After returning to Shanghai, Xiao He became even busier.
Although his main profession now was acting, he could still accept other lucrative opportunities since they earned money. Especially after "Thief Catcher," Xiao He's fame had grown significantly compared to before, and activities and advertisements seeking him out sprouted like bamboo shoots after rain. If Xiao He hadn't been filming in Haishi at the time, even more opportunities would have likely come his way.
So during this period after returning, Xiao He was completely occupied with rushing through these commitments.
Among them, the most important one was the photoshoot for CKOOL magazine.
CKOOL was currently China's most renowned and commercially valuable men's magazine, exploring trend culture and humanistic sentiments from a fashion perspective. It typically featured not only male entertainment stars but also focused on industry elites, successful business figures, and even other notable, representative personalities.
Xiao He's ability to appear in this magazine was partly due to the massive success of "Thief Catcher," which led the resurgence of traditional Chinese-style martial arts films. On the other hand, Xiao He himself had already appeared multiple times in news reports, and his several life-saving incidents were topics worthy of deep exploration and discussion. Considering all these factors, Xiao He successfully became this issue's interview guest.
As Xiao He's first magazine photoshoot, Liu Rulan took it very seriously, bringing him in advance to communicate with CKOOL magazine's styling team.
Although Xiao He had tried his best with sun protection during his filming in Haishi, after returning to Shanghai, he had inevitably gotten noticeably tanner.
So after adjustments by the styling team, they decided to shoot a series of slightly wild desert western cowboy-style photos for Xiao He.
However, Xiao He had only taken a few commercial artistic photos like this when their studio was established. Back then, Liu Rulan had invited a famous photographer to the studio for the shoot, and there weren't many people on site.
This time, Xiao He had to directly face a massive shooting team of dozens of people, then follow the photographer's directions to strike different poses. Even with mental preparation beforehand, Xiao He felt his ears burning with embarrassment.
"Psst, Xiao Chen, give me the small mirror."
Taking advantage of a break, Xiao He quickly requested assistance.
Xiao Chen hurriedly handed Xiao He the small mirror he carried with him, while looking confused. "Brother Xiao, when did you become so narcissistic?"
He never used to admire himself in small mirrors before.
Xiao He: "...Xiao Chen, if you say anymore, I'll have Sister Liu throw you out."
Xiao Chen immediately obediently zipped his lips manually.
Xiao He then gave himself positive psychological suggestions.
After Liu Rulan's reminder, Xiao He had readjusted his criminal aura, preserving that dangerous and mysterious unique quality while preventing people from becoming overly fearful and defensive, which would affect his normal daily life and social interactions. When needed, such as for future auditions, he could modify and adjust it as appropriate.
Now, Xiao He discovered another great use for this skill - cheering himself up.
Yes, although it seemed somewhat silly, like something a naive, cheerful female lead in an idol drama would do, you had to admit it was really effective!
After psyching himself up, he became energetic, super motivated to work, his entire state exceptionally positive and full of vitality, without feeling tired at all.
The effect was so good that everyone who tried it praised it, comparable to taking stimulants.
The only downside was that after the effect wore off, he'd feel more mentally exhausted, and his body couldn't handle continuous high-intensity work. So Xiao He generally didn't use it much, and even when he did, he used it very sparingly - but in this current situation... he had to use it!
Otherwise, being surrounded by so many people while the photographer asked him to wildly exude charm toward the camera could randomly scare an introvert to death.
Moreover, Xiao He really didn't know where this photographer had studied, but after making these peculiar poses, the candid photos actually turned out quite handsome.
Finally, with his state properly adjusted, Xiao He went all out, and the previously somewhat slow shooting progress instantly advanced at rocket speed.
Xiao Chen, who had watched the entire process from the side, glanced at the energetic Xiao He, then curiously looked down at the small mirror in his hand, murmuring quietly, "Is Brother Xiao's mirror really that effective?"
His entire spirit and energy were completely different now!
Saying this, Xiao Chen also raised the small mirror, cheering himself up while looking at his reflection: "Come on, Xiao Chen, you're the best~"
"Smack—"
Liu Rulan, who had approached from behind, slapped Xiao Chen hard on the back of his head, her tone unfriendly. "What are you muttering about? Stop preening and go refill the water over there! We need to go to the next location for our appointment soon!"
Xiao Chen rubbed the back of his head, putting away his small mirror with a wronged expression. "Oh, I understand, Sister Liu..."
Wah, this method isn't effective at all!
...
After working nonstop for several days, National holiday arrived.
Only then did the dizzyingly busy Xiao He finally remember that he now seemed to be the boss of a studio.
He was the boss! The supreme boss! What was wrong with giving himself a vacation?
He had been working nonstop for nearly four months!
Coincidentally, Liu Rulan walked in at that moment: "Today—"
"Today is a holiday!" Xiao He waved his hand heroically. "We finally finished the previous commitments, so don't accept any more for now. Let's rest recently to celebrate with the nation!"
Liu Rulan blinked: "Huh? But—"
"I'm the boss, what I say goes!"
After pausing, Xiao He even magnanimously decided: "Everyone has worked hard recently, give them another big red envelope too!"
"Well, alright then..."
Liu Rulan shrugged seemingly helplessly, then turned to leave.
"Hey, wait, you haven't said why you came—"
Seeing her about to leave directly, Xiao He asked somewhat puzzled from behind.
"Oh, I just came to tell you about our studio having a holiday during National Holiday."
Liu Rulan turned her head back, smiling at Xiao He: "I just didn't expect the boss to be so generous, even giving us an additional big red envelope. I thank the boss on behalf of all employees~"
Xiao He: ...
Damn! Miscalculation!
-
This National Holiday, Xiao He spent it with Father Xiao and Mother Xiao.
Xiao He's family relationships were relatively simple - his parents had relatively few siblings, and everyone didn't interact frequently. So during holidays, they preferred enjoying their small family world or traveling.
But this year was somewhat special - it was Father Xiao's turn to be on duty, so after thinking it over, they decided not to travel but rather spend a quiet life at home.
However, as someone in the industry, Xiao He specifically set aside time to watch all the movies released during this National Holiday period at the cinema.
You had to admit, during Spring Festival and National Holiday slots, theatrical releases were completely bloody storms.
Of course, this wasn't referring to content, but rather the competitive atmosphere.
Especially based on Xiao He's recent movie viewings, he found that the quality of several National Day releases this year was actually quite good.
He didn't know if it was because policies had loosened in recent years, but now the themes and content people filmed were more diverse, no longer limited to certain genres or templates.
Xiao He even saw a plot where a protagonist with villain attributes ultimately succeeded.
It was a movie starring award-winning actor He Jinnian, where the character he played wasn't truly a good person - he had done many bad things, but also many good deeds.
Under normal circumstances, such a character would either die or be arrested, with no other outcomes.
However, the ending the director presented was that the protagonist's whereabouts became unknown.