Chapter 511: Each Version Has Its Own God

A large hand pressed down on her forehead; though not exerting much force, it was enough to prevent a girl of modest strength from advancing even a single step.

"Hey, little girl, got bold all of a sudden, huh~ Trying to sneak attack?"

Bai Liang pressed her forehead with one hand and rubbed the area from his chin to his cheek with the other.

Hmm. Old Pig ate too fast, didn't get to taste anything.

Student Student Mai Mai was still straining forward, her posture like a little wild boar charging.

Bai Liang wondered why she wasn't using her hands.

Just as he thought this, the girl seemed to realize it too and reached out to push at him.

Too bad—it was useless; the gap in strength and reach was too great.

This trick has worked on her since she was fourteen or fifteen, and it still works now.

Pressed on the head, she could only rage helplessly.

Due to his absolute reach advantage, her little claws couldn't even scratch him.

But experience really can kill you—that's still true.

The one truly trapped in path dependency was Bai Liang himself.

He used the same old trick on the little girl, forgetting that girls grow up too.

When she was underage, she played along with him like this out of fun—but now…

She stepped back slightly, then swiftly dropped into a low crouch, a move resembling a mixed martial arts takedown—though Zhao Jinmai couldn't pull it off with that same smooth fluidity, she just had a hint of the flavor.

But this move was just enough to slip past Bai Liang's arm barrier and dive straight into his arms.

This left Bai Liang stunned—he hadn't expected her to know this trick too.

Zhao Jinmai's face lit up with quiet triumph, her expression clearly saying, "I'm no longer the same little girl."

Yet just as she closed her eyes, tiptoed, and leaned forward to kiss him, Bai Liang, snapping back to awareness, simply lifted his chin slightly—rendering all her efforts useless.

Shorty, can't reach.

"Oh no! Big brother~"

That "big brother" sounded subtly different from before; Bai Liang glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, seeing the faint anxiety and irritation on her face, and couldn't tell if this was Zhao Jinmai or Li Shiqing.

She really has grown up.

After their rowdy play, Zhao Jinmai's forehead was slightly sweaty; Bai Liang automatically pulled out a tissue and wiped her face, just like before.

But when he met her bright, sparkling eyes, he realized again.

He tossed the tissue to her: "You're a grown-up now—wipe your own face~"

"Huh?"

Zhao Jinmai was dumbfounded—how could this be? Is this the price of growing up?

It's better when I was underage—back then, Bai Liang took care of me everywhere, even wiped my mouth after meals sometimes.

Why is he so cold now?

But once everyone else arrived and they had a meeting, Bai Liang, like giving a slap then a sweet date, decided to take her out for a big meal.

Zhao Jinmai's assistant and agent didn't follow at all—they seemed utterly at ease letting Bai Liang take her away.

But before they left, he noticed her agent slipping something into her bag.

"Big brother, tonight's so lively~" During dinner, Zhao Jinmai seemed to revert to her old chatty little-girl self, pulling out her phone to gossip with Bai Liang.

Bai Liang knew why Zhao Jinmai was so eager to chew on gossip.

The news of Pan Weibo's wedding had made a big splash online; wasn't that show "Trend Partners" the one he filmed with her? There's nothing more fun than chewing on gossip about someone you know.

His wedding itself wasn't loud—after all, he's not as wildly popular as he once was—but his wife's identity made netizens ecstatic.

Even Wang Sicong posted on his Moments to join the fun.

What's this so-called "King's Bride Training Camp"?

Some say its purpose is to teach girls who want to marry celebrities how to dress, how to socialize, how to manage themselves.

Photos have surfaced online showing Pan Weibo's and Guo Fu-cheng's wives among them.

"Not bad~ Pan Shuai knows how to pick a wife," Bai Liang said casually after munching on some gossip with Zhao Jinmai.

"Huh?"

Zhao Jinmai clearly didn't understand—how could this count as picking a good wife? Everyone online says she came from a training camp.

"If such a camp really exists, their goal is to marry well—to learn how to provide emotional value to their husbands, how to find their place in the family, how to get along with elders… aside from sounding a bit bad, it actually meets their needs quite well."

The current version hasn't even started accelerating yet.

When all sorts of "demons and monsters" start emerging and fists fly wildly, the "King's Brides" quietly manage households, raise children, behave themselves… in a way, they're actually quite good.

Compared to other chaotic, noisy contestants, they seem so well-behaved.

Their goal is simply to marry into wealth; once achieved, they settle down quietly and cause no trouble.

Of course, this theory is still slightly ahead of its time.

Zhao Jinmai listened, stunned, wanting to argue but scratching her head, unable to find words.

"Big brother, you're saying nonsense again~"

"Who knows what the future holds? Online public opinion always depends on the version—each version has its own god."

Many now being criticized may one day be praised with apologies when people bring them up.

Take Yao An, the upcoming star—this daughter of a top billionaire was utterly disliked when she debuted.

Everyone mocked her as "the ugly child of a rich family," tearing her apart.

But as time passed, with her background yet still quietly acting without causing any bizarre drama, and with other "purple stars" in the entertainment circle creating contrast, her reputation gradually improved.

Especially now, with so many "young lords and ladies" entering entertainment—and so many of them exploding in scandal—Yao An stands out as relatively likable by comparison.

So, public opinion? It's all about the version.

"So which version are you, big brother?" Zhao Jinmai seized the chance to ask.

Bai Liang thought for a moment. "Your big brother here is more of a supermodel—every version of me is dominant."

"So full of yourself!"

After chatting happily for a while about Pan Weibo's gossip, Zhao Jinmai went out to use the restroom.

Mm. And settled the bill on the way.

When she came back, she found Bai Liang staring at the bag she'd left at her seat.

Her heart clenched. "Big brother, what are you looking at?"

"I'm wondering what your manager stuffed in here for you earlier."

Apparently not expecting Bai Liang to be so direct, Zhao Jinmai was suddenly at a loss, unsure how to answer.

Bai Liang said he obviously couldn't sneak a peek through her bag while she was gone—that would be terribly rude, and it'd violate her privacy.

But he could wait until she was there and formally submit a bag-search request.

So right then, Bai Liang submitted his request, wanting to see what exactly was inside her bag.

Zhao Jinmai hesitated for quite a while. Looking at the slightly serious, earnest expression on big brother's face, she still handed the bag over.

The contents were naturally the same things she'd given him once before.

For external use and for internal use.

Bai Liang looked at the two items, his brow slightly furrowed, half-tempted to give that guy Dong Zijian a call and curse him out.

What kind of manager did he even arrange? Stuffing this sort of thing on a little girl?

He also recalled how her manager had previously "meddled" with the script, looking so eager about filming a kissing scene.

Bai Liang narrowed his eyes.

Fortunately, at that moment, Zhao Jinmai began a halting, stumbling explanation.

Though she spoke a bit haltingly, Bai Liang still understood what she meant. The expression on his face instantly turned strange.

Ah, this.

He'd originally thought her manager might have a bit of a "madam" vibe about her, but now it seemed the woman was afraid he wouldn't know his limits and would end up getting the little girl pregnant.

No way—he was such a gentleman, how could he possibly sit at the same table as that guy Wu Yifan?

Going by her manager's judgment and the timeline, wasn't it exactly that "beast" Bai Liang who'd made his move on little Mai before she was even an adult?

"Confiscated!"

"Huh?"

"Why do you look so disappointed? Want to use it?"

"No, no." Classmate Mai shook her head quickly, then lowered her head and stole a sideways glance at Bai Liang.

Whether she actually meant it was unclear.

Although Bai Liang always treated her like a child, a little girl who'd grown up as a child star had also been exposed to society quite early—Zhao Jinmai wasn't really that naive or ignorant of the world.

It was just that when she was in front of Bai Liang, she was willing to be that way.

It wasn't exactly an act either; she just genuinely didn't have to overthink things, and being a spoiled little kid was pretty pleasant.

But as time went on, the little kid didn't want to keep being a little kid anymore—or rather, didn't want to be only a little kid.

"Big brother, you're not going to use this on other girls after taking it from me, right?" Zhao Jinmai boldly spoke up, putting on a slightly aggrieved little look at the same time.

"Impossible." Bai Liang answered without the slightest hesitation.

"Then it's a deal~"

"It's a deal."

Bai Liang figured he didn't even need the stuff in the first place~

There was still a pile of it in the RV, never once used.

Its main purpose was just to make any Miss who discovered it blush a little, to stir up her emotions.

That evening, after Zhao Jinmai was dropped off again, she found her manager wearing an expression that was slightly disappointed yet also relieved.

Quite the contradiction.

Unable to hold back, the manager asked, "Mai, the stuff I gave you—"

"It's gone." Zhao Jinmai opened her bag and showed it off briefly as she spoke.

The wording was rather clever—'gone,' not 'used' or 'didn't use.'

The manager immediately filled in the blanks: she'd already used it up.

How to put it—well, it was also a kind of cleverness on Classmate Mai's part.

She didn't want to ride her big brother's popularity too much, wouldn't open her mouth and ask Bai Liang to star in something with her again, to make such an unreasonable request.

But she did put that little bit of cunning to use in dealing with the company.

The manager was assigned to her by the company; if a tiny misunderstanding could make the company value her more, there was really no need to explain things so clearly.

Besides, it wasn't as if she hadn't explained before—people just didn't believe her~

Better to just keep it vague; whatever they wanted to imagine, let them imagine it.

As for whether it would eventually turn from fake into real—

Who could say for sure~

(End of chapter)