Chapter 396: This Is True Mutual Devotion

"It's been a long time, have you been playing games lately?"

"Yeah, I could definitely solo kill Senior six more times without issue," Chen Duling said with a smile.

Ahhh~

So confident, huh?

To be honest, I never expected Chen Duling—the one who was initially rejected—to break through the pack and win the lead role in *Youth of You*.

I clearly remembered she'd gone for auditions early on, then got outright rejected for some reason.

So during that Stars and Oceans Youth Actors Program event, she was able to sit it out and watch the other girls fight it out with Bai Liang.

But then, out of nowhere, the spectator ended up landing the role.

It really upped the drama.

"Senior, who did you originally hope would stand in front of you? Can't it be me?" Chen Duling's tone suddenly turned pitiful.

Paired with her innocent little bunny look, it was devastatingly effective.

"Of course it can be you—in fact, you're the best," Bai Liang said plainly.

Upon hearing that "best" word, the little bunny's eyes lit up!

If she had long ears, they'd probably shoot straight up right now~

"Really?"

"Why would I lie? Have you arranged for an RV yet? Don't let the production team rent one for you."

Chen Duling was sharp—she understood Bai Liang's meaning in a second, since what was inside his RV wasn't exactly a secret.

So many people had taken photos on it before, not just of the sofa—other facilities got photographed all the time too.

Absolute internet addiction paradise.

So Chen Duling naturally knew he meant gaming, not some weird fantasy.

She clenched her tiny fist, brimming with energy: "Let's play till dawn!"

Huh~ Internet-addicted girl?

But Bai Liang said he didn't like staying up late: "I'm not eighteen anymore—play till dawn and I might die~"

In truth, his stamina made all-night gaming sessions no problem at all.

But better safe than sorry.

You don't wait until you're worn out to start soaking goji berries in your thermos—you do it when you're still strong and vigorous.

Waiting until you're truly broken to fix it is too late!

"Nooo! Senior, you're exaggerating—I think you can do it~"

"At most once or twice, no more. Have fun, that's enough—no need to get this obsessed."

"Alright then~" Chen Duling feigned disappointment.

But she didn't like staying up late either—who'd want that for their skin?

She just wanted to solidify this lane she was especially good at.

But to Zhou Ye, listening from nearby, this entire conversation took on a completely different meaning.

At this moment, Zhou Ye's inner thoughts:???

Wow!

Play till dawn?! That's that wild?

She couldn't help sneaking a glance at Chen Duling—no way she looked like the wild type.

But you really can't judge people by appearances.

Isn't there a term online called "contrast"? Judging by this, Miss Dudu must be one of those contrasting types.

Zhou Ye felt like she'd stumbled onto a huge secret, and even started wondering whether she should sneakily watch when they "played till dawn."

Not because she had any particular interest—she was just curious. Could they really "play till dawn"? How strong must their bodies be~

She glanced again at Bai Liang, and it made sense.

He'd summited Zhufeng—his physical condition must be incredible!

But Chen Duling looked so frail—could she even handle it?

Would she break? Oh no~

As she imagined it, Zhou Ye's face turned red. She was only twenty—how could she possibly handle these weird thoughts?

Soon, her face was burning hot.

She reached up and touched her cheeks—they were scorching!

"What's wrong with you?"

Unluckily, after chatting with Chen Duling for a bit, Bai Liang hadn't forgotten Zhou Ye.

Capybara's whole thing was being a central air conditioner—he'd never leave anyone out.

But the moment he asked after her, he noticed: her face and neck were blazing red.

"I—" Zhou Ye's mind went blank. She'd just been secretly imagining something unhealthy—and now felt caught red-handed.

Even more embarrassed, even redder!

"Wow, how can you be this red?" Chen Duling remarked, curious.

Indeed, Zhou Ye now looked like her entire body was flushed—glowing red, thoroughly crimson.

She'd been sneaking snacks on someone else's drama—and now she was the one being snacked on.

Like a wild boar in a melon patch, caught instantly by Run Tu~ Stabbed right on the spot!

The speed of this karma reversal left Zhou Ye utterly despairing.

"You've got a bit of a 2D vibe going on—too bad there's no steam coming out of your head," Bai Liang said, amazed.

Then he added, "Kinda cute."

Zhou Ye: Oh no!

At this moment, she was in ultimate red-temperature mode.

If she were a kettle, she'd already be letting out a shrill hiss.

Yet this still wasn't Zhou Ye's most "socially dead" moment today.

She had finally cooled down her "temperature" backstage, but when the press conference began and she stood beside Bai Liang for photos, she couldn't help glancing up at him.

And Bai Liang, today as if he'd activated the Observation Haki, turned his head at the exact same moment to look at her.

Their eyes met.

Right there, before countless media lenses, Zhou Ye performed a perfect demonstration of Instant Red Temperature.

Bai Liang: The cast for this movie is pretty interesting.

On the left, Chen Duling, the clever little white rabbit.

On the right, Zhou Ye, the red-temperature little puppy.

"Wow!"

Even the reporters couldn't hold it together anymore.

They laughed and frantically snapped photos, capturing this amusing moment.

Facing the media lenses, Zhou Ye felt utter despair inside, whispering to herself: Destroy me, I don't want to live anymore~

This was truly too embarrassing!

As a result, throughout the entire press conference, the girl felt completely out of it, shrinking in on herself.

Fortunately, the media's main attention was focused on Bai Liang.

Just the recent Zhufeng topic, which had passed not long ago, gave them a mountain of questions.

Unfortunately, no matter how they asked, he either refused to answer questions unrelated to the film, or brushed them off by telling them to watch the documentary later.

He spoke in such an intriguing way—"I put everything into it."

Those who didn't know might think he was about to launch the Dengshan Era, urging everyone to compete for the title of Dengshan King.

Chen Duling, who had bonded with Bai Liang through esports, naturally drew significant attention too.

Everyone was curious how she had broken through the crowd of minor actresses.

But even if she were the heavenly star Liu Haoyun, she still had no fame at this point—essentially, she hadn't officially debuted yet.

To netizens unaware of the truth, Chen Duling was just someone who'd beaten a bunch of unknown little Kalamis.

Only after a few more years would people fully understand just how valuable her win truly was.

And Chen Duling's answer on-site was simple: she prepared seriously—her first audition failed, the second succeeded.

The story sounded uneventful, and the effect? Not nearly as compelling as Zhou Ye's complete red-temperature moment.

After the press conference ended, Zhou Ye still looked as if she'd lost a loved one.

When she returned to the hotel, packed up, and prepared to attend the script reading, she saw her agent storming toward her.

Great, she already sensed she was about to be scolded.

But her agent said: "Wow, Xiao Ye, you're amazing! You did great!"

Zhou Ye:???

"Huh?"

"Do you know what you just looked like?" the agent chuckled.

"What? I was utterly humiliated," Zhou Ye thought her agent was mocking her.

"Humiliated? No, you've gone viral."

"I went viral—viral with embarrassment, so socially dead."

"What are you talking about? I'm not speaking literally. Do you know how netizens reacted to that moment at the press conference?"

"Huh? They didn't make fun of me?" Zhou Ye asked, puzzled.

The agent smiled. "Some did—but when Mi Naocai first saw Li Ming, it was exactly like this."

She wasn't fooling Zhou Ye—her moment was already trending #1 on the hot search list.

The result stunned even Zhou Ye herself. She pulled out her phone and stared, dumbfounded, at the top trending topic—speechless.

Is this even allowed?!

Facts speak louder than words.

It really works!

Just because she looked up at Bai Liang for a few seconds during the launch press conference, her entire face and neck turning bright red—this single image made Zhou Ye, who had only been in the industry for two years and was still a nobody, feel like she'd exploded into fame overnight.

A flood of girls posted check-in messages: "This girl looks so adorable~", "I really want to pat her head.", "If I were her, I'd do the same~", "."

As for Zhou Ye's fear of being mocked, there was a little of that—but it felt mostly like good-natured teasing, not malicious ridicule.

The harshest comment was merely that she'd been daydreaming on the spot.

Before Zhou Ye could say anything, countless people defended her: "But that's Bai Liang!"

Totally reasonable~

Some people compared her to a little puppy begging to be petted—a strange description, but still an endearing one.

Meanwhile, the label "Easy-Red-Temperature Body" had stuck to her.

Though this "red" wasn't the same as fame-red, after saying it enough, who could tell the difference?

Of course, there were also some lewd comments, wondering if her face and neck were red, were other parts of her body red too—if so, that would be amazing!

What an overly sensitive body!

At this moment, Meng Jie, who was out doing promotional rounds, saw her new acquaintance staring at the trending post of her little hedgehog daydreaming over Bai Liang—and suddenly tensed up.

Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling?

Can't help it—Li Yitong set a bad example.

That evil little kitten's stealing snacks taught Meng Jie a lesson.

She'll remember this lesson for the rest of her life.

But the only lesson humanity learns from history is that humanity cannot learn any lesson from history.

After meeting Zhou Ye, he didn't stop asking Meng Jie about Bai Liang.

Meng Jie actually told him. She's always eager to share.

Their chat history is eating up her phone's storage—mostly because she sent too many emojis.

But after seeing today's trending topic, Meng Jie felt a little regret—she'd described Bai Liang too favorably, just to ease Zhou Ye's worries about working with him.

Though everything she said was true—her goal was to let Zhou Ye relax and focus on filming, without fearing Bai Liang would bully him~

But looking at this trending topic, her new bestie probably developed some weird ideas.

And~

Is her body really that sensitive?!

So unfair.

To be honest, Bai Liang was a little curious too—could she really be that sensitive?

But he couldn't go and give her another red-hot reaction, then pull off her clothes to check.

That wouldn't be appropriate.

What he should focus on now is Chen Duling's thoughts.

After all, as the female lead, she was overshadowed by the second female lead from the start—this kind of thing really affects the set's atmosphere.

Stories of the second female lead crushing the lead have been told too many times in the industry.

Take Li Yitong and Li Xin from "The Longest Day in Chang'an"—they seemed so close on set, but as soon as the drama aired, they nearly went to war.

To be precise, they already fought!

Later, Meng Jie, the "international organization," stepped in to mediate.

And now, before this movie has even started filming, the same trend is emerging.

But Chen Duling's reaction was surprising—she seemed completely unfazed by Zhou Ye stealing the spotlight or the trending topic overshadowing her.

She still warmly called her "Dou Xiao Ye," as if their bond was strong.

Girls' minds are truly hard to guess.

"Senior, I'm not pretending."

Bai Liang scratched his head, looking innocent: "I didn't say anything."

Chen Duling lightly placed her hands on her waist and sniffed: "I'm smart—I can tell what you're thinking from your expression."

No wonder everyone says girls seem cuter when they're a little dumb.

A girl this intelligent makes you feel defeated.

Bai Liang surrendered on the spot, admitting defeat—but he declared: "Next time, you won't catch me."

Hearing this, Chen Duling was delighted—yes, she loved this feeling of being evenly matched.

Around others, she sometimes had to pretend to be a little foolish—she even got tired of stupidity sometimes, but still forced herself to keep her expression neutral.

But with Bai Liang, she didn't need to.

Smart is smart—that's her strength! And so is his!

Chen Duling felt she only needed to fully display her strengths—no need to hide them or spare his feelings.

Because, well… Senior is even stronger in this area!

That's true mutual pursuit~

Oh, except for when she single-handedly killed him six times in a game.

As for why she didn't mind Zhou Ye stealing the spotlight at the press conference, Chen Duling said she owed her role as the female lead to her.

Her company pulled major strings behind the scenes!

Bai Liang didn't pay much attention to the little flowers' infighting, but they were really tearing each other apart!

Their back-end companies were all pushing hard.

Originally, Zhang Jingyi from Dongshen Future was the closest to landing the female lead, but He Song, Zhou Ye's company, said: Everyone else is fine—she's not allowed!

These two girls already looked somewhat alike, and both were backed by major stars in the industry—they were destined to be rivals.

How could they let the other gain such a huge advantage from the start?!

He Song might not be able to elevate Zhou Ye to the female lead, but sabotaging her rival's lead role was easy.

This kind of thing is a microcosm of the power struggles among these well-connected little flowers.

To be precise, Dongshen Future handled everyone else—He Song only did one thing: focused entirely on her.

In this chaotic mess of capital warfare, Chen Duling spotted an opportunity.

She already had a natural advantage.

Compared to other little flowers with stronger backing, her edge was fame—she debuted early and had the credibility of "The Left Ear," a youth pain film, giving her solid audience appeal.

Even though she was slightly older, her face was still youthful—playing a Gao Zhongsheng was no problem at all.

After her first audition was rejected, she went straight home and made a "mistake notebook."

When she spotted the opportunity, she turned down two movies and her first TV drama, went all-in, and even cut her long hair short.

Her first audition was rejected quickly, but this second one actually made the production team feel tempted.

Not to mention anything else—just this sheer determination fit the character perfectly.

Under these circumstances, she finally caught the attention of a certain "important person."

Sister Yanzi: Let me come see what's going on here.

Damn, you've been picking a female lead this long and still haven't settled it—can you guys do your job or not?

She hadn't wanted to get involved in this mess at first, but these people were just too slow—wouldn't even drawing lots be faster?

With her stepping in, this little "war" among the blossoms was finally brought to a close.

"Not bad!"

Watching Chen Duling make all sorts of preparations for the role—the densely written character biography, the script she was about to wear out from flipping through—Bai Liang felt this Miss had truly put in the work.

Looking at Chen Duling's ear-length bob again at this moment, it gave him a slightly different feeling.

That's ruthless! Cutting long hair just like that~

Hair, this thing, is sometimes just like a girl's life.

"You've been at this for a month or two, right?" Bai Liang, based on his own work efficiency, added a little extra time in his estimate as he spoke.

Hearing this, Chen Duling, who had been sitting there obediently waiting for praise, immediately deflated. "Senior, I spent over three months researching and preparing for this."

"My apologies."

Actually, Chen Duling had even understated it a little—the time and effort she'd spent was far more than three months.

But how to put it—the girl who had originally wanted to show Bai Liang her intelligence as a strength suddenly started feeling a bit guilty.

She should count as smart, right?

Bai Liang noticed this Miss seemed to be doubting herself because of what he'd said, and quickly helped smooth things over: "Why did you have to grind so hard? I thought you'd given up long ago—you didn't even give me a call to mention it midway."

Hearing this, Chen Duling couldn't help but break into a smile, reaching out to smooth her hair.

"Back then my teacher said girls couldn't do well in science, so I refused to accept it—I had to prove it to him."

"This time… they said I wasn't suited for this role, that acting it would be too forced."

"But I've been a top student my whole life."

"I will force it through!"

(End of chapter)