Chapter 497: I Will Personally Handle Your Retirement Ceremony

Just a garnish for the drama king~

Although Na Zha's presence has skyrocketed and she's acting like she's about to make a big move, all of this can still be categorized under the extended trending topics of The Affair.

Why say that?

"Because The Affair didn't have a wedding scene, so they made a spin-off, right? You're just copying homework~"

"If others have it, we must have it too—our after-sales service absolutely can't be worse than Glory!"

"Looking forward to the wedding scene—I bet Bai Liang and Na Zha are pulling off a wedding under the names Han Shangyan and Tong Nian; otherwise, they wouldn't go this far."

"Exactly like Li Reba in Heart Signal—the main characters are the ones from the drama."

"Then explain Glory's spin-off—she said she dreamed she was Di Li Reba. That's way beyond ordinary spin-off territory!"

"It's barely on the edge—she never even said Da Xian's name. This is all just TV marketing tactics."

"I figure Na Zha's wedding scene also hints at reality, since Little Fellow already set the precedent."

"To sum up, these two are pure 'edge-walkers'!"

"Hahaha, 'edge-walker'—shocking! Top female star openly edges, aiming to"

"."

The appearance of these keywords—copying homework, competing, marketing, edge-walking—depends entirely on Sister Yanzi's efforts!

The company's official marketing projects are decently handled, but in scandal management, each one is a master.

Because just Bai Liang alone provides them with more than enough "material" to practice on.

The rhythm they set? Easy as pie.

It's also because The Affair is simply too hot—it's effortless to ride the wave.

Backed by the drama king, any maneuver becomes easier.

But doing all this only slightly dilutes it; Sister Yanzi originally had an even better idea.

Na Zha's line "Lao…" could also be explained in a very reasonable way.

Boss!

Yes, just by emphasizing that Na Zha's contract with Tang Ren is about to expire and that she'll join Bai Liang's company, the term "boss" becomes perfectly reasonable.

It would also satisfy the gossip crowd's appetite.

But Sister Yanzi didn't do it simply because once the wedding episode airs, Bai Da will happen naturally—why bother forcing it?

Better to wait until after it airs, then start steering the narrative in that direction.

After all, Bai Liang has other projects coming up soon, and they'll still need to negotiate with Na Zha to tone things down a bit.

Sister Yanzi isn't worried about this at all—even without her urging, whenever these topics come up, Na Zha herself will voluntarily step back.

"I really need to cool things down—he's got a movie coming out soon…" The sensible Na Zha said.

The junior assistant opened her mouth to speak but ultimately chose silence.

Money can't buy willingness!

Technically, once The Five Hahas' wedding episode airs, that's Na Zha's best chance to win.

If she just takes a little more initiative, she can fully bind herself to Bai Liang in the public's eyes!

Di Li Reba might be hard to say, but all those other messy "little bitches" will probably get kicked out in one sweep.

But the downside is… Bai Liang's next few projects might suffer heavily in some aspects.

His films with Chen Duling—Youth of You, with Sister Tian Tian—Sī Téng, and Li Yitong's upcoming completion of The Son-in-Law—luckily, Awakening of the Age doesn't care about CP, or it could've been affected too.

But just these three projects involve staggering interests.

From a rational and profit-driven standpoint, they really can't push things to the extreme.

But emotions have always been the most irrational thing—few can stay rational.

But Na Zha found a perfect angle:

"I'll be family with him—his money is my money~"

Makes sense! Did he give you shares?

Na Zha: No way! How could I take that?!

In short, the team's marketing paused, CP hype cooled down—the two planned joint promotion events were canceled outright~

After the wedding episode airs, Na Zha will find an opportunity on the show or in an interview to actively "clarify."

Sister Yanzi was deeply moved: Sister, you've accumulated immense virtue!

Those minor profit-related issues don't matter—the main thing is that a potential entertainment industry earthquake is highly unlikely to happen.

She even thinks Na Zha's accidental slip was a good thing.

Because it tested the elasticity of all sides in advance.

The feedback from multiple sources wasn't good at all.

The wealthy women's circle nearly exploded on the spot; the provoked Sister Tian Tian stirred up chaos within, and somehow, during this wave, she'd already become Deputy Group Admin.

But she herself wasn't happy—she ran around frantically, trying to incite the sisters to go after Na Zha.

Forced Sister Yanzi to personally step into the group and explain: fake~ all fake~ just show effects.

Bai Liang's mother's side also gave odd feedback—these past two days, the girls chatting with her had huge emotional swings; some of their texts were almost in the style of The Times of Our Youth.

It felt like an extremely dangerous peach-entanglement ambush was about to engulf her little Bai Ge.

The only one who could break the deadlock? Only Na Zha.

So this time, she is Bai Liang's lucky goddess.

——

Although both teams began actively cooling things down, it had zero impact on The Affair's ratings, which continued to soar.

It even sparked a major amusing incident.

The first round of terrestrial broadcast for "Intimacy" was simulcast by two satellite channels.

Because the drama was so wildly popular, the two satellite channels engaged in a virtual "battle of spells" to compete for viewership ratings.

Both aired advance trailers to attract audiences, even abandoning their official logos, swapping their Weibo profile pictures for the lead actors' kissing photos, and racing to release teaser clips of the kissing scenes.

Yet even with simultaneous broadcast, it still claimed the top two spots in ratings, far ahead of the third-place drama.

It meant that even splitting "Intimacy" in half, each half could crush its competitors.

Only such performance could justify the title of "Drama King."

When the finale aired alongside the variety show's wedding spin-off, it would surely end perfectly.

Just like the steady upward trend of "Glory" before it, this kind of sweet romance drama rarely suffers a high-open, low-close pattern—it basically has no chance of declining.

Lu Han was quite relieved about this; his final drama had good fortune—it followed "Intimacy," rather than going head-to-head with Bai Liang.

Otherwise he'd be hammered into the ground and buried repeatedly.

As for the TV dramas airing alongside him, he glanced at one—and when he saw a drama called "Thirty Is Just Right," his eyelid twitched suddenly.

The name felt familiar.

Because his girlfriend Guan Xiaotong also had a drama airing at the same time as his "Crossfire," titled "Twenty Is Not a Puzzle."

The naming format clearly indicated they were from the same production company.

But when Lu Han saw that the cast list for "Thirty Is Just Right" included Bai Liang as a special guest, his eyelid twitched even harder.

No way, bro.

Is my final leading role drama going to be hunted down like this?

Bai Liang: I will personally organize your retirement ceremony.

——

"The Son-in-Law" is about to wrap filming.

But before the entire drama wraps, Dou Xiao Tian will wrap first.

To be honest, she'd stayed on set long enough—since she entered with Li Yitong, she spent the first half doing nothing, and only later did her role as Liu Xigua get screen time.

It truly wasted a lot of her time, but she herself was quite happy about it.

"Little Xigua~"

"Yes!"

"We're wrapping soon—what gift are you giving me?" Bai Liang grinned.

This question left Dou Xiao Tian utterly stunned—she was the one wrapping, so why was she giving him a gift?

Hmm... something felt off.

Still, Dou Xiao Tian scratched her head honestly and admitted she hadn't thought of anything yet—she'd work on it tonight when she got home.

Her sincerity made Bai Liang feel embarrassed.

You're actually thinking about it?

He patted around, searching left and right, and finally found only a few worthless little stones beside him.

He'd originally bought a whole set, and had already given away more than half.

He only had five left.

He glanced at the talisman carved with a dog, thought for a moment, and decided it was better not to go through with this.

He wasn't really trying to tease her.

But Dou Xiao Tian's big eyes spotted the stones at once—her expression shifted slightly, yet she said nothing.

Instead, she suddenly asked, "Brother, isn't your next drama called 'The Beginning'?"

"Ah~ yeah, has it been officially announced?"

"I saw it on Weibo yesterday—Miss Li told me you took this role because years ago you promised a little girl named Zhao Jinmai that you'd act with her."

Dou Xiao Tian spoke slower and slower, her head sinking lower as she talked.

Clearly, she herself now realized how implausible it sounded.

How old was Zhao Jinmai when she boldly spoke up? Fourteen or fifteen.

Saying it was just childish nonsense wasn't unreasonable—but she wasn't a teenager anymore; though she hadn't graduated university, she was undeniably a twenty-something adult woman. How could she possibly ask for something like that?

The gap in status was too vast—it was impossible to imagine.

Zhao Jinmai at least had "The Wandering Earth," and her image as the nation's little sweetheart in other dramas was already famous.

What did she have? Miss Li's favorite big-eyed cute girl?

"You want to act with me too? Sure~ If you work a little harder and get a good script, there might be a chance." Bai Liang didn't brush her off—he spoke seriously.

On one hand, he couldn't directly promise Dou Xiao Tian, since he didn't want to keep troubling Sister Yanzi.

On the other hand, it was still a kind of promise.

If the script was good and Dou Xiao Tian could rise to prominence—even if she remained obscure, she'd have no chance to collaborate with Bai Liang.

But if she achieved the title of "Rising Star of the Jianghu," she still wouldn't quite qualify—but who cared? Bai Liang was never a serious actor anyway~

He was very capricious.

Still, she'd need a decent script—at least one that could pass Sister Yanzi's scrutiny.

Bai Liang simply couldn't make unconditional promises like Zhao Jinmai's anymore.

Of course, even this non-promise to Dou Xiao Tian was utterly absurd.

Just becoming a "Rising Star of the Jianghu" and getting a chance to work with Bai Liang? That was a Jianghu-level gift package—an absurd treasure chest that could lift her several tiers at once.

You could say the bold get to enjoy the world first.

It was a reward for Dou Xiao Tian's bold charge~

Bai Liang knew many young girls, but very few dared speak to him so directly.

Even Zhou Ye's happy little dog wouldn't have that kind of nerve — he's a total coward.

Even Zhao Jinmai at her current age wouldn't dare; thankfully, when she was little, she really was just a child speaking without a filter.

"Really?!"

"You don't have to open your eyes that wide."

Her eyes are so big they're practically anime-level — turns out those cartoons really weren't lying!

It's impressive that eyes that big can still look good.

"Then can I still ask for a gift?"

"Huh?"

After Dou Xiao Tian picked out that talisman engraved with a little dog for herself, the expression on Bai Liang's face became rather interesting.

This really wasn't something he had rigged.

Unable to hold back, he asked, "Where are you planning to put this thing?"

Put it where?

Just now, Dou Xiao Tian really hadn't thought of that yet, but suddenly being asked about it, a light bulb went off in her head in her panic.

"I can set it into a choker~"

Bai Liang:???

Even he himself had never imagined this thing could be used in such a way.

Of course, nowadays this thing really is a pretty trendy fashion accessory — Bai Liang had seen other young ladies wearing them before.

But somehow, when it gets linked with classmate Dou Xiao Tian, the vibe immediately turns weird.

As expected of a soldier trained by the evil little kitty.

Facts prove that when the "disciple" is fierce, the master isn't far behind either.

"Don't move!"

Bai Liang, who had just returned to his own room, hadn't even had time to stretch when he was "subdued" from behind.

In fact, Bai Liang really was afraid of this kind of situation — being "locked down" by two slender arms.

Mainly because he was worried that his subconscious reaction might not kick in in time and he'd accidentally break her.

When Li Yitong sneaks up behind him, if it weren't for the scent on her arriving faster than her movement, Bai Liang might have thrown an elbow back.

"What are you doing?"

"Don't turn around! If you see my face, I'll silence you!" the evil little kitty deliberately said with a fierce look.

Bai Liang: Hiss~ a brand-new version I haven't played before!

This evil little kitty really does have the most tricks!

However, just as Bai Liang's weakness was caught and he instinctively wanted to turn his head to kiss her, his face was pushed away by the other party.

The next second, a line came from behind that nearly made him spit blood:

"Don't turn around, I'm Nazha~"

—

The moon climbed into the treetops.

"Damn stinky male fox, you got so excited the moment I said I was Nazha."

"Stop reciting it~ you can't even get up and lie there, and your mouth is still not behaving?" Bai Liang picked up Li Yitong, wiped her down with a towel, and successfully made her embarrassed.

"What are you doing?"

"Helping you wipe down, you're all sticky~"

The evil little kitty blushed and said nothing — who wipes someone down by pulling their clothes apart?

Kitties have their privacy too!

Thinking of this, she couldn't help wailing, "I'm not clean anymore, I can't get married now, you have to take responsibility!"

Hearing this, Bai Liang was like a switch had been flipped.

He jolted suddenly, his mouth falling open, as if wanting to say something.

But the next second the evil little kitty started throwing a tantrum, "Don't go get the marriage certificate with Guli Nazha, please~ I'm not like that shameless Jin Da Xi, I really can't handle it."

"What's wrong with Jin Da Xi?"

"She's determined to be a mistress, who can compete with her? I really can't, please just stay confused for a few more years."

This time, the evil little kitty truly let out a wail.

She wasn't joking around with Bai Liang.

"No plans to get a certificate for now. How about getting one with you?"

"Huh?"

Kitties, it seems, can change their mood in an instant — the sorrowful atmosphere she had just set up was broken by Li Yitong herself in a second.

She sat up in one go, a crescent moon smile immediately appearing on her little face, "For real or not?"

Before Bai Liang could speak, she waved her hand again, "You stinky guy, didn't you test Meng Jie the same way back then? Who knows if there's any truth in your mouth. Don't end up hiring someone to forge a certificate."

Looking at the utterly innocent Bai Liang, after complaining she couldn't help stretching out her little foot to press against his chest, "What are you spacing out for?"

"Huh?"

"Get busy! I'm thirty, brother, one round isn't enough."

The more wildly she clawed and bared her teeth in bed at night, the more she sobbed uncontrollably when wrap time came.

Successfully turning herself into a little calico cat.

Those crescent-moon eyes were even a little swollen and red.

By this time Dou Xiao Tian had already wrapped early and left the set, so she couldn't even cry it out with her girlfriends — she could only clutch at Bai Liang's clothes, wiping all her tears on his collar and lapel.

Actually, wrapping a scene wouldn't normally make someone cry like this.

It was purely that she was venting all her other emotions along with it—after all, she's an adult now, and having a good, uninhibited cry isn't that easy to come by.

Originally, this little moment might have been saved for some late-night emo session; last night would have been the most fitting time.

But last night, the excess water in her body left her in other ways, so she really couldn't manage to cry.

When Bai Liang caught her trying to secretly wipe her snot on him too, he knew this girl was pretty much done.

"Caught you!"

"Aiya, don't call out a beautiful girl when she's secretly being a mess, you bastard!"

Li Yitong's defenses completely crumbled. She wished she hadn't cried so hard. Beautiful girls are human too—when you cry hard enough, snot comes out too.

She had originally planned to get back at this male fox by wiping it on him, but now being caught red-handed was beyond embarrassing.

"Want a gift?"

"A wrap gift? What is it? You didn't actually prepare flowers for me too, did you? A thirty-year-old woman doesn't fall for that sort of thing~"

Just as Li Yitong was puzzled plus the period, Bai Liang suddenly pulled out a little red booklet and handed it over.

In an instant, her pupils lost focus.

She opened it and saw the name Su Tan'er written on it.

"You scheming, wicked man, you male fox!"

Her mouth said that, but the upturned corners of her lips and her crescent-moon eyes said everything.

(End of chapter)