Chapter 398: When a Villain Goes Too Far, He Doesn

Since his debut, Bai Liang has been the subject of many rumors.

More accurately, he has been linked to nearly every eligible female colleague he's worked with.

But not a single "concrete proof" has ever been caught on camera.

Otherwise, the paparazzi in the industry wouldn't still be obsessed with him—even harboring resentment.

It seemed those two new rising stars genuinely wanted to make it real, fighting fiercely, almost ready to publicly confirm it.

But as both became top-tier leading actresses and grew even more popular, people began treating their rivalry like ancient history.

They believed the two weren't really fighting over Bai Liang—they were each other's competitors.

Whether or not Bai Liang was involved, they'd still fight.

So.

In the absence of any concrete evidence, relying solely on the party's baseless claims, it somehow began to feel like a villain so extreme he doesn't even look like one.

Hmm. People like this usually play Werewolf too much.

They dislike logical reasoning and love twisting logic into nonsense.

But there's actually a market for it!

Online, there's a saying: Bai Liang is pure and innocent~

If he really had any intimate relationship with someone, given how intensely the paparazzi watch him, how could they have captured nothing until now?

This time, when Chen Duling was "caught," it didn't bring Bai Liang down—instead, it confirmed this point.

Laughable~ A man and a woman alone in a room, and instead of doing the usual adult things everyone expects, they played video games for six straight hours.

What is this, a modern Liu Xiaohui?

When a lovely girl is willing to stay alone with you late at night, that's practically a permit to proceed.

Yet this "straight man" Bai Liang cared only about his game.

He's got serious esports spirit.

Therefore, it's "not hard" to deduce: all his rumors are fake—every single one.

Some were for sugar-coated promotion; others were manipulative women using Bai Liang for publicity.

Meanwhile, Bai Liang himself is kind-hearted and doesn't care much about these things, which gave them the opening. This isn't internet speculation—it's something circulating within the entertainment industry itself.

Both men and women, actors and directors, all praise him for being good and loyal—his reputation is rock-solid!

It even sounds reasonable.

This narrative feels like something created by Bai Liang's girlfriend fans—they go all out to label every female star linked to him as merely using him for promotion.

Li Xin:

No, she needs to write a giant "SUFFERING" character on Bai Liang's thigh!

Because the one currently hyping the CP with Bai Liang is her.

She was already a bit pitiful—finally landed a hit drama, but her presence was too weak.

Fortunately, during her previous appearance on Bai Liang's show, there were plenty of sugar-coated moments.

Most direct was in "The Days We Cherish," when Li Xin picked up Bai Liang's phone to check his messages—her familiarity was like handling her husband's phone.

Many married women said: These two definitely have something going on! We're not even this familiar with our own husbands~

Those who observe more carefully would notice that Li Yitong simply reached a fraction too late—if she'd been quicker, she'd have done it herself.

Li Xin: I'm having such a hard time!

Now, hyping a CP is all about reaction speed!

Then suddenly, Bai Liang turns into a "steel straight man," and their CP loses all its flavor.

If not for the champagne in her hand feeling so real, making her savor the intensity of their moments, she'd think those online claims actually made sense.

But in reality, bullshit!

That guy is a central air conditioner~ a steel straight man with zero libido.

Still, "beautiful, strong, tragic" is definitely Li Xin's comfort zone.

How comfortable?

Even though in "The Longest Day in Chang'an" she was Bai Liang's official pairing, the off-screen CP promotion still managed to feel tragic.

I don't know whether it was her team or some amateur UP owner, but they used every single clip of Li Xin and Bai Liang together to edit a heartbreaking romance.

Even her episode of "Running Man" with Sister Reba, where they spun in circles, became material.

Sister Reba and Bai Liang were all sweet and affectionate, while she stood beside them, pitifully watching.

With background music, it was heartbreaking to hear and tear-jerking to watch.

Bai Liang had watched that edited video—and noticed something off.

The camera angle used showed Li Xin staring not at him, but at another female guest.

But no matter—highest editing wins!

People edit whatever they want, as if determined to lock Li Xin permanently into the "beautiful, strong, tragic" track.

Now, "The Longest Day in Chang'an" has finally reached its finale.

The Second Prince's faction makes its move, demanding Fan Xian either submit or die. As Fan Xian and Yan Bingyun back-to-back prepare to break through, Yan Bingyun suddenly stabs him through with his sword.

Of course, anyone knows Fan Xian can't possibly die—Yan Bingyun's loyalty has never changed.

Still, ending Season One this way feels like those web novel writers pulling a chapter break.

Hmm. Finale—no Li Xin.

In a story centered on men, she isn't the protagonist—just a delicate vase in the protagonist's hand.

Meanwhile, hashtags like #FanXianIsDead, #TheLongestDayInChang'anEnded, and #TheHitDramaConcludes surge to the top of trending lists.

And countless people are asking when Season Two will premiere.

Amid these hot topics, complaints about several platforms finally remembering to implement advance payment for the last two episodes were drowned out by even bigger trends.

Still couldn't resist, huh~

I wonder what kind of shady deal these streaming platforms struck with Mango TV, yet they still pulled off advance payment.

Fortunately, it wasn't too extreme—only the final two episodes—and viewers didn't mind too much.

Just six yuan for the first recharge~

Yet these platforms, by getting six yuan from each person, collectively raked in nearly three hundred million.

It was a strange way to demonstrate the drama's king status.

Because the hit drama "Chen Qing Ling" only earned one hundred million from advance payment.

It had already made the fans of the two new top idols go wild with praise, as if trying to prove these two men's commercial value.

It's a curious sight—suckers happily glad to be cut.

In truth, their commercial value really is high, and later they'll still have online concerts, merchandise, and more ways to keep harvesting the suckers—their top idol status is undeniable.

If not for that capybara.

But Bai Liang's fans don't hype this at all—their tastes have been spoiled.

After all, this guy's movies routinely earn billions, raising their threshold significantly.

Better to talk about ratings, click counts, or discuss the drama's plot instead.

Besides, these platforms had already been called out before, so they carried out this move stealthily, daring not to advertise it loudly.

They quietly made a fortune!

The platforms stayed silent, burying their faces in their blankets and laughing wildly, while frantically shoving scripts of their original dramas toward Sister Yanzi.

Under these circumstances, Young Lady Li Xin quietly shattered.

Not even the final episode—nearly the last dozen episodes had almost nothing for her.

The standout female roles in the later episodes were mainly Tang Hai Duoduo, plus Zhan Doudou played by Chen Yao.

Her cross-dressing really had that authentic vibe.

Many joked about how she was "Yue Qiluo reincarnated to find Zhang Xianzong."

By the finale, hardly anyone discussed the female lead.

Under these circumstances, Young Lady Li Xin could only take the initiative, creating some buzz—otherwise, she'd miss every hot trend.

"Are you free tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? I'm shooting on set tomorrow," Bai Liang said, puzzled.

"Shooting? You're clearly busy sweetly duo-playing games with that girl."

Hearing this, Bai Liang wasn't fazed at all—he asked, "Where did you learn the phrase 'sweetly duo-playing'?"

"I'm online too, okay? I want to visit you on set tomorrow."

"Sure, I'll take you to eat something delicious," Bai Liang agreed immediately.

But to Li Xin's ears, this sounded odd—she pouted, "Rogue~"

Bai Liang instantly understood what she meant by "delicious"—he thought, this young lady's mouth is quite picky, her tastes really are different from normal people's.

Because normal people don't call that thing "delicious."

So far, Bai Liang hasn't met a single person who eats him because they like him—not just because they like eating.

The difference between the two is enormous.

But Li Xin always pairs it with champagne—maybe she prefers that more~

"Actually, I'm here to ride your coattails and create buzz—the drama's finale came out, but my buzz as the female lead is almost gone," Li Xin admitted frankly after her playful teasing.

She understood Bai Liang well—she wouldn't play mind games with him; if she had a need, she'd just say it outright.

And Bai Liang is the idea king—she really hoped he could give her some advice.

"Riding coattails? How about you make a cameo?"

"Sure~"

Before Li Xin could rejoice, Bai Liang himself dismissed it: "But there's no suitable role for you—you can't play a Gao Zhongsheng."

"Who says I can't play a Gao Zhongsheng?! The female lead in your movie is only three years younger than me—she can play it, why can't I?"

Like a boy's strange competitiveness, girls in this regard refuse to lose.

She felt that although she was approaching thirty, she was well-maintained—playing a Gao Zhongsheng was a cinch.

Plus, with makeup magic helping, even a cameo wouldn't feel too out of place.

Bai Liang told the director about Li Xin's visit and asked him to arrange a suitable cameo role.

The director thought for a moment and said, "How about letting her jump off a building?"

"Huh? That's not very good~"

"I know this actress Li Xin—she has this tragic aura; jumping off a building really suits her."

Bai Liang thought the director had a point!

After all, she's a well-known contender in the "beautiful, strong, tragic" path—though she's also great at "beautiful, weak, tragic."

In short—she's tragic!

The next day, Li Xin arrived full of enthusiasm with champagne, delighted, her lips curled upward wildly.

Hehe, playing a Gao Zhongsheng!

Today she wore particularly youthful clothes—a black leather shoe paired with a floral dress, her top modest and demure; standing there, she truly looked young.

Reasonably enough, Big Mi Mi was still perfecting her girlish vibe—Li Xin declared that playing a Gao Zhongsheng as a cameo was no problem!

Before leaving in the morning, she carefully examined her outfit.

This was pure first-love vibes~

Won't this drive that guy crazy!

Then she ran straight into Chen Duling, a girl with the face of a true first love, who sweetly called her sister.

Li Xin's confidence dropped by a third; after greeting Chen Duling, the set's "bully" arrived again.

To help Zhou Ye find more of the character's essence, she was told to maintain Wei Lai's demeanor even off-camera.

If possible, just casually "bully" Chen Duling a little—it's like rehearsing.

That's practically transforming into the set's bully.

But right now, her sense of cruelty and hypocrisy still isn't quite right—it's more like a cockroach bully, comically absurd.

Paired with her age and face, it somehow comes off as adorable—a truly playful, quirky girl!

Li Xin's confidence dropped another third.

Only then did she finally see Bai Liang; before she could even greet him, this capybara delivered another "knife" to her:

"I've lined up a role for you—a high school senior repeating the year, good-looking but weak-willed. Like it?"

"Hmm, repeating the year? Sounds kinda good—is it the bullied kind?"

Li Xin felt something was off; she liked the word "good-looking," but "weak-willed"…

"Yes, not much screen time—ends up getting bullied to the point of jumping off a building."

The Young Lady's smile froze. "Jumping off?"

"Splat—crashes down from the rooftop. Really tragic."

Hearing the word "tragic," Li Xin shuddered involuntarily, her gaze toward Bai Liang now tinged with a hint of resentment.

She just wanted to ride some hype, stir up some buzz—why does it always involve bullying and jumping off buildings?

Can't we just do something normal?

Well, it's not impossible.

Bai Liang said she could be background scenery—he could just give her a random close-up later.

After all, there's no reason to force someone to jump off a building.

Li Xin: Then I'll still jump off the building~

After all, she'd come this far—if she only played background, she'd probably leave the set in one or two days.

Better to stay a few more days—otherwise, the marketing accounts won't have anything to write about.

Bai Liang even said he'd take her for a motorcycle ride—she was looking forward to that.

But Li Xin ignored the recent impact of the Chen Duling incident.

Even though she openly showed up at the "Youth of You" set, there was no special buzz online.

The CP hype between her and Bai Liang didn't rise either.

Disbelieving, she stomped her foot. "Let's share the RV tonight."

Hearing this, Bai Liang thought she wanted to trigger some nostalgia—after all, they'd first "met" in an RV.

Naturally, he had no reason to refuse.

"If we get photographed by paparazzi, will it cause you trouble?" Li Xin asked.

After all, she couldn't just stir up hype for herself and drag Bai Liang into trouble.

"No problem~"

Bai Liang didn't care much.

But when night fell and Li Xin, wearing a mask, stepped out of the hotel toward Bai Liang's RV, she suddenly felt something was off.

Then she saw a scene that left her stunned.

A paparazzo, not even hiding, glanced at her, didn't even bother raising his camera, and just turned away.

Li Xin:???

He's just leaving? Paparazzi on an eight-hour shift? Off duty?

Paparazzo: Again? Going to the RV to play games? What the hell am I even shooting? Waste of storage.

After getting on the RV, Li Xin felt dazed—had the world gone so insane she couldn't understand it anymore?

Do paparazzi even bother shooting celebrities' late-night private meetings anymore?

"Hey? Why are you still wearing a mask?"

Seeing her outfit, Bai Liang asked curiously.

"We're supposed to be sneaky, right? Of course we wear masks."

Bai Liang hesitated, thinking Li Xin's Young Lady might be having a serious run of bad luck.

Chen Duling had come to his RV to play games several times recently—wearing exactly this look.

The paparazzi didn't even bother shooting.

Bai Liang couldn't go over and drag the paparazzi by the ears to make them work.

Workplace slacking happens in every industry—even paparazzi.

Seeing Li Xin's pitiful, confused expression, Bai Liang knew it was time for him to act.

Bad luck? Bad fortune?

No problem—the capybara will "bless" you, and your luck will improve~

Come to think of it, he hadn't spent time with Li Xin in a while.

(End of Chapter)