Chapter 430: Having You Is My Blessing

Bai Liang hadn't expected that remark from Na Zha—"Was it you?"—to have a sequel.

After he returned to the set of "The Age of Awakening" to film, Wu Moufan's case had gradually settled.

He didn't collapse or quit the internet; he was arrested.

That old bastard is basically waiting for sentencing; pulling up the radish brought up the mud—he was found guilty of a pile of offenses, and ten years minimum is unavoidable.

But the impact of this incident wasn't just a reminder to entertain industry players to cherish their careers—it actually sparked a bizarre rumor.

It claimed that Li Yifeng and Wu Moufan were both brought down by Bai Liang.

In both cases, you could smell the hand of Bai Liang's team behind the scenes.

Actually, this reasoning was pretty weak; although Sister Yanzi did act, who else wasn't sneaking in a blow?

This was the fall of a top streamer!

Think back to when Fan Fan Bingbing "fell"—you know how big the commotion was; everyone was waiting for the "whale fall."

One top streamer falling lets many others get a taste of meat.

Three top streamers have fallen in two years; for artists untouched by the backlash or not dragged down, it felt like a feast.

Feast time!

In essence, it wasn't much different from hyenas feasting.

From the moment these two were exposed, a crowd had already been hoping they'd die.

Players who participated in both top-streamer "fall" limited events weren't just Bai Liang's team.

Sister Yanzi got caught only because her target was too big.

More accurately, Bai Liang's target was too big.

Who knows which malicious soul had a sudden brilliant idea and cooked up this rumor?

Maybe to lure the "remnant fans" of these two to attack Bai Liang~

After all, weren't there people saying they'd storm the execution ground?

Brain-dead fans really say anything.

But honestly, even in their prime, these two couldn't beat Bai Liang—now, in this state, even his fans don't need to lift a finger; netizens can just hammer them to death.

"Actually, plenty took advantage of the chaos to strike; why are you all staring at us? ~ Xiao Bai, you have no idea how wild it was back then—I spotted at least seven or eight teams jumping in, all afraid Wu Moufan wouldn't die thoroughly enough."

"Were there any of his former teammates involved?" Bai Liang asked, suddenly curious.

"Hard to say, but probably some."

Sister Yanzi regretfully admitted she was too busy swinging her hammer to notice who else was swinging theirs.

She only knew there were a ton of hammers—so many they were nearly leaving afterimages.

But Sister Yanzi mainly wanted to ask: should they do something to debunk this?

If it only spread within the industry, it wouldn't matter—it could even scare off petty villains.

But now that people online are saying it, it might damage Bai Liang's longstanding gentle, harmless image.

Of course, how to handle it still depends on Bai Liang's own decision.

Actually, having a slightly tougher image, showing some strength and being hard to provoke, wouldn't hurt.

Sister Yanzi had studied the public sentiment: since those two were truly one illegal and one criminal, even if the internet claimed Bai Liang was behind it, everyone just cheered—it wouldn't cause serious backlash.

"So here I am!"

A thunderclap split the sky—Dou Xiao Bai made a dazzling entrance~

"Is the chief editor coming here in person to do an interview again?" Bai Liang smiled.

Dou Xiao Bai chuckled, "This might be the chief editor's last interview with you."

"Huh? Quitting this job?"

"I mean, the next time I come to interview you, it'll probably be the deputy general."

So awesome!

Bai Liang gave her a thumbs-up. "At the upcoming Weibo Night awards, you won't be the one handing me the prize, right?"

"Then go talk to Sina's board and get Jia Zong to step down for me."

"Sure, sure—I think you'd do way better than him. Why not skip ahead? What do you think of Lao Cao's position?"

"I've been eyeing his chairman seat for ages!"

"."

One dared to speak; the other dared to agree.

The two began discussing how to oust the current Weibo CEO, Jia Zong, to put Dou Xiao Bai in his place.

They even started eyeing the chairman and CEO positions of Sina.

Zhao Jinmai: Is this something I'm supposed to hear?

She came to the "Age of Awakening" set today to report in; after arriving, she didn't find Bai Liang, so she asked around and learned he was inside the RV giving an interview to Sina, so she curiously drifted over.

An interview isn't anything secret, and the RV was spacious—Bai Liang told her to find a spot and wait, play on her computer or whatever.

Sister Mai was well-behaved; she didn't touch Bai Liang's computer, afraid she might accidentally see something private.

She just sat there quietly snacking and waiting.

But then she overheard this "terrifying" conversation.

Plotting to seize power?!

Brother is truly amazing.

This made Zhao Jinmai think back to what her boss Dong Zijian and her agent had specifically asked and instructed her before she came.

All because of that rumor.

Besides Sister Yanzi's actions and noise being noticed, the circumstances surrounding the two top streamers' downfall before they collapsed were also evidence supporting "Bai Liang's involvement."

Li Yifeng just sabotaged Bai Liang, and the team tried to steer the narrative against him—but it collapsed right away; Wu Moufan this time was even more obvious: not only did he already have a grudge against Bai Liang, he suddenly appeared on the exact same variety show.

Either love or kill!

There were indeed some fujoshi who loved to ship this especially bizarre couple, but most people still believed Bai Liang had probably gone there just to stir up trouble.

Otherwise, why would he? Why would he suddenly go insane and show up on Wu Moufan's show to disrupt the main guest?

That show was just launched by iQiyi and hadn't even aired yet, yet he claimed he went to promote it—while promoting Youku's project instead.

Everything about this looked suspicious, so it's no wonder conspiracy theories ran rampant.

As for Zhao Jinmai's side, no one knew what was going on—but as for the latter, she knew better than anyone else what had really happened.

Bai Liang was the one she had sent over.

After her agent and Dong Zijian learned of this, they fell silent for a long time, their gazes at Zhao Jinmai growing strange.

Little girl, because you felt sexually harassed at work, you hired someone to take down a top idol?

Is that the plot?

Zhao Jinmai herself felt something was off about saying that, but she couldn't articulate why, so she reluctantly admitted it.

Little girls, after all, do have a tiny bit of vanity.

Dong Zijian: Holy shit! So that's how it was! The Immortal is truly terrifying~

So the current rumors have grown even stronger, partly because of this guy's spreading.

He even "figured out" the logic himself, then gave Zhao Jinmai a full reverse brainwash.

The result? She now had a classic little-girl fantasy implanted in her mind: the hero rescues the damsel.

And now, when she looked at Bai Liang, her gaze kept shifting strangely.

At this point, Xiao Shui finally stopped joking with Bai Liang about "usurping power."

After all, bringing down Jia Zong was still quite difficult.

Besides, she still hadn't managed to help Sister Tian Tian become group admin—Xiao Shui declared she had to finish this task first.

Once that was done, she'd be promoted to deputy general manager, and then she could consider trying a "grand rebellion."

For now, though, let's do the interview~

Xiao Shui had done many interviews with Bai Liang; usually, she started with routine topics, then moved to the unusual.

The former was the most normal content any media outlet used in interviews—she was no different from others, following a script.

But when the chief editor herself showed up, she always managed to get Bai Liang talking about something strange.

This time, for instance, Xiao Shui directly brought up the rumor sweeping through the entertainment circle.

Namely: had Bai Liang really been the one who got those two top idols into trouble?

Even Zhao Jinmai couldn't help but lean in, eager to hear Bai Liang's answer.

Yes or no.

Bai Liang: Or.

Between denying and admitting, he chose to give the public a little more gossip for their tea and meals.

"This matter is actually quite interesting—it doesn't reach the level requiring denial, and it doesn't particularly affect me. If people enjoy speculating and imagining, as long as they don't go too far, a little entertainment is fine."

Xiao Shui: Hmph! You've gone bad~ Playing such vague games now.

According to her knowledge, both incidents had started strangely, and their progression had been unnaturally fast—as if an invisible hand were pushing them.

But if you insist on linking it to Bai Liang, his team had simply done normal work.

Any artist's team in the entertainment industry, when seeing a rival stumble, won't hesitate to give them a little push.

It's just a side thing.

Some might even publicly pop champagne.

So, fundamentally, these events shouldn't have much to do with Bai Liang—but still, it was just too coincidental.

In this age of rampant conspiracy theories, insisting it's all coincidence feels like treating everyone as fools.

There can't be that many coincidences.

Yet Bai Liang's attitude was: Go ahead, chatter all you want—I accept it all.

Do a job, love a job~

Since he's a public figure, this counts as part of his "duty."

"Wow, you're really laid-back," Xiao Shui couldn't help exclaiming, then immediately added, "Is this why you've never clarified any of your rumors?"

"You can't be greedy in life."

"Greed?"

"When releasing works, you want fans to ship you sugar, then later you want to distance yourself and maintain a single persona"—Bai Liang paused mid-sentence, "You've gone bad too, setting traps for me? Did I just accidentally insult someone?"

Xiao Shui, stifling laughter, replied: "No problem—stone hits, dog barks. You afraid of that?"

"We shouldn't bring too much trouble to innocent colleagues."

You're actually kind~

But Xiao Shui's final summary was: You can't have it both ways.

She felt she'd distilled the central theme of this interview.

Why do the rich always boast about being resilient and humble? Because they want both the status of wealth and superiority, and the public's praise for the poor's hardship and simplicity.

Many stars have this nasty habit: they earn so much, yet still want people to think they're suffering~

Some are so abstract they even go to the grassroots to complain.

And fans actually dare to feel sorry for them~

As one TV drama line goes: You're a maid—you don't feel sorry for yourself, you feel sorry for your master who lives in silk and eats jade.

Come to think of it, Bai Liang never really pretended about any of this.

What bullshit hardship? He doesn't suffer at all, never screws himself over—wherever he goes, he rolls up in a luxury RV.

Previously, some marketing accounts tried to make a fuss about this, but sadly, it was useless.

Fans would slam Bai Liang's annual exaggerated donation figures in their faces, saying: the Immortal makes tons, gives tons, and still doesn't evade taxes—so what's wrong with enjoying himself?

Unity of knowledge and action?

Xiao Shui thought a moment, then deleted the term—it felt way too provocative.

But as she wrote to the end, she paused—damn it, that bastard Bai Liang still hadn't revealed whether those two were really his doing.

He'd completely derailed the topic with just that one "or," and slipped away clean.

Xiao Shui suddenly felt a pang of hurt—after knowing each other this long, how could he still treat her like this?

She wouldn't report anything damaging to Bai Liang anyway~

It hurts this little girl's heart so much.

At that moment, Xiao Shui's phone buzzed once—she looked, it was a text from Bai Liang.

The message contained only one word.

Yes.

He didn't say what it referred to—as if the answer had simply appeared out of thin air.

At that instant, Bai Liang on the other end of the phone seemed to sense Xiao Shui's mood.

What the answer actually was didn't matter—it was the existence of such an answer that mattered.

Just moments ago, Xiao Shui had frowned, feeling slighted—but now, staring at the text, she froze for half a moment, then burst out laughing.

Hmm. He always knows~

Then she tied up her hair into a high ponytail, put down her phone, and went back to working on her notebook.

A colleague beside her, watching her ever-shifting beautiful profile, couldn't help but recall the department's gossip about the young editor-in-chief.

Xiao Shui, nearly thirty, remained unmarried, with no boyfriend at all.

Her coworkers often speculated: what kind of man did their gorgeous editor-in-chief want? Was it because her own standards were too high that she found no one worthy?

In contrast, another rumor circulated—naturally tied to Bai Liang.

After all, every time Sina interviewed Bai Liang, Xiao Shui went herself—only he received this privilege.

It was hard not to think too much~

Over the years, the once-naive girl had become a mature, icy professional—a true high-mountain flower.

Yet whenever interviewing Bai Liang, she still seemed like that giggling girl who used to sneakily set traps for him.

—

"Big brother!"

Putting down her phone, Bai Liang looked at the real little girl before him and asked, "What's wrong?"

"My boss said—"

Zhao Jinmai chattered nonstop, dumping everything Dong Zijian had told her about "washing her brain" straight into Bai Liang's ears.

She blinked her big eyes, gazing at him with admiration mixed with other emotions.

But Bai Liang frowned after listening: "Your boss is an idiot—how can you believe him? Wait a sec, I'll settle accounts with him first."

Huh?

Watching Bai Liang actually pull up Dong Zijian's contact and make a call, Zhao Jinmai suddenly felt something was off.

Dong Zijian: Student Student Mai Mai, having you is my fortune~

He'd had bad luck—just a slight inference from Zhao Jinmai's account, plus a "tiny bit" of subjective guesswork.

And then Bai Liang hit him hard!

Under the guise of: compensation for defamation-related mental distress, and consolation fees for the girl's psychological instability caused by his nonsense.

This barrage of demands left Dong Zijian dizzy—he muddledly transferred the money.

By the time he realized what happened, it was too late—Bai Liang collected money with terrifying speed.

Nothing else—just practice.

"Here, all the meals we've had on set these days are covered—your boss is paying." Bai Liang handed the money straight to Zhao Jinmai, declaring she'd handle all arrangements from now on.

Zhao Jinmai, suddenly entrusted with such responsibility, felt a bit overwhelmed~

How had she suddenly become the one holding up the whole thing? But this sense of responsibility and being trusted—was truly wonderful!

Watching Zhao Jinmai eagerly research nearby restaurants, Bai Liang smiled faintly—he was damn good at raising kids.

But Dong Zijian's "friend fee" was only the first payment.

Perhaps because his former teammate had so suddenly "exploded like fireworks," Lu Han couldn't hold back and reached out to Bai Liang.

Bro, was it you who got him? If so, don't touch me—I'm your buddy, we're tight.

Right, Brother Liang~

Then he covered Bai Liang's entire next month's food expenses.

But after paying the friend fee, he still got no clear answer—felt totally ripped off.

Because after he sent the money, Bai Liang said it was the police's doing, and gave him this answer.

"Student Student Mai Mai, you got paid."

"Huh? What money now?"

"Just now Zhang Yixing said he'd treat me to dinner—I made him cash it out, too lazy to eat with him—let's eat together."

This little Changsha lamb couldn't hold back either—he hadn't interacted much with Bai Liang, but they'd acted together before.

Even though Bai Liang had nearly cut all his scenes from The Splendor of Great Ming.

Zhao Jinmai was barely holding it together—how many of these were there now?

She felt that even if her brother didn't act, just collecting "friend fees" would let him live luxuriously.

"Mm, this should be the last one—no, another one's coming!"

"Who's this one?"

"Wang Jia'er—he said The Trend Partners picked him as a substitute; you'll be recording a show with him soon."

Since Wu Moufan has already died, except for the two episodes featuring Bai Liang and Ni Ni, the previously filmed footage is mostly unusable.

And the production team couldn't secure Bai Liang's schedule, so they reluctantly found a substitute.

Coincidentally, Wang Jia'er—who had once led a group of Korean boy bands to create "Loyalty!" stage effects for Bai Liang at that Korean award show—caught their attention.

His overall conditions were quite suitable.

From this perspective, the kid's move of standing up and bowing first wasn't a loss at all.

Now, The Trend Partners is already hot before airing.

All elements are maximized; it's hard to say whether Wu Moufan's "sudden death" had a negative or positive impact.

The dead him, in a certain sense, seems more useful than the one still active in the entertainment circle.

But Zhao Jinmai developed a slight psychological shadow, thinking: Another one from a Korean boy band?

Hmph! If he has any bad habits, I'll report him at the first opportunity!

Wang Jia'er, still overseas, suddenly shuddered and re-examined the guest lineup of The Trend Partners.

Combining the rumors in the industry, he quickly made his decision.

As for the others, it didn't matter—but Zhao Jinmai… he had to treat her like a Princess, while also keeping a slight distance; the balance had to be precise.

Whether true or not, he'd treat it as true!

(End of Chapter)