Chapter 36: Fist Strikes South Mountain Elderly Home (Request Follows, Request Monthly Votes)

Sister Yang came with high spirits and didn't leave disappointed.

At least she had a comfortable drink with Bai Liang and Wang Yanlin~

In the end, she paid for everything herself.

This style was truly grand indeed; Bai Liang and Wang Yanlin couldn't stop praising Sister Yang.

A boy's happiness is this simple~

Rich woman, I'm hungry.

Although Yang Xing had been rejected by Bai Liang, she wasn't overly disappointed.

Because she could feel that if she couldn't sign him, neither could anyone else for now.

She planned to stay a couple more days here—not because she absolutely had to sign Bai Liang immediately, but mainly to understand Cai Yinong's methods and conditions.

She also looked forward to seeing how Bai Liang would "handle" the other side.

He's currently on Tang Ren's set right now; refusing her Yang Xing was easy, but if he angered Cai Yinong, the man might just fly into a rage and strip his costume right off his back.

If Bai Liang ultimately signed with Tang Ren under this pressure, Yang Xing would only think she'd misjudged him—and then she wouldn't sign him anyway.

But directly confronting him... would be a step down.

"So, how will he break the deadlock?" Yang Xing asked Sister Yanzi with a smile.

Sister Yanzi: Huh? Me?

"Um... Brother Dou Xiao Bai is actually really talented!" she said cautiously.

Facing a senior agent of this caliber, Sister Yanzi couldn't be too nervous.

She was deeply grateful that Bai Liang had pushed her over to accompany Yang Xing and keep her company.

Anyone with half a brain knew this was helping her, giving her an opportunity!

"Talented? In what way?"

"Hmm... interpersonal relationships—he's got great connections."

"That's certainly a strong point, but even the best connections won't make Tang Ren's artists rise up against Cai Yinong for him. They might just be even more eager for him to sign with Tang Ren so they can hang out together more often."

That makes sense!

But Sister Yanzi had one thing she wasn't sure whether to say...

She suddenly remembered Bai Liang had taken two exams recently; the results were probably out by now.

He can't have actually passed...

Forcing herself to ignore this utterly implausible direction, Sister Yanzi racked her brains—but still couldn't think of any good solution.

Yet she had full confidence in Bai Liang: "I can't figure it out, but Brother Dou Xiao Bai definitely has a way."

Brother Dou Xiao Bai didn't really have a plan either~

But it didn't matter—when the boat reaches the bridge, it'll find its way.

Early in the morning, after introducing Sister Yanzi to Sister Yang and arranging her "backup plan," Bai Liang went out for his usual morning run.

He'd originally wanted to find a running partner.

But Wang Yanlin had drunk a bit too much yesterday, and Han Dongjun had been working nonstop on Immortal Sword: Cloud of the Ordinary and hadn't recovered yet.

As for Jin Cheng... she had decent stamina, but her pace was too slow—no good.

Still, morning runs sometimes let you meet fellow enthusiasts; today Bai Liang met one.

A thin man in a hoodie with a hood pulled up, running the exact same route as him.

The two ran one behind the other, and when Bai Liang passed him from behind, it clearly sparked the man's competitive spirit.

Soon after, he caught up.

He kept running just two or three meters behind.

Bai Liang glanced back and felt his adrenaline surge: Challenge accepted! Full power!

And so.

"Old brother, I'm on your left."

Old brother: I swear! This kid's not playing fair!

A while later, Bai Liang circled back again as promised.

"On your left~"

"I know, I know! If you've got guts, keep going!"

"Fine!"

Then when the two met again, Bai Liang had just smiled when the man snapped: "Say that again?!"

"Actually, I was going to say—I can't run anymore."

At those words, the old brother finally sighed in relief and slowed to a walk.

Bai Liang hadn't lied—he really couldn't have kept up that pace without male pride.

The old brother clearly ran regularly; only because the loop wasn't very long could Bai Liang lap him three times.

"How long have you been running? Your stamina's impressive!"

"A few months. What about you, old brother?"

"...... Four years."

Ah~

This one? This one's called youthful arrogance.

Because when the old brother pulled off his hood, he revealed a "celebrity face."

But he wasn't an entertainment industry celebrity—he was an "IT industry celebrity."

The famous Zhang Chaoyang of Sohu!

Speaking of which, *Wu Xin Fa Shi* was co-produced by Tang Ren and Sohu Video.

It'll be released on Sohu Video later, so Zhang Chaoyang showing up here... makes no sense at all.

But there he was~

Swap in any founder of a well-known internet company, and none of them would just wander around like this for no reason—except Zhang Chaoyang.

This guy, when he's got nothing to do, even goes to bars to drink with young models.

Likes sports, likes beauties—hey~ those two hobbies really are... what a coincidence.

But after Bai Liang recognized who the other man was, he only froze for a moment; he didn't have any particular thoughts just because the guy's net worth was some unclear number of billions.

He just sighed to himself at the thought—though this brother's company is doing worse and worse, he himself seems to be living pretty carefree.

As for running...

Your running's not great, bro—you still need practice.

So Bai Liang rested a little, then went and ran a few more laps; once he felt satisfied, he got ready to head back to the hotel.

But at that moment, Zhang Chaoyang came over on his own. "You've really only been running for a few months?"

"I'm a dog if I'm lying."

"A sports major?"

"Nope, but I guess right now I could count as an arts major~" Bai Liang said quite seriously.

"You running again tomorrow? I got here earlier than you today, ran for quite a while already."

The man's already fifty, and his competitive streak is this strong?

Still, Bai Liang didn't feel he was winning unfairly—beating up the old folks at the Nanshan nursing home, that's just being a true hero!

Apart from running, the two of them didn't really chat about anything else.

It was purely two energetic men of different ages idly trying to outdo each other—there's some truth to the saying that men remain boys till death.

At this point, Cai Yi, who was already staying at the crew's hotel, heard people say Zhang Chaoyang had actually come by for a stroll, and unlike Bai Liang, she couldn't stay so calm.

A starved camel is still bigger than a horse~

No matter how badly Sohu is doing, it's still not something a production company like Tang Ren can compare to.

Although she didn't know what he'd come for, since he was already here, she had to meet him and say hello or something.

So Cai Yi told Bai Liang directly to put the signing plan on hold for now, planning to chat with the internet big shot first and build some rapport.

The guy's staying with the crew anyway, he's not going anywhere~

Even if Bai Liang "doesn't know what's good for him," Cai Yi still has a trump card.

Dou Xiao Bai, you don't want the company's top actress and you to be torn apart, do you?

Come on, sign this contract, and from now on we'll be family.

Sis Cai will personally arrange things between you two.