Chapter 550: I

Clueless rookies always seem to possess mysterious confidence.

But someone like Evil Kitten, who talks so big, is best ignored.

Contestants like her are all about empty talk.

It's no different from some guy who's drunk and pontificates on global affairs.

When it comes to winning awards, those who are officially nominated are extremely cautious.

In media interviews, they always say, "Just being nominated is a victory," "This is already the greatest affirmation I could hope for," "."

Some say this out of humility; others genuinely lack the confidence to win.

Chen Duling is clearly the latter.

Right now, she's obsessing over every possible loss—more accurately, she's insecure.

"Senior, am I dragging you down?"

"Dragging me down? Where did that idea come from?" Bai Liang said, surprised.

"I've seen a lot of people online saying so."

"Pfft, those are all Duck Army trolls. Why would you care about that stuff?"

Bai Liang knew exactly what Chen Duling meant—there really was a wave of online chatter saying the movie would be perfect if Little Duck played the female lead.

Clearly, the fact that the original choice for the lead was Little Duck had leaked out.

They dare not challenge Bai Liang, but they've got plenty of guts when it comes to Dudu!

Still, emotionally and logically, it's perfectly normal.

If someone steals your role, aren't you allowed to post a few press releases to complain and put them down?

Even Bai Liang thought it was understandable.

But Dudu, the actual party involved, bought into it completely—she truly believed the online nonsense.

To be fair, even if Bai Liang had to choose again, he'd still pick Dudu over Little Duck, whose acting is stronger and more explosive.

As for acting, with him carrying the role, it's already enough.

You can't just swap partners to chase better chemistry and ignore looks entirely, can you?

A more attractive female co-star is also an external motivation for Bai Liang to act harder and perform better.

Put it this way: acting with Dudu sparks at least 80% of his motivation.

Switch to Little Duck, and you might not even get 50%.

This well-reasoned analysis is how Bai Liang expressed Dudu's irreplaceability.

And surprisingly, she actually listened.

After all, it was Bai Liang speaking—his words carried immense weight in her heart.

Since they were having such a good chat, Bai Liang decided to press the advantage.

He glanced at Dudu's competitors for Best Actress, planning to find more weaknesses in them to boost Dudu's confidence further.

Dudu's competitors for this year's Hundred Flowers Best Actress were Zhang Jingchu, Zhang Ziyi, Hui Yinghong, and Tan Zhuo.

Hmm.

Even Bai Liang couldn't help scratching his head.

But faced with Dudu's hopeful gaze, he clearly couldn't say things like, "Let's just wash up and go to sleep," or "We're doomed."

"Cough, cough—my throat's a bit dry. Let me take a moment to recover."

"Senior, here's water!" Dudu immediately scurried off and brought him a bottle of water, her face full of anticipation.

Bai Liang:.

Good!

Since things had come to this, he'd activate his super brain!

"First, Zhang Ziyi—don't be fooled by her fame and awards. What movie got her nominated this time? 'The Climbers'! If that movie wins her Best Actress, this year's Hundred Flowers will turn into a joke. If it becomes a joke, whether we win or not won't even matter—watching fireworks would be more fun!"

Chen Duling: Yes!

Though Empress Zhang is indeed formidable, 'The Climbers' is just terrible—it's actually the weakest entry here; she probably didn't even expect to win.

"Next, Senior Hui Yinghong—her nominated film is 'My People, My Country,' a portmanteau movie. I even had a seventh of it. The weight is still too low; this movie is clearly aiming for Best Picture."

Chen Duling: That makes sense!

"Then there's Tan Zhuo—her film 'A Cold Fish' is a remake, and the perspective is entirely focused on the male lead."

As Bai Liang spoke, he suddenly felt something was off—wait, remakes aren't really a disadvantage; the 'Remake Year' is about to begin.

But he was just making it up on the spot—he hadn't actually studied any of this.

After all, the Hundred Flowers Award—Yang Tianbao and Li Yifeng have both won before. Who can really predict this thing?

But seeing Chen Duling nodding vigorously, her eyes shining, Bai Liang's analysis had already worked.

To anyone else, it would sound utterly bizarre.

Holy cow, he made it sound like Dudu was guaranteed Best Actress.

Bai Liang didn't just fool Dudu—her entire team got caught up in it too.

Take the stylist working on Dudu right now—she suddenly seemed more energized.

She looked like she was thinking, "I've got to nail this look—this is for the trophy!"—while Lao Zhou listened with a strange expression.

Is Brother Liang just BS-ing? The more he talks, the more it sounds real!

When attending award ceremonies or events, Lao Zhou usually comes along, mainly to bring a pile of products from brand sponsors for his own Liang to choose from.

After all, he's the company's vice president and fashion director.

Occasionally, he also helps solve the dress problems of Bai Liang's female companions, since not every girl can easily borrow haute couture.

Today's outfit on Chen Duling? Lao Zhou lent a hand.

What made Old Zhou certain that his Liangge was just bluffing was the "analysis" from this final competitor.

Clearly, Bai Liang had run out of words!

He just launched into pure nonsense.

"Finally, Zhang Jingchu. I'll handle the color-changing ink, you handle Zhang Jingchu—makes sense, right?"

Chen Duling:???

Does that make sense?

But ignoring that last bit of nonsense, what he said before was actually quite reasonable.

So after a moment of embarrassment, Chen Duling automatically assumed her senior was just teasing her.

This whole series of jokes, reassurances, and analysis was surprisingly effective!

The good news was, Duling no longer felt insecure about tonight's Hundred Flowers Award ceremony.

But the bad news was, Bai Liang had reassured her too much—she now felt, damn it, I could win Best Actress too!

I, Duling, am taking home the trophy today!

No one can stop me!

Bai Liang: Good! That's the spirit!

"Senior, what about you?"

"Me? I'm fine with anything. You do your best!" Bai Liang waved his hand dismissively.

"Mm-hmm!"

Carrying hope and determination, Duling put on today's haute couture battle robe and set off, arm linked with Bai Liang's!

A long tasseled dress, exuding remarkable elegance.

Especially since Duling had played a little trick—worn a push-up bra and even added padding—her curves now looked quite impressive.

Standing beside Bai Liang, she transformed instantly from a modest little neighbor girl into a refined lady of high society.

Her confidence soared another notch!

The hosts of this year's Hundred Flowers Award ceremony were Lan Yu, Lu Yu, Tong Tong Liya, and Wang Junkai.

Among them, Bai Liang was only slightly familiar with Lan Yu, the least famous of the group.

Duling had originally been puzzled—why had her senior suddenly asked someone to go back and get a pen?

Bai Liang was straightforward: "That pen was a gift from Lan Yu herself. She hosted the Golden Rooster Awards last time too—we're trying to take the backdoor route."

"Did your backdoor plan work, Senior?"

"Nope~"

Though the backdoor didn't work, when the female host Lan Yu spotted the pen pinned to Bai Liang's pocket, her smile instantly brightened a full level.

Her attitude toward him was visibly warmer than her polite courtesy to others—so affectionate.

Chen Duling: So weird… but that's totally Senior's style.

As for the other hosts, they simply exchanged brief greetings.

They really weren't that familiar.

But Tong Tong Liya, since hosting the Spring Festival Gala, suddenly seemed to have launched her career as a host—strangely so.

It's just like Big Big Mi Mi.

When a married female artist suddenly shifts her career path, and her husband gradually vanishes from her life and career, there's no doubt—ninety-nine percent she's divorced, and it's just a matter of time before an official announcement.

The 85s Divorce Squad, ever since Big Big Mi Mi started, has been one after another.

All one can say is, Big Big Mi Mi is unmatched—she does everything faster than anyone else! From marriage to divorce, she's always ahead of the curve!

Latercomers hoping to ride the "independent woman" traffic wave can only breathe in Big Big Mi Mi's exhaust fumes.

The only one who still maintains her career peak after divorce is her alone.

But for some reason, Bai Liang felt he really did attract divorced older sisters.

In the entrance corridor, Tong Tong Liya stopped him for a long, awkward chat—her smile was no less warm than Lan Yu's.

Oh right, she's also from an ethnic minority. According to some online comments, Bai Liang has a special advantage in this area!

It started as random small talk, but when Tong Tong Liya brought up the drama "Thirty Is Just Right," the floodgates opened.

After all, the role of Gu Jia in that drama was originally offered to her.

She turned it down, and then Tong Yao took over.

And then the actress skyrocketed—some even say she made a miraculous comeback thanks to that drama!

"What a pity—if I'd taken that role, I could've collaborated with you," Tong Tong Liya sighed deeply.

For a blockbuster of this caliber, not regretting it was impossible.

But that's life~ Adults must take responsibility for their own choices.

"Yeah, yeah~"

Bai Liang nodded along while frantically recalling—his cameo role, besides kissing Mao Xiaotong, had any scenes with Gu Jia?

Probably not… but since the sister said it like that, he couldn't very well point it out.

Clearly, her real intent wasn't the drama.

But honestly, Bai Liang's main drama partners now are post-90s actresses; there's little room left for the 85s.

Post-00s young stars are already waiting hungrily.

Even if a role did come up for collaboration with the 85s, Big Big Mi Mi, Little Zhao Sister, and Big Tian Tian already occupied all three ecological niches—completely filled.

Even the backup slot is taken by Unlike Ni Ni—there's simply no space left for others.

This is the consequence of having too many close older sisters.

Even though this guy Bai Liang still tries hard to meet new people, it's just too hard for newcomers to outcompete the veterans.

For example, Yang Tianbao, who had previously tried to get close and seize this brand-new future, ended up being subjected to rotating man-to-man defense, and even got that Zha blasted in his face, before he could only slink away in disgrace.

Of course, if someone purely wanted to get to know him as a person, without too many ulterior motives, then it would actually be quite simple.

But in a place like the entertainment circle, it's hard to have no ulterior motives.

Basically, there are only two types: the "green and inexperienced" young Miss, and the "world-weary" older sister.

Being caught in the middle is indeed a bit awkward.

For example, right now, when Tong Liya wanted to exchange contact information with Bai Liang, Miss Dodo began her act.

"Senior, let's head over there quickly."

Little White Lotus, steady performance!

Actually, relying on her alone wasn't quite enough, because Miss Dodo's "Death Note" didn't have any information on this Tong Liya.

But Lan Yu gave a hand at this moment—wonder if it was because of the emotional value of that fountain pen.

Bai Liang always felt her gaze was a bit strange, though it wasn't when she looked at him, but when she looked at Tong Liya, there was something odd in her eyes.

As if it were an untouchable minefield.

Bai Liang:???

He just refused to buy into this nonsense~

He was going to see exactly what was going on!

But when he patted his pocket, he realized he hadn't brought his phone.

Oh no!

Bai Liang was pulled along by Chen Duling while wearing a pained expression.

That expression even left Miss Dodo baffled. "Senior, do you like exotic styles that much?"

"No, I didn't bring my phone. What am I going to play with later?!" Bai Liang said helplessly.

Not bringing his phone at other times was fine—he had plenty of more fun things—but not bringing it to an awards ceremony like this was just too painful!

Chen Duling: ah, this

So it was because of the phone!

If that's the case, then she was about to get happy~

Now it was her turn to comfort Bai Liang. It's fine, it's fine!

Later, she'd be responsible for keeping Senior entertained!

Mm. First, grab a Best Actress trophy to set the mood!

"Senior, I'll let you play with my trophy later~" Thinking of this, Miss Dodo couldn't help but pop a little champagne halfway along.

Bai Liang:???

Play with what?

This is completely upside-down!

In the past, it was always him letting the Young Ladies play with his trophies.

However, regarding Miss Dodo's upside-down thinking, Bai Liang continued with "encouraging education"—after all, he couldn't dampen the child's enthusiasm!

——