Chapter 363: Can I Touch Your Trophy?

"Achoo!"

Bai Liang sneezed; he certainly wasn't sick—his instinct told him someone was talking about him.

Then he looked down and spotted ten yuan on the ground.

So he happily reached down to pick it up.

Two cups of Mixue Bingcheng—later I can treat Lu Han to one.

After all, I've taken his "friend fee" several times now; I ought to return the favor—reciprocity is the way.

To show sincerity, I'll let him drink both!

"Whoa! You're picking up ten yuan now? That's your net worth?"

Xu Zheng and Wen Wen Muye suddenly appeared from nowhere, grinning as they teased Bai Liang.

Hearing Xu Zheng's words, Bai Liang didn't pretend he was broke—he simply turned the ten-yuan bill face-up for him to see.

Then he smiled and said, "If you don't pick it up, you gonna step on it?"

"Sis! Liang Ge, please spare me!" Xu Zheng quickly clasped his hands together in supplication.

Nearby, Director Wen Wen Muye couldn't hold back his admiration: "Well done~"

"I came here to be your go-between! And you turn around and hit me?" Xu Zheng complained.

"Go-between?" Bai Liang asked curiously.

"He got assigned a thematic film about entrepreneurship."

"I don't have any availability this year," Bai Liang replied honestly—his schedule was already packed to bursting.

Just the 70th Anniversary tribute film alone—one movie, one TV series—took up a huge chunk of time; otherwise Sister Yanzi wouldn't have been forced to scramble to clear his calendar.

Correct, besides "Daylight Meteor," Bai Liang also has a TV drama commitment.

What can you do? He's the first to stick out.

And among young actors, he's too conspicuous—impossible to ignore.

Fortunately, he's not the lead, and it's not scheduled to air this year; otherwise his schedule would've truly exploded.

The drama's title is "The Awakening Age."

Only a subject like this lets someone like Bai Liang completely ignore status or billing order—no one dares pull billing fights in such a project, nor even attempt to manipulate marketing momentum.

He'd just mocked Wu Jing for being "press-ganged" too hard, but now he looked back and realized his own workload wasn't any lighter than Wu Jing's—and that guy actually wanted to drag him into "The Climbers," treating him like a beast of burden.

At that moment, Wu Jing, still on the set of "The Climbers" "dating" Zhang Zhang Ziyi, suddenly sneezed, rubbed his nose, and went right back to "dating" her.

Damn, it's so bitter inside—this "Love on Zhufeng" is something only the actor knows.

He guessed he'd probably get blamed later anyway.

And after finishing this movie, he still had to go shoot another one called "Jin Gang Chuan"—the reason was solid enough, he couldn't refuse.

In this kind of war film, no one could replace him as "Wolf Warrior" Leng Feng.

Still, remembering that Bai Liang wasn't doing much better, Wu Jing felt a little comforted.

But clearly, due to the 70th Anniversary and the rise of main-theme productions, his upcoming commitments were still overwhelming.

He mused: I need to drag Bai Liang into this too.

It wasn't that he couldn't stand Bai Liang having less work—he just always felt that filming with Bai Liang went unusually smoothly.

"Jing Ge, that take was perfect—cut!"

Wu Jing:???

What the hell just passed?

Oh right—he'd just been expressing his "romantic feelings" toward Zhang Zhang Ziyi into a radio mic.

He'd rehearsed it several times and failed—now he spaced out and it passed?

Damn, this kid Bai Liang is definitely weird—he even helps you like this~—

"Of course I know your schedule is tight—that's why I'm coming early to reserve it; we might not even start shooting by the end of next year."

After Xu Zheng gave a brief introduction, Wen Wen Muye took over:

"For my new film, I still want to use the 'I Am Not a Pharmacist' creative model, but this time the theme is about young people in the new era starting businesses—the protagonist must be someone who can be an older brother, a parent, and even a factory manager, meeting multiple demands."

Bai Liang listened intently, which sparked Wen Wen Muye's urge to elaborate.

But unfortunately, the project was still in its infancy—he didn't have much more to say.

He soon fell silent.

"Huh? That's it?" Bai Liang seemed slightly disappointed.

Wen Wen Muye spread his hands. "That's all for now. It'll be refined gradually later—but I don't know if Brother Liang…"

"Director Wen, Dou Xiao Bai doesn't even know what his own schedule looks like—you can only discuss this with me."

Sister Yanzi's here!

In fact, ever since Wen Wen Muye made "I Am Not a Pharmacist," his projects were always highly sought after.

Sister Yanzi wasn't trying to pressure him—since they wanted a powerhouse collaboration, they naturally needed to negotiate profit-sharing in advance.

High star fees are out of fashion now; Bai Liangjia Alliance projects almost always involve profit-sharing, except for tribute films.

And such cooperation couldn't possibly be decided immediately—the script wasn't even complete yet.

Right now, Sister Yanzi was handling several projects for Bai Liang.

Almost all of them were top-tier resources in the film and TV industry.

Even roles that others fought tooth and nail for still had to wait in line for Bai Liang.

And some projects, though seemingly stacked with talent and budget, might hide traps—this happened often in the entertainment industry.

Sister Yanzi had once caught a project that was massive in investment, star power, and money laundering!

Without any surprises, the Best Actor award at this year's College Film Festival went to Xu Zheng.

When the award presenter announced it, some college students in the audience sighed.

They might really be Bai Liang's fans~

But Xu Zheng winning Best Actor this time clearly wasn't any scandal—after all, what drew more attention in *The Wandering Earth* was the special effects.

The actors' performances accounted for too little.

Even if Bai Liang hadn't played two roles, he doubted he'd have made the Best Actor shortlist.

And this wasn't some top-tier battle arena—he was up against the absolute best actors.

Xu Zheng, with *Dying to Survive*, had practically swept every award possible.

Still, Bai Liang went onstage; Guo Fan didn't come, so he picked up the Best Film award for him.

"This trophy's mine—I'm not giving it to Director Guo. After all, I came all this way. Didn't win Best Actor, but I've got to take home some souvenir."

Right in front of everyone, Bai Liang declared he'd keep this trophy—no empty-handed exits.

"I'll trade with you!"

Down in the audience, Xu Zheng, holding his Best Actor trophy, started interacting.

Bai Liang blinked. "Really?"

Before the other could answer, he added: "Let's swap secretly later—how could we make this public? Besides, I'm not that desperate for a Best Actor trophy. Don't forget, I'm—"

This time, before he could finish, a huge crowd in the audience shouted the next words for him.

In unison:

"Weibo Best Actor!"

"Exactly~ You're the best fans I've ever had—you've even learned to answer early."

Bai Liang now thought, being called Weibo Best Actor wasn't so bad—when they shouted it, there wasn't a hint of mockery.

By the way, for this year's Weibo Movie Night, could he ask Weibo for an appearance fee?

They should give him something!

He'd heard many entertainers had to pay Weibo "protection fees" or "trending topic fees"?

But Bai Liang had never paid any such thing—he even wanted Weibo to pay him, or else he'd make a fuss.

Still, although Bai Liang didn't win Best Actor, he'd forgotten one thing.

He should've researched ahead of time what awards the College Film Festival even had.

The award just given to him had no nominations—it wasn't like other awards with three finalists.

"Most Popular Male Actor Award—congratulations, *The Wandering Earth*, Bai Liang."

This "Most Popular Male Actor" title was similar to the Crystal Cup at the Golden Eagle Awards.

Roughly speaking, it was just a popularity award.

When called back onstage again, Bai Liang even brought the Best Film trophy with him.

He stood silent for a few seconds, then spread his hands: "My bad. But I'm still keeping this trophy—after all, Guo Fan didn't show up. This is his punishment. I'm sure all the college students here know what happens when a teacher calls your name and you're absent. I'm just answering for him. Taking a little reward is only fair."

Laughter erupted in the audience—ah, this was so real.

They'd all been to college~

After performing two comedy routines onstage, Bai Liang decided he'd learn from this—never come unprepared again, and never focus only on Best Actor.

But then came the third time.

"Most Popular Female Actor Award—congratulations, *Meeting You in Time*, Miss Jing Tian."

Miss Jing Tian didn't even show up today!

She'd taken another historical drama and was currently filming.

But Su Lun had come—she could pick up the award for her.

Yet the live cameras immediately cut to Bai Liang, catching him in the middle of his absurd trophy swap with Xu Zheng. The audience nearly collapsed laughing.

Wait, you two actually swapped?!

After being caught, Bai Liang hastily returned one trophy.

Su Lun, sitting nearby, said directly: "Go pick it up for her~"

"I'm out of words."

"Then think—what would Sister Tian Tian say?" Su Lun said casually.

With Bai Liang around, she wasn't going to play the good Samaritan—being a film director, she naturally led the charge in shipping couples.

Not only did the audience want to see Bai Liang onstage—she did too.

On his third trip to the stage, Bai Liang didn't pull any stunts.

He thanked everyone he needed to thank.

"I think someone as serious and diligent as Sister Tian Tian would express gratitude with sincere, meticulous thanks—so I've crafted her acceptance speech in my own understanding: Thank you all for your love."

!

Compared to Bai Liang, Miss Jing Tian was even worse off.

In film awards, she hadn't exactly gone years without recognition—she just had no real achievements.

The award that looked most legitimate she'd ever won was: the 18th Hollywood Film Awards Hollywood International Award.

Understand it? Good—you shouldn't.

The rest were things like Cosmo Fashion & Beauty Gala's Most Beautiful Person of the Year, Weibo's Most Popular Artist of the Year, Weibo—

She was worse off than Big Mi Mi.

It's a shame she didn't come—when she finds out she won an award but missed the red carpet and didn't give a speech, she'll be heartbroken.

In the venue.

While Bai Liang turned his own awards into stunts for entertainment, others' awards were handled seriously and meticulously. This contrast earned him the same roaring applause as when he performed comedy onstage.

While everyone enjoys watching the antics, they're also willing to applaud that sincere gratitude.

Just now, Bai Liang pulled out all his acting skills—his acceptance speech rose and fell with perfect rhythm, barely missing a touch of sobbing, perfectly mirroring how Da Tian Tian might have acted in this situation.

But there was no way—he'd cry and it'd look too theatrical, and that'd cost extra.

Before the award ceremony ended, Bai Liang slipped away secretly to the restroom.

He called Jing Tian.

"Huh~ Aren't you supposed to be at the award ceremony right now?" Jing Tian knew his schedule down to the minute, then immediately reacted with surprise: "You didn't sneak off early, did you? That's not good!"

"Congratulations, Most Popular Female Actress."

"Huh? Me?"

Just as Bai Liang predicted, Da Tian Tian was filled with regret and remorse.

After so many years in the industry, she'd grown accustomed to thinking such serious film awards had nothing to do with her.

She hadn't even considered it.

After a few whiny pauses, she whispered cautiously on the other end: "Did you pick up the award for me?"

"Yeah, I even gave you a really serious acceptance speech."

"Thanks so much~ Is the trophy with you?"

"Yeah, should I mail it to you? No, better have someone deliver it—don't want it getting damaged in transit."

"I want to give it to you. This is the first award in my life that actually means something, that has real weight and value."

As she spoke, Jing Tian's voice grew quieter—no surprise, she was probably crying.

After a while, she added softly, "Um… I'm starting to feel a little reluctant about giving it away~"

"No way, you already gave it to me. I've been needing exactly this trophy—it'll make a perfect pair."

Anyone who's played chess knows forming a bond is crucial—it's way stronger than single pieces.

"A pair? Oh! You didn't win Best Actor?" Jing Tian exclaimed on the other end.

Though she had no confidence in herself—even felt a bit inferior—she viewed Bai Liang as a Grand Slam Best Actor, utterly certain of him, two complete extremes.

Bai Liang: …

This girl's words were kind of hurtful.

Shouldn't she have congratulated him on winning Most Popular Male Actor? Instead, she went straight for the "wound."

Of course, Bai Liang's "failure" made Jing Tian even happier—she started humming: "A pair, hehe, a pair~"

"Since you already gave it to me, forget about your trophy—it's surnamed Bai now," Bai Liang said harshly.

"Hmm, then call me 'Sister.'"

"Why are you so obsessed with that title?"

"Call it! Call it! Please!"

"Sister."

Facing a girl's "please" and "begging," Bai Liang always had zero resistance.

After all, he's a rare super-kind guy~

He alone could make an outstanding contribution to global warming.

Jing Tian, now "comfortable," asked one final question:

"Can I touch it later?"

"You can touch my trophy too~ Just don't squeeze too hard, okay?"

"Mm-hmm, I'll be super careful! Wait—that's not mine…"

"It's everyone's~"

The conclusion of this year's College Film Festival was fairly satisfactory.

Everything needed was there; everyone was satisfied.

Even Lu Han, who'd come just to promote his movie, left with two cups of Mixue Bingcheng.

Not a wasted trip.

But Lu Han thought Bai Liang was being stingy—only treating him to this?

Worse, he bought two cups, but Guan Xiaotong hadn't come with him.

Then his assistant said: "I heard Bai Liang donates a lot of money every year, so he probably lives frugally…"

This was clearly pure guesswork, completely uninformed and baseless.

Bai Liang had nothing to do with frugality.

He was the kind who, if he had 100,000 yuan in his pocket, would spend it all today without a thought for tomorrow or the future.

But Lu Han found it reasonable—he didn't know Bai Liang well, but this milk tea seemed to tell a story.

Number one on the celebrity ranking list, and he treats you to two cups of milk tea for ten yuan—how could he not be frugal?

Well, at least he finally saw a "return on investment" from Bai Liang.

At that moment, the car stopped at a red light, and the assistant suddenly pointed out the window: "Look over there."

Lu Han turned—and saw Mixue Bingcheng's mascot, Snow King in a plush suit, punching the mascots of other milk tea shops.

His fists swung with fierce, wind-churning power.

After finishing one, the thing immediately headed toward the next milk tea shop, as if planning to take down every shop on the street.

Lu Han stared, dumbfounded—he looked down at the two cups of Mixue Bingcheng in his hands and thought: This milk tea's thuggish vibe is exactly like Bai Liang's.

Taking down shop after shop? That's just like Bai Liang taking on every top celebrity.

"Is this thing Bai Liang's endorsement?"

"No."

He should be the spokesperson.

After saying this, Lu Han decided to retract it, because that arrogant Snow King was now being beaten up by several other plush toys at once.

Hmm, not quite right anymore.

Because Bai Liang has never been pinned down and beaten before.

This Snow King still needs to train his combat power.

But it was still a good omen; Lu Han sipped his cheap Mixue Bingcheng while fantasizing about this year's summer box office.

Could he possibly become the only popular contestant to "defeat" Bai Liang?

Though challenging one of his dubbed animated films feels like winning unfairly.

But what can you do? He could never possibly beat Bai Liang's real movies.

Even if The Wandering Earth opened the door to Chinese sci-fi, it was a major boost for The Shanghai Fortress.

But Lu Han didn't think he could beat any of Bai Liang's films—maybe only that earliest one, Going Home.

After all, it only made 1.7 billion~

Han Han: Fuck! That was the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2017! You fucking losers!

You really dare look down on a film that made over a billion?

The whole industry's atmosphere has become inflated because of Bai Liang.

(End of Chapter)