In the morning, Xiao He was packing his things to leave when he suddenly heard He Junhao's excited scream: "Ahhh! This is amazing! Instant karma! Brother Xiao, that company that screwed me over got investigated! That Manager Yu who tricked me into signing the contract was even handcuffed and taken away! Haha, this is so damn satisfying!"
Xiao He paused his packing and turned to look at the overjoyed He Junhao, smiling slightly: "That's truly wonderful!"
"I'm so happy! Serves him right for being shady and exploiting employees!"
He Junhao continued cursing Manager Yu while explaining that everyone seemed to think this incident was caused by some programmer close to Manager Yu. It showed just how terrible that company was.
Xiao He, who had orchestrated all this, simply smiled without claiming credit. After exchanging a few more words with He Junhao, he bid farewell.
After getting in the car, Xiao He arrived at the "Starry Radiance" set to report for duty.
"Starry Radiance," jointly produced by Fruit Video, Jiaxing Entertainment, Taidong Entertainment and several other companies, had a massive investment of 140 million yuan, making it a top-tier S+ production. Directed by Wen Hongyuan with screenplay by Tan Yuan, the male lead was Zhang Mo from Taidong Entertainment while the second male lead was Su Shengxi from Jiaxing Entertainment. The plot mainly revolved around their characters' storylines.
The current industry standard of veteran actors mentoring rising stars was fully represented in this drama. Male lead Zhang Mo, now 42, had won the White Magnolia Best Actor award and was widely recognized in the industry as a skilled performer.
Second male lead Su Shengxi was a popular idol transitioning into acting and singing, bringing his own massive fanbase but lacking any notable works so far, still in that awkward transition period desperately needing this spy drama to prove himself.
As for the female lead, it was Yi Man'er from the same company as Zhang Mo, playing Su Shengxi's love interest in the drama.
Here came the juiciest part - from what Xiao He had learned earlier, Yi Man'er and Xu Youyou were rivals, while Xu Youyou was secretly dating Su Shengxi. Yet now Yi Man'er had to play Su Shengxi's girlfriend in the drama...
Xiao He thought: See this mess? Better enjoy the chaos while it lasts.
He admitted having some schadenfreude after learning about this situation.
What could he say? People naturally loved drama.
After signing his contract with Producer Ma and getting his makeup done, Xiao He stepped out to witness an awkward scene -
Su Shengxi and Yi Man'er sat at opposite ends of the set, expressions cold as they studied their scripts separately. The crew moved about carefully along clear dividing lines, with only director Wen Hongyuan appearing professionally engaged as he discussed scenes with Zhang Mo.
Xiao He looked around and couldn't help rubbing his arms.
Brr, so cold!
Winter was definitely coming - even the air felt chilly.
"Xiao He, you're here? Come, let me introduce you to everyone—"
Director Wen called out to Xiao He and gestured him over. Xiao He obediently approached.
"Ahem, everyone, this is our new actor Xiao He, who will be playing Meng Zetian."
At the director's words, the crew politely applauded.
Xiao He glanced around at unfamiliar faces, simply nodding and smiling politely.
Su Shengxi didn't pay much attention to a small-time actor like Xiao He, applauding perfunctorily before excusing himself to take a call. However, his manager Liu Rulan studied Xiao He thoughtfully.
The actors from Taidong Entertainment were notably friendlier toward Xiao He.
"I've heard Liu Zehang mention you before."
Contrary to Xiao He's expectations, Yi Man'er wasn't as aloof as she appeared earlier, even initiating conversation.
Hearing this, Xiao He immediately understood - Liu Zehang from "Killing Life" was also from Taidong Entertainment.
Though he'd moved to another production, Xiao He kept in touch with several people from "Killing Life," even joining a small group chat. Just yesterday Liu Zehang mentioned that "Killing Life" had finished shooting and entered post-production.
However, since the real-life inspiration Li Zhicheng had been found dead, police reopened the case and seemed to be investigating something. This put the project in a delicate position, with the director worried it might get shut down before completion. They were now racing against time to finish and release the film before any intervention.
Hearing this had chilled Xiao He's heart.
He'd been relying on his "Mu Ze" role while eagerly awaiting "Zhu Third Brother's" official debut.
If the project got axed midway, those two months would've been wasted.
Liu Zehang shared these concerns, but they encouraged each other, hoping the film could release smoothly.
Casually mentioning his new role during their chat, Xiao He was touched that Liu Zehang remembered and had put in a good word for him in advance.
Planning to properly thank Liu Zehang later, Xiao He politely responded to Yi Man'er: "Thank you. As a newcomer, I'll need to learn much from Ms.Yi. I'll be troubling you during this time."
"Oh, no need to be so formal. Just call me Sister Yi."
Unlike Xu Youyou's innocent white flower image, Yi Man'er had a vibrant, striking beauty with deep facial features, arched willow-leaf eyebrows, and period-appropriate wavy curls paired with a stylish Western dress, appearing both intellectual and elegant.
Xiao He couldn't help recalling fans' description of Yi Man'er:
—A stunning red rose, eternally classic, radiant and gorgeous.
He had to admit this wasn't just fan bias - among recent actresses he'd met, Yi Man'er truly had the best combination of looks and presence.
During their chat, Yi Man'er introduced Xiao He to others on set. With her as intermediary, the crew began regarding Xiao He more seriously, no longer treating him as some unaffiliated newcomer.
Xiao He smiled while inwardly marveling.
Previously working alone on sets without agents or assistants, he'd managed fine. In those productions, even established actors like Zhuo Jianhua and Bao Wei handled things themselves. Apart from Liu Zehang having one assistant, "former child star" Pu Rong worked solo too. Xiao He had never seen such extravagance before.
In this major production, every actor regardless of fame came with entourages.
Less famous ones had single assistants, while top stars like Su Shengxi and Yi Man'er brought entire teams - a dozen people with specialized roles entirely devoted to their employers.
By comparison, Xiao He's unaffiliated status made him stick out like a sore thumb.
But since he was here to act, not socialize, Xiao He didn't need to befriend everyone.
After touring with Yi Man'er, Xiao He politely declined further invitations and found a quiet corner to settle in.