Chapter 538: What Is a Sigma Man?

After Bai Liang spun a bizarre tale for Big Mi Mi and Student Student Mai Mai, the two of them still felt dazed, with a distinct sense of being teased by Seeing Meng Meng.

It's just so weird~

Of course, Big Mi Mi wasn't too bothered—after all, she'd already been teased countless times yesterday, and her heart still felt a little sour.

So she didn't dwell on it much, and Bai Liang's family wealth had little to do with her anyway.

But she could use this chance to tease Sister Reba a little more.

After it was exposed that Bai's father was a shareholder in the game company, Big Mi Mi sent Sister Reba a barrage of teasing messages like, "Oh my, our Sister Reba's about to marry into wealth—don't forget your sister later!"

She didn't have any hidden agenda doing this—she was just bored and wanted to see how much Sister Reba's emotions would fluctuate.

After all, Bai Liang was already a perfect warrior; now add in his family background.

But Sister Reba wasn't surprised at all~

My mother-in-law gave me earrings worth over two million—do you think I wouldn't know that?

So she calmly turned the joke back on herself, saying she'd become a young madam someday.

Big Mi Mi: This little brat knew all along?

Now she felt a tiny bit angry—Bai Liang told Sister Reba, but not her?

Even though she felt she was past the age of jealousy, and had neither the standing nor the motivation, this was a woman's instinct!

She'd inevitably feel a little envious.

She felt she was truly too old, married and a mother already—her little brother was just playing with her.

As for this inexplicable "melancholy" from the big sister, Bai Liang solved it with almost no effort.

"I'll tell you a secret."

Just that opening phrase made Big Mi Mi shiver~

Secret? What kind of secret? Bigger than mine?!

Bai Liang: That's probably not possible~

He's just better at soothing girls.

Since his relationships with many girls differed from today's typical romantic dynamics and had no clear playbook, Bai Liang simply applied his parenting experience.

They don't want fairness—they want favoritism.

But Bai Liang wasn't making it up—he really had told Big Mi Mi a secret no one else knew.

Hmm. A secret only temporarily unknown.

After Bai Liangjia Alliance and its company joined the production and output of the drama "The Beginning," many brands rushed in wanting product placements.

But the largest and highest-spending was a game company.

miHoYo.

Funny enough, next month miHoYo is launching a global beta for a game called "Genshin Impact."

Regarding product placement, Bai Liang was no stranger—he'd done it from "Weird" to "Glory," then "Intimacy," two hit dramas and one drama king, with unprecedented influence.

The biggest sponsors of these three dramas were all game companies.

The promotional effect, needless to say, was phenomenal.

So when "The Beginning" was seeking sponsors, many game companies came knocking—miHoYo just took the back door.

Why could they take the back door? Because one of the shareholders also had the surname Bai.

Big Mi Mi was very satisfied with this secret.

The content didn't matter—what mattered was that Bai Liang said only she knew it.

"But how exactly are we going to place the game in this drama? Paint a game poster on those two buses?" Big Mi Mi asked curiously.

Bai Liang imagined what she described and thought: That's literally a "love car"!

Turning a bus into a love car? The visuals would be absurdly over-the-top—this would be way too distracting!

He quickly shook his head, "There's a character in our drama named Lu Di—he's also on the bus. He's a nerdy teen obsessed with anime. The game placement centers on him."

The supporting character Lu Di had strong presence—he boarded the bus wrapped tightly in clothes, carefully guarding a large backpack.

So the male and female leads suspected him of being the bus bombing suspect.

But the twist was ironic—his backpack contained only a kitten; he wrapped himself tightly because he had asthma.

When he took off his coat, underneath was a T-shirt printed with Keqing.

You say "Genshin Impact" hasn't launched yet? By the time the drama airs, won't it already be out?

Wearing it early doesn't matter.

All of this character's anime elements tie into "Genshin Impact"—including the "safe house" where Li Shiqing and Xiao Heyun escape to, which is plastered with game posters, shelves and walls covered in figurines.

Even the pillow is Paimon.

These elements fit perfectly into the plot because that's just how anime fans are.

"By the way, about that cat?" Big Mi Mi suddenly asked.

"Cat? What cat?"

"Didn't you say the character's backpack contained a kitten? I remember you have a very famous celebrity cat—won't it appear in the drama?"

Bai Liang saw the faint smile on her lips and knew exactly what she meant.

Deliberately not mentioning that one~ Still trying to play with his cat?

Big Mi Mi said she hadn't just started coveting it—Sister Reba had already told her how adorable the cat was, and even scolded the little hometown boy.

With this attitude—wanting to steal both the person and the cat—Big Mi Mi was already itching to pet that kitten.

Bai Liang thought for a moment and found it reasonable.

He simply called Zha, not even avoiding Big Mi Mi, since the big sister was always so understanding.

"Hello~ Little Treasure, what's up?" Zha's artificially high-pitched voice came through the phone, cooing from afar.

"Does Xiao Bao have any availability?" Bai Liang asked directly.

Na Zha snorted, "Which Xiao Bao are you asking about? ~ One of them is extremely busy!"

"Hmm, the one with fur."

"Eww! Of course it has availability!"

"Perfect—I need a kitten for my scene. Send it over."

"Does Xiao Bao get paid?"

"Of course. I'll negotiate a high rate for it."

"Then that's fair. I'll have someone deliver Xiao Bao to you tomorrow. Take good care of it~"

"."

At the start of this call, Big Mi Mi's face wore a knowingly smug smile.

But later, she was baffled.

Her mind held only one question: What the hell is Xiao Bao?

From start to finish, the entire conversation between them used only "you," "I," and "it"—and nothing but "Xiao Bao."

At first, Big Mi Mi found it amusing.

She thought: What a cute pet name—way stickier than Sister Reba's stupid "Big White."

But soon she sensed something off.

So after Bai Liang hung up, she couldn't help asking: "Who exactly is Xiao Bao?"

Bai Liang smiled faintly. "What do you think?"

"It sounds like a cat—but also like you. My head's spinning. Just tell me straight!"

"Xiao Bao is just a name, a code. You can be Xiao Bao. I can be Xiao Bao."

"Stop! You think I've never watched Wu Lin Wai Zhuan?!"

Now there was no way to dodge it.

Bai Liang had to admit: in that call, every "you," "I," and "it" referred to Xiao Bao.

At this point, Big Mi Mi gained deeper insight into Sister Reba's hometown buddy—he's quite the character!

In comparison, Sister Reba, who only ever shouts "Big White," seems far less creative with pet names.

Wait!

Big Mi Mi suddenly slapped her forehead, her smile turning strange again. "The one with fur—could it be…?"

This touched on personal privacy; Bai Liang couldn't say more. "You're overthinking. People and cats? One has fur, one doesn't."

"Am I really overthinking?"

"Mmm~" Bai Liang wore an utterly sincere expression, refusing to betray Na Zha's privacy.

"Much?"

"What?"

"Tell me quietly—between Sister Reba and Na Zha, which one's… denser? Both are ethnic minorities."

Honestly, this question couldn't be answered—but Bai Liang still couldn't help comparing.

Of course, only when both had it~

The result was obvious—he instantly compared them—but he couldn't say!

So he told Big Mi Mi: "Yours."

"What?! Impossible!"

Big Mi Mi was slightly shaken. How could hers possibly be less dense than those two ethnic minority girls?!

Yet given that Bai Liang had almost never lied to her—even making the call to Na Zha without hiding—he trusted him completely.

Especially when he said something so seriously.

"You little brat, wait till I get you!"

Saying this, she stormed off the RV, furious.

Just then, Zhao Jinmai, who had just finished her solo scene, rushed over, looking as if she feared the two were sneaking a kiss inside the RV. She brushed past her.

She greeted Big Mi Mi politely and self-consciously.

But Big Mi Mi, still in a rage, ignored her entirely and walked away.

Zhao Jinmai felt no annoyance—instead, her eyes lit up.

She hurried onto the RV and asked eagerly, "Brother, what's wrong with Miss Mi?"

"Maybe I annoyed her," Bai Liang said uncertainly.

Ohhh, just as I thought!

"I'd never annoy Brother."

"Huh?" Bai Liang blinked, then couldn't hold back: "Student Student Mai Mai, you've got the roles backwards."

Zhao Jinmai blushed and quickly corrected herself: "No matter how Brother annoys me, I'll never get mad!"

Exactly!

There was a hint of the little green tea vibe—but not much.

Still needs practice!

At this moment, Zhao Jinmai added another line: "Brother, it's fine if you annoyed Miss Mi, right? She's just here as a guest helper~"

"It's fine. She has no scenes this afternoon."

"What if she runs off? Shouldn't Brother go comfort Miss Mi~?"

Bai Liang chuckled. "Today, you'll witness what a Sigma man truly is."

Zhao Jinmai blinked, not understanding, but she certainly didn't want Bai Liang to actually go—such a perfect chance for alone time!

She seized the opportunity to bring up the topic.

She shifted her small butt close against Bai Liang and asked curiously, "What's a Sigma man?"

"Hmm, hard to explain. How about I demonstrate it for you?"

"Okay!"

"When you were little, I used to hold you~"

Zhao Jinmai:

This demonstration was way too vivid!

She instantly understood the term.

In a closed RV, a man and woman alone together, nearly pressed against each other—according to novels, the tension should spiral upward.

But Bai Liang's remark wiped it all clean.

Even the generational gap seemed to widen.

If the two kissed now, it'd be like fucking incest.

But in a way, he wasn't wrong—it all depended on how you defined "when you were little."

At fourteen or fifteen, it could still count.

So he really hadn't lied.

Zhao Jinmai felt her mind spinning, not knowing what to say anymore.

Whatever~ Let's just pout a little.

"Big brother~~"

This trick still worked wonders on Bai Liang—far more effective than her little green-tea-bitch moves.

After all, while her little scheming might be decent among peers—at eighteen, she was definitely sharper than twenty-year-old Meng Jie, way sharper!

But right now, facing her was twenty-eight-year-old Bai Liang, who'd already met a whole bunch of girls who were nearly evolved into "1982 Lao Longjing."

So her little tricks were utterly unimpressive.

Better to switch lanes and play the little sister role—full of energy, pouting cutely.

And sure enough, before the afternoon shoot, she successfully left some of her saliva on Bai Liang's face.

Originally, Student Student Mai Mai wanted to press her advantage, seizing the precious chance while Big Mi Mi wasn't on set!

But when she finished filming and tried to invite Bai Liang out, he was just about to agree when he suddenly received a message.

After glancing at it, he reluctantly turned her down.

The little girl desperately wanted to know who it was—who could possibly have such power over him.

But Bai Liang said he couldn't show it to her.

Besides, Big Mi Mi had sent a flash photo—it vanished immediately after.

"Why not?" the little girl whined, confused about where she'd lost.

She could learn!

Bai Liang patted her head and told her next time for sure.

There was nothing to be done—she wasn't unlovable, it was just that the big sister had a cheat code.

That entire afternoon, Big Mi Mi hadn't wasted a second.

She was pretending to be mad at Bai Liang, but really she was just fixing her bangs.

Of course, the flash photo she sent wasn't directly of the apartment layout—nothing that absurd.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, let me see~"

"Hahaha," Big Mi Mi laughed uncontrollably, "You really think I shaved it? Dream on!"

"But the photo…" Bai Liang frowned, puzzled.

"Stock image, baby."

That wicked woman!

Just as Bai Liang was thinking he'd returned, so he might as well punish her properly, she suddenly laughed again.

This time, it carried a sultry tone—she stretched out her leg and hooked it around him.

"I'll wait for you to come back and shave me~ Aren't gifts meant to be unwrapped by yourself?"

Ssshh… That move—little sisters wouldn't figure it out for years!

Wicked woman?

Wrong—she's a female demon!

(End of Chapter)