Chapter 419: This Time, I Really Did Invite Him!

Wearing again the red official robe of the Song Dynasty, Bai Liang felt a strange sense of déjà vu, as if he had become Gu Tingye once more.

Unfortunately, Minglan wasn't here.

The director didn't even bother to invite Xiao Zhao Jie to make a cameo—she hadn't seen her in a while.

Zhang Kaizhou: It's not that we can't invite her.

Jiang Shuying: Please, have mercy on me~

The original supporting roles and cameos were already undermining her visually; if they brought Xiao Zhao in too, it would be another blow to her status and fame—she'd truly spiral into depression playing the female lead.

Everyone was stealing her spotlight; no one had told her before that Zhengwu Yangguang's dramas were this insane~

Though she understood the concept of an ensemble cast, she was counting on this drama to make her "explode" in popularity.

Still, Jiang Shuying knew how to think.

This drama, *Qing Ping Le*, would be finished soon anyway, and she had another important role lined up afterward.

It was called *Thirty Is Just Right*.

This drama focused on the life struggles and survival pain points faced by women aged thirty, told from the perspectives of three thirty-year-old women, depicting the multiple pressures urban women encounter at this pivotal age.

Originally, *Thirty Is Just Right* was supposed to be filmed first, but one of the female leads, after being cast as Tong Tong Liya, had scheduling issues, so they later replaced her with Tong Yao.

Of course, scheduling issues were a perfectly good excuse.

The real situation was that the character Gu Jia had originally been scripted with a plot where the husband cheated and the wife chose to forgive.

The script mirrored real-life experiences so precisely that if it aired, the actress herself would be terribly embarrassed.

Fan backlash was so intense it actually influenced the artist's personal decisions.

So even though Tong Tong Liya had attended the press conference and stood firmly in the center position, she still withdrew from the role.

Of course, that incident was already in the past.

But for Jiang Shuying, this was good news—after Tong Tong Liya withdrew, the replacement Tong Yao had a dark past and currently lacked the clout to steal her top billing.

Now, watching Bai Liang on set, she couldn't help but start brainstorming: since he was so easygoing, could she somehow convince him to make a cameo in *Thirty Is Just Right* too?

First, she assessed her relationship with Bai Liang.

Hmm… it was probably pretty good; though they didn't interact much on *Flowers for the Young 3*, she got along well with Na Zha.

Because Na Zha was the type who'd be delighted if you praised her beauty—just compliment her looks, and she'd think you were a great person.

On the show, Jiang Shuying clearly didn't have the confidence to outshine Na Zha in looks, so she took the "down-to-earth" route instead.

She constantly made fun of herself, saying things like she wouldn't dare appear with Na Zha without makeup.

So Na Zha actually liked her quite a bit~

Thus, on that show, Jiang Shuying was the second-most interactive female guest with Bai Liang, essentially playing the sidekick to their "romance," just to get camera time.

But unfortunately, that was all the connection they had—they'd never collaborated on a single drama.

There was no way around it; she simply wasn't on his level.

Too many female artists at her tier wanted to act alongside Bai Liang, and her age was awkwardly positioned.

She belonged to the '85 generation, but she couldn't compete with Yang Mi, Zhao Liying, Miss Jing Tian, and others—she could only fight in the younger generation's arena.

But there were plenty of fierce new '90s actresses emerging; even just the "New Jiangnan Twin Beauties" were enough to give many others a run for their money.

Over the past two years, many female actors in the industry had finally woken up.

Damn it.

You two have been acting like you're really fighting these past few years—are you genuinely fighting or just putting on a show?

And under the spotlight of these two biggest stars, others kept popping up—on first glance, the '90s arena seemed even more cutthroat!

Then there's Zhang Tian'ai, who shamelessly changed her birth year to '90s.

As for the '95s… looking at Meng Jie and Wang Churan on set, Jiang Shuying thought the young girls were a bit exaggerated~

They were all so stunningly beautiful.

"What are you thinking about? Come on, let's get some fruit~" Bai Liang walked over carrying a bag of fruit, just as Jiang Shuying was making a series of dramatic frowns.

Does this girl have this many worries?

But upon seeing Bai Liang arrive, she instantly brightened, speaking in an exaggerated tone: "Thank you so much~ You came for a cameo and still had to buy fruit—I feel so guilty, how about I treat you to dinner tonight?"

This sounded odd, since Bai Liang hadn't been invited by Jiang Shuying to cameo.

He wouldn't say anything to embarrass her, so he just smiled and said: "These were bought by Meng Jie—I can't take credit for them~"

Bought by Meng Jie?

Just a moment ago, the fruit had looked delicious to Jiang Shuying; now she suddenly didn't feel like eating any at all.

With no reason left to treat Bai Liang to dinner, she immediately started brainstorming a new idea.

But the next second, Bai Liang casually said: "You've got something you want to ask me, right? What is it~"

"Uh… I have a rather audacious request~"

"Go on."

"There's a drama—do you have time to make a cameo?"

"Sure."

"If you're busy, then forget it?"

They stared at each other. Jiang Shuying wondered if her ears were broken—what had Bai Liang just said?

"I said sure~"

Ah yes, that's it!

Wait a minute!

Jiang Shuying's eyes widened to their maximum, "How did you know what I was thinking?"

"I have mind-reading skills," Bai Liang said after taking a bite of the apple.

"Really?!"

Every time I get tricked, but this time it's different.

Many women who seem cunning are, in fact, quite shallow in certain ways~

What bullshit mind-reading? This is just some psychology trivia Bai Liang picked up two days ago out of boredom.

It's not that he suddenly wanted to study this stuff—he was just pretending to be studious while promoting "My People, My Country."

I seriously suspect he just wanted to look like a book-loving, hardworking son in front of his parents.

Arthur lost interest in the psychology book after one day, but Bai Liang picked it up and flipped through it twice.

Psychology isn't that magical—it's just Jiang Shuying too obvious.

So Bai Liang advised Wang Churan that if she wanted to learn some little green-tea tactics, she shouldn't learn from Jiang Shuying.

You won't learn any real "skills."

Wang Churan, now under Meng Jie's "request" to sneakily find out what Bai Liang was talking about with the "bad woman," wore an innocent expression.

Heh, for some reason, she understood Bai Liang's gaze.

Brother, how could I possibly be a green tea~

Bai Liang: You're the one who really has mind-reading!

By the time Bai Liang was "taken home" by the little sister, Jiang Shuying was still dazed, not quite processing it.

She didn't even notice Wang Churan's subtle eye-roll as she turned to leave.

She was just mulling over two things: one—could he really have mind-reading?

The other—did he just agree so directly?

It felt too easy, like it wasn't real.

"'Thirty Is Just Right'? Just a cameo, right?"

When Sister Yanzi learned Bai Liang's schedule had added this line, she made no objection and arranged it right away.

Added to the itinerary.

She had no issue with her little Bai brother doing cameos—even though most paid nothing, and people like Wu Dong were still too rare.

But in the entertainment circle, doing cameos for favors was better than taking on trash roles.

Some insiders' reputations as kind old men were ruined this way~

While Sister Yanzi was discussing the cameo details with the production team, it so happened that Mao Xiaotong and her agent were chatting with the director and producer about screen time.

Besides Tong Yao and Jiang Shuying, she was one of the three female leads, though her billing was last.

"Director, what's so funny?" Mao Xiaotong teased, noticing Director Zhang Xiaobo's grin.

"Our shoot's about to start, and a big name is coming."

"Who?"

"Bai Liang!"

"Is he coming to visit me?" Mao Xiaotong blurted out.

At this, the director, producer, and her agent all froze with strange expressions.

Huh?

Realizing she'd slipped, Mao Xiaotong quickly tried to recover: "Ahem—he's my good friend, we even…."

"Caught him cheating," her agent added.

After all, that incident had made huge waves; explaining their friendship this way made perfect sense.

Actually, she'd been the most suspicious ever since filming "You Are My Glory," sensing something off about Mao Xiaotong.

But now she still had to help smooth things over.

"Yes, yes, heard of him."

Since they said so, the director and others naturally replied: We believe you.

But how convenient.

Since you two are so close… then let Bai Liang cameo as her character's role.

Mao Xiaotong hesitated slightly, then silently agreed.

She'd just watched Bai Liang's documentary and been terrified—but for various reasons, hadn't reached out to say anything.

When we meet again, I'll scold him properly!

Was that dangerous stunt really that cool?

Jiang Shuying:??? This time I really invited him!

——

The best way to sustain heat around any trending event is to keep adding new drama.

Bai Liang's documentary "Summit" originally dominated trending lists solely through its content.

But after two or three days, the buzz inevitably began to fade.

After all, it wasn't a theatrical film continuously promoted.

But new drama arrived immediately.

From a very heavyweight guest.

The National Day holiday vanished in a flash; the National Day box office surge was slowly fading.

Films like "The Chinese Pilot" and "My People, My Country" saw their box office growth slow to a crawl; as time passed, audiences began seeking the next wave of cinematic excitement.

The Spring Festival film lineup would undoubtedly become the new focal point.

The newly finished "First Out" was aimed squarely as one of this year's Spring Festival blockbusters.

This film bills itself as "Wolf Warrior 2" + "The Red Sea Action" + Brother Cheng's signature action-comedy.

Anyway, some marketing accounts do say it like that—something about how it has both the glorification of individual heroism and the great righteousness of collective heroism.

Similar to the setup of *Wolf Warrior 2*, evacuating and rescuing trapped compatriots, protecting other people who have been harmed.

Hmm. So Number One Brother Cheng is being benchmarked against Wu Jing, and Number Two Yang Yang is being benchmarked against Bai Liang?

Right now it does have a bit of that flavor.

But marketing accounts can write it that way—when actors are being interviewed, of course they wouldn't say things like that.

After all, Yang Yang's psychological shadow is still pretty heavy; he doesn't even want to mention Bai Liang, always feeling that if he brings him up, nothing good will come of it for sure.

And when Brother Cheng was being interviewed, he first put on a big show of praising Yang Yang, saying he took the initiative to challenge high-difficulty action scenes, insisted on not using a stunt double, and although he got injured, it didn't hold up the filming schedule—very hardworking.

In addition, Brother Cheng added: "Using a stunt double is both fast and safe—when one stunt double gets hurt, there's a second, a third, but he did everything himself."

Yang Yang standing off to the side was very "well-behaved," so happy at the praise that he couldn't "close his mouth," and even humbly said he was "not a patch on Brother Cheng in his younger days."

The content itself was pretty normal, but Brother Cheng couldn't help shifting his tone and starting to criticize the little fresh meat in the industry for being unable to take hardship.

The media were used to it, because Brother Cheng had criticized them more than once.

Things like "can't take hardship," "bowing their heads playing on their phones," "can't find them when they're not filming~," "too many assistants," "."

Exactly like an old uncle earnestly lecturing you during New Year.

But Uncle Long really is at that age now, so it feels pretty normal.

However, this time, the media who love stirring things up kept up their stable performance for another round.

They asked Brother Cheng what he thought of this "little fresh meat," Bai Liang.

That's treating people like fools—how could Brother Cheng possibly bring his fire to bear on the man currently sitting at the top of the box office?

But that wasn't the reporters' real goal; before he could answer, they asked him what he thought of Bai Liang's latest film.

Most importantly: could you have done it when you were young?

Brother Cheng: The dangerous stunts in movies? Then I definitely could! When I was young, people used to say I drank bull's blood~

Turns out these media had long since prepared a clip of footage and showed it to him directly.

"Is this a clip from a movie?" Brother Cheng put on his glasses, studied it for a moment, and asked.

"No, this is a documentary. It's real."

"Huh?"

Yang Yang: Yep, that's exactly that bewildered expression.

Seeing Brother Cheng's face full of bewilderment and incomprehension, he inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief inside.

After all, when Bai Liang expanded his "strike range" from targeting a few of them top stars to the entire entertainment industry, the original "victims" naturally couldn't help hoping he'd "drag more people down" with him.

That way it would prove: it's not that we couldn't beat him—it's that this guy is just too freakishly abnormal!

Look—someone who's filmed for a lifetime and taken so many injuries doing it, Brother Cheng, was completely thrown for a loop.

After studying that video over and over, he said with great certainty: "You're messing with me, right? This has to be a scene from a movie."

"It's real," Yang Yang reminded him quietly.

"You're sure?"

"Sure," Yang Yang nodded again. How could he not be sure? He'd called to check.

Of course, asking about that was just on the side; the main reason he contacted Bai Liang was to ask whether he had any film scheduled for the Spring Festival window this year.

Afraid this guy would pull a "surprise attack"—he really didn't want to face him again.

And after getting two confirmations from Yang Yang, Brother Cheng studied the clip a few more times, and finally couldn't help sighing to the camera that he really was getting old.

Netizens: Not old, not old—you're still contributing memes~

In this interview, Brother Cheng's look of surprise that he couldn't close his mouth was gleefully taken up by netizens everywhere for some spoofing.

(End of chapter)