just from the back of his head, and when he was about to slip away after the exam, her shriek nearly triggered a "zombie siege."

Luckily, Bai Liang ran pretty fast.

Normally, since the exam was over, staying behind for autographs and photos wouldn't have been a problem.

But this time he had things to handle.

Fresh out of the exam hall, he headed straight for the airport.

Once he turned his phone on, messages from that guy Wang Sicong came flooding in, one after another, all urging him along.

Bai Liang glanced at them, figured the guy was talking too much nonsense, and chose not to reply.

Originally, the official League of Legends side had wanted Bai Liang as a special guest on the commentary desk, but he said watching the match from the audience seats was way more satisfying than being up on commentary.

Luckily they didn't mind—as long as Bai Liang showed up, he could still chime in from the analyst desk later, and his duties as their spokesperson would be considered fulfilled.

"Daxian, you really are slow as hell. Are you in Korea yet?"

"I'm here~ I'll be at the venue in a bit."

"Need me to send someone to pick you up?"

"No need, I've got friends here in Korea. Oh right, you said you had an extra ticket, right? Give me one more."

"You've got friends in Korea? Lim Yoon-ah?"

Wang Sicong's first thought went straight to her—after all, the way he'd originally met Bai Liang was because Lim Yoon-ah and Bai Liang had co-starred in that "God of War, Zhao Zilong," with Lim Yoon-ah as the female lead.

Knowing Bai Liang's usual style, it seemed perfectly reasonable that he'd quietly had a little something going on with a Korean beauty.

"Lim Yoon-ah? No way, I don't even have her contact info—she doesn't count as a friend. Not a Korean person either, my friend is Chinese. Just have the ticket ready, okay? Front row, right?"

"Of course~"

Since Bai Liang had spoken up like that, Wang Sicong looked at the internet celebrity girl who was with him watching the match.

"You go back to the hotel and entertain yourself for a bit."

Internet celebrity girl:????

Wang Sicong thought he was damn loyal—this was a finals ticket! If he'd prepared in advance, fine, but who asks for one on the same day?

He could only sacrifice his internet celebrity girlfriend.

But when he saw Bai Liang and the girl beside him outside the arena, he wanted to smash his hot dog right into Bai Liang's bastard face.

You made my little girlfriend give up her ticket, and now you show up with some girl?

Bai Liang: Girl? She's five years older than me—she's an older sister.

"Hello, Principal Wang, I'm Song Qian~"

"Hello, hello."

After greeting, Wang Sicong looked at Bai Liang and couldn't help feeling something was off—he seemed to be searching for an angle to punch him.

Fucking bastard!

Bai Liang insisted he hadn't deliberately brought a girl to watch the match; Song Qian's presence, or rather their meeting, was purely professional.

For the upcoming Mango New Year's Eve Gala, besides singing with Meng Jie, he'd also be partnering with Song Qian.

He was swamped.

But Mango TV paid real money.

So Sister Yanzi, that "money-obsessed" one, figured if one sheep was herding, two sheep was the same—no difference~ Just a few minutes' work.

Not even two—even a whole flock, she thought Bai Liang could handle.

He'd done this kind of thing before.

But singing with Meng Jie wasn't hard at all—after all, with Meng Jie as backup, even if Bai Liang sang badly, he'd still look great.

But Song Qian's part required both singing and dancing—that was a bit troublesome.

Bai Liang couldn't dance.

Fortunately, Song Qian said she'd handle it, designing simple moves for Bai Liang so he wouldn't be too strained.

She also had to accommodate Bai Liang's schedule, which was why she'd come all the way to Korea.

After the match, they'd head straight to SM Company to borrow their dance rehearsal room and practice first. Song Qian was still an SM artist—her contract didn't expire until next year.

Once inside the arena, Song Qian showed what it meant to be half a home crowd.

She'd done pretty well in Korea—many people recognized her and seemed genuinely excited.

Seeing this, Wang Sicong couldn't help mocking Bai Liang: "No one here knows you, big star."

No sooner had he spoken than several Korean girls rushed over, excitedly shouting, "Oppa! Oppa!"

Their commotion drew attention, and soon a crowd gathered.

Clearly, although Bai Liang had never been to Korea, he wasn't unknown here.

Some of his dramas and films had been exported to Korea.

But he still fell short of Huang Jingyu—when that guy finished "Addicted," he came to Korea for a fan meeting and nearly paralyzed the airport.

He'd even sent a video to Bai Liang to brag about it.

BL stuff was just too terrifying.

Wang Sicong thought Bai Liang was terrifying too—he saw this guy fluently chatting with the Korean fangirls in what sounded like perfect Korean.

!

It made his eyes widen involuntarily.

What the hell kind of monster was this? He'd never seen any marketing for this before~

As if sensing Wang's "shock," Bai Liang raised an eyebrow at him: Not a big deal—just a life skill, no need to market it.

"Wow! You speak Korean so well!" Song Qian said bluntly.

"I learned mostly from listening to your songs—I used to be a fan of your group. Didn't see that coming, did you?"

"Bullshit. You're good at flattery." Song Qian rolled her eyes, but her smile grew even brighter.

Wang Sicong couldn't take it anymore: "You two are both Chinese—can't you speak Chinese? Stop with the encrypted chatter."

"Sure, next time for sure," Bai Liang cheerfully replied.

"Sorry~" Song Qian added with a smile.

But both lines were spoken in Korean.

Wang Sicong: I'm calling the police!

Fortunately, the kind and beautiful Song Qian went and bought some food.

Then she witnessed what male boredom looked like.

Bai Liang and Wang Sicong, both a bit hungry, didn't bother being polite—they ate heartily before the match started.

But when Bai Liang saw Wang Sicong swallow a cream puff in one bite, he found it "amazing."

So he held up a grilled sausage, looking serious: "If you can swallow this whole in one bite, I'll admit you're impressive."

Wang Sicong thought: I can tolerate you?

He grabbed the sausage and swallowed it whole, then said: "Fine, I accept your 'you're impressive.'"

But Bai Liang then rummaged through Song Qian's bag of snacks and pulled out a hot dog: "What about this one?"

Looking at the hot dog, Wang Sicong didn't hesitate—he shoved it straight into his mouth.

But swallowing this whole was far too hard—even some well-trained girls might manage it, but Young Master Wang clearly couldn't.

Choke—choked.

Fortunately, with Bai Liang's help, the hot dog was barely shoved down.

The method is simple: just force it down.

Just as Young Master Wang was frantically drinking to wash it down, his eyes suddenly widened.

At that moment, Song Qian was laughing so hard she could barely straighten her waist.

Because Bai Liang was holding a large rye loaf, staring intently at Young Master Wang.

As if saying: Keep going!

Let me see where your limit is~

Wang Sicong: I'll keep going your fucking head!

"Where did you even get this thing?!" Wang Sicong blurted out.

Bai Liang shifted slightly, revealing two Korean girls in the back seat, indicating they were sponsored by enthusiastic international friends.

The two pretty Korean girls were now also watching Wang Sicong with eager expressions, as if hoping to witness him gulp down the entire rye loaf in one go!

Their little expressions made Wang Sicong feel a bit embarrassed—maybe he should just take a bite?

But one bite was clearly impossible.

Fine!

Today, I'll demonstrate for everyone: three bites to finish one rye loaf!

"Amazing!" Bai Liang offered genuine praise, then gave him the highest male endorsement: "You're impressive!"

"Not bad~"

Wang's spectacular performance made it onto China's trending list ten minutes later.

Clearly, the enthusiastic audience on site had filmed it all.

In the near future, his feat would spread across the entire internet, even being turned into memes and merchandise.

Oh right, there was even a combo set: Wang, stuffed with a hot dog, beside a smiling capybara holding a rye loaf.

See? That's the power of the League of Legends World Championship!

But Song Qian quietly told Bai Liang: she could eat that whole rye loaf in two bites.

Bai Liang: Oh?! Really?

Song Qian: Totally true~

She had a big mouth, so she got to decide—but Bai Liang still remained skeptical, unless he saw it with his own eyes.

After all, no practice, no right to speak.

But right now, he couldn't witness her skill, since the only rye loaf had already been devoured by Wang Sicong.

Find something else to replace it—this place isn't suitable either.

Might as well watch the match for now.

The result of today's match was predictable, since they were facing off against Western and European teams.

The biggest threat, the Korean club, had already been eliminated in the semifinals.

But it didn't dampen the atmosphere at the venue or the online audience's enthusiasm.

This really is the most promising year yet~

During the match, Song Qian found it amusing to watch Bai Liang screaming and even cursing alongside Young Master Wang.

She'd never seen this side of him before.

This is what boys' youth looks like.

Though she didn't understand the match, the older sister player still understood boys well.

Cheering and shouting along with them, she even found herself immersed in the atmosphere.

At the moment the match ended and the entire arena erupted, she had a sudden inspiration.

Smack! One bite!

Wang Sicong, who was about to put his arm around Bai Liang and yell "IG awesome!":??

Wait, his own team had won the World Championship, so why did he suddenly feel oddly unexcited?

Damn it… how nice it would be if his internet girlfriend were here right now~

Then it would be Bai Liang, this bastard, who'd be the one eating dog food!

"Big Immortal, take it easy—the camera's coming over."

"Oh, and there's Principal Wang too—come on, can't favor one over another~" Song Qian grinned at Young Master Wang, saying words that made his heart race.

Wang Sicong: Huh? Really? I get a share too?!

How could I possibly accept that?

The next second, a finger lightly tapped his cheek.

Tsk~ Such blatant favoritism!

Still, Wang Sicong returned to his cheerful state.

In this moment, he seemed to have reverted to the innocent boy who once fiercely argued with netizens for his girlfriend.

What does it take to turn an innocent boy into a heartless player who changes girlfriends like clothes?

Being tricked by a gold-digger.

Bai Liang couldn't help but clap for Song Qian in his heart—awesome, awesome~ No wonder she's the older sister player!

She'd hooked Young Master Wang like a hooked fish.

Almost sent him back to his innocent self.

——

Third chapter, goodnight~

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(End of Chapter)