Chapter 529: The Enthusiasm of the Little Box Fans

This banquet proved quite fruitful for Xiao He.

Countless script offers came flying his way in the middle of it all. Just discussing scripts alone became an endless task. Almost every director had their eyes on him, this big prize. Even Director Yang Li, who won the most awards tonight, stopped Xiao He.

Aside from Xiao He, Yang Li could be considered the most triumphant person tonight. After all, their production team was the one that took home the most awards, and he himself secured Best Director and Best Film. The number of people seeking him out tonight far exceeded those looking for Xiao He.

However, Director Yang Li suddenly reaching out to them was still quite surprising.

Because, from what Xiao He knew, Director Yang Li held a relatively special status among the group of directors that included Ning Jiaqi. He was somewhat like an official external director. Many of the works he filmed carried official designated tasks and would even cooperate with official bodies for promotional purposes. For example, the award-winning main melody film "The Nation's Great Vessel" was a work deeply bound in cooperation with official channels.

Therefore, for an actor like Xiao He to get in touch with this director, most of the time it could only happen at such large official occasions. Otherwise, it was usually very difficult to meet him alone under normal circumstances.

And now, he was being actively sought out...

Director Yang Li was in his fifties this year, his hair already somewhat graying, but he didn't look aged. Tonight's banquet actually made him appear very energetic. Upon meeting Xiao He, he got straight to the point: "Xiao He, I have an official project here that I feel you'd be particularly suited for. Shall we chat about it later?"

Xiao He was momentarily stunned, then quickly understood Director Yang Li's meaning.

Participating in this nature of performance generally meant actors wouldn't receive a salary.

Of course, the actors wouldn't be at a loss either. After all, it was an official project, equivalent to getting a red-edged gilding. Participating would greatly benefit one's political profile, akin to gaining an official background, making future paths smoother.

For an actor like Xiao He, who often carried a "villain" aura, such participation held even greater significance. From a certain perspective, it was similar to passing a political review, gaining official recognition.

But regarding the timing...

After brief consideration, Xiao He decisively agreed, then smiled and exchanged contact information with Yang Li.

...

After leaving the banquet, Xiao He and his group returned to the hotel by car.

As they were about to enter the main road section, Xiao He asked Lao Qi to drive a bit to the side and slow down.

Seeing the fans still standing on one side of the street ahead, Lao Qi understood Xiao He's intention and deliberately reduced speed.

"Ahhh!"

Almost the instant Lao Qi turned the steering wheel, the remaining large crowd of fans by the roadside seemed to sense it telepathically, erupting in excited cheers, loudly shouting Xiao He's name.

"Brother Xiao!"

"Congratulations, Brother Xiao!"

"Brother Xiao is the best!"

Xiao He had specifically taken the seat by the outer window. He rolled down the window, smiling and waving at them. "Thank you, thank you, everyone. It's already very late today, please head back early."

The fans at the front excitedly moved closer to the car window but restrained themselves from pressing directly against the car, maintaining a slight distance as they looked at Xiao He. They then extended the letters and gifts in their hands, pleading with hopeful eyes, "Brother Xiao, can you accept these?"

Xiao He glanced; most were letters. He simply leaned most of his upper body out of the window and swiftly took the letters extended from the front and back. "No gifts, please. I don't accept gifts."

"Brother Xiao, take the flowers!"

A young woman shouted from within the crowd. Then Xiao He watched as a huge, pre-arranged bouquet was passed forward from the back of the crowd.

The flowers were exceptionally large. Xiao He had to wrap both arms around them to hold the bouquet completely. On the flowers, a congratulatory message was already attached: "Congratulations to Brother Xiao on Winning the Award-Winning Actor title." Clearly, this had been planned for a while.

"This is a small token of appreciation from us fans. We hope Brother Xiao won't mind."

The Little Box fans chattered enthusiastically, seemingly convinced they would definitely see Xiao He today.

But to be frank, it wasn't just Xiao He's fans; fans of other celebrities were mostly the same. They came to the scene with sincere affection and passion. Even knowing that meeting their idol in person might be a very small probability, and the gifts they carried might ultimately not be handed directly to their idol, they were still prepared at all times to welcome their idol's appearance, even if it was just a fleeting glimpse.

However, Little Box fans had always been quite fortunate.

For almost every important event, Xiao He would carve out a little time to see everyone. If he was truly too busy to spare a moment, then he would send a young assistant over with some small gifts.

So they believed that waiting in place would definitely yield results—

Xiao He really couldn't hold all these things. He signaled Xiao Chen to get out from the other side of the car to take the flowers from him over the car roof, preventing the bouquet from getting stuck outside his window and hindering him from continuing to accept things from fans.

After collecting a wave of envelopes, Xiao He then pulled out a large stack of random postcards from the back and handed them to the lead fan at the front. "I'll trouble you to help distribute these. We need to go now. Everyone, please disperse quickly. Don't continue crowding here; it could easily affect traffic. Thank you all for your support tonight, thank you."

Although the fans were very reluctant, they also felt embarrassed about delaying Xiao He's return trip. They all stopped following. Lao Qi also quickly turned the steering wheel, speeding away from the crowd, re-entering the main lane, and beginning to accelerate.

Only after they were far from the crowd did Xiao He bend down to pick up the scattered letters inside the car cabin one by one.

Xiao Chen also helped collect a portion.

Xiao He handed the ones in his hand to Xiao Chen as well. "As usual, compile them into volumes first."

Xiao He did read some letters when he had time, but there were just too many of these letters. Most showed folding marks, and some were even crumpled into balls when handed over, looking wrinkled and messy, which really affected reading efficiency. So, Xiao He simply had the team help organize the letters into bound volumes, similar to books. This made it convenient for him to browse during his leisure time and also facilitated recording the receipt dates, properly preserving the fans' sentiments.

"Okay."

Xiao Chen agreed while gathering all the letters.

After they dealt with the fan matters, Liu Rulan raised her phone and said to Xiao He, "Your mom saw the news, bought a flight ticket, and was about to fly to Shanghai. Fortunately, I stopped her."

The main issue was that Xiao He and the team were currently receiving awards in Qin City, not Shanghai. Furthermore, they had more people to meet in the coming days, so they wouldn't be returning to Shanghai for the time being.

Mother Xiao was also so anxious she lost her head, forgetting this matter. Otherwise, if she had directly boarded the plane, Liu Rulan could only have arranged for the auntie to stay at the villa for a while.

"Now I've convinced her not to come, but she said she'll still come to see you at the end of the year."

"Thanks."

Xiao He knew that Sister Liu had a sharp tongue but a soft heart; she would definitely help him.

Liu Rulan snorted coldly, crossing her arms. "Whatever you want to do, I can't stop you. I just hope you'll always remember that you are the boss of a company, a big star that many people care about. Don't always take risks; many people will worry about you."

Xiao He fell silent for a moment, then softly hummed in acknowledgment, urging Lao Qi in the front, "Brother Qi, please drive faster, I'm in a hurry to get back."

"No need to be too hasty, safety first."

Liu Rulan interrupted Xiao He's words, took out Xiao He's laptop, and handed it to him, pretending to be casual. "The computer's here. Use it if you want."

Xiao He took the computer, somewhat surprised. "Sister Liu, when did you bring this over?"

He originally thought the computer was at the hotel.

Liu Rulan cleared her throat lightly, turned her head to pretend to look at the scenery outside the window, and said offhandedly, "Some things are worth doing."

She worried about her artist, and she also worried about those innocent victims.