Chapter 366: The Master of Pretending to Be Clueless

"Sister Tian Tian, I heard you funded a lot of money for 'The Wandering Earth'—you're really generous."

Starting with sarcasm, Big Mi Mi immediately revealed her aggression.

Hearing this, Miss Jing Tian first took a sip of champagne, an action that made her seem slightly guilty.

Many people have the habit of unconsciously drinking water when nervous.

Big Mi Mi thought the same.

She mused that this human blossom of wealth and luxury was indeed just as rumored—kind-hearted, clueless.

Pathetic.

She instantly felt bored; after all, fighting back requires not just winning, but also facing a worthy opponent.

Otherwise, the victory holds no weight.

I thought the mighty Big Tian Tian, who dominated the high-fashion luxury circle, would be something impressive~

That's it?

Yet just as Yang Mi was about to revert to normal conversational tone and "let her off,"

Miss Jing Tian lifted her head and asked, with what seemed like genuine curiosity: "When you gave him the money, were you already divorced?"

Damn!

That one sentence left Yang Mi stunned.

Yet instead of getting angry, a faint smile appeared on her face.

Interesting!

Drinking water wasn't nervousness—it was charging up?

"Does being divorced or not matter that much? You're awfully interested in this—so, Sister Tian Tian, are you thinking of getting married too?"

"No, I was just wondering—if they hadn't divorced yet, would that investment count as marital property? Would you have to split it with your ex-husband?"

"That's such an interesting point—back then, we were already divorced~ Hmm, it was shortly after I met Dou Xiao Bai Bai, so it was my own money, nothing to do with anyone else."

This statement carried enormous information.

It made Miss Jing Tian involuntarily wonder: what did "shortly after meeting Bai Liang" mean?

Could it have been because of him?

Yang Mi smiled faintly; there was no real connection—she'd said it deliberately.

This was… linguistic montage.

Miss Jing Tian frowned slightly, pursed her lips, tilted her head in thought, and suddenly realized what Yang Mi said was wrong.

Knowing Bai Liang as she did, he wasn't some villain—Ni Ni was a perfect example.

Hmph! This wicked woman was trying to trick her?

"Um, I don't think I'll ever get married—it's too troublesome, and who knows, maybe even the child I give birth to will…"

In that moment, the air around them seemed to chill several degrees.

Yang Mi's eyebrows nearly shot up.

Even as she was genuinely angry, she noticed something strange—why did Miss Jing Tian suddenly have an accent?

She hadn't noticed it before, but now that she thought about it, there'd been a hint of it since the very first sentence.

Now, meeting Miss Jing Tian's bright, wide eyes and her fierce battle aura—roses don't grow in the northwest, killing you is my final romance!

Yang Mi: …Reba, you little liar, you fed me false intel!

How did I end up triggering the boss's stage two?

Is this really that insane?

Bai Liang: Not insane—when Sister Tian Tian gets excited, she always slips into Shaanxi dialect, the more flustered she is, the more she talks in it.

He's heard it many times—he's quite experienced with it.

This girl is easy to read: if she speaks without an accent, she's not in battle mode—even if she's pretending.

As for yelling and arguing, Bai Liang had actually been yelled at once before.

After all, everyone makes mistakes, and since he's strong, when he's not careful, he easily hurts or even injures girls.

That time, Miss Jing Tian cursed so "dirty," but Bai Liang barely understood a word.

So today's showdown is Shaanxi sweetie Mode Two versus Beijing native alley girl!

So here's the question!

As Yang Mi exchanged sharp verbal blows with Miss Jing Tian, smiling cheerfully, she was frustrated and confused—why did Reba say Miss Jing Tian was a five-star trash?

That doesn't make sense.

Miss Jing Tian: You have no idea how aggressive those two Xinjiang girls are.

That scene—if you'd gone, you couldn't have gotten a word in.

They genuinely attacked each other personally, sometimes even throwing in curses.

Yang Mi was still stuck at the level of sarcasm—even her verbal attacks carried a hint of politeness.

The whole point was: even when fighting, keep your dignity.

But those two? Like a meteor hitting Earth.

Now, looking back, the 85s represented by Yang Mi and others were merely known and endlessly discussed by the public for their long, complicated stories and covert power struggles, mostly using green-tea tactics.

Back then, the Four Dan and Two Bing openly fought—daring to mock each other even on camera, tearing into each other with brazen, shameless venom.

But this new generation of 90s girls seem surprisingly quiet elsewhere.

They don't speak, don't mention, don't discuss each other—they act like strangers.

It seems only their fans are left to hurl insults and fight.

But around Bai Liang, Miss Jing Tian had already been taught a lesson—this kind of verbal assault, wildly aiming to pierce the opponent's entire body with holes, made one shudder with dread.

To be honest, let's just get straight to it—I feel that's more civilized.

Meng Jie: Oh? Really? Today, I'm definitely taking my girl squad to "challenge" them.

Today's Meng Jie even brought Sister Qian, her confidence was off the charts.

I'll make sure Gu Li Naza knows she's no longer the same person she was.

Of course, we'll call it: saying hello~

After all, Jin Cheng and Chen Yao are kind of "acquainted" with Naza, and she's even the future Tang Ren 1-jie.

Plus, with the girl squad sticking together—we can charge!

This is the first time the Qing Yu Nian girl squad has charged together as a group.

After finding Naza and Re Ba hiding in the corner of the victory banquet, fiercely exchanging opinions.

These girls set off, bold and fierce.

But before that, Chen Yao wavered the troops: I heard Naza-jie and Di Li Re Ba are really going at it—really going to join the fray? Maybe we shouldn't.

Two armies clashing, and you're shaking troop morale?

Take her out and execute her!

Li Yitong chimed in: "Li Xin is already buzzing—she's usually so talkative, but today she hasn't said a word, holding it all in. Yao Yao, you don't want her to unleash all that energy on you, do you?"

Ah, really? That exaggerated?

Li Xin just smiled. "It's just saying hello—nothing as dramatic as she makes it sound."

She said that, but inside: It really is that dramatic!

Do you know how that awful nickname for her and Li Yitong—the "sister duo"—came about?

It's all thanks to the fans of the Xin Jiang Mei.

They got famous just a little earlier—why? Just because you two are Xin Jiang Mei and can twist your necks?

Li Xin says she can sing Kunqu opera too, and pour champagne upside down!

If we've already banded together and still won't charge, we might as well go home and play Happy Beans.

Everyone's here today—we absolutely must charge once. What do you say, Meng Jie?

Meng Jie: Hurry up! I can't wait!

The best way to overcome fear is to face it—today, with her girl squad's support, she'll reclaim her dignity and everyone's.

Gu Li Naza, watch out!

"Liang Ge."

"Mmm~"

"I feel like something's about to go down—you're not going to check?"

"Girls gathering to chat? That's normal," Bai Liang said, glancing at Guo Fan in surprise—haven't you ever dealt with girls before?

Guo Fan: Well, I've never dealt with this many girls at once.

But since Bai Liang isn't afraid of turning a celebration into a funeral today, he had nothing more to say.

Let's talk about something more "serious."

"The Best Film trophy from the College Film Festival."

"Trophy? What trophy?" Bai Liang asked, bewildered.

"The one you picked up for me a few days ago."

"I picked it up?"

"Fine, fine," Guo Fan was defeated—really got him to zone out!

But he'd only mentioned it to tease him a bit.

But then they drifted to another topic: "Has China Film Group contacted you? I've been annoyed these past few days."

"No, what's up?"

Guo Fan shook his head. "It's about the box office."

"Sixty-eight billion—that's great, isn't it? Do China Film Group's bosses have such high standards?" Bai Liang asked, surprised.

"It's not bad—it's too good! That last surge of momentum gave us way too much. If it had just barely surpassed Wolf Warrior 2, fine—but now it's sixty-eight billion."

Guo Fan didn't spell it out, but Bai Liang instantly understood what he was complaining about.

"Too close to seventy billion."

"Exactly! People even joked to me, saying things like…" Guo Fan dropped a subtle hint.

"Box office fraud?" Bai Liang didn't care about politics—he just said it outright: "I remember a movie got caught doing that and got roasted publicly."

"Some officials think that too, but others say… even if they get criticized, no one will remember in two years."

"So you agreed?" Bai Liang looked at Guo Fan with interest.

"I refused," Guo Fan chuckled, then stretched lazily. "I'm just a film director—I don't understand any of that. I only know that because of our film's reputation and influence, some state-owned enterprises, even bigger than China Film Group, are very enthusiastic and paying close attention."

The cyber succubus, besides conning people and begging for donations, is also a master at feigning ignorance and hiding behind others' authority!

This guy is clearly more suited to being an incredibly skilled project manager than a director.

Guo Fan brought this up to Bai Liang mainly because he feared he might lose control.

Because Bai Liang—or rather, his fanbase—truly has the power to forcibly push the box office to seventy billion.

Convince a few rich female fans, squeeze a bit more from the ordinary fans—that'd be enough.

But if they actually did that, it'd be far more criticized than administrative price manipulation.

But Bai Liang clearly had no interest—he waved his hand dismissively.

Seventy billion or not—it's meaningless. Wait a few more years, when Director Jiao Zi makes his comeback, and he'll let loose a super-sized firework for everyone.

The biggest rule of the film market seems to be: there is no rule—it doesn't climb step by step like many imagine, ten billion at a time.

This isn't about killing monsters to level up—it's about geniuses winning everything.

Of course, Guo Fan right here is the same.

Bai Liang raised his wine glass to him. "Enjoy your future wave of hate comments and industry exclusion, Director Guo."

This topic was the third time the two had discussed it.

Previously, Guo Fan had been carefree, but now he was confident, smiling as he raised his glass:

"Let's drink together~"

"Fine."

As he lifted his glass, Guo Fan felt they were kindred spirits.

!

But when Bai Liang waved cheerfully at Sister Qian Jie passing by, and she pulled him aside to chat happily as "mother-in-law," Guo Fan realized again—they weren't "kindred spirits."

He raised his champagne flute and gulped it down in loud swallows, yet somehow tasted a hint of sourness.

Bai Liang: "Aww~ Waste. Is this how you drink champagne?"

"Dou Xiao Bai, have you seen my Ziyi? I went to the bathroom and she vanished." While chatting merrily with Bai Liang, Sister Qian Jie suddenly remembered Meng Jie's disappearance.

Of course, not finding her didn't matter—she'd just asked casually.

"Meng Jie went to group-clear a boss." Bai Liang grinned.

"What?"

"Yeah, she went on a team-building trip with her girl friends. Probably back soon."

Bai Liang only knew the general direction—he wasn't clear on which dark corner these girls had gone to tear each other apart.

After all, Reba and Nazha were quite good at hiding, and today their fighting spirit seemed especially high—they definitely needed a quiet, empty spot.

"She just loves causing chaos. She's still young; in a few years she'll be a proper young lady."

"She's not that young anymore? She's past legal marriage age—I think she's already a proper young lady." Bai Liang said matter-of-factly.

Hearing this, Sister Qian Jie's eyes lit up. "You think so too?"

"Yeah, Sister Qian Jie, you should also push her to find someone and get married soon. My mom's always nagging me about it."

"Really!" Sister Qian Jie beamed, her gaze toward Bai Liang soft and warm. "I'll nag her later~ Are you free to come over for dinner soon? I heard you're filming in Shanghai."

"The filming location's far from the neighborhood—over two hours by car. Might be inconvenient. I'll try my best, but I can't guarantee it."

"No rush, no rush. Young people should focus on their careers. You're doing so well now—don't lots of girls like you?"

The last sentence made Guo Fan, who had come to call Bai Liang to the stage, flinch inside.

This was "mother-in-law" probing those suspiciously close female acquaintances.

Honestly, with Bai Liang's reputation, any girl's parents who caught wind of him would want to interrogate him.

The gossip is too hot! Who could resist asking?

Sister Qian Jie only now dared to ask subtly—she's already incredibly patient.

So, Brother Liang, how would you answer this?

Bai Liang: "Watch carefully. Learn well."

"More than that—there are plenty who like me today, like you, Sister Qian Jie~"

"Haha, I really do like you! I'll cook you something special later!"

Guo Fan: "Holy shit, you can do that?"

Bai Liang: "Do you think she actually wants an answer?"

Any answer will do. How you answer doesn't matter, as long as it's not ridiculous.

Girls always find their own reasons—even girls like Sister Qian Jie.

Similarly, soothing a girlfriend and soothing a "mother-in-law" use the same methodology.

Before going on stage, the girls finally returned.

But their demeanor was strange.

Each one pursed her lips, furrowed her brow, faces collectively reading: How could this happen?

Undoubtedly, their group assault had failed.

The reason? They'd been hard-controlled—in a way they'd never imagined.

They couldn't help doubting life: Was their argument even human? Did they follow the Geneva Conventions?

Jin Cheng couldn't help blurting out: "Yao Yao, is Nazha really this brutal now? She wasn't like this before."

Chen Yao was still dazed. "I don't know—I was so shocked I couldn't think."

"Don't be scared, Yao Yao. They weren't yelling at you."

"Just listening from the side made me feel like I couldn't breathe. They're so ruthless. I was terrified they'd suddenly start scratching each other's faces."

Li Xin and Li Yitong were now gripping each other's hands tightly, clearly supporting one another.

Especially Li Xin—her past feud with Zhang Tian'ai on the set of "Chinese Captain" looked like a kindergarten squabble compared to these two new Jiang sisters.

Totally different intensity of battle.

Are these two insane?!

No wonder they had to hide to scream and fight.

"Hey? Where's Meng Jie?"

"Meng Jie… rushed off to the bathroom. Just now, Gulina Zha was yelling at Dili Reba while glaring at her—she must've been under serious pressure."

"Did she pee herself?!"

"Not that extreme. Probably just drank too much champagne earlier."

Keyword appeared!

At the sound of the words "champagne," Li Xin and Li Yitong both flinched instinctively.

The two couldn't help glancing at each other, then silently looked away—only to find themselves glancing back again.

Li Xin: Maybe…

Li Yitong: I think it's fine.

After all, they're the Sassy Chick Sisters!

This shitty nickname, the more they heard it, the more they felt it was oddly fitting.

"Oh my, Ziyi, where have you been? Everyone's already up on stage taking photos."

When Meng Jie returned to the celebration banquet, her mother, Sister Qian Jie, caught her red-handed.

Looking at her own flustered daughter, Sister Qian Jie couldn't help rolling her eyes. "If you go up now, won't you stand out too much?"

Meng Jie glanced at Gu Li Na Zha and Di Li Re Ba standing beside Bai Liang on stage, swallowed hard, and said, "Mom, I'll just stay with you."

Huh?

That wording is a bit off~

Sister Qian Jie looked at her. "Where did you just go?"

"To the bathroom."

"Little fool, going to the bathroom now? It's too late anyway. Listen, I just talked to Dou Xiao Bai for a bit—I think he's not as opposed to romance or even marriage as you thought. Seize the chance! Be more proactive!"

Meng Jie: I've known that for a long time, Mom. You have no idea how proactive Little Hedgehog is.

Unfortunately, back then, she hadn't had the courage.

And all the courage she'd built up over years was completely spent just now, facing Gu Li Na Zha.

So she shook her head like a rattle, making up an excuse: "I haven't even made it in my career yet—how can I be proactive? I need to become a big star first, then stand beside him and share the applause."

"By then you'll be an old maid," Sister Qian Jie said bluntly.

"But he'll be old too."

"Stubborn. A thirty-something man and a thirty-something woman aren't the same thing."

"Spend more money on your face and body, and they become the same thing. Look at Yang Mi and Miss Jing Tian—they're both over thirty. Yang Mi's already thirty-two. Look at them—how different are they from those girls born in the 90s beside them?"

Excluding aura, just from skin, figure, and face alone, there really was no difference.

Yet even surrounded by beautiful women, every person's main focus remained on the man standing center stage beside Guo Fan.

And just like the guests at the banquet, even the lovely, meticulously made-up girls on stage now willingly played the role of background.

They clapped gently, their eyes never leaving Bai Liang.

The number 6.8 billion glowed, trailing a string of zeros too numerous to count—the perfect backdrop.

It made the atmosphere grow even more electric.

The girls, too, seemed infected by the energy, their gazes burning hotter.

The invited media cameras captured this moment.

Recording every face's expression.

——

"Celebration Banquet for 'The Wandering Earth''s 6.8 Billion Box Office!"

"Young Talent and the Story of the Next Decade—are you ready?"

"Guo Fan is preparing 'The Wandering Earth 2,' expected to meet audiences in four years."

"."

This evening's celebration banquet was actually huge.

Bai Liang hadn't been swarmed by the girls precisely because, besides them, there were also all sorts of insiders and outsiders—the big shots and celebrities.

Only Sister Qian Jie, as an elder, had been greeted and chatted with by Bai Liang himself; otherwise, he was still busy.

So the girls could only amuse themselves.

As a result, several contestants had their Dao hearts shattered tonight, some even considering "demonic methods."

Even Yang Mi, a seasoned veteran, nearly fell—almost defeated by Miss Jing Tian.

In the end, she preserved her dignity; Miss Jing Tian had narrowly lost.

Of course, she hadn't gone all out—after all, she was a divorced woman. A little playful fun was enough; she had neither the standing nor the nerve to go head-to-head.

Had her condition matched Miss Jing Tian's, the first one to watch her would've been Di Li Re Ba, that little brat—she's ruthless now~

And Yang Mi knew this well.

Being married was both a weakness and armor.

(End of Chapter)