Brother Dao Took the Entertainment Industry by Storm, Fans Beg Me Not to Kill Anymore

Chapter 470: “No Bait” — Overseas Market Feedback

Some countries overseas do not have the concept of a May Day holiday, but this did not affect the box office performance of ʼNo Baitʼ after its release.

Thanks to the bit of fame Xiao He has recently built up abroad, ʼNo Baitʼ gained some box office appeal in many countries. Coupled with the Cannes red carpet appearance and award win, many people came to know about this excellent actor from China.

Especially since Xiao He had just been in Los Angeles for public filming with the ʼFast Speed Shadow 7ʼ production team not long ago. Photos from the scene that circulated online attracted a lot of attention from foreign netizens.

As the only Eastern face on set and the person who immediately took up a position in an important sports car, many netizens couldnʼt help but inquire about Xiao Heʼs identity and nationality. Upon learning that Xiao He was the main actor in ʼTwelve Mirrorsʼ and ʼLaw of the Jungleʼ, they all exclaimed in surprise.

Several countries in the Asian region, due to cultural and appearance similarities, held an even higher favorability towards Xiao He and showed better acceptance of ʼNo Baitʼ.

Almost on the same day ʼNo Baitʼ was released globally, a large number of movie-related keywords appeared on Korean websites, and topics related to Xiao He directly dominated their Hot Search.

Plots like ʼNo Baitʼ that satirize social phenomena and society have traditionally been their forte; nine out of ten movies revolve around such themes. Therefore, many people initially looked down upon ʼNo Baitʼ, a film imported from China.

Yet, they never expected that the high quality and plot twists of ʼNo Baitʼ were truly worth watching. The moment it premiered domestically, it instantly burst into the publicʼs view, making it impossible to ignore.

At this point, when they searched for Xiao Heʼs basic information, those netizens discovered a key point—

Wow! No wonder the Chinese name Xiao He felt somewhat familiar! It turned out he was the actor from ʼTwelve Mirrorsʼ, the one who completely outshone Han Jae-wooʼs acting!
That explains it.

They never imagined that a young actor from China could also be so formidable. Han Jae-woo, that grand slam of domestic Best Actor titles, appeared utterly incompetent in comparison.

Some people mocked Han Jae-woo with sarcastic remarks, some enthusiastically recommended ʼNo Baitʼ, and others were utterly shattered, cursing ʼNo Baitʼ as garbage, accusing it of copying their countryʼs formula, calling it shameless and demanding it get out of their country!

Despite this, the popularity of ʼNo Baitʼ in South Korea far exceeded many peopleʼs expectations. Perhaps because their country produces many similar dark, feel-good movies, and their taste preferences lean towards this genre, ʼNo Baitʼ amassed significant box office revenue there in just a few short days. Xiao He even skyrocketed into their ”Most Charming Male Star Rankings,” competing with local male celebrities.

Besides there, Japan, a country doing quite well, also showed a clear preference for this type of work.

Interestingly, the promotional focus in South Korea was on elements like ”satire,” ”darkness,” and ”class conflict.” In Japan, however, they leaned more towards elements like ”romance scams” and ”dangerous lies.” Other countries also had their own emphases, with excellent results.

The character Shu Yuxiu, portrayed by Xiao He, struck a deep chord with Japanese female fans. Perhaps due to the prevalence of host club culture and similar situations there, their acceptance level for men who live off women is surprisingly high. For a handsome guy like Shu Yuxiu, who provides emotional value, is good-looking, and has perfect dating skills, their unified response was actually, ”Iʼm willing!”

”If I could date Shu Yuxiu-sama, I would give everything for him, even if it meant calmly walking towards death like Miss Qi in the end.”

”Of course, if it were Xiao He-sama, that would be even better! [heart]”

The release of ʼNo Baitʼ achieved remarkable results in these countries.

Unknowingly, Xiao He had already accumulated a considerable fanbase overseas, and the size of this group was undoubtedly skyrocketing.

The character Shu Yuxiu also successfully crossed borders, becoming a classic villain protagonist in the hearts of many.

These days, there are many classic villain protagonists, but not every one receives such an honor. Most villain characters abroad rise to prominence through violence and gore. No one else could, like Shu Yuxiu, break into the ranks of classic foreign villain protagonists relying solely on the title of a ”con man.”

Yet, miraculously, Shu Yuxiu succeeded. And because he carries the mysterious, behind-the-scenes mastermind aura of an ancient Eastern nation, foreign fans bizarrely felt that if Shu Yuxiu were thrown among these ”violent criminals,” he might very well hold his own.

After all, a clear and steady mind is the cornerstone of success.

Without a doubt, Shu Yuxiuʼs ambition and methods could allow him to keep climbing higher and live very well—

Every time Xiao He saw the comments from overseas netizens, he felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.

Linghui Entertainment office.

When Liu Rulan pushed the door open, she saw Xiao He sitting behind his desk, browsing the comment section with great interest.

”What? Still looking at comments from foreign websites?”

Liu Rulan raised an eyebrow, walked leisurely to the desk, and with one hand holding documents and the other on her hip, looked at him with interest.

”Yeah, the fan art output on foreign sites is really not bad either. Itʼs just that some people are really bored... I actually saw a poll asking who is more charming, me or Shu Yuxiu. Isnʼt that interesting? The Shu Yuxiu theyʼre discussing is me, yet it seems not entirely me. Itʼs clearly the same face, but they can analyze and debate different results and reasons below...”

Xiao He used his side account to vote for himself, then looked up at Liu Rulan, amazed by some of the netizensʼ boring yet interesting ideas.

Liu Rulan leaned over to glance at Xiao Heʼs phone, then nodded. ”Because in their eyes, you and Shu Yuxiu are two different people. Once you finished your mission of portraying Shu Yuxiu, he completely separated from you and exists independently.”

From then on, the actor is the actor, and the character is the character.

Even with the same face and similar personality, it is no longer the actor themselves.

This is perhaps also the charm of acting.

What remains frozen in that moment is the ”work” one strives to create, and also the ”life” that others repeatedly re-create through secondary creations, constantly bursting forth with new vitality.

What an interesting thing.

”Put that way, it does make some sense.”

Xiao He nodded with keen interest.

”By the way, Sister Liu, do you have something?”

Having been busy for a long time recently, Xiao He finally had some free time. Apart from clocking in at the company, he spent his time being an internet loafer, looking around here and there, determined to make up for all the leisure time he had lost.

So, besides occasionally notifying about ʼNo Baitʼs current box office scores in the group chat, Liu Rulan usually wouldnʼt seek out Xiao He proactively.

This visit definitely meant there was something else.

Sure enough, Liu Rulan nodded. ”Although this matter isnʼt under our jurisdiction, since I found out about it, I think I should still tell you—”

”Hmm, what is it?”

”You should still remember ʼPublic Enemy Number Oneʼ, right? That internet celebrity variety show we invested in.”

”Yes, of course I know.” Xiao He nodded. ”The finals are tomorrow, I think.”

He Junhao, who participated in ʼPublic Enemy Number Oneʼ, was ultimately eliminated in the semi-finals.

Xiao He saw this news on his Moments feed a while back and even took the opportunity to console He Junhao.

However, He Junhao himself didnʼt seem to have any regrets. He knew that as a food channel content creator, the later live-streaming PK rounds and such werenʼt very friendly to him. Making it to the outer circle of the finals was satisfying enough for him.

Most importantly, his spiritual pill account was already cultivated. This account would naturally belong to them later, so it was equivalent to He Junhao using the heat from ʼPublic Enemy Number Oneʼ to grow his spiritual pill account. Now holding two relatively valuable accounts, monetizing them later would be more efficient.

So, facing Xiao Heʼs consolation, He Junhao appeared particularly carefree, even congratulating Xiao He on ʼNo Baitʼs massive success instead.

Thinking of the reasons why some previous internet celebrity variety shows suddenly died, Xiao He instantly became serious. ”Did something go wrong over there?”

Donʼt tell me while they were recording, some internet celebrity got exposed in a scandal!