Chapter 95: Confirming the Male Lead and the Viral Trend (Requesting First Subscription)

After Bai Liang went out for a walk with Wang Sicong, the melancholy Sister Yanzi suddenly received a phone call.

From the production team of "A Smile Is Beautiful."

Although the caller was still Lin Yufen, an old acquaintance, this time it was very formal.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have contacted Bai Liang's agent before reaching out to him.

The message itself was simple.

"It's settled—Dou Xiao Bai is the male lead. Come discuss the salary; we aim to sign the contract tomorrow."

Sister Yanzi's eyes widened in shock!

Just earlier, she'd been joking with Bai Liang, wondering if things might eventually land him the male lead role.

At the time, she'd even dismissed the idea herself, saying the production team wouldn't dare upset Shuangzi no matter what.

Indeed, the production team hadn't broken ties—they'd just wanted to test the waters.

But Shuangzi herself had stormed off.

Even under these circumstances, Sister Yanzi hadn't dared to imagine him becoming the male lead; she'd only hoped to reclaim the second male role.

After all, Yang Mi had already shown up drawn by the scent—this level of star power was truly—

And now he'd actually become the male lead?!

Sister Yanzi asked again, incredulous: "Director Lin, really?"

"Really. It's already confirmed."

"So is Yang Mi the female lead in this drama?"

A soft laugh came from the other end of the line: "Who does Dou Xiao Bai hope for?"

"Dou Xiao Bai would definitely hope the female lead is…" Sister Yanzi suddenly paused, not naming the person, but phrasing it differently: "is Xin Jiang Miss."

"Then he's gotten his wish," Lin Yufen said cryptically.

After telling Sister Yanzi the meeting time, the call ended.

Holy shit, is this really happening?

Sister Yanzi wasn't particularly happy—she couldn't even imagine what would happen if these two ended up in the same drama again.

And as male and female leads? There'd be stories everywhere—in and out of the drama; something *had* to happen.

The last time they met, that look wasn't just lingering—it was thick as glue!

On this point, Sister Yanzi agreed with Cai Yinong: it's bullshit for rising stars to get into relationships!

But as always: Bai Liang is free~

So free that Sister Yanzi didn't even consider trying to stop him—she could only let it unfold naturally.

Still, overall, it's good news!

Bai Liang's custom RV's final payment is probably secured now—negotiating salaries? That's Sister Yanzi's specialty!

The film adaptation of "A Smile Is Beautiful" is also being shot in Shanghai, and just started filming not long ago.

Their efficiency is far higher than the drama version's.

But since it's the same IP, Bai Liang couldn't help wondering: how could the film possibly compress the story? The runtime difference is too huge.

The male and female leads here were already chosen: Jing Boyan and Da Baobei.

The male lead was fine, but the female lead… combining this with Shuangzi from the drama version, Bai Liang couldn't help feeling this IP might be cursed.

When Bai Liang and Young Master arrived at the set, Da Baobei seemed absent—only Jing Boyan was visible.

But there were plenty of other "familiar faces."

Like Wu Qing, Tan Songyun, and others.

Young Master still had serious clout—when they arrived, the crew was mid-shoot and immediately stopped to greet and chat.

Bai Liang himself was quite well-known here too, given how popular "Wu Xin the Magician" had been recently.

Still, most people looked puzzled, as if surprised to see him here.

As part of the same "A Smile Is Beautiful" production, this crew had feasted on gossip from the other side since filming began.

Plus, they'd heard some rumors…

But most people, upon seeing Bai Liang, instinctively felt: no matter what conflict or drama, it probably wasn't his fault~

Jing Boyan, the male lead, secretly observed Bai Liang for a long while—this morning, his agent told him this man was likely the male lead of the drama version of "A Smile Is Beautiful."

The accuracy rate? About seventy to eighty percent—leave some room, since nothing's officially announced yet.

And the two projects with the same IP would likely hit audiences at nearly the same time.

So the two would almost certainly be compared side by side.

When that happened, whoever performed worse, whoever got lower ratings, would become the stepping stone.

But Jing Boyan wasn't yet treating this like a full-blown threat—there was still a noticeable gap in star power.

Bai Liang was just a newcomer, while he himself was at the peak of his career.

Previously, he'd gotten lucky, stepping in as the male lead of "Monster Hunt," and directly earned the title of top-grossing domestic film male lead.

Everyone knows: film stars outweigh TV stars, and Bai Liang became famous through a web drama…

Win! Win big!

So Jing Boyan didn't even feel much hostility toward Bai Liang.

He almost felt sorry for the guy.

Kid, I'm overpowering you—don't blame me for winning unfairly.

Bai Liang felt the "gaze," turned his head: "Hey, what're you staring at?"

He sensed no "malice," smiled at the guy, and Jing Boyan smiled back—the atmosphere nearly turned gay.

A girl nearby watched, secretly delighted, almost ready to ship them.

Then, in the next second, she too felt the gaze.

Bai Liang was looking at her with curiosity and confusion, even glancing at his phone as he stared, as if comparing something.

The two exchanged a glance, smiled, and nodded to each other in greeting.

"Big Immortal, you fancy that Miss?" Wang Young Master, bored while waiting for his cameo, immediately spotted their small gesture and teased.

"She looks a lot like a friend of mine."

Wang Young Master's face twisted into a strange expression—this sounded exactly like the opening line of a scumbag. Bai Liang: She really does look just like her!

"If you've got the guts, go flirt with her. I don't believe you can. How about we make a bet?"

A bet, huh?!

Bai Liang's spirits perked up instantly, as if a switch had been flipped, but then he shook his head. "Using a girl for a bet isn't right."

"Is your moral standard really that high?"

"Your level of decency is truly low. Do you talk like this during your acting?"

Huh. So here's the question!

Wang Young Master was genuinely stumped—his cameo was playing himself. Could he still use his everyday slang?

Under Bai Liang's "encouraging" gaze, he gritted his teeth: "Of course! I'm playing myself—why pretend?"

Thumbs up!

"Good job. Don't embarrass yourself!"

With those words, Wang Young Master was put on the spot. He'd felt no pressure about the cameo before, but now he suddenly grew tense.

Two seconds later, he froze, his face flushing red: "You son of a bitch, even when you're not gaming, you still pressure me?!"

Please... Your Majesty... collect 6... 9... Books...!

Bai Liang wore an innocent expression: "I'm used to it."

Before Wang Young Master could raise his middle finger, Bai Liang slipped away.

Amid the other's "f***ing dog" expression, he genuinely walked over to the girl.

Wang Young Master had hoped to see the girl ignore him—but the opposite happened. In just a few sentences, Bai Liang was chatting and laughing with her, even pulling out his phone to exchange contact information.

Scratching my head! My head itches!

Eventually, Wang Young Master couldn't resist. He edged slightly closer to Bai Liang, trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.

He definitely wasn't trying to learn Bai Liang's flirting techniques. Absolutely not. He was just curious.

"Look, isn't she just like her? From this angle."

"She does look similar. Does she also have the surname Li?"

"Yes. Her name is Li Yitong. She's an actress too. I just thought you two might be sisters." Bai Liang glanced again at Li Xin. "Can we take a photo together? I'll use it to tease her."

"Sure!" Li Xin clearly found it interesting. She deliberately posed in a way that resembled Li Yitong and smiled as she took the photo with Bai Liang.

After taking it, she fixed her gaze on Bai Liang. "Can I take one too? Can I post it on Weibo?"

"Sure. Do whatever you like."

Bai Liang had already sent the photo to Li Yitong and added a question mark, smirking: "Why pretend you don't know me?"

Li Yitong replied instantly, sending back a string of question marks.

Half a minute later, she sent a string of angry emojis and said: "Do you think I don't know? That's Li Xin! You childish brat!"

"Huh? You know her? But she doesn't seem to know you."

That single sentence shattered Li Yitong's composure. She immediately fired off over a dozen angry emojis.

Yet secretly, she added: "Do you think she's prettier, or am I?"

Bai Liang internally chuckled. He found the question perfectly normal.

It'd be strange if she didn't ask!

His reply nearly made Li Yitong's CPU burn out.

"She didn't ask me who's prettier. Are you sure you want to ask?"

Fine, fine, fine—this is about your self-confidence now, is it?

Li Yitong swiftly retracted her question and seamlessly followed up with an insult:

"Pfft! You're a succubus!"

"Miss, you don't want anyone to find out you eat wall plaster, do you?"

A barrage of frantic emojis and curses.

Come to think of it, Bai Liang had expected her to say something like, "I'll tell Mencius!"

In the past, whenever he dealt with his girlfriend's or mistress's best friend, that phrase always came up.

But Li Yitong didn't mention Mencius at all.

The topic quickly returned to normal. They began chatting casually about when The Legend of the Condor Heroes would premiere, eating together during promotions, and so on.

Meanwhile, Li Yitong expressed her envy toward Bai Liang: "You became famous after just one web drama! Unreal!"

At that moment, Li Xin, who had apparently finished retouching the photos, suddenly gasped:

"Wow! You're trending! The heat is insane!"

"Wang Young Master paid for it. Normal."

"No, it's not just that!"

"I'm f***ing done!" Wang Young Master cursed from behind. "Big Immortal, what the hell did you do? My club's trending barely made top ten—did you buy trending?"

The moment he said it, he retracted it himself—after all, Bai Liang had previously said, "My money works."

After several interactions and Lin Genxin's "reinforcement," Wang Young Master knew Bai Liang didn't lie.

Not just Li Xin and Wang Young Master—even Li Yitong on the other end of the phone suddenly sent a flood of exclamation marks.

Then he tossed over a screenshot.

#Bai Liang#

#Bai Liang, Xiao Nai#

#The Disdain Couple (Zhang Xianzong, Yue Qiluo)#

#The male lead of "Wei Wei" is him#

#Entertainment circle's top scholar idol? #

#How valuable are the National Exam and the Judicial Examination#

#The most handsome esports player#

#Xiao Nai stepped out of the book#

#ig Wang Sicong, Bai Liang#

##

"Hiss—"

"Great Immortal, is that you sucking in a breath of cold air? How textbook-perfect~"

"I'm just going along with you guys. Seeing you all so shocked, it felt weird if I didn't do something."

Wang's Young Master: You f*cking—~

Bai Liang looked at the screenshot again, feeling that something strange had somehow been mixed into it.

He turned his head to glance at Wang's Young Master. Yep, it was him, no doubt.

Wang's Young Master:???

(End of this chapter)