"Racing? Five hundred thousand?"
In the hotel room, Liu Rulan looked at Xiao He with an expression of disbelief.
Xiao He cleared his throat lightly and added, "US dollars."
Xiao Chen let out an impressed gasp, "Wow, Brother Xiao, you're just too amazing!"
Just by showing off his skills during filming, he actually got invited by a racing team to participate in professional competitions... Brother Xiao was simply incredible.
But Liu Rulan was concerned about other issues, "Are you confident you can beat them?"
Although Xiao He's previous display on the track had shocked everyone, insiders watch for expertise while outsiders watch for excitement. Liu Rulan wasn't sure if Xiao He's driving skills could compete on such a major official racing stage.
However, Xiao He wasn't certain either, "Probably?"
The skill the system gave him was in the "mastery" category, and this so-called "mastery" probably meant "invincible," right?
At the very least, surpassing that O'Deen felt quite easy to Xiao He.
Anyway, O'Deen had said that whether he won or not, he could still get the appearance fee.
He'd just spend one day driving, then make a few million in anger—this seemed totally worth it no matter how you looked at it.
Xiao He looked at Liu Rulan expectantly, "Sister Liu, do you think I should go?"
Liu Rulan fell into thought.
But soon, her phone rang.
The caller was none other than Zhuang Hongyi from faraway Beijing.
Liu Rulan gave Xiao He a look, then walked aside to answer the call.
Xiao Chen leaned close to Xiao He and asked quietly, "Brother Xiao, if you go to compete, what about the filming here?"
Xiao He also whispered, "I'm not sure about that either. Currently planning to let that O'Deen guy handle the negotiations."
But soon, their worries became irrelevant.
After finishing her call, Liu Rulan walked over and said to Xiao He, "You can give this a try."
Xiao He's eyes lit up, "Director Zhuang agreed?"
"Yes, Zhuang Hongyi has always had a good relationship with the Ryder Laura racing team. When they brought this up, he naturally wouldn't stop it. However, he made it clear that this money isn't easy to earn. The participants are all internationally famous race car drivers. If you're not confident, you'd better choose carefully. If you lose too badly, he won't have a good explanation for the racing team people."
"That shouldn't be a problem." Xiao He reminded, "And I heard that Law of the Jungle has finished its domestic screening and will soon be released overseas. Maybe I can ride the heat and promote it a bit."
Liu Rulan was stunned for a moment, and Xiao Chen also remembered this, "Right! Wasn't Director Ren already negotiating with overseas theaters recently? Whether Brother Xiao's competition happens before or after the movie's release, he can use this competition for promotion!"
They had previously predicted that this battle royale type film might actually have a better market overseas.
When the time comes, Xiao He runs a race, gets the money, and promotes the movie—isn't this a perfect win-win situation!
Following Xiao Chen's words, Liu Rulan also nodded slightly, "Indeed, this is an unprecedented novel angle. My thinking was too narrow."
She immediately stood up, "I'll contact Director Ren right now to see what their arrangements are."
Then Liu Rulan left in a whirlwind of activity.
Xiao He and Xiao Chen exchanged glances, with Xiao Chen giving a thumbs up, "Impressive, Brother Xiao."
The next day, early morning.
Xiao He got the latest update from Liu Rulan.
It was already mid-to-late April, with less than two weeks until May Day. Currently, Law of the Jungle had earned about 500 million in domestic Box Office.
Based on the current Box Office growth trend, this was almost the limit.
However, since Law of the Jungle had previously helped many theaters fill the sudden vacancy left by Silent Search, these theaters had naturally reserved a small portion of screening slots for Law of the Jungle during the May Day season.
Although the screenings weren't many, they could still get some benefit from the May Day season, so the production team wasn't at a loss.
And actually, for many in the industry, these current numbers were already exceptionally impressive.
Right now was a period when movie Box Office was generally cold. For a niche genre like battle royale with an unpopular release timing to actually create 500 million in Box Office was practically a miracle.
The previous battle royale film released domestically was a sequel to an overseas movie introduced to China, which itself had extremely high IP recognition and fan base, ultimately earning over 700 million in domestic Box Office.
For Law of the Jungle to forcefully carve out a path during the Qingming Festival slot was truly not easy. With such achievements, they had plenty of confidence going overseas.
The preliminary arrangement was that Law of the Jungle would be released in countries around China in mid-May, right when domestic screenings officially ended. One week later, it would be released in North America and Europe.
Originally, Director Ren hadn't planned any overseas offline roadshow and promotion activities, only preparing for online promotion. But he never expected Liu Rulan to bring him such pleasantly surprising news.
Although racing competitions had no direct relationship with Law of the Jungle's content, if they could appear before foreign media and say something, wouldn't that be better than painstakingly promoting from scratch on foreign websites?
Even if Xiao He performed poorly, it didn't matter. They could do some promotion and marketing, using this celebrity driver title to first penetrate foreign circles, then promote the movie... After all, the ultimate goal was selling Box Office tickets, and attracting attention was the best outcome.
So soon, Director Ren made arrangements based on what Liu Rulan described.
"Director Ren has already arranged for the overseas distribution responsible person to coordinate with me. Regarding overseas online promotion matters, I'll handle them properly. You don't need to worry—just focus on the competition when the time comes." Liu Rulan put down her coffee cup and cleared her throat, "Also, regarding the production team's filming schedule here, I'll discuss with Director Xu later. You don't need to get involved for now."
"No problem."
The next few days, Liu Rulan didn't appear on the island.
But the production team's filming continued in full swing.
After the "sweet and loving" romantic scenes with Qi Xinyue, Shu Yuxiu continued being "as close as brothers" with Zhu Penglin, maintaining "harmonious relations" with his brother's parents, while occasionally interspersing filming scenes showing Shu Yuxiu's true nature in private, displaying the preparations and efforts he made in advance to deceive these people.
As the actor portraying "Shu Yuxiu," Xiao He gradually felt physical and mental exhaustion from such high-intensity filming—
-------------------
Zhu Penglin's mother had a heart attack at home.
She curled up in pain, clutching her chest while gasping heavily, trembling as she reached for the medicine bottle on the floor. Meanwhile, the young man beside her lowered his head and casually kicked the medicine bottle away with his foot.
At this moment, Zhu Penglin's Mother looked up, utterly unable to believe at the person before her.
That shock wasn't acted—it was the actor's genuine astonishment at not knowing about this part of the script.
Before this, they had always had a very good relationship, all "motherly kindness and filial piety" scenes, with no hints whatsoever.
At this moment, Zhu Penglin's Mother looked up, utterly unable to believe at the person before her.
Staring at the person before him, the first emotions that surged in Xiao He's heart were hostility and annoyance, and only then came Shu Yuxiu's emotions—indifference and mockery.
Suppressing the discomfort in his heart, he looked down at the person on the floor, slightly curling his lips in a cold expression, "Mother seems tired. You should rest."
Then he picked up the medicine bottle from the floor, playing with it leisurely with his gloved hand before finally putting it in his pocket.
"Cough, cough, no... don't—save—me—"
Zhu Penglin's Mother struggled on the floor, trying to reach out and grab Shu Yuxiu's pant leg, but Shu Yuxiu had already taken a step back and turned away, "Well then, good night, Mother."
"No—"
Amidst the resentful and mournful screams, tears slid from Zhu Penglin's Mother's eyes as she slowly stopped breathing.
And Shu Yuxiu didn't even look back.
--------------
Only when Director Ning called "Cut" from off-set did Xiao He turn back, walking up to the actress playing Zhu Penglin's Mother to sincerely apologize, "Sorry, Ms. Lu, I didn't give you advance notice."
Lu Yan sat up, giving Xiao He a complicated look before turning to curse Ning Jiaqi, "Damn Ning Jiaqi, you even deceived people with this script! Aren't you afraid I might actually have a heart attack while performing!"
Lu Yan had a very good relationship with Ning Jiaqi, so her words were relatively casual, directly cursing at Ning Jiaqi, who didn't get angry.
"It's just acting, don't be so upset." Ning Jiaqi reminded with a smile, "Don't spoil it for your son later—he hasn't filmed this part yet."
The "son" Director Ning referred to was the actor playing Zhu Penglin.
Lu Yan laughed and cursed, then patted Xiao He's shoulder, "Not bad, even I was deceived."
Xiao He looked somewhat dazed, then forced a smile, "Well, as long as Ms. Lu Yan doesn't mind."
However, when he woke up in bed the next morning, Xiao He stared at the ceiling above him, feeling inexplicably disoriented.
He suddenly felt there wasn't much difference between himself and Shu Yuxiu.
—People always like to build their lives with lies, then pretend they're living very well...
Looking at the vast, fresh coastal scenery outside the window, Xiao He shook his head, deeply feeling he had gotten too immersed in the role.
He never used to ponder such affected questions before.
"Seems like I should ask Sister Liu to find me a lighter role next time."
Rubbing his temples, Xiao He sighed.
If he kept playing such deep, scheming characters, he felt he was going to develop split personality disorder.