However, Xiao He didn't share Liu Rulan's optimism.
He felt that market trends could sometimes reveal many things.
If something was merely scarce, it just meant few people could produce quality work. But if something was completely absent, it somewhat indicated it wasn't suitable.
This was the collective choice of the masses, and even renowned directors couldn't escape this reality.
But seeing Liu Rulan's expectant expression, Xiao He tactfully suggested: "Let's look at the script first. What if there aren't any suitable roles for me? That's still uncertain."
"Fair point."
Liu Rulan picked up the script, snapped photos of it with crisp clicking sounds, then handed it to Xiao He: "I'll read on my phone, you read the physical script. We'll go through it together."
Xiao He still didn't refuse, lowering his head to carefully examine the script.
The film currently had no title—whether Director Hou intentionally removed it when sharing or simply hadn't decided on one yet remained unclear. So he skipped this question and went straight to the plot.
The story began with the cliché zombie outbreak, and like many classic zombie film pairings, the protagonists remained a man and a little girl, set in a hospital within some fictional world.
As everyone knew, when zombie outbreaks occurred, hospitals became the most dangerous places, since many unaware infected would be sent there initially.
The male lead encountered the zombie outbreak while bringing his daughter to the hospital for an IV drip.
Due to the extreme urgency and chaos of the situation, the male lead mistakenly grabbed the wrong child during the initial escape—taking another unfamiliar little girl wearing the exact same school uniform as his daughter.
By the time the male lead realized his mistake, the previous location had been completely overrun and became unreachable. The area swarmed with man-eating zombies, and the male lead couldn't even determine whether his daughter remained alive.
To return, he would need to first detour through the inpatient building, then circle around to the emergency room from the other side.
But facing this little girl—the same age as his daughter, her face streaked with helpless and confused tears—the male lead confronted his first moral dilemma: should he abandon this burden immediately, or bring this burden along while searching for his daughter?
Naturally, the story progressed with the male lead taking along this complete stranger who shared no blood relation with him. This decision also stemmed from the hope lingering in his heart—that his daughter might encounter someone equally kind-hearted who would rescue her rather than abandon her.
Thus, the male lead embarked on his journey through hordes of zombies to find his daughter, accompanied by this seven-year-old girl.
Many people remained in the hospital during the outbreak. Under the fear of death, the darkness and distortion within many hearts amplified infinitely. Yet there were also those like the male lead who persisted in rescuing others and held their ground. They gained companions along their journey, only to lose them quickly. They encountered different people and faced numerous choices that tested human nature. Time and again, the male lead contemplated abandoning the little girl as a burden, yet repeatedly chose to protect her. Between life and death, the brilliance of human nature shone brightly...
Clearly, the scriptwriter possessed considerable skill, crafting each ensemble character with vivid authenticity. Particularly the protagonist's final decision and the plot's reversal demonstrated exceptional writing prowess—aspects that could easily collapse the entire narrative if mishandled, yet this writer executed them flawlessly with meticulous attention to detail, avoiding any problematic elements.
Judging by the script, this indeed appeared to be a quality work.
By the time Xiao He finished reading the script, deep night had fallen. He glanced at the clock in the living room, lazily yawned, then looked toward Liu Rulan: "Sister Liu, what do you think?"
Liu Rulan had read faster than Xiao He and had already set aside her phone while waiting for him. Hearing his question, she immediately responded: "I think this script shows promise. The ensemble characterization remains remarkably clear—each character possesses their own highlights and narrative arcs, allowing even non-lead roles to shine."
The male lead role was completely out of consideration. Someone like Xiao He, who didn't even have a girlfriend, certainly couldn't portray a father with a seven or eight-year-old daughter. The production team would undoubtedly seek established actors over thirty for such roles. Moreover, the competition would be extremely fierce—for someone of Xiao He's stature, merely participating would already constitute a significant achievement.
Based on the current script, Liu Rulan recommended for Xiao He a role of a swordsmanship teacher in his twenties.
This teacher served as the primary combat specialist throughout the film. He originally accompanied his crush to the hospital for medical treatment, never expecting such events to unfold. Like the protagonist, he unfortunately became separated from the woman he secretly admired.
Unlike the protagonist, however, he genuinely possessed substantial capability—extremely high combat proficiency that made him a reliably formidable presence during the film's early stages.
Yet in such circumstances, good deeds went unrewarded.
Indeed, during one escape attempt, this teacher suffered betrayal from his companions, nearly losing his life. Even after surviving and escaping back, others suspected him of being infected with the zombie virus.
Human nature revealed itself at this moment.
Even if you had saved everyone, even if you were fundamentally a good person—so what?
You were no longer traveling the same path as everyone else! You only brought danger and death!
Originally just an ordinary, kind-hearted person, the light in his eyes gradually extinguished under everyone's accusations and wariness. Until finally, he silently lifted his weapon...
This represented a relatively complex role—somewhat resembling an honest person forced into becoming an antagonist. It required considerable acting skill to support this series of transformations, ideally demonstrating the character's psychological shifts subtly throughout the performance to avoid appearing overly abrupt.
Compared to other roles, this would be more challenging to portray, but undoubtedly offered greater highlights and personal charisma.
Yet although Xiao He found it reasonably good, he wasn't particularly satisfied.
If pressed to identify what felt inadequate... he couldn't quite articulate it.
The main issue ultimately concerned the genre—he wondered whether killing zombies counted as "knifing people"?
This question had preoccupied Xiao He since receiving the script.
His previous interest in Director Feng's production stemmed from appreciating Feng's action sequences and the genuinely ruthless antagonists whose deadly mind games with protagonists proved thoroughly engaging.
But this project suddenly shifted genres to zombie horror, where the primary antagonists were all zombies. His desire to portray a villain who wreaked havoc across the battlefield became impossible here.
If he attacked zombies—which were formerly human, portrayed by human actors—would he gain points or not?
"What do you think?" Liu Rulan continued questioning Xiao He, "This should be the most suitable role for you among all available options."
Instead of answering, Xiao He countered: "Sister Liu, do you think this role is worth pursuing?"
Liu Rulan frowned slightly, though not angrily, crossing her legs the other way as she asked: "You're dissatisfied with this role?"
"I wouldn't dare criticize a major director's role recklessly," Xiao He denied, "I'm just considering how all these ensemble characters seem quite excellent. The competition will undoubtedly involve numerous big names—possibly an all-star cast. Would I measure up?"
"Whether you can and whether you want to are two different matters."
Xiao He choked on his words.
Sister Liu, with that statement, I don't even know how to respond!