Chapter 98 – King of Entertainment: Loving You Across the World – An Actor’s Self-Cultivation (05)
Min Gunian’s gaze swept coldly across the room. The female employees immediately stiffened, not daring to make a fuss.
“Come sit in my office for a while. I bought you some sweet fruit-flavored pastries. After you finish, we can start the meeting.” Min Gunian said gently to Bai Tang.
The female employees stared in shock, as if they had just seen a ghost. Since when did their almighty BOSS speak so ‘humbly’? Their gazes toward Bai Tang completely changed—just who was this little cutie, to make the BOSS act so deferentially?
Min Gunian led Bai Tang into the presidential elevator, taking him straight up to the 45th floor.
This floor housed the CEO’s exclusive office. As a complete workaholic, Min Gunian often kept the lights on all night, so the office was also equipped with a private lounge and recreation room.
Unlike the elegant style of the manor, this space was modern and minimalist, with bright, open decor. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, one could see the bustling streets below—the people and cars looking like tiny ants weaving through the city.
“Tang Tang, come here.”
Since their relationship had become open and unguarded, Min Gunian was even more affectionate with Bai Tang.
He pulled Bai Tang onto his lap, then opened a beautifully packaged box—inside was a pastry Bai Tang had fallen in love with after trying it once. The top was adorned with golden chestnut crumbs, making it look especially delicate and appetizing.
“It’s Bruce Cake!” Bai Tang exclaimed in delight, quickly pulling out the tray and urging Min Gunian to cut him a slice.
Their sweet afternoon tea time passed in a flash. Bai Tang ate happily, and seeing him enjoy it, Min Gunian was equally pleased.
Afterward, they met the team assigned to Bai Tang—from his manager to his assistants, PR team, and bodyguards—a total of thirty to forty people.
Since arriving in this world, Bai Tang hadn’t transformed into his squirrel form even once. He leaned close to Min Gunian’s ear and whispered, “I don’t need this many people.” With so many eyes around, it would be hard to transform.
Min Gunian ruffled his hair and said, “Nope, this is necessary.”
Knowing that the young man liked peace and quiet and disliked large crowds, Min Gunian added, “Only your manager, assistant, and bodyguards will follow you. The others will remain on standby at the company.”
Bai Tang counted the number of people on his fingers after hearing this. Even after the reduction, there were still about ten people.
He pouted and said, “That’s too many.”
“If you don’t like them, then let’s go back to the manor. I’ll take care of you,” Min Gunian offered another option.
The moment Bai Tang heard this, he thought, No way! If I go back to the manor, I won’t be able to keep an eye on the female lead. What if she steals my man?!
He shook his head furiously, like rolling dice, and said, “No! I want to act!”
After a long discussion with Min Gunian, they finally reduced the number of staff from ten to five—which was the lowest limit Min Gunian would allow. Any fewer, and he wouldn’t let Bai Tang film at all.
After reviewing Bai Tang’s previous acting roles and career trajectory, his agent determined that high-profile, blockbuster roles weren’t suitable for him right now. His reputation wasn’t well-established yet, so he needed to gradually expand his acting range and increase public recognition.
After careful selection, the agent handpicked a modern workplace drama for Bai Tang. The story followed the journey from campus life to professional life, and Bai Tang was cast as the third male lead.
His character was the male lead’s younger brother—he didn’t have a lot of screen time, but he played a pivotal role in driving the plot forward, acting as a catalyst for the romance between the male and female leads.
This role perfectly met Min Gunian’s conditions:
✔ Not too exhausting
✔ No dangerous stunts
✔ No overnight shoots
“Tang Tang, this drama, Our Little Youth, also marks the female lead’s entry into the entertainment industry. She plays the main heroine,” the system reported after scanning the script.
In the original storyline, at this point, Bai Tang was still working as a stunt double, so he never even crossed paths with the female lead.
“Then I definitely have to take this role,” Bai Tang said firmly, glancing at Min Gunian, who was still discussing details with his agent.
That night, in preparation for the role, the system—overly eager and bursting with excitement—was ready to show off its acting skills and give Bai Tang an intense crash course in performance techniques.
“Alright, Tang Tang, I’m ready!” The system tossed aside its copy of An Actor’s Self-Cultivation and jumped straight into teaching mode.
“Mhm, mhm.” Bai Tang grabbed a small stool, sitting attentively like a diligent student.
“First, let’s start with crying scenes. Watch carefully. Crying is done like this—”
The system pinched itself hard, and its round, chubby body began to well up with tears.
“Waaah! So painful! Waaah…”
Bai Tang suddenly realized the trick. So that’s how it’s done! He grabbed his own thigh, gave it a twist, and the sharp pain immediately made his eyes fill with tears.
“Waaah! It hurts so much…”
“Qiu’er, acting is so painful…”
Hearing the noise, Min Gunian opened the door and saw Bai Tang sitting on a chair, sniffling and wiping away tears.
“What happened? Are you feeling unwell?” Min Gunian asked anxiously. Seeing that Bai Tang only shook his head without speaking—his crystalline tears falling like an endless string of pearls—Min Gunian’s heart tightened in distress.
“Let me take a look.” Min Gunian noticed Bai Tang clutching his right leg and tried to check.
But Bai Tang held on tightly, refusing to let him see.
“If you don’t let go, there will be no candied chestnuts for you tonight.”
At the threat of losing food, Bai Tang immediately loosened his grip and lowered his head.
Lifting Bai Tang’s pajama pants, Min Gunian saw a large red mark on his fair-skinned thigh—a clear sign of how hard he had pinched himself.
Min Gunian blew gently on the mark and asked, slightly irritated, “Why are you hurting yourself?”
Bai Tang fidgeted like a child who had done something wrong, mumbling incoherently. When Min Gunian finally made out his reasoning, he was both exasperated and amused.
Practicing in advance because he was afraid of acting poorly?
Even so, that was no excuse for Bai Tang to harm himself.
Bai Tang knew how much force he had used, and in reality, it wasn’t that hard. However, Bai Tang was naturally sensitive, so even a small bump could leave an exaggerated mark. No matter how much Bai Tang insisted it wasn’t serious, Min Gunian didn’t believe him. Only after personally applying medicine from the first-aid kit did he finally let him go.
Bai Tang held his cup of milk silently, sneaking glances at Min Gunian—who sat beside him, not saying a word. He was secretly trying to figure out how to apologize and make him stop being angry.
After thinking it over for a long time, it was actually Min Gunian who spoke first. He put down the script, wrapped an arm around Bai Tang, and started explaining the character of the third male lead—his personality and his role in the drama—from the very first page.
Bai Tang, only half-understanding, listened as if hearing a story. Gradually, Min Gunian’s explanation pulled him into the character’s world. Every now and then, Bai Tang raised his own questions.
“If Du Yushu (the third male lead) likes the female lead, and at this point, the male lead hasn’t confessed to her yet, why doesn’t he just tell her himself? I think she likes him too~”
The third male lead was actually quite pitiful. He was the male lead’s biological younger brother, but because of his poor health and struggles in academics, he always felt inferior.
During high school, his family hired the female lead, who was then a college sophomore, as his tutor. That was how the male and female leads met.
From school to the workplace, they went through many ups and downs together, growing closer and cherishing each other even more.
Unfortunately for the third male lead, he not only lost the girl he loved to his own brother but also met a tragic end.
On the night of the male and female lead’s date, the male lead forgot to buy his younger brother’s heart medication while shopping for a gift for the female lead. Alone at home, the third male lead suffered a heart attack and passed away.
Bai Tang pointed to the part where the female lead tutored the third male lead. There was clearly an unspoken affection between them, yet the third male lead never dared to confess. In the end, his older brother noticed, got jealous, and took the initiative to pursue the female lead first.
“Because he wasn’t brave enough. He was afraid of being rejected.”
Min Gunian rolled up Bai Tang’s pajama pants, only feeling relieved once he saw that the redness from earlier had faded away.
“If it were me, I’d never let someone else take the person I like!” Bai Tang huffed and snapped the script shut, expressing his frustration over how stifling the storyline was.
“Don’t be upset, Tang Tang. Get some rest early—you’re starting filming tomorrow.” Min Gunian told him gently.
“Where are you going?” Bai Tang asked, staring at Min Gunian as he walked toward the door.
“I’ll come back after I shower.”
“Then hurry back to bed, okay~?”
Min Gunian glanced back with a soft smile, leaving Bai Tang momentarily dazed by the sight. He burrowed into the blankets, leaving only his eyes exposed, and whispered in a tiny voice—
“Okay, Tang Tang will wait for you.”
Ever since Min Gunian confessed, Bai Tang hadn’t explicitly admitted that he liked him back, but his every action showed increasing closeness and affection.
The system snorted in protest—
“Hah! What kind of confession was that? No flowers, no music, not even a proper ‘I like you, be my boyfriend!’ That doesn’t count! If there’s no real confession, my Tang Tang is still a free man.”
…
On the first day of shooting, Min Gunian got tied up in an emergency meeting and couldn’t personally escort Bai Tang to the set. Instead, the manager accompanied Bai Tang to the production team.
By the time they arrived, most of the cast was already present—Bai Tang was the second to last to arrive.
Since this drama was a highly anticipated idol workplace series, transitioning from college life to the professional world, it had already drawn significant attention from university students.
With a renowned screenwriter leading the script and investment from the Min Corporation, the show was almost guaranteed to be a trending topic in August—as long as the actors’ performances weren’t completely disastrous.
“Hello, I’m Wei Gudong. I play Chen Yi. Please take care of me.”
The female lead, Wei Gudong, was only 20 years old—right in the prime of her youth. She was cheerful and outgoing, with a personality that closely resembled her character, Chen Yi.
“Hello, I’m Bai Tang.” Since the saying goes, one doesn’t hit a smiling face, and Wei Gudong seemed easy to get along with, Bai Tang returned her greeting with a smile.
“Oh my god, you’re the one signed by Min Corporation…!” Wei Gudong suddenly realized she had spoken too loudly and quickly covered her mouth in surprise.
Originally, Bai Tang had been an unknown figure in the entertainment industry. But being signed by Min Corporation was a game-changer—after all, everyone knew that anyone who signed with Min was destined for fame.
Bai Tang nodded slightly, acknowledging Wei Gudong’s question.
After getting over her initial shock, Wei Gudong immediately warmed up to him, sticking close and subtly prying about Min Corporation and how he had managed to get signed.
By the time Bai Tang’s manager returned from greeting the director, he was met with the sight of a chatty woman buzzing around Bai Tang, while the assistant stood awkwardly at the side, looking completely lost.
Bai Tang had trouble turning people down, so when he saw his manager return, he let out a sigh of relief and sweetly called out—
“Brother V~”
“Mm. Filming is about to start soon. It’s time to get your makeup done.”
Brother V then turned to Wei Gudong, his expression neutral.
“Miss Wei, shouldn’t you be getting ready as well?”
As a renowned talent manager in the industry, Brother V had quite the reputation, and Wei Gudong couldn’t help but feel a little nervous under his gaze.
She nodded, thinking that she and Bai Tang were already friends, and smiled at him before saying—
“See you later, then.”
Once Wei Gudong left, Brother V immediately reprimanded the new assistant. The young assistant was still too inexperienced, lacking the skills to handle such situations.
Now, under Brother V’s stern words, the assistant’s eyes were brimming with tears.
“It’s okay, don’t scold him anymore,” Bai Tang spoke up in defense, earning a grateful look from the young assistant.
Author’s Note:
Chapter 5 – The female lead has finally made an appearance! Here she is~