Chapter 592: Feeling Like Someone's Sneaking Into My Base

Tonight, Bai Liang and Wu Jing snuck together into the same room, acting all sneaky.

The two weren't up to any "Chengdu story"—they'd grabbed some drinks and were planning to rewatch the variety show they'd recorded earlier, namely "Happiness Trio."

Because Big Tian Tian had been somewhat "letting loose" on that show, Sister Yanzi had gone to "review" it after the finished episode came out, so there was no worry about anything too explosive getting left in the edit.

Like Big Tian Tian calling out "hubby," or the two of them staying together at night.

If that kind of stuff got aired, even if Big Tian Tian didn't have anything in her belly, some things just wouldn't be explainable.

Still, after the editing, this overly explicit stuff naturally wouldn't be shown to viewers, but some things simply couldn't be avoided.

Namely, the way Big Tian Tian looked at Bai Liang on the show.

If she were Big Mi Mi, it'd be fine—her gaze is a bit beguiling no matter who she's looking at—but she just happens to not be that way.

Normally Big Tian Tian's eyes have this clear, slightly dopey look to them, kind of like an obedient, cute little puppy.

But on this show, her performance and the way she looked at Bai Liang made it feel like the little puppy had found her owner~

The above comments are all the outrageous stuff that popped up on Weibo after the episode aired.

Big Tian Tian's gaze at Bai Liang wasn't exactly pure to begin with—otherwise, where would their scandal have come from?

With her terrible acting, there's no way she could pull off an effect of "we're really playing around on set, but off set it's all fake."

It's purely because the two of them recently had a "baby rumor," so plenty of people started shooting the arrow before drawing the target.

But as time went on, the rumor did lose some of its market—showbiz is just like that, lots of things end up without a beginning or an end.

Most melon still needs the parties involved to come out and say something.

Obviously, the two parties involved in this matter aren't going to make any statement.

Bai Liang still hasn't said anything about this whole thing, but his company has been stepping up its efforts to deal with some absurd anti-fans.

As for Big Tian Tian... she's still over there doing the splits~

No idea who gave her the idea, but it seems she's planning to prove her "innocence" this way without directly addressing the matter.

The backgrounds of her splits photos usually include a TV playing something, or some other thing that can prove when the photo was taken.

So no one can accuse her of using old photos or anything like that.

Anyway, with this kind of push, the rumor did gradually lose its market.

It's just that recently there hasn't been anything fresher in showbiz, so marketing accounts can only rehash old stuff.

Of course, these marketing accounts are being more and more careful with their wording now—never naming names, never using any absolute statements, just "rumor has it," "maybe," "probably." Can't be helped; otherwise, one careless slip and they really might get "sent in."

However, after this episode of "Happiness Trio" aired, although the market for Big Tian Tian's "not-so-pure" gaze at Bai Liang was still there, a lot of the heat got siphoned off by other stuff.

Whether it was Bai Liang and Old Man Qian doing their crosstalk-style chat, or his all-out PK with Ho Yau Kwan, this young master of the gambling king family, etc. —clearly all the stuff viewers love to watch and discuss.

But the most viral thing from this episode was still Big Tian Tian.

Hot search #1: Big Tian Tian, Queen of the Qipao!

Big Tian Tian, who fully stepped into the role of Si Teng and even got a signature look, went absolutely wild!

Appearing in a Republic-era qipao outfit, cold and sexy while also being infuriatingly elegant.

Most importantly, she also had a sharp-tongued streak, damn it.

All these elements piled onto Big Tian Tian, combined with her original looks and figure, made people absolutely hooked.

"Love it, love it—who's the genius who came up with putting Tian Tian in a qipao? She's way too pretty!"

"The scene where she's seriously cursing out those little fish is so weird, I love watching it~"

"Slurp~ Tian Tian's figure is amazing! So full! Hehe~"

"So this is Tian Tian and the Great Immortal's look in their new drama? I'm already hyped!"

"You little tease, seducing me~ once you air, I'm gonna watch you to death on my big TV!"

"."

Big Tian Tian's fan-pull this round was extremely strong, but the most important thing was really the contrast.

The contrast between her naturally cute-and-cuddly personality and the role of Si Teng really was just too big.

Including on the show too—just now she was over there cursing at fish, and then she's dopey-hugging a landing net, looking all cute like she's ready to throw down with a big fish.

Who could resist a good contrast?

This round basically maxed out the pre-promotion for "Si Teng," and then—

"The Awakening Era" aired!

This drama is kind of like the TV version of "Beginning of the Great Revival," but more detailed—it starts with the New Culture Movement and ends with Chen and Li in the south and north.

Right when it premiered, the drama's ratings weren't particularly high.

Of course, the benchmark was Bai Liang's hit dramas and even his ratings-champions.

After all, he wasn't the male lead in this one, and given the subject matter, it really wasn't easy to blow up.

But it was a CCTV big-budget drama after all, so "The Awakening Era" got no shortage of promotional resources and pulled in plenty of casual viewers.

It's just that historical dramas are genuinely hard to film—mainly because they tend to go to extremes: either too rigid and by-the-book, as boring and conveyor-belt as a history textbook.

Or the screenwriter's pen runs wild and writes something too absurd, which naturally gets roasted to oblivion.

But the quality of "The Awakening Era" is right there—centered on Chen Zhongfu, from the early struggles of founding New Youth magazine, to the clash between old and new culture, to the bureaucratic suppression by Zhang Fengzai and his lot, all the way up to the climax at the Paris Peace Conference.

The young teacher's entrance immediately broke out into the mainstream.

Before the teacher's entrance, a long shot was given to a farmer leading an ox.

Then, a troop of mounted, rifle-carrying soldiers came galloping arrogantly down the street, while passersby scrambled to dodge, panicked yet unsurprised.

Right after that, the young teacher, clutching a stack of "New Youth" magazines, came running out—

A full two-minute silent sequence—not one of the main characters spoke a word. Through the teacher's run, all kinds of metaphors and synecdoches came flooding in, depicting the contradictions, conflicts, and helplessness of old China in that grand era.

So after it premiered, "The Awakening Era" gradually rose in everything from ratings to scores.

Even plenty of fans who originally came for Bai Liang gradually turned into organic promoters.

Judging by how things are developing, "The Awakening Era" will naturally become a successful work without any surprise.

Hmm... seems like something's missing?

Just a successful work?

Bai Liang is starring in it~

Letting you kid sit around with nothing to do and go act in a tribute film — now your golden body's about to break, huh?

Even though the encyclopedia entry for "The Awakening Era" states that Bai Liang is a special appearance, his name is still placed far too prominently in the cast list.