Chapter 518: Xiao He — A Box for All Ages

During these past few days in Beijing, Xiao He and Liu Rulan separately visited several prominent figures in the city.

What surprised Xiao He was that most of these people actually had an impression of him, and some had even seen his work.

He initially thought these were just polite compliments from the big shots, but after chatting casually with them, he discovered they weren't just being polite—they had genuinely watched his stuff.

Especially when visiting a certain big shot's home, the moment the big shot's mother saw Xiao He, the name she blurted out was "Meng Zetian."

Xiao He: ...

While it felt pretty awesome to be remembered by the older generation, something about this just felt... off.

After meeting all these big shots and returning to the hotel to scroll through his phone, Xiao He discovered there was a new topic about him being discussed online.

And this topic was rather special.

Netizens were discussing his level of fame among the older generation circle.

What's there to discuss about that?

It's just the fame level of an ordinary actor! It can't possibly be that everyone knows him, right?

That was until Xiao He scrolled down and saw the next topic.

[If you haven't seen Xiao He being shared in your family group chat or Moments, it just means you don't know enough elders.]

Xiao He: ??

Under this topic, a netizen shared that while browsing their family group chat, they found an elder forwarding the video channel trailer for Xiao He's "Record of Chasing the Wind."

To be honest, Xiao He was already somewhat shocked when he saw that "Record of Chasing the Wind" had a video channel.

In his impression, production team promotions basically had two main battlegrounds.

One was Weibo, the other was Douyin.

These two places had the highest concentration of young people and were the battlefields where fangirls and fanboys typically roamed.

When almost every production promoted their shows, they would invest large sums in marketing on these two platforms. To maintain surface-level heat, they even needed to constantly manufacture artificial topics, creating the illusion of a breakout hit.

As for other platforms, while there might be some focus, it was rare to specifically open a video channel.

Because the main battlefield there was almost exclusively the older generation—few young people still browsed video channels. And nowadays, the audience for many celebrities was basically among young people. It was hard to have the kind of appeal that older-generation actors possessed, so many current drama promotions had almost "given up" on this demographic.

He just never expected that "Record of Chasing the Wind" would take such an unconventional path.

And this unconventional path... actually worked!

"Record of Chasing the Wind" had a plot with pure wuxia style. The male lead had an upright appearance, and the fight scenes were fluid, perfectly matching the image of a martial arts hero in the minds of the older generation.

For their generation's aesthetic standards, if a young man was skinny and weak, with delicate, feminine features and clothing leaning toward feminization, then he simply didn't fit their mental image of a great hero.

More people preferred the image of a gallant hero who was dignified, handsome with a majestic air, possessing a carefree and unaffected demeanor.

Xiao He's styling and appearance perfectly matched this.

And those fight scenes that showcased just a few seconds of fluid movement made people reminisce about the old days.

What? This young man also played Meng Zetian and Mo Tun?

He's really impressive! He can play villains and heroes alike. You can tell he's gone through a lot of hardship before finally landing a male lead role.

Young man, you have guts, and you can stay grounded! Worth following!

Fans who knew about Xiao He's career development: ... Whether it was hard for him to finally play a hero, I don't know. But I do know Brother Xiao loves playing villains.

If there was a very important villain supporting role and a very important hero protagonist role right now, Brother Xiao would definitely choose the villain without hesitation!

It's all tears when you talk about it. Such a good actor, constantly exploring the diversity of villains—how are others supposed to compete?

But something's off here. Brother Xiao would actually play a heroic protagonist?

And such an upright, righteous wuxia male lead at that?

Oh no, could this Song Chenye be White Outside Black Inside?

Maybe there's some conspiracy hidden behind it...

But seeing how their elders were completely unaware, everyone unanimously decided to stay silent.

Seeing this, Xiao He was still marveling at how the marketing team for "Record of Chasing the Wind" were geniuses.

But when he opened his own Moments, the smile on his face froze.

[Her Majesty Mother: Everyone is welcome to watch our Xiao He's new drama! Thank you all for your support! [Rose]]

And below this were a bunch of likes and comments.

Xiao He: Mom, you...

Scrolling further down, there was also Father Xiao's announcement.

[His Majesty Father: My son acted in this. Everyone, please give lots of support. Thanks! [Grin][Grin][Lighting a Cigarette]]

Xiao He: Dad, you too...

Continuing to scroll down, Xiao He even saw his grandma's post.

Xiao He: Grandma, since when did you learn to post on Moments?!

Who understands this? Even Grandma is posting on Moments now!

Then, going to check the "Friends" recommendations on the video channel, he indeed saw familiar relatives and friends giving related likes on the video channel.

Xiao He closed his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing.

More people preferred the image of a gallant hero who was dignified, handsome with a majestic air, possessing a dashing and unaffected demeanor.

Xiao He tried hard to comfort himself in his heart.

But the maturity of the elders was still quite heartwarming. Although many people got to know Xiao He during "Starry Radiance"—that is, as the heinous villain Meng Zetian—many didn't hold prejudice against him because of his "villain face." They separated the actor from the role very clearly.

Of course, this couldn't be separated from Xiao He's acting skills.

After all, it was the same face, but Xiao He's Meng Zetian and the upcoming Song Chenye were completely different.

And so, at a time when many industry insiders hadn't noticed, Xiao He had quietly infiltrated the middle-aged and elderly market.

Oh, wait, no—he had already infiltrated it long ago.

Although on the surface, "Record of Chasing the Wind" had young netizens and Little Box fans actively following and supporting it, another hidden group of viewers was also silently following the broadcast of "Record of Chasing the Wind" from another stronghold—

When Liu Rulan knocked on the door and entered, she happened to see Xiao He in a battle with his own elder.

"Mom, didn't you say it wasn't convenient to post these things at school? Later, parents will definitely say you're neglecting your duties and corrupting the kids—"

"What? You're already planning to retire?"

"Oh right, the college entrance exams ended a while ago... So the last class of students you taught has already graduated."

Xiao He glanced at the calendar and suddenly realized.

Mother Xiao had wanted to retire earlier, but she couldn't bear to leave this class of students, so she had persisted and hadn't left.

And now, Mother Xiao had finally successfully sent her last class of students into the examination hall, completing a major life test.

She was also preparing to officially retire.

Her son was so outstanding; it was better to go enjoy life earlier.

As for Moments, now Mother Xiao could post whatever she wanted without worrying about being seen by students' parents.

"What about Dad then?"

"He still has a long way to go, about four years or so. Originally, he was planning to retire due to illness, but recently there's been a lot of pressure from the authorities above, so he might need to wait a bit longer." Mother Xiao sounded somewhat regretful as she spoke. "I originally said that after retiring, I'd come to Shanghai to keep you company, but I'm not too comfortable leaving your dad here alone, so I can only stay here with your dad for now."

"Then you—"

"Alright, alright, enough talking. I'm learning video editing recently, preparing to take online classes. Let's chat later, okay?"

"Beep beep beep—"

Xiao He: ?

Xiao He looked at his phone, scratching his head in confusion. "Since when did she start learning editing?"

Although it sounded a bit narcissistic to say, could it be that his mom was planning to edit videos related to him?

After a burst of rustic, upbeat music, on a dazzlingly colorful grassland, a flower slowly blooms. Then, a child's unflattering photo, in a very surreal way, continuously enlarges and enlarges from the flower's stamen, finally freezing in the center of the screen, surrounded by shimmering, rainbow-colored star power—

Thinking of the online memes, Xiao He shuddered.

Please no, Mom! Have mercy on me!