Even under Xiao He's account, many people had already left comments.
"Bro, you… never mind. I know you're a good person, but you pissed me off. I'll unfollow for a while, ok?"
"Xiao Ge, did you really play Zhu Third Brother? How did you do that? Incredible!"
"No way, Xiao Ge, just admit it. You did that case back then. How is the role's face any different from the wanted poster?"
"Fun fact: Xiao Ge wasn't even born twenty-seven years ago."
"Xiao Ge, your image in my heart is shattered…"
"I'm actually curious how the director convinced Xiao Ge to play that beast, and to make it so convincing."
Xiao He looked at those comments and couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.
Now his account's follower count was no longer the pitiful tens of thousands from before; it had truly reached the millions, and as the film Killing Life became more famous, his fanbase was growing rapidly every day—of course, the only thing Xiao He might worry about now was whether he'd get beaten up if he went outside.
But soon Xiao He didn't have to worry about that.
Because Lu City Public Security in Province C released the latest news, announcing to the public that Zhu Third Brother had died.
Although the announcement omitted some case details, the police also singled out and praised the Killing Life crew for the contribution and role they played in the case, and this news once again stirred online discussion.
Discussion about Xiao He decreased somewhat; everyone flocked to the official account to see the news.
Seeing the netizens' comments, Xiao He breathed a sigh of relief and opened his system with eager anticipation.
[Current points: 6119]
Xiao He quietly drooled at the thought of getting rich.
My god! That's over six thousand points! Ten times what he had when playing Mu Ze!
If he drew from the hundred-point prize pool now, he could draw more than sixty times!
Over sixty draws! Do you know how I earned those sixty draws? Do you know how hard it was!
Xiao He felt a bittersweet satisfaction that his efforts were finally paying off. He fixed his gaze on the second-tier draw button and began hoping for ten thousand points to arrive—
What kind of amazing stuff could the ten-thousand-point pool possibly contain?
The hundred-point draws already gave impressive things, but the drop rates were frustrating; whatever came from ten thousand points would surely be better than a hundred-point draw… right?
Thinking this, Xiao He refreshed and discovered the previous "6119" had become "6498."
At the current rate of increase and trend… hahaha, I'm really getting rich!
In the future, drawing from a million-point pool wouldn't be impossible!
At that moment, Xiao He's heart was filled with fighting spirit.
Meanwhile, as day-one audiences gradually left cinemas, the May Day opening's word of mouth began to ferment and the box office numbers were released.
Killing Life surged to first place for the day with an absolute lead, creating a visible gap, and the film scored 8.5 on Douban, leaving its contemporaries in the dust.
Among competing releases, Missing You 365 Times, disguised as a romance but actually a dreary melodrama, had terrible plot and execution, basically tricking audiences into watching only to anger them; viewers openly complained online and gave it a stellar score of 4.8.
As for Gentleman's Rhapsody and Wind Rises Over Cloud Harbor, one was a run-of-the-mill popcorn comedy—neither bad nor great, optional viewing—and audiences gave it a 7 out of goodwill for the comedy duo; the other was a classic action blockbuster from the Hong Kong market with fiery, satisfying fights but paired with a ridiculously weak plot, leaving audiences torn between excitement and pain, finally rating it a 6.9 while pinching their noses.
So there was almost no need to struggle anymore: this opening practically sealed Killing Life's final success.
Again—this was all highlighted by the surrounding competition.
Director Hou Rongxuan was delighted all day. Once the results came out, he immediately posted on his Moments.
"Hou Rongxuan: Oh my, thanks to all my peers for the support. Thank you, truly grateful."
The directors who had previously been snide on his Moments all straightened up, reluctantly leaving congratulatory comments, and some even pretended not to have seen it.
Hou Rongxuan didn't care whether those guys saw it or not; over the next few days he continued dragging the production's key creators around for publicity.
Although Xiao He didn't fly out with the crew, because the online discussion about him playing "Zhu Third Brother" was intense, Director Hou asked Xiao He to do a live stream to help promote Killing Life.
So Xiao He picked a day off and went to Feng Songyue's studio, doing a live stream of special-effects makeup while promoting the film.
Feng Songyue was the makeup artist who had done Xiao He's makeup before. Perhaps because she was appearing on camera for the stream, she dressed especially fashionably: a light-green casual blazer from a certain brand paired with a bright floral belt, but her face remained that cold, severe expression. When she saw Xiao He she only slightly nodded in acknowledgment.
Xiao He greeted everyone, then, following Director Hou's instructions, opened the hottest Douyin app to start the live stream.
Soon the stream filled with viewers. Seeing Xiao He, people excitedly called friends and crowded the chat with comments.
"Oh my god, it's the living Mu Ze."
Xiao He: "Yep, alive. Can't die for now."
"It's my first time seeing Xiao Ge do a live stream."
Xiao He: "This was pretty last minute. If there's a chance, I'll stream again."
"What are you doing? Makeup?"
Xiao He: "Yeah. This is the artist who did my makeup, Feng. Her special-effects makeup is amazing; I think you all saw it in Killing Life. The 'Zhu Third Brother' look was done by her."
At the same time Xiao He shifted his seat to "casually" reveal Feng Songyue's studio logo, giving her a bit of covert promotion.
"Wow, the lady is beautiful and talented—awesome!"
"Xiao Ge, I'm actually curious what you think about the Su Shengxi incident."
"Yes, I'm curious too!"
"So does Su Shengxi really dislike Xiao Ge? How do you usually get along on set?"
Xiao He: "...Thanks everyone for supporting Killing Life, and thank you all for the love and attention..."
Questions about Su Shengxi were inevitable, but Xiao He had to ignore them and continued answering other film-related questions.
Soon the less friendly questions were removed by Liu Rulan, who managed the backend, and the chat looked much more harmonious.
Xiao He answered a few more questions, then it became inconvenient for him to speak further. As usual, Feng Songyue moved efficiently, sticking prosthetic skin pieces onto Xiao He's face.
The chat quieted down, but most viewers remained in the stream, eager to see the final result, and more people kept coming to watch.
After a little over an hour, under Feng Songyue's work, the ugly "Zhu Third Brother" gradually took shape.
Many viewers had come for entertainment and curiosity, to confirm whether Xiao He really had played "Zhu Third Brother," but as they witnessed a beautiful woman gradually transforming a handsome man into the hideous Zhu Third Brother, the visual shock and contrast of beauty turning to ugliness made the chat erupt in amazement.
Seeing the dense, shocked comments, Xiao He, now fully made up as Zhu Third Brother, slowly leaned toward the camera and gave the audience Zhu Third Brother's signature cold smile.
Then, in the next moment—
"Your live stream has been banned for suspected violent and bloody content."
Xiao He: ?
Feng Songyue: ?
Viewers: ?
Feng Songyue glanced at Xiao He, then at her phone. Her cold face finally showed surprise. "Don't tell me you just smiled, and our stream got banned."
Xiao He coughed unwillingly. "Yeah… seems like it."
Feng Songyue: "..."
"It must be your smile that violated rules," she said very seriously. "Anyway, it definitely wasn't my makeup being too extreme."
She had to make that clear—she couldn't let her reputation be ruined.
Xiao He: "..."
He didn't care anymore. As long as you're happy (smile).