Chapter 404

After the premiere of *Ne Zha: The Rise of the Demon Child*, Bai Liang planned to have dinner with his mother before returning to the set the next day.

His mother, however, still intended to join the promotional tour—these things felt novel to her, like traveling and sightseeing.

But during dinner, Bai's mother criticized him: "Why didn't you invite that girl to join you for a meal?"

The "girl" here, of course, referred to Zhang Ruonan.

Bai Liang simply spread his hands: "I did invite her, but she was too scared—what could I do?"

He wasn't lying: Zhang Ruonan had clearly hesitated, then said she had to catch her next schedule and quickly left.

"Too scared?" Bai's mother was baffled. "That doesn't make sense—I was nice to her. Maybe she's afraid someone will photograph you two together."

"Maybe~"

"If I'd known that, I wouldn't have brought you." Bai's mother grumbled.

She seemed to resent her son's celebrity status—how could he possibly put so much pressure on a girl?

Hearing this, Bai Liang thought: I'm definitely her real son.

But his mother clearly still didn't fully understand how the entertainment industry worked.

Zhang Ruonan did feel pressure—but it wasn't from Bai Liang's fame.

Or rather, there might truly be few girls bold enough to have dinner with Bai Liang right now.

His bet with Lu Han had generated massive heat; now, anyone seen near Bai Liang became a "suspected girlfriend," let alone with parents present.

If she dared eat that meal, the media might instantly crown her "Bai Liang's girlfriend."

This was, in fact, a flood of traffic—but not everyone could handle it; some might drown in it.

See the Sao Ji sisters for details.

They've now gone completely quiet, not daring to stick their heads out—they know how dangerous the environment is.

Anyone who dares to show up risks being mobbed.

Zhao Jia and Re Ba are pretending to be clueless, but that doesn't mean they'll let others jump out to snatch the fruit.

They'll attack anyone they see—and they'll attack together!

Worse, they're just the visible force; behind them, a whole crowd of others are also scheming—it's almost terrifying to imagine.

No wonder Zhang Ruonan fled so quickly.

She's only just debuted—her frame is too fragile to take even a few hits.

Brother, let's make plans another day~

"I really like her," Bai's mother sighed again.

"Girls are all busy chasing their careers. Look at today's premiere—how many of the ones you know showed up? They're all busy." Bai Liang said casually.

He said that, but in truth, he was just being lazy—he only did the voiceover, wasn't even the lead actor, so there was no need to ask each of them if they were free.

After all, just him showing up was enough to fill the venue.

It also helped him fool his mother.

But Bai's mother immediately proved him wrong—after all, she was his mother.

"They all wanted to come—they all contacted me," Bai's mother blinked.

"Huh?"

"Really! I'll show you the chat logs. I thought too many coming at once would be bad, but if only one or two came, I worried the others would feel left out—so I just told them all not to come."

The proof was clear: Bai's mother was even more popular than Bai Liang himself.

Anyone who knew her and had her contact info wanted to attend the *Ne Zha* premiere.

They were actively signing up.

And these girls had all, without saying a word, bypassed Bai Liang entirely—not one of them mentioned it to him.

Clearly, they were all plotting something.

But Bai's mother was a little afraid of a love triangle showdown—she wasn't as bold as her son.

So she told them all not to come, urging them to focus on work: "Auntie appreciates your kindness!"

At this moment, Bai's mother looked at her son with a slightly smug expression, as if to say: What do you have to say now?

Bai Liang:.

Raised the white flag! Surrendered! Surrendered!

Bai's mother: Since you've surrendered, then hurry up and pick someone and settle down—I can't take much more, they're too enthusiastic.

Bai Liang: I think you're kind of enjoying this.

How dare you, you little brat, making fun of your mother?

Just as Bai's mother was about to give her little handsome boy a lesson, Bai Liang's phone buzzed.

He glanced at it and immediately declared: "A girl's looking for me."

Hearing this, Bai's mother let him off the hook and said: "Then why aren't you rushing to answer?"

Hmm. It was indeed a girl—and a rare guest.

For a while, Zhao Jinmai had really liked to "bother" Bai Liang, contacting him nearly every day.

Sometimes she had study questions; most of the time, she just chatted aimlessly.

But once, when she hesitantly asked him about romantic issues, Bai Liang turned her right over to her parents and told them to give her a proper scolding.

Since then, her frequency of contacting him dropped sharply—she'd finally focused on her studies.

No one knew whether her parents had figured out which blondie was behind it all.

As for why she suddenly appeared today…

"Brother, the movie's a huge hit!"

On the other end of the line, Zhao Jinmai offered a sincere wish: You've got to win!

"Don't study properly and still play with your phone? How bold!"

He treated adult young ladies with care, but for underage girls, Bai Liang always struck hard!

Then Zhao Jinmai, on the other end of the phone, felt deeply wronged: "I'm on summer vacation!"

Ahhh~

Bai Liang, who had left campus years ago, had simply forgotten this detail for a moment.

Students have summer and winter breaks.

But how could a "despicable adult" admit fault? So Bai Liang immediately added: "Even if you're on vacation, you still need to study hard—you're about to enter senior year, how important is that!"

"I don't need that many cultural scores to get into the Central Academy of Drama."

"Schools like the Central Academy of Drama and Beijing Film Academy should raise their admission thresholds—if candidates can't even meet basic cultural standards, how can they possibly advance cultural endeavors?"

Zhao Jinmai, however, was neither rebellious nor argumentative; she actually thought her brother had a point!

After all, her cultural subject scores were actually quite good—though not comparable to top-tier academic powerhouses, scoring above five hundred was no problem; she was certainly no slacker.

Since Zhang Yishan and Yang Zi, then later Liu Haoran, Guan Xiaotong, and Wang Junkai, every year celebrity entrance exam news dominated trending topics.

At first, people just paid attention to this matter, but over the past two years, the popularity and attention have only grown higher.

This has caused quite a bit of pressure for many people.

Compared to last year, when Wu Lei, Xi Zi Ge, Song Zuer, and others were quickly dug up and exposed, this year's celebrity examinees had done a surprisingly good job keeping their scores secret.

No specific scores could be found—only their rankings within their respective art academies.

Of course, it might also be because this year's celebrity examinees were relatively less well-known.

But next year will be a lively one—artists with much greater fame like Zhang Zifeng, Zhao Jinmai, and Li Gengxi, plus several idols who rose through talent shows, will make this an "exam year" for the entertainment industry.

And the "leading big sister," Zhang Zifeng, is going all out.

Her academic, cutthroat energy displayed on "Go Fighting!" was truly intimidating.

No way, sis—you're still studying like this on a variety show? Are you leaving anyone else any room to breathe?

And she even launched a wave of mockery, telling Peng Yuchang: "Is four hundred points really that hard to get?"

This put real pressure on Zhao Jinmai: "Is this even real?"

Of course, the greatest pressure came from Bai Liang himself—his academic aura and fame were one of the key sparks making this topic increasingly visible to the public.

Since his debut, he's done plenty in this regard.

"Brother, you've totally skewed the entertainment industry's culture!" Zhao Jinmai complained.

"Huh?"

Bai Liang found this claim unjust—he had nothing to do with the entertainment industry's culture!

After denying it, he casually inquired about her career.

She immediately enthusiastically shared what dramas she'd recently filmed.

"Oh right, I also signed up for a variety show!"

Her first regular variety show was quite novel to Zhao Jinmai, so she immediately shared it with Bai Liang.

After sharing, she sent over a flood of pitiful-looking emoji packs.

Bai Liang understood her meaning—even though he'd never heard of this show, "Trend Partners," and thought it seemed pretty low-key.

Still, he said: "If I have time later—"

"Yay!"

"But I probably won't have time~"

He was wildly teasing the little girl—no, given her age, it should be called fooling around.

"Teasing" wasn't a word to use lightly—not until she turned eighteen, anyway. Hmm, next year?

It felt like in the blink of an eye, this little girl had truly grown up—but Bai Liang hadn't seen her in a while, so he didn't know what she looked like now.

But Zhao Jinmai didn't get upset over Bai Liang's "probably won't have time"; instead, she immediately turned to ask about his bet with Lu Han.

"Brother, you're definitely going to win, right?"

"Why are you still worrying about this? Of course you'll win."

"Good~"

After putting down his phone, Bai Liang noticed his mother staring at him, curious.

"What's up?"

"You were smiling so happily—who's the girl? Do I know her?"

"You definitely know her—but you've never met her."

"Who is it? Are you bringing her home for dinner this year-end?"

Remembering the "bring home for dinner" requirement, Bai's mom was practically born to be a product manager~

But Bai Liang figured if he really brought Zhao Jinmai home, the whole family would explode.

They'd probably force him to turn himself in.

This wasn't like sneaking a girlfriend in school—he was young back then too.

Sigh~

The Mastermind suddenly activated!

Bai Liang put on his Oscar-worthy acting, feigning hesitation: "I'd like to, but it's not appropriate."

"What's wrong? Is there a girl who doesn't like you?"

"Her age isn't suitable…"

At that moment, Bai's mother's expression shifted slightly, as if recalling someone: "Age gaps are actually quite normal—I remember Li Yitong is two years older than you. So… exactly how big is the gap?"

Bai Liang thought for a moment, then gave a definite answer: "Ten years."

"Huh?!"

Bai Mama was barely holding it together—she had just been thinking of Miss Jing Tian. Four years apart from her own little handsome boy? Actually not that bad.

Although she had never met or interacted with Miss Jing Tian, she generally had some sense of every one of her son's rumored girlfriends.

But someone ten years older? She truly couldn't recall her son ever being involved with someone that much older.

Watching her mother's dazed expression, Bai Liang felt this trick of his might actually work.

Far more reliable than recruiting Huang Jingyu to pretend to be gay.

Bai Mama looked at him with a complicated gaze and couldn't help saying, "You're really hungry."

As soon as she said it, she suddenly realized.

No!

Since when had her son ever been "hungry"?

This was totally fake—the little rascal was trying to fool her.

Until Bai Liang opened Zhao Jinmai's Baidu Baike page and showed it to her.

"A little girl born in 2002, pretty cute, right~"

Bai Mama:

She did recognize this one—after all, she had watched *The Wandering Earth*.

But she had never once considered including this little girl among them; back when she watched the movie, she thought the girl was chubby, full of baby fat, clearly still a child.

Hmm. When she filmed *The Wandering Earth*, Zhao Jinmai was fourteen.

She didn't know if Zhao Jinmai had even turned fourteen yet—if she had, then with consent it wasn't illegal; if she hadn't, then regardless of consent, jail was a real possibility.

Legal trivia, everyone remember this—let the alarm bell ring forever.

Of course, Zhao Jinmai was now seventeen, but Bai Mama still felt something was off, and immediately decided to turn hostile:

"Hmph! You little rascal, wait till I get your dad to deal with you!"

Bai Liang:??

You're going this route, huh? You think I'm scared of your husband?

Bring it on!

Sure enough, he called—Dad's phone rang through instantly. Bai Mama chattered away, describing everything, cooing and complaining about how her son had bullied her.

Finally, she handed the phone to Bai Liang with a smug look, "Your dad wants to talk to you~"

"Your relationship is really good—still feels like when you were dating." Bai Liang remarked, then picked up the phone and greeted, "Dad, how's the game going?"

"Not bad. You better come help me out later—someone needs you as a face model and voice actor."

"Contact my agent—she'll handle all the work details."

"Ssshh~ you little rascal!"

Father and son exchanged a volley of banter, so fierce it seemed to erase the very path of the Dao.

During this, Bai Mama sat there like a little girl, cheering her husband on.

When the exchange ended and the call hung up, she gleefully asked, "What did your dad say about you?"

"Hmm. He said 'awesome.'"

"Huh?!"

Bai Liang insisted he wasn't lying—his dad really had said that.

In a way, he'd achieved one of the highest milestones for a boy: his father's approval.

Oh right—Bai Liang hadn't been joking with his dad. He really did need to contact Sister Yanzi about this.

Money didn't matter—he'd done the voice work for *Nezha* for free, purely as volunteer labor, even putting in extra effort to promote it.

The main issue was scheduling—he couldn't just drop everything and go.

But his dad wasn't in much of a hurry either—"that damn game" still had a long way to go before it was ready.

Because that game was called:

*Black Myth: Wukong*.

—

When the opening day box office figures for *Nezha: The Demon Child Reborn* and *The Shanghai Fortress* were released, Bai Liang was having lunch with Lu Han.

After this lunch, he would head to the airport to return to Shancheng to continue filming.

Of course, Lu Han paid—the reason being Bai Liang had to "comfort" him, so his appearance fee was due.

*Nezha*'s opening day box office was 180 million, exceeding expectations.

This opening day figure wasn't especially explosive, but the attendance rate was insane, and even with only slightly over 20% screen share—less than *The Shanghai Fortress*—it still pulled this off.

This was partly because online "well-meaners" had bizarrely pushed the narrative, tying Bai Liang tightly to *Nezha*, so theaters, seeing the buzz, gave it slightly more screen time.

Brother Liang still had some clout~

But since this was an animated film, his Face Fruit ability hadn't been fully displayed.

Unlike *The Wandering Earth*, which had the highest screen share from day one.

So no one yet knew what kind of results *Nezha* would deliver once it got full screen allocation.

As for *The Shanghai Fortress*, it was "about the same."

Exactly one-tenth of *Nezha*'s: 80 million.

Many people had expected this result and simply said, "I knew it'd be like this."

But many others were utterly baffled.

Mainly because of the bet between Bai Liang and Lu Han.

Since they'd made a bet, many had unconsciously assumed the two films' box offices wouldn't differ much—otherwise, what was the point of betting? That'd be insane.

Turns out, looking at it now, the damn thing is insane—it doesn't even reach half of what it should be.

Lu Han is a real guy—you can count on him; he genuinely provides laughs, sacrificing himself just to let everyone have a good chuckle.

It somewhat makes up for the damage done to those who bought tickets to see *Shanghai Fortress*.

The movie may be terrible, but the show outside the theater is great—and it's free.

His heart naturally felt much better.

When online, people cursed Lu Han a bit more gently, directing most of their fury at director Teng Hua-tao.

Fuck you, give me my money back!

What the hell kind of sci-fi epic is this? Let's pre-order next year's Golden Broom.

If it doesn't win, that's definitely a cover-up!

Never before has a Golden Broom had such a strong contender so far in advance of the ceremony.

From this perspective, it's set a new record.

At the same time, the door to Chinese sci-fi opened by *The Wandering Earth* feels like it's been slammed shut again by *Shanghai Fortress*.

And it did so in the most unhygienic way—dumping a massive pile.

To be honest, Lu Han wasn't especially devastated by the loss; though he'd once been overconfident, he clearly still had some sense of reality.

Still, he was properly shattered—he never expected it wouldn't even break a hundred million on opening day.

That shouldn't happen, right?

"Hey~ What's the big deal? Ge's *My Father and I* only made sixty million on opening day."

Bai Liang was clearly good at comforting people—he dodged the heavy stuff.

He didn't mention the Douban opening score of 4.2, which was still dropping steadily, likely heading toward three-point-something any minute now.

Compared to the 30% screening share on opening day, *Shanghai Fortress*'s screenings were slashed in half today.

If nothing unexpected happens, tomorrow's box office might be even worse than opening day.

As for where the cut screenings went?

*Ne Zha* just smiled and took them all—its screening share skyrocketed to 40% the next day.

But Lu Han seemed genuinely comforted—or more accurately, "I, the little lord of Beijing, don't care~"

I'm done.

"I won't make movies anymore, and I'll do fewer plays—I'm getting ready for retirement," Lu Han said, sounding remarkably carefree.

Then, while eating, Bai Liang said: "Hey, anyone still asking you to make movies?"

"Fuck you, can we not talk about it?" Lu Han stared at him blankly, then raised his cup.

He knew full well—from today on, his film career was as dead as Wu's.

But his mindset was different: dead? Then I'm done.

Fail somewhere? Then lie down right there—it's so comfortable lying down.

In truth, *Shanghai Fortress* wasn't entirely meaningless—it may symbolize the end of the era of idol-driven, fan-service films.

Lu Han, the once-unparalleled top idol who launched the traffic era, had personally sealed the fate of fan-film culture.

In that sense, it was a full circle.

(End of Chapter)