Chapter 530: Why Is Her Life So Hard?

"Li Mingde? Oh~ I do know him."

After hearing Dou Xiao Tian mention that name, Bai Liang paused slightly, then remembered what that kid was all about~

He's a "macho"!

Someone who, single-handedly, could topple the hype of a star-studded Starlight Awards.

Even forced the Starlight Awards' director to exhaust every trick and effort, yet still couldn't beat him.

Terrifying indeed!

He'd have cracked the wealth code if not for being too wild—boringly drunk, he went and smashed people's cars.

As for his role in the drama "Affection," it was merely a minor supporting part, with hardly any lines overall.

But Bai Liang still "reflected" on his own performance during the filming of "Affection."

Hmm. Didn't I ever arrive late, leave early, or act like a diva?

But it's hard to say—though Bai Liang himself never acted like a diva, he now feels slightly forced into playing one on set.

He doesn't act like one, but others lift him up so high it looks like he is.

Still, what Bai Liang mainly worried about was: when this guy eventually becomes a walking bomb, will he accidentally drag me along too?

After all, back on set, he was constantly cozying up to Na Zha, almost without even pretending.

Meanwhile, Li Mingde also played the same role in "Your Era, My Era," since the two dramas are "directly connected."

When Bai Liang and Na Zha made their guest appearances, Bai Liang stayed two extra days due to his larger role, so he got pretty… close to Chen Yao on set.

Who knows how much this kid saw.

Bai Liang worried for a moment, then tossed the thought aside.

Even if he does blow up, it's years away—by then, we can just sit back and watch the drama!

He wouldn't mind eating his own popcorn either.

As for the odd behavior of this evil little kitten, Li Yitong, that seems more pressing.

She's so brazen~

The main reason Bai Liang casually promoted her drama during the online interview yesterday was because this evil little kitten came over and "threatened" him.

She started with: "You fox, you don't want…"

Though the threat itself was ridiculous, her audacity made Bai Liang take notice.

I wonder what drug she took.

Maybe she drank too much hot water and ran a fever~

Then this shameless thing, after getting Bai Liang to promote Dou Xiao Tian, immediately tried to snatch away "Police Glory," which was already nearly locked for Bai Lu as lead.

And she told Bai Liang straight out she was going to steal it.

She even ended with a squeaky: "Giegie, you won't mind, right?"

For this kind of chaotic, mischievous behavior, Bai Liang thought for a moment, pulled out the golden belt Jin Da Xi gave him, took a photo, and sent it to the evil little kitten.

This belt is already the third or fourth generation—the first and second generations didn't even get a chance at reincarnation; they just snapped outright.

This special weapon had only ever worked on Jin Da Xi, that lunatic—but given the relationship between this evil little kitten and Jin Da Xi, Bai Liang could guess blindfolded: they definitely exchanged all sorts of filthy stuff during late-night WeChat chats.

These two girls, especially the evil little kitten, are utterly filthy.

At this moment, the evil little kitten was still hanging out with Dou Xiao Tian~

She was listening to Dou Xiao Tian, who stood tall and proud, excitedly declaring how honored she felt this time.

After learning the situation, the producer and director personally thanked her, their tone so courteous it left Dou Xiao Tian stunned.

She was still buzzing with excitement!

Honestly, some of the girls Dou Xiao Tian had previously confronted as a "brawler" were far more powerful than the producers of her drama.

But back then, Dou Xiao Tian didn't think much of it—her mindset was simply: "I've got nothing to lose, so I'll go all out!"

Who cares how big your status is!

But now, the producer's and director's courtesy—even a hint of flattery—gave Dou Xiao Tian a completely different feeling.

It's awesome! Truly fulfilling.

Li Yitong understood perfectly—she'd felt the same when she aggressively clung to Bai Liang. It was just so satisfying!

This time, she got to enjoy it together with Dou Xiao Tian~

They were discussing having a big dinner tonight, just a little indulgence.

"Hey~ What did you send me?"

The evil little kitten happily opened the WeChat chat interface, glanced at the photo—and at first didn't get it. Three to five seconds later, her face turned pale, and she frantically tossed the phone aside!

Then, cheeks flushed, she cursed: "You damn fox, I'm not scared of this!"

Beside her, Dou Xiao Tian quietly leaned over, eyes wide, staring at the phone—and was utterly confused.

What is this~?

It's just a belt. Why is Tongtong so freaked out?

She thought hard for a moment—what could a belt possibly be used for?

"Ah! I get it—it's for… wu wu wu~"

Li Yitong clamped a hand over Dou Xiao Tian's mouth and yanked her into her lap, feigning a warning: "You can't say it out loud!"

After saying that, she casually slapped Dou Xiao Tian's butt.

The texture was amazing!

No wonder that damn fox loves taking pictures of it… but using a belt is just too much. I wonder what's wrong with Jin Da Xi…

The slap on her butt made Dou Xiao Tian's face turn red. After covering herself and struggling free from the mouth clamp, she still couldn't help whispering: "Tongtong, you like this kind of thing too?"

Li Yitong's first instinct was to deny it!

She doesn't like this kind of vibe at all~

She's just got a lot of mischievous ideas, not some kind of pervert.

But Li Yitong suddenly froze, then looked at Dou Xiao Tian with an incredulous expression, "What do you mean, 'also'?"

Dou Xiao Tian blinked her eyes and decided to play dumb right there.

After all, her big eyes were perfect for looking innocent.

But unfortunately, it didn't work!

Her evil little kitten sister has done way more tricks than she has~

Under "torture," Dou Xiao Tian finally pulled out her long-hidden "special attack artifact."

A collar with a small stone hanging from it.

Looking at the little dog on the collar, Li Yitong nearly screamed: "Dou Xiao Tian, Dou Xiao Tian, how did you get turned into this?"

And right under my own nose, too.

How the hell did Bai Liang, that male fox, manage this? So cruel!

A little dog is a little dog, but why hang it on a collar?

Even the evil little kitten, with all her wild ideas, thought Dou Xiao Tian's thing was just too extreme.

Hmm. Where's the rope?

"Confiscated! How can a young girl play with something like this!" Li Yitong declared with moral righteousness.

Dou Xiao Tian immediately panicked: "No way!"

The collar itself didn't matter—if Tongtong sister liked giving it to her, fine, she'd bought more than one anyway.

But she had to get back that little stone on it!

"Stingy little thing~ So attached to this? Could it be the male fox bought it for you?"

"I bought it myself—I've got the purchase record!"

Dou Xiao Tian pulled out her phone, found her Taobao purchase history, proving she wasn't lying.

Li Yitong obviously couldn't really take it away; after a bit of fuss, she gave it back to Dou Xiao Tian.

But she'd already memorized the name of the shop where Dou Xiao Tian bought this thing—she'd buy a few herself later!

Copycat ninja activated!

When it comes to props, the evil little kitten is way too skilled~

Of course, belts and candles? She really couldn't handle those.

The champagne that used to be Li Xin's exclusive? She could handle that.

This was one of the evil little kitten's little schemes—she copied everyone else's exclusive things, hoping to squeeze others out.

In a way, she'd been secretly pushing hard all along, stealing something abstract: presence.

Look, she's almost pushed Champagne Girl Li Xin right out of the picture~

The flirtatious sister duo? There's a hierarchy!

Li Xin:.

Why does she feel so unlucky lately?

Another flop!

It was that drama that introduced Dou Xiao Tian and Li Yitong—"Jinxiu Nan Ge"—which Li Xin had pinned all her hopes on! She wanted to use this drama to break through.

She aimed to follow the path of Big Mi Mi, Zhao Liying, Tang Yan, and the rest of the 85s, using this drama to harvest popularity. Big female lead, political intrigue, ancient costume—stacked together, it was directly compared to "Chu Qiao Zhuan" before even airing.

This should've been Li Xin's comfort zone; she'd left a deep impression playing Princess Yuan Chun in "Chu Qiao Zhuan," with a remarkably well-crafted character.

When it comes to big female leads, there shouldn't have been any major problems.

Besides, "Qing Yu Nian" still boosted her—she was just a supporting female lead.

Meanwhile, the male lead was Qin Hao, who'd exploded in popularity from the suspense short drama "The Hidden Corner," with unprecedented influence—just the "climbing the mountain" meme got him on countless variety shows.

Yet despite all these advantages, "Jinxiu Nan Ge" still flopped.

And it flopped completely—from reputation to data.

After five days online, its total views only reached 200 million, and the growth rate of online views actually slowed, with popularity steadily declining.

Unlike Dou Xiao Tian's side, where a single plea for help instantly boosted popularity.

No matter how much Li Xin shouted, it did nothing.

She didn't even dare ask Bai Liang to help promote it, because when the drama launched, it wasn't lacking in popularity—only to plummet later.

Now that it's over, time to pass the blame.

Li Xin would definitely bear the biggest blame; labels like "hard to become popular" and "cold luck" clung to her again.

This debuff was similar to Sister Tian Tian's former "box office poison" tag—anyone seeing her meant a bad movie.

And whoever cast Qin Hao in this drama? Definitely a genius!

His acting was certainly excellent, but even great actors need the right role—he'd always played modern dramas, and with his serious face and dry, cold humor…

This might've been the most accurate portrayal of a "ancient costume ugly man."

How much did they pay him to force himself to act in a role so utterly unsuited to him?

As for contradictions in character design, collapsed logic, sluggish pacing, chaotic plotting, and bloated storylines—no need to elaborate.

Successful dramas each succeed in their own way; flopped films all suck in the same way.

But from a market perspective, the dramas released before "Jinxiu Nan Ge" were just too strong.

Bai Liang brought two smash-hit sweet romances with Xin Jiang Shuang Mei, then "Thirty Is the New Twenty" popped up.

Well, you can't really use that as an excuse, since those were all modern dramas; this year hadn't yet produced any particularly strong ancient costume dramas, and Li Xin had originally planned to fill that gap.

But Li Xin wasn't too upset—she'd flopped before, after all. After so many years in the industry, she could still keep her composure.

Then, at that moment, the little hanger-on beside Li Yitong in her eyes suddenly lunged out.

After the heat and attention rose, "Such Lovely Us" may not have become a blockbuster, but it was undeniably a success in both reputation and viewership.

Her own failure was heartbreaking, but others' success was even more agonizing!

Especially since Dou Xiao Tian had only played an insignificant supporting role in "Jinxiu Nan Ge," and no one had known her before.

Yet she was about to pin Li Xin to the ground and slap her. Who could take that?

"Do you think this really has something to do with facial features?"

Li Xin stared at her assistant, seriously.

"Huh? Facial features?"

"Everyone says I look a bit bitter—am I really destined for hardship? Li Yitong looks sweet, so she has it easier."

"Sis, Li Yitong has flopped just as much as you have," the assistant whispered cautiously.

She thought: What's the point of comparing you two? Neither of you is better than the other—you're both infamous in the industry for being "cold-blooded" and "hard to break through!"

Of course, she couldn't say that out loud—it would be too hurtful.

Huh?!

Li Xin suddenly realized that might actually be true!

Her lips couldn't help but twitch upward, but the muscle didn't obey after she sent the command.

Because Li Yitong had finally turned her luck around!

She stole the spotlight from her, the female lead, in "The Longest Day in Chang'an," even teaming up with Meng Jie to do it.

This year, she teamed up with a rising young girl and Bai Liang to film another drama.

That damned evil little kitten had quietly risen!

Just wait till next year!

And what about her?

Li Xin thought: By year's end, she still had "Wolf Dynasty" coming out—it was a backlog drama, with Wang Wang Dalu as the male lead and Xiao Zhan as the second male lead, currently the top streamer.

Logically, it still had potential.

But the moment she pictured Wang Wang Dalu's child-eating mouth, she already felt this drama would flop too!

Though she didn't really want to gossip about colleagues, four words flashed in her mind: Ancient Costume Ugly Man!

Meanwhile, Xiao Zhan had also gone through the 227 incident this year—there was no guarantee of added benefit, and he might instead face a wave of boycotts.

Thinking of all this, Li Xin couldn't help but sigh again.

She turned into Tong掌柜.

Why was her fate so bitter?

Seeing her sister's miserable expression, the assistant offered a suggestion: "Sis, why not ask Brother Dou Xiao Bai if he has any projects you could collaborate on?"

"Sure, 'The Longest Day in Chang'an 2,' but we have to wait—it won't start filming anytime soon," Li Xin sighed.

She most hoped "The Longest Day in Chang'an 2" would start filming soon—even if she was just a supporting female lead, at least she could guarantee the drama would succeed! And it would likely be a massive hit!

What good is a lead role if it flops?

"What else?" the assistant prompted.

Li Xin frowned. "Why not say it more clearly?"

"Cough… Sis, take a look at Brother Dou Xiao Bai's schedule for next year?"

If Li Xin still didn't understand after that, she'd wasted all these years in the industry.

Her eyebrows shot up!

But she first said: "His schedule is probably already full—there's no room for me."

The assistant fell silent—saying more would be impolite.

Sure enough, Li Xin couldn't help blurting out the next line: "But I only know he has one TV drama and one movie lined up for next year—anything else?"

"Two TV dramas."

"Two?"

"Latest update, sis."

Li Xin didn't hesitate long: "Find out more!"

The gossiping sister duo had perfect synergy!

They thought the same thing instantly~

Snatch, snatch, still snatch!

No, it should be called "securing a role!"

Whether the person chosen was right or not didn't matter.

In the entertainment industry, anything not yet filmed was uncertain.

Even more extreme: even after filming had started, replacing the cast wasn't unheard of.

While Li Xin and Li Yitong were mentally locking horns, Bai Lu, filming on set, suddenly shuddered, causing a take to fail—she quickly apologized.

After finishing the scene and taking a break, Bai Lu frowned.

She had the persistent feeling someone was watching her with sinister intent.

There was killing intent!

(End of Chapter)