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 haven't managed to replace the Chen family's former status here yet, their development is still pretty decent. There should be plenty of investors and celebrities from Hong Kong's entertainment circle attending the scene. You can go and get to know some people."

"Ah, I'll 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.

"It's fine, you can think it over first." Zhuang Hongyi said with a smile. "Anyway, it's in September. By then, 'Dragon' should be nearing its end. If you want to go, it'd be a great chance to check it out. Who knows, maybe you'll have a different experience this year?"

"I'll 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, it's on someone else's cruise ship! Once it sets sail, if something really goes down, there's no way to save anyone."

As she spoke, Liu Rulan paced back and forth.

"Ah, Sister Liu, don't 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. I'll have to do promotion in advance, and I'll probably be incredibly busy. I won't 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 he'd 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.

It'd be a lie to say he wasn't 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. "It's just that people are really easy to change depending on their environment. Especially after seeing certain things. If someone's mindset isn't 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. It's like the stage play 'Root of Calamity.' In the end, what changes the brave warrior is never the gods, but the environment and people he encounters."

That's what they meant when they said once a person starts down the wrong path, it's hard to bring them back.

"Exactly, that's right."

Liu Rulan nodded slightly.

"Actually, aside from those people in Hong Kong, similar parties exist back home too-you should know that, it's nothing new. It's just that what we've 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 Rulan's voice was low.

Xiao He: ...

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

As if catching Xiao He's inner roasting, Liu Rulan continued explaining, "Of course, I'm 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 you've 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, it's not so bad, right? Who knows, maybe if I get on that cruise ship, I'll find a new job. Worst case, Sister Liu, you can come with me. You can keep an eye on the work stuff, and I'll be careful about the fun stuff. Don't you know me by now? I'm not that stupid. I won't get scammed."

Liu Rulan remained skeptical. "People who say they won't get scammed are the easiest to scam. I'm just saying-don't 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 wouldn't be able to clean up the mess.

"Oh, come on, don't look at me like that. I didn't say I was going." Faced with Liu Rulan like this, Xiao He was genuinely stumped. "We can talk about it later! It's only July now. There's plenty of time."

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

But in those people's 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 you've heard? Let me 'broaden my horizons' 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 I've 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 wasn't 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. That's 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 didn't tell his partner, the partner almost had a heart attack when they saw it during sex."

Xiao He: "Sss... Is that the spot I'm 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. I'm starting to suspect that guy got caught in a pig-butchering scam."

Xiao He: ...

Wait, wait, don't shout. I'm grilling here. Let me sort this out properly-