Chapter 552: She

The name "My Human烟火" sounded vaguely familiar to Bai Liang.

But he quickly remembered—wasn't this exactly where Bai Zhou's nickname came from?

This drama is quite interesting, hmm. Its influence is significant!

As for whether it's good or bad, it doesn't really concern Bai Liang—he'd only be a special guest even if he agreed to Yang Yang's invitation.

Although Bai Liang's passive trait now seemingly has a "scene-stealer" entry, he wouldn't go so far as to become a scene-stealer just for a cameo.

But to be fair, the proportion of resource-rich young female artists today is truly high!

Wang Churan hasn't even done as well as Meng Jie, yet she's already playing the female lead opposite Yang Yang.

Since Yang Yang could even come to Bai Liang to invite him for a cameo, the project must already be locked in—Meng Jie probably knows too.

Regardless of how many times Bai Liang has crushed and humiliated Yang Yang, the man is still one of the former Four Top Flows; his contemporaries have either quit, fallen into obscurity, or both, making him seem relatively successful.

Among flow artists, competing by who lasts longer is very common.

The other three of the original Four Top Flows, besides Yang Yang, are one who retired, one who "retired," and another who's frantically sewing.

And Yang Yang, with his "survivor" trait, has held on until now—how isn't that a kind of victory?

Just crown him "The Survivor King!"

It's a pity for Meng Jie—she's been stuck at that shabby Biyue Kai Entertainment for years and still hasn't landed a chance to play the lead opposite their top artist, Yang Yang.

Back then, there was Song Qian above her, and Meng Jie thought that was reasonable—compared to that senior, what was she even?

That senior simply excelled in every aspect; it's normal she had better resources.

But Wang Churan, who signed with Yuekai even later than her and used to be the little sister she looked after, now has better resources than her.

Meng Jie may be a bit dense and have a weird way of thinking, but she's still a normal person.

She still feels a little sour inside~

If she had zero feelings about it and remained completely carefree, Bai Liang would respect her as a real man!

Of course, it hasn't reached the point of damaging their sisterly bond yet.

She and Wang Churan won't cut ties over this—there's just a little resentment inside.

Hmm. Unfair!

But she doesn't say anything.

Because she's no longer the girl she was at twenty.

If it had been right after she first met Bai Liang, she'd have immediately pressed the call button on her phone the moment she found out.

But now she's twenty-five, considers herself a mature, sensible young woman, and a reliable adult.

If she had to beg Bai Liang for comfort over something like this, it would show she hadn't grown at all in these past years!

So Meng Jie pretends she doesn't know about it—everyone has their own fate and opportunities; overthinking only brings trouble.

Then she received Bai Liang's call.

"Meng Jie, come eat with me~"

"Huh? Little Hedgehog, are you in Beijing?"

"Yeah, Yang Yang invited me to dinner, so I thought I'd let you know and invite you along too."

"He invited you to dinner—why should I go? That doesn't seem right," Meng Jie hesitated.

"What's wrong with that? How could I eat more of his food alone? Meng Jie, you're just terrible at managing your life—when you can snag a free meal, take it!"

That makes sense!

Mention "managing life," and Meng Jie instantly perks up!

Her mom, Sister Qian, had taught her about this before, so she's sure she'll become an expert at managing life!

After a moment's thought, Meng Jie decided she might as well bring one more person along—to help eat even more!

Bai Liang: Fine.

She really is good at managing life!

But when it comes to being invited to dinner, the rule is: don't bring extra guests.

Bai Liang inviting Meng Jie was already a bit odd, but given their unspoken (though widely known) relationship, it's basically like bringing a family member.

But if Meng Jie brought another person, it would truly be impolite.

Yet Bai Liang didn't point it out—simply because he trusted her, just as she always unconditionally trusted him.

Besides, she's actually quite perceptive in these matters; her weird thinking doesn't mean she's clueless about social norms—she couldn't possibly miss this.

So the person she wanted to bring was clearly already obvious.

After hanging up with Bai Liang, she pursed her lips, thought for a moment, and called Wang Churan.

"Churan, want to come to dinner with me? There's a hot guy coming along~ Hey, where'd you learn about massage parlors hiring male models? I'll send you the address."

She invited Wang Churan because she feared the girl would overthink it.

If Bai Liang suddenly took her to dinner with Yang Yang, rumors might spread that she was trying to use Bai Liang to get resources from him.

Backstabbing among sisters isn't rare in the entertainment industry—even in the "Qing Yu Nian" sister group, led by the evil little kitty, they've done this sort of thing before; the drama between her and Li Xin, the "sassy chicken sisters," was quite dramatic.

Occasionally secretly buying negative trending topics or fake negative articles for each other isn't surprising at all.

When Li Yitong, Li Xin, and Bai Lu once fought over a role, who knows what schemes each of them secretly pulled?

The final result? Li Xin was eliminated early.

They'd all been calling each other "sisters" so affectionately, yet when it came time to strike, each was more ruthless than the next!

Meng Jie declares that her survival in this world relies on the word "righteousness!"

She's a "Jie"-rank competitor—she doesn't want to be misunderstood.

Her ability to make friends everywhere isn't without reason~

And sure enough, after Wang Churan joked around and understood the situation, she felt deeply moved.

Meng Jie is so generous!

"Hurry up, I'm going ahead first—I sent you the address."

"Oh come on, Meng Jie, wait for me~"

Wang Churan was replying to messages while already pulling out her makeup kit, ready to apply a full face of makeup at top speed.

Then she'd still need to pick out an outfit, match shoes and a bag—each detail made the workload grow the more she thought about it.

Meng Jie: Asking you to come along is already sisterly affection—don't you dare take advantage!

At this moment, Meng Jie, clutching her makeup bag and preparing to touch up her makeup in the car, spoke with unmistakable confidence.

If girls want to stay beautiful, they need plenty of battle experience!

How could you waste precious travel time~?

You see, she'd recently suffered a setback with her makeup—she'd just participated in a variety show called "Actors, Please Step Forward."

Because of her makeup and hairstyle, she got completely roasted.

Of course, this episode hasn't aired yet—it's only just been recorded—but Meng Jie already sensed she might be "going viral" again; with a moment like this, the production team would never let it slip.

Right now, though she'd long earned her "Jie" status in the industry thanks to Bai Liang, this title only mattered to those who understood.

Meaning: only those willing to show respect found "Meng Jie" useful.

Clearly, Guo Xiaosi was one who refused to show respect—or rather, he didn't care about it at all.

He'd always been at odds with the mainstream film and TV circle; even on the show, he'd argued and even shouted at other mentors—how much value could "Meng Jie" possibly hold to him?

What? Chen Daoming calls her "Meng Jie" too?

As if Guo Xiaosi would ever have a chance to get Chen Daoming to act in his films.

How desperate would Chen Daoming have to be to take his role?

Besides, Meng Jie is a woman—if she were a man, their attitude toward her might be several levels higher.

As for whether Meng Jie's relationship with Bai Liang could help—well, it did carry some weight, since Bai Liang had publicly brought her along multiple times, and they'd known each other since early on, second only to that Zha.

She was an early "angel investor."

But the problem was, this bastard Bai Liang was simply "too bad."

Too many female stars were tied to him in various ways; some insiders knew just how close Meng Jie was to him, but most still thought she ranked nowhere among those girls—there were far too many who could crush her.

When you're weak, you don't even deserve to officially hold the title of "rumored girlfriend."

So in the show "Actors, Please Step Forward 2," Meng Jie faced fierce criticism and personal attacks from Guo Xiaosi.

"You're just a web celebrity face!"

In the car, Meng Jie finished touching up her makeup, held up the mirror, and suddenly remembered Guo Xiaosi's words—her cheeks involuntarily puffed up.

"You're the web celebrity face! Your whole family are web celebrity faces!"

I want to cry! I'm so wronged!

But she was twenty-five now, so she didn't tell Bai Liang.

Even her agent couldn't take it anymore and suggested she blow up at Guo Xiaosi—just call Bai Liang directly and get him to appear as a guest performer.

Guest performer was fake; showing up to support her was the real goal!

Otherwise, that little shorty would get too big for his boots!

Yet Meng Jie still rejected the suggestion—under the pretense of not wanting to trouble him.

She herself thought it was pretentious, but human beings were complicated creatures.

Even this fool Meng Jie.

So when she met Bai Liang, her smile was as bright as ever, as if she'd been getting along just fine lately.

"Little Hedgehog!"

Hearing this, Bai Liang only smiled and waved at her, while Yang Yang's eyelid twitched involuntarily.

Is this a pet name?

Damn, this must be a pet name, right?

Logically, Bai Liang inviting Meng Jie wasn't strange—she was Yang Yang's company junior, and close to Bai Liang; her joining their dinner seemed perfectly normal.

At first glance, it was that simple—but Yang Yang couldn't help overthinking.

He had a feeling this bastard Bai Liang was up to something again.

This guy was a mastermind!

He'd always loved pulling tricks on him before.

Bai Liang: This time, it's no technique defeating technique!

No matter how hard you think, the reason is simply: he's tagging along for a free meal, just to make you spend more money?

This trick was too plain—it made Yang Yang strain his brain and still couldn't believe Bai Liang was this dumb.

After greeting him, Meng Jie didn't bother with formalities with Yang Yang—she sat right beside Bai Liang, linked her arm through his, and winked, "I haven't had lunch today!"

Bai Liang gave a thumbs-up. "Good job! Eat plenty later~"

Meng Jie nodded firmly with a smile—hey, she knew how to manage her resources well!

Yang Yang: Is there any hidden meaning in this conversation?

He couldn't help resting his chin in his hand, deep in thought—slipping into Prince Duan mode.

This scene left both Bai Liang and Meng Jie stunned—holy crap, he's going full character?

The two exchanged glances.

Bai Liang: Does he act like this at your company too?

Meng Jie: Pretty much~ But I've never seen him do it this fast before.

Bai Liang: Do you think he's hot like this?

Meng Jie: A bit oily — is that something you can actually say?

Bai Liang: Nah, we just exchanged a look — what could he possibly read from that?