Chapter 408: The Immortal Online Is in a Terrible Mood

The huge success of "Ne Zha" actually made many in the film industry genuinely miserable.

Because on one hand they saw others making money, and that hurt more than seeing their own losses.

Especially for those who had spent years meticulously polishing a single project.

If it were purely due to Bai Liang's star power, it might have been more acceptable—and could even have brought down Bai Liang, that super-outstanding, somewhat oddball celebrity.

Most people in this industry earn money while being scolded, don't they?

Occasionally they even insult the audience as idiots.

But now they're forced to grit their teeth and praise it, while watching "Ne Zha's" box office grow more terrifying by the day.

There's no choice—it's absolutely necessary~ The industry is short on cash!

After Fan Fan Bingbing's incident last year, many speculative capital funds chose to exit, though not all of them; those that remained became more selective and cautious.

Why are there more and more scripts going to Sister Yanzi?

Mainly because investors are uneasy! Their money isn't blown in by the wind; although hiring Bai Liang is expensive and requires heavy profit-sharing, the precondition for profit-sharing is actually making money!

This guy's unbroken record of dominating film, TV, and variety shows is the best reassuring pill for all major investors.

With Bai Liang involved, financiers truly dare to throw money around!

The real winner takes all.

So no matter what insider rules or Beijing circle, Xiangjiang circle, this circle or that circle you cling to—if the money people want Bai Liang, what can you do?

Naturally, you smile the brightest smile possible~

Of course, the statement "So every male lead script Bai Liang gets bears Sister Yanzi's fingerprints" isn't entirely true.

There's one type of script rarely offered to him: BL dramas.

Just like many investors chase Bai Liang, after the BL dramas "Zhen Hun" in 2018 and "Chen Qing Ling" in 2019 became hits, everyone saw another way to play.

Combined with the explosive rise of idol survival shows in the variety scene, the term "BL 101" emerged naturally.

Dozens of works like "Shanhe Wen," "Hao Yi Xing," "Left Shoulder Has You," and "Zhang Gong An" entered production.

BL dramas don't need Bai Liang—in fact, many would rather use newcomers than male artists signed to other companies.

Because the revenue from selling BL drama copyrights is far less than the commercial partnerships gained after promoting an artist.

This whole thing is designed specifically to promote people; the promoted artists are the most valuable.

Why promote only one top male idol when you can promote two?

So few BL projects pursue Bai Liang—and of course, he won't accept them either.

But although they rarely come, they aren't nonexistent—one script is actively trying to get him.

That's right—the one Xiao Nai took.

The kid didn't suddenly turn weird; he just still wants to cling to a big leg, thinking it's better to "ship" with Bai Liang than with some other flops.

He nearly exposed Bai Liang's affair with his older female fans to her parents.

The tactic worked well—just a slight threat, and Xiao Nai immediately became obedient, never daring to suggest Bai Liang join him in a BL drama again~

As "Youth in the Wild" neared its wrap date, the production team's shooting schedule gradually lightened.

Meanwhile, Zhou Ye wrapped first.

Pushed down the stairs by Chen Duling, he tumbled and rolled all the way down—dead~

"First time acting and you're dead?" Bai Liang said to Zhou Ye with the expression of a veteran.

"Uh, yeah."

"The crew will give you a red envelope later—remember to spend it today~"

"Brother, you seem really experienced." Zhou Ye asked curiously.

Bai Liang began reminiscing about his glorious past: back in the day…

"You really kept acting and kept dying?" Zhou Ye's eyes widened.

"Yeah, then I finally got a role where I survived—I was overjoyed."

"Which role was that?"

"Xiao Nai."

Hmm, hearing this, it felt like Bai Liang was being a little too modest.

His first surviving role just blew up, right?

Zhou Ye scratched her head, thinking: this was my first dead role—will it make me famous too?

But earlier, she'd already gained massive traffic from her instant viral fame, and everyone called her "Easy-to-Go-Viral."

Her company had used this topic extensively for marketing.

From the initial battle for the female lead role to now, Zhou Ye had truly felt how amazing it was to hitch a ride with Bai Liang.

She hadn't even done a single project yet, yet she'd already built her name through these topics.

Many people knew her because of this, and some new fans even encouraged her under her Weibo posts: Miss, if you're acting with the Immortal, you're going to blow up!

Bai Liang: No need for thanks—the red envelope's here, let's go spend it together!

All that talk seemed just to trick the little girl into giving a red envelope.

But spending a girl's money is so much fun! Bai Liang had always loved this feeling, and it had nothing to do with how much it was.

It gave him more satisfaction than earning two hundred million himself.

But Zhou Ye wasn't someone who took losses lightly—during the wrap party that night, after sipping a bit of red wine, she drunkenly made an unreasonable request to Bai Liang.

She mumbled something like: The script's unreasonable! Why didn't Wei Lai fall in love with Xiao Bei at first sight?!

According to her, "Youth in the Wild" should've been a love triangle—with added rivalry scenes between Chen Nian and Wei Lai.

She imagined it beautifully~

But adding it now was impossible—Zhou Ye quietly suggested: Maybe we can experience it offline.

Then how do you experience it?

After the wrap party, the little girl wiped her mouth and skipped off happily.

Bai Liang touched the strawberry mark under his neck, then glanced at Chen Duling beside him, who looked utterly speechless—he thought today's young girls had too many tricks.

But she's already wrapped; fulfilling such a small wish isn't a big deal.

It's not like he had to kiss her publicly~

But no one expected that after wrapping, Zhou Ye came back the very next day.

Zhou Ye blinked her eyes innocently and said, "My home is in Shancheng—I'm totally reasonable being here, and I can visit my grandparents, stay with them for a few days."

Totally reasonable—caring for elders.

But her care felt anything but pure.

Zhou Ye, now wrapped but still not leaving the set, made Bai Liang feel like he'd gained a little dog—truly, wherever he went, she followed.

Even on the final day of filming, the little girl stumbled upon Chen Duling's secret craft.

The blushy little dog was no longer blushing—she'd turned into a curious little dog, but the little rabbit started blushing!

She grabbed her skirt and chased after her, "Kill!"

The curious little dog pushed the top student rabbit into becoming Hong Xing's Thirteen Sisters—paired with her buzzcut, she genuinely had that vibe.

Bai Liang didn't know what the two talked about after that "chase," but Zhou Ye vanished that same day.

But whether spurred on or not, before leaving, she didn't forget to smack a kiss on Bai Liang's cheek and run.

She didn't say anything, because Chen Duling was still chasing her behind, skirt in hand.

Several days later, "Youth of Mine" was fully wrapped.

At the wrap party, Chen Duling didn't seem sad—she even looked happy.

Finally, she could disappear from Bai Liang's sight.

She rubbed her buzzcut and sighed, "Senior, when the movie comes out next year, my hair will have grown back."

It sounded exactly like that strange promise: "When my hair grows long enough to reach my waist…"

It had that campus romance vibe~

"Actually, you don't need to keep worrying about this," Bai Liang winked at her. "I can automatically add that filter for you."

Hmm. Hearing that was naturally pleasing, but Chen Duling said she couldn't forgive herself.

It wasn't that her appearance anxiety was truly that severe.

Mainly, it was the current entertainment industry's atmosphere.

Throughout August, aside from "Ne Zha" continuing to dominate the box office, every other hot topic was divorce.

It felt like the first half of the year, stars were busy getting married and having kids, and the second half, they rushed to hit their divorce KPIs—like Wen Zhang and Ma Yili.

Even neighboring South Korea joined the trend.

But their side seemed way more twisted—when Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo divorced, everyone kept reminiscing about the "after-door god" stories involving the sister.

Like being pushed to the point of anal prolapse.

Bai Liang used to not believe such overly private gossip—he thought, how could anyone possibly know this? Did someone hide under the bed? Or plant cameras in their homes?

Then came the real experts!

Again, South Korean stars—Koo Hye-sun and Ahn Jae-hyun divorced.

These two names were slightly unfamiliar; without checking, he wouldn't have recognized them.

But the Korean female star's self-revealed reason for divorce was explosive!

Only Koreans could say something like this?

Anyway, whether true or not, the lesson this sent out was clear: even glamorous female stars suffer from deep insecurity.

Chen Duling's situation now had indirect confirmation and explanation.

Bai Liang sincerely wished her hair would grow back quickly.

Then he casually forwarded all these divorce trending topics to his mom.

After all, if he didn't forward them, his mom would send him articles about early marriage and early childbearing.

Strike first, gain advantage!

But Bai's mom replied: I support you getting divorced!

That move was extremely powerful—because divorce requires marriage first.

Defeated, Bai Liang could only hunker down and pretend he was busy.

Funny enough, just as he wanted to pretend he had something to do, something actually came up.

But this time, it wasn't because of a girl—it was because of Peng Yuchang.

He had a movie coming out soon, called something like "The Great Wish" or "The Little Wish."

But right before release, the lead actor vanished.

Unlike others in the industry who fought over billing, Peng Yuchang stepped down himself and went straight to war!

The guy who always looked so clueless on "Go Fighting!" was surprisingly fierce on this front.

He even posted the contract, claiming he wasn't fighting for top billing—he was accusing the other party of breaching the contract, since the contract clearly stated he was the lead actor.

This matter involved Bai Liang because the actor who suddenly replaced Peng Yuchang as the lead in "The Little Wish" was Taiwanese artist Wang Wang Dalu.

The long-standing practice of Xiangjiang and Taiwanese artists overshadowing mainland actors in films and TV dramas was nothing new.

Even worse, a famous director once openly said he didn't even need to act—he just wanted to use mainland actors to elevate his own artists' status.

In recent years, the three from Yanfan Sect had achieved the most success in this area.

Ruan Miss Jing Tian made Wen Zhang, once a sensation, play a supporting role—and even had Huang Xiaoming play the villain boss for him.

Zhao Youqing could co-star with Zhao Yanzi and still make Huang Bo play a supporting role.

Peng Yuyan dared to switch seats at the Weibo Movie Night.

Bai Liang was dragged into this precisely because last year he and Li Bingbing "duo-pai" together at the Movie Night, having jointly taken on Peng Yuyan.

It's the biggest recent case of directly confronting those who love pulling shady moves.

It's hard not for netizens to come out and support Peng Peng.

And in netizens' eyes, what the hell is Wang Dalu? How dare he try to ride Peng Peng's coattails?

Do you even know who he was sitting shoulder to shoulder with at the Movie Night?

Just pull up the guest list—it'll scare you shitless~

Many even went to Bai Liang's Weibo to "file complaints," saying nonsense like Peng Peng was being bullied by Taiwan guys.

Actually, some insiders have already come out in support of Peng Peng; after all, how can someone deny something clearly written in black and white on a contract? That's just too much, it has nothing to do with reneging on roles—it's about defending rights!

Of course, everyone's comments were still restrained, using polite language, mostly encouraging and supporting Peng Peng.

Until this guy, Bai Liang, showed up.

He had just lost a battle with his mom and wanted to play a couple games to relieve stress, venting at teammates and opponents.

Seeing this opportunity, he immediately rushed over to fan the flames.

Bai Liang: Fuck, there's this shit? Beat the fuck out of him~

Offline, Bai Liang is refined and gentle; online, the Immortal is wildly temperamental.

It was like returning to the days when he "duo-pai" online with Lin Gengxin, cursing at black fans.

Netizens were absolutely delighted, exclaiming "Holy shit!" and chanting "White Boss is the real deal!"

Of course, this comment under Peng Peng's Weibo post was deleted a few minutes after posting, much to Sister Yanzi's exasperation.

After all, it was far too aggressive—Bai Liang is currently the top influencer, with massive attention; he still needs to be a bit careful.

So she helped him rewrite it into something more refined.

Do you need legal assistance?

The handsome guy who passed the bar exam is making a limited-time return.

Of course, in this day and age, celebrities' instant deletions are useless, let alone someone like Bai Liang with such sky-high attention.

But it doesn't really matter—even if it spread, everyone just watched for the entertainment, and no one jumped out to accuse Bai Liang of low character.

Even his rivals didn't bother using this to stir up noise against Bai Liang.

And who dares to black him?

Bai Liang's wording was indeed too crude, but his words might have struck a nerve with some people.

Peng Peng's reply came quickly—he posted a cheeky emoji and added, "I've already entrusted Cousin Liang's law firm to handle it."

Ah, so Cousin's business is booming.

Bai Liang figured he'd have to squeeze something out of his cousin during the New Year—she seemed to have taken on plenty of entertainment industry cases.

This incident was just an actor defending his rights, netizens joining the fun, and entertainment-seekers jumping in.

But many signals within it caught people's attention and struck them as highly significant.

Fundamentally, the new generation of actors no longer treats Taiwan's capital seriously.

First, Peng Peng stepped in directly; then Bai Liang, the new generation's top figure, took a clear stance. To some, this was a dangerously clear signal.

Sure enough, the reaction came fast—someone immediately reached out to Sister Yanzi to pass along a message.

Sister Yanzi was initially surprised: Huh? Is this pressure?

Fine, fine! She'd see who had the guts~

But the person came to apologize, spouting the usual nonsense about misunderstandings.

It made Sister Yanzi laugh—why come apologize to us, to Little White? Not to Peng Peng? What a face!

After a few lukewarm exchanges, she burst out laughing:

"Crazy. Golden Horse Award winner? Who the hell wants to attend your Golden Horse Awards?"

Honestly, in the past, the Golden Horse Awards were indeed a significant boost for actors, with high overall prestige in the Chinese entertainment circle.

But after last year's incident, the Golden Horse Awards became nothing but a self-indulgent prize for Taiwan's entertainment circle.

Even Xiangjiang artists won't bother showing up if they still want to make a living on the mainland.

This year's Golden Rooster Awards even announced their date to coincide exactly with the Golden Horse Awards—held in Xiamen, not far away.

The intent behind this was unmistakably clear.

So how much prestige does the Golden Horse Awards still have left?

In just one year, everything turned upside down.

Sister Yanzi: Better than Weibo Movie Night.

——

Less than an hour left before the monthly vote expires~ Don't forget to vote!

(End of Chapter)