Chapter 61: Do You Hate Me? (Request Follows, Request Monthly Votes)

After watching the first two episodes aired today, the lead actors of "Wushen Zhao Zilong" all felt strangely uneasy.

How to put it... any normal person can still tell whether a drama is good or bad.

But this time, it's hard to be sure—like the differing opinions from two different platforms.

On Weibo, "Wushen Zhao Zilong" naturally trended upon premiere, with a flood of fan girls gushing over the cast, clearly stunned by this "beauty feast."

They screamed things like "Zhao Zilong is so handsome!" and "Xiahou Qingyi is too beautiful!"

Though slightly mindless, their voices were genuinely "loud," and at a glance, it seemed all reviews were positive.

But on other platforms... Lin Gengxin didn't dare check reviews or ratings on Douban; he glanced once and felt he'd suffered heavy injuries.

Currently, "Wushen Zhao Zilong" has high premiere heat, and online discussion is clearly evident.

The final online views plus viewership ratings probably won't be low.

The producer and Mango TV are unlikely to lose money.

But after actors finish a drama, their personal interests no longer align closely with the producer or TV station.

A drama going viral is good, but the capitalists who profit won't share the money with them—yet subsequent reviews and reputation greatly affect the actors.

For Lin Genxin, the only good news right now is... his best buddy didn't stab him in the back.

Compared to Zhao Zilong's wildly altered scenes, Bai Liang's portrayal of Lu Bu wasn't changed all that much.

Though his appearance didn't match the traditional image of Lu Bu, the title "Most Handsome Lu Bu in History" was still slammed onto Bai Liang's head.

Doesn't look like him, but he's genuinely handsome!

This phrase originally started as sarcasm mocking the casting.

Look, creators—choosing someone so unlike Lu Bu to play Lu Bu—is that appropriate?!

But during the beauty-fan frenzy, no one cared about distinctions—they just grabbed it and used it!

Overall, although some criticized the casting of Lu Bu, in certain online communities, Bai Liang's reputation was surprisingly relatively good.

It's just that the other leads were too weak, making him stand out.

Even if not praising or flattery, many reviews still said: "Only Lu Bu and Diaochan look decent—what's the rest?"

Na Zha was also praised, since she only needed to be beautiful!

She, who has always relied on beauty to conquer the world, finally showed the audience just how powerful pure beauty can be.

At the peak of her youth, she landed the perfect doll role.

Plus, she'd improved just a tiny bit—just enough to get by.

Even angry viewers cursed when they had to first exclude her...

And right in this "golden window" where Bai Liang and Na Zha weren't being criticized, Na Zha's side clearly launched marketing.

After all, Tang Ren isn't an idiot—this heat came at the perfect moment; time to market.

Photos of Diaochan were posted everywhere; a swarm of marketing accounts "spontaneously" started gushing.

Oh, Tang Ren hadn't released any articles claiming Na Zha overshadowed Lin Wuer.

It wasn't out of kindness to the Korean girl—mainly because... Lin Wuer already had someone overshadowing her.

Someone had already collected the tax from Echeng~

#MostBeautifulMaid, Overshadowing Lin Wuer#

#Meng Ziyi's Hidden Gem, The Maid Is More Beautiful Than the Young Lady! #

#At first glance, these two look like sisters, not mistress and maid#

#...... #

On the first day of "Wushen Zhao Zilong"'s premiere, everyone gathered like at a tea party to watch the drama.

Since filming hadn't officially started—only group training was underway—everyone had plenty of time and leisure.

The second and third days were the same, making Bai Liang feel the "Sheep Hunter" cast's atmosphere was truly excellent.

Even on the fourth day, Meng Ziyi developed a mahjong craving and started organizing games...

She desperately wanted Bai Liang to join, but Bai Liang, who had always been easygoing and friendly to everyone, firmly refused this entertainment.

Not even if the stakes were extremely, extremely small.

Meng Ziyi didn't think, "He really has great self-control"—instead, she looked at Bai Liang with a strange expression.

Finally, she said: "Didn't you ever get into trouble because of gambling before? Tell me—since you've changed, I won't look down on you for it, I'll just think you're a prodigal son turned gold!"

Clearly, her wild imagination had decided Bai Liang was a reformed gambling addict who'd sworn off the table forever.

Bai Liang:......

Sometimes dealing with Meng Jie was truly helpless.

Yes, he sincerely called her Meng Jie—he was genuinely awed by her train of thought.

She was truly no ordinary person.

Of course, mahjong only needs four players; Meng Ziyi played just fine without Bai Liang.

And though he didn't sit at the table, he was happy to sit beside and watch.

Meng Ziyi was eager to let Bai Liang see her mahjong skills.

Unfortunately, these activities she enthusiastically organized suddenly became hard to assemble after a week.

After two consecutive attempts to invite Li Yitong to play, and each time being politely refused, Meng Ziyi herself seemed to suddenly realize something—she became utterly deflated.

Her disappointment and dazed expression were visibly apparent, looking pitifully forlorn.

Bai Liang, who didn't closely follow online sentiment, found this odd—this girl's brain always ran on weird tracks; had she overimagined something again and fallen into an emo spiral?

"How about... I join you for mahjong tonight?"

Facing Bai Liang's "compromise," Meng Ziyi forced a weak smile at him, "No thanks, I'm not in the mood, and you've quit gambling..."

"I've never picked up gambling as a vice," Bai Liang sighed, shaking his head.

This little miss speaks so randomly when she's in a bad mood…

A game type that is utterly guaranteed to be a win for him simply has no basis for addiction or obsession.

He merely finds it too boring.

"Alright, I believe you—you wouldn't lie to me, right?!"

At the end of this sentence, Mencius Yi suddenly seemed to regain some spirit, staring intently at Bai Liang, as if awaiting some reply from him.

"Under normal circumstances, I rarely lie," Bai Liang said solemnly.

"Then when would you lie?"

"When I feel like pulling a little prank or having some fun."

"Then look into my eyes now…" Mencius Yi suddenly reached out, cupping Bai Liang's face, and said slowly, word by word: "Do you dislike me?"

"…I wouldn't dislike you just because you thought I had a gambling addiction…"

"Don't play dumb! You know I'm not talking about that!"

Bai Liang frowned. "Has something happened that I don't know about?"

His words shattered Mencius Yi's composure entirely. "I've been suffering and torn up for so long, and you still don't know why I'm suffering?"

Bai Liang blinked. "Should I know?"

"Everyone knows!"

At this moment, Bai Liang showed little emotional fluctuation, but his tone grew slightly gentler; he shifted his posture and propped his chin on his hand:

"First, answer your earlier question—I certainly don't dislike you, and even after hearing your reason, I'd feel the same."

"So now, I want you to tell me slowly."