"I only know that they've returned to Beijing."

He Wenming looked at Liu Rulan, "As for other matters, I'm not too sure."

Liu Rulan didn't have the time to pay attention to that either, so she pressed Xiao He: "Did you find something strange?"

"Ah, no, not really. I was just asking on a whim." Xiao He scratched his head, "I just noticed Screenwriter Qin hasn't «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» been around lately, so I was concerned about him."

"Oh, they're usually quite busy."

He Wenming found it perfectly normal; in fact, someone like Screenwriter Qin who stayed with the Film Crew all the time was already considered a minority now.

Many screenwriters have other jobs. Once they deliver the script to the Film Crew, there isn't much that requires them to report to the set every day. Generally, they only come by when there's an issue. More often than not, during the filming process, the screenwriter might not even be seen on-site.

So He Wenming didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

"I see..."

Xiao He didn't continue questioning.

—

After they had their fill of food and wine, Liu Rulan and Xiao He personally saw Shu Han and his team off from Hengdian.

On the way back, Liu Rulan and Xiao He talked about the upcoming May Day arrangements.

This May Day, Xiao He had a new work that needed to be released in theaters.

—That was "the thief catcher 2."

"the thief catcher 2" was a project Xiao He finished filming around December last year. Later, the entire Film Crew completed filming by February. Under Director Lin's hurried pace, the finished product was successfully approved for distribution before May arrived.

In fact, everyone was quite pleasantly surprised that "the thief catcher 2" could actually be released in theaters this time.

After all, the first "the thief catcher" was just a web movie, released directly on online platforms for paid viewing, without the qualification to enter cinemas at all.

But now, the situation was finally different.

Thanks to the luck of the actors in "the thief catcher," especially the supporting actor Xiao He—the movies he participated in that were released in theaters this year had all performed exceptionally well. Major theater chains had made a fortune because of this, so they naturally held higher expectations for works featuring Xiao He.

So when Director Lin went to negotiate distribution with the theater chains with "the thief catcher 2," many of them offered good terms. Even though the timeline was set during the highly competitive May Day period, they generously gave relatively good screening slots.

These screening slots refer to the time periods, number of sessions, and the overall percentage of screenings for the movie.

A good movie will naturally be screened during prime time slots and have multiple sessions a day, which is a great opportunity for a film to earn box office revenue.

This way, the public will subconsciously choose these relatively "popular" movies to watch, further driving box office growth.

Therefore, a good screening schedule is essential.

After Director Lin finalized the deal, the small group chat for "the thief catcher" was filled with praise for Xiao He.

Although Director Lin's mother, the goddess Qu Qiuyan, joined the second installment, and Pu Rong, who has great national popularity, was the lead actor—and even though the first part's broadcast results and profit sharing were quite good—everyone knew that the direct reason the major theater chains made this decision was Xiao He.

Haven't you seen? In this first half of the year, from the Spring Festival battle to Qingming, this man's figure has appeared on several of the top movie posters in the cinemas.

Setting aside whether Xiao He really has such an eye for choosing roles, in the eyes of the theater chains, Xiao He, this cash cow, is truly a bit miraculous. A movie with Xiao He in it can't go wrong no matter what!

When it comes to making money, believing in a little bit of metaphysics is never wrong, is it?

So Xiao He has successfully entered the May Day slot again. If nothing goes wrong, he really is going to fight through the entire first half of the year in the cinemas!

Others who knew about this couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

This man, Xiao He, is simply terrifying!

As for Xiao He himself, he was very calm when he heard the news, not surprised at all. The only thing he was heartbroken about was his soon-to-be-gone vacation: "So my only day off for May Day is gone too, right?"

Liu Rulan shrugged and said very euphemistically: "If you want to ask Director Qiu for a few more days off, I won't mind."

Xiao He:...

Hehe, do you even need to say that?!

Asking for a few more days off is like asking for Director Qiu's life.

Oh, wait, if I really did take leave, I'm afraid it would be my life he'd want. When I came back from the break, he would definitely make me work crazy overtime to make up for the missed progress.

—Can't afford to provoke him, can't afford it!

Xiao He shook his head frantically, expressing his firm stance.

Liu Rulan was actually a bit disappointed: "Alright then. For the promotion on the premiere day of May Day, I'll contact Director Lin to make arrangements. At that time, the main promotion will be left to the operations side. It just so happens that the photos Chadley took for you last time have been packaged and sent to us, so they can be released together as promotion."

Xiao He's main responsibility was the offline promotion that day, so he wouldn't need to spend too much time on it.

"Ah, have Chadley's photos finally arrived?" Xiao He was very happy, but then he hesitated, "But that outfit is mainly American street hip-hop style, which is completely different from the Chinese ancient style of 'the thief catcher 2,' right?"

They were practically two extremes.

"It's fine, we'll set them aside for now and release them later for marketing."

Liu Rulan waved her hand casually, while Xiao He was already starting to look forward to the photos: "When will you send me a copy of those photos? Don't forget."

"Don't worry, I won't forget. I've already sent them to your email; you can see them once you log in. Besides, I even sent a copy to Teacher Bai."

"Huh?"

Xiao He immediately sat up straight and looked at Liu Rulan, his eyes almost bulging out: "Why did you even send this to my mom?"

Oh my god, American street style, wearing delinquent hoodlum clothes, with a look on his face like he was looking for a fight...

Just thinking back on it, Xiao He was already on the verge of a breakdown.

"Sister Liu, why did you send this to them?"

Even if it's for work, we can still be selective about what we show parents!

Liu Rulan looked innocent: "Teacher Bai specifically called me yesterday to ask how you were doing. They heard you came back from a trip to America and hadn't contacted them much, so they wanted to know your latest situation. Then it just so happened that Chadley asked Xiao Chen to send the photos over yesterday, so I just packaged them and sent them together."

After all, she liked those photos quite a bit too. He looked like such a cool and rebellious young man, so full of spirit. Why not let his parents have a look!

Xiao He closed his eyes and slowly lay down.

Great, I can start destroying the Earth now.

—

Meanwhile, at the Xiao household.

As soon as Father Xiao got home from work, he saw Xiao's Mother organizing the latest set of American street hoodlum style photos of their son.

The young man in the photos wasn't wearing his clothes properly, his pants had a huge hole in them, and there were things clinking and clanking around his neck and wrists. He looked quite like the non-mainstream style of the previous decade.

The always-orderly Father Xiao felt the veins on his forehead throbbing.

He really didn't know what was wrong with young people nowadays, liking to wear such raggedy clothes.

But unfortunately, his son's career was getting better and better, and Teacher Bai was retired and enjoying life. He was the only one in the house still earning a fixed salary and working an ordinary job, which forced Teacher Bai to stay here to keep him company. His status in the family was truly sinking lower and lower.

So Father Xiao could only remind her euphemistically: "Didn't Manager Liu say these photos shouldn't be shared externally for now? Where did you get these photos from?"

"I obviously know that!"

Xiao's Mother immediately got excited. She walked back into the room and pushed out a small printing machine. "These were sent by the partner our son is endorsing! It seems to be some mobile phone brand? Hey, hey, let me tell you, it's quite handy. I've already planned to organize everything over the next few days, print out a copy of all my son's pictorial photos, and then keep them as a collection to display in the new house later!"

Father Xiao:...

Son, as you can see, you're about to have a new house filled entirely with your photos!

He just didn't know if Xiao He would be shaken to the core when he returned and saw it.