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

Chapter 685: Times Change, Even This Place Has Become a Stepping Stone...

"I'm sorry, Teacher Xiao. I made such an unreasonable request just now, please forgive me."

Li Jian knew he couldn't escape this, so he could only slowly shuffle over, reluctantly offering Xiao He an apology while keeping his head down, unable to even lift it under his teacher's death glare.

The corner of Xiao He's mouth twitched. He hadn't expected a sincere apology anyway, so he just shook his head and took this opportunity to say, "It's fine. Many of the students are my fans, and they were punished with self-criticism essays because of me. I just wanted to ease my own guilt in this way."

Someone like Li Jian wasn't even worth being cannon fodder in Xiao He's eyes.

Xiao He simply didn't have the leisure to waste negative emotions and thoughts on irrelevant people.

"Punished with self-criticism essays?"

Qu Chengcheng, who knew nothing about this, immediately turned to look at Li Jian.

Li Jian quickly explained, "I was just scaring them for fun. I never actually planned to make them write them."

"Hmph. A true teacher would never treat rewards and punishments as a joke with their students! Since the students made mistakes, you bear responsibility too. Go back and write double the amount, and hand them to me next time." Qu Chengcheng snorted coldly. "You're now a teacher at Beijing Drama Academy, bearing the responsibility of passing on knowledge and teaching skills. You're no longer part of the theater. From now on, focus your efforts on teaching!"

Li Jian's expression cracked slightly, but in the end, he didn't defend himself. He just bowed again, pressed his lips tight, and slunk away with his tail between his legs.

Xiao He let the matter drop, not pursuing it further.

After that, Xiao He spent some time signing autographs for the students and taking photos as souvenirs. Then, under Yang Heng's introduction, he met several senior colleagues who had come to observe the lecture.

These were traditionalist actors who had spent a long time at the theater. Some were well-disposed toward a young person like Xiao He, while others were indifferent to him. Even after receiving the gifts Xiao He offered, they remained quite cold. However, they all gave Xiao He enough face—unlike Li Jian's blatant harshness—treating him like an ordinary stranger.

Xiao He felt this was perfectly fine.

Those who liked him would naturally be won over by his personal charm, and those who didn't became irrelevant after he'd met them all.

-

On the way to the director's office, Yang Heng explained further to Xiao He: "Senior Brother Li left the theater seven years ago. He originally wanted to make it in the entertainment industry, but because his appearance wasn't outstanding, even with excellent acting skills, he hit walls everywhere."

Li Jian and Yang Heng were students of the same teacher, which meant his talent was already quite impressive, surpassing many.

But Li Jian aimed too high and had his eyes dazzled by the booming domestic entertainment industry at the time. He wanted to rely on his own abilities to carve out a career... The result was obvious.

Thus, Li Jian came to hate those actors and celebrities who lacked ability and acting skills but still succeeded through capital and good looks. He also hated Qu Chengcheng, his teacher, for being heartless—for not using his position to help him get resources or letting him enjoy any benefits from his identity.

So when Yang Heng appeared, blessed with family background and extraordinary talent, Li Jian went mad with jealousy.

"Actually, a lot of people left the theater back then. It wasn't just Senior Brother Li."

Yang Heng continued, muttering, "Although the National Theater is already the biggest and most prestigious theater in the country, the institutional salary can't compare to a celebrity's sky-high fees. Stage plays have a small audience, low exposure, and tons of restrictions. So a lot of people treated this place as a stepping stone, never planning to stay long."

How could Qu Chengcheng have helped back then, offering Li Jian resources? Once that door opened, things would have flowed out like floodwater, impossible to stop.

Help this person today, help that person tomorrow—wouldn't that mean the director tacitly supported everyone developing outside?

Once that door opened, even more people would leave.

So Qu Chengcheng's best move was to stand by and watch coldly, helping no one.

And so, when the restless ones left, getting their faces bloodied in the process, the personnel flow finally stabilized.

But that decisive departure back then had ultimately created a chasm between them.

This topic was a bit heavy. Xiao He hadn't expected that even the National Theater, which so many people aspired to join, had become a stepping stone for many. Some wanted in, others wanted out. Under the massive development of the entertainment industry, even the National Theater had been reduced to a gilded backdrop...

Thinking about how Yang Heng had also come to audition for the "Imperial Enterprise" production team as a stage actor, Xiao He glanced at Qu Chengcheng walking ahead, lowered his voice, and asked tactfully: "So when you came for the audition last time, were you also preparing to...?"

Yang Heng had already reached the position of Chief Performer, making him the absolute stage pillar of the youth division. If he were to leave too, the impact would be significant.

"I'm considering entering the industry, but I don't plan to give up this job yet," Yang Heng said. "We're now allowed to take on sideline work legally. 'Imperial Enterprise' is a support project anyway. If we join, there are additional subsidies. It's a good opportunity."

Many mainstream dramas and positive-message films featured actors from the National Team. As long as they completed their theater obligations, they could take on a certain amount of side work.

Xiao He breathed a sigh of relief: "I see."

It was a good thing Yang Heng had such a youthful, young-looking face for that audition. Otherwise, given all the advantages this guy had, once his face matured, Xiao He was genuinely afraid he wouldn't be able to compete.

Seeing Xiao He relax, Yang Heng said, "Then if I ever come out to make it in the industry, your company shouldn't mind signing me, right?"

Xiao He immediately broke into a smile and casually replied, "Sure! If you can come to our company, I'd be absolutely thrilled!"

Yang Heng wasn't Li Jian. His talent was top-notch, his looks were excellent, his family background was deep, and he had a director for an uncle. Xiao He would find it hard to refuse an artist with such a complete package.

If someone like that could come to their company, there wouldn't even be much to worry about—they'd just ride the momentum and take off.

But that was just a nice thought.

Xiao He figured that since Yang Heng already had such resources and connections in his family, there was no need for him to leave Beijing and develop specifically in Shanghai—even if Linghui Entertainment had already built a strong reputation.

But Yang Heng stared at Xiao He, his smile slowly fading, his tone growing more serious: "I'll take you seriously when I come back to this."

Xiao He noticed Yang Heng's sincerity. The smile on his own face also faded slightly as he nodded seriously: "I understand. Linghui Entertainment's doors are always open to you."

"Alright, you two, stop discussing job-hopping right in front of me!"

Qu Chengcheng suddenly stopped, turning around speechlessly to look at the two young men behind him.

Xiao He immediately straightened up and flashed Qu Chengcheng an ingratiating smile. Yang Heng, however, raised an eyebrow and said bluntly, "Just chatting casually. Young people's business—don't stick your nose into it."

"Instead of dwelling on that, why don't you talk to Xiao He about the upcoming stage performance competition?"

It was clear that Yang Heng and Qu Chengcheng had an excellent relationship, speaking to each other with great familiarity and ease.

But Xiao He's focus had clearly shifted elsewhere.

"Huh? What performance? What competition? Was that the invitation you mentioned last time?"

Xiao He looked at Yang Heng, then at Qu Chengcheng, confusion plain on his face.

He and Yang Heng had known each other for far too short a time.

Yang Heng had been vague about many things when he told Xiao He, so Xiao He truly had no idea that Yang Heng's invitation to perform on stage held deeper meaning.

"Of course it's real!"

Yang Heng stopped walking, looking at Xiao He helplessly. "You didn't think everything I said to you before was just polite talk, did you?"

Xiao He immediately coughed a few times. "Ahem, ahem—how about we keep talking about this competition?"