Chapter 37: Chapter 37: You and Me Under the Lemon Tree
Inside the Shanghai Theatre Academy cafeteria.
Gu Bai happily popped a pan-fried dumpling into his mouth.
The "crooked melon cracked dates" incident is currently a hot topic. In places like universities, young people are essentially pioneers of trends. Right now, probably the entire Shanghai Theatre Academy knows there’s someone named Gu Bai in the second year of the directing department.
The last time Gu Bai was this popular at the academy was because he got a perfect score in the entrance exam.
"Ten years of hard study unnoticed, one mishap and you’re known worldwide. White Pieces, so it turns out getting famous is this easy. What do you think, should I switch to making sarcastic posts on Weibo? Who knows, I might just become famous."
Seeing the curious looks from the school sisters and juniors around directed at Gu Bai, Deng Bo sighed deeply and said.
Swallowing the dumpling in his mouth, Gu Bai glanced at him.
"I think it’s possible. If you have the skill like Wang Siming to roast half of Hua Country and no one dares to do anything about it, then this is definitely a path. It’s so easy to debut now, there are so many shortcuts. Why don’t you create a ’prove yourself by roasting’ and once you’ve roasted the entire entertainment circle, you’ll be the uncrowned king of the industry. What are superstar kings compared to a P in front of you?"
Deng Bo, looking at Gu Bai drinking soy milk, gave an awkward laugh and shrank his neck: "Maybe not, if I had Wang Siming’s family background, why would I want to be a star?"
Gu Bai shrugged, not giving an opinion.
"White Pieces, I have a question for you."
Suddenly thinking of something, Deng Bo asked Gu Bai.
"What?"
"I see you and Wang Siming are similar, both second-generation rich kids. Tell me, why does he always roast people and show off on Weibo? Does he want to be famous? It can’t be, right? He’s the top second-generation rich kid, doesn’t he feel it’s degrading?"
Originally, Gu Bai didn’t want to comment on these things, but seeing Deng Bo’s full curiosity, he still answered.
"Actually, everyone has their own way of living. Just like you said, roasting people daily on Weibo is genuine. He’s probably just displeased with certain people and things, and there’s no real explanation for that. Actually, there are many people like him who roast everything on the Weibo platform. It’s probably because of his identity that makes you feel he’s unique.
As for showing off, what do you think showing off is?
I don’t know others’ thoughts, but I think showing off and being high-profile are two different things.
For example, if I drive a supercar to school, it’s a normal thing for me, just like a regular employee driving a family car to work. So can you say I’m showing off? More attention is drawn because of the supercar’s value, not because I’m deliberately showing off.
Similarly, if you see online talk about Wang Siming spending millions in a nightclub, to him, spending millions is probably equivalent to an ordinary person spending a few thousand bucks, right? So can you say he’s showing off? I don’t think so. If I have to explain this behavior, I’d say it’s high-profile.
High-profile means it’s just part of the original lifestyle. I won’t change it to be low-key because it draws attention.
Showing off is very simple; I go to a nightclub, spend 1 million, and then advertise it everywhere, wishing the whole world knew. That’s showing off.
So when you ask if it seems degrading, my answer is it’s not degrading. You can’t expect him to accept the values of the majority of ordinary people just because wealthy people are the minority in modern society."
"So you’re saying my perspective is narrow?"
"You said it yourself, not me."
"Pff, the face of the wealthy!"
Suddenly, a crisp voice rang in Gu Bai’s ear.
"Oni-Chan! What are you chatting about?"
"Discussing people’s cognitive, understanding, judgment, decision-making, as well as a thinking or value orientation to determine things, distinguish right and wrong."
No need to turn around, Gu Bai already knew who it was. No one else would give him such a unique nickname.
"Speak human language."
"Talking about values."
"Boring."
Saying that, Yi Yiyi sat next to Gu Bai, propping up her chin with the back of her right hand and tilting her face, staring smilingly at Gu Bai.
Today, Yi Yiyi had again switched to a new Lolita dress, in milky yellow, appearing extremely cute.
"Oni-Chan, are you free today?"
Gu Bai had eaten almost enough, wiped his mouth, and turned to look at her: "What’s up?"
"Isn’t tomorrow the start of military training? I haven’t bought sunscreen yet, how about you accompany me?"
"Not going."
Upon hearing the response, Yi Yiyi’s expression immediately drooped, cutely wrinkling her nose.
"Oni-Chan, just accompany me please..."
The saying that women can be coquettish and men’s souls will drift was not applicable to Gu Bai, who was a complete steel straight guy.
Seeing Gu Bai still unmoved, Yi Yiyi finally used her trump card.
"I was also planning to buy some stockings, Oni-Chan help me pick them out?"
Deng Bo, sitting opposite, almost dropped the bun in his hand, thinking to himself how straightforward is this??
"Time, place, how many people!"
"Afternoon, National Gold Center, you and me."
"Alright, I’ll pick you up in the afternoon."
Deng Bo finally couldn’t bear it any longer, seriously looking at the two of them and said: "I think you should consider my feelings, discussing provocative topics like stockings in public is not right!"
Yi Yiyi covered her mouth and laughed, "Do you want me to bring one for you to try, uncle?"
Deng Bo: "I’ll pass!"
After saying that, he left with a bun in his mouth.
Seeing Deng Bo leave, Gu Bai also stood up.
"I’ll pick you up this afternoon."
After saying that, he left under the gaze of many students in the cafeteria. It was only after Gu Bai left that the murmurs started to grow.
"Isn’t he the Gu Bai everyone is talking about on Weibo’s trending topics? Just as handsome as in the videos. Does anyone have his contact info? I think I have a chance!"
A few trendy, lively girls started chatting as they watched Gu Bai’s departing silhouette.
"No, I don’t think so. Did you see the girl he was just talking to?"
"Who is she?"
"Didn’t you check the school forum? A freshman in the directing department, Yi Yiyi. Her introduction post shot up to a hot topic yesterday. She’s proclaimed as one of the four new goddesses for us freshmen at Shanghai Theatre Academy and a goddess for otaku."
"Who are the other three?"
"The other three are from the acting department: Jiang Lan, Kuang Wenxin, and then there’s Qi Man, who was immediately dubbed the campus belle."
"These people are really boring. What era are we in, still ranking campus beauties? How outdated."
Though this girl’s tone was full of mockery, her thick jealousy was unmistakable. If she were eligible to be ranked as a campus belle, she’d likely wear a different expression.
Although the other girls caught the whiff of sourness, they were all roommates spending most of their time together. They couldn’t possibly mock her, so they changed the topic instead.
"None of that matters. Did you guys see on Weibo? Gu Bai drives a supercar to school. There was a post just about Gu Bai’s supercar—it costs over ten million! How did we not know our school has such a high-level male god? If I knew earlier, I would’ve acted sooner. Now I’m almost graduating, and no agency wants to sign me. I’ll probably end up being an extra at Hengdian after graduation. If I had a rich boyfriend like him, I wouldn’t have to worry about that!"
"Yeah right, as if you’d have had a chance even if you knew him earlier. Didn’t you see even the ’goddesses’ couldn’t resist gravitating towards him? What do you have to compete with them?"
The lemon girl, who was previously silent, spoke up again.
And she intentionally raised her voice, making sure Yi Yiyi, sitting not far away, could hear her perfectly.
However, Yi Yiyi didn’t even lift her head. She had heard such pungent remarks countless times since childhood and was completely immune by now.
"Alright, alright, lower your voice. People can hear us."
Their roommate gestured for the lemon girl to be quieter.
"So what if they hear? Am I not speaking the truth?"
Once jealousy clouds one’s mind, no one can persuade them otherwise. The lemon girl’s roommates understood this and all went back to eating their breakfast in silence. Watching their faces, the lemon girl smirked but said nothing more.
...................
At two in the afternoon, the weather was quite nice, with a gentle breeze, and the sun hidden behind clouds.
The car had already been delivered to the school by Director Huang’s people. At this moment, the cool black and red bull was parked under the female dormitory building at Shanghai Theatre Academy.
Upon receiving a message from Gu Bai, Yi Yiyi was in a hurry to head downstairs.
"Yiyi, where are you off to?"
Even in a simple home short-sleeve outfit, Qi Man’s astonishing figure couldn’t be concealed. The saying "God is fair" seemed like a joke when applied to her—not only did she have an explosive figure, but her face was also stunningly beautiful.
Yi Yiyi turned around and smiled proudly at Qi Man, who had asked her the question.
"Going to the mall to buy some things needed for military training. Sister Man, do you want me to bring you anything?"
Qi Man didn’t answer her question but continued asking, "Is Gu Bai taking you?"
"Yep."
Yi Yiyi didn’t hide it at all, her tone dripping with pride.
Qi Man paused, speechless for a moment.
In truth, she already knew what was going on.
The roar of Gu Bai’s Night Shadow was indeed high-profile; she had already seen it from the window. Coupled with Yi Yiyi’s urgent demeanor, she knew Gu Bai was here to pick Yi Yiyi up.
Watching Qi Man who remained silent, Yi Yiyi blinked.
"If Sister Man doesn’t have anything else, I’ll head out first, okay? Oni-Chan is already urging me."
Having said that, without waiting for Qi Man’s reaction, she shut the door and left.
As for the other two girls in the dorm, they could already imagine the scene of Qi Man and Yi Yiyi competing for affection.
After all, girls understand girls the best.
From last night’s return from the club, the most talked-about topic in the dorm was Gu Bai, mostly coming from Qi Man and Yi Yiyi. Their intentions were already clear as day.
Hong Linli and Dong Ping completely understood. After all, just as men love beauties, beauties also love quality men, especially someone like Gu Bai, who is handsome and wealthy.
If not for a clear understanding of their own attractiveness, Hong Linli and Dong Ping might have considered joining the competition too.
But it was impossible; not to mention anything else, just from their names, they could tell they were minor characters in the novel. Having a few scenes was already fortunate, so what more could they ask for?