Chapter 369: The Fuse of the Dispute

"Look at you, I told you dogs mark their territory. Dare to talk tough again next time?"

Hearing those words, Nazha, who felt like she had no strength left in her whole body, like a fish that had been pulled ashore, struggled to take two breaths, then thrashed about with all her might.

She flipped herself over.

Hey-hey, she buried her face in the blanket.

But doing so only exposed an even bigger weak spot.

Bai Liang raised his hand and gave a not-too-light, not-too-heavy smack. The hit wasn't hard, but the sound wasn't small either.

"Ahhh, you're so mean! Stop talking about it~ It's all your fault anyway, you insisted on picking me up."

Nazha hummed and hawed as she burrowed into the blanket, trying to cover her little bottom so the bad guy wouldn't take the chance to smack it a few more times.

It didn't actually hurt, but she had already "had enough."

But it was no use. Bai Liang grabbed her ankle and gave a slight tug, and she was dragged right out.

"If I hadn't picked you up, you'd have been drawing a map on the sheets. How are we supposed to sleep tonight?"

"At most... at most I'd draw half a map." Nazha continued to talk tough.

"And then I'd sleep on the couch?" Bai Liang felt there was no logic to that.

"We can squeeze in together. Come on, I'm a little sleepy, let's go to sleep."

Sometimes you really envy these empty-headed contestants — say sleep and they just sleep!

In the time it took Bai Liang to wipe the floor with a tissue, he looked up and found this little lady had actually fallen asleep.

He instinctively reached out to check her breathing. Still pretty peaceful~

Then he felt something was off — she was asleep, not dead, why was he checking that for?

Still, Bai Liang fussed with Nazha a little, because she really was a bit unhygienic, not bothering to wash up before sleeping.

Usually she did love being clean, but every time in this kind of situation, she seemed especially lazy and didn't want to move.

And now it had all leaked out.

So Master Bai, who had been busy the whole day, ended up having to take care of her like a child, giving her a little wipe-down.

"Unhygienic little kitty."

As he tucked the blanket around her, Bai Liang muttered softly.

"Meow?"

"Not talking about you."

Bai Liang turned around and patted Little Bao's head.

This little thing had finally learned to be smart — now it knew to hide.

Instead of foolishly crowding forward like before, or else today it would have gotten another head-washing.

After taking care of the person and petting the cat, he closed the bedroom door, and only then did Bai Liang quietly sneak down from the RV.

He didn't go far either — after getting off the RV, he got right back on.

The funny thing was, the two "little kitties" on this RV had both fallen asleep without him having to coax them.

Well then~

Chen Yao was still holding her cat at this time, hadn't even taken off her shoes, and was asleep on the couch.

Bai Liang took the cat from her arms and placed it on a throw pillow, then observed her sleeping posture and felt she'd probably wake up with a stiff neck tomorrow morning.

So he gently picked her up and put her on the bed, then took off her skirt.

It wasn't that he wanted to do anything bad, he wasn't that desperate — he just felt it was better to take it off for sleeping.

Luckily she was wearing a skirt, which once unfastened was easy to slip off. If she'd been wearing jeans, there was no way Bai Liang could have taken them off without waking Chen Yao.

After helping her take it off, he glanced and noticed Chen Yao seemed to be starting to pursue a more mature style.

Last time at her place, they were all pretty conservative pure-cotton styles, some even printed with cartoon characters.

But now, the purple lace material didn't quite match her personal vibe — there was a strange sense of contradiction.

If she wore a white-collar or secretary style, it felt like it would match what's underneath better, giving that cool-outside-warm-inside flavor.

The way it was now... looking at the pure cotton white socks on her feet, it was more of a little-girl style.

He couldn't tell if she'd worn them all day or changed into fresh ones — the socks were very white, no other traces visible.

As for the smell...

First of all, he wasn't into that, and secondly, Chen Yao had woken up.

"What are you doing?"

Her voice was a little weak, and at the same time this Miss had a look of "did I interrupt you?" on her face.

Caught red-handed.

At this moment, Bai Liang was still holding one of her socks in his hand — the other sock hadn't been taken off yet.

It felt like the next second he was about to savor it.

"I'm not doing anything."

Seeing his somewhat awkward appearance, Chen Yao pressed her lips together, her face flushing slightly as she lowered her head, then silently pushed her feet toward him.

She didn't say anything, but the meaning was: if you like it...

Yao-mei was still very considerate, and she felt this kind of hobby wasn't all that strange — it was... understandable, I guess.

It was just a bit unexpected for her.

After all, when they were at her place before, Bai Liang hadn't shown the kind of... interest in that area that he was showing now.

But she figured people change, just like the style she'd been trying lately.

Speaking of which, Bai Liang said he had to critique her a bit.

Trying a new style is fine, but you also have to consider whether it matches.

With these underwear styles, not pairing them with black stockings really isn't right.

Given Chen Yao's style, white stockings are fine too.

Nighttime lessons from Teacher Bai left Miss utterly enchanted.

Just like learning a foreign language, it always demands immense sweat and hard work.

There's no shortcut to learning—only relentless, repeated effort along a single path.

Only then can you accumulate vast knowledge.

But under normal circumstances, absorbing too much knowledge at once makes it hard to retain.

Unless you find a way to fully digest it.

At this moment, Dapao, resting in the business vehicle, scratched his head, glanced out the window, and noticed it was raining again.

But this rain was light, drizzling softly.

Checking the time, Xiao Qi would arrive to relieve him in just over an hour.

Before then, he could stroll around the area and see if any clueless paparazzi were trying to stir trouble.

He opened the door and stepped out; the drizzle hitting his skin felt surprisingly pleasant.

Without an umbrella, breathing in the scent of surrounding grass gave him an unusually fresh feeling.

Two words: refreshing!

His car was parked dozens of meters away from the RV.

A narrow path led directly there.

Though narrow, the path was quite long.

Actually, no one had ever walked this path before—the tall weeds had completely overgrown it; only someone with considerable experience could navigate it without trouble.

Fortunately, after "clearing the land," it became much easier to walk.

Yet as he finally reached the end of the winding path and looked back, he felt a sense of accomplishment—until the next second, the rain suddenly intensified.

It drenched him head to toe.

——

The "map incident" wasn't about someone drawing maps on a bedsheet—it was the crew's map incident.

It ended with a certain director being "asked to leave" the crew.

Logically, the matter should've ended once someone inside the crew took responsibility.

But because the "My Dear Love" crew attracted so much attention, the story spread online anyway.

Then someone quietly stirred the pot, claiming Bai Liang was a "theater tyrant."

The uproar caused by this was truly no small matter~

Immediately, several directors who had worked with Bai Liang came to his defense: "Bullshit—when has he ever been a theater tyrant?"

The only well-known director who hadn't spoken up was Chen Kaige—he simply didn't care about such nonsense.

Of course, netizens never believed Bai Liang could be a theater tyrant under Chen Kaige.

But a "big smart" chimed in: "What if the Immortal just likes bullying the powerful?"

Even the "big smart" didn't believe his own words—it was just a joke.

But sometimes Bai Liang himself seriously considered calling the police—how could they guess this right?

By the way, some marketing accounts and public accounts constantly fabricate bizarre gossip, as if they'd been listening under people's beds.

He used to think this was pure nonsense.

Now, thinking back, he wondered: how do these people always guess him right?

Since his debut, he's only been called a "theater tyrant" twice—once under Chen Kaige, and now.

The first time, his tyrannical behavior wasn't severe, but since the director was Chen Kaige, it was already shocking enough.

As for this current role? It's absurd!

If he says a scene needs reshooting, even if the director thinks it's fine, it gets reshooted; if he says it's good, even if the director thinks it's bad, it must pass.

Some artists becoming arrogant after fame isn't without reason.

They're spoiled too easily.

Bai Liang is the ultimate version of being spoiled—the director practically wants him sitting on a small stool directing the entire crew.

Even other artists, though not treated this extravagantly, still show clear differences between their pre-fame and post-fame lives.

Many truly can't help themselves.

That feeling of being adored by everyone makes one unconsciously float, convinced of their own greatness.

Then they become... sons of mountain wolves.

Fortunately, Bai Liang never lets this make him feel superior—he's never sat on the director's small stool.

Because whether or not this happens, he's already remarkable.

A man who can instantly enter "I don't eat beef" mode and obliterate anyone he dislikes won't be blinded by such trivialities.

Watching online rumors about himself, Bai Liang laughed heartily—but when his eyes flicked and he noticed someone was stirring rumors about Meng Jie, he suddenly found it bizarre.

Meng Jie, that tiny obscure figure—why would anyone deliberately stir rumors about her?

"Meng Jie isn't a tiny obscure figure anymore," Chen Yao said fairly.

Under constant association with Bai Liang, even a pig could become a celebrity pig—let alone Meng Jie, who's quite beautiful.

Netizens had long dug up every interaction between Bai Liang and Meng Jie over the past four years.

In four years, Bai Liang transformed from an unknown into today's dominant top star, a hundred-billion-yuan movie emperor, while Meng Jie, as a tiny obscure figure, never vanished from his world—this alone was a strange phenomenon.

Logically, with such a massive gap in status, the two should've lost any basis for appearing together.

But Bai Liang kept popping up in Meng Jie's world—or simply dragging her to his side.

The previous New Year's Eve was basically an all-out reveal—I'm not pretending anymore, I'm just going to drag this little nobody around everywhere.

Although the news of Yang Mi's divorce sucked up all the traffic at the time, Meng Jie's name was officially established in the entertainment circle.

And Chen Yao admitted that sometimes she was actually envious of Meng Jie.

Previously, she relied on being obscure to "exploit her obscurity," jumping around everywhere, even daring to jump on Weibo to defend Bai Liang.

And because she was obscure, Bai Liang always thought about finding something suitable to slip to Meng Jie.

The role in "The Longest Day in Chang'an," the New Year's Eve chorus, even the slot as a Young Actor of Starry Sea.

Chen Yao: Envious~

Sometimes she thought, if only she were as obscure as that.

Unfortunately, her boss Cai was grooming her as the next top female star—Chen Yao now truly lacked neither resources nor roles.

No matter how mediocre the bread they fed her was, they really stuffed her until she was bloated.

As for the online buzz, it somehow got tied to "The Untamed"!

No one knew how it happened, but rumors spread that Meng Jie had quit "The Untamed"; online, people claimed she gave up the female lead role in "The Untamed" and instead took a supporting role in another drama.

The leak was completely accurate—Meng Jie really did exactly that.

Then the fans of "The Untamed" got upset. Female-oriented novels are like this—even before the drama airs, the fanbase is already massive.

Compared to male-oriented IPs, which had been half-dead for years and only recently improved, female-oriented IPs absolutely lead in adaptation, and their original novel fans truly show up in droves, especially for headlining IPs like "The Untamed."

Hmm. Their combat power is terrifying.

Usually they rant about casting choices, but even though Meng Jie didn't act in it, they still roasted her.

"All this wealth was right in front of her, and she refused it—laughable."

"Do you even know how famous 'Mo Dao Zu Shi' is? Did Meng Ziyi lose her mind? What a bizarre move."

"I saw her on a variety show before—so artificial, a total green tea bitch. Glad she didn't come."

"A网红脸 is enough already—do you really think you're that pretty?"

"What drama did she go to? Can it compare to 'Mo Dao Zu Shi'? Absolutely blind."

"Cough, if she'd taken the female lead in 'The Longest Day in Chang'an,' I'd think her choice might've been fine—but a supporting role? No way. She's desperate to ride Bai Liang's coattails."

"Case solved: a scheming social climber trying to ride the trend! How could Bai Liang ever look at her?"

"."

It was clear these original novel fans originally intended to roast Meng Jie's supporting role drama too—at least trample it into the ground.

But when they searched and saw Bai Liang's name listed as the male lead, they urgently called off the online attack.

We're targeting people, not the drama, okay~

Capybara fans: Boring~ You should expand the battlefield.

They'd been quietly observing from the side for a long time, waiting for these original novel fans to boldly speak up and unleash a torrent of abuse against Bai Liang and "The Longest Day in Chang'an."

But these people aren't fools—oh, who am I kidding!

Human diversity lies in the fact that all kinds of weirdos exist.

Bai Liang? Bai Liang is nothing! Still roast him anyway.

Then a strange scene emerged: a small group of original novel fans lost their minds and unleashed indiscriminate AoE attacks; another group only roasted Meng Ziyi; and a third group covered their mouths, trying to calm down those wild, clueless sisters.

Target people, not the drama—don't actually provoke the biggest "dark force" in the fan circle.

But no matter what, Meng Jie's decision to quit "The Untamed" made quite a stir.

Before the drama even aired, these original novel fans managed to create a huge commotion.

Meng Jie's magnetism for backlash kicked in.

Meanwhile, the actress who replaced Meng Jie as the female lead Wen Qing in "The Untamed," Zhao Yingzi, also began appearing.

She gave an interview saying how much she loved "The Untamed," how many times she'd read the original novel.

She claimed it was an honor to portray Wen Qing, and so on and so forth.

The original novel fans indeed came to support her, saying, "Sis, you have such great taste!" "You're way better than that green tea bitch Meng Ziyi." "Glad she's gone." "."

By this point, the situation was crystal clear.

Marketing manipulation, plus smear campaigns.

"Xiao Bai, what are you thinking about?" Chen Yao, watching Bai Liang lost in thought, assumed he was worried about Meng Ziyi.

But Bai Liang said: "I feel like Zhao Yingzi's name sounds familiar—I think I've heard it before."

Chen Yao immediately pulled out her phone and showed the chat group records: "She filmed 'The God of War Zhao Zilong' with you and Meng Jie."

"Yes! I remember now!"

Not just that—Bai Liang originally met Meng Jie when she was just starting out, and Zhao Yingzi's antics played a big part in that.

Now she hasn't pulled that extreme move yet—the "Di Mi Meng Zha" thing.

This girl really does "like" Meng Jie—everything reminds her of her.

But thinking about it, it makes sense.

Meng Jie's fame skyrocketed precisely because of Bai Liang, and she genuinely had this connection to "The Untamed." Best of all, her status was low—she only had some borrowed traffic.

In plain terms, her foundation was unstable.

Zhao Yingzi: This is perfect for me to exploit.

She really is a ruthless one—originally a conventional actress who never managed to become popular.

Now she seems to be leaning into the "black-famous" path.

At the end of 2017, she delivered a spectacular "performance": wearing a thin outfit, she suddenly collapsed and fainted on the red carpet.

But the camera fully captured her fall—especially before falling, Zhao Yingzi deliberately turned back to check there were no dangerous objects before dropping down.

As a result, the public concluded she was maliciously stunting, and her public image plummeted.

Under these circumstances, it seems I really have to see this path through to the end.

The extreme of black-and-red is actually Xiaozi's crazy-path, but there's still a big difference between truly insane and faking insanity.

But in the entertainment industry, marketing and belittling others is perfectly normal—Meng Jie once even overshadowed Lin Yu'er.

Right now, Meng Jie is actually quite pleased with herself.

She brags loudly in their small group chat: "I've finally stood up! People are even belittling me now~"

Jin Cheng: "Congratulations, Meng Jie—you're really red now~"

Li Yitong: "Congratulations, Meng Jie."

Li Xin: "+1"

Chen Yao: "+1"

Under the flood of flattery from her girl friends, Meng Jie grows even more smug, as if only the red get dragged down and belittled, and she starts listing examples.

The key is, she's bold enough to actually name them~

Many of those names are especially prominent right now.

A burst of bold, passionate open-mic!

The others also dare to join in.

Bai Liang sees their chat content and thinks: if this screenshot were posted online, every single one of these girls would be brutally doxxed.

"Yao Yao, I never thought you'd join in the gossip too."

Chen Yao, seeing the smile in Bai Liang's eyes, lowers her head slightly embarrassed. "Sometimes I just can't help it."

Although Meng Jie chatters nonstop in their group, when asked what she'll do, she says: "I don't know."

Then suddenly she grows melancholy, saying she's collaborated with the other party more than once.

Then the group starts comforting her, but in a strange way.

Jin Cheng says: "There'll be plenty more backstabbing ahead—this is just the beginning."

Seeing this, Bai Liang asks a question: "Aren't you afraid of being backstabbed by each other?"

Chen Yao's answer: "No one dares. We've all submitted our 'pledges of loyalty' in the group."

Bai Liang's eyes light up: "What kind of pledge of loyalty? Can I see it?"

"Ah, this…" Chen Yao hesitates—it's their girls' secret, this isn't really appropriate.

——

Regarding Meng Jie's matter, Sister Yanzi takes it seriously.

Because "The Longest Day in Chang'an" and "The Untamed" premiered almost simultaneously—the former on iQIYI, Tencent Video, and Youku, the latter exclusively on Tencent Video.

Moreover, although both projects are led by Tencent, one is backed by Xinli Pictures and the other by Xinpai Media.

So there's no need to consider whether they're both Tencent projects—they're still competitors.

Earlier, Jia Shikai lamented: "Thank goodness Yang Yang's 'The King's Avatar' aired before 'Love O2O'."

He's right to lament!

Reward him with "The Untamed" and "The Longest Day in Chang'an."

Although "The King's Avatar" also premiered on Tencent Video, it's backed by Lemon Film.

In short, the three have no direct stakes—just fight it out.

It always feels like Tencent is trying to breed a蛊—determined to raise one supreme蛊king?

But "The King's Avatar" was unlucky—originally, "The Untamed" and "The Longest Day in Chang'an" weren't scheduled to premiere together.

But in March this year, something called the "Ancient Drama Ban" appeared.

The total number of ancient costume dramas aired monthly and annually during prime time on satellite channels must not exceed 15% of the total number of dramas aired during prime time that month or year.

From now until June, all ancient costume web dramas, TV dramas, and web films—including Wu Xia, xuanhuan, historical, mythological, time-travel, biographical, palace intrigue, and others—are banned from airing.

All already-aired shows must be removed from all platforms; all un-aired ones must be rescheduled.

So "The Untamed," originally scheduled for March, was moved to early June; "The Longest Day in Chang'an," originally set for early May, was moved to late June.

"The King's Avatar" was unaffected—it was already scheduled for July.

Oh, right—the premiere date for "The Longest Day in Chang'an" was just finalized.

As soon as it was set, the marketing belittling came—this targeting is very sharp, even though it's aimed at Meng Jie.

But because of this "little unknown," the two dramas have gained this strange connection.

The fuse of the conflict has already been lit!

Meanwhile, Sister Yanzi is also beginning to suspect whether the online rumors pushing Bai Liang as a "drama霸" are connected to this.

Could it be that the danmei genre really has such power, making the other side dare to falsely claim association across levels?

Although there's still no sign of false association, it's still necessary to guard against it.

Sister Yanzi has already begun researching the two male leads of "The Untamed."

At this moment, Yang Yang's call comes in.

He opens with a fifteen-second silence, then finally blurted out: "Aren't you chasing me down?"

——

Today's only two chapters—eleven thousand words. I'm adjusting my schedule.

Consider this a day off—I'm truly sorry.

(End of Chapter)