The van was heading back toward the villa when Xiao He suddenly felt like he'd forgotten something. But his mind was still preoccupied with the absurd spectacle of "all the heroes gathered together" at the audition site, so he asked Sister Liu for his laptop and began investigating right there in the vehicle.
Actually, the bloody aura around that producer Dong Zeng was quite understandable. Anyone who knew about that era in Hong Kong understood - gangsters ran rampant, with over fifty different gangs large and small. Later, many people like Dong Zeng washed themselves clean and went legitimate, transforming into producers and big bosses who entered the entertainment industry with clean hands and could once again walk openly as respectable people.
Their methods went without saying - extremely clean and efficient. They'd long since learned to deal with officials and developed their own survival strategies. Whatever Xiao He could investigate now probably wouldn't uncover more evidence than what the police already had.
As for Feng Zhengyang, that was even easier to understand - he was most likely the culprit responsible for his lover's mysterious disappearance all those years ago!
Unfortunately, Xiao He couldn't use his hacking skills to find any useful clues. After all, the police had known he was suspicious back then and had investigated him multiple times. All the clues that could be found, and even those that shouldn't have been found, had already been uncovered. It wasn't possible for Xiao He to suddenly discover everything just by looking now.
However...
Xiao He had a vague intuition that these people coming to the domestic entertainment industry to make a movie now meant something unusual was happening.
This situation felt more like something was about to be exposed, and they were preparing to make one big score before running away.
If that were the case, many things would actually make sense - the zombie-themed script, casting based on capital rather than acting skills, and the massive audition marketing campaign...
Now when Xiao He considered their behavior, it felt like these people were in a hurry, a tremendous hurry.
Thinking this, Xiao He looked through the list of "victim" participants currently circulating online again, then nodded with satisfaction: Hmm, good, good. All people he remembered as not particularly good, each with their own problems.
Though he didn't know what stage the police investigation had reached, judging by how frantically these people were trying to make money, Xiao He felt they probably wouldn't be able to keep this up for much longer.
To avoid alerting them and affecting the police's plans, Xiao He just sent a few anonymous tip-off letters and didn't take any further action.
Honestly, wouldn't it be unfortunate if these guys got rounded up right when the movie was released?
...Ahem, Xiao He absolutely wouldn't admit he was taking pleasure in their potential misfortune.
Indeed, sometimes you really had to acknowledge the truth of that saying - "The domestic entertainment industry has never had unbeatable opponents, it's all thanks to the contrast provided by peers."
Just as Xiao He was happily imagining the entertainment to come, his phone suddenly rang.
Looking at the caller ID, Xiao He finally remembered what he'd forgotten earlier.
"Damn, did you forget about your brothers just because you succeeded at the audition?" Liu Zehang's voice came through. "You heartless scoundrel, I've been wrong about you all along—"
"Ahem, sorry about that~ This meal's on me, my treat!"
Xiao He also felt somewhat embarrassed and quickly arranged to meet Liu Zehang at a nearby restaurant.
When Liu Zehang arrived, Xiao He noticed someone following behind him.
The person didn't look very old. Even with precise, mature makeup, that doll-like face still made them appear quite young.
"This is my new agent, Cheng Xue," Liu Zehang introduced.
"Hello Mr. Xiao, hello Sister Liu."
Cheng Xue politely greeted Xiao He and Liu Rulan.
Liu Rulan looked somewhat surprised, then nodded slightly: "Hello."
Xiao He also nodded.
Liu Zehang walked over to Xiao He and said with a smile, "Don't let Sister Cheng's youth fool you - she's already a mother of two with super strong professional skills. I had to twist the company's arm quite a bit to snatch Sister Cheng over."
Xiao He was surprised: "Ah?"
Looking at that doll face, he'd thought she was a fresh graduate just starting as an agent!
Liu Rulan also spoke up at the right moment: "Xiao Xue was only one year behind me in school. We're probably around the same age."
Cheng Xue revealed a smile: "Yes, but it really has been a long time, Sister Liu."
Liu Rulan: "I thought you'd really decided to focus all your energy on family life."
Cheng Xue shrugged indifferently: "I got divorced, so I had to come back to work to earn tuition for the children."
Liu Rulan paused for a moment, then didn't say anything more: "Then welcome back."
"Thank you."
The group chatted as they walked and entered the pre-booked private room.
Liu Zehang asked Xiao He about the audition results: "How do you think the audition went? Anyway, I have a bad feeling about it. Now it's up to you to win some face for your brother."
Xiao He spread his hands: "I have no hope."
Liu Zehang was puzzled: "So certain?"
"I'm quite sure. I just don't know if you pulled any strings on your end."
"Damn," Liu Zehang cursed quietly. "Isn't this supposed to be fair competition? You need connections too?"
"Right? I suspect many people who went were just brought along to generate traffic."
"What? Really?"
Liu Zehang found it hard to believe, or rather, he couldn't understand why a major director would do this. After all, this was something that couldn't stay hidden forever. Once everyone figured it out, Director Feng's image and reputation would be affected.
If Director Feng wanted to make movies and find actors in the future, it wouldn't be as easy as it is now.
"Just wait and see," Xiao He said. "Based on the nature of these marketing campaigns, there will definitely be rumors tonight. The chosen one might even be beyond what you or I can imagine."
"Anyway, as long as it's not Chen Yulin, anyone is fine," Liu Zehang said without hesitation.
Xiao He: "Heh."
If it really was him, that would be just perfect - poisoning a whole nest at once.
Since no one was drinking alcohol, the meal ended quickly. But before they could even leave the restaurant, the final results of the audition had already been announced online.
Looking at the name, Liu Zehang started with a loud "What the fuck?"
"How is it really him?"
Staring at the name "Chen Yulin," Liu Zehang gritted his teeth in anger: "Damn! How is it really this guy? This is genuinely insulting."
Liu Zehang could accept being fairly beaten by someone with better acting skills. He could accept both good brothers failing together, becoming companions in misfortune. But he absolutely couldn't accept this guy succeeding at the audition!
Chen Yulin? Heh, what a joke. Guess why someone with such good resources always ended up as supporting male roles instead of leads? Was it because he didn't want to?
Though Liu Zehang had been overshadowed by Chen Yulin's popularity, when it came to acting skills, Liu Zehang had always been confident.
But this time?
[Ahhh, it's really Chen! So great! Looking forward to it!]
[Congratulations Chen! Now you've also participated in a major director's film! So awesome!]
[Inside news: Liu Zehang, Su Ji, and Le Yuanbai were also at the audition. Our Chen's acting has really improved!]
[What? Those others were at the audition too? That's just perfect. Certain fans are always making sarcastic comments, saying our Chen can't act. Now they're getting slapped in the face, heh. The director and the public have sharp eyes.]
[Right, our Chen's acting has always been good. The roles of Mo Bai and Second Young Master will always have a special place in my heart. Those people are just panicking, afraid our Chen will become popular.]
...
Looking at the comments below, Liu Zehang rolled his eyes dramatically: "Among everyone who came to audition, only Chen Yulin's acting skills are visibly nonexistent. And now his fans actually found an opportunity to crow about it."
Anyone with eyes could see there must be something shady about this audition. Every single actor mentioned had better acting skills than Chen Yulin! Choosing a pretty face over several skilled actors?
Absolutely laughable.
Xiao He shrugged: "It's fine. I'm obscure enough that no one pays attention to me."
Laughable indeed - in the comparison battles, he didn't even have a name.
But that was fine too - Xiao He was quite content with his obscurity.
"Sigh—" Liu Zehang reached out and patted Xiao He. "No helping it. We've all been used. Next we'll probably have to scramble for other resources and scripts again. Let's work hard together."
Xiao He made a fist and bumped it against Liu Zehang's: "Work hard. Looking forward to meeting next time."
"Yeah, looking forward to next time."
Though neither Xiao He nor Liu Zehang could have anticipated just how quickly their next meeting would occur—