Chapter 351

There's a saying: Good words can't persuade a damned ghost.

Bai Liang never expected that Zhai Tianlin was actually that damn "honest."

I don't know what I don't know! No matter how much you ask, I still don't know!

The problem is, he looks pretty smart.

No~

Bai Liang noticed Zhai Tianlin's smiling expression and thought: Could this guy actually think I'm referencing Xiao Shenyang's sketch joke?

So he said: "Senior, you're really good at joking."

To be honest, even if Zhai Tianlin had the worst brain, he should've sensed something was off by now.

But what the hell is CNKI?

So he just stood there thinking for a full minute—and in this moment, silence was the worst possible response, without exception.

To the audience, this guy clearly looked guilty.

In fact, Zhai Tianlin just hadn't processed it yet; he was even wondering whether he should say he knew—but what if Bai Liang pressed him further on this? Wouldn't he look foolish if he couldn't answer?

Is this kid deliberately setting a trap for him?

Fortunately, Bai Liang changed the subject himself and started talking about The Wandering Earth.

Zhai Tianlin seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and joined in with a big smile.

He'd done his homework on this! He could talk endlessly about it.

Still, he couldn't shake the feeling that Bai Liang's eyes on the screen were looking at him strangely.

After they discussed The Wandering Earth for a while, they finally reached today's main event.

The graduate entrance exam scores were out.

Unfortunately, whether because too many people were checking, the score-checking website simply couldn't load at all.

It got stuck on a single page, frozen.

As expected, the website had crashed.

This referred to Peking University's Graduate School official website crashing.

Because this site was publicly accessible, they'd directly posted the list of candidates qualified for the interview and their scores in the official announcement.

Just as Bai Liang was about to log into the Ministry of Education's website or the graduate admissions portal to check his own information, the livestream audience had already spoiled it for him.

"Big Immortal, you're amazing—you got first place in the preliminary exam! How the hell did you even grow that brain? Share some of it with me."

"Dude, you were filming all year, won Weibo Movie Emperor and Golden Eagle TV Emperor, and still somehow got into Peking University for grad school?"

"It's crushing me— I studied all year at home and still didn't pass."

"No way to deny this—he's a real scholar! So ruthless!"

"No wonder Zhai Tianlin, such a cocky guy, is being so polite to the Big Immortal—scholarly mutual admiration?"

"Hey, hold on a sec—I'm checking his papers right now."

"Don't just focus on the Big Immortal—he's rock-solid; his scores are legit exam results. But what about the other guy? Who knows? Heh, doesn't even know CNKI."

"Waiting for the Big Immortal's grad exam guide~ He's insane—he just takes the exam and passes!"

"."

Today's livestream audience wasn't just fans.

Bai Liang's little female fans were celebrating his grad score, all excited and not paying much attention.

Because most of them genuinely didn't know what CNKI was.

But because of the timing and the people involved in this livestream, the audience composition was complicated.

In China, people with a bachelor's degree or higher make up about six percent of the total population.

Yet the percentage of viewers in this livestream with a bachelor's degree—or higher—was far, far higher than that number!

Even a huge number of Peking University students had come to watch.

After all, one was a Peking University postdoc, the other a top celebrity aiming for Peking University—naturally, some curious Peking University students showed up.

Zhai Tianlin's line "What the hell is CNKI?" sounded light, but to these people, it was painfully jarring.

This livestream hit the trending list that night.

First, of course, was Bai Liang's grad score—students everywhere were congratulating him~

Then came the trending topic about Zhai Tianlin's "scholar" marketing—only then did Bai Liang realize this guy truly hadn't realized it—he actually dared to buy a trending topic for marketing?

Of course, this might've been pre-planned.

"Big Brother Dou, the livestream went pretty well~ We didn't pay for trending topics, but tomorrow I was thinking of buying one."

"Don't buy. Something's going to blow up tomorrow." Bai Liang warned him directly this time.

"Huh? What's going to happen?"

"A Peking University postdoc doesn't know what CNKI is—that's huge. If his papers have issues too, at best it's academic misconduct on his part; at worst—it's regulatory failure, possibly triggering a seismic shake-up across the entire academic circle, even drawing a reaction from the Ministry of Education."

Celebrity effect sometimes has devastating power.

After hearing this, Sister Yanzi was stunned.

She froze for several seconds before finally reacting: "So this guy's a fake scholar?"

"At least—he doesn't know things he should know. It depends on how you interpret it."

While they were chatting, a phone call came in.

He checked the caller ID—it was Xin Xin Zhilei.

The sister opened with thanks, seemingly unaware her boyfriend was about to face disaster.

Bai Liang thought for a moment: "Sister Xin, how's Senior Zhai holding up?"

"Huh?"

"You should spend more time with him these two days."

Sister Yanzi gave a thumbs-up—after all, at this moment, their own Xiao Bai Ge had actually called his senior "xuechang," giving him face from head to toe.

He really did—I'm crying. So warm~

On the other end of the phone, Xin Xin Zhilei's heart skipped a beat—why did this sound like her boyfriend had cancer and was about to die?

Bai Liang: Pretty much. My acting career is over.

"Good brother, good brother, tell me clearly—I'm terrified."

Bai Liang didn't play cryptic—he told her exactly what he'd just said to Sister Yanzi.

Xin Xin Zhilei was stunned.

Huh?!

Their relationship had just been exposed in photos at the end of last year, and they hadn't even announced it yet—now she was being told her boyfriend was about to blow up?

After the call ended, Sister Yanzi couldn't help asking: "Xiao Bai Ge, are they going to break up now?"

"Not necessarily. Xin Xin Zhilei is a very emotional person—I could tell from how they got along on set. The more this happens, the less likely she is to break up with him now."

Hearing this, Sister Yanzi pledged unconditional trust in their own Xiao Bai Ge's judgment.

In matters of romantic relationships, she felt Xiao Bai Ge had total authority!

But there was one thing Bai Liang got wrong.

Even if Zhai Tianlin was about to blow up, she could still buy the trending topic.

The louder his bomb exploded, the more dazzling the fireworks, the greater the traffic it would pull.

Bai Liang himself might not need this kind of traffic—but the movie's promotion did!

"The Wandering Earth" was already on track to hit five billion, but it still had a long way to go compared to "Wolf Warrior 2" at 6.6 billion.

We've got to push for it!

If we don't seize this chance, who knows when the next one will come?

Sister Yanzi had already set her sights on Wu Jing's box office crown.

Even though their own Xiao Bai Ge had acted in "Wolf Warrior 2," he was only second lead.

If possible, moving from top box office lead actor to top box office male lead would be a huge leap!

Sister Yanzi immediately revised the original marketing plan, preparing to use Zhai Tianlin's "explosion" to drive traffic.

This traffic wasn't for others to take—it was for "The Wandering Earth."

Guo Fan had hired so many big-name experts—academics, professors, and so on—for the film's setting; now they could be contrasted directly.

Besides, over there is a fake Yu Ji—our Xiao Bai Ge is the real Ba Wang!

She was taking this traffic—no doubt about it!

Netizens' efficiency exceeded imagination.

Because the live stream started a bit later, only a few hours had passed when, by midnight, Zhai Tianlin's incident had already spread widely.

So the next morning of the live stream,

#Zhai Tianlin Doesn't Know Zhiwang# shot straight to No. 1 on trending!

Public opinion fermented rapidly!

Bai Liang's massive, dominant flow of traffic clearly played a major role in pushing this.

Too many people had been watching his live stream, and combined with the buzz surrounding his Peking University graduate entrance exam, Zhai Tianlin had become widely known.

Under this pressure, Zhai Tianlin chose to meme his way out.

In the comments section of his Weibo, he laughed and said: "You'd believe me if I said I didn't know one plus one equals two?" Below, fans comforted him: "Learned your lesson, right? Don't joke around like that anymore—you'll get exploited by people with ulterior motives."

Then his studio's reply was even weirder:

After verification by our company, this statement was Zhai Tianlin's humorous jest regarding his thesis-writing period, meant to lightly deflect the hardship of academic writing through rhetorical questioning.

Okay okay okay—truly hilarious!

Then his thesis was dug up.

Zhai Tianlin's doctoral thesis, "On the Performance Creation of 'Bai Xiaowen' in the TV Series 'White Deer Plain,'" was not publicly available on Zhiwang.

Moreover, plagiarism checks on his journal paper revealed a similarity rate exceeding 40%, and it was suspected of copying a 2006 article by a professor from Huangshan College.

#Zhai Tianlin Thesis Plagiarism#

Second strike.

Public opinion escalated sharply, and the situation began spreading wildly.

Some turned their accusations toward Zhai Tianlin's doctoral advisor, claiming his academic credentials and abilities were unfit for a doctoral supervisor.

Not even the dean of the Film Academy's Acting Department escaped blame.

He was exposed for marrying a student 24 years his junior and casting big-name actors as supporting roles in his wife's film, "A Marriage Contract."

The film's production company was 100% owned by the Film Academy, and the company actually responsible for production was registered under the dean's wife's name.

Later, others revealed the film's producer was the dean's nephew.

One after another, they all started falling apart.

Oh right, since we're digging, Bai Liang didn't escape either.

His exam results were beyond reproach—backed by the state.

!

They mainly dug into his undergraduate thesis.

Fortunately, it was genuinely his own work—and it was actually quite good.

Otherwise, if he'd just half-assed it like most undergrads, everyone knows how similar those half-baked methods are.

It wouldn't have meant "ruin and disgrace," but he'd likely have been publicly executed.

He was the only contestant to "survive" this storm of fire.

"Insane! I thought this guy was legit—Ph. D. from Film Academy, postdoc at Peking University—turns out he's just Li Gui?"

"Fairness! Fairness! Still talking about fairness! Another academic fraud! Fuck."

"I watched the livestream—truly, no words can save a damned fool. Even the Immortal warned him, and he still didn't get it. What a total waste."

"The Immortal's still kind—he must've sensed something was off and didn't expose him on the spot. Later, he even called him 'senior'—that's real face."

"That whole scene made me laugh so hard. This has to be included—it's funnier than any Spring Festival Gala skit. Did anyone notice the Immortal's helpless expression?"

"I desperately wanted to save this guy, but he just wouldn't pull himself together!"

"Why even save him? I'm not siding with the Immortal this time—I'm不服!"

"Kindness wasted on the wrong person. What's there to save in a guy like this?"

"."

Why? Good question!

Due to massive public pressure, the next morning the People's Daily intervened, directly asking the two involved universities: 【Actor Zhai Tianlin Faces "Academic Exposure": Controversy Mounts—When Will the Universities Respond?】

By nightfall, the Film Academy announced a full investigation and declared zero tolerance for academic misconduct.

Soon after, Peking University made a similar statement, forming a special investigation team.

Then Zhai Tianlin caved, apologizing on Weibo, admitting to "improper behavior driven by vanity," and applying to withdraw from Peking University's postdoctoral program.

The Ministry of Education later responded, stating "zero tolerance for academic misconduct," and issued the "Notice on Further Regulating and Strengthening Graduate Education Management" (2019), emphasizing crackdowns on academic fraud.

Because of this incident, many universities lowered their thesis similarity thresholds from under 30% to 10–15%, with some requiring under 5%.

Some universities mandated that supervisors bear lifelong responsibility for their students' thesis quality.

University students:???!

What?! One-size-fits-all?!

Zhai Tianlin's credentials were exposed, and the whole country rejoiced—but the consequences of his actions now fall on all university students, graduate students, and even PhD candidates.

It's an absolute disaster!

The student who contacted CNKI is the cause.

Zhai Tianlin, the thesis forger, is the effect.

But the students are the ones who suffer the retribution.

A flood of people flocked to Bai Liang's Weibo to vent, and those whose theses were actually exposed went completely insane.

They said: "Immortal, why didn't you just use your powers to kill that guy back then?"

Now everyone understands why Bai Liang wanted to "save the scene"—he wasn't trying to save Zhai Tianlin, that loser—he was thinking of the students!

Alas, divine power cannot overcome fate.

Bai Liang:. They just wanted to interact with me, ride the hype—no need to drop dead on the spot.

If merely seeking his spotlight triggered such a violent backlash of fortune, not many girls would be left standing.

"Cold-blooded and heartless" Sister Yanzi glanced at the students' wailing, then went back to what she was doing.

The traffic-driving effect was excellent—Zhai Tianlin's big fireworks exploded beautifully.

But honestly, Sister Yanzi hadn't expected Zhai Tianlin to collapse so fast.

Apparently, plenty in the entertainment industry disliked him.

In a certain sense, Zhai Tianlin was a mini, ultimate version of Bai Liang.

He acted well, looked decent, had high credentials—all fine, but compared to Bai Liang, he was nothing.

But for many in entertainment, he was already an eyesore.

Why did Wolf Warrior 2 and The Wandering Earth face so much random hostility?

In a way, they threatened too many people's interests.

You could've easily made money, but then someone had to raise the audience's threshold—how could you tolerate that?

Bai Liang's existence is the same.

He just stands there, and suddenly every top idol pushed by agencies finds it way harder to cash in.

Everything gets compared to Bai Liang—who can take that?

The key is, they really can't compete.

This time, many people took the chance to vent their frustrations on Zhai Tianlin.

Fuck, can't handle Bai Liang, can't you handle you?

Stop pretending to be a genius scholar, acting so superior!

On top of that, he was arrogant—so many were happy to kick him while he was down.

Though Sister Yanzi saw all these undercurrents, she had zero sympathy for Zhai Tianlin—whether he died or not was none of her business.

As long as her own Xiao Bai was fine.

But like Zhai Tianlin, Bai Liang has his own "Achilles' heel."

Sister Yanzi has always been most worried about this—in matters of romance, her Xiao Bai's triggers are enormous.

If it blew up, it'd be louder than ten Zhai Tianlins.

So she's always been extremely careful about these things.

"Xiao Qi."

"Chief Yan!"

"After this, follow Xiao Bai—he needs a personal cameraman."

The "Xiao Qi" Sister Yanzi referred to was that college graduate who'd come to pledge loyalty as a freelance paparazzo.

She kept her word—she paid him the 50,000-yuan bonus, and truly arranged his job.

Dou Xiao Qi had real talent in photography, so Sister Yanzi had Old Zhou send him straight to a few fashion magazines to learn properly.

From then on, he'd be the one taking photos of Bai Liang.

After all, as an artist, he had to post handsome shots regularly to keep up his public image. Before, they'd always had Old Zhou borrow outside photographers, but now with Dou Xiao Qi as their own, it saved a lot of trouble.

Of course, compared to his photography talent, Sister Yanzi valued the kid's talent as a paparazzi even more.

Not asking him to be a paparazzi himself, but to stick by Bai Liang's side and help him either catch or avoid the paparazzi.

Dou Xiao Qi: Just do it!

In his camera bag, besides the camera, it was all U-locks.

After arranging all this, Sister Yanzi turned her attention back to "The Wandering Earth."

Her publicity work was pretty much wrapped up by now.

The film had been out for over twenty days, and the box office had finally crossed five billion.

She could finally breathe a sigh of relief, while also keeping a closer eye on the box office trend going forward. The extended screening period had long been secured, and there was still a long stretch of screening time left.

Six billion! As long as the film's box office broke six billion, there was a very high chance someone would pull out all the stops to push it past "Wolf Warrior 2"!

Including but not limited to administrative measures like organizing group screenings by work units.

But honestly, as a sci-fi film, "The Wandering Earth" still had some limitations in terms of audience reach.

Luckily, plenty of moviegoers really did go for second, third, fourth viewings — that's what made the current box office possible.

So here's the question.

Bai Liang, when are you gonna be number one in the country?

(End of chapter)