Chapter 531: The Struggle for the Heir Has Always Been Like This

"Bai Mengyan, what are you thinking about? You made so many mistakes today—the director was almost ready to yell at you~"

Watching her assistant point and gesture over there, Bai Lu stared blankly, "My state isn't good. The schedule's been too packed lately—I can't keep up with back-to-back shoots."

"Saying it like that just makes it sound like you're bragging about your resources~" her assistant and best friend chuckled.

"My resources really are great!" Bai Lu immediately burst into radiant delight, grinning—this year's resources are good, next year's will be even better!

The drama she's currently filming is called "Jade Tower Spring," a joint production by Dongyang Huanyu and Youku.

Clearly, the company has shifted its resources toward her.

Becoming the company's top actress is just around the corner!

But Bai Lu's rivals aren't just within the company.

Whenever she thought about how the female lead in Dongyang Huanyu's previous drama "Li Ge Xing" was snatched away by Li Yitong, she gritted her teeth in fury.

Even Wu Jinyan would've been better than Li Yitong!

This woman is truly annoying! Why is she everywhere?

Watching Bai Lu perform her "facial transformation" act right in front of her, her best friend froze.

Wow, one second she's smiling, the next she's gnashing her teeth~

Split personality?!

After Bai Lu shared her frustrations, her best friend shrugged helplessly—what could she do? Yu Zheng clearly prefers her~ There's nothing anyone can do.

"But I heard Li Yitong's pay is ridiculously low—no wonder Director Yu likes using her, it's cost-effective! Everyone says her value-for-money ratio is insane!"

Hearing this, Bai Lu was annoyed, "Her behavior is disrupting the market. She's been doing this before, and she's still doing it now—she's clearly trying to annoy people!"

"That's true—should we slash our rates too? Crush her with competition!"

"Then you donate your salary, and I'll take less pay~" Bai Lu rolled her eyes.

"My salary's barely anything—now you're going to take that too? Bai Mengyan, you're even worse than her!"

"Who told you to deliberately eat delicious food in front of me yesterday? You knew I'm on a diet and can't eat it. Damn it!"

"Don't say it like that—I'm just training your willpower!"

"."

After a wild back-and-forth of insults, Bai Lu felt much better.

The best thing about having a best friend nearby is that a few heated arguments really relieve stress!

Just as they finished bickering and resumed complaining about Li Yitong, a figure passing by caught their attention.

Bai Lu's best friend immediately whispered, "Jin Cheng—she seems to be really close with Li Yitong~"

"They're practically inseparable!"

Bai Lu glanced up at Jin Da Xi, who seemed to sense it and looked over, smiling and nodding at her.

Hmph! Pretending to be so refined!

Instantly, they resumed whispering, badmouthing Li Yitong—and dragging Jin Da Xi into it too.

Since we're here anyway, might as well trash them both~

What's the big deal?

Compared to the annoying, irritating Li Yitong, Jin Da Xi was "easier to handle."

Because in "Jade Tower Spring," she plays the second female lead.

That made Bai Lu feel quite satisfied.

She couldn't help fantasizing about someday becoming even more successful, then making Li Yitong play the second lead for her!

Of course, that fantasy was wildly unrealistic—its probability was nearly zero.

Even if she became more successful, it still wouldn't happen.

But now, at least, Li Yitong's best friend is here to play second fiddle—barely a substitute at best.

It's almost fate: Jin Da Xi, who just recently played the second lead for Li Yitong in "Amazing Girls," soon after ended up playing second lead for Bai Lu.

There was no choice—after her breakup with Tang Ren, Jin Da Xi had no roles at all.

Burdened by lawsuits, she wouldn't have been able to film "Qing Yu Nian" if Bai Liang hadn't personally spoken to Cai Yi.

Now at least she's legitimately playing a lead role—huge progress!

All she can say is she's slightly better off than before—but not nearly good enough!

Fortunately, she has thick skin and doesn't mind constantly playing second lead—she still manages to smile.

After exchanging a smiling glance with Bai Lu, Jin Da Xi turned away, smirked, pulled out her phone, and started texting Li Yitong nonstop.

"Tongtong~ The people you've pissed off are giving me weird looks now—I'm breaking up with you!"

Li Yitong replied quickly—she must've been scrolling on her phone right then.

"What position is 'breaking up'?"

"Pfft! You dirty little brat. But between us two, I can go top~"

"You dirty slut, how dare you call me crude?!"

"."

After a wild exchange of filthy banter, Li Yitong and Jin Da Xi finally returned to the topic.

The people she pissed off?

That phrasing left Li Yitong completely clueless—she had no idea who was being referred to~

After all, she'd annoyed plenty of people.

Her whole thing was poking everyone just to see them react.

But when she learned Jin Da Xi had gone to play second lead for Bai Lu, Li Yitong suddenly got angry, scolding her friend for being weak.

Jin Da Xi protested, "Hey, my resources are what they are—getting a second lead role is already good enough. Didn't I play second lead for you too?"

Li Yitong thought that made sense—she couldn't let her sister go hungry, could she?

Still, she couldn't resist stirring trouble, trying to turn Jin Da Xi into her "enforcer."

"Go confront her! Can she possibly bully you?"

"She's the lead actress—she doesn't even give me the cold shoulder, that's already a miracle," Jin Da Xi replied with perfect self-awareness.

"Where did your fury go when you screamed at Zhang Tian'ai?"

"That's different! I had old grudges with her, but I've got no beef with Bai Lu—I'm just caught in your crossfire. I'm not taking it. You owe me dinner later."

"You greedy little glutton, all you care about is food!" Li Yitong's eyes darted around. "Why don't you befriend her? I think your social skills are pretty good."

"Bullshit. You think I'm Meng Jie? I don't have that kind of talent. You expect me to be your spy? You've watched too many cop dramas."

"Sigh," Li Yitong sighed. "What good are you? I was hoping you'd find out something about her drama."

"You're still trying to steal her role?"

Jin Da Xi was utterly done—this evil little kitten seemed on the verge of losing her mind, truly determined to offend people to the point of no return.

Why did she hate Zhang Tian'ai so fiercely? Every meeting turned into a shouting match, as if she wanted to hang her genitals on her tongue and bless Zhang's ancestors to oblivion.

The root cause? Stealing the role!

Though the drama "Wu Dong Qian Kun" didn't do well, now it hardly mattered whether she acted in it or not.

But she just couldn't swallow that anger!

This kind of thing was the most offensive in the entertainment circle—almost without exception.

Li Yitong replied: "You understand nothing."

The struggle for the heir position has always been like this.

Jin Da Xi:

This evil little kitten was truly "crazy!"

To exert such extreme subjective initiative—could she really be aiming for the top spot?

Thinking of this, Jin Da Xi silently gave her sister a thumbs-up, hoping she'd succeed.

But just as she was passionately chatting with Li Yitong, Li Xin suddenly appeared.

This "sister" wasn't as blunt as the evil little kitten—she first dragged out a bunch of nonsense, just trying to bond emotionally.

Then she subtly steered the conversation toward Jin Da Xi's current drama, "Yu Lou Chun."

Clever Jin Da Xi quickly realized what Li Xin was after.

Sure enough! Soon enough, the mask slipped!

She started asking about Bai Lu's recent movements, wanting to know how close Jin Da Xi was to her, and whether she could get any info about the drama.

Li Xin wanted to do exactly what Li Yitong wanted!

"Holy shit, these two sly little vixens," Jin Da Xi, barely holding it together, blurted out a curse.

She couldn't help feeling a chill—these tea girls were so damn sneaky!

Each one looked like a pure, innocent little white flower, yet their tactics grew more and more despicable.

Jin Da Xi couldn't help glancing at Bai Lu, who seemed quite happy nearby, and felt a pang of sympathy for her.

What sin had this girl committed to be targeted by these two shameless ones?

Was it just because she looked a little like them, so they were going after her?

Probably not.

Jin Da Xi didn't bother thinking about other possible reasons—she just wanted to watch the show!

So without hesitation, she told Li Yitong everything about Li Xin's visit. Two rivals are boring—three-way war is way more fun~

Besides, Jin Da Xi's relationship with Li Yitong was genuinely closer; emotionally and logically, she'd naturally give her more complete "intelligence."

Sure enough, the evil little kitten flew into a rage!

"What does she want?!"

"It's you two who want something."

"I just really want to improve~"

This shameless one was truly unbeatable.

Jin Da Xi could barely hold it together anymore, and began joining Li Yitong in mocking Li Xin.

She'd occasionally reply to Li Xin's messages—this kind of joy was utterly addictive.

When the chat wound down, Jin Da Xi thought: Could this fun get even better?

Answer: Yes!

Making friends with Bai Lu was still too hard—she was on guard against Jin Da Xi.

But there was still one main player left!

Jin Da Xi grinned wickedly and sent all this content in one go to Bai Liang.

Here you go, Great Immortal—take a look at these evil women's ugly faces.

Of course, she figured Bai Liang would find this quite satisfying.

Men, after all~

Who doesn't enjoy watching beautiful girls fight over him?

It's an incredible sense of accomplishment!

Jin Da Xi felt she'd scored big this time—but sadly, it was useless.

But the fun was real!

After waiting a long time, Bai Liang finally replied: "Too long, didn't read."

Jin Da Xi was utterly done—what kind of man was this?

Fuck, so hot~

"Don't look away, it's really interesting~"

"It really is interesting—what position are you and Li Yitong using?"

Oh no!

Only then did Jin Da Xi realize she'd screenshot the entire chat—including the part with the wolfish remarks. Shit, social death!

After slapping her own forehead several times, she activated frantic undo mode.

Bai Lu and her friend nearby, seeing her behavior, couldn't help but keep teasing.

"Is she self-harming? Why the hell is she slapping her own head?"

"No idea, but she definitely seems crazy. I'll tell you, she was totally off at the premiere!"

"Huh? You never told me about her. What did she do?"

"She and Zhang Ziyi screamed at each other—so vulgar~"

"Oh my."

After doing something particularly abstract, people usually can't help glancing around, afraid of being seen.

Jin Da Xi did the same.

Then she locked eyes again with Bai Lu—right there, vividly.

Both sides were awkward.

Screw it, just smile~

Then both turned their gazes away simultaneously, silently cursing inside.

Meanwhile, Bai Liang also felt that Chen Duling and Zhou Ye were probably silently cursing each other right now~

Since that "stealing snacks" incident, the two girls hadn't really spoken properly.

Each had her own grievances, each her own irritation.

Chen Duling thought Zhou Ye was a shitty little bitch—how dare she be so bold? Couldn't she at least avoid people? Couldn't she at least pick another place?!

The fucking bitch slept in her bedroom while Zhou Ye snacked in the suite's living room.

She was treating her like a corpse!

And Zhou Ye thought Chen Duling had set her up.

At first pretending not to notice, acting like she approved, then suddenly flipping out—how could anyone do that?!

All she's good at is picking on the weak; when faced with someone strong, she turns into a turtle hiding its head.

In short, both were brimming with resentment!

But today's occasion required them to smile.

Because today was the 2.8 billion box office celebration party for "You Are My Youth."

The film reached this box office in under twenty days—a clear, undeniable success.

Still, this kind of film lacks staying power; by now, box office growth had dropped sharply.

Many were lamenting, feeling it unlikely the film would break 3 billion.

Though 2.8 billion was already insane, Bai Liang's past records were so absurd that even some of his fans saw this number and thought, "Only 2.8 billion?"

That "only" didn't hurt Bai Liang—but it probably hurt other actors in the industry a lot.

In short, on this "big joy" day, the two female leads wearing sour faces was unacceptable.

So Chen Duling and Zhou Ye both "forced" smiles onto their faces, trying hard not to look at each other—which made their smiles seem a bit more natural.

Not natural at all!

Their oddness was glaring—anyone could see it!

Fortunately, today's celebration had far fewer attendees than the premiere; otherwise, their internal feud would've invited someone to "strike while the iron was hot."

"Xiao Ye, stop smiling like that—it's awful. Where's your facial control?"

Fan Bingbing couldn't take it anymore and pulled Zhou Ye aside.

Hearing this, Zhou Ye rubbed her face, then forced a bright smile.

"That's right~ Be happy. Don't show your conflicts on your face."

Fan Bingbing still shook her head inwardly, thinking today's kids in the industry still lacked proper attitude.

Take her old rival Fan Bingbing—when she clashed with Zhang Ziyi on the show, all the knife-and-sword drama was hidden behind smiles. Turn off the audio and subtitles, and you'd think they were actually close.

The whole point was dignity.

Public figures need to uphold some standards.

But back then, their feud wasn't even about men.

Fan Bingbing thought it was absurd—how did the entertainment industry get so many love-struck idiots? And they clustered together!

Just as she was planning to help Zhou Ye network more at this event, the little brat couldn't hold back.

Her eyes kept glancing toward Bai Liang~

Clearly wanting to go over.

"You've been filming and promoting together for so long—what's the harm in leaving him alone for a bit? So clingy?" Fan Bingbing laughed.

Zhou Ye, facing her boss's teasing, nearly turned into a blushing puppy.

Quickly she found an excuse: "It's a celebration, after all—a special day..."

"He hasn't even hit 3 billion yet—it's not that impressive for him."

As Fan Bingbing said this, she wondered if she'd somehow become delusional.

Saying "not even 3 billion" made her feel guilty—this box office was terrifyingly high in her eyes!

But among Bai Liang's filmography, it was utterly ordinary.

It seemed insignificant.

At this moment, Zhou Ye thought for a moment, "Adding this movie, Xiao Bai's total box office reaches."

"Come on, let's calculate now and see how much it is," Li Bingbing said with a smile.

Zhou Ye: Fine, let's calculate!

You don't realize until you calculate—then you're shocked.

Zhou Ye looked up blankly, "It seems... just over thirty billion."

"Holy shit!"

This time, Li Bingbing, the big flower, was truly broken!

(End of Chapter)