Chapter 382: How Can You Believe in Science?

"Huh? The Immortal hasn't arrived yet? How prestigious~"

"If you talk like that, Big Xi, don't be surprised if someone hears you and starts dragging you into the trend," Li Yitong warned.

"It's not that serious. The Immortal isn't that petty."

"He won't drag you into it, but others will—netizens are incredibly sharp these days; no one knows how, but they're all analyzing lip movements to figure out what you said."

"So that's why you're all talking with your hands half-covering your mouths!"

Jin Cheng only realized this belatedly—she'd initially thought her girl friends had started acting all dramatic, pretending to be delicate.

She'd even thought of herself as an abstract artist, believing such behavior was too "girly," and didn't want to "sink to their level."

Now she realized she was the real fool—they'd all switched to encrypted calls.

She couldn't help complaining: "How did this trend even start? Why are people whispering like this?"

Even as she complained, she genuinely covered her mouth with her hand.

"Who started it? Those two from Xinjiang—they're the reason, since they argue every time they meet, and netizens want to know what they're saying," Li Xin rolled her eyes.

From this angle, those two are truly genuine top female idols, forcing the entire entertainment industry to change with their influence alone.

Now many others have copied them, as if this had somehow become an unexpected trend.

The upside is, female stars have become noticeably more ladylike, and it even helps hide their gums.

The downside is, some men have started copying it too.

Big Xi even thought the gesture looked effeminate—some of those young pretty boys do it too, it's truly painful to look at!

People who don't know might think they're pouting~

As this topic came up, the girls all got fired up, and someone suddenly suggested: when Bai Liang arrives, before the press conference starts, we absolutely must give him some trouble.

The scene last time when they all charged together to confront the Xinjiang duo, nearly getting themselves crushed, still felt vivid in their minds.

Naturally, they were still holding onto resentment.

With everyone here today, we absolutely must band together and put some pressure on this guy Bai Liang.

"Should he be here by now? The press conference starts in twenty minutes—I'll go first! Let's see if the Immortal can stay so calm~" Jin Cheng declared confidently.

The girls cheered her on~ It's decided—you're going first, Big Xi!

You go first, then we'll follow right after.

Bai Liang had no idea he and his RV had been remembered in such a strange way.

He was running late.

It wasn't that the most important person must appear last—Chen Daoming had arrived early; following the principle of respecting the elderly and caring for the young, Bai Liang couldn't deliberately be late.

It was purely because of traffic.

"Bro, we're not moving anytime soon—what do we do?"

"Don't rush. Being late a bit is fine."

Regarding everything happening around him, Bai Liang held one belief: if it's happened this way, there must be a reason for it.

Since you're here, just lie down.

If he arrived too early, who knew what bad things might happen?

Those five girls, after randomly gathering and chatting nonsense in their group chat, had grown bolder and bolder.

Even Chen Yao seemed to have been corrupted by them. After giving them that small stone talisman, Bai Liang suddenly had an epiphany.

This girl is just like a "Pac-Man," isn't she~

Sure enough, when Bai Liang finally arrived, the press conference had already started.

Since so many people were waiting for him alone, it looked bad—so they just began anyway.

His entrance triggered chaos; many media outlets immediately swung their cameras toward him, and the commotion even interrupted Chen Daoming's speech on stage.

The girls still seated below, not yet on stage, felt worried for Bai Liang.

Don't make Teacher Chen Daoming angry.

Nowadays, criticism toward young actors being arrogant and unprofessional is mainstream in the industry; many insiders have openly condemned the chaos of the traffic era.

Chen Daoming himself had mentioned something similar not long ago.

So when Bai Liang immediately pulled off "on-site tardiness," the girls naturally feared for him.

Even though they'd been plotting "naughty ideas" over half an hour ago, planning to team up and teach Bai Liang a lesson.

But surprisingly, Chen Daoming wasn't angry at Bai Liang—he picked up the microphone and teased: "You showed up on time for that girl's birthday party, rain or shine, but now you're late to your own drama's press conference?"

The entire audience erupted—energy instantly soared!

Bai Liang quickened his pace to the stage, took the microphone from the host, and wore a look of utter innocence: "First, I apologize to everyone, but it really was traffic."

But Chen Daoming today had no intention of "letting him off"—he immediately added: "Didn't you take the subway today?"

The whole audience burst into laughter.

Chen Daoming's direct, "face-to-face" teasing truly delighted everyone.

Good! Good! Good! We love this! Say more!

Everyone knows the story from Dili Reba's birthday party not long ago!

Now they've caught the real culprit—and Chen Daoming himself is the one "attacking"—the live show effect was maximized.

"Come on, stand right in the middle—you're our good-luck charm."

"What's a good-luck charm?" Bai Liang asked curiously.

But since Chen Daoming told him to stand in the center, he didn't refuse—he was obedient, well-behaved, and that was one of his strengths.

The director, producer, and others happily made room for him.

"The day you left with me after recording the show, the sky itself shone a spotlight on you—who else could be the good-luck charm?"

When this was mentioned, Chen Daoming still found it unbelievable—he still couldn't figure out why.

But it didn't stop them from outright labeling Bai Liang as a "good omen."

It meant that in ancient times, he'd have been seized and sent as tribute.

During Wu Zetian's reign, he'd probably have been dragged into the palace as a male favorite~

At this moment, many media outlets seemed to snap out of it—photos! That photo!

Holy shit, is this actually real footage?!

Chen Daoming: I saw it with my own eyes—how could it be fake?

Honestly, this whole setup has quite a market in the entertainment circle.

After hearing Chen Daoming's description, Bai Liang noticed many people's eyes lighting up as they looked at him—especially the producers and financiers of *The Longest Day in Chang'an*, their gazes almost burning.

"We should believe in science," Bai Liang reluctantly explained, trying to use his knowledge to convince everyone that this was merely nature's miraculous craftsmanship.

Many strange weather phenomena can actually be explained scientifically.

But no one cared about his explanation.

How could you be superstitious about science?

Don't be modest—you're the good omen!

Bai Liang: …If you want to invite good fortune, it's not impossible~

But Chen Daoming hadn't finished his big move today.

He grabbed the mic and kept pressing Bai Liang: "Earlier, a single girl made you brave a typhoon just to show up on time—now we've got so many here? Isn't this blatant favoritism? Can't you even handle traffic jams?"

Bai Liang was done—this old uncle cared more about the birthday party than he did.

If things kept going like this, outsiders might think Chen Daoming was jealous of Bai Liang today~

But seniors are seniors—the next second, he turned his gaze to the audience and blurted out: "Meng Jie, bring your sisters up here."

The words "Meng Jie" made the entire hall turn their heads.

Who? Who could make Chen Daoming call them that?!

Meng Zi Yi:??

Huh?!

In that instant, her face turned red.

At the same time, countless eyes fixed on her, leaving her flustered.

Damn—it was exactly the same effect as back during that Star Sea Young Actors Program.

Chen Daoming's single cry of "Meng Jie" had instantly elevated her status to astronomical heights.

But last time, it was confined to a small circle—there were only so many people, and other actors wouldn't promote "Meng Jie."

Everyone just kept their "respect" locked inside.

Meanwhile, the Movie Channel hadn't edited that moment into the video, which already had almost no viewers, so "Meng Jie"'s reputation only spread slightly among young actors.

But this time—it was at a TV drama launch event!

The entire venue was filled with media.

Today, Meng Jie's name and seniority were officially cemented~

From now on, north to south, east to west, everyone who met her would have to call her "Meng Jie."

But she herself was dazed—her sisters had to pull her up on stage.

Yet once the girls stepped onto the stage, a positioning issue arose.

Originally, they'd just stand according to screen time and ranking.

But now, Li Xin and Li Yitong exchanged glances and silently let Meng Jie stand in the centermost position.

There was no choice—today, in this setting, seniority mattered more than ranking.

If Chen Daoming didn't voluntarily give Bai Liang the center spot, it would be perfectly fine for him to stand there himself.

Likewise, since he'd called her "Meng Jie," could anyone else ask Meng Zi Yi to stand to the side?

Would that be appropriate?

But for Meng Jie herself, her head was still ringing.

At the same time, she was terrified inside, stealing a glance at Bai Liang—he seemed to be frowning slightly, lost in thought.

That made her heart drop—was there some downside? Had she messed up?

Bai Liang's inner thought: From now on, I'll call Chen Daoming "Uncle," and he'll call me "Brother."

Hehehe~

I hadn't realized it before, but now I see—if Meng Jie's seniority went up, doesn't mine go up too?

Never thought I'd one day benefit from Meng Jie's status~

And because Chen Daoming set the precedent, others began doing the same.

When Wu Gang, Yu Rongguang, Gao Shuguang, and others all smiled and called her "Meng Jie," from then on in the entertainment circle, she'd rarely meet anyone senior to her.

See Meng, bow lower.

It was just a pity Xiao Zhan wasn't here—if he were, this rising top-tier actor who'd climbed to fame through BL dramas, facing Meng Jie, would probably freeze up.

Not only did he not act in their drama, now he'd be downgraded in seniority too.

Life is just so unpredictable.

After creating a burst of entertainment value and adding plenty of fun to the launch event, everyone finally got down to business.

It finally settled into normalcy.

But one line from the original author felt awkward—no one knew who had suggested it, but they blurted out: "The male lead, Fan Xian, was modeled after Bai Liang."

He wrote that book in 2007, when Bai Liang was fifteen.

Hmm… fine, I guess—he really was a dashing young lad back then.

Countless older sisters and young ladies have spent their days trying to trick him into going into the small grove, and even wanted him to watch the small grove inside it.

From this perspective, Bai Liang is actually quite upright, since the number isn't particularly large.

Afterward, everyone discussed their views and understanding of their respective roles.

All of them had something meaningful to say.

Even the young ladies weren't just playing mahjong on set or seducing the male lead.

Each one had prepared thoroughly.

Especially Li Xin—she was almost overdoing it, desperate for everyone to know how much she had sacrificed for her role.

She was just one step away from pulling out champagne to make her point.

Of course, this had nothing to do with The Legend of Qinyuanyuan—it had already started before that.

It's understandable: since her role as Yuan Chun in The Legend of Chu Qiao, Li Xin hasn't had another breakout role.

Or rather, in all these years since her debut, she's had very few famous roles.

When mentioned, aside from Yuan Chun, the first thing people could recall was her debut role as Xue Baochai.

But Bai Liang did have a strong impression of another of her roles: Shen Changqing in The Return of the Thousand Gold.

That character was quite formidable—a true, legitimate female lead.

But unfortunately, the male lead, Li Yifeng, has now "passed away."

Even the male second lead, Li Wei, will "pass away" in an even more outrageous way in a few years—few in the entertainment industry have ever been linked to murder cases.

In the end, The Return of the Thousand Gold was left with only the thousand gold—the male lead and second lead were both gone.

And now, Li Xin truly needs a breakout female lead role—even if she has to cling to someone else's leg to break out!

This made Li Yitong's heart feel complicated.

Sis, you don't have to try so hard. We actually have pretty good resources.

Li Yitong: Everyone says I'm a resource girl, but you're not much worse off~

Put more plainly, all five people in our little group are backed by their companies.

If you really think about it, each one of us is a resource girl.

But the entertainment industry is like this—whether you become popular is truly mystical.

Li Yitong has already played several female lead roles, yet none made much of a splash; but she feels this time, her supporting female role might explode. Where can she even argue this?

As for Meng Jie, it's even weirder—she doesn't even need to act; even before her drama airs, she'll go viral after today's press conference.

Looking at it this way, it seems all the girls have bright futures ahead!

Chen Yao: Our little group is about to fall apart~

This was a strange sense of déjà vu from her perspective.

After returning to her seat from the stage, Chen Yao noticed the girls had suddenly fallen silent.

It seemed each of them had something on their minds.

Meng Jie sat there staring wide-eyed, while Li Yitong and Li Xin also seemed lost in thought, their eyes occasionally flashing with light.

Chen Yao and Jin Cheng, with the least screen time and lowest presence, were just here to fill the crowd and join the fun—now they exchanged a glance and felt they were thinking the same thing.

The Legend of Qinyuanyuan is about to air.

Can Li Xin and Li Yitong, the female lead and second lead, still walk arm in arm like close sisters?

The female lead has little screen time and low presence, while the second lead has plenty of screen time and a likable persona—this lays the groundwork for potential conflict.

With this drama drawing so much attention before airing, if the quality doesn't drop, there will surely be plenty of marketing for each of them afterward.

Under these circumstances, the female lead and second lead are naturally positioned for conflict.

Their respective teams are surely already brainstorming ideas.

How can they both benefit from the "sister duo" hype while grabbing more than the other?

There will definitely be mudslinging—it's something both sides know full well.

It just depends on whether their teams will ride the wave—or even jump in and escalate things.

Even if the two of them still chat and laugh like sisters, their behind-the-scenes teams will certainly want to secure more benefits for themselves.

When interests clash, even the best relationships will be affected.

Besides, these two didn't become "good sisters" because they shared deep common interests to begin with.

In fact, there are many such small groups in the entertainment industry; the most famous one before was the "Teddy Sisters Group."

Its members included Qin Lan, Yang Mi, Hu Siyan, Dou Xiao Lu, and others.

Now, there's been no activity from them at all.

Even if they once swore to be sisters for life, it meant nothing.

Female stars forming groups isn't rare in the industry—it's rumored Mango TV is planning a variety show to gather 30 female artists born before 1990 for an age-reversing girl group competition.

Once the show starts filming, we'll immediately see how female stars form small cliques and tear each other apart.

Jin Cheng: I'm signing up!

Unfortunately, although there were two 90s girls in their little group who were also talented, Jin Cheng still couldn't get anyone to go with her.

Because she needed a comeback—to return to public view and access better resources.

But the other two didn't lack film and drama resources at all; they needed explosive popularity—to break straight into the top tier of female stars.

"Yao Yao, what are your plans after this?" Jin Cheng asked softly.

"I'm joining a new set~"

"Have you been in touch with Zha recently?"

Chen Yao paused, then whispered even quieter: "Yes."

More than just in touch—in two days, they're going together to check on the kitten's health and have dinner planned.

Jin Cheng gave Chen Yao a long look and secretly gave her a thumbs-up.

Compared to the girls' complicated thoughts, Bai Liang's mind was much simpler after staying on stage answering questions and chatting about nothing in particular.

What should I grab to eat later?

He instinctively looked at the girls, and they all smiled at him at once.

Sweet, shy, or silly.

Bai Liang secretly cheered inside: Hmm. Time for a new batch.

Then he turned his head and found Li Xiaoran studying him with keen interest.

Seeing Bai Liang's gaze, the older woman wasn't the least embarrassed—she straightened up, lifted her chest, and smiled at him directly.

She was dressed very boldly today; half her chest was exposed.

So white!

At forty-three, this older woman was simply too supermodel-like—she could make young men feel a sense of moral transgression.

This made Bai Liang quickly look at Xin Xin Zhilei to calm himself down a bit.

Xin Xin Zhilei:???

I didn't even bring a knife today.

When the press conference ended, it was still not even dinner time, yet many details from the event surged straight to the trending topics.

Some were bought, for promotion's sake.

All sides were pushing hard, plus all the dramatic effects—if this couldn't even land a top headline, it would be utterly disgraceful.

But tonight, the only one with real prestige was Meng Jie!

She even overshadowed Bai Liang—something no top male stars in the industry had managed to do, she accomplished.

Thus it's clear: Lu Han, Wu Moufan, Yang Yang—all are inferior to Meng Jie's little finger!

(End of Chapter)