The ratings success of There’s Always a Higher Mountain filled everyone at NCC, from top to bottom, with joy.
Xiao Bai’s reputation as a ratings lucky charm spread like wildfire.
Never mind how many internal injuries his hosting had inflicted on people; the indisputable fact was that whenever he showed his face, the ratings behaved like a bull market. From GO! GO! SU… SUPER STAR to Nemesis of the Shameless to There’s Always a Higher Mountain, whether it was an already-popular hit show, a brand-new program starting from zero, or a cold show whose ratings had fallen to rock bottom, he could somehow bring it back to life. One had to admire him.
The executives who had once vehemently opposed putting Xiao Bai in the leading role all fell silent.
The media’s reaction, however, surprised everyone. For once, they spoke almost with one voice: Xiao Bai was merely riding the momentum of his scandal. His hosting style made it obvious that he was slow, wooden, and lacked control of the room; he was nowhere near the level of his predecessor, Zhong Yao. This success had only come from borrowing the popularity of Great God and Lian Jue Xiu.
They pessimistically predicted that once the heat around Xiao Bai and Great God’s scandal faded, or once the guests were replaced by people who did not attract much audience attention, the ratings would be beaten straight back into a bear market.
The only publication swimming against the current was Star-Chasing Times, under Confidante. Even it merely said, in very restrained terms, that Xiao Bai’s hosting style was distinctive and perhaps represented the birth of a new style.
Compared with Star-Chasing Times’ low-key tone, the internet was singing at full volume.
After all, people who could generate topics were naturally more popular with people who loved gossip.
Aside from NCC’s official website, Great God’s official forum, and Xiao Bai’s official forum, the liveliest place of all was the Boundless Sea and Sky Forum.
In fact, Xiao Bai had generated heated discussion on Boundless Sea and Sky from the moment he debuted, so many people there followed his every move closely—especially his scandals.
The instant the rumor about Xiao Bai and Great God appeared, the forum’s flood of posts turned into a genuine deluge.
At the time, nobody’s situation was more tragic than Feng Ya Lun’s.
In chronological order, he was Xiao Bai’s first rumored boyfriend.
In terms of fan support, Yan Su Ang had received the most votes as Xiao Bai’s ideal match.
But now reality had become this: his rumored boyfriend and the fan favorite for Xiao Bai’s perfect match had gone to the amusement park hand in hand. That left Feng Ya Lun in an extremely awkward position.
At this point Zhou Min Li’s fans floated out from every dark corner to gloat—Heaven is watching what people do. Cheating bastard, get lost.
Since Feng Ya Lun had already left the entertainment industry, people inside the business might have forgotten him once he was gone, but to fans, losing him only made him more precious. Feng Ya Lun had now been placed high on an altar. How could mere mortals be allowed to criticize him?
Thus began a magnificent war between the Defend-Feng faction and the Anti-Feng faction.
Meanwhile, Xiao Bai and Great God—the actual fuse that had ignited the whole thing—were left sitting on the sidelines.
Disappointed, Xiao Bai’s and Great God’s fans could only work hard to fan the flames. After all, if there was a spectacle to watch, why waste it?
Besides those four camps of fans fighting furiously, Lian Jue Xiu’s fans also appeared frequently.
They were much more low-key, though. Usually only one of their posts appeared among every twenty replies, and before anyone else had time to notice it, it would be buried beneath the surging tide. In the end, they resigned themselves to sitting off to one side and leisurely watching the show—or simply pretended to be fans from one of the other camps and rushed in to fight. Their target, naturally, was Xiao Bai, who had shown their idol absolutely no respect.
Eventually, the colorful and chaotic online world managed to open a passage into reality.
NCC News even specifically covered one post from the Boundless Sea and Sky Forum—
One Thousand Possibilities for Xiao Bai and Great God.
When the news segment aired, Gao Qin and Jia Zhi Qing were slacking off in the break room.
Jia Zhi Qing asked in surprise, “Do you know what the thousand possibilities are?” Since the news segment was limited in length, it had shown only the title. The actual content had been swept past in a hazy blur.
To his surprise, Gao Qin nodded. “I know the first three.”
“Which three?” Jia Zhi Qing immediately became interested.
“First: Xiao Bai is Yan Su Ang’s illegitimate son.”
“……”
Jia Zhi Qing was silent for a long moment before asking, “What’s the second?”
Expressionless, Gao Qin said, “Yan Su Ang is Xiao Bai’s illegitimate son.”
“……”
“Do you think Xiao Bai looks that young, or Great God looks that old?” Otherwise, they would have to trace the matter back to Xiao Bai’s previous life. Jia Zhi Qing sat there thunderstruck for a while, then curiosity got the better of him again. “What’s the third?”
“They have an illegitimate child together.”
“……”
Jia Zhi Qing stared. “Is sperm-plus-sperm reproduction fashionable now?”
Gao Qin calmly took a sip of coffee.
Still unwilling to give up, Jia Zhi Qing asked, “You didn’t read the fourth possibility?” Surely it had to be equally powerful.
Gao Qin glanced at him. “Do you honestly think there’s any need to see a fourth possibility?”
Jia Zhi Qing said, “……Now that I think about it, this is pretty entertaining.”
It was impossible to say whether There’s Always a Higher Mountain had benefited from Tears of a Man, or Tears of a Man had benefited from the promotion on There’s Always a Higher Mountain. Either way, it was a win-win situation.
The investors behind Tears of a Man were delighted to discover that they could save a considerable amount of money on publicity. In private, they even sent Lian Jue Xiu a red envelope, expressing their admiration for a director who possessed both talent and an excellent head for economics.
After receiving the red envelope, Lian Jue Xiu began to think Xiao Bai, who had returned to the film set, had a very lucky-looking face—and seemed cuter by the day.
Because of this, Yan Su Ang gave him some one-on-one education.
The lesson revolved mainly around one central question: whether a friend’s wife was fair game.
The discussion ended with Yan Su Ang indignantly declaring that from now on, he would completely ignore any improper behavior Lian Jue Xiu directed toward Jia Zhi Qing. In return, Lian Jue Xiu had better completely ignore Xiao Bai’s cuteness and goodness.
“……”
Lian Jue Xiu’s response to this conclusion was, “From now on, I’m going to completely ignore you.”
Today’s main scene involved Bai Ruidi being kidnapped by Tang Long, Shao Zhen Qi arriving at the scene, and good and evil engaging in a life-or-death struggle.
Because this was one of the most important scenes in the film, Lian Jue Xiu was extremely careful. He would rather delay filming by several days than settle for extras who were not exactly what he wanted. Extras might not have much dialogue or screen time, but an unforgettable classic moment often emerged from precisely those tiny details.
Lian Jue Xiu had always been formidable when it came to details, and this time was no exception.
Yan Su Ang’s expression, however, looked a little ugly—especially when he saw Xiao Bai turning his head toward those extras.
“Xiao Bai!” Without making it obvious, he stepped in front of Xiao Bai’s line of sight and gently asked, “Did you memorize your lines?”
Xiao Bai nodded vigorously.
“Then let’s run through them once.” While diverting Xiao Bai’s attention, Yan Su Ang desperately searched his mind for a solution to the crisis in front of him. He had not forgotten how immovable Xiao Bai could become when he was sulking.
Xiao Bai made a sound of agreement, then solemnly said, “Ah…”
Yan Su Ang lowered his eyes to the script.
“Let me go!”
“……”
“Ah!”
“……”
“Let me go!”
“……”
“Ah!”
“All right, all right.” Yan Su Ang silently sighed as he looked at the lines in the script. “Why don’t we study your expressions and movements for the scene instead?”
“Ah!” Xiao Bai cried again.
Yan Su Ang said very seriously, “We really don’t need to keep rehearsing the lines.”
“No. Aren’t those the people who robbed us last time?” Xiao Bai pointed at the extras.
Yan Su Ang’s neck stiffened. He laughed dryly. “No way. Could it really be that much of a coincidence?”
“……Then why won’t you turn around and look?” Xiao Bai stared at his completely motionless head.
Helplessly, Yan Su Ang turned around, then lied through his teeth. “They don’t look like the same people to me.”
“I think they look really similar.”
“How could they? Oh, they did say they had very ordinary faces. Maybe these people just happen to look a little like them.”
Xiao Bai stared a while longer. “But the scars and tattoos on their hands are exactly the same too.”
“……”
Yan Su Ang put on a very surprised expression and rubbed his chin. “Could they have reformed?”
“But I think acting was already their line of work before. I saw them in Shanghai Beach and My Squad Leader, My Squad.”
“……”
Yan Su Ang said, “Maybe robbery is their side job.”
Xiao Bai asked, “So is robbery their main job, or is acting their main job?”
“……”
Yan Su Ang said, “I’m not really sure. I guess it depends on which one pays more.”
After thinking about it, Xiao Bai said, “Then acting must be their main job.”
Surely robbery pays more, and faster. Yan Su Ang asked, “Why?”
“Don’t they keep robbing you? I don’t think there’s much of a future in it.”
“……”
The extras were once again playing robbers.
Naturally, the filming went extremely smoothly. Xiao Bai’s entire purpose from beginning to end was simply to be tied to a chair and scream himself hoarse. Several times, his cries reminded Lian Jue Xiu of his singing at karaoke. If one wanted to be hypocritical, one could describe the sound as high, powerful, and far-carrying. If one wanted to tell the truth, it was the wailing of ghosts and howling of wolves.
Other than being completely blinded by love, Lian Jue Xiu truly could not think of another explanation for the sincere smile Yan Su Ang had worn while praising Xiao Bai’s singing.
Once the scene was finished, everyone scattered to rest.
Xiao Bai sat in a chair, deep in thought.
Yan Su Ang asked nervously, “What is it?”
“I think…” Xiao Bai looked at the tall, burly backs of the extras. “Their acting is more convincing than their robberies.”
Yan Su Ang hurriedly agreed. “See? Acting is their main job. Robbery is just the side job.”
One of the extras happened to walk past to get some water. Hearing this, he could not help tossing out, “That’s entirely because the directors are on different levels.”
“……”
Xiao Bai asked in confusion, “What does that mean?”
Yan Su Ang said, “He probably thinks Lian Jue Xiu is a terrible director.”
Xiao Bai tilted his head and thought about it. “I think he’s tolerable.”
“……”
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