At the critical moment, Yin Lan raised her arm to block the knife for Wu Wu while shouting loudly: "Wu Wu, run quickly!"
Yin Qi's blade ultimately didn't fall on his sister, but it was during this moment of hesitation that Yin Lan directly wrapped her arms around his waist and violently slammed them both against the large tree behind them—
"BOOM—"
In the next instant, the withered tree suddenly erupted with blinding flames, accompanied by an earth-shattering explosion, the entire courtyard was enveloped in a brilliant white light!
It turned out that after suspecting Yin Qi had problems, Yin Lan had already prepared to perish together with him—she had hollowed out this old tree in the courtyard and buried numerous explosives inside the trunk and soil.
Now, these bombs were finally serving their purpose!
Everyone only felt a dazzling, blinding light burst forth from the tree trunk, followed by the complete disappearance of their five senses as scorching, surging flames erupted outwards, enveloping every person in the courtyard—
And thus, the entire world fell silent.
------------------
The grand finale of Corner Also Season 2 officially concluded.
This filming session also officially drew to a close.
Guo Xinya straightened up, pulling Xiao He who had crashed into the tree to his feet, asking with concern: "That impact against the tree must have been quite painful just now, are you alright?"
Xiao He shook his head with a smile: "I'm fine. Just thinking about finally wrapping up filming fills me with energy right now!"
Guo Xinya couldn't help but chuckle lightly.
Even Yuan Sitong, who was playing Wu Wu nearby, finally breathed a sigh of relief. While urging her assistant to pack up their things, she asked Tang Wenjuan: "Sister Tang, can my character be written out later? Just pretend I died in this finale? I really don't want to see these people anymore."
Tang Wenjuan gave a helpless smile: "That will depend on the production team's arrangements. We might still need you to participate later, mainly depending on Director Yan's plans."
Actually, she was mentally roasting: "For everyone else, finally not having to see you might be the more joyful thing."
Ahem, no helping it—as a manager, self-awareness is essential.
Yan Shaohan came over distributing red envelopes to the people on set: "Happy wrap, happy wrap—"
Xiao He stepped forward, accepting the red envelope Yan Shaohan handed him, finally getting another chance to directly confront him, asking seriously: "Director Yan, when are you going to resume updates?"
These plotlines had truly let him enjoy killing to his heart's content—no wonder many people love playing villains. Villains are genuinely satisfying—slaughtering most of the protagonist team throughout the episodes, only suffering briefly in the final episodes before being instantly killed by the fed-up protagonist unleashing their ultimate move.
—The protagonist indeed has plot armor, being an unkillable cockroach, but his villain character wasn't bad either! Even though he died with one touch in the finale, he didn't live miserably—he killed joyfully and satisfyingly.
Hehe.
Xiao He was already rubbing his hands in anticipation for Corner Also Season 3.
Yan Shaohan's originally smiling expression stiffened slightly.
"Director Yan, filming is great, but don't forget to update!"
Xiao He smiled at him, though it somehow looked more like he was threatening updates while holding a knife.
Yan Shaohan immediately averted his gaze, one hand constantly scratching his cheek, appearing very busy: "Ah, oh, you mean that matter, well, hmm, I know—"
Xiao He: "...As expected of you, Director Yan."
However, Xiao He's intention wasn't actually to pressure him—just joking around—so he didn't bring it up again afterwards.
Meanwhile, Yuan Sitong nearby pricked up her ears and caught a few words, as if seizing Yan Shaohan's weakness, she smilingly went over to ask for a red envelope, then stretched out her hand toward Yan Shaohan: "Director Yan, happy wrap! With the production team's work finished here, you should go back and update, right? I see your fans are already growing impatient."
Yan Shaohan: "..."
Compared to sitting there drawing comics, he still preferred the current filming work!
But since even Yuan Sitong was asking about future developments, it seemed she was quite looking forward to the Season 3 filming plans. So it appeared he really should put in some effort—otherwise, if he kept procrastinating, who knew when the drama version's third season would actually come out...
Thinking this, Yan Shaohan finally became somewhat more serious: "Alright, I understand. I'll start updating when I get back!"
Completely unaware she had ignited Yan Shaohan's motivation to improve, Yuan Sitong: ?
No! Don't update! Don't have Season 3! Don't be in the same production team with this big demon again!
Yuan Sitong didn't understand why, despite asking the same question, she received such a "sky-is-falling" response.
She stared blankly at Yan Shaohan, her desire to continue striking stirring within her, but Tang Wenjuan, who rushed over, promptly covered her mouth while smiling and thanking Yan Shaohan: "We've really troubled Director Yan these days. We'll take our leave now, and we're also very much looking forward to Season 3's filming!"
"Okay!"
After actors like Xiao He and Yuan Sitong, other actors gradually went over to speak with Yan Shaohan, and some didn't forget Assistant Director Fan Congwen either, actively approaching Fan Congwen to chat.
Among them was Liu Rulan.
"I've already heard the news about Xiao He's successful audition with Director Ning—congratulations."
Fan Congwen said.
Although the audition results for No Bait hadn't been officially announced yet, as Director Zhuang's trusted confidant, Fan Congwen naturally already knew the inside information. Liu Rulan wasn't surprised, instead responding with a smile: "Thank you. We also have to thank Director Fan for your care recently, which allowed our Xiao He to have more energy and motivation to compete for this role."
Even though Fan Congwen hadn't actually contributed to this matter, that didn't stop Liu Rulan from complimenting him like this, and he laughed heartily at her words: "Alright, I get it. You're not here to thank me, but to ask for a favor?"
"Nothing major, just wanting to learn about the other No Bait cast members, to let Xiao He get familiar with them in advance."
Liu Rulan said without any hesitation.
Actually, she could have inquired about this kind of information from others, but some relationships need back-and-forth interaction to maintain vitality. Liu Rulan coming to Fan Congwen with such a simple question was actually a way to "owe" Director Fan a favor, giving her more reason to contact Fan Congwen later under the pretext of "repaying the favor."
Fan Congwen glanced sideways at her, understanding her intention, and chuckled without refusing: "Fine, once the auditions officially conclude, I'll notify you of the list."
Liu Rulan's eyes immediately lit up: "That's wonderful, thank you Director Fan!"
"No problem, it's just a small matter."
While Liu Rulan and Fan Congwen were exchanging compliments, Xiao He and Guo Xinya also filmed several Douyin short videos and took photos related to the wrap, preparing them as promotional materials for later.
They also didn't forget to announce this news to their fans on Weibo.
Soon, excited fans flooded the comments section.
[Wishing Corner Also massive success! Hope Jiao Dai, that old scoundrel, hurries back to draw comics—we really can't wait any longer!]
[Looking forward to the drama version of Corner Also! Anticipating the visual team storming the domestic entertainment industry! Hehehe.]
[Wow, Xiao He and Sister Xinya seem to have a great relationship! Their sibling bond both on and off-screen feels so heartwarming.]
[Looking forward to Xiao He's Yin Qi!]
[So glad the earlier car accident didn't affect Xiao He—surviving great misfortune brings later blessings! Wishing Corner Also huge success, and looking forward to Xiao He's Yin Qi providing a unique experience for everyone.]
Amid the fans' eager anticipation, the Festival finally arrived—
-
The Xiao family didn't have strict traditions about returning home for Spring Festival.
Mainly because Xiao He's family relationships were relatively simple—the older generation was quite open-minded, and close relatives were easy to visit, so everyone could discuss and arrange things flexibly, gathering when possible without forcing it if not.
Even though previous Spring Festival dinner tables had relatively few people and lacked particularly interesting family activities, the holiday atmosphere at home remained strong, and family relationships remained excellent.
However, Father Xiao and Mother Xiao still missed their son very much, especially since Xiao He hadn't returned last year and had continued filming during the Spring Festival period, making Mother Xiao worry about her son.
Coupled with the earlier car accident incident, Father Xiao and Mother Xiao couldn't sit still any longer and flew directly to Beijing to personally confirm their child's safety and celebrate Spring Festival with Xiao He.
Seeing Father Xiao and Mother Xiao arrive, Xiao He was very happy, taking his parents to several famous Beijing landmarks for photo opportunities on the first day.
Father Xiao had actually visited Beijing for work-related training before and still had some impressions of the city, but that was many years ago. Now in Beijing, witnessing the rapidly changing cityscape, he couldn't help but express his feelings.
The family stayed in Beijing for over a week.
During this time, Xiao He also took his parents to the cinema to watch The Phantom Thief Alliance.