Chapter 522

A gentle knife can still kill!

Today's movie premiere was a literal transformation of romantic debts into romantic disasters.

According to normal plot development, after the girls finished tearing each other apart, they should've all turned on Bai Liang together!

It felt utterly impossible to find any way out.

He'd have to be torn into pieces here and there.

Yet nothing of the sort happened; instead, the scene of a group of beautiful female stars collectively greeting Bai Liang became a legendary moment many would never forget for the rest of their lives!

To be a man to this extent is undoubtedly one of the standard answers to a life well lived.

Another kind of triumphant glory.

Oh right, it's time to take seats—the premiere is about to begin.

This might well be Bai Liang's "final trial" of the day.

Arrange the seats!

This always matters greatly, and originally the older sisters and young ladies were scattered everywhere, pairing off to fight.

But now they'd truly be forced into close proximity, clustered together.

True female rivalry only began at this moment.

But at this point, it was Su Mang's comfort zone—she was exceptionally skilled at seating arrangements.

She didn't need to please everyone, but she could at least draw the "hatred" toward herself.

To be fair, the saying "each profession has its specialists" was absolutely correct.

Su Mang had been observing for a long time; when arranging seats, she was bold—here, she dared to seat Reba and Naza right next to each other, squeezed Big Tian Tian beside them, slightly separated by Big Mi Mi, then placed Dou Xiao Tian to watch over her.

Correctly, according to Su Mang's judgment, the most unstable factor right now was Big Tian Tian.

This idiot was jumping around and causing trouble while everyone else was calming down.

Originally, Meng Jie and Li Yitong were also two troublemakers; Su Mang had watched clearly from the side, and among them, those two had caused the most commotion.

But for some reason, these two girls suddenly became quiet—even no seating arrangement was needed; they went straight to the back and showed not the slightest interest in moving forward.

That made things much easier.

Sister Yanzi watched the seating process with trembling eyelids, especially when Reba and Naza sat side by side—she thought, Could this sister be here to sabotage?

But the facts proved that while things might go wrong at other times, today this arrangement was perfectly fine.

And if all you wanted was for everyone to get along nicely, why even need Su Mang?

What she truly excelled at was keeping the scene barely from turning violent while still generating enough buzz.

Later, this would all become premiere footage—perfect for cutting clips to boost the movie's popularity.

This shambles looked terrifying, but Su Mang felt its difficulty was less than her previous organization of the Baisha Charity Night.

Because at the Charity Night, the female stars genuinely caused chaos—no one respected anyone else.

But here, the girls were all willing to give Bai Liang face.

Put bluntly, Su Mang even thought that if Bai Liang made a little effort and comforted each one individually, he might've handled it all himself.

No wonder even she was willing to go out of her way to help such an extraordinary man!

As for the most troublesome Shuangzi—

Su Mang exchanged a glance with Fan Fan Bingbing; these two former friends, women who once ruled the world of fame and fortune over two years ago, exchanged a simple look—perfectly in sync.

One handled the overall arrangement, the other dealt with the "critical points."

Without any prior discussion, they had simply coordinated in perfect unison.

Both secretly felt a pang of nostalgia—how things had changed.

The wheel of time rolled forward; they, these "remnants of the old era," had already stepped off the stage.

At this moment, the premiere officially began, and the host stepped onto the stage.

"Oh no, what about Dou Xiao Tian?"

Li Yitong, hiding behind and unwilling to leave Bai Liang's parents, murmured softly—now she finally remembered the "abandoned" Dou Xiao Tian.

A guilt like having cruelly abandoned a kitten or puppy.

She had brought her to the premiere, made her charge into battle, and now ignored her completely.

Right now, Dou Xiao Tian stood alone up front—would she be bullied?

Among the female artists attending today's premiere, Dou Xiao Tian likely had the smallest status and the lowest fame.

After thinking it over, Li Yitong's sense of loyalty prevailed—she prepared to rise and find Dou Xiao Tian.

There'll be other chances to please the "in-laws."

But just as she was about to move, Meng Jie pulled her back. "Tongtong, where are you going?"

"I'm going to find Dou Xiao Tian—she's all alone up front, so pitiful," Li Yitong said bluntly.

"Don't," Meng Jie pleaded pitifully, "stay with me—I'm nervous." She stole a glance at Bai Liang's mother, afraid of being overheard.

Bai Liang's mother seemed to sense it, turned her head, and smiled at her.

Meng Jie's heart screamed internally: Aaaah! Why am I still nervous around such a gentle "mother-in-law"?

Li Yitong:

Fine, she'd overestimated Meng Jie.

Still the same coward!

I'm giving you the chance completely, and you won't even take it.

"I'm afraid Dou Xiao Tian will be bullied up front," Li Yitong declared, determined to go—she couldn't care anymore.

"Bullied? Do you mean like this?" Meng Jie tilted her head and quietly pointed in a direction.

Li Yitong looked up and saw that Dou Xiao Tian's situation was nothing like she'd imagined.

Bullying?

She had the time of her life!

Sister Tian Tian was still quite reliable; although Su Mang had seated her between Big Mi Mi and Xiao Zhao, she hadn't forgotten Dou Xiao Tian and Wang Churan, making sure the two sat next to Xiao Zhao.

Xiao Zhao didn't object to this, and she was also quite interested in Dou Xiao Tian.

Although Dou Xiao Tian had low fame, many in the audience might never have heard of her before.

But after today, almost everyone knew her now!

How can someone be this insanely powerful?

She literally carved out her own fame!

Those who didn't know might think she was the top-tier superstar~

Besides Sister Tian Tian having "taken notice" of her earlier, Xiao Zhao now also greatly admired this powerhouse.

Thus, Dou Xiao Tian was currently dazedly basking in the warm attentions of two 85-generation goddesses, barely missing someone handing her snacks.

Of course, Dou Xiao Tian still had principles—she'd only eat snacks fed to her by Bai Liang~

But that didn't diminish how delightful her current situation was.

Wang Churan, sitting beside her, watched with envy, since she had no such treatment.

Clearly, the goddesses didn't like this contestant who kept rolling her eyes—only Sister Tian Tian, having previously filmed with her, treated her decently; the rest nearly wanted to roll their eyes at her too.

This made Wang Churan deeply resentful: Rolling your eyes is cool too, right? Xiao Bai brother loves it!

Even though the two had just teamed up for a charge moments ago, she now found Dou Xiao Tian slightly irritating.

Their brief friendship boat flipped instantly.

Dou Xiao Tian: Hmph~ You think I like you?

A new conflict arose—this kind of infighting among entertainment industry goddesses had become a kind of "tradition."

Today, the top-tier goddesses and the 85s were merely decorations; the main fighters were already the 90s-generation goddesses.

The 95s mostly played supporting roles—their stage still needed a few more years.

As for the even younger 00s, this infighting had nothing to do with them yet—they weren't even worthy of screen time.

Upon seeing Dou Xiao Tian's current situation, Li Yitong fell silent.

And felt a bit awkward.

This...

Dou Xiao Tian is doing better than me—what do I do?

"Tongtong, are you still going over there? There might be no seat left for you—if you go now, you'll only get a corner spot."

Meng Jie didn't miss the chance to deliver another blow.

Li Yitong gave a forced smile, waved her hand, and her face grew a little gloomier.

How to put it? Worrying about Dou Xiao Tian being bullied was right, but seeing her do so well stirred up other negative emotions inside her.

It was like fearing your brother suffers, yet fearing he buys a Land Rover—same feeling.

She couldn't help but "weep uncontrollably."

Will I see Dou Xiao Tian again? How will I live without you! "Tongtong, when's the movie screening?" Bai's mother asked quietly.

Li Yitong instantly snapped out of her emo state and chirped cheerfully: "Before the movie plays at the premiere, there are always performances or interactions—no fixed time, but his movie premieres never last too long; the film will definitely start within an hour."

"Ohhh~"

Bai's mother, who had only attended one premiere before—Nechazha—nodded, then turned to brag to her husband.

She'd teach him the proper way to enjoy a movie premiere.

As for why Bai's mother didn't ask Meng Jie—this girl looked sharp at first glance, but after spending time with her, she seemed a bit clueless, not very smart~

So even though Meng Jie now widened her eyes, looking like "I know too, Grandma, ask me!", Bai's mother still chose Li Yitong, who seemed more "reliable."

Of course, Bai's mother could treat several girls equally; with only two here, she wouldn't neglect either.

The next topic was tossed to Meng Jie, drawing her actively into the conversation.

Meanwhile, Bai Liang, sitting in the front row, wasn't idle either.

Zhou Ye and Chen Duling sat on his left and right—they would be going on stage later, so the female lead and second lead naturally had to stay with him; it was their home-field advantage, even Hot Ba and Na Zha couldn't replace them.

But whenever Bai Liang turned his head, all he saw were girls.

So his head spun like a top, back and forth.

He even went on stage to perform a number.

"Big Immortal, you're lip-syncing again!"

When Bai Liang finished singing a song on stage, an audience member bluntly exposed his lip-syncing, sparking loud laughter.

Bai Liang was slightly embarrassed and slightly explained into the mic: "I wanted to sing live, but considering everyone's experience, I decided against it—after all, I can't sing 'Zhi Zhu' again, right~"

Mentioning this, many immediately turned their eyes to Xiao Zhao, who was also covering her mouth and laughing.

Mainly because no one expected that after all these years, Bai Liang still only knew how to sing this one thing.

He literally ruled the world with just "Zhi Zhu," never practicing any other songs.

But because of this, some girls on the scene began thinking.

Take Na Zha, for instance—she muttered directly: "I'll make Xiao Bao learn a song from the drama we shot together."

The song "Wu Ming Zhi Ji" from "Dear, Love You" was quite good.

What's the point of only knowing "Zhi Zhu"?

Hot Ba didn't think about this, because she knew Bai Liang could actually sing "Yi Xiao Qing Cheng" from "Wei Wei"—he just never sang it for others.

So Hot Ba felt a quiet superiority: The one song he knows, he only sings for me—you all can't hear it~

Given the audience's "intense reaction" after discovering his lip-syncing, Bai Liang was forced to make a promise:

If the movie becomes a huge hit, he'll really sing.

Then someone took advantage of the chaos, saying singing wasn't enough—he had to dance too.

Bai Liang's eyes were sharp—he spotted that the one behind this was Song Qian.

But he naturally wouldn't refuse such a frivolous promise.

He even unilaterally dragged Chen Duling and Zhou Ye into it.

Zhou Ye was fine—even though she was equally bad at singing and dancing, she still enjoyed joining in the fun.

But Chen Duling's face turned green!

What? Dance?!

No way.

Bai Liang's live performance was obviously just for laughs, but the other invited performers that day were more serious.

They actually had some skill in singing and dancing.

But whenever Hu Yanbing took the stage, his eyes kept sneaking glances in a certain direction.

Those who didn't know might think he wanted to call Shuangzi up to sing a duet.

But in truth, he was constantly watching the movements of this "bomb," ready to bolt at any moment.

Fortunately, under Fan Fan Bingbing's control, Shuangzi was unusually quiet and well-behaved.

After the laughter and revelry, the lights dimmed, and the noise ceased.

As the curtain rose, Bai Liang noticed Chen Duling beside him seemed slightly nervous.

Her breathing quickened a little.

So he quietly reached out a hand, intending to soothe her.

But her breathing grew even faster!

Bai Liang: Huh? Sorry, sorry, habit.

He quickly adjusted, pulled his hand back a bit, then gently held hers—only then did she gradually calm down.

In the darkness, Miss Dudu cast a slightly reproachful glance at Bai Liang, thinking: Senior, you're too naughty—where are you touching?

Normally it'd be fine, but tonight there were so many Young Ladies sitting behind him—he still dared to?

No wonder he's Senior!

Thinking this, Miss Dudu felt deeply reassured; though the sense of security came oddly, it was undeniably effective.

She turned her gaze to the big screen—the dragon logo had just appeared.

For Miss Dudu, outside the movie, there were too many people she couldn't beat—but in this film, Senior belonged to her alone!

—

The story takes place just before the college entrance exam.

A girl named Hu Xiaodie suddenly jumped to her death, sparking major unrest at school.

Police initially ruled it a suicide, but everyone knew the suicide hid behind it was unbearable school bullying.

After Hu Xiaodie's death, Chen Nian became the new target of bullying.

She excelled academically, was introverted, and her only belief was to get into a good university and leave this place.

But the sudden bullying made it impossible for her to find peace.

During this most helpless period, she met Xiao Bei—a street hoodlum who constantly got into fights.

Their two worlds, because of each other's presence, moved together toward an unexpected direction.

Without any false, softening filters, it replaced them with vivid, rich colors, using intense visual impact to boldly stir the audience's anger.

The story's focus tightly locked onto every ripple and devastating blow the protagonist endured.

From their bloody, muddy first encounter, to their tearful mutual haircut and symbiotic bond.

The subtle emotional trajectory drawing the two closer was exquisitely captured and rendered, brimming with heart-stopping emotional power.

In Chen Nian and Xiao Bei's relationship, one could feel a long-missed clarity and moving tenderness.

The film opens with a solo performance by Dudu.

In English class, the word "playground" was translated as "paradise"; between the grammatical constructions of "once had" and "once lost," Chen Nian saw her own reflection—and her past.

After two highly intense close-ups of the face, the film officially began.

This film has one extremely distinctive visual feature—extensive use of facial close-ups.

Fundamentally, this is a crude yet direct method to bring the audience closer to the character; the distance between actor and camera equals the distance between audience and the character's inner world.

It is a naked, unvarnished display of the character's appearance, expression, demeanor, and psychological shifts.

So—the challenge for the actor is enormous!

Add to that the big screen, and the amplified emotional impact lets viewers clearly sense every tiny shift in the actor's emotion.

Whether fatigue, avoidance, fear, or affection, sweetness, gentleness—all are laid bare before the audience, completely exposed.

Due to the character's nature, Miss Dudu has over a dozen major crying scenes in the film; each crying scene carries a different environment and inner state, and she truly delivered the subtle emotional transitions.

The most profound of these crying scenes is probably when Chen Nian is hit with a volleyball—when she strains desperately on screen to suppress the pain surging from her throat, it's deeply moving.

As for Bai Liang~

The film critics on-site didn't even bother writing much praise—though "Weibo Emperor" was just a joke title, the fact that it could elevate a joke award already said everything.

Even Bai's mother felt heartbroken—when had her son ever suffered such pain?

Every appearance seemed tied to the word "pain"—his face always bore injuries.

Not just bruises, but scabs, or fresh wounds still swollen with blood blisters.

Only when he met Chen Nian did someone ask him for the first time: "Does it hurt?"

Bai Liang really loved premieres, especially the premiere of his own movie.

He turned his head to look.

All the sighs, sorrow, and trembling in the audience seats belonged to them.

—

There are still two more chapters today, starting the extra updates.

Thanks to the new Alliance Leader for the tip — that means three more extra chapters (the fierce tiger is crying its heart out).

(End of chapter)