Chapter 506: “No Bait” Shortlisted for the Hundred Chirps Awards

"Alright, I agree."

Xiao He only pondered for a moment before immediately agreeing to the matter.

"It's just that during the later promotional phases, try to downplay the connection between me and 'Public Enemy Number One'. Frame it more as a Linghui Entertainment project, and emphasize my identity as the boss more."

Liu Rulan understood: "You still think the things Rongding Media is doing will blow up?"

Once Rongding blows up, then 'Public Enemy Number One' will also be affected. And once 'Public Enemy Number One' is affected, then given Xiao He's current level of heat, people will definitely try to drag Xiao He into it later.

If Xiao He were just an actor, he might not have that much autonomy, but Xiao He is the boss, so it's different.

A boss investing inevitably faces failures sometimes. By then, 'Public Enemy Number One' would just be a relatively failed investment project in his portfolio.

—Though it's worth mentioning in passing, 'Public Enemy Number One' actually recouped all its investment costs and started turning a quick profit by the middle of its broadcast run.

It's just that internet celebrity economics, much like its core theme, comes fast and goes fast. Topic buzz and heat come in waves. The early hype gets replaced by other things later on. So in many people's eyes, it's just a wave of quick money, inherently full of uncertainty.

Xiao He gave a helpless, bitter smile.

If the police had just arrested some minor online sex worker yesterday, it wouldn't have been a big deal. Such people know very little, can reveal very few clues, and the police most likely wouldn't connect a live streaming platform to Rongding Media based on a card found in a roadside trash can.

The problem was, before leaving, Xiao He had still given Zhou Junhao a hint, pointing him in the right direction, letting Zhou Junhao be the one to "break the deadlock."

He believed with Zhou Junhao on the case, the police might actually manage to escalate from this seemingly "utterly ordinary" car theft case to the live streaming app case they've been struggling to investigate on the other side.

Although he seemed to have done nothing, he indirectly pushed the investigation forward!

Doing this might indeed look a bit like lifting a rock only to drop it on his own foot, but Xiao He wouldn't regret it.

Liu Rulan wore a thoughtful expression: "In that case, it seems we need to speed up the commercialization process for the contestants."

In other words, rake in a few more profits before things blow up.

The only pity might be for the other contestants. They worked hard recording the variety show, but in the end, it might not be preserved.

Xiao He could only consider later that if contestants involved in the company's illegal activities blow up, they'd try to rely on editing and post-production to salvage the show, ensuring 'Public Enemy Number One' doesn't end up getting taken down.

"Go ahead and do it sooner. Young Master Huang can come for filming anytime," Xiao He said. "As for the production team, let's not alert them for now to avoid causing panic. Just let them focus on their own work."

The only thing he could guarantee now was that the final episode of 'Public Enemy Number One' would air smoothly.

Perhaps this was the true nature of internet celebrity economics.

It arrives with a bang, and for most, its lifespan is as brief as a firework.

...

Liu Rulan quickly arranged a meeting time with Young Master Huang.

But what arrived even sooner than Young Master Huang was the news that Xiao He had officially been shortlisted for the Bai Ming Award.

On July 21st, at 9 PM, the final shortlist for the Bai Ming Award was officially announced.

'No Bait' was, unsurprisingly, on the list.

Almost the moment the official website released the news, the entire internet had already spread this happy announcement.

Xiao He also learned about it immediately.

When he saw his name listed among the Best Actor nominees, even though he knew it was just the final nomination and the battle for the Award-Winning Actor title wasn't decided yet, Xiao He couldn't help but feel an unguarded surge of happiness.

He instinctively glanced at Liu Rulan beside him.

Liu Rulan's face showed no extra emotion. She just glanced at the list calmly, then put down her phone, as if all this had been expected.

No, wait. Perhaps not just the nomination, but even winning the award... was already something she had anticipated.

Xiao He couldn't help but look at Liu Rulan a few more times.

Liu Rulan indeed looked back at him: "What? You're not actually shocked, are you?"

"Not really."

Xiao He answered honestly.

Given his performance in 'No Bait', not getting nominated would have been the truly shocking thing.

"I'm just thinking about whether I can actually win the award later."

Liu Rulan raised an eyebrow, then snorted a laugh: "What's there to think about? If you win, it just means it was yours to begin with. If you don't win, it just means those damn judges are biased and can't tell good from bad. It doesn't mean you weren't good enough. So just prepare your acceptance speech. It's similar to the preparations for the White Magnolia Awards last time. If you really can't express the emotions properly, have the publicity department write it for you."

"That's not what I meant."

Xiao He shook his head helplessly.

But hearing Liu Rulan mention the White Magnolia Awards, Xiao He's thoughts couldn't help but drift back to that ceremony.

Actually, Xiao He had always been quite confident.

Especially after understanding the operations behind these selections, understanding that awards are just subjectively chosen titles filtered by people, Xiao He became less fixated on them.

But he would still feel disappointed.

Like at the White Magnolia Awards ceremony, missing out on Best Supporting Actor because of the protagonist/antagonist stance. Or at the Cannes awards ceremony, having no chance at the final Best Actor award because of identity, nationality, and role issues.

He was originally just an "outsider" who stumbled into this scene, but unexpectedly, along the way, he gradually carried the expectations and hopes of many people—

And Xiao He didn't want to let everyone down.

[Not surprising, but still thrilling! Let's look forward to Brother Xiao winning the award in one go!]

[Ahhhh, just one final step! Our Brother Xiao must win the Award-Winning Actor title!]

[Is there a chance? Is there a chance? I just went to look at the other competitors. The works from last year to this year seem pretty average overall. No one can surpass Brother Xiao.]

[Shh, shh, not that, not that. We still have the Spring Festival Slot and National Day Slot films ahead. The works are quite good. But when judging acting performance, I wonder if it will be affected by the character's role. Otherwise, I feel Brother Xiao might relive last year's regret.]

[Last year? What happened last year?]

[The White Magnolia Best Supporting Actor... Actually, I genuinely think Meng Zetian's role was acted really well, but everyone understands his identity was just too sensitive, not suitable for an award.]

[This time, 'No Bait' also has a villain protagonist. I think it's a bit uncertain.]

[What? Why can't my Brother Xiao win the award?]

[Didn't you see the names of the works ahead? Such red themes, such upright characters. How can you expect Brother Xiao, playing a big bad guy, to compete?]

[Yikes, I just saw them. Taking a sharp breath for Brother Xiao again this time.]

[Brother Xiao's acting is just that good! I really don't understand. Shouldn't acting awards be judged solely on acting? Why attach so many other things to it!]

Xiao He scrolled through the comment section, looking at the fans' intense discussions, and let out a somewhat helpless sigh.

Actually, he himself could completely accept all of this calmly.

But he didn't want others to feel sad or angry on his behalf.