The following day, Liu Rulan flew to Beijing on a business trip, while Xiao He stayed in Shanghai to participate in the various activities that followed.
Time flies and it's already the end of May. The box office growth of "No Bait" has stabilized, but related topics and popularity still occupy the top ten of the entertainment list, and Xiao He's name has successfully spread beyond the circle.
If Xiao He previously only had a good public image and was mostly cast as villains, then the explosive popularity of "No Bait" has undoubtedly propelled him into the ranks of top male stars, and he has directly ranked in the top three on various platforms' star rankings.
Although these lists reflect real-time popularity and no one will hold a position forever, the names on the lists will inevitably change as new works emerge. However, based on these lists, we can see that Xiao He's current fan base and online traffic have reached a new peak and are still climbing.
Now, all Xiao He is missing is a title.
But given the quality of "No Bait" and Xiao He's acting skills, is it too late for such a title to come?
At the end of the month, the preliminary list of nominees for the Baiming Awards will be announced, and online voting by the audience will be opened simultaneously.
The name "No Bait" was prominently listed!
【Here it comes, here it comes, we've finally waited for it!】
【One vote from you, one vote from me, and Xiao He's path to success will shine even brighter.】
【Let me introduce the Baiming Awards, one of the three major film awards in China, a highly prestigious award.】
【I know about this award! But I didn't know it was decided by voting?】
【Huh? Are there still people who don't know about this voting mechanism?】
【I don't know, I've never been a fan of celebrities before, this is my first time following Xiao Ge, and my idol is just too amazing, there's no room for us to even try.】
My understanding of this award is limited to hearing about who won it, but I don't know how it's selected, what the mechanism and process are. Can someone explain it to me? I also want to vote for Brother Xiao.
The Baiming Awards voting process has two core stages. The first is the online voting currently underway, which everyone can participate in. The second is the final on-site voting by 101 audience judges. Therefore, it is also known as the "People's Award," emphasizing "a hundred schools of thought contending" and reflecting the current aesthetic preferences of the public. It is the award that relies most heavily on online traffic and audience votes among the three major awards.
【Thanks for the explanation, ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) so what do I do now? Where do I vote?】
You can check out the official website 【link】
Linghui Entertainment.
Xiao He also received a call from the capital city soon after.
Seeing the phone, Xiao He chuckled, leaned back, and lazily answered, "Hey, Sister Liu, how have you been lately?"
"You brat, I'm so busy here that I don't even have time to rest, while you've been slacking off in the office lately."
Upon hearing the empty sound, Liu Rulan knew where Xiao He was and couldn't help but complain.
Xiao He sat up a little straighter, making his voice less nonchalant: "Sister Liu, I naturally want to take a good rest during this rare free time."
"You mean your break is posting your 20-game winning streak on WeChat Moments?"
Liu Rulan spoke in a low, melancholy tone.
"Ouch."
Xiao He was startled and glanced at his WeChat Moments.
Okay, I've been living too carefree and forgot to block Sister Liu.
There is indeed a suspicion of moral decay.
"Ahem, it's graduation season recently, and Teacher An has been rehired to work as a laborer. It's really not that I want to slack off."
Xiao He immediately tried to justify himself, "Then, as for the vocal coach, they said they've done their best. The biggest success is that I can sing without going off-key. It would be difficult to go any further. So, after thinking it over, I decided that instead of making things difficult for them, I should just give up on myself. Anyway, I'm not cut out to be a singer, so whatever."
Liu Rulan: "...Fine, fine, you have your reasons anyway."
"Hey, Sister Liu, how's everything going in Beijing lately? How's it going? If there's anything you need me for, I'll be there anytime."
"snort."
Liu Rulan snorted coldly, but didn't go into details about what she had been busy with lately. Instead, she said, "I ran into He Jinnian again in Beijing this time. You haven't forgotten our agreement with him, have you?"
"I remember, I remember, I've already made time for it." Xiao He sighed, "I've already turned down several collaboration offers for this, and I've even turned down Director Tannis. I just hope Teacher He won't really drag us into this mess."
Xiao He naturally had a vivid memory of this project, which had consumed most of Linghui Entertainment's funds.
Ho Kam-nin, a renowned and accomplished actor, now wants to transition behind the scenes as a director and make a "sci-fi film" that can be described as a money-devouring beast.
In order to poach He Wenming and other outstanding talents from He Jinnian's studio, and also for long-term future plans, they became He Jinnian's first sucker.
Back then, they spoke with great enthusiasm, saying that it was worth it to invest money and keep Shu Han and He Wenming here, just to hear the noise.
But looking back now at the continuous influx of funds, Xiao He still couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.
Where did he get the audacity to say that Linghui Entertainment could take on such a "sci-fi film"?
You won't believe it until you see it, it's truly a gold-devouring machine!
Fortunately, He Jinnian's connections in the industry over the years still provided some protection, and he was able to assemble the production team quite quickly and raise more funds.
Perhaps fearing that Xiao He might "change his mind" if he waited too long, He Jinnian formally discussed other matters related to the production team with Linghui Entertainment during the Spring Festival this year and began looking for actors.
In order to save costs and to fulfill He Jinnian's promise, Xiao He and Shu Han definitely couldn't escape.
It was truly unexpected that his first collaboration with Shu Han would take place in this way.
Xiao He rubbed his temples: "That's perfect, I'm not busy lately. When will he send me the script?"
"Which role do you want to play?" Liu Rulan asked while casually flipping through the tablet in front of her. "Actually, the script came over in early May, but you were very busy, so we let Shu Han choose first. He thought they were all fine after reading them and replied to Director He. But Director He couldn't make a decision either, so he passed the buck to me."
Xiao He: "...What's so hard to decide?"
“Their main concern is that no matter how the arrangements are made, you and Shu Han will have objections.”
Xiao He and Shu Han's acting skills are beyond question; they can play any role.
In the past, Xiao He would definitely have been Shu Han's supporting actor, which made no problem. Xiao He and Shu Han were senior and junior colleagues, and their status was appropriate, so there was no issue.
But now with "No Bait", Xiao He's fame has skyrocketed. In addition, "No Bait" was originally intended for Shu Han. When the two were competing for the same role, Shu Han lost and left the scene, and Xiao He took off. At this time, the younger generation is no longer a nobody, so the senior's status is somewhat awkward.
This is also why the production team has been hesitant to make a direct decision.
Who should play the lead role is a question worth discussing.
Of course, the most important thing is to see what the two parties involved think.
It's definitely not acceptable to have a senior actor play a supporting role; it would be embarrassing for Shu Han, and it would also cause controversy for Xiao He.
Making Xiao He a supporting character doesn't seem quite right. Xiao He was slightly better than Shu Han back then, and now that he's finally become the male lead, what if he gets ambitious and refuses to be second best? Shu Han wouldn't have the heart to compete with him. Besides, Xiao He is technically the boss, a major shareholder of Linghui Entertainment, and the largest investor in this project.
So after going around in circles, the question eventually fell to Xiao He.
Xiao He understood, then said somewhat speechlessly, "Oh, that's it? Why are they so conflicted? I'm not going to eat anyone."
"Give me a villain, preferably the really bad kind."
"OK."
Liu Rulan was not surprised, as if she had already guessed Xiao He's decision. "Check the script in your email. I'm hanging up now."
"good."
