In the end, the audience missed the truth, and Tiger took all the blame.

No one knew that his sharp comments about Ren Yibai in this video actually came from a handwritten rant by another director.

Even Xiao He was unaware of the truth behind this matter.

After watching the video, he couldn't help but quietly give Tiger a thumbs up.

Dude, you're still the bravest.

The attack power of the previous videos decreased, and I thought it was because they received a lawyer's letter and were toning down their efforts, fearing that fans would chase after and report the videos, resulting in almost nothing left of the hard work of the past few years.

Now that I see it, it turns out they were preparing a big surprise.

How dare he get so close to Ren Yibai and use such a powerful move? I hope Tiger can hold on.

Xiao He first lit a candle for Tiger, while also wondering if Ren Yibai's blood pressure would spike after seeing the video.

It's such a shame there's no roadshow today, so I won't be able to see his amazing expressions in person.

Xiao He felt a pang of regret.

But is this sudden popularity a good thing or a bad thing for the "Mistaken Identity" production team?

He hesitated for a moment, then put down his phone and went to find Liu Rulan.

Liu Rulan had already gotten up by now, having just finished a phone call.

Xiao He arrived almost immediately after the call ended.

Good morning.

He casually greeted her, "Have you eaten?"

"have eaten."

The woman casually tossed the documents in her hand, leaned back lazily on the sofa, crossed her legs on the coffee table, and looked completely relaxed. If she had a cigarette in her hand at that moment, she would definitely look like a mafia boss.

"Director Zhuang just called me. He heard that you're about to join the film crew and will be flying abroad at the end of the month, so he's planning to move the celebration banquet to the next few days."

"Oh? The celebration party for'Strange 2'? I understand, you guys handle the arrangements."

Actually, Xiao He had already attended a celebration banquet once before, during the first season, but he didn't find it very interesting.

However, he is now in the same boat as Director Zhuang, so the relationship should still be maintained.

“It’s not just ‘Strange 2’,” Liu Rulan reminded. “The second season of ‘Sumiya’ has also just ended, and the merchandise for figurines is still gaining momentum. So Director Zhuang thought that since everyone is in Beijing recently, we might as well hold them one after the other.”

"If nothing unexpected happens, there should be news about a sequel at this celebration party."

Xiao He thought of Director Zhuang and carefully considered the situation of the two works. He smiled helplessly and said, "So if we look at it now, our collaboration with Director Zhuang will only increase. He still owes us several sequels."

Both "The Phantom Thieves 2" and "Sumi" Season 2 are now nearing ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) their conclusion, and Director Zhuang no longer needs to follow along.

So it's likely that this restless businessman has indeed already begun preparing for the sequel.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Rulan said, "Even though that's the case, let's play it safe at the victory celebration banquet."

"Huh? Why?"

Xiao He was somewhat surprised.

Given his current relationship with Director Zhuang, he would probably find it difficult to refuse Director Zhuang's invitation.

Both "The Phantom Thieves 3" and "Sumiya" Season 3 will definitely be his key projects in the future.

This is something you shouldn't hesitate about at all!

"Ahem, I heard that Director Zhuang's next project seems to be a new work, and he doesn't plan to start'Strange 3' for the time being." Liu Rulan coughed lightly. "I haven't found out about this yet, so you should try to play it safe when the time comes."

Regardless of Zhuang Hongyi's business acumen or the quality of his existing works, his next projects should not be blindly followed.

Especially for a project that appears without any warning, it's even more important to think it through carefully—at least before this news came out, Liu Rulan had no idea that Director Zhuang had this plan.

“And you’re going to the US soon, what if there are projects there too...” Liu Rulan hesitated for a moment, but didn’t push Xiao He’s future development plans to go abroad. Instead, she said, “In terms of timing, I have a feeling that the script offers from both sides will overlap. I don’t know if I’m overthinking it, but... so let’s see when the time comes.”

"Okay, I understand."

Xiao He nodded, a hint of curiosity in his eyes. "It's quite surprising that Director Zhuang has started working on other projects. Didn't you hear anything about it?"

The Phantom Thief series is so popular that the two films have made a fortune. The ending of the second film even blatantly hinted at the third film. Xiao He finds it hard to believe that Director Zhuang doesn't plan to capitalize on the success and film a third film for next year's Spring Festival release, but instead focuses on other projects.

This is completely contrary to Director Zhuang's business philosophy.

“I really don’t know.” Liu Rulan shrugged. “I just heard that he seems to be in contact with a team in Hong Kong recently. As for the details, we’ll have to wait and see.”

"Hong Kong..."

Xiao He pondered for a moment, and the background music in his mind had already started playing, along with various blockbuster movies and visceral police dramas.

—These are the only works that have stood the test of time over the years. Although they are no longer as glorious as they once were, they still produce some very exciting masterpieces every few years. Even Xiao He likes to watch the police and gangster action movies from there. They are really well made.

So, is Zhuang Hongyi planning to make a film like this next?

That's pretty good.

Xiao He was eager to try.

Come to think of it, he hasn't filmed a police thriller like this before! How awesome would it be if he could act in one?

If that's the case, then Director Zhuang's invitation isn't something I can't immediately refuse... *cough*

Xiao He glanced at Liu Rulan, but wisely refrained from revealing his thoughts. Instead, he asked about something else: "By the way, there was a blogger online today criticizing a movie..."

...

In the following days, due to the viral spread of Tiger's rants, many people became aware of the existence of the movie "Mistaken Identity". Although everyone laughed along with Tiger's rants about Ren Yibai's acting skills, many viewers also chose to go to the cinema to watch the movie because of the original's fame and their confidence in Xiao He's acting skills.

As a result, the box office of "Mistaken Identity" actually rose a bit.

The theme of soul swapping has unsurprisingly become popular again.

It might even be because Tiger Brother—no, Qiu Zhenlong's—criticisms were so sharp and harsh that many people spontaneously defended Ren Yibai after watching the movie, believing that Tiger Brother's criticisms were exaggerated.

This is actually a rather ridiculous joke.

Because Qiu Zhenlong is, after all, a director in the industry, with a high status and high standards. He has seen too many actors with excellent acting skills. Actors like Ren Yibai are not even worthy of being on his casting list.

Therefore, in his opinion, Ren Yibai's acting skills were really terrible. Naturally, from the perspective of a famous director, he criticized Ren Yibai mercilessly.

But as the old saying goes, it's not the best, but it's better than the worst.

Although Ren Yibai was indeed incompetent, his crime did not warrant death.

Many people watched the show with the expectation that the male lead's acting would be absolutely terrible, and they were already prejudiced that Ren Yibai's acting was subpar. So when they found that Ren Yibai's acting was actually passable, the audience was pleasantly surprised.

Yes, a surprise.

Goodness, Ren Yibai's acting is actually passable!

How can this not be a surprise?