Chapter 71: The Male Lead Walks Into Reality

Bai Liang never intended to scare the young journalist in front of him.

He merely responded to her "bragging" about having credentials by asserting that he had them too.

That's perfectly reasonable, right~

The young journalist wasn't truly "afraid" either—mainly because Bai Liang's expression didn't change at all; he was smiling cheerfully, not at all like someone trying to intimidate.

But out of professional instinct, she chose to respect this peculiar "artist" with firsthand experience.

She also felt a stronger curiosity rising—had she not forgotten her laptop, she'd have opened Word and started writing right away.

In the end, Bai Liang did satisfy this "fan-journalist's" request, but only after dinner.

He was still on a "date" with Chen Yao; he had to see it through to the end—how could he ditch a date halfway to chat with another girl?

Not even a female fan!

Compared to the female journalist, her true-fan best friend was far more excited.

She'd met her favorite male idol, and he'd even treated them to dinner, and now he was going to treat them to coffee, and they'd get to sit and chat.

Today felt like a dream!

Inside, she let out a groundhog scream: He's just too good!

She absolutely had to share this on Weibo with her sisters—make them insanely jealous.

But as she glanced at Chen Yao, sitting quietly and adorably beside him, she felt something odd.

Female fans who like young male idols are usually girlfriend fans or mommy fans.

Either way, both types are naturally adversarial toward the male idol's "girlfriend."

But Chen Yao really did seem harmless—at least while sitting down.

But once he stood up after dinner, he'd give you a shock!

Doll face, long legs?!

On the way to the café, the female fan stared at Chen Yao's legs for a long time.

"They're not a couple, can't you tell?" the journalist friend couldn't take it anymore and whispered a hint.

"No way! They look totally like a pair!"

"You forgot what I do? When you asked for his autograph, I already figured it out—even though he acted like one..."

Sometimes, for actors—especially skilled ones—judging certain things becomes frustrating.

Because their "deep emotion" can be acted!

Not to mention Bai Liang, who has innate advantages too—the reason the journalist could tell was because she noticed... Bai Liang's gaze at her best friend was also strangely "deep."

Not forced—just unconscious... radiating charm.

These kinds of guys are troublesome; sometimes, even if they don't want to be jerks, they end up becoming one passively.

Soon, the journalist overturned her own conclusion, because when they passed a pet shop, Chen Yao stopped to watch the kittens and puppies.

And she realized—Bai Liang looked at those little animals with the exact same expression!

His face didn't differ much at all.

She couldn't help mentally grumbling: So he loves all humanity, huh?

After calming down, she crossed out that ridiculous deduction and changed it to... loves life.

Once they sat down in a corner booth at the café, the journalist's curiosity about Bai Liang had reached its peak.

Before the formal "interview," the journalist gave a brief self-introduction.

She really was a reporter for Sina Entertainment, and she was doing quite well—not some intern, already deputy editor of her column at a young age.

It didn't faze Bai Liang, but it impressed Chen Yao, the newbie.

She felt the girl's... the female reporter's aura had changed completely from before.

But in the end, she humbly and politely added: "Just call me Xiao Shui."

After the pleasantries, they began the real conversation.

Actually, there wasn't much to say about Bai Liang's entertainment career—he'd only been an actor for a short time, so there wasn't much content.

Unless he told stories about his interactions with girls, he couldn't fill half a page.

But reporter Xiao Shui clearly wasn't especially interested in those—she focused on Bai Liang's "strange" outside-the-industry activities.

After seeing Bai Liang's civil service exam preliminary scores, rankings, and judicial examination results, Xiao Shui sucked in a sharp breath.

Holy crap, he's serious!

"Before becoming an actor, were you preparing for these exams all along? And somehow ended up in entertainment by accident?"

"No, I was modeling before. Later, I talked about it with friends and decided to give it a try."

Facing a journalist who could "kill with words," Bai Liang chose his phrasing carefully.

He couldn't say it was because of a bet... too frivolous.

Xiao Shui curiously asked, "How long did you study for them?"

"Not long—less than a month for the civil service exam, about two weeks for the judicial exam."

Okay okay okay... "Catch Me If You Can" has walked into reality, huh?

Reporter Xiao Shui naturally doubted this claim, but since Bai Liang dared say it, she dared write it.

The nearby fan, however, firmly believed it—her eyes were already sparkling!

"What other hobbies do you have?"

"I had quite a few before—gaming, horseback riding, martial arts... lately I've been planning to study basketball, swimming, guqin, weiqi, Minesweeper..."

Bai Liang thought again and added: "I also want to learn computer programming—are these considered hobbies?"

Dude, you're full of it!

This unusual "interview" lasted a little over half an hour.

The main thing was Bai Liang over there "blowing smoke," while Chen Yao played the straight man; whenever the female reporter Xiao Shui gave that "I don't believe you" look, Chen Yao would immediately declare: I can vouch for it!

He was even more of a fanatical follower than the little fan beside him.

After the two left, reporter Xiao Shui felt somewhat exasperated; she had thought she'd met a truly unusual celebrity, only to find him full of tall tales.

Apart from being exceptionally good at exams, good-looking, well-built, extremely polite, and pleasant to be around... well, those qualities alone are already impressive enough.

But he really did blow smoke a bit too much.

Is he trying to compete for the throne of "Entertainment Circle's King of Bluster"?

Just as Xiao Shui finished the last of her coffee and was about to signal her friend to leave, her friend—who had been silent the entire second half—suddenly gasped:

"Oh my god! Xiao Nai?"

"Who?"

"The male lead of a novel... an all-around godlike figure, incredibly talented—he got everything Xiao Liang just said exactly right... nearly perfect at everything, except cooking."

Reporter Xiao Shui laughed. "So the novel's male lead just walked into real life, huh~"

Her friend mumbled: "What if he really can do all that? Don't look down on him."

"I'm his fan too, you know."

She wasn't lying—she really was a fan, just not one who liked to cheer online.

"Pfft! You're just a body fan. But did you see the muscle definition on his arms?"

"I saw it. I even snuck a photo. His fingers are so long too... Tonight I'll use this for a wet dream." Xiao Shui said calmly.

"Damn it! Remember to send me a copy!"

"Of course I'll send you one~ Why don't you sleep over at my place tonight? We can have wet dreams together."

"Pfft! I'm not coming—you'll definitely do something weird... By the way, when are you planning to publish this report on him?"

"I'll hold off for now. Wait until the web drama he mentioned comes out, see how hot it gets. No rush—right now, publishing it would just get him roasted. I need to polish it up a bit for him first."

"Xiao Shui is just so wonderful!"