Chapter 504

Bai Liang didn't make Sister Tian Tian delete her Weibo post—after all, it was already published, and even if deleted instantly, someone would've screenshot it.

Besides, this story was bound to hit the news within the next two days; there was no way it could wait until this episode of "China's Restaurant" aired.

But for her acting on her own initiative and posting the Weibo first, Bai Liang had to give her "severe" criticism!

She just doesn't understand the rules!

When you hook a big fish, you let the angler show off first—naturally!

How can you just steal a photo and post it outright?

You've already shown off—what's left for me to show off?

Sister Tian Tian actively acknowledged her mistake and said she'd apologize in any way possible—Bai Liang could do whatever he wanted to her.

Isn't it obvious that typing messages allows far greater freedom than face-to-face or phone conversations?

Many things you'd never say in person come out effortlessly when typing.

But Bai Da naturally saw right through her little scheme.

Want to eat and take away at the same time?

Punish you with a secret code!

"The venomous snake spits its tongue~"

At that moment, Sister Tian Tian, on a date with her best friend, looked at this long-forgotten embarrassing code, puffed out her cheeks, glanced around, then whispered a voice message:

"No footprints!"

Watching this, her best friend Xiao Shui barely held back her laughter, covering her mouth and giggling uncontrollably, barely suppressing a burst of sound.

What the hell kind of flirtation is this?

"Oh, don't laugh at me—he's just like this!" Sister Tian Tian quickly explained, then muttered under her breath: "It's all your fault for encouraging me~"

"I give you advice and you repay me with betrayal? Look how proactive those two Xinjiang girls are—you're always like a dead fish."

Clearly, the case was solved.

The idea to post Bai Liang's fishing photo on Weibo came from Xiao Shui.

As the former chief editor of Sina Entertainment, teaching Sister Tian Tian these little tricks was second nature to her.

Mainly because Xiao Shui had realized why Sister Tian Tian had never succeeded in "rebelling" and becoming group leader—her initiative was too weak!

The speed of her exaggerated retreat whenever something happened had once left Xiao Shui speechless.

No one knew how she'd trained herself to do that~

In short, Sister Tian Tian was a classic example of someone with abysmal action power.

She's great at cheering and chanting to set the mood, always jumping around in the group—but when real action was needed, she instantly retreated.

Now that Xiao Shui had become deputy director, she'd slipped away from her busy schedule today to go shopping and drink coffee with Sister Tian Tian, originally not planning to discuss romance at all.

But the moment they sat down at the café, Bai Liang proudly sent Sister Tian Tian a photo of his "Gaeokka."

Xiao Shui instantly spotted this as a perfect chance to strike and urged Sister Tian Tian to post the Weibo.

Visibility must be earned, one step at a time!

Why, with so many rumors about Bai Liang, do only those two Xinjiang girls dominate the spotlight and lead everyone else?

Mainly because their visibility is simply too strong.

They constantly stir up drama, even bickering with each other, creating massive noise.

Of course, other girls truly lag behind them in fame and traffic—but "other girls" doesn't include Sister Tian Tian.

Her looks, figure, fame, status—she's no worse than them in any way, yet her visibility is drastically lower.

With such advantages, why waste them all day saying "no footprints"?

Seeing Xiao Shui's slightly disdainful gaze, Sister Tian Tian felt deeply guilty.

She wanted to defend herself, claiming she wasn't that lazy—that she'd tried hard too.

Xiao Shui: "If you'd really tried hard, you'd now be in a three-way standoff, not a two-way dominance."

You don't join online battles, you don't show up at offline gaming events—you just chatter endlessly in the group.

You little waste!

Sister Tian Tian looked wounded: "How can you say that about me? What offline gaming events?"

Xiao Shui helplessly covered her face: "Seriously? You didn't even know about the offline female star team-building for 'Black Myth: Wukong'?"

They're about to release their first trailer~

Xiao Shui had assumed that even if Sister Tian Tian was slow, she couldn't possibly be unaware of those girls forming teams to grind the "Bai Liang's Parents" dungeon.

But she genuinely didn't know.

Xiao Shui had far more detailed information on this topic because she'd commissioned a special interview—some questions were public, others private, asked behind the scenes.

She'd gained partial insight into what Bai Liang's "ordinary family background" really meant.

To be fair, Xiao Shui had once wondered why Bai Liang's family background seemed so mysterious—but after taking the initiative to investigate, she discovered:

It wasn't mysterious at all; they hadn't hidden anything—they'd simply never been investigated.

Or rather, even if you tried, you couldn't find the right leads.

Xiao Shui was just "lucky"—she directly caught up with Bai Liang's father.

At first, she asked questions cautiously on all fronts, since many billionaires' first fortunes or origins weren't exactly clean.

But Bai Liang's parents were different.

Whatever Xiao Shui asked, they answered plainly and directly.

Their origin story was so clean it was unbelievable—completely unafraid of exposure.

Huge wealth you can openly reveal is entirely different from huge wealth you hide and fear being found out.

At least Bai's mother's expensive jewelry? Absolutely light-worthy.

In a certain sense, this added another layer to Bai Liang's godlike aura.

In terms of family background, the bonus is substantial!

Xiao Shui invited Sister Tian Tian out this time to quietly share this piece of information with her.

It's a reminder: this matter probably won't stay hidden much longer—it'll be exposed sooner or later, and then the competition will only grow fiercer!

Sister Tian Tian blinked her eyes: "Oh~ I see~"

Seeing her clueless expression, Xiao Shui was speechless—she just stared with wide eyes to act cute, but you're already over thirty! Still pretending to be a little girl? No wonder you can't get married~

Sister Tian Tian explained aggrievedly: "No, I checked my phone—the netizens said the picture I posted was fake."

"What picture is fake?"

"That fish—I got tricked by him! That fish is already extinct."

To be fair, this "tricked" incident did make Sister Tian Tian somewhat "angry"—damn it! How could this guy be so mean? He even photoshopped a photo of himself catching a giant fish and showed it to her.

She felt Bai Liang was indeed fishing—but fishing for her, this "big-mouthed fish"~

At this moment, Xiao Shui also checked Sister Tian Tian's Weibo comment section. Aside from fans going "Wah wah wah," there were indeed many people coming forward to "point out the error," some with harsh, mocking words.

After a quick check on this so-called white sturgeon, she found it was indeed already extinct.

Xiao Shui: "Shit! I was scolding Sister Tian Tian, and now I'm a big-mouthed fish too. How could he be so cruel?"

"I'm going to confront him!"

Sister Tian Tian stormed off angrily to confront Bai Liang over the "fake photo," but two minutes later she was already arguing with Xiao Shui.

Just moments ago calling Bai Liang a "fraud," Sister Tian Tian now swore firmly on his behalf.

"He said he didn't trick me—I believe him."

"Sister, you still say you're not dumb?" Xiao Shui said, dumbfounded.

"I'm not dumb—he said so," Sister Tian Tian replied confidently. "Even if he's joking with me, he'd only trick me once—he wouldn't go that far."

"This is an extinct fish. Do you even know what 'extinct' means?"

"I don't care—he definitely didn't trick me this time!"

Sister Tian Tian shook her head like a rattle drum—she understood the logic, but Bai Liang's credibility with her was simply too high!

So she truly believed he had caught this fish, even though it was already extinct.

This point, Xiao Shui as a friend, would never understand~

Xiao Shui: Absurd!

She didn't want to make a big deal over a fish, but this clueless Sister Tian Tian went to Weibo to argue with people!

She stood firm, defending Bai Liang's catch like she was swearing to protect it with her life.

He really caught it! I vouch for him!

Excellent! Very impressive!

Then she got roasted mercilessly.

"I'm done with these celebrities—so now you've caught a white sturgeon extinct for seventeen years? Can you please show a little respect for everyone's intelligence?"

"Tian Tian, Tian Tian, how did you end up pretending to be something you're not? You got burned so hard."

"This is one of the most brutal celebrity faceplants I've ever seen—fishing for an extinct species?"

"The guy above is just being awkwardly negative—the river of time is still a river, right?"

"I just want to know who photoshopped this image—who's the genius who came up with this brilliant idea?"

"Somehow, I can't believe Master Bai's intelligence would sink to this—he's actually read books."

"Is it you, Tian Tian? Snap out of it!"

"."

Sister Tian Tian was nearly branded a new-generation "nine-leak fish," and some netizens even started giving her nicknames.

All kinds of flashy, over-the-top ones, roughly in the format like: Zhai Tianlin of Zhiwang, Architect Master Jiang, Nobel Prize in Mathematics Jin Dong.

These were all entertainers who tried to pose as experts outside their field and got brutally exposed. Sister Tian Tian and Bai Liang's nickname? Time Fishing Master.

Many mocked her for lacking common sense—she was fast becoming a textbook example of celebrities hitting new lows.

Sister Tian Tian's team was going crazy: "Sis, what are you doing?!"

Why are you suddenly so bold today?!

You don't act—but when you do, it's this huge, stupid move?

Sister Tian Tian: Hmm… Xiao Shui encouraged me~

Xiao Shui:???

Wait, I just told you to seek more visibility—when did I tell you to charge ahead like this, mindlessly?

Sister Tian Tian: Just tell me—did I gain visibility or not?

Xiao Shui:.

To be fair, Sister Tian Tian's visibility is now extremely high.

But the consequence is that netizens now think she's an idiot who belongs in a museum.

Of course, given how good-looking she is, you can add "cute" after "idiot."

But mostly, it's still "idiot."

——

As the sun set, Master Bai, after a long day's work, opened his phone and checked Weibo—he found Sister Tian Tian's world had collapsed.

The fishing photo had indeed generated massive attention and traffic—more than anyone could have imagined.

But for Sister Tian Tian, who posted it, it was entirely negative.

Bai Liang had just gotten busy at the time; when she asked him if it was real, he naturally told her it was.

But she didn't wait for the relevant official authorities to come forward and stamp it—she just charged ahead on her own.

She was betting entirely on her trust in Bai Liang.

But the result was stark: she got publicly roasted by netizens.

Honestly, if this had been posted by Bai Liang himself, the trolls might've hesitated.

After all, Bai Bai Daxian's weirdness wasn't just known within the circle—it had spread beyond it too.

But it was just Sister Tian Tian playing around on her own, while Bai Liang, the real person, still didn't show up—this looked exactly like him being guilty and afraid to claim it.

In truth, Bai Liang had just entered recording mode and was busy working, and hadn't checked his phone at all~

He thought: after Sister Tian Tian posts it, it'll at most trend briefly, then someone official will naturally step in to settle it, and that would make her happy.

But the result was: they were late~

Or rather, the relevant departments wanted to double-check, and confirm one hundred percent before saying anything.

So now this situation arose.

Thinking of how long she'd been insulted, that idiot Sister Tian Tian probably felt utterly crushed by now~

Bai Liang: Time for a heroic entrance!

He first liked her Weibo post, then posted several photos in the comments section.

After that, he contacted Sister Tian Tian, thinking he should comfort her first—she might've already cried.

Sister Tian Tian: No way!

I'm not broken—I'm not broken! Even if I were, it's only because Bai Liang lied to me.

As for being insulted by netizens—do you have any idea what she went through these past few years?

She had come over specifically to curse her out.

"Unpopular Sister Tian Tian" was never a good nickname.

Back then, her reputation was so bad she sat at the same table as Big Mi Mi, Fan Fan Bingbing, and others.

What did that mean?

It meant audiences assumed any movie featuring them was guaranteed to be trash!

Among them, Sister Tian Tian was the "worst" of all.

So Bai Liang had indeed underestimated Sister Tian Tian—though she was in her early thirties and still acted like a little girl, inside she was quite strong.

At least when it came to enduring insults, she had plenty of experience.

"I'm fine~ Taking a break, then I'll keep fighting!" Sister Tian Tian's voice crackled with determination over the phone.

We're right! What do we have to fear?

And where does this right come from? Bai Liang told her it was true~

She believed in dead-solid logic.

Honestly, netizens actually admired Sister Tian Tian—this woman was truly stubborn!

Like she'd crawled into a dead-end alley.

It's true! It's true!

No matter what anyone said, she wouldn't listen—even some of her fans were urging her: "Tian Tian, give it up, this is just too ridiculous."

Sister Tian Tian: I won't listen! I won't listen! I won't listen~

But just then, reinforcements arrived!

Zhao Liying, Chen Duling, Huang Xiaoming, and others liked the post.

Of course, the most important thing was Bai Liang's appearance in her comment section.

The Immortal's here!

The entry of the entertainment industry's strongest "dark force" instantly reversed the public opinion.

"Wait, are you guys serious? Everyone else I can handle, but Bai Liang? That guy's weird—I'm genuinely unsure now."

"Did the whole cast of 'The Chinese Restaurant' just pop up? Are they really pulling extinct animals out of nowhere?!"

"Are these entertainment industry nincompoops actually banding together? I don't believe they can pull this off! Bullshit~"

"I don't believe anyone else, but I truly believe Bai Bai Daxian—I've been watching him for days, and he's definitely off."

"To be fair, if this is a show stunt, Mango TV's balls are way too big."

"."

Mango TV stated that even with their boldness, they'd never dare pull such a wild stunt.

If they really pulled such a ridiculous gimmick, what would they do when the authorities asked for the fish? Release it? Or eat it?

If they released it, wouldn't they need video proof?

If they ate it, someone might end up in prison for life—I won't say who.

So now, Mango TV sat calmly, waiting for the official verdict so they could jump on the trend.

Of course, they hadn't expected someone like Sister Tian Tian to stick her head out—and so stubbornly—that she'd turned the heat up this high.

Previously, they'd been quietly observing, waiting for the authorities to act, and hadn't paid much attention to Sister Tian Tian being roasted.

But once Bai Liang arrived with the cast of 'The Chinese Restaurant' to support her…

If the "Godfather" had entered the fray, how could they stay still?

Strongly standing by!

Stop talking nonsense—it's real! For full details, tune in to the corresponding episode of 'The Chinese Restaurant'—the fish-capture process will be shown uncut.

Let's not dwell on how the public opinion fermented.

Xiao Zhao, who had just liked and supported the post, felt moved and asked Bai Liang, "How did you convince her? Why does she believe you so completely?"

"Don't you believe me, Sister?" Bai Liang replied with a smile.

Little Zhao Jiejie paused, at a loss for words.

Fine, it seemed she really didn't have the standing to roast Big Tian Tian.

It was just that comparatively speaking, she herself was more low-key in this regard.

The two of them were only a year apart in age, yet the other could be as enthusiastic as a little girl.

A few years ago, Little Zhao Jiejie could still be like that, but now she wouldn't be so "childish" anymore.

She couldn't help but feel a little envious of Big Tian Tian.

However, Zhao Xiaodao was still Zhao Xiaodao; she shifted the topic in one breath and pulled it straight to another subject: "Go comfort your little schoolgirl, look at her staring so intently."

Looking at the faint smile on Little Zhao Jiejie's face, Bai Liang couldn't help but scratch his head.

You bunch of eighty-five flowers are really shameless, taking turns to put pressure on Dudu.

Little Zhao Jiejie gives pressure head-on, Big Tian Tian gives pressure from afar.

One is the ease and generous indifference by Bai Liang's side, the other is a headlong, reckless, foolishly naive devotion.

It's practically giving the freshly determined, charge-ready Dudu a slap on each cheek, one from each side.

As the fiercest, most daring girl in the "third tier" so far, she hadn't even faced those two "great demons" yet, and she was already about to be spun into a top.

Who knows if she can still keep bracing herself.

Zhou Ye, this scout, did a round of covert observation.

She suddenly really wanted to suggest to Chen Duling: how about going to sit at Meng Jie's table~ it's not embarrassing.

She finally understood now why Meng Jie, who had known Bai Liang so early, had fallen so far behind—these older sister contestants were more "abnormal" than the last! —

Got stuff to do today, owe one chapter, will make it up at the start of the month, muah!

(End of this chapter)