Chapter 72: Wanting to Taste Every Flavor

For Bai Liang, the incident with the female journalist and the little fan was merely a minor detour in his "Dating War."

He himself didn't take it too seriously.

Chen Yao, however, was deeply worried, fearing the little fan might say something reckless and the journalist might write something damaging, bringing trouble to Bai Liang.

In fact, her way of thinking was more typical of an entertainer in the industry.

For artists, of course they claim fans are "family," but anyone who actually treats them that way is an absolute fool.

When they turn against you and smear you, their damage is even greater than that of black fans.

Bai Liang, having come up through the "wild path," learned all this from that enthusiastic "teacher" Na Zha, and certainly didn't understand it as thoroughly as artists who had undergone formal company training.

This made Chen Yao feel somewhat guilty, since she had asked him over to help stir up a fake romance, yet he had ended up "causing trouble" in the process.

On the way back to her current rented apartment, the girl was in low spirits.

The capybara plush in her arms was all wrinkled from being squeezed.

Bai Liang naturally noticed her mood shift; after dropping her off downstairs, he didn't rush to say goodbye, but casually ruffled her hair: "Don't worry, those two girls won't cause any trouble."

"But I think—"

Never mind what you think; it's what I think~

The words were already on his lips, but Bai Liang suddenly felt a greasy chill crawl over his skin, so he switched phrasing: "I handled Jin Cheng's abstract holy body—how hard could these two be?"

Huh? That makes sense~

Chen Yao knew just how formidable Jin Cheng was—her tongue was terrifying, and only Cai Yi could keep her in check.

But even if Cai Yi could control her, it didn't matter—Jin Cheng had already decided to leave.

Another renegade was preparing to flee.

Chen Yao had accidentally found out about it, and Jin Cheng had even "threatened" her: "My leaving is good for you! The company gives female artists so few resources anyway—it's making room for you! Don't you dare tell anyone!"

This peculiar, headstrong, and slightly rebellious girl couldn't gain any advantage over Bai Liang.

Sometimes, she was even manipulated by him.

Bai Liang didn't know she used this method to "justify" things to herself, but as the saying goes, whether black or white, a cat that catches mice is a good cat.

Watching Chen Yao leave, glancing back every few steps, he felt a small pang of regret.

Why didn't she invite me up for a bit?

Bai Liang wasn't suddenly feeling any lust—it was purely for work.

In his experience, fake romance stories always included a "spending the night at her place" scene.

He didn't even need to stay—just walk in, hang around a bit, then walk out.

Just give her some photo material!

By the way, the paparazzi hired by Tang Ren's side were truly professional—he still hadn't spotted them, and had no idea where they were hiding.

No wonder so many entertainers hide so deeply and still get caught with their private moments exposed.

But Bai Liang wasn't too worried about himself; in fact, he thought it might even be fun if he became more famous and had to actively hunt down paparazzi.

You hide, I'll find you—it's just like playing hide-and-seek as a kid.

The next day, Bai Liang and Chen Yao went on another "date," and upon seeing the paparazzi practically pressing their cameras against their faces, they fell silent.

He felt he'd misunderstood something—had he been outsmarting air yesterday?

"He's not a paparazzo—he's our company's regular photographer," Chen Yao kindly clarified.

"Then yesterday?" The moment she said it, the girl's face turned red; she mumbled softly, "I didn't know either."

Well, fine~

After the "Dating War," Bai Liang and Chen Yao rejoined Jin Cheng and the others, appearing together on a Shanghai-based variety show.

Ratings and influence were no match for Mango TV's flagship programs, but they were more suited to the status of these minor players.

One variety show, one interview program, plus two separate interviews—that was the entirety of Bai Liang's schedule during this trip.

After finishing all that, he had already been in Shanghai for four or five days; even though the "Arrow Shooting" crew had been generous, they couldn't help calling a few times to nudge him gently.

Half of those calls came from Meng Zi Yi; if you didn't know, you'd think she was an investor in "Arrow Shooting."

Bai Liang had originally planned to visit Lin Yufen to learn about the casting situation for the upcoming "A Smile Is Beautiful," but Lin was busy, so the matter had to be dropped.

Still, during the phone call, Lin Yufen did give Bai Liang a piece of "inside information":

Neither the male nor female lead had been finalized, but they had already begun contacting that Shuang girl.

This wasn't good news for Bai Liang—though the girl was a crazy, fragile white flower, her popularity and traffic were nearly the only ones among post-90s idols capable of competing with the post-85s, even surpassing them.

If she took the female lead, Bai Liang certainly wasn't qualified to play the male lead.

This book has just been updated in ##!! UPDATE!

Fortunately, Bai Liang didn't mind much—he'd just go to the audition normally and take whatever role he got; he wasn't picky.

In his current acting career, he was still in a "starving, anything's fine" phase—he wanted to taste every flavor.

If not for Lin Yufen's call introducing him to this drama, after "Arrow Shooting" wrapped, he might've wandered around Hengdian's anti-Japanese fantasy sets, hoping to land a tiny Japanese soldier role.

Or any other role would do.

Hmm… if the role isn't too dead, that'd be best.

So far, he's appeared in four dramas, and every single character he played died.

Back at the crew's hotel, Bai Liang had barely sat down when Meng Zi Yi, having finished filming, came sniffing after him like a bloodhound.

As Li Yitong put it: "You've become so clingy you're practically evolved into a medicinal patch monkey."

Now, even entering Bai Liang's room seemed perfectly natural.

No—it felt downright expected.

After learning about the new drama's role from him, Meng Zi Yi naturally expressed sympathy, then brightened her eyes, flicked her hair, and asked expectantly:

"I've actually read 'A Smile Is Beautiful' too—don't you think I could play Bei Weiwei?"

Bai Liang sized her up, recalling the novel's description of the female lead, Bei Weiwei:

Beautiful, striking eyes; alluring glances; lips forever crimson; a voluptuous figure—even if she stepped out wearing that ugly university uniform from the Polytechnic, no one would believe she was truly a student at a prestigious university.

"Come to think of it, you've got that born-to-be-an-internet-celebrity look down pat—it's got just the right vibe—but your figure—"

"My figure isn't good?!"

As the girl's breath drew within mere centimeters of him, her fragrance curled around Bai Liang's nostrils.

At that moment, he had to admit: this girl was truly "Bei Weiwei."

So, compared to Jin Cheng's earlier "playing with fire" at the gym, Meng Zi Yi was clearly far more "dangerous!"

Yet she herself seemed unaware of this, continuing to press against Bai Liang with a kind of "foolish recklessness."

Just as their bodies made tangible contact, she suddenly shivered, feeling a chill of goosebumps rise on her skin.

The playful atmosphere vanished instantly—a sultry tension spread through the room.

(End of Chapter)