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

Chapter 782: The Upper-Class Cruise Party in Hong Kong

”So? Are you interested?”

Zhuang Hongyi looked at Xiao He, appearing thoughtful. ”If you want to go, we can go together. Although these guys havenʼt managed to replace the Chen familyʼs former status here yet, their development is still pretty decent. There should be plenty of investors and celebrities from Hong Kongʼs entertainment circle attending the scene. You can go and get to know some people.”

”Ah, Iʼll pass on that for now.”

Even though he was genuinely curious about this kind of arena of fame and fortune, thinking about his packed schedule ahead, Xiao He still politely declined.

”Itʼs fine, you can think it over first.” Zhuang Hongyi said with a smile. ”Anyway, itʼs in September. By then, ʼDragonʼ should be nearing its end. If you want to go, itʼd be a great chance to check it out. Who knows, maybe youʼll have a different experience this year?”

”Iʼll consider it when the time comes.”

Xiao He replied hesitantly.

-

”No way.”

Inside the room, Liu Rulan stood with her hands on her hips, shaking her head frantically like a mother hen protecting her chicks.
”You have no idea how chaotic those people can be, and on top of that, itʼs on someone elseʼs cruise ship! Once it sets sail, if something really goes down, thereʼs no way to save anyone.”

As she spoke, Liu Rulan paced back and forth.

”Ah, Sister Liu, donʼt get so worked up. I was just asking casually.”

Seeing Liu Rulan actually break character and get this worked up, Xiao He quickly waved his hands to calm her down.

”Besides, you know I have a movie coming out on National Day. Iʼll have to do promotion in advance, and Iʼll probably be incredibly busy. I wonʼt even have time to get on the ship.”

Though he was a little curious, honestly...

His hectic lifestyle left Xiao He with no time to dive deeper into the ”extravagant and decadent” world of high society. The most heʼd ever done was attend some formal industry banquets-the kind where you just eat and chat. In terms of scale and social standing, they were definitely far below the high-class party Zhuang Hongyi was talking about.

Itʼd be a lie to say he wasnʼt curious.

Liu Rulan seemed to think of something and finally calmed down.

”Sorry, I was thinking about some unpleasant things.”

Liu Rulan let out a long sigh, looking at Xiao He with a complicated expression. ”Itʼs just that people are really easy to change depending on their environment. Especially after seeing certain things. If someoneʼs mindset isnʼt stable, they can get influenced very easily. Sometimes, just one exposure is enough to leave an unforgettable mark.”

Xiao He raised an eyebrow. ”I know. Itʼs like the stage play ʼRoot of Calamity.ʼ In the end, what changes the brave warrior is never the gods, but the environment and people he encounters.”

Thatʼs what they meant when they said once a person starts down the wrong path, itʼs hard to bring them back.

”Exactly, thatʼs right.”

Liu Rulan nodded slightly.

”Actually, aside from those people in Hong Kong, similar parties exist back home too-you should know that, itʼs nothing new. Itʼs just that what weʼve been exposed to has basically been pre-screened. The parties themselves are pretty innocent, without all that messy stuff.”

Thinking back to certain things from years past, Liu Rulan sighed again.

Xiao He looked a bit confused. ”Sister Liu, you seem pretty down about this?”

”Well, back then, Tong Junhui met those guys at a party and thought about taking shortcuts-drugging himself to lose weight. And Shu Han, after attending this kind of party, got the idea to develop his career abroad.”

Liu Rulanʼs voice was low.

Xiao He: ...

Holy crap, how harsh was that purge? Did it wipe out two of Sister Liuʼs artists in one go?

As if catching Xiao Heʼs inner roasting, Liu Rulan continued explaining, ”Of course, Iʼm not saying all the later problems were caused by attending high-society parties. What I mean is, at those parties, you can indeed broaden your horizons, open up your perspective, and even build connections youʼve never had before.”

But those resources definitely needed to be carefully sorted through.

Take Tong Junhui, for example-he fell into a pit because of it. And Shu Han did find the connections and opportunities to go abroad, eventually making a name for himself in Hollywood.

So whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, no one could say for sure.

Liu Rulan was just genuinely worried about Xiao He. After all, Xiao He, that competitive king, had spent most of the past few years buried in work and life, never really getting involved in those things.

He was still a naive little white in that regard.

Xiao He let out a long breath. ”Well, itʼs not so bad, right? Who knows, maybe if I get on that cruise ship, Iʼll find a new job. Worst case, Sister Liu, you can come with me. You can keep an eye on the work stuff, and Iʼll be careful about the fun stuff. Donʼt you know me by now? Iʼm not that stupid. I wonʼt get scammed.”

Liu Rulan remained skeptical. ”People who say they wonʼt get scammed are the easiest to scam. Iʼm just saying-donʼt jinx yourself by being so absolute.”

And besides...

Liu Rulan shot Xiao He a deep look.

This kid might be sharp, but he was also strangely naive in certain areas.

And this was Hong Kong. There were regional differences, and he had very few connections there. Liu Rulan was worried that if Xiao He got carried away and caused trouble, she wouldnʼt be able to clean up the mess.

”Oh, come on, donʼt look at me like that. I didnʼt say I was going.” Faced with Liu Rulan like this, Xiao He was genuinely stumped. ”We can talk about it later! Itʼs only July now. Thereʼs plenty of time.”

”I know.” Liu Rulan crossed her arms. ”Iʼm just giving you a crash course on some knowledge. But maybe Iʼm worrying too much. With your current status and worth, youʼd be treated as capital when you walk in, not prey on the banquet floor. Thatʼs probably why Director Zhuang is willing to take you along.”

But in those peopleʼs eyes, prey was just ants, and capital was prey too.

”Sigh, this is way too complicated-”

Xiao He scratched his head, but Liu Rulan had piqued his interest in other things. ”But hey, Sister Liu, keep going. Tell me more about those party gossips youʼve heard? Let me ʼbroaden my horizonsʼ a bit.”

Normally, Liu Rulan rarely shared this kind of stuff with them.

But since the topic had come up, he might as well ask.

Liu Rulan propped her chin on her hand, hesitated for a moment, and finally relented. ”What do you want to hear?”

”Uh... something weird? Preferably something Iʼve never heard of?”

After thinking for a moment, Xiao He gave his answer, then looked at Liu Rulan with eager anticipation.

”Let me think...”

Liu Rulan quickly racked her brain and actually found a bizarre piece of gossip from recent events. ”You know about that time XX was in a wheelchair, right?”

Thanks to his good memory, Xiao He immediately recalled it. ”Are you talking about that guy who fought with his industry girlfriend a while back and got pushed down the stairs, breaking his leg?”

”I heard it wasnʼt a fight that broke his leg. He had some cosmetic surgery, which left him wheelchair-bound for a while. Then his girlfriend pushed him-wheelchair and all-down the stairs. Thatʼs why he ended up like this.”

”What kind of cosmetic surgery? Did he get taller?”

Xiao He looked confused.

Liu Rulan rubbed her chin, looking unusually reluctant to speak. ”Apparently, to please his sugar daddy, he met a foreign plastic surgeon at some party and went abroad for... lower-body cosmetic surgery. But since he didnʼt tell his partner, the partner almost had a heart attack when they saw it during sex.”

Xiao He: ”Sss... Is that the spot Iʼm thinking of? And why does he have both a partner and a sugar daddy?!”

Liu Rulan: ”Funnily enough, including the plastic surgeon, he met all of them at the same party. Iʼm starting to suspect that guy got caught in a pig-butchering scam.”

Xiao He: ...

Wait, wait, donʼt shout. Iʼm grilling here. Let me sort this out properly-