The next day, the prank short video filmed by Xiao He's studio successfully rode the coattails of "Hidden Star Shine" to trend on Hot Search.
It had to be said that funny prank videos remained popular no matter the era.
Especially when the prank target was a celebrity—that intense curiosity and gossipy desire to join the excitement would drive passersby to gather and watch.
Plus, Xiao He didn't carry any celebrity pretensions. Even when "acting," his reactions felt genuine, and his interactions with Xiao Chen and Liu Rulan were very down-to-earth, making viewers laugh along heartily rather than feel repulsed.
[Haha, as expected, fermented mung bean juice equally punishes every unbeliever.]
[It's really hard to drink, fam, don't even try it!]
[Actually, I think fermented mung bean juice is quite tasty, not as exaggerated as people say.]
[I wanted to argue at first, but then I saw your location—a genuine Beijing native, so never mind then.]
[Let me put it this way: if anyone's really curious, you can randomly find an elderly man on the street during summer, have him lift his arm, and take a lick of his armpit—the taste should be about the same.]
[Ah? Instantly talked a little girl with excessive curiosity out of it.]
[So between fish mint and fermented mung bean juice, which tastes worse?]
[That would still be fish mint.]
[Fermented mung bean juice and fish mint... truly a difficult choice.]
[So I choose herbal tea instead.]
"Hidden Star Shine" itself had a relatively serious theme, so after briefly marketing the prank video, Liu Rulan quickly let the heat die down—perfectly helping promote the drama's publicity without causing audience aversion.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Su Shengxi continued frantically marketing despite facing widespread ridicule.
"Hidden Star Shine" itself had a relatively serious theme, so after briefly marketing the prank video, Liu Rulan quickly let the heat die down—perfectly helping promote the drama's publicity without causing audience aversion.
Every time Xiao He saw this scene, he couldn't help but sigh with mixed emotions.
That Su Shengxi's fans had persisted to this extent was both admirable and heartbreaking.
Xiao He wasn't even sure whether they were clinging to Su Shengxi himself or to the sincere love they had invested in their past selves.
But he could only sigh softly and continue focusing on his own matters...
...
A few days later, the phrase [Meng Zetian Must Die] trended on Hot Search again.
In the recent episodes of "Hidden Star Shine," Li Shuo's best old partner and former handler, Old Zou, was captured and sacrificed.
---------------------------
Old Zou had originally evacuated and hidden in a very safe place. But because of an extremely important secret intelligence document, he returned to Shanghai to destroy it, unaware that a trap had already been set, waiting for him to walk right in.
Actually, as viewers with omniscient perspective watching the entire process, it was clear this was a certain death scenario targeting Old Zou.
Once Old Zou showed himself, he was doomed.
But Old Zou had no choice—that intelligence was too crucial, even relating to Li Shuo's identity. Even knowing it was a trap, he had to personally jump in to confirm.
This was equivalent to Old Zou using his own life to provide Li Shuo with one final safeguard—his death would prove Li Shuo's safety and allow him to continue undercover.
So this was destined to be a one-way journey.
Yet Old Zou walked it without hesitation.
"Bang—"
With the final gunshot, Li Shuo seemed to sense something, suddenly turning his head and pushing forward against the screaming crowd.
The crowd today was unusually dense, squeezing him until he could barely breathe.
It felt like something was choking his throat, preventing him from making any sound, even a choked sob.
The powerful flow of people almost swept him backward, but his final rationality and determination made him grit his teeth and surge forward.
Finally, Li Shuo stood at the center of chaos, watching his longtime partner collapse in a pool of blood—his breath hitched for a moment.
"He should still be alive, go restrain him! Don't let him die!"
The shooter was Meng Zetian, who had decisively shot Old Zou in the leg when he saw him about to escape.
As Meng Zetian spoke, his subordinates swarmed forward, surrounding the fallen man.
Li Shuo took a deep breath and strode over as well.
"Section Chief Li, you're usually quite proactive. Why so sluggish today?"
Meng Zetian walked over, his dark, profound eyes deeply fixed on Li Shuo, his tone carrying casual probing: "Could it be you're afraid of running into someone familiar?"
Li Shuo forcibly controlled his neck muscles to form a smile, his eyes revealing no emotion: "It's just that Captain Meng's operation was too grand—I wanted to rush to the front to claim some credit, but couldn't find any opportunity to squeeze in."
"Oh, is that so..."
Meng Zetian didn't press further, neither confirming nor denying belief, simply squatting beside Old Zou and lifting his face with the gun barrel: "I'll give you a chance today—if you're willing to identify someone, I might make your remaining time less painful."
But Old Zou didn't even flicker his gaze, his eyes firmly locked on Meng Zetian's face as he revealed a faint smile.
The next moment, massive amounts of blood gushed from his nose and mouth, directly splattering all over Meng Zetian.
Li Shuo instinctively stepped forward, then controlled himself to help Meng Zetian up, his voice filled with concern: "Captain Meng! Are you alright? We must be careful with these people—who knows what dangerous items they might be carrying, we could all be in danger!"
Someone nearby immediately stepped forward and viciously kicked Old Zou, flipping him onto the ground.
Meng Zetian stared at the man on the ground, already sensing something wrong. Before he could call for a car to the hospital, Old Zou on the ground laughed three times and spat blood at Meng Zetian again: "Son of a bitch, I'll be waiting for you in hell—"
Then his head tilted, his breathing completely ceased.
Even until death, those eyes remained fixed on Meng Zetian.
—Until his final moment, Old Zou didn't dare spare a single glance toward Li Shuo.
He feared his dead eyes might uncontrollably reveal emotion, and that his final gaze might bring suspicion upon Li Shuo.
These old friends, longtime partners with years of camaraderie, didn't even get to say goodbye or exchange one final look before being separated by life and death, never to meet again.
What was Li Shuo thinking in that moment?
Was it overwhelming hatred, burning rage, or uncontrollable grief?
Li Shuo himself didn't know what he was thinking.
Even until death, those eyes remained fixed on Meng Zetian.
"Haven't I said it multiple times—when capturing someone, you must search them first, especially their mouths? Are you idiots treating my words as wind passing by your ears?"
Meng Zetian was furious that his captured prize had died, grabbing his subordinates and roaring loudly.
The berated men glanced at each other, then hunched their shoulders and quietly defended themselves: "We really did check—there was nothing in his mouth..."
"Nothing, nothing!"
Meng Zetian grabbed one man's hat, half-insulting and half-venting as he slapped their heads with it, his expression turning ice-cold and ruthless.
Finally, Li Shuo composed himself and approached Meng Zetian to speak up for the subordinates: "This guy probably took poison before coming—judging by his appearance, he likely came prepared to die. Captain Meng, please calm down—we should focus on how to explain this to headquarters!"
"Heh—"
Meng Zetian directly brushed off Li Shuo's hand, holstering his gun with the other, his eyes sharp as knives, his tone cold and hard: "You, and Bai Mingchuan—both of you better behave. I'll be watching you closely!"
Then he commanded his men and left without looking back.
Li Shuo stood in place, watching the vehicles drive away, his hands slowly clenching into fists.
The surrounding crowd returned to their previous state, people hurriedly coming and going—only the remaining bloodstain on the ground silently testified that a life had been lost here.
Li Shuo lifted his head, looking at the gradually darkening sky, struggling to contain his sorrow as he forced out a faint smile.
And in this moment, Li Shuo solidified his next course of action—
Meng Zetian must die!