"Okay, I agree."
Xiao He only thought about it for a moment before immediately agreeing to it.
"During the later promotion, we tried to downplay my relationship with 'Public Enemy Number One' and make it more like a project of Linghui Entertainment, and also more like my role as the boss."
Liu Rulan understood: "You still think that what Rongding Media is doing will backfire?"
If Rongding is implicated in a scandal, then "Public Enemy Number One" will also be affected. And once "Public Enemy Number One" is affected, given Xiao He's popularity, someone will definitely try to link this matter to Xiao He.
If Xiao He were an actor, he might not have that much autonomy, but since Xiao He is a boss, it's a different story.
When a boss makes an investment, failures are inevitable. In the end, "Public Enemy Number One" will just be a relatively unsuccessful investment project in his hands.
—As an aside, it's worth mentioning that "Public Enemy Number One" had already recouped all its funding by the middle of its run and started making money rapidly.
However, just like its core theme, the influencer economy comes and goes quickly. The popularity and buzz are fleeting. The initial buzz is replaced by something else later. Therefore, in the eyes of many people, it is just a quick way to make money and is inherently full of uncertainty.
"It's not that I feel like it, I can now be certain."
Xiao He gave a helpless, bitter smile.
If the police had simply arrested a small-time online porn star yesterday, it wouldn't have been a big deal. Such people know very little and can only provide a few clues. The police would most likely not have linked the live streaming platform to Rongding Media based on a card found in a roadside trash can.
The problem is that before Xiao He left, he gave Zhou Junhao some pointers, asking Zhou Junhao to be the one to "break the deadlock".
He believed that with Zhou Junhao involved, the police might actually be able to use this seemingly "ordinary" car theft case to escalate to the live-streaming app case that they were also struggling to investigate.
Although he seemed to have done nothing, he indirectly accelerated the progress of the case investigation!
This might seem like shooting himself in the foot, but Xiao He wouldn't regret it.
Liu Rulan looked thoughtful: "In that case, we need to accelerate the commercialization process of the contestants."
In other words, they wanted to make as much money as possible before things went wrong.
The only pity might be the other contestants. They worked so hard to record the variety show, but in the end, they might not be able to stay.
Xiao He could only consider that if the contestants involved in the company's illegal and disorderly conduct were exposed, they would try their best to save the variety show through editing and post-production, so that "Public Enemy Number One" would not end up being taken off the air.
"Let's get started on it soon. Mr. Huang can come over to film anytime," Xiao He said. "We won't remind the production team for now, to avoid causing panic. Just let them do their jobs."
What he can guarantee now is that the final episode of "Public Enemy Number One" will be broadcast successfully.
Perhaps this is the essence of the influencer economy.
They arrive with great fanfare, but most of their lives are as fleeting as fireworks.
...
Liu Rulan quickly arranged a meeting time with Xiao Huang.
However, what arrived even before Xiao Huang ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ was the news that Xiao He had been officially shortlisted for the Hundred Star Award.
On July 21st at 9 PM, the final list of nominees for the Baiming Awards was officially announced.
Unsurprisingly, "No Bait" was on the list.
Almost as soon as the official website released the news, the good news spread throughout the entire internet.
Xiao He also learned about this immediately.
When he saw his name on the list of Best Actor, even though he knew it was only a final nomination and the final competition for Best Actor was still undecided, Xiao He still couldn't help but feel happy.
He subconsciously glanced at Liu Rulan beside him.
Liu Rulan's face did not reveal any extra emotions. She simply glanced at the list and then put down her phone, as if all of this was expected.
No, that's not right. Perhaps it wasn't just the nomination, but also the award itself... that was something she had already expected.
Xiao He couldn't help but glance at Liu Rulan a few more times.
Liu Rulan indeed looked at him: "What? You're not shocked, are you?"
"No, not at all."
Xiao He answered honestly.
Given his performance in "No Bait," it would be surprising if he hadn't been nominated.
"I'm just thinking about whether I can win an award."
Liu Rulan raised an eyebrow, then chuckled: "What's there to think about? If you can get it, it means it was meant to be yours. If you can't, it just means those damn judging panel members are biased and can't tell the difference between good and bad, not that you're not good enough. So just prepare your speech yourself, just like Bai Mulan last time. The preparation is pretty much the same. If you really can't express your emotions, just ask the publicity department to write it for you."
That's not what I meant.
Xiao He shook his head helplessly.
Upon hearing Liu Rulan mention Bai Mulan, Xiao He couldn't help but recall the scene from back then.
In fact, Xiao He has always been quite confident.
Especially after understanding the workings behind these selections and realizing that the awards were merely subjective titles chosen by people, Xiao He became less fixated on them.
However, he will still feel disappointed.
For example, at the Mulan Awards ceremony, he missed out on Best Supporting Actor because of his opposing stances; and at the Cannes Film Festival, he was completely ineligible for Best Actor due to his nationality, identity, and the nature of his role.
He was originally just an "outsider" who stumbled into the scene by mistake, but unexpectedly, he gradually carried the expectations and hopes of many people along the way.
Xiao He, too, did not want to disappoint everyone.
【Unsurprisingly, but still a pleasant surprise! Let's look forward to Xiao Ge winning the award!】
【Ahhh, just one last step! Our Brother Xiao absolutely has to win the Best Actor award!】
【Is there a chance? Is there a chance? I just looked at the other competitors, and their works from last year to this year seem pretty average. No one can surpass Brother Xiao.】
【Shh, it's not that bad, it's not that bad. There are still the Spring Festival and National Day releases ahead, and the films there are all pretty good. However, I wonder if the actors' performances will be affected by their roles; otherwise, I feel like Brother Xiao will repeat last year's regret.】
【Last year? What happened last year?】
【Best Supporting Actor for *White Magnolia*... I genuinely think Meng Zetian's performance was quite good, but everyone knows his background is too sensitive; he's not suitable for an award.】
【This time, the character without bait is also a villain, which I find a bit questionable.】
【What? Why can't my brother Xiao win an award?】
【Didn't you see the titles of those works? Such popular themes, such righteous characters—how can Xiao Ge, this big bad guy, compare?】
【Oops, I just saw that too. I'm also gasping for breath for Brother Xiao this time.】
【Brother Xiao's acting is just so good! I really don't understand, shouldn't acting awards only consider acting skills? Why add so many other things on top of that!】
Xiao He scrolled through the comments section, looking at the heated discussions among fans, and sighed helplessly.
In fact, he is perfectly capable of accepting all of this.
But he didn't want others to feel sad or angry for him.
