"Speaking of which, when Mr. Jamis was dropping us off, he let slip a bit about Director Tannis's arrangements... Did they already come looking for you this morning?"

Liu Rulan brought up a different topic.

Hearing this question, Xiao He showed a look of hesitation. After a moment of silence, he nodded slightly: "Yeah, that did happen."

"Then tell me the details?"

Liu Rulan's eyes were filled with curious luster and the sharpness characteristic of an Agent.

"Someone used Director Tannis's connections to invite me to act in an upcoming multi-series web drama from Netflix. I would be playing an important supporting role."

Xiao He explained.

"The web series is called 'doctor bate'. It's said to be a project their company plans to focus on in the future. It has a lot of ensemble scenes. If I can participate, it might be another very good long-term project."

Liu Rulan's eyes lit up.

"What kind?" she immediately followed up with interest. "Is it a medical comedy? Or what genre? What kind of character would you play?"

"Uh—"

Xiao He scratched his head and gave Liu Rulan a helpless smile: "Sister Liu, you know how popular the works released by their platform have been «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» in recent years; they definitely wouldn't head in that direction."

Although the name of the show sounded like a medical-related light comedy, it was actually a full-blown crime drama.

"I took a rough look. To put it simply, it's a story about a doctor who was originally from a wealthy family and held a certain social status. Because of an accident, his life falls below the survival line, undergoing earth-shattering changes, and finally, he falls completely into the abyss."

Liu Rulan frowned: "Modern Gang crime genre? The current situation isn't great; are they sure they want to involve such serious topics?"

"It's actually okay. It's mostly metaphors and satire. The most important plot focuses on the Male Protagonist relying on doing business with the Gang, maneuvering between several Gangs in the underground districts to struggle for survival, and finally succeeding in returning to the peak of his life step by step."

Xiao He shrugged.

"I suppose those capitalists don't mind expressing rebellious ideas at all; for them, the most important thing is to make money."

Spending money to film works that criticize themselves, and then earning money from ordinary people—how is that not a form of value exchange?

Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many black-hearted chaebols in Korean dramas.

Of course, that wasn't the important part.

"Their work lacks an Asian Gang image, and they want to find a Chinese person to play it."

Xiao He explained further.

"The character design is supposedly meant to imitate Zhuge Liang, with the primary identity being one of the Chinese Gang leaders. In the plot of 'doctor bate', there are a few brief confrontations with the Male Protagonist."

Since most of these scripts are written while filming, there's only a character design and framework in the early stages. Plot additions and twists are added later based on audience reactions. So, what Xiao He could learn from Director Tannis was limited to this.

This kind of Gang crime genre is currently very popular, especially with elements of blood and violence, combined with the collision of different cultures and metaphors/satire regarding certain social phenomena. If filmed well, at least the first two seasons could maintain a good reputation.

As for the subsequent seasons, those who know, know.

Once a project truly explodes in popularity, various forces intervene, the capital side is no longer pure, and it might involve changing screenwriters, teams, and so on. So the final ending usually can't escape a botched conclusion.

"Their requirements for this character are actually quite low. They reached out to Director Tannis to help bridge the gap after hearing about my situation. So if I decide to participate in this project, I'll basically have to go abroad to join the crew right after I finish filming 'the imperial cause'."

As Xiao He spoke, he watched Liu Rulan's expression.

Liu Rulan's face finally showed a clear change.

Her expression turned from surprise to hesitation: "But if that's the case, your time joining the crew will clash with Director Zhuang's 'Long'."

Although they still hadn't given Director Zhuang a definite response, Director Zhuang had already begun setting up the crew and looking for other actors.

According to the timeline, the start of filming should coincide exactly with this side.

And this time, there was no way to run between both sides—one was domestic and the other was abroad. Even if Xiao He wanted to take on both jobs, he was completely powerless to do so.

"Yeah, so I've already decided to go and decline tomorrow."

Xiao He nodded and said quite frankly.

Liu Rulan: "You made the decision so quickly?"

Actually, when comparing 'Long' and 'doctor bate', each had its own pros and cons.

The genre of 'Long' meant its audience was destined to be small, and it could only be broadcast around the mainland, basically giving up on the domestic market.

The good point was that if Xiao He acted in 'Long', he would be the lead, with no need to worry about screen time. Furthermore, the director was Zhuang Hongyi, who was quite famous in several neighboring countries and was capable enough, so there was no need to worry that 'Long' would end up being banned or cut short.

As for whether he intended to use 'Long' to break into the international market and win awards on foreign platforms, that was his own consideration.

—

'doctor bate' was a major Netflix project with a very wide audience, which would be a huge help in promoting Xiao He's global popularity.

Perhaps many Chinese people who don't follow foreign dramas don't know much about Netflix, or even what it is.

It is an emerging foreign film and television giant that focuses on a self-sufficient model—meaning self-produced originals, self-invested production, and self-promoted release on its own platform...

Its status is equivalent to domestic platforms like Penguin and Fruit Video, but it far exceeds them, covering more than 190 countries and regions with over 300 million paid subscribers. A show is released globally at the same time, coming with world-class buzz and top-tier global promotion, and it's a regular winner at various foreign awards.

Some netizens even joked: "If there are ten parts of good dramas in the world, Netflix alone possesses eight..."

Looking at the foreign web series that have been particularly popular in recent years, they all bear the Netflix logo. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Of course, even gods have their failures, especially with the production of series sequels where a botched ending is unavoidable. But overall, its authority has reached the point where audiences will blindly buy into it.

For this new major project, they set their sights on Xiao He and promised him a fixed character position, which shows they take this invitation very seriously.

As long as Xiao He agreed to act, given his current international influence and his confidence in his acting, even a supporting role wouldn't stop him from gaining foreign fans. Instead, he could likely use this opportunity to firmly establish himself in the foreign entertainment circle.

Then, Xiao He could truly be described as "going global."

But at the same time, the downsides were also significant.

First, the foreign market isn't his main battlefield, so Xiao He's side would be very weak. Due to the nature of foreign scripts, no one could be sure how the character would develop, whether the quality would remain stable, or if the screen time would change later, potentially turning Xiao He's character into a marginal one.

Secondly, the atmosphere abroad isn't very good. Even Netflix has had numerous scandals, especially regarding international stances. A serious issue could lead to one person dragging the entire crew down. Currently, it's a very sensitive time; if Xiao He has too deep a financial connection with the US side, he might be affected.

Finally, there was what happened today...

Although Sister Liu and the others weren't injured, Xiao He inevitably felt worried.