Chapter 505: Probably Because of His Wife

The official verdict didn't come out until 9:30 the next morning, after Sister Tian Tian had been getting roasted online for a full day.

Very reasonable—nine in the morning is when people start work.

Bai Liang had overlooked one thing: yesterday was Sunday, a day off.

From a certain angle, Sister Tian Tian getting that round of roasting really wasn't unfair at all.

But she herself didn't seem to mind much, and even quite enjoyed the sudden reversal of fortune.

Of course, the biggest beneficiary of all this was undoubtedly the "Chinese Restaurant" production team.

With all this uproar, the viewership ratings for the episode Bai Liang and the others filmed instantly skyrocketed.

Catching a fish nearly two meters long was already shocking enough on its own to draw plenty of curious viewers, let alone the fact that it turned out to be an extinct nationally protected animal, Grade One.

A flood of people flooded the show's official Weibo demanding they release a standalone clip of Bai Liang's fishing moment.

Production team: You must be joking~ How could we possibly cut it out separately?

They were counting on using this very clip to "fish" for viewers.

The hype was off the charts!

Bai Liang had once again opened their eyes—damn, a variety show could actually pull off this kind of effect.

He'd even freeloaded a round of publicity from official state media.

Of course, the risk behind this kind of show effect was also enormous; thankfully nothing happened to that Chinese paddlefish.

If it had been injured or even died, the production team would have been in deep trouble.

Last year in South Korea there was a variety show called "Law of the Jungle," filmed on the Thai coast, where the guests pulled out all the stops just to fill their bellies, and when conditions got rough they were even forced to eat bugs.

And when one guest was scooping up "clams" in the sea, she actually pulled out a giant clam, a Thai Grade One protected animal, and ate it.

Of course, that female guest did repeatedly confirm with the production team whether it was edible, and the show's director actually gave her a "reassuring pill."

No problem~

So she got herself indicted by Thai police, wanted worldwide, facing a five-year sentence.

In the end it escalated to diplomatic negotiations between countries before she avoided prison, though she was permanently banned from entering Thailand.

As for China, a similar variety show a few years back seemed to have had the same kind of incident too.

But even all those combined probably weren't as outrageous as the Chinese paddlefish Bai Liang reeled in; when the production team realized how serious it was, they nearly dropped to their knees to kowtow to that fish.

So sometimes, an especially outrageous show effect comes with enormous risk.

Back when Bai Liang trekked alone through the African wilderness, it was the same thing.

The production team was scared out of their wits.

Now the worry about his personal safety had eased quite a bit—after all, this guy had even dared to jump off Zhufeng.

But this time he stopped messing with his own life and went after a nationally protected animal, Grade One, which honestly made people gasp.

Originally, the matter should have ended here.

But what nobody expected was—

There's still a master!

A variety show just as familiar to viewers as "Chinese Restaurant" jumped out aggressively and stole the spotlight.

"Go Fighting!"

The show's previous "Men's Gang" had already disbanded in a major reshuffle, with only one Wang Xun left from the original lineup.

The show had always been famous for going all out—they'd even actually set off explosions before.

But this time they really played with fire.

They were picking "snow lotus" in Tibet~

Good news: the snow lotus was fake.

Bad news: what they picked wasn't a snow lotus, but a nationally protected plant, Grade Two—the water-mother snow rabbit.

Netizens: Oh wow~ First a nationally protected animal, Grade One, now a nationally protected plant, Grade Two—is your entertainment industry trying to take over the sky?

That Liu Yuning who picked the "snow lotus" nearly got roasted into shutting himself down on the spot.

Judging by this, having just transitioned from internet celebrity to star, his training was clearly still insufficient.

Sister Tian Tian got hung up and roasted, yet her mindset stayed cheerful~

He, on the other hand, had barely faced any pressure before he started questioning his life.

"How would I know that was a nationally protected plant, Grade Two—surely this won't blow up, right?" Liu Yuning said helplessly and aggrievedly.

His manager thought it over and figured he really couldn't be too hard on his own artist—after all, he'd graduated from Dandong Cooking Technical School.

But the good thing was—

"What's there to panic about? If the sky falls, the tall ones hold it up!" the manager said full of confidence.

"I'm the tallest one on that show."

Manager: See, reading more really is useful!

Shaking his head helplessly, he said, "I meant Bai Liang."

"Well, I'm still taller than him~"

"Good! You've got guts! Wait till those year-end events come around, say that to his face!" the manager said, curling his lip and giving Liu Yuning a thumbs-up.

Hey~ believe it or not, that trick really works!

The other guy immediately understood what "tall one" meant and quietly shut his mouth.

But the principle is still the same—if the sky falls, the tall ones hold it up.

Picking one Grade Two protected plant is nothing—someone reeled in a nationally protected animal, Grade One!

Watching the online public opinion, the manager, who considered himself far more "clever" than Liu Yuning, came up with a "brilliant plan."

"I'll hire some water army to steer the narrative, and we'll hide behind him."

"Is it possible?"

"His goal is way bigger than yours. By the way, is that fish dead yet?"

The reason this question exists is that although the authorities officially confirmed the sturgeon's existence, they never said whether it was still alive.

"I don't know," Liu Yuneng scratched his head. The two incidents were only a day apart, and the authorities still hadn't released any update.

The agent paused in thought.

Since Bai Liang hadn't made any statement either—even his own Weibo and studio Weibo hadn't reposted any related announcements.

At first glance, it looked like he didn't want to stir up this matter.

Following the entertainment industry's habitual thinking,

"That fish is done for!"

The agent declared confidently.

Who ever heard of a cat not chasing fish? When a celebrity gets hold of such a hot topic, if they show no interest in hyping it up, it's likely because hyping it up could land them in trouble.

That fish is almost certainly dead!

"Huh?!"

Sister Yanzi immediately noticed the online shift, but she tilted her head, stumped by a question.

Liu Yuneng—who's that?

Only after searching on Baidu did she get a slight sense of who he was. Oh, he used to be a web celebrity.

Yet someone she had to look up online dared to latch onto her boss Dou Xiao Bai?

Admirable courage!

Since Li Yifeng quit the industry, Wu Youfan got caught in the sewing machine, Yang Yang got beaten until his face was black and blue, and Lu Han got spun like a top, she hadn't seen such boldness in ages!

After Dou Xiao Bai took down the former Big Four top idols one by one, none of the new top idols dared to challenge him.

Now one suddenly popped up, and Sister Yanzi found it oddly refreshing.

But his tactic wasn't really targeting Bai Liang—given the past two days' events, he was probably trying to use Bai Liang to divert attention.

Sister Yanzi grew interested. She was just about to stretch her limbs and have some fun with this newcomer.

But before she could act, a piece of news arrived that made her laugh.

"Serves you right, you unlucky bastard!"

The authorities issued a thank-you note to Bai Liang and the production team.

Mainly thanking them for how they handled the discovery of a national first-class protected animal.

Properly protected.

The "Chinese Restaurant" production team finally breathed a sigh of relief, though they felt guilty—they'd merely splashed some water on the fish.

Protected? They didn't even know how!

Besides, Bai Liang had been pretty rough with the big fish—he even tapped its skull, nearly making it emit a weird glow in its eyes~

All in all, this creature's life force was indeed stubborn; if not for environmental factors, it probably wouldn't have gone extinct.

In short, the matter was finally settled.

It was the most righteous fishing trip ever! A real contribution!

On the other side, Liu Yuneng and "Extreme Challenge" were in deep trouble.

Bai Liang's fish was still swimming lively, but his "snow lotus" had been plucked and was truly dead!

The massive attention and backlash instantly turned its guns on him: "So you're the flower thief, are you?!"

Liu Yuneng was forced to apologize immediately, clarifying that the so-called "snow lotus" was a prop prepared in advance for show effects, and that his actions had set a bad example and misled the public, and so on.

The "Extreme Challenge" production team also issued an apology statement shortly after.

But immediately, relevant plant experts jumped out to contradict them.

They stated: if a prop could be made so lifelike, that would truly be a miracle; moreover, every root, stem, leaf, and flower of the snow jelly rabbit was clearly defined—impossible to be man-made.

The contrast between the two incidents was quite amusing.

After the incident, one side, led by the clueless Sister Tian Tian, insisted it was real, leaving netizens speechless.

The other side, however, clenched their teeth and denied it was real, determined to label it fake.

In a way, both sides were insulting everyone's intelligence.

Given the "lesson" from Sister Tian Tian, netizens were wary of being embarrassed and planned to wait and observe. But the experts jumped out too fast, and instantly shoved "Extreme Challenge" into the ditch.

"Extreme Challenge" production team: Shit! Where were all the experts when Bai Liang was fishing? Not one of them spoke up?

Yangtze River fish experts: If you'd pulled out a plant declared extinct too, we'd have studied it for at least two days.

We haven't seen a sturgeon in seventeen years—who dares to swear they recognize one from a photo?

Besides, Bai Liang didn't take a photo with the sturgeon's corpse—the fish was perfectly fine.

At this moment, Liu Yuneng stared at his agent with a mournful expression. "Didn't you say that fish was dead?"

"Ahem, just a minor misjudgment."

"Now my Weibo is flooded with insults and mockery."

That wasn't false—after choosing to put Bai Liang out front, all their maneuvers had backfired, creating a stark contrast.

Now a bunch of people were mocking Liu Yuneng's Weibo, talking about "IQ gaps" and such.

The agent quickly comforted him: "You're not even close to just that gap."

Liu Yuneng:???

So far, Bai Liang himself had shown no reaction at all.

Now Liu Yuneng's agent finally understood: the guy didn't even care about this much traffic.

Bai Liang: Nah, not that much.

He certainly doesn't lack topics or traffic, but he still needs to promote the movie.

As for not reacting to this matter, he simply wanted to wait until the episode of "China Restaurant" aired.

Who doesn't like showing off their catch~—

"Long time no see~"

Yang Yang, ever the composed one, smiled a standard smile at Bai Liang, looking every bit the godlike idol.

Of course, this was mainly because of the cameras beside him.

Otherwise, he often couldn't hold it together so well in front of Bai Liang~

Bai Liang had plenty of ways to break him.

As for today's—

"Hey, how do you know I caught a two-meter fish?" Bai Liang raised an eyebrow and grinned.

Yang Yang:???

Did I ask you?

"That—"

"Over two hundred jin!"

"No—"

"It wasn't easy to lift and weigh it then, but I felt it might've been over three hundred jin!" Bai Liang enthusiastically promoted.

"I mean, I know because the online buzz was huge—I saw the photos."

Yang Yang looked utterly exasperated; damn, Bai Liang had thrown off his rhythm entirely.

Wang Yanlin chuckled loudly nearby; he didn't rush over, knowing the Immortal was definitely about to cause trouble.

But Yang Yang really carried too much idol baggage—after learning Bai Liang was coming on the show, this guy had been acting strangely.

Just now in the makeup room, he'd been primping like carving ornate patterns—almost styling each strand of hair individually.

In fact, his over-the-top posture when facing Bai Liang was downright outrageous.

And yet he still broke down right on the spot.

Taken down by a single fish.

But when Bai Liang's gaze turned toward him, Wang Yanlin's expression immediately collapsed.

As expected.

"You also know I caught a three-meter, five-hundred-jin fish?"

"Your damn uncle, you're exaggerating again? You're outright lying on camera? The whole country's watching you!" Wang Yanlin retorted.

"Dou Xiao Ye, tell him—was it three meters and five hundred jin?"

"Yes!" The happy little dog Zhou Ye nodded vigorously, thumping his chest to swear he'd been there in person and could vouch for it.

Wang Yanlin: I won't believe a single word Miss says.

I have a feeling that soon, Bai Liang will start claiming his fish weighed a ton.

Though the fish really was huge, admittedly.

"Alright, alright, three meters, three meters," Wang Yanlin reluctantly accepted.

"What three meters? Four meters!"

"Have you sunk this low? Lying right on camera?"

"Dou Xiao Ye~" Bai Liang stepped back, preparing to "summon" Dou Xiao Ye as his proxy again~

Zhou Ye: Yes! It's four meters—I was there!

Wang Yanlin immediately surrendered: "Alright, alright, Big Brother! Immortal! You say it's how many meters—it's that many!"

Right now, Bai Liang was bringing two girls to film the show "Full of Vitality, Big Brothers."

It's also a kind of outdoor reality show.

At first glance, the name seems similar to "Sisters Who Make Waves," but it's not.

The real counterpart to "Sisters Who Make Waves" is "Brothers Who Brave the Thorns."

And the main feature of "Full of Vitality, Big Brothers" is hide-and-seek.

It's basically the signature element—like how "Running Man" always ends with tearing off name tags.

The show first does some interactions and mini-games, then launches into a large-scale hide-and-seek.

Bai Liang really loved this segment—whether hiding or hunting, it felt incredibly fun.

So far, he's already brought Zhou Ye and Chen Duling onto several shows, but only "China Restaurant" and this "Full of Vitality, Big Brothers" had real fun.

Of course, the fun on "China Restaurant" mostly came from him creating his own entertainment.

What's novel about being a waiter without that rod? Besides, Bai Liang was a very lazy waiter.

With Sister Xiao Zhao coddling him, he didn't do much work.

In his own words, catching that ten-meter, two-ton fish had already used up all his primordial strength.

How could he possibly have energy left to work~

After chatting for a while with Yang Yang and Wang Yanlin, Bai Liang looked up and saw Long Long Liqi approaching with a smile.

But he couldn't shake the feeling that Long Long Liqi's gaze at him seemed oddly off.

Almost as if there was a hint of wariness~

They didn't chat long—production hadn't started yet; Long Long Liqi had just heard Bai Liang was in Yang Yang's makeup room and came over to say hello.

"Do you have a grudge against him?" Wang Yanlin, though he looked loud and carefree, always laughing, actually had sharp observation skills.

During Bai Liang and Long Long Liqi's brief exchange, he sensed something strange.

"No grudge at all—I've never met this senior before."

"That's good~ But I just feel like something's a bit off."

"Probably because of his wife." Bai Liang said offhandedly.

"What the hell?"

Wang Yanlin, who had only just relaxed a moment ago, instantly widened his eyes.

Damn, bro, you cuckolded him?!

That's insane, no wait, that's just beastly?!

Bai Liang saw the look in this guy's eyes and knew what he was thinking. "It's precisely because of people like you that others are on guard against me. All you do is let your imagination run wild."

"Big bro, it's clearly because you said it in such an ambiguous way!"

"I just said it might be because of his wife. Is that ambiguous?"

Wang Yanlin scratched his head for a while, feeling like something wasn't quite right, but unable to pin it down?

He simply asked outright: "So what's the deal between you and his wife?"

"Nothing at all~"

"Damn, I'm dying of impatience here, big bro, I beg you."

Bai Liang shook his head helplessly. "Someone just started a rumor, but I'm not sure if he knows about it."

Yes, rumors had once again sprung up inside Tang Ren.

Just as Chen Yao was about to become the new generation's top star of Tang Ren, those bored folks recalled the "exploits" Bai Liang had pulled off at Tang Ren before his rise.

No way around it, the timing was just too convenient.

The exact moment Cai Yinong officially elevated Chen Yao to top billing happened to be when she had used Bai Liang's name to fight for a role for Chen Yao.

Although outside, thanks to the sheer number of big shots around, the scandal between Chen Yao and Bai Liang hadn't caused much of a stir.

But inside Tang Ren it was a different story — who knew how many versions of the tale were floating around by now.

Combined with the almost-openly-played stack of photos, somehow it ended up twisted into "All three generations of Tang Ren's top stars have had something going on with Bai Liang."

Of course, Liu Shishi herself had some blame to share.

Possibly because she'd never managed to add Bai Liang on WeChat, this lady still harbored quite a grudge, and might well have complained to her husband about it.

Anyway, these were the only possibilities Bai Liang could think of.

Otherwise, why would Long Liqi be on guard against him for no good reason? Acting like he was worried Bai Liang would steal his wife.

He's not some Cao-Cao-style homewrecker~

(End of Chapter)