Life on the crew began just like that, and Bailiang quickly adapted and settled into a steady routine.
When it came to work, he read acting books one after another, fully absorbing the knowledge and immediately putting it into practice on set. The speed of his progress was genuinely a bit terrifying.
The director's immediate reactions told the whole story.
At first, the director only thought Bailiang's acting was passable—pretty good for a "firefighter" brought in at the last minute.
Later on, that turned into a smile he simply couldn't conceal. *Tsk tsk tsk, we've struck gold!*
By the final stage, it had turned into worry... *Kid, are you trying to steal the lead actor's thunder?*
Overshadowing the protagonist?
Fortunately, Lü Bu didn't have an overwhelming amount of screen time. *God of War Zhao Zilong* ran for around sixty episodes, and Lü Bu would only survive for the first half.
He would be written off after about thirty episodes, having his head chopped off by Boss Cao.
Wonderful! That was the main reason the director ultimately decided not to cut Bailiang's scenes.
Acting well was naturally a good thing, but acting *too* well? That might not fly!
Of course, Bailiang hadn't reached the level of earth-shattering acting chops just yet, but you had to look at who he was being compared against.
There was one thing the director had to admit: the CP dynamic between this kid and Guli Nazha somehow looked much more engaging than the one between Lin Genxin and Lin Yoona...
Did anyone really think a massive production like *God of War Zhao Zilong* couldn't afford to pay a bit more to summon someone who could actually anchor the show?
On the one hand, they were in a rush, but on the other hand, they intentionally cast a newcomer so he wouldn't steal the spotlight.
Bailiang's performance had basically been walking right along the edge of the danger line.
Of course, he himself was completely oblivious to all of this.
Guli Nazha had initially played the role of an atmosphere-setter quite well, and she was also skilled at providing emotional value.
Stripping away her goddess exterior, she was just a little girl at heart.
"Wow! You are seriously amazing! I feel like I learned absolutely nothing at the Film Academy!"
After delivering that emotional boost, she gently offered Bailiang a bit of advice regarding the survival rules of the film and television industry.
Bailiang found this quite interesting. "The unwritten rules?"
"Something like that~ There's actually a case study from very recently..."
When it came to this case study, classmate Nazha hesitated and stuttered a bit.
Because it involved one of her fellow hometown peers.
Recently, there was a drama generating quite a bit of online discussion called *Diamond Lover*.
The show was quite popular, but the one who blew up the most wasn't the male or female lead, but the second female lead.
Dilraba.
Her portrayal of the character Gao Wen had drawn massive amounts of attention and discussion; you could say she became an overnight sensation.
Her online popularity was currently through the roof, giving off the distinct momentum of a meteoric rise.
Yet in a sense, this meant stepping on the first female lead, Tiffany Tang, to climb to the top.
Looking at Guli Nazha's slightly serious face and lightly furrowed brows, Bailiang blinked and immediately drew an inference: "Does this involve you too?"
"Shut up!"
Both were beauties from Xinjiang with that exotic, mesmerizing charm—how could they not be compared?
After all, classmate Nazha had debuted much earlier, yet she still didn't have a character like "Gao Wen" to her name.
As an actor, without any representative works to pull out, you were nothing more than a castle in the air; even if your fame rose, you'd just be pigeonholed as a mere vase.
Bailiang spoke a fair and very grounded truth: "Your face is your best work."
Hearing this, Guli Nazha felt a flutter of joy in her heart, but then her pretty face fell. "That still just makes me a vase..."
"I didn't say you weren't."
"You shut up!"
After this double whammy, Nazha continued her lesson on "unwritten rules."
"You've got bad luck; with Dilraba's example right before our eyes, what if certain people start overthinking things..."
By "certain people," she was presumably referring to the male lead, Lin Genxin.
The warning Guli Nazha gave was spot on. Not long after she finished speaking, Bailiang received another piece of "intelligence."
Brother Disdain—or to be exact, his full name was Wu Shuo.
He was a rather typical background extra—somewhat handsome, but still a very long way from making it big in the entertainment industry purely on his looks.
After grinding for two or three years as an extra without making any headway, he harbored quite a bit of resentment toward the world and had accumulated a mountain of negative emotions.
Wu Shuo had a bit of a "mockery" grudge against Bailiang. Earlier, when Bailiang finished riding his horse, it was this kid who had popped out to fill the crucial role of the passerby who mocked him.
As a result, Bailiang hit him with a reverse combo of pure positive energy that made the guy dream at night about how he "really deserved to die."
Perhaps out of guilt and a sense of owing a favor, or perhaps for some other reason...
Before wrapping up his role, this guy didn't do anything else first—he ran straight over to find Bailiang.
You have to understand, these past few days on set, Wu Shuo had been intentionally dodging Bailiang.
Yet right before leaving, he actually approached him of his own accord.
Furthermore, his limbs were stiff, his expression bizarre, and his speech came out in stuttering fragments: "Brother Liang, um... people on the set are talking nonsense, and I think you should be a little careful..."
"Brother Liang?"
Bailiang was a bit puzzled by this address.
Wu Shuo paused for a moment, perhaps not expecting Bailiang's focus to be on something so strange.
Yet somehow, this inexplicably lifted some of his psychological burden, and his speech became much more fluent. "For the past two days, rumors have been flying around the crew about you and Guli Nazha. They're saying you two are dating, that you joined the crew by freeloading off her, and even that you're trying to overshadow the male lead..."
After listening to all this, Bailiang nodded. "Thanks."
Thanks?
Wu Shuo's eyes widened slightly. "Uh... aren't you going to suspect I might be lying to you?"
"It's fine," Bailiang said while peeling an orange.
Wu Shuo was left somewhat speechless, suddenly feeling like he was quite ridiculous.
What on earth was he even nervous about just now?
This guy... this big shot's mental fortitude was simply absurdly steady.
Wu Shuo didn't even notice any major changes in Bailiang's expression—oh wait, he got hit by a sour orange.
Whether Bailiang was genuinely confident and thus so unflappable, or just some old schemer putting on an act, Wu Shuo figured... Bailiang probably didn't need to worry about this mess at all.
Was he just being overly sentimental?
And here he was thinking about repaying a favor...
Watching Wu Shuo's expression shift back and forth, Bailiang felt a vague sense of "fear."
Why was this kid starting to give off fanboy vibes?
Was he going to blurt out "If my lord does not disdain me, I am willing to acknowledge you as an adoptive father" in the next second?
The prop Painted Halberd by Bailiang's side had just been used yesterday to stab an adoptive father during shooting.
That was bad luck!
Fortunately, Wu Shuo merely shook his head, looking helpless as he prepared to leave. At that moment, however, Bailiang suddenly called out to him again with a bright smile:
"Want an orange?"
"Uh... thanks."
"Wishing you smooth sailing in your future career."
Holding three oranges in his hands and standing at the entrance of the film set, Wu Shuo felt completely dazed, the echo of Bailiang's recent "blessing" still ringing in his ears.
It inexplicably made him lose all desire to keep chasing some bullshit actor's dream...
Pulling his thoughts back to reality, Wu Shuo realized his posture was indeed rather absurd. The oranges Bailiang bought were huge, and he had to use both hands to carry them.
Noticing that passersby kept sizing him up, Wu Shuo hurriedly shoved two of the oranges into his bag.
He started eating the remaining one immediately.
"Damn it, it's so sour!"
These oranges looked so sweet, but eating them was sour enough to kill you. Whoever sold these things was practically a fraud.
It even made Wu Shuo tear up.
Bailiang: *Look, this is revenge from yours truly.*
He held grudges! That punk Wu Shuo had mocked him earlier.
Today's sunlight was still fiercely bright, yet even if you stared right at it boldly for a few seconds, it would only make your eyes sting—unless you genuinely wanted to challenge a solar flare.