Life's Illusion: She Likes Me

"Either erupt in silence, or perish in silence!"

What Bai Youlou hadn't expected was that Long Ziqiang seemed to genuinely have a talent for acting.

The movie Whiplash actually didn't conform to universal values. It was quite a bit of a deviation from the norm.

The genius forced out under that kind of extreme pressure was a genius to begin with—someone with the potential to be pushed that hard.

But for someone without talent, being exploited and abused like that would most likely result only in a breakdown. Very few could truly be reborn from the ashes.

But what made this movie so addictive was that most people didn't think of themselves as mediocre, ordinary people.

Even if they said so out loud, who didn't secretly want to leap over the dragon gate at least once?~

So throughout the process of "training" Long Ziqiang, Bai Youlou had always paid close attention to the limits, lest he really break this older young man.

Of course, precisely because Long Ziqiang was an older young man, Bai Youlou might not have dared to play things this way with a youngster.

Then Long Ziqiang gave him a surprise.

After only a few days under pressure, he quickly entered character.

Before long, his "intimidating presence" on set was almost catching up to Bai Youlou's. After all, Long Ziqiang also had his looks working for him. The moment he appeared, he brought a palpable gloom with him.

Even Old Zhou felt that Long Ziqiang had been led a little too far down the path by Bai Youlou. Bai Youlou could easily step out of character, but Long Ziqiang couldn't. As he sank deeper into the role, he looked even more frightening after filming ended.

The only thing to be thankful for was that the movie didn't take long to shoot. Otherwise, Old Zhou was genuinely worried that before Bai Youlou had "recovered," he might turn around and drive another person crazy.

At the same time, watching Bai Youlou casually "drag" a beautiful young woman into the production, Old Zhou felt a sourness in his back teeth.

This guy had never had such luck with women before!

Was this another benefit of "going crazy"?

His reputation was clearly in tatters, yet there were still people who refused to believe the rumors—and even came knocking on his door.

Zhang Xiaorong, who was sitting quietly beside Bai Youlou and reading the script, seemed to notice Old Zhou's gaze. But she didn't look up and simply continued reading.

Even while sitting on a small stool, she habitually maintained an upright posture. The bearing she had developed through years of dancing made her especially eye-catching wherever she stood.

So Zhang Xiaorong had long since grown accustomed to being scrutinized.

After finishing the script Bai Youlou had given her and learning what role she was supposed to play, Zhang Xiaorong seemed calm on the surface, but was actually a little nervous inside.

Because she didn't know how to act.

As for suddenly being asked to play the "female lead" in a movie, Zhang Xiaorong was actually quite passive about it.

At first, she had only come because she couldn't resist An Luning's repeated pleas, wanting to help her see what was really going on here.

But what kind of person was Bai Youlou?

He never let anything go to waste.

A beautiful woman had practically delivered herself to his door. Wouldn't it be a waste not to make use of her?

The so-called female lead in the movie didn't have many scenes. There were mainly two.

In one, the protagonist struck up a conversation with her, and they ended up dating.

In the other, the protagonist "killed his wife to attain the Dao," breaking up with his girlfriend before beginning his "mad" drumming practice.

The only requirement for this role was that she had to be as beautiful as possible.

The more beautiful she was, the stronger the impression of the protagonist's determination.

Clearly, Zhang Xiaorong fit the bill perfectly. The moment she stood there, she became a magnet for everyone's eyes.

And she wasn't just some ordinary internet celebrity with a forgettable face. She possessed a unique aura, like an orchid blooming in a secluded valley, making her difficult to forget after one glance.

To put it bluntly, if she played the female lead, audiences might even wonder whether the protagonist had some kind of physiological problem after watching the movie.

You'd split up with a woman like that too?!

Put that way, it did seem a little over the top.

But Bai Youlou didn't feel there was any need to find another female lead. He already had someone suitable right in front of him, and she barely had any scenes anyway.

After finally finishing a stretch of work, the production took a temporary break. Bai Youlou, drenched in sweat, dropped onto the director's little folding stool and grabbed a bottle of mineral water, gulping it down.

Directing and acting at the same time was physically demanding, and Bai Youlou no longer had the energy to worry about his image.

Fortunately, the beautiful woman didn't show any sign of disgust. After finishing the script, she still sat there quietly, occasionally glancing at Bai Youlou.

After waiting two minutes and confirming that he was fine, Zhang Xiaorong finally asked, "Director, was the song you sang that day written by you?"

"Yes." Bai Youlou admitted it without the slightest psychological burden, his face neither flushing nor twitching.

If a plagiarist didn't even have this much thick skin, he might as well go home and sell sweet potatoes.

"That's really impressive." Zhang Xiaorong praised him sincerely.

"You heard it from outside the door that day?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Say thank you."

Zhang Xiaorong froze for a moment. Seeing Bai Youlou's beaming expression, she unexpectedly replied in an extremely serious tone, "Thank you."

Oh, come on~

Bai Youlou had only wanted to tease the beauty a little, but her reaction left him at a loss for words.

So he casually changed the subject. "Is that why you've been coming to our set these past few days?"

Zhang Xiaorong shook her head, then nodded. "Not entirely. There's another reason too."

"What reason?"

"I can't tell you."

Jeez.

To be honest, Zhang Xiaorong wasn't some icy beauty. Her voice was clear yet gentle, and she wore a faint smile most of the time. She was open and natural, never putting on a stern expression that rejected people from a thousand miles away.

But precisely because of that, Bai Youlou felt even more strongly that she would be difficult to pursue.

Those icy beauties often weren't as hard to approach as they appeared on the surface. Their cold demeanor was usually more of a "please don't disturb me" attitude, or a defensive response born from a lack of security.

For an experienced player, they might even be easier to win over than ordinary girls.

But someone like Zhang Xiaorong could basically only be approached through luck—or fate.

Still, what puzzled Bai Youlou was that whenever she had nothing else to do, this girl seemed to enjoy coming over to talk to him. That didn't quite fit her "character setting."

She kept asking about him: Why did he make movies? How many songs had he written?

At one point, Bai Youlou developed the illusion that most men experienced at some point in their lives:

She likes me!

Fortunately, Bai Youlou was an old lecher, and he quickly came back to his senses.

He even began to suspect the girl's motives. Could someone be trying to mess with him and kick him while he was down? Had they sent a beautiful woman to spy on him?

But with his current reputation in the entertainment industry, which was practically as foul as dog shit, there wasn't much left to target, to put it harshly. He was practically equivalent to having left the industry.

So he didn't let his imagination run too wild.

Besides, Director He had visited several times and introduced Zhang Xiaorong as a teacher at the academy. A young woman around his age had already become a teacher. She was beautiful, well-proportioned, and graceful—what kind of "grand conspiracy" could she possibly have against him?

After Old Zhou learned about this, he became somewhat interested too.

Mainly, he wanted to know how Bai Youlou would deal with this "spy" whose "motives were impure."

That was easy enough to handle.

Bai Youlou waved his hand grandly. "Add a kissing scene and a bed scene."

Old Zhou looked at him with contempt. "You just want to kiss her, don't you?! Why would our movie need intimate scenes? Forcing them in would completely change the feel of the film."

Bai Youlou was perfectly righteous. "Just because I shoot them doesn't mean I have to use them! We can simply leave them out of the final cut~ It's not like we're wasting film. It'll only take up a little storage space."

Faced with such shameless behavior, Old Zhou slapped his thigh in frustration. Damn it, why don't I have what it takes to direct and act in my own movies?

How could this be allowed?!