Chapter 472

After going to see the cherry blossoms with Bai Liang, Meng Jie was going to happily return to the "Husband's Burden" set with him.

Jin Ling's number-one courtesan! Online!

But before reaching the set, another girl friend came to join her.

"Dou Xiao Ye! Over here~"

"Meng Jie!"

The long-missed happy little dog Zhou Ye immediately bounced over upon seeing Meng Jie and Bai Liang.

Her route was quite interesting.

She had run straight toward them at first, but when Meng Jie stepped forward, Zhou Ye instinctively curved her path like a cue ball executing a masse shot.

The purpose of this cue technique is to avoid obstructing balls and strike the target ball behind.

Fortunately, reason made her stop in time, and she hugged Meng Jie—their affection clearly ran deep~

Even as she hugged Meng Jie, Zhou Ye couldn't help leaning her head over to wave at Bai Liang.

Originally, only Meng Jie had been confirmed as a guest actor, cast as Yuan Jiner.

As for the character Nie Yunzhu, Bai Liang had initially wanted to invite Chen Duling.

But after Meng Jie found out, before he even contacted her, she told him: "Dudu sister is busy—she just joined another drama shoot!"

Indeed, Meng Jie had far more up-to-date information on these matters than Bai Liang.

Bai Liang had still been skeptical and asked her about Wang Churan.

Meng Jie immediately rattled off the little white-eye girl's schedule, then cheerfully took the job upon herself.

In no time, she "highly recommended": Zhou Ye, who had just finished shooting "Shanhe."

"So Wild One's recovered and is now doing danmei dramas?" Bai Liang teased with a smile.

Zhou Ye quickly waved her hands, a little embarrassed: "It's called a danmei drama, but thank goodness my character isn't paired with either of the two male leads."

The female lead in a danmei drama is also a "high-risk" role.

Especially with "The Untamed" casting a long shadow—still today, the actress who replaced Meng Jie is getting roasted~

It's as if they're only cheerful when riding the hype before filming, then immediately hit oh no, very serious.

Luckily, in "Shanhe," the female lead is paired with the third male lead~

She doesn't have to meddle in the two male leads' "romance" like Wen Qing did in "The Untamed."

With this safety net, Zhou Ye didn't have to worry about being roasted—after all, she was a rising star with a bright future, heavily backed by her company, and had no reason to take on this kind of role.

"Yang Yang also took a similar role—the one called 'Hao Yi Xing,' I think it just started filming."

The ever-well-informed Meng Jie offered the latest scoop.

"Don't bring up these Sichuan operas—I want to beat Ah Shi up just hearing them," Bai Liang grumbled.

Ah Shi was the only person he'd ever met bold enough to invite him to "go gay" together.

Mainly because he hadn't been beaten like Huang Jingyu had.

Still, this year's most talked-about projects in the film and TV industry were these danmei dramas, whether already filming or just greenlit.

It looked like everyone was jumping in together.

No choice—it was simply too profitable, almost like mass-producing male top idols.

And a male top idol's earning power, needless to say, could easily surpass even established female top idols like Reba or Naza.

It was literally like a money printer.

Meng Jie: Don't understand? Ask: They're money printers—what are you, Little Hedgehog?

Bai Liang: If you'd like, I can be the money factory~

He'd never really exploited his fans' money—his field of fan-leeks had grown so long it was nearly mature.

During the filming of "Sisters Who Make Waves," Du Hua had talked with Bai Liang, looking genuinely disappointed.

She felt Bai Liang hadn't fully monetized his traffic, hadn't even realized one-third of his monetization potential.

That was a huge waste!

Though Bai Liang wasn't her artist, seeing such "waste" made her, as an industry insider, feel oh so itchy.

Sister Yanzi: If it itches, scratch it yourself—it's not your itch~—

After bringing Meng Jie and Zhou Ye back to the "Husband's Burden" set, Bai Liang immediately caught Li Yitong, who had taken over his trailer, sprawled on his sofa like a noblewoman.

She was wearing her costume for the drama, so from the waist up, she looked quite dignified and elegant.

But as the weather grew hotter, Li Yitong liked to remove her shoes, socks, and even pants once inside the trailer.

It was a bad habit—she'd even preferred to sit barefoot and curled up on airplanes.

Naturally, in private settings, she became even more "liberated."

She lay there with one leg bent and the other dangling over the carpet.

Thus, her pale thighs and the faint glimpse of her underwear were plainly on display before them.

The whole scene looked like ritual and decorum had collapsed entirely.

Even the happy little dog Zhou Ye, who'd led the charge into the trailer, was stunned.

Fortunately, this sight wasn't especially shocking to her—she'd seen far more intense scenes on the "Youth You" set before.

Now, she was just unfamiliar with Li Yitong and didn't know how to react.

Luckily, Meng Jie followed her into the trailer, saw Li Yitong lying there with eyes half-closed, and blurted out: "Tongtong, can you at least be a little careful? You're flashing!"

"Who's that? Oh? Meng Jie~"

Li Yitong lazily waved at Meng Jie but made no effort to cover herself: "Flash what? We're all girls—I'm not even naked! It's so hot; when you put on your costumes, you'll understand—it's stifling and sweaty, and you'll take yours off too."

Though she said that, when she noticed the unfamiliar Zhou Ye besides Meng Jie, she pulled back a little.

She sat up, pulled both legs together—hey presto—immediately dignified again.

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I'd never have imagined she was wearing something so sexy underneath—lace like that.

After Meng Jie gave her a brief introduction to Zhou Ye, Li Yitong smiled warmly and greeted the other, formally making acquaintance.

Seeing how this sister's eyes curled into crescents, so adorable, Zhou Ye simply couldn't reconcile her with the earlier image of wild, lawless behavior.

The contrast was truly extreme!

"Sister Tongtong, hello, I'm Zhou Ye."

"I know you—Hong Wen."

Li Yitong didn't say the last two words aloud, since calling someone a puppy was clearly impolite.

But Meng Jie bluntly added, "Hong Wen little puppy~ Our Xiao Ye is also quite famous!"

"Oh no."

Hearing that, Zhou Ye immediately turned red right in front of them~

After finishing "Youth of You," she'd clearly been teased with this nickname many times.

Even now, many people on her Weibo still shout it every day. It wasn't annoying, just a little embarrassing.

"Huh? Where's the male fox? Hasn't he come back yet?"

"Little hedgehog went to find the director to check out and ask about our shooting schedules."

One male fox, one little hedgehog.

To be honest, Zhou Ye hadn't known Bai Liang had so many nicknames—all little animals—because Meng Jie never used them when chatting with her.

The only widely known one was "Great Immortal"; the rest were mostly black nicknames like "Octopus."

Hehe, her nickname is little puppy~

Everyone's a little animal.

"By the way, Meng Jie, let me introduce you to a little sister. Where's Dou Xiao Tian?" Li Yitong scratched her head, looking slightly puzzled.

When she fell asleep on the sofa, Dou Xiao Tian was right beside her; now she was gone the moment she woke up.

This little girl is full of energy, unlike me, a sister nearing thirty, who's already tired by the end of the day—no rest, no afternoon spirit.

Maybe that's the difference between an old battery and a new one.

Luckily, old batteries can still be recharged—and that requires the help of a certain warm-hearted citizen, Mr. Bai.

"When we just came over, we saw a girl zip past—probably your Dou Xiao Tian," Meng Jie said uncertainly.

Zhou Ye beside her nodded, even gesturing with her hand, "She ran super fast—her hair even floated up~"

Hearing this, Li Yitong sighed and propped her chin on her hand. "That's definitely her. She's so energetic—someone should just remove her battery."

"Why's she running so fast?" Zhou Ye asked curiously.

"Well…"

Li Yitong didn't know how to explain, but it was almost certainly because she'd spotted Bai Liang returning to the set and couldn't wait to report to him.

Her guess was spot-on~

"Little watermelon~"

"Yes!"

"Good, very spirited."

Standard kitten salute: "Private Tian" salutes the officer!

After completing their strange "greeting ritual," Bai Liang fetched a tissue from nearby and handed it to her.

But the little girl instinctively didn't reach out—instead, she leaned her face forward.

Bai Liang: Hmm—in broad daylight—

Whatever. Wiping a girl's sweat isn't a big deal.

Dou Xiao Tian's forehead and cheeks were indeed drenched in sweat; strands of hair clung to her skin along her temples and brow.

Her cheeks were slightly flushed—like a little kitten with a smudged face.

After wiping her face, Bai Liang's gaze couldn't help but drift to her collarbone—there was sweat there too.

Today, Dou Xiao Tian wore a white tank top under an open shirt.

The shirt buttons were undone; the tight tank top outlined her well-developed figure.

A few beads of sweat trailed slowly down the exposed curve.

As if sensing Bai Liang's gaze, Dou Xiao Tian instinctively covered it—but less than a second later, she let go. A faint, unreadable glint appeared in her eyes, then she feigned nonchalance and turned her head aside.

That glance made her freeze.

Everyone around—including the director—had already turned their eyes elsewhere.

Clearly, they were pretending they saw nothing.

Very considerate!

Luckily, even so, Bai Liang wouldn't reach into a girl's collar in broad daylight.

Even if Dou Xiao Tian was already daydreaming, he'd only wiped up to her chin.

"Go back to the car and turn on the AC."

"Sister Tongtong's sleeping—she's afraid of catching a chill, so she didn't turn on the AC," Dou Xiao Tian said pitifully.

"Aren't there separate AC units in the bedrooms? Next time she does this, just go stay in the bedroom."

"Oh~"

"She's probably awake by now—the two guest actresses came to visit her. Why don't you go too?"

"Okay."

Dou Xiao Tian replied, but didn't leave right away—instead, she looked up at Bai Liang, her expression hopeful.

Bai Liang felt awkward. He patted his pockets, then sadly said, "I just got back—I haven't restocked at the car yet. No cookies."

Now Xiao Tian was truly feeling uneasy; her face visibly turned sour.

Fortunately, Bai Liang immediately thought of a "kill two birds with one stone" solution.

"Little Watermelon!"

"Yes!"

"Go get me some from the car."

Before Bai Liang had even finished speaking, Xiao Tian shot off like a flash—such swift efficiency; she was surely destined to become a great woman of action!

After all, throughout history, every hero's foundation was extraordinary actionability—nearly all of them possessed this trait.

But at this moment, Bai Liang suddenly realized:

Oh! The happy little dog and the gloomy little dog have officially "met."

Zhou Ye was the type who looked sour and aloof when expressionless, but in truth had a cheerful, lively personality; when she smiled, she had the vibe of a foolish rich landlord's daughter.

Xiao Tian was the exact opposite: she had the look of a sweet girl, with big, cute eyes and an adorable face, yet she was far more prone to anger, genuinely fierce—earlier, when she argued online, her combat power wasn't weaker than Bai Liang's or Lin Gengxin's back then.

Meanwhile, the two were similar in age and both from Shancheng.

No one knew how they'd get along after meeting.

The answer was: not well at all!

When Xiao Tian rushed to the RV, gave a brief greeting to the others, she focused entirely on searching for dog biscuits.

She was anxious, but the more anxious she became, the harder it was to find anything.

It was like being blind under the lamp.

"What are you looking for? Let me help you~"

At this point, Zhou Ye had already realized this young lady was her fellow townsfolk from Shancheng, and since they were roughly the same age, she drifted over to greet her.

But Xiao Tian, wholly absorbed in searching for dog biscuits, didn't even lift her head; she gave a brief reply and went right back to searching.

"Is this it?"

Zhou Ye picked up the dog biscuit bag right beside Xiao Tian's leg and asked casually.

"Give it to me!"

In that instant, Xiao Tian's movements were lightning-fast—she snatched the item right out of Zhou Ye's hand.

Zhou Ye:??

Wait, sis, are you this possessive with your food?!

She'd even felt like the other girl had glared at her fiercely and bared her teeth.

This young lady was undeniably cute, yet absurdly fierce.

Zhou Ye's temper flared instantly; though the main reason was sheer confusion—she'd been snapped at out of nowhere and didn't know what to do.

But what it looked like was her face rapidly turning sour.

She stared coldly at Xiao Tian, ready to launch into "bullying mode" in the next second!

Li Yitong, Meng Jie:??

What's going on with these two? First meeting and already ready to fight?

Are their horoscopes colliding?

This instantly brought to mind another pair of irreconcilable fellow townsfolk from the entertainment world: Xin Jiang and her counterpart.

Same thing—first meeting, no good face given to each other, then later tearing into each other in a frenzy.

Could these two 95s from Shancheng have inherited that same legacy?

Meng Jie couldn't help voicing her question: Do all fellow townsfolk in the entertainment industry act like this?

Li Yitong immediately countered: I and Jin Da Xi are both from Jinan, Shandong—we're fellow townsfolk too, and we've never acted like this.

Meng Jie: Maybe that's because you're from the homeland of Confucius and Mencius.

Li Yitong: Are you implying they're barbarians?

Meng Jie: You said it, not me!

Li Yitong: Exile them to Ningguta!

Meng Jie: Hehe~ I'm heading back home!

While these two whispered slyly, it didn't affect the standoff between the two "little dogs."

But Xiao Tian was the first to calm down; she said, "Thank you."

Zhou Ye's expression immediately softened, but it was impossible for her to act as warmly toward Xiao Tian as she had before.

Fortunately, Xiao Tian didn't care.

After getting what she wanted, she shot off again like a flash.

"Wow, she's so energetic! Running around, all fired up," Meng Jie couldn't help remarking.

"You were just like that when you were young, Meng Jie—remember when we filmed 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes'? You ran around everywhere, so full of energy," Li Yitong smiled.

At this moment, Meng Jie was quick to retort: "I'm still young! Don't try to trap me!"

"Aww, didn't fall for it—what a shame~"

"Hmph, I'm a 95er too! I'm in the same camp as Xiao Ye and the rest."

At this point, Zhou Ye had already recovered, but couldn't help asking: "She grabbed a bag of dog food and ran off—is she going to feed the dogs?"

This question left Li Yitong deeply awkward; she didn't know how to respond.

It was like when she used to secretly lick wall plaster—Xiao Tian's obsession with dog biscuits was just too embarrassing to explain.

Worse still, it wasn't enough that she liked eating them—she insisted Bai Liang feed them to her.

This habit really made one wonder if she needed a psychologist.

"Something like that~"

"Oh my, what's the good stuff? My Chocolate wants some too." Hearing the topic of dog food, Meng Jie immediately scooped up Chocolate, who was playing with Meatball, and waved its little paw at everyone, looking like it was greeting them.

"Chocolate, long time no see! Come let aunty hold you!"

Li Yitong took it smoothly, held Chocolate in her arms, and went smack-smack-smack covering it in kisses.

And Meng Jie, not wanting to be outdone, scooped up Meatball too.

The two of them basically pulled off a "hostage exchange."

"Now the number of dogs has gone up, the male fox needs to restock~" Li Yitong said with a beaming smile.

(End of chapter)