Shanghai, filming location.
A handsome young master waving a fan knocked on the manor's gate.
A servant looked at the person outside through the crack in the door and said in a low voice, "Thousand Leaves Manor is not receiving guests today. Please return."
"I am the Second Young Master of the Liu family, Liu Zhilin. I have come today specifically to pay a visit to the Manor Master of Thousand Leaves Manor. I have important matters to report. I ask that you relay this message for me."
As Liu Zhilin spoke, he closed the fan in his hand, revealing his full face.
Second Young Master Liu's face was like fine jade, noble and detached from worldly dust, possessing an absolutely peerless beauty. Especially those peach blossom eyes held a trace of a smile. "I beg you. My friend here and I will wait at the gate."
Immediately after, he twirled the fan in his hand and pointed to the black-clothed swordsman beside him.
The servant followed the direction of the fan and saw a young swordsman of upright posture and exceptional bearing standing not far away, holding a sword.
The swordsman's appearance was actually not the slightest bit inferior to Liu Zhilin, who had long been praised as the "number one handsome man in the martial world." Moreover, compared to Liu Zhilin's somewhat delicate beauty, his features were more aggressive, with sharp, three-dimensional contours. His eyes were bright as stars, like a sharp sword yet to be unsheathed. Even just standing there, he carried an imposing aura.
Although this presence seemed quite intimidating, this swordsman did not have the aloofness of a superior when looking at people. In those eyes, besides the sharp intelligence that could see through everything and the steely resolve that feared no hardship, there was also a calmness that regarded everyone equally—not fawning before the powerful, not arrogant before the weak.
A warrior like this could leave a deep impression with just one glance.
The servant was inwardly astonished.
When did such a figure emerge in the martial world?
How truly rare.
Meeting the servant's probing gaze, the swordsman was not reserved either. He revealed a slight smile, raised his hand, and cupped his fist in a polite greeting. "I am Zhufeng. I ask you, sir, to please relay the message."
The servant's eyes shifted, but he did not make things difficult for these two. Instead, he nodded and said respectfully, "Please wait a moment, both of you. I will go report to the Manor Master now."
Afterwards, the gate of Thousand Leaves Manor closed once more.
Liu Zhilin took a step back, suddenly snapping his fan open and shaking it unhurriedly. He then turned his head to look at Song Chenye beside him, a smile in his voice. "Brother Zhufeng, you owe me a huge favor this time."
Song Chenye looked up at the plaque above the gate, his expression complex, and then said, "Thousand Leaves Manor has always kept its doors open for business. In the past, it wasn't exactly overcrowded, but it was never short of martial world people coming to do business. How has it fallen to such a state now?"
Businessmen need social interaction to spread their trade throughout the martial world.
But now, Thousand Leaves Manor avoids seeing guests all year round. Only during past martial arts conferences would they reopen their doors to the public.
Song Chenye actually didn't know they had become like this.
"Ah, it's all because of that disaster twelve years ago."
Liu Zhilin seemed to think of something, sighing softly. He even lost the mood to fan himself. Hearing Liu Zhilin's words, Song Chenye's expression also darkened abruptly. He stared at Thousand Leaves Manor, its scenery unchanged, and remained silent.
Fortunately, Liu Zhilin didn't say much more, only sighing, "Thousand Leaves Manor resorting to such measures for self-preservation is a move of helplessness. But the gloom of twelve years ago will pass eventually. Perhaps when the Manor Master no longer dwells on the events of twelve years ago, these gates will open wide again."
"Will what's past always pass?"
Song Chenye changed his posture from holding the sword to gripping it. He looked up at the bright red-lacquered door lintel, lost in thought.
Then he curved the corner of his mouth, a smile carrying a hint of chill appearing on his face.
"Perhaps, that day will come."
—Once he killed all his past enemies, this matter would naturally pass.
--------------------
"Cut!"
Deng Lei's voice came. Xiao He's gaze shifted away from the gate, and he politely nodded to Zhao Qinyuan.
Zhao Qinyuan's acting couldn't be called too great, but his advantage was that his looks were indeed superior. That face was quite convincing when presented, and the Second Young Master Liu he portrayed wasn't greasy either. Overall, his performance didn't drag Xiao He down, so Xiao He's attitude towards him improved quite a bit.
Actually, as long as it didn't affect Xiao He's work, his attitude towards most people was quite good.
"Brother Xiao, water."
Xiao Chen trotted over.
Xiao He took a sip through the straw on the water cup.
"How are things on the internet now?"
"Nothing much."
"Hmm."
A thoughtful expression appeared on Xiao He's face.
Logically speaking, it should be within the next few days.
Just as Xiao He was pondering, Zhao Qinyuan walked over.
"Mr. Xiao."
Zhao Qinyuan wore a smile, looking as if he hadn't fully left his character, still carrying a shadow of Liu Zhilin.
Xiao He glanced at the behind-the-scenes camera following nearby, not showing any surprise. Instead, he handed the water cup back to Xiao Chen and gave Zhao Qinyuan a similarly kind smile. "Just call me Little He."
"Ah? That doesn't seem quite appropriate. I'm two years younger than Teacher Xiao," Zhao Qinyuan immediately replied. "If possible, I'd like to call you Brother Xiao like the others!"
Xiao He was stunned for a moment, then somewhat surprised. "You're still a student?"
This was actually the first time Xiao He had encountered an actor younger than himself on a production team.
Of course, among the main cast. Minor supporting role actors didn't count.
"Yes, I'm currently studying at Shanghai Theatre Academy."
Zhao Qinyuan smiled.
Xiao He: ...Alright, alright, so the topic was leading here.
An absolutely "casual" reveal of his school.
Xiao He had no intention of joining in this "peacock spreading its feathers" display to show off his own alma mater. He simply continued the conversation along the other's line of thought. "So you're a student at Shanghai Theatre Academy. Then you can just call me 'Brother'."
"Okay, Brother Xiao."
Zhao Qinyuan smoothly changed his form of address.
Xiao He, however, made a mental calculation—
This kid's resources are pretty good, huh? He's not even graduated from university yet, but he's already able to hype a CP with Yuan Sitong. You have to know, with such a disparity in status, being able to cling to Yuan Sitong for CP hype definitely means his backing company is silently supporting and exerting force, even having made deals with the company behind Yuan Sitong.
Now he can also get the role of the second male lead here, which basically means his company put in significant effort.
With these conditions, if placed online, he'd definitely be labeled a 'resource-backed actor'. It's just that his backing company is quite clever, not directly seeking a lead role to stuff him into, but first getting important supporting roles, then starting to push the 'skilled actor' marketing, and finally naturally securing lead scripts.
It's just a pity. If this kid could steadily follow his company's arrangements, learning step by step and improving his acting skills, then the subsequent "star-making" plan would proceed very smoothly.
However, after tasting the sweetness of CP hype, this guy became single-mindedly focused on solidifying his CP status.
Xiao He shook his head inwardly.
He just hoped that in the end, he wouldn't even squander away that little bit of inspired acting talent he possessed!
After casually chatting with Zhao Qinyuan for a couple more sentences, Xiao He directly found an excuse to leave.
But he hadn't taken more than a few steps when Liu Rulan, who actually had business, called out to stop him.
The two went directly to a nearby parking lot and got into their company's van.
"What's up?"
Xiao He asked.
"Xingchen Film Industry's 'hush money' has arrived." Liu Rulan put down the documents in her hand.
Xiao He took the several documents and opened them one by one, raising an eyebrow. "What a generous hand."
Xingchen Film Industry wasn't completely innocent in this matter either. After all, Qin Yuezhang had used Xingchen Film Industry's name when blacklisting others. So as public opinion fermented, they also suffered significant impact. Many people outside didn't believe Xingchen Film Industry was completely unaware.
Therefore, after dealing with internal conflicts, the group's higher-ups immediately thought about solving these external public opinion issues.
And without a doubt, Xiao He, who had been solidly confirmed as "having been blacklisted by Qin Yuezhang," became the best candidate to win over.
—It wasn't that capital was afraid of Xiao He, but rather they wanted to use Xiao He to shut the public's mouths.