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

Facts proved that Zhuang Hongyi was not only a ruthless capitalist but also a successful director.

It wasn’t until the end of the month, when everyone gradually returned to work and the Spring Festival Slot concluded, that *The Phantom Thief Alliance 2* once again carried forward the miracle of the first film, firmly securing the championship with a box office of 3.8 billion yuan.

According to big data predictions, its final box office would likely be around 4.7 billion yuan.

Upon learning this news, Xiao He was secretly astonished.

The box office potential of the Spring Festival Slot was always breathtaking every time he heard about it. No wonder there were always directors eager to push their way into the Spring Festival release schedule—people like Zhuang Hongyi, who, after sporadically joining the Spring Festival battle a few times, decisively established the Phantom Thief universe and began dominating the Spring Festival market with *The Phantom Thief Alliance* series.

This truly made people marvel once again at Zhuang Hongyi’s foresight.

However, *The Phantom Thief Alliance* was ultimately not considered one of Xiao He’s major works. As a guest star, the final high box office title wasn’t credited to him, so Xiao He didn’t continue paying attention to this matter. There were more important tasks waiting for him next.

—

First, let’s go back to the Spring Festival holiday period.

*The Phantom Thief Alliance 2* was still enjoying a hot run at the box office, and there was no need for Xiao He to do much about it. So, Xiao He focused most of his attention on the upcoming *”Imperial Enterprise”* audition.”Speaking of that emperor through the ages, Qin Zhuo, who ascended the throne through military merit, centralized power with an iron fist, waged wars on all sides to nearly unify the territory, with ruthless methods—his merits and faults left for later generations to judge—”

The middle-aged storyteller slammed the wooden gavel onto the table, and the speakers behind him immediately chimed in with a clanging, ding-dong opera rhythm to match his action.

As the camera shifted, a young man in battle armor, with a tall and upright posture, appeared on stage. One hand pinched the corner of his robe, the other rested on his hip. The paint on his face exuded authority and fierceness, and his eyes were sharp and spirited as he looked down at the camera from a commanding height.

”Leading the army to trample through thousands of mountain passes, this lonely king points his sword at the city of ten thousand miles.”

”Clang, clang, clang—clang, clang, clang—”

The young man shifted his stance. Amid the changing lights, his black robe revealed a few dazzling glimmers of gold, as if hinting at the mandate of heaven, the final outcome already decided.

”Slap—”

The sound of the wooden gavel rang out again.

”But alas, heaven is jealous of geniuses, and lofty ambitions go unfulfilled. The young emperor was born in chaotic times but fell in an era of prosperity...”

Xiao He sat at home, watching several highly-liked historical commentary videos on Bilibili, sinking into a long, deep contemplation.

There was no doubt that Emperor Chen was a character favored by many historical bloggers and historians. And because his surviving historical records were relatively complete, and the historical node he occupied was particularly significant for later generations, the public had a fairly detailed understanding of him. Even those Chinese people with little education had heard his name and knew of his deeds.

For such a historical figure, was there still room to unearth any distinctive personality interpretations?

Xiao He frowned, feeling that this task would probably be very difficult.

Everyone auditioning basically had the same sources of information—special topic videos, historical records, evaluations from later generations...

For a historical figure like Emperor Chen, even experts in this field alone could dedicate many episodes to him, studying and analyzing his personality, his past, his philosophy of governance, his military strategies... And his overall image had largely been fixed in the long river of history.

Even if the *”Imperial Enterprise”* production team’s future filming plot would include some degree of artistic embellishment, beautifying the character or modifying certain parts of the content, the fundamental character should be very close to the historical prototype.

In that case, it would probably be difficult for him to win the director’s favor through a unique understanding of the same character, as he had done last time with *No Bait*.

After all, the final, widely-accepted public impression was the safer, more popular choice.

If that was the case, how should he gain an advantage?

”Have some fruit.”

Just as Xiao He was deep in thought, Mother Xiao placed a bowl of washed fruit in front of him and, in the same motion, sat down beside him.

The TV in front of them was still playing the historical blogger’s further analysis and commentary on one of Emperor Chen’s battles.

Mother Xiao watched for a while, then asked, ”Is the audition after the holiday that Xiao Liu mentioned for Emperor Chen?”

Xiao He snapped out of his thoughts and nodded. ”Yeah, but I’m kind of struggling right now.”

”This role is too famous, and precisely because of that fame, everyone is starting from the same line,” Xiao He said, somewhat helpless. ”I haven’t found a good angle to overtake them yet.”

At that moment, the video on their screen suddenly switched. It showed a young general standing on stage with his hands behind his back, his posture exuding a carefree, unruly aura, filled with the boldness of a seasoned warrior.

Back then, he was first a general, then an emperor.

Later, he was first an emperor, then a general.

This shift in identity and status was also a testament to his journey toward becoming a ”lonely monarch.”

Xiao He didn’t know where the blogger had found this video clip, but the young man’s stage play performance was exceptionally good. The image of the young general was brought to life vividly.

Xiao He glanced at it, his gaze briefly passing over the young general’s face before shifting back to his mother, a hint of anticipation in his eyes. ”Teacher Bai, do you have any better suggestions?”

Xiao He’s mother was surnamed Bai. At school, she was called ”Teacher Bai,” and outside, she was often called ”Teacher Bai” as well. The identity of a teacher, a person who imparts knowledge and educates, seemed to have been completely integrated into her soul. Sometimes, when family members sought her opinion or seriously discussed problems, they also liked to address her as ”Teacher Bai.”

After a moment of thought, Mother Xiao quickly offered Xiao He a new perspective from a different angle. ”I think whether you’re fixated on the script or on Emperor Chen himself, it’s actually not that important. Your acting skills are more than enough to sustain the image that the public imagines. After all, for a character like Emperor Chen, rather than you bestowing charm upon him, it’s more like he bestows charm upon you.”

Although these words were a bit awkward to say, Xiao He sat up straight, a glimmer of light flickering in his eyes.

”Such a serious historical drama carries a bit of a political assignment. So, compared to the script itself, the thoughts of the higher-ups assigned to oversee it—in other words, your current director—are the most important.”

Mother Xiao paused for a moment, organizing her thoughts, and then continued, ”Even though I don’t understand your casting requirements, I can probably grasp what those leaders are thinking.”

”For this casting, they won’t necessarily look upon you favorably just because of your unique insights and unconventional performance style. In fact, quite the opposite. If you choose to take an unusual path, it might even disgust the director. For them, choosing the most stable, the most faithful person is already sufficient. Any extra opinions or insights might actually backfire. Besides, you can’t guarantee whether your ideas can convince the relevant historians on the production team. So, you’d be better off focusing on some detailed bonus points.”

What they wanted was not novelty, but stability, even if it meant the result could be rigid and boring.

Instead of putting effort into those aspects, Xiao He would be better off studying some fundamentals—such as temperament and demeanor, ancient etiquette, classical skills, speaking tones, and so on.

When it came to acting skills, script interpretation, character image, and such, if there was no clear way to overtake them on a curve, it was better to return to simplicity and authenticity and focus on the details!

Take the simplest example: Between an actor whose every gesture and movement exudes ancient charm, someone who could pass for a refined scholar if you just changed their clothes, and another actor who looks like a modern person, talks loudly and boisterously, and stands all slouched and swaying—which one would the director choose?

Definitely the ready-made ancient man!

Did they really want to make things difficult for themselves and take on the task of cultivating an ancient persona?