"These people sure have a lot of free time."
Xiao He looked at the heated discussions in the comments section and sighed with emotion as he summarized: "Their analysis of me is quite thorough."
Liu Rulan, however, was speechless: "They're discussing so passionately, while you, the person involved, are just watching from the sidelines."
Xiao He shrugged: "What they're saying makes sense! I'm not going to change because of their opinions, so let them think whatever they want. I'm just listening, what's wrong with that?"
Besides, these people were stating facts that he couldn't really refute. Their analysis was spot on, and he acknowledged it.
Liu Rulan rubbed her temples with a headache: "I'll have someone remove these messages first. This topic is somewhat sensitive after all. At this point, whether it's praise or criticism, neither is particularly useful for us."
Praise would attract unnecessary jealousy and wariness, while criticism would invite unnecessary conflicts and troubles.
For Xiao He, who was still a newcomer, both situations were very unfavorable.
No matter what you do, keeping a low profile is the way to make big gains.
"I know." Xiao He nodded, "But Sister Liu, I was actually quite surprised that you agreed to let me continue taking villain roles from the start."
He had originally thought he would need to have a serious discussion with Sister Liu about this, but Liu Rulan accepted it extremely well, agreeing in just one second and immediately helping Xiao He find various scripts, without even trying to persuade him otherwise.
Liu Rulan glanced sideways at Xiao He: "When you can develop forward using your most skilled approach, why make things difficult for yourself? Don't get swept up by the anxiety created by the group. Not everyone needs to break out of their 'comfort zone.' Besides, you haven't even fully established yourself in villain roles yet, so there's no need for me to push you to try newer things at this point."
Choosing what type of roles to play is a personal choice, not a development path that everyone should follow. When "breaking out of your comfort zone" becomes the moral correctness for actors in the industry, actors might be forced to constantly consume their talent in unsuitable areas—
"There was an actress in the industry before named Guo Xinya. Because she had outstanding looks and considerable acting skills, she became the go-to beauty specialist in many major director films right from her debut." Liu Rulan said, "She later even won the award-winning actress title by portraying a femme fatale character in one movie."
However, what followed was criticism within the industry. Many people felt she would always rely on her appearance to win public favor. Her looks were both her advantage and disadvantage, making it seem like she could only play roles that showcased charm, but couldn't portray other ordinary, common characters.
Actually, such comments should just be taken with a grain of salt. After all, there are many jealous people in the industry, and even more who like to make nasty remarks. They were never going to stay for you anyway, so there's no need to care about these people's opinions.
Unfortunately, this Guo Xinya took it to heart.
"Later she tried all kinds of ugly roles, working hard to diminish her appearance advantage, portraying various messy character images. In the end, not only were these roles very distracting, but her acting career also went further off track. Even the fans who were willing to support her gradually left her because of her constant failures and increasingly outrageous character portrayals."
By the time she realized what was happening, it was already too late.
The entertainment industry has always been cruel. Replacement isn't particularly difficult here—what this industry lacks least is beautiful women.
When Guo Xinya wanted to squeeze back into her comfort zone, she found that someone else had already taken her previous position, leaving her with nowhere to go.
If she wanted to return to her peak, she could only start over from scratch.
—So rather than rashly trying areas that might not suit you, it's better to stay in your comfort zone and do your job well, despite some people's doubts.
Otherwise, it's just asking for trouble.
After hearing Liu Rulan's case example, Xiao He sighed with mixed emotions: "I know this actress too. I quite enjoyed watching her movies when I was younger, but later she seemed to disappear... So she was trying to transform."
"Exactly. Discovering your talent, leveraging your strengths, and becoming famous along the way—that's what matters most." Liu Rulan spread her hands, "When you have enough capability and confidence, no one will question why you only play villain roles—"
Xiao He felt so inspired that he immediately stood up from the sofa: "Well said! I've decided to go swim a few laps downstairs."
Liu Rulan crossed her arms and followed, narrowing her eyes: "Speaking of which, the swimming coach told me today that you didn't check in for your lesson."
Xiao He's eyes darted around: "Uh—"
"Ahem, Sister Liu, if I said... just if... that I only needed one day to learn how to swim..."
As the woman's gaze grew increasingly sharp, Xiao He's voice grew softer and softer until it became almost inaudible.
The next moment, Liu Rulan's voice echoed through the villa with stormy intensity:
"Go to class right now!!!"
Just as Xiao He was miserably attending various learning classes, the plot of "Hidden Star Shine" finally reached its conclusion.
-------------------------------
Due to Li Shuo's sowing discord, Meng Zetian began losing trust from his superiors.
No matter the era, when someone loses their leader's trust, they're not far from being "dismissed."
Of course, Meng Zetian wasn't someone to be trifled with either. He followed the clues and managed to get leverage on Bai Mingchuan.
Previously, Bai Mingchuan had used his journalist identity to infiltrate the hospital and gather intelligence, successfully bringing the information out.
But unfortunately, before he could transfer it, Meng Zetian intercepted him and conducted a body search.
To prevent the intelligence from falling into these people's hands, and to avoid exposing himself, Bai Mingchuan boldly used physical contact to hide the intelligence on Meng Zetian's own person, thus successfully escaping detection.
Even though Li Shuo later found a way to reasonably retrieve this intelligence from Meng Zetian, the incident ultimately left hidden dangers.
When Meng Zetian sensed something was wrong, he immediately conducted a review, screening everyone starting from the hospital, and eventually successfully identified suspicious points about Bai Mingchuan.
By examining Bai Mingchuan's usual interpersonal relationships and past activity patterns, he obtained concrete evidence about Bai Mingchuan's identity.
However, Meng Zetian wasn't in a hurry to arrest Bai Mingchuan.
Because through reverse deduction of that day's events, Meng Zetian suspected that Li Shuo was the one who took the intelligence from him—meaning Li Shuo and Bai Mingchuan were in cahoots! Both of them were...
Just as Meng Zetian's position within the bureau was becoming increasingly precarious, that Li Shuo was instead ingratiating himself everywhere, flattering and currying favor with the bureau chief, rising step by step, about to surpass Meng Zetian!
How could Meng Zetian tolerate this situation?
He had worked like an ox, diligent and conscientious, with the blood of countless compatriots on his hands, even betraying his country for personal gain—all for nothing but a path to promotion?
How could someone like Li Shuo, who sat in the office all day, just moving his lips and playing up to superiors, casually surpass all his efforts?
Meng Zetian was an extreme egoist. He wasn't working for those Japanese invaders, nor was he risking danger to fight for the motherland's future like others. Everything he did was for himself alone.
So upon discovering that Li Shuo posed a threat to him, Meng Zetian immediately made a decision: he couldn't directly report Bai Mingchuan's situation—he would use Bai Mingchuan's case to bring down Li Shuo!
Little did he know, this was exactly the trap Li Shuo had deliberately set for him.
—Tonight would be Meng Zetian's final hour!
e.