Chapter 58: Hidden Dragons and Crouching Tigers, All Are Experts (Request Follows, Request Monthly Votes)

The filming at the main camp was Bai Liang's only promotional activity with the Wu Shen Zhao Zilong crew.

After that, they appeared on two more shows but didn't bring him along again.

Instead, Mencius tagged along on another one, purely for the free ride~

On one hand, Na Zha was too busy to keep accompanying him; Bai Liang had no one to pair with for CP dynamics, and he couldn't possibly "cheat on" the show for artificial drama.

Her credit on this drama was listed merely as "guest appearance."

So in a sense, Na Zha wasn't even a lead actor.

She was just "helping out as a friend."

But her screen time was clearly there... Bai Liang could only interpret it as her not wanting to be overshadowed by Lin Yu'er?

He'd just learned this term~ and immediately put it to use.

Na Zha directly admitted this: her resources were strong now, and her upcoming roles were all female leads; there was no reason to let Lin Yu'er overshadow her and devalue her own worth.

So she simply negotiated with the production team and settled for a guest appearance credit.

On the other hand, he genuinely had little fame; appearing on shows was just forcibly hogging screen time.

Moreover, he had no powerful team behind him to fight for these opportunities.

Sister Yanzi had wanted to do exactly that, but she was stretched too thin.

While Wu Shen Zhao Zilong was doing promotional tours, Sister Yanzi was on the set of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, negotiating Bai Liang's salary.

Let Guo Jing see what the hell "Sister Yanzi's opening demand" really meant!

Though slightly exaggerated, it wasn't actually going to reach a sky-high price—after all, Bai Liang wasn't worth that much.

"Sixty thousand yuan!"

Sister Yanzi proudly reported her victory to Bai Liang, claiming this was the highest rate she could secure.

Bai Liang was surprised, "Why did my salary jump so much all of a sudden?"

"Big Brother Dou Xiao Bai, you're not an amateur anymore—you've starred in three dramas, and except for the Immortal Sword one, all were leads. Even the Immortal Sword role, though slightly lesser, still had strong IP value..."

Sister Yanzi gave Bai Liang a full lecture, proving from every angle that he truly deserved this pay!

Even though the drama hadn't aired yet~

Bai Liang nodded repeatedly, giving high praise to her work and offering emotional validation afterward.

Finally, Sister Yanzi dropped her "king card":

"The female lead's salary isn't even higher than yours—she might not even make half."

"Huh? Really?"

Bai Liang was genuinely surprised this time—mainly because he'd never seen a female lead this poorly paid.

"True. I heard the female lead's salary was really low; she probably didn't even negotiate—likely just wanted the role."

Sister Yanzi's analysis was very reasonable; for many artists, salary meant nothing.

Especially when they weren't famous, they'd even act for free if the role had potential to explode.

Clearly, Huang Rong, the female lead of the new version of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, fit this standard perfectly.

This character was too iconic.

Bai Liang didn't bother wondering how much Mencius, the female second lead, earned—obviously she wasn't getting much either.

Just look at her resume—trying to find her name among the dramas she's been in requires scrolling way down.

The new version of The Legend of the Condor Heroes filmed in many locations, almost nationwide.

Besides Hengdian, the epicenter of historical dramas, they had to travel far to Inner Mongolia, Gansu, and other places for shooting.

Actors with these scenes clearly had to suffer—rumor had it they couldn't even stay in hotels and had to sleep in tents.

This "unlucky one" was obviously Guo Jing.

The opening grassland scenes had nothing to do with Bai Liang's character Yang Kang, but the crew still had all unrelated leads report first to Hengdian.

Hengdian felt as familiar to Bai Liang as home.

This time, he learned from his previous "mistake": instead of rushing to his hotel room to unpack, he immediately contacted Mencius.

"I've checked into the hotel. Want to have dinner together?"

"You're here?! Wait a sec—I'm just... uh, I've got something to finish, you might have to wait a bit longer."

One sentence carried two emotions—Mencius's move left Bai Liang stunned.

It was just like this girl was holding a grudge but forgot to be mad at first... then halfway through, she suddenly remembered she was supposed to be upset about last time and needed to give him the cold shoulder.

Hence this bizarre behavior.

So the question arose... should he wait or not?

Bold hypothesis, careful verification.

Bai Liang's imagination ran wild—he even conjured up some strange scenario, and before she hung up, he blurted: "Who are you with?"

"Huh? How did you know..."

Click~

Case solved—she really was with someone else.

And given Mencius's panicked reaction, was she with a boy?

"Sister Yanzi, could you help me put my things away first?"

"And what about you, Big Brother Dou Xiao Bai?"

Bai Liang thought for a moment, "Someone will probably come find me soon."

Sister Yanzi was confused—she'd clearly heard the entire phone call and had been startled inside.

She'd even thought this girl, who seemed a bit flirtatious with Bai Liang, had "moved on."

But now it didn't seem that way... so weird.

As expected, less than five minutes had passed when Meng Zi Yi hurried out of the elevator.

Seeing Bai Liang in the hotel lobby, his eyes lit up, but at that moment he deliberately slowed his pace.

The woman behind him, by contrast, was calm and unhurried, curiously following Meng Zi Yi's gaze to study the front.

Case solved—he's with a Miss, then~

Bai Liang directly ignored Meng Zi Yi's "clumsy acting" and greeted the girl with the smiling, crinkled eyes who looked quite adorable.

"Hello, I'm Bai Liang, playing Yang Kang."

Li Yitong quickly extended her hand, even bowing slightly, "Hello, I'm Li Yitong, playing Huang Rong."

"Enough with the formalities—he's even younger than you~ We're the seniors." Meng Zi Yi poked Li Yitong to remind her.

"Huh? Is that so?"

Li Yitong was puzzled; she felt absolutely no newbie vibe from Bai Liang...

"Probably. My first drama was with her. When did you debut?"

"I just debuted too—I've only done two dramas."

"Then I've got a bit more experience..." Bai Liang felt this made sense—he'd acted in three dramas, so he was definitely the senior.

At that moment, Meng Zi Yi coldly chimed in: "Her first drama was as the female lead. What are you so proud of?"

"Impressive!" Bai Liang bowed his head in respect; this production team truly was full of hidden talents—everybody was a master.

By the way, how did this little rookie Meng Zi Yi even get in here? He's always lurking around everywhere.

Meng Zi Yi: Didn't you forget how you got your role?

Bai Liang: "Let's eat first~"