Chapter 415: He

"Huh? What's with that look?"

Bai Liang, having completed today's "Thieves Never Leave Empty-Handed" achievement, felt quite pleased.

Learning languages is great! You've got to learn them all~

But then he turned and saw the strange expressions on his buddies' faces. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. That flower of yours." Jing Bieran stared at the Gesang flower in Bai Liang's hand, his tone unsure whether it was envy or resentment.

Hearing this, Bai Liang shoved the thing into his pocket. "A young lady gave it to me."

"A young lady? She was born in '86—she's thirty-three."

"Oh, really?" Bai Liang rubbed his chin, thinking. "No wonder she speaks so sweetly. Turns out mature women really know how to care. Don't you think, Jing Bao?"

Jing Bieran: How the hell should I know?

But male pride forced him to nod in agreement. "Yeah, yeah, that's right."

"You've been filming with her so long—romantic scenes too. You must've gotten something out of it, right?"

"The weather's pretty nice today." Jing Bieran changed the subject with brutal awkwardness.

But Bai Liang had finally caught him off guard—he wasn't letting him off that easily.

"You know that meme on Douyin? It's still hot—when a girl says: 'I can't leave Shenshan, so take a Gesang flower with you.'"

Jing Bieran silently waved him off, indicating he didn't use Douyin.

No problem—it's not too late to watch now~ Bai Liang was so thoughtful, he immediately offered: "I'll forward it to you!"

Jing Bieran: Brother, just leave me alone.

At that moment, he finally understood what Wu Jing had felt—when Bai Liang got into one of his mischievous moods, there was truly nothing you could do.

Today's premiere in Shanghai also attracted a sunglasses-wearing poser.

He didn't know why he'd suddenly decided to attend this premiere—it was just a whim.

After all, many things in this world exist without needing a reason!

Like pouring yourself a cup of non-green green tea every single dinner for three months straight.

You don't drink it, don't look at it, don't even want to, but you also won't let it get cold.

Or perhaps it's simply that what you can't forget will eventually echo back.

The movie itself left him unmoved after watching, but afterward, he discovered a surprise.

Bai Liang, holding the Gesang flower, gave a slight nod to the Tibetan girl, his face breaking into a gentle smile.

In that moment, the sunglasses poser suddenly felt a strong urge to capture this scene.

So he asked someone beside him, "Does he speak many local dialects?"

"Director Wang? Who?"

"Bai Liang."

"I only know he speaks Xinjiang dialect well—apparently because he dated two Xinjiang girlfriends," the man joked.

"Has he ever dated a Shanghai girlfriend?"

"I have no idea—that's personal."

The sunglasses poser studied Bai Liang carefully, then nodded to himself. "He definitely dated one! That's why he speaks Shanghai dialect."

Bai Liang sensed something and turned to look back.

He locked eyes with a pair of sunglasses.

Shit~ This guy is such a poser! Who wears sunglasses inside a movie theater?

After chuckling inwardly, Bai Liang didn't think much of it.

After all, human diversity guarantees all kinds of individual differences.

He's seen even crazier people~

Or rather—he himself was the crazier one.

Getting from the entrance of the Peace Hotel to the rooftop takes ten minutes to climb, one minute by elevator, but only three seconds to jump down.

But hardly any normal person thinks jumping down is easier.

Zhufeng is the same.

——

After the premiere of "The Climbers," many of the lead actors had to shift over to "My People, My Country."

That film was the real super-sized ensemble.

So Bai Liang could keep "tormenting" Wu Jing—they'd definitely go together.

But Wu Jing found his counterattack: he began asking Bai Liang what it was like filming under Chen Kaige.

He thought he was brilliant for coming up with this angle to mess with Bai Liang.

"Director Chen is famously stubborn—didn't he yell at you a lot on set?"

"Huh?" Bai Liang stared at Wu Jing, baffled. The Chen Kaige in his mouth didn't seem like the Chen Kaige he knew.

But Wu Jing's description was actually more accurate.

Although Chen Kaige usually seemed quite gentle, smiled constantly on camera, and even liked reciting poetry.

He was nicknamed "Poetry Prodigy."

But during the preview of this year's "Actors, Please Step Forward," when the guests were chatting together, Chen Kaige came up.

According to Ajiao's livestream reveal, when she worked with Chen Kaige, his aura was so powerful that she felt afraid to breathe on set—even coughing had to be suppressed, hidden from his sight.

In his early days, he even yelled at his own wife, Chen Hong, right in front of everyone—so harshly she burst into tears.

Bai Liang: No need for "early days"—I personally witnessed how he yelled at his own son this year.

But precisely because Ase was bearing the burden, Bai Liang enjoyed his own ease and comfort.

And unlike others who easily got intimidated by Chen Kaige's aura, Bai Liang wasn't fooled by any of that.

Even when Chen Kaige threw tantrums, creating a low-pressure atmosphere that made the entire crew tremble, Bai Liang still chatted and laughed with his wife as if nothing happened.

Chen the great director didn't say anything like, "You don't respect me," and then pile on the pressure.

So Wu Jing's talk about pressure and humiliation on set? He had none of it.

Wu Jing: Really? I don't believe you!

Faced with Wu Jing, who'd turned into a pike, Bai Liang didn't bother arguing with this argumentative bastard.

That night, the two gathered people for a drinking session, and the next day, at the premiere of My People, My Country, it proved he hadn't been boasting at all.

"Dou Xiao Bai, are you hot? I'll have someone bring you something cold." The moment they met, Chen Hong warmly greeted Bai Liang, almost reaching out to wipe his sweat.

No, not "almost"—she actually wiped Bai Liang's sweat.

A normal person would politely decline, saying they weren't hot, not to trouble her.

But Bai Liang didn't bother with formalities with this big sister. "What's to drink? Got any chilled soda?"

"Drink less cola—you're still young, it's bad for your health. How about some cool herbal tea?"

"I want cola~"

"."

Wu Jing's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he stared at Bai Liang in utter disbelief.

When Chen Hong went personally to fetch Bai Liang's drink, he couldn't help elbowing him. "You bastard—did you steal your way into Chen's family?"

"What nonsense! She's my sister~ I'll tell her what you just said, and she'll punish you."

What did Wu Jing think Bai Liang was, anyway?

Chen Hong was fifty!

"No no no, I give up, I give up! Brother Liang, protect me!"

Wu Jing instantly surrendered, then seemed to realize something, his eyes lighting up.

Hehe!

He'd been worried about how he'd get along with Chen Kaige during the filming of The Battle at Lake Changjin.

But now that Bai Liang had already infiltrated the "inner circle," he'd have a buffer for everything later.

So it wouldn't get too ugly.

Originally, Wu Jing thought Bai Liang was just good with women, which explained why he was so close to Chen Hong.

But when he saw Chen Kaige smile the moment he spotted Bai Liang, he was truly shocked!

Add to that Arthur's fanboy-like adoration.

Okay okay okay, so little brother already maxed out everyone's favor points in the family?

Then when they shoot The Battle at Lake Changjin, it'll be their two brothers' home turf—do whatever they want!

Honestly, stop calling him "Great Immortal." Just call him a succubus.

One that works on both men and women.

After greeting them, Wu Jing secretly glanced at Chen Kaige and had a strange thought: I wonder what it's like to be a tyrant on Chen Kaige's set.

Bai Liang: It's pretty good~ My first time being a tyrant was on his set.

My People, My Country actually felt like it launched Main Melody 2.0.

Previous Main Melody films mostly had a documentary feel, using grand, solemn strokes to depict national achievements and showcase great leaders, resembling TV news documentaries.

The Founding of a Republic and The Founding of a Party both belonged to this category.

In the 2.0 era, it seemed to break free from the old mindset, no longer relying on sweeping historical narratives, but instead focusing on ordinary individuals within the grand era, telling the big times through small people.

The film consists of seven short films, each directed by a top-tier Chinese director from the old, middle, and young generations.

Someone wrote a diary, someone wrote a thesis, someone wrote an essay, someone wrote poetry—this scene was like the "Gaokao of cinema!"

Since it was a "Gaokao," there had to be rankings.

Whoever lost looked embarrassed—the older the director, the heavier the pressure.

In the "Before the Dawn" segment, Huang Bo's accented lines left an extremely deep impression, lingering in the mind, never fading.

"Twenty-eight years of revolution, twenty million lives sacrificed—for this red flag."

"Do you think what rises is just a piece of red cloth?!"

The most moving segment, "Encounter," though centered on the "atomic bomb explosion," cleverly shifted the "main battlefield," creating an "atomic bomb explosion where the protagonist was absent."

Eighty percent of the scenes unfold on a crowded, moving bus, while the grand event rages noisily outside the windows.

"Encounter" has two unforgettable moments: one at the start, where Gao Yuan is washed by a high-pressure water jet, blood slowly seeping from his mask; the other at the end, where the two are swept apart in a surging crowd—Gao Yuan removes his mask, and their final smile as they lock eyes becomes their last meeting.

In the "Ding Qiu" segment, Xu Zheng uses a childhood crush to enter the historical event of the women's volleyball team's championship win—adorable and romantic; the narrow alleyways, the chill of a sliced watermelon—like a summer battle of impossible choices.

The relatively conservative "Return" segment focuses entirely on one core concept: time!

"We've waited 154 years—we can't wait another second."

"Escort" uses recurring flashbacks during flight to dredge up and trace the emotional journey of a female pilot—from childhood to adolescence, through every setback in her growth.

"Beijing Hello" is a comedy steeped in Beijing flavor, where a lost but perpetually over-energized middle-aged Beijing man hides unexpected warmth in his chaotic reality.

And "Daytime Meteor," personally directed by Chen Kaige as the overall director, was naturally the most watched of the seven segments.

Not just film fans paid attention—entertainment seekers did too.

Still reciting poetry, Director Chen?

But this time, Director Chen said: I've found the balance between romance and down-to-earth realism.

Although he himself didn't quite understand how he found it—he just knew he had.

In fact, "Daytime Meteor" might have been the hardest subject of all.

Any story set in poverty finds poverty ruling all logic—art has almost no space.

To address and mend the barbarism and despair behind poverty, art is too fragile and insignificant before them.

Aside from the crude deus ex machina, there seems to be only one solution.

"I'm a thief, but I hope my younger brother never has to become one."

The boy in the mud, when gazing at the stars, holds the most sincere and simple wish.

——

What rises on the flagpole is not merely a red cloth; what appears in the newspaper is not just a name.

Outside the television, love's first flutter was missed; inside the Bird's Nest, fortune was exchanged.

The second hand precisely measured a century's wait; the meteor slashed through the urgency of returning home.

The women's volleyball team's championship ended the shortest unspoken crush; the nuclear explosion revealed the longest silence.

The Olympic opening ceremony redeemed the greatest fortune; Hong Kong's return calibrated the longest longing.

Seven stories, seven distinct styles, yet none created a sense of "incompatibility."

The reason is that they all depict the ordinary people behind the cross-section of history.

"Director Chen really nailed it this time!" Wu Jing whispered in admiration.

Bai Liang took a sip of cola, thinking that this time, "Bai Zhou Meteor" probably wouldn't rank last.

Come to think of it, Chen Kaige is truly impressive—those visuals were shot incredibly well!

He is the top in this aspect among all directors Bai Liang has worked with; though these great directors all face some criticism, each has their own unique mastery.

The film's shots depicting the relationship between nature and characters, its use of color, and its composition are textbook-quality excellence.

And this "double pairing" collaboration between the two was executed quite well.

Chen Kaige himself could feel the looks around him—oh my, it worked!

He felt a surge of joy inside.

Still, in his happiness, he generously praised Bai Liang when joining the other directors onstage.

Some of the words he used made Bai Liang almost embarrassed—phrases like "benchmark for young actors" and "young actors today should learn from."

"Wait a minute—is Old Chen trying to stir up hatred against me?" Bai Liang rubbed his chin, wondering if this wasn't a case of backhanded praise.

"Bro, I think you don't even need anyone else to stir up hatred for you," Peng Yuchang, sitting behind him, couldn't help saying.

"Really?"

"Yes! My dad genuinely admires you."

Oh~ Ah Shi, you're here too.

By the way, Ah Shi didn't object to Bai Liang calling his father "Old Chen"—in fact, he thought the nickname was pretty cool.

He planned to try calling him that next time.

No need to wait for next time—better to strike while the iron is hot.

Ah Shi's performance this time was decent too; after all, Bai Liang and his father piled on the pressure, and his role was inherently that of a confused, slightly dim-witted kid—nothing too challenging for him.

Just now, some audience members even complimented him.

"The little dummy acted really well~"

So, moved by his father's satisfied smile, Ah Shi today launched into an impassioned speech!

"I hope that in two years, or a few years from now, someone will say, 'He's your dad.'"

Who's whose dad?

Bai Liang, standing beside him, nearly burst out laughing—dude, too soon!

And you're way too aggressive.

Even Bai Liang, who's so awesome, never thought of making his own dad call him "Dad."

It's outright rebellion against heaven!

Being constantly labeled as someone's son is, for any young person, an unwanted tag.

Not everyone is like Bai Liang, who practically glues labels like "Mom's big boy" and "Grandma's good grandson" onto himself.

Though there's a risk of being called a mama's boy, he doesn't really care.

Most boys, however, more desperately wish to escape their fathers' shadows and prove themselves.

But in truth, this is a false dilemma—especially when you've entered the very field your father occupies.

No matter how much you claim to have done it on your own, people will still show your father respect.

Just look—today, the stars in the audience still offered kind smiles.

Watching Ah Shi, this "big boy," blush and laugh nervously, they burst into laughter.

Fortunately, Chen Kaige wasn't angry—he was in a good mood today and smiled broadly.

Oh, by the way, Ah Shi eventually fulfilled today's wish.

It happened during the filming of a variety show, when a non-celebrity guest mistook him for someone else's son.

They confused him and said he was Zhang Yimou's son.

Hmm… it was, at least temporarily, a release from Chen Kaige's halo.

——

The National Day holiday box office began on September 30; "My People, My Country," "China's Captain," and "The Climbers" earned 285 million, 210 million, and 169 million yuan respectively, accounting for 99.6% of total box office!

Compared to the same period last year, the daily box office more than doubled.

The next day, the box office hit a new high, surpassing 800 million yuan!

"My People, My Country" earned 388 million, "China's Captain" 260 million, and "The Climbers" 139 million.

Undoubtedly, "The Climbers" started to lag.

Remember, on its opening day, "The Climbers" had the highest screening share—even slightly higher than "My People, My Country."

The audience's expectations for this film were the highest at the very beginning.

Just hearing the title "My People, My Country" makes a lot of people subconsciously not want to watch it, feeling it's just a typical main-melody piece promoting positive energy — films like this have even been slammed hard enough to get their Douban ratings locked.

The lead of the other one, "The Captain of China," clearly doesn't have the box-office pulling power of Wu Jing, so it makes perfect sense that "The Climbers" got the most screenings.

But the result turned out to be different from what many people imagined.

Apart from "The Captain of China" indeed sitting in the middle with a steady performance, the actual showings of "My People, My Country" and "The Climbers" swapped positions.

After five days in theaters, "My People, My Country" is number one at the box office, clearly heading toward two billion.

But whether it can hit three billion is hard to say — this film still doesn't have that super phenomenon-level momentum.

The real super phenomenon-level films this year are only two.

The Spring Festival slot's "The Wandering Earth," and the summer slot's "Ne Zha."

At this point "Ne Zha" actually hadn't finished its run yet — it had the extended keycode boost, but with the impact of the National Day slot, its box office was basically fixed.

Six point five billion!

Bai Liang's personal cumulative box office has exceeded twenty-six billion. Even if you take "Ne Zha" out, he'd still have twenty billion.

Who can blame it — "My People, My Country" has started to hit its stride.

In this one he really is the lead, although only in one of the segments.

But if you don't count it for him, then you can't count it for anyone else, and the fan groups offended would be more than one.

They can only pinch their noses and watch him hanging high up in the twenty-billion box office club, all alone seeking a worthy opponent.

No choice — keep on bashing Wu Jing!

You know, "The Captain of China" also passed one billion at the box office, but "The Climbers" didn't even reach half of "The Captain of China."

Wu Jing was subjected to all kinds of verbal attacks and written condemnations.

The massive "Wolf Warrior" PTSD crowd finally found a good opportunity and mobilized en masse.

The haters can only blame Chen Kaige for being "useless" — why couldn't he "play it steady" and drop a big one, dragging Bai Liang down with him while he was at it.

Now they've been left with nothing to trash but "Wolf Warrior."

Fortunately, Wu Jing himself isn't really afraid of this — the audience is still quite tolerant of him.

It's not like he'd be completely dragged down by one "The Climbers."

Anyone with eyes can tell whose fault this film really is. He's already given it his all — after all, nobody asked him to be a trinity.

The thing that truly makes Wu Jing feel like he's been screwed by a dog is about to come out! —

This chapter was originally meant to be written in the early hours yesterday, but yesterday I drove on the highway for a long time heading back to my hometown, and I couldn't hold on and fell asleep.

Really sorry about that.

(End of this chapter)