"Adding three people all at once, that's too many! The car's almost too full to sit in."
Before even flipping through the documents, Xiao He thought of one person first: "That Lao Qi, I think he's pretty good. He's both a bodyguard and a driver, and just standing there gives a real sense of security."
Liu Rulan raised an eyebrow slightly: "Alright, I was actually just about to recommend him to you too. He served in the military before, has excellent skills, and has been in the industry for many years. Having him follow you puts my mind at ease."
"Then it's him."
Xiao He roughly flipped through the other candidate profiles Liu Rulan had given him but didn't see anyone particularly suitable.
"Maybe let's just do this for now. Too many people and the car gets cramped and uncomfortable."
Xiao He simply closed the folder. "I gave it a quick look. Lao Qi can do quite a lot, one man worth two. This is fine."
This was pretty good already. Xiao He really didn't want to have three people trailing behind him wherever he went in the future. Just thinking about it gave him a headache.
Liu Rulan didn't press the issue either: "...That works too."
Then she stood up, seemed to remember something, and reminded Xiao He: "Tomorrow night, 'Imperial Decree' premieres. It's our studio's first production, don't forget to promote it."
"Oh, I almost forgot."
Xiao He quickly lowered his head to repost the studio's announcement. "Perfect timing to promote it while this heat is still up. Miss this chance, and there won't be another shop."
'Imperial Decree'! Currently the only project their studio had poured a huge amount of funds and effort into.
Ever since they used the remaining liquid capital to "buy" He Wenming, Linghui Studio had been eagerly waiting for 'Imperial Decree' to air, hoping it would help them recoup some losses.
Now that 'Imperial Decree' was finally about to broadcast, Xiao He was wholeheartedly wishing for this project's data to be blazing hot.
His demands weren't high. If they could recover the investment and make a small profit, he would be perfectly satisfied—
-
On the internet, the incident involving Jiang Chifei and Xiao He had successfully pushed the heat to another level.
[Actually, when I saw those moves, I suspected it was that man.]
[I was also a bit puzzled when I saw the video, because longtime fans have probably all seen the clip of Brother Xiao climbing a building bare-handed. If it were him, I'd believe he could just vault over that railing to the floor below.]
[Hahaha, I'm really going to die laughing. I'm already a longtime fan of Xiao He, but I've never "chased" after Brother Xiao with the same fervor they do.]
[To be able to drive Brother Xiao to that point, I can only say I'm impressed.]
[Xiao He Fans must be rational in their star-chasing! Take this as a warning, absolutely don't do this. It's a huge safety hazard and easily gives Brother Xiao a bad reputation. Also, if you do this, there's a really high chance you won't catch up to Brother Xiao.]
[I met Brother Xiao offline once before. He's really a great guy, doesn't have the huge entourage other celebrities do. He's genuinely the type you can run into on the street, grab, and take a photo with. And he's really patient; as long as the request isn't excessive, he'll usually accommodate it.]
[Wow, does that mean I could run into Brother Xiao offline and then follow him all the way home? Hehe...]
[? The stalker fan upstairs needs to rein it in, the smell is almost overflowing.]
[Stalker fans should stop dreaming. Let me put it this way: I've followed paparazzi before, and they said Brother Xiao is really exceptionally sharp. Plus, that young assistant of his has eagle eyes, they catch people almost every single time. So currently, there are very few paparazzi photos of Xiao He on the market. Most photos are from fans actively taking selfies or shots when they coincidentally meet him. As for those with wild fantasies about tailing him... don't blame Brother Xiao for sending you to the slammer later.]
[Already crying, why does everyone else get to run into celebrities?]
...
The online discussions didn't draw a conclusion to this incident. Faced with Jiang Chifei's angry scolding of fans, many of his own fans were actually displeased.
They felt they had worked hard to come meet his flight, so why were they being randomly labeled as crazy fans? Plus, the scene was extremely chaotic at the time; they were just running after the people in front and didn't manage to take any photos themselves. Why blame them?
Wasn't it the fault of those stalker fans and paparazzi? What did it have to do with them?
Thus, Jiang Chifei's side welcomed a new wave of public opinion backlash. However, on Xiao He's side, it was mostly fans coming to watch the show and amused bystanders. The atmosphere in the comment section remained relatively harmonious, without any extreme remarks.
Immediately after, Xiao He also promoted 'Imperial Decree' in his social media update, shifting the gaze of more melon-munching bystanders onto this upcoming TV drama.
[Wow, just noticed, 'Imperial Decree' is actually from Xiao He's studio? Shocked me.]
[Huh? I just found out too! So Brother Xiao is already a boss?]
[Brother Xiao has always been a studio boss! He co-founded the studio with Sister Liu.]
[Co-founded? Holy crap, is his family that rich? Is he a second-generation rich kid too?]
[Sigh, tired of explaining. Directions -> @LinghuiStudio, there are relevant clarifications and explanations inside. Brother Xiao is from an ordinary family. The money is what he earned himself, through legal and compliant means, just not easy to replicate.]
[Uh, if you put it that way, it's indeed not easy to replicate. (Is this the power of a computer science prodigy? Bow in respect!!)]
[Wishing 'Imperial Decree' a huge hit! Showing support!]
[Sigh, Brother Xiao, this time your bro is retreating first, alright? It's really not about not supporting you, I just really can't stand watching these scheming, backstabbing palace dramas.]
[True, but still wishing Brother Xiao's studio's first production great success.]
However, perhaps because they were constantly monitoring the situation around Xiao He's studio, not long after, 'The Legend of Zhaohua', which chose to air on the same day, conducted another round of promotion.
Watching 'The Legend of Zhaohua' instantly suck away the heat, Xiao He rolled his eyes.
"They still have too much free time. Before, I was too busy to spare a hand. Now that I'm back in the country, if I let you keep hopping around, then I'm really giving you too much face—"
He muttered to himself while starting to wiggle the mouse in his hand.
The mouse cursor pointed at several positions, each containing a folder.
Xiao He moved the cursor between these folders like the King of Hell checking names on his roster.
But in the end, Xiao He decided to strike at the vital point first, to focus on the key issue.
So, Xiao He went with his old three-step routine: email, anonymous, send—off you go—
As for the recipient of the email this time... Xiao He naturally wouldn't take the official route.
Taking that route too often would be too obvious.
Matters concerning the rich should naturally be handed over to the rich to handle~
Xiao He glanced at the time on his computer, lazily yawned, and prepared to shut down and go to sleep.
-
Xingchen Film Industry Headquarters.
"What does this mean? What exactly does that old geezer mean? A mess from Xingchen Entertainment, and he wants to use it to settle his own accounts too? Huh? Does he think I'm an idiot?"
Tao Zidong slammed the ledger heavily onto the desk.
"Does he really take me for the Great Sage of Account Settlement?"
"Second Young Master, please calm down first."
The manager beside him was inwardly crying bitter tears.
He was stuck in the middle of a struggle between big shots, having to placate and soothe both sides, and he was almost at his breaking point.
"How can I calm down? My dad sent me here to take over this work, and what happens? That old geezer makes things difficult for me at every turn. Finally managed to catch something on Xingchen Entertainment, and then what? He comes out playing peacemaker, and instead uses this incident to settle his own accounts. How can I swallow this anger?"
Tao Zidong felt like a ball of fire was burning in his chest, constantly smoldering with nowhere to vent.
It even made him look at the manager with displeasure.
"You go first, just go."
He waved his hand dismissively, shooing the manager out.
After the manager left the office, Tao Zidong sat down in his chair, very impatiently tugging at his collar.
Xingchen Entertainment had always been the cash cow for the other faction within the group. If he wanted to catch their mistakes, he still had to start with Xingchen Entertainment.
But the previous incident of Qin Song embezzling public funds was brushed over so lightly by them. Tao Zidong didn't know if he could find another good opportunity.
Right at that moment, his computer screen lit up, and a system notification automatically popped up in the bottom right corner, reminding him of an email.
Thinking it might be results from the private detective he hired, Tao Zidong casually clicked open the email, then abruptly sat up straight.
"Holy crap?"
Under the glow of the screen, Tao Zidong's face was illuminated brightly, but his eyes shone even brighter.
"Haha, finally caught your tail, didn't I! Just you wait, hahaha—"
If he couldn't touch that old geezer, he'd take down Qin Song first!
Tao Zidong refused to believe anyone could protect them this time!