Shanghai, Linghui Entertainment.
The front desk girl began her day's work as usual.
Ever since Linghui Entertainment's transformation, she had been encountering more and more businesspeople, and her work had become increasingly complex. Just sorting through visitors and the related cooperation proposals they submitted required her to spend a great deal of time carefully organizing and processing them.
Fortunately, today seemed relatively quiet.
The front desk girl sat for quite a while without encountering any outsiders coming to the company or receiving any work calls.
And just like that, she sat through the entire morning.
Finally, it was time for the lunch break. The front desk girl eagerly pulled out her phone and started contemplating what she should eat for lunch today.
Just as she was pondering whether to treat herself to a good meal or... well, treat herself to a good meal, the phone beside her suddenly rang.
The front desk girl inwardly groaned, wondering who had such poor timing to choose this moment to contact the company. However, her good work ethic made her immediately pick up the phone, switching to a sweet voice: "Hello, this is Linghui Entertainment."
"Huh? A group of foreigners want to come here?"
The front desk girl muttered to herself.
Although her boss had now gone international, foreigners who came looking for them in person were still extremely rare. Even the Operations Department usually handled things through online connections or by flying over personally.
This was her first time receiving foreign guests!
"Alright, please hold on."
Without hesitation, she immediately notified her superiors about this matter and transferred the call as well.
A few minutes later, she saw the new General Manager, Lin Cheng, hurriedly walk out.
Not long after, Lin Cheng returned, smiling as he guided several foreigners and led them into the company's reception room.
The front desk girl, showing good awareness, promptly arranged for tea service to receive them.
-
On set.
Song Chenye sidestepped to avoid the white-clad swordsman's longsword, while his other hand tapped backward. His entire body then revolved around the white-clad swordsman's attacking motion, completing a full circle.
In the next moment, he was behind the white-clad swordsman. He directly raised his hand and sent the man flying off the martial arts platform with a single palm strike.
The people around them all gasped sharply.
"What elegant skill! This footwork technique is quite novel. I wonder which school's secret art it belongs to."
Below the stage, an old man dressed in luxurious clothes stroked his beard, his face full of praise.
"It seems more like it incorporates the strengths of a hundred schools, taking the secret techniques of each..." another sharp-eyed old man said. "To have access to the martial arts manuals of various schools shows this young man is absolutely no ordinary individual."
Just as everyone was discussing the outstanding black-clad swordsman on the platform, another commotion arose below the martial arts stage—
"Senior Brother!"
The young man below the stage had originally come with the white-clad swordsman. After losing the match, he wanted to go help up the person who had been flung off the platform. But when he got close, he discovered the person who had been thrown out was motionless, lying quietly on the ground without any sign of life.
Instantly, the young man's eyes widened with rage, a look of hatred on his face as he stared at the person on the stage: "How cruel you are! You actually resorted to a fatal blow during a martial arts contest!"
Song Chenye had also sensed something was wrong with the other person. He leapt down from the stage and walked near the corpse: "I did not."
"How is that possible! My senior brother was knocked off the platform by your palm strike! Now he's stopped breathing. If you didn't kill him, then who did?"
The young man hugged his senior brother's body, breaking down in tears. The spectators around them also gathered.
"What happened? How did someone die?"
"That kid really struck ruthlessly. I thought he didn't draw his sword out of disdain, but it turns out he wanted to directly take a life with his palm..."
All sorts of chaotic voices could be heard. People from the manor also came running over one after another.
"What's going on?"
A chubby, somewhat Buddha-like middle-aged man squeezed through the crowd from the outside.
"Someone died."
A servant whispered an explanation into the man's ear.
"Oh?"
The man looked at the black-clad swordsman standing nearby: "You killed him."
"No."
Song Chenye flatly denied it.
Since he didn't do it, he naturally wouldn't admit to it.
However, as the series of events that had just occurred flashed through his mind, Song Chenye gazed deeply at the guy who was hugging the corpse and wailing.
Was this guy trying to frame him?
Or—
Song Chenye calmly scanned his surroundings.
Or was someone deliberately setting him up?
"Please come with us alone first."
As the man spoke, he waved his hand, signaling the servants beside him to carry away the corpse on the ground.
Song Chenye stared fixedly at the man before him, a flash of coldness passing through his eyes. Then, surprisingly, he revealed a faint smile: "Alright."
He raised his hand and gripped the hilt of his sword, his tone indifferent: "But before that, I want to examine the body—"
Then, Song Chenye actually drew his sword and abruptly thrust it toward the corpse on the ground—
"Cut!"
With Director Deng's command, the person crying on the ground and the "corpse" lying there both immediately got up.
"Thank you, Brother Xiao. You worked hard, Brother Xiao."
"Thank you, thank you, Teacher Xiao."
Several extras nervously greeted Xiao He, then turned and scurried away without looking back, as if they had seen a god of death, terrified that Xiao He might chase them down and cut them down with a single stroke.
Xiao He was already accustomed to these people's reactions. He calmly handed the sword in his hand to Xiao Chen, who had run over.
Liu Rulan also walked over.
Naturally, Liu Rulan had noticed the attitudes of these extras and other actors recently. However, she was quite surprised by the change in Xiao He: "Have you been in a bad mood lately?"
Why had his aura reverted to how it used to be? The type where even walking down the street could get him stopped by police asking for his ID.
Xiao He glanced at the people around him, then sighed, saying succinctly: "I've been prone to encountering petty people lately. I need to rely on a full-body sinister aura to fight poison with poison."
Liu Rulan was speechless.
She rolled her eyes: "When have you *not* encountered petty people? If this were a detective novel, you'd definitely be a death-bringing elementary school kid."
Xiao He: ...
Now it was Xiao He's turn to be speechless.
"No, what does that have to do with me?"
That's a complete injustice.
Liu Rulan shrugged: "Alright, alright, alright. If you say it's not, then it's not."
"...You'd better talk about something else." Xiao He's tone was faintly melancholic. "Judging by your mood today, you seem to be in quite a good mood."
Usually, she was all business, busy as hell. For her to be so leisurely chatting about random stuff like this was rare. Something good must have happened.
"Ahem, there is indeed a piece of good news."
A smile appeared on Liu Rulan's face.
"Hmm, tell me."
"The company received two very important job offers today. Take a guess."
"Hmm—" Xiao He thought for a moment and immediately said, "One offer must have come from Director Zhuang, right? I imagine after the first season of *Corner Also* officially airs, *The Phantom Thief Alliance 2* will officially start filming next year."
Zhuang Hongyi is both the director of *The Phantom Thief Alliance* and the executive producer of *Corner Also*, so overall, he's been very busy this year.
And by the time *The Phantom Thief Alliance 2* is released, it will probably be the Festival the year after next.
But putting all that aside for now, Xiao He asked with considerable curiosity: "What's the other job offer?"