Chapter 443: No One Will Give an Inch!

Although the Starlight Awards have ended, the topics and iconic moments it left behind have maintained their popularity consistently.

For example, the mysterious "friendship" between Yang Mi and Zhao Liying.

Fans on both sides are genuinely confused—what exactly is going on between you two?

Even some top fans don't know whether to launch attacks on the other side or switch to commercial mutual praise mode.

In response to this situation, Big Mi Mi is ready to step forward as the "idea king."

"Find one of her negative PR posts, I'll like it, then unlike it."

It's just a slip of the hand~ the entertainment industry's standard trick.

Sisterhood? What nonsense sisterhood.

They're pure rivals~

A few chat messages don't mean they're actually close; being misunderstood isn't a big deal, but fans must know the other is an enemy, not a friend.

As Big Mi Mi's team carefully selected a negative PR article—not overly exaggerated but clearly hostile—and she just clicked like, preparing to give netizens time to screenshot it.

She saw that Zhao Liying's like on her negative PR post had already trended. Though not ranked high, it was clear the other had the same idea.

Isn't this also a kind of mutual rush toward each other?

When either one sees the other, they're both serious—this grudge has lasted years. Back when Little Zhao wasn't famous yet, someone mistook her for Yang Mi and launched a tirade on Weibo.

Since then, mutual digs have been endless; whenever their fans meet, they instantly turn into bickering chickens.

Competition in film and TV, commerce, fashion, endorsements—never lets up.

So how could they suddenly have "friendship"? Absolutely impossible!

As for the other's preemptive strike, Big Mi Mi wasn't upset at all—instead, a smile appeared on her face.

"No surprise—it's her."

Little Zhao Sister felt a pang of admiration, thinking: Yang Mi's move is truly fast—she almost got scooped.

She never underestimates Yang Mi; though the topic queen's reputation has been declining, her commercial appeal has always remained strong.

Despite her many bad dramas, she still sells them at high prices and pulls in maximum sponsorships—proving her success on another track.

She's got absurdly thick blood.

Like that one peculiar figure among the 85s.

These past two years, she's been quiet; the string of flops in 2017 clearly had some impact.

But everyone still "remembers" her—especially Big Mi Mi.

Who else but her suddenly landed Disney's Mulan?

Thinking of this, Little Zhao Sister grinned even more, actually very expectant for that woman to make some move soon, so she could sit back and watch the show.

As for herself, she had little interaction or rivalry with that celestial.

After all, both are somewhat "lone wolves" among the 85s.

One might be because she became famous too early and started too high, making her seem out of place among other 85s.

The other might be because she started too low and has an unsociable personality—even earning the nickname "Zhao's Orphan" from netizens.

These two are now using "clarifying friendship" to return to their rivalry, returning fans to their "comfort zone."

On the other side, Ni Ni and Miss Jing Tian have officially gone to war.

But the fight feels strangely absurd.

However, after some netizens studied these two, they suddenly noticed a familiar flavor.

Na Zha and Re Ba—wasn't it exactly like this before?

Both cooperated with Bai Liang in turn, and their respective film duos tore into each other fiercely—neither feared the other, each determined to "kill" the opponent.

Of course, the intensity between Ni Ni and Miss Jing Tian isn't nearly as extreme.

But when the drama "Si Teng" quietly announced its cast and poster, netizens said: Of course!

Although "Chang'an Twelve Hours" is still airing, Ni Ni should theoretically hold some advantage, and the chemistry between Zhang Xiaojing and Tan Qi has gradually emerged—they're definitely a hot current couple.

Yet Big Sister Tian Tian isn't the least intimidated—her momentum is far greater than Ni Ni's.

Triple collaboration, anyone?

In fact, from a certain perspective, Big Sister Tian Tian's third collaboration with Bai Liang is the "highest value" one.

With "Si Teng," every time they collaborate, they're the male and female leads.

Currently, only a few actresses have collaborated three times with Bai Liang.

Na Zha has only one unreleased drama, "Dear, Love You," with Bai Liang as leads; before that, her "signature work" with him was actually a viral variety show—no one knows if that even counts.

Re Ba's triple collaboration with Bai Liang is slightly higher in value: "We Are," "Three Lives Three Worlds," "You Are My Glory," but in "Three Lives Three Worlds," they were both supporting roles.

Still, because of the "loaned" "The Wandering Earth 2," she's always held an edge here.

And "unlucky" Meng Jie is more peculiar—she, in a way, has also "collaborated thrice" with Bai Liang, but never as a female lead, and only one drama even had romantic scenes.

Then there's Little Zhao Sister—her triple collaboration with Bai Liang holds similar value to Re Ba's, though one of them is a film.

This composition is somewhat similar to Big Sister Tian Tian's.

But Big Sister Tian Tian—from "Time After Time" to "Great Ming Dynasty," and now the upcoming "Si Teng"—has always been the undisputed female lead!

It's like a sudden overtaking on a curve!

Currently, only Re Ba, with her "loaned" "The Wandering Earth 2" and her call for a fourth collaboration, can slightly overshadow her.

Under these circumstances, even if Ni Ni's drama with Bai Liang is still hot, how could a male-dominated drama's female lead possibly stand up? It's an easy beatdown!

But somehow, it feels like her beating Ni Ni is just a side effect—her real goal is to shake up the "status" of those two new Jiang sisters.

Big Sister Tian Tian: Huh? My main goal is to beat her!

Fans: Who cares what your goal is—we're pushing you up anyway!

The Chenqiao Mutiny, the Yellow Robe Investiture!

I think Sister Tian Tian and Big Immortal would be a better match~ Is there a story between them?

Liang Chen Mei Jing—I've been shipping them for ages! Our Sister Tian Tian's marketing is still too weak; the official posts don't get as much attention as those two Xin Jiang girls'.

Do you even understand the value of China's top romantic film duo? Those two Xin Jiang girls keep dragging Bai Liang into marketing—all that lingering glances nonsense. But our Sister Tian Tian is just as good in this department, okay? When their movie came out, they were so sweet!

Let's start something! I've been sick of those two Xin Jiang girls for ages—do you really think we can't see how they're tying themselves to Bai Liang for marketing?

A woman of wealth and beauty paired with a perfect six-stat male ideal—perfect! I support this match—who opposes?

Huh?

When Sister Tian Tian and her team prepared to confront Ni Ni in a full-blown feud, the online public opinion turned out to be something she hadn't anticipated.

But it actually feels pretty good~

"Do I really have that much chemistry with him? Everyone keeps saying so." She couldn't help asking.

"They were made for each other!" her assistant declared firmly.

"Really?" Sister Tian Tian couldn't help but flash a goofy smile, while pretending to be modest, "It's not that much, really~"

Her team members wanted to laugh but held it back.

Their own Sister Tian Tian was just too easy to please—just a couple of words and she'd be happy all day.

But whether because of this or not, that afternoon, the team received a very strange notice.

"Sister Tian Tian, do you want to take this dating variety show?"

"Huh? Dating on a show? Would he even take such a program?!" Sister Tian Tian paused, then declared firmly: "Of course we'll take it!"

"But he doesn't have Dou Xiao Bai."

The team staff were a bit helpless—Bai Liang would never take such a show.

If he really appeared on a dating show, the female guests would be fighting over the role—there'd be no such invitation.

Forget the fee—people would pay just to be invited.

Without him? Sister Tian Tian immediately made a disgusted face. "Then I don't want it."

"It's not about you dating on the show—it's about ordinary people dating. You're the observer, sharing your insights, your views on love and partner selection. The notice fee is very high."

". Sounds pretty good."

Sister Tian Tian wasn't opposed to watching others date, but she disliked those dramatic, over-the-top dating shows. She preferred ones that stayed sweet from start to finish—those made her feel deeply immersed.

Of course, the main reason she ultimately decided to accept the show was when her assistant said, "It's just like Gu Li Na Zha's 'I Like You Too'."

Accept!

Must accept!

Coincidentally, Re Ba's team also secured a dating variety show for her next year.

Roughly the same type—sitting there watching others date and giving commentary.

The reason was simple: the pay was just too high.

And this kind of show was definitely the type with high pay and little work—recording was effortless.

"Sis, do you know why they're asking you for this show?"

"I know~" Re Ba sighed, tapping her forehead. "It's because Gu Li Na Zha spouted nonsense on her dating show."

In 'I Like You Too,' Na Zha really didn't hold back on her "love values."

She also mixed in all sorts of "personal experiences."

Yes, Re Ba secretly watched every episode—she felt like she was secretly stalking the other woman.

She mostly watched while scolding, thinking Gu Li Na Zha was truly shameless.

Not a single word mentioned Bai Liang—but every word was about Bai Liang.

And who knew how much of her own "interpretation" and "creative freedom" she'd added.

Re Ba declared she couldn't just sit idle: "If you don't seize the high ground of public opinion, someone else will!"

Remember, in a few months, she'd be fighting Gu Li Na Zha at the Forbidden City's peak.

'My Dearest Love' vs 'You Are My Glory.'

It was bound to be a bloody battle!

Re Ba truly felt the threat now, because last month, FPX won the championship.

She didn't really understand esports—she'd only played Honor of Kings because of filming requirements.

But she knew Gu Li Na Zha's 'My Dearest Love' had heavy esports elements, and when FPX won, the official account rushed to ride the trend with promotional clips and posters.

The hype was enormous!

Just the scene of Na Zha wearing her team's flag and cheering on stage made the esports fans go wild.

Because FPX's actual win had featured that exact scene—the pre-filmed drama and reality perfectly overlapping, impossible not to fascinate them.

Plus, Na Zha herself actually knew how to play games—before the drama even aired, she already had the aura of becoming an "esports goddess."

This was clearly shown on Hupu.

In this year's Hupu Goddess Competition, Na Zha defeated strong rivals like Li Xin and reached the finals, facing off against Gao Yuanyuan, who had been runner-up for years.

Na Zha was about to lose—after all, Gao Yuanyuan had been runner-up so long, she deserved to win once.

But just then, the esports community's hype arrived—the situation flipped completely.

In the end, Na Zha won this year's Hupu Goddess title; Gao Yuanyuan remained runner-up, her fourth consecutive second place.

Although the main audience for the drama was still female, Bai Liang's dramas had plenty of male viewers too, and with the esports traffic boost—Re Ba couldn't think of any good way to gain an edge in public opinion heat.

Two S-series championships in two years had successfully broken esports into the mainstream.

The noise from esports was so loud, it drew everyone's attention.

Fortunately, the drama wouldn't air for several months—if both shows aired now, Re Ba knew she'd lose to Gu Li Na Zha for sure.

Unless *Go, Go, Squid! * turns out to be a terrible adaptation.

But how could that be possible? Both of them "have" Bai Liang, and with this guy around as a safety net, the competition is purely about who can break through to become a blockbuster hit and reign as Drama King.

So!

It's just telling little stories on a show, right? Reba says she can do that too.

If pushed to the limit, she'll just spin in circles!

She's going all out against Gulinazha!

Nazha: Heh~ getting worked up.

She's been in great spirits lately, riding high after cashing in on a wave of buzz from the esports circle, and now she's busy "returning the favor."

The Weibo Night of the Year voting has kicked off, and she's helping drum up votes online.

Not for Bai Liang, though—he doesn't need this kind of thing.

Weibo Night of the Year voting has four major lists: Event of the Year, Buzzword of the Year, Person of the Year, and Weibo King & Queen.

The Person of the Year category has gone absolutely berserk.

Because esports players have entered the fray.

Originally it was just a battle among fan circles, with each fandom competing against the others.

But now esports enthusiasts have mobilized en masse through memes—like "Will of Seven," reverse-voting by antis, and calls to action from esports celebrities.

Then there's Nazha, who's just joining in the chaos for fun—she's pulling votes for those esports players, calling on her own fans to help out.

Cashing in on someone else's traffic and then paying it back isn't too much to ask.

This behavior did help her gain another wave of fans, but it also brought trouble.

Namely, Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan don't seem to be able to beat those esports players~

Originally Weibo just wanted to grab some traffic and buzz from the esports circle, pick up some KPIs, but now it's feeling a bit like "letting the wolf in the door"—these esports fans are serious.

Second-place Wang Yibo was once trailing Uzi by over twenty million votes—no matter how his fans jumped up and down, that top-streaming little fatty from the esports circle just sat stubbornly above him.

You vote, I vote, Uzi debuts tomorrow! You don't vote, I don't vote, when will Uzi ever rise?

But this situation is clearly something many people don't want to see.

Nazha's team even gave her a heads-up: "Sis, stop messing around, Wang Yibo's fans are coming over here to flame us."

"Can't I even pull a few votes? I'm not afraid of them!" Nazha pouted defiantly.

The assistant then added: "They say if you keep pulling votes like this, they'll throw their support behind Dilireba in the Weibo Queen competition."

"How could I possibly allow that!"

Nazha got a little too caught up in the fun and forgot that in another voting category, she's still in a royal-city PK with Dilireba.

The two of them had already gone at it fiercely over this thing last year, but in the end, they didn't expect Miss Jing Tian to snatch the peach—no choice, she came in carrying the might of *Super Time Together* and *The Ming Dynasty*, her competitiveness really was formidable.

The reason Nazha and Reba both care so much about this thing is mainly because neither of them has ever taken the stage with Bai Liang in this category.

'16 was Fan Bingbing, '17 was Yang Mi, '18 was Miss Jing Tian—'19, come hell or high water, they have to stand beside Bai Liang!

Neither will yield a single step!

As for why it's Weibo Night of the Year?

This is Bai Liang's own fault—he keeps "Weibo Best Actor" on his lips all day, so among these galas, the one Weibo hosts naturally takes on a special significance.

Both new Jiang Misses declare they can't give an inch, every trick in the book must be deployed!

As for the Person of the Year side—

Nazha: Oh, you guys fight it out yourselves, I'm off to deal with Dilireba!

Among the individual votes, the Weibo King category—which should have been the most fiercely contested—is actually the calmest.

Everyone says they're not interested, and the male top-streamers don't even show a hint of competition.

After all, that capybara is squatting there, and even though he isn't pulling votes himself, Weibo absolutely won't allow anyone to mess around.

What counts as messing around?

Even if Bai Liang doesn't pull votes, even if he tells his fans not to vote for him, in the Weibo King competition, if anyone manages to surpass him, that counts as messing around.

As a result, the other male top-streamers can only fight it out in the Person of the Year category, while the other side is all peace and tranquility.

Otherwise, Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan wouldn't have had to fight so viciously against the esports circle.

But the result is those two just couldn't pull it off.

Weibo wants both to eat up the esports buzz and to avoid letting the esports circle actually take the crown.

So they came up with a plan: Quickly, go fetch the Buddha from the Western Heaven!

Sister Yanzi: Get lost~

She says her own Xiao Bai-ge isn't going to wade into that muddy water—winning brings no benefit, and joining midway, what if he loses?

"By the way, where is Xiao Bai-ge right now?" Sister Yanzi, after giving the relevant Weibo person in charge a good scolding, suddenly remembered this.

She actually hadn't been following her own Xiao Bai-ge's schedule these past two days—a bit derelict of duty.

Fortunately, someone quickly gave her the answer: "He went to do a cameo on the *Nothing But Thirty* set."

"Oh right, there was that on the schedule... Mao Xiaotong."

Sister Yanzi scratched her head, thinking it shouldn't be a problem—that lady is a tough one, if there's adultery going on, she really will grab hold of it!

For this kind of table-flipping, explosive Miss, she felt that even her own Xiao Bai-ge should probably just be friends with her.

She only hopes Xiao Bai-ge can take it easy, or that Mao Xiaotong can help keep an eye on things.

After all, none of the leading ladies of that drama are pushovers.

They're all female classmates with stories~

(End of chapter)