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

Chapter 697: Extra Perks After Fame Growth

Xiao He casually took the keys and offered a word of thanks, then said with a helpless look, "I'd naturally be happy to take such a beautiful lady for a spin along the coast, but unfortunately, I doubt Director Tannis would let us. If Movens finds out, I might be in for some serious trouble."

Don't think foreigners don't love shipping. Due to cultural differences, they're far more open about this stuff than domestically. Sometimes it's not even just simple PR hype—they'll openly lock lips in public, book hotel rooms, and even go scorched-earth on the main partner with reckless abandon.

Right now, *Fast Speed Shadow 7* was in its promotional period. Liya needed to be tightly paired with the male lead, Movens, so when they drove out for the parade later, she was supposed to sit with him.

If the paparazzi caught Liya riding off with him instead, public opinion would explode.

Xiao He couldn't afford to entertain such a tempting invitation.

So that slightly inappropriate offer was smoothly defused as Xiao He wove it into the character plot of *Fast Speed Shadow 7*.

A flicker of regret flashed through Liya's eyes, then she covered her mouth with a laugh and complained gloomily, "Well, that's a real shame."

"What are you two chatting about?"

Movens, the male lead of *Fast Speed Shadow 7*, walked over just then to ask.

"Nothing much, Movens. We were just discussing your hairstyle today—it's absolutely killer!"

Liya turned to Movens with a bright smile, then the two of them stepped close and embraced warmly.

Xiao He glanced at them and sighed helplessly, looking up at the sky.

Sometimes he really couldn't get used to these cultural customs.

Or maybe it was just that in East Asian upbringing, relationships between people were all about restraint and formality.

"Haha, I know, you're just flattering me. But hey, I'll take it. Thanks."

Movens laughed, let go of Liya, and turned his attention to Xiao He.

"Xiao! Long time no see!"

Then he spread his arms wide and gave Xiao He a hearty bear hug.

"Hey, Movens. Long time no see." Xiao He wasn't a fan of this kind of contact, but he returned the hug politely, neither too firm nor too light. "I came by a few days ago and didn't see you. Looks like you've been swamped lately."

"Haha, I flew over to France a few days ago for a fashion show! If you're interested, Xiao, I'll invite you along next time!"

Movens showed just as much enthusiasm as Liya had.

Clearly, back when Xiao He was on the production team, he was barely more than an average supporting actor.

But now, Xiao He's identity carried a lot of weight.

No matter what these actors really thought, at least on the surface, their friendliness had increased dramatically compared to before.

"Sure, I'll remember that."

Xiao He nodded with a smile.

After the two leads, other actors gradually arrived—most of them people Xiao He had briefly crossed paths with during filming. Without exception, they all expressed their friendliness toward him.

This treatment was completely different from before.

But Xiao He didn't let the warmth and flattery go to his head. He maintained that reserved, understated Eastern demeanor—calm, neither overly friendly nor too distant. He could chat a bit with anyone, but he never extended invitations or accepted others' requests to hang out.

After everyone had come by to talk to him, Xiao He finally got a moment of peace. He began circling his sports car for the day, checking the basic hardware functions and eliminating any potential issues.

But before long, someone else showed up.

It was James.

"Xiao!"

He walked over, glanced around, and saw that Xiao He was alone now. "Has Manager Liu already left?"

Xiao He looked up, then nodded with a puzzled expression. "Yeah, they went ahead to grab spots."

James was the one who had reminded him about that!

"Uh, well—"

James checked his watch, then said to Xiao He, "The boss came by earlier and wants to see you now. Would you mind following me over? Don't worry, there's still time. Movens and the others still need to scope out the location, and you already confirmed everything yesterday, so you can wait a bit longer."

Xiao He was a little surprised to hear that Director Tannis wanted to see him personally. But since he had already built a trustworthy, friendly relationship with James, he didn't refuse. "Sure, that's no problem."

So Xiao He locked up his car for now and followed James into the nearby building.

…

Over on the other side, Liu Rulan's group had made it smoothly to the city-center area the production team had reserved, and they found a parking lot that was convenient to pull into.

After Lao Qi parked the car, Xiao Chen started fiddling with his equipment.

"Do you really need to bring all this stuff?"

Lao Qi walked over and asked.

Xiao Chen quickly shook his head. "No, it's fine. Thanks, Brother Qi! I just need to swap out the most important lens."

Liu Rulan got out of the car with them, scanned the area, thought for a moment, then turned to Xiao Chen. "You should split your more expensive gear between me and Lao Qi to carry. Even though this is the city center, it's not exactly safe around here."

Overseas, it wasn't uncommon for parked cars to get robbed.

Some of this equipment was theirs, and the rest was borrowed from the *Fast Speed Shadow 7* production crew—all relatively pricey. For anyone with sticky fingers, these were prime targets, easy to pawn off.

Liu Rulan didn't spend much time abroad and wasn't too familiar with the local security situation, but she instinctively kept her caution at maximum.

"They're bold enough to rob brick-and-mortar stores in broad daylight. Parking here doesn't offer much security either." Liu Rulan crossed her arms, swept her gaze over the parking lot's security cameras that looked more like decorations, then shrugged.

Lao Qi nodded in agreement. "Right. On the way here, I saw several cars parked on the side of the road with their windows smashed. So we'd better carry what we can. I can handle the backpack—no one's dumb enough to mess with me."

As the team's driver, Lao Qi also doubled as a bodyguard. His protective duties covered not just people but equipment as well.

Plus, with his tall, burly frame and tough appearance, it was unlikely any clueless troublemaker would pick a fight with him.

So he took the initiative to shoulder the responsibility of managing the gear.

Xiao Chen remembered the clips he'd seen on short videos, so he didn't hesitate. "Oh, right. Then I'll leave it to you, Brother Qi!"

He quickly reorganized the items, packing what he needed into one bag and putting everything else into another for Lao Qi to carry.

Fortunately, after sorting it out, the total wasn't too much.

Once everything was packed, the group set off again.

The streets on either side featured typical Western-style architecture, which everyone was used to by now. Aside from the occasional passerby, there weren't many people lingering around, and the area was relatively quiet.

As soon as they arrived, Xiao Chen spotted a familiar face—

"Huh? Chadley? You're shooting around here too?"

His eyes lit up, and he greeted the man cheerfully.