After returning to Shanghai from Beijing, Xiao He immediately resumed his busy schedule.
Hidden Star Shine was still airing to great popularity, with the plot gradually reaching its climax. The multifaceted Li Shuo, the stunningly beautiful and intelligent Qiu Rongyue, the upright and kind-hearted Bai Mingchuan, and the ruthless Meng Zetian... Even minor characters with limited screen time had memorable traits. The intense conflicts and constant plot twists kept audiences itching for more, compelling them to open the streaming platform daily to follow the drama.
As expected, being a regular guest on Bilibili, Xiao He's portrayal of Meng Zetian once again made it onto the "Top Ten Villains Countdown."
While no one advocated loving such antagonists, no one could deny that Xiao He had portrayed Meng Zetian's wickedness to perfection - the kind of memorable villain rarely seen in recent productions, yet widely recognized by the general public.
Unlike Xiao He's previous roles like Mu Ze, who gained fame on Bilibili, or Zhu Third Brother, who became known through films - which remained within specific circles or demographics - spy dramas were different. They targeted not just young audiences but middle-aged and elderly viewers as well, covering a much broader range. The barrier to watching this type of television drama was almost zero, being the kind you could simply turn on the TV and watch.
Thus, Meng Zetian enjoyed comparatively wider recognition, and Xiao He, who portrayed him, had essentially shown his face to the entire nation.
The last villain with such personal charm and widespread public recognition was a corrupt boss from a crime investigation drama. After that series aired, the character became nationally known - even those who hadn't watched the show knew about this role.
This was the different traffic effect that television dramas brought—
...
Back home in his villa, Xiao He, who had just returned from outside, opened his system and stared intently at the over 100,000 points on his system panel, beginning to seriously contemplate.
"Should I draw for new skills now... or upgrade my existing skills?"
Ah, such beautiful troubles in life~
Eventually, Xiao He settled his gaze on his old skills.
Mainly because life had been quite comfortable lately, and Xiao He genuinely couldn't identify any urgently needed skills at the moment.
Since nothing came to mind immediately, he might as well upgrade what he already had...
"System, do you have any skill upgrade related items? I want to upgrade my skills."
The system immediately jumped to the targeted lottery interface—
[Targeted Lottery: Skill Upgrade Capsule (Remaining until guaranteed: 10 draws)]
It really existed!
Without hesitation, Xiao He directly raised his hand: "Let's try two draws first to test the waters—"
However, the two draws instantly turned into Lifespan Value, with nothing happening.
As a long-time unlucky player, Xiao He was already accustomed to this, but he still couldn't help muttering complaints: "I just don't believe it! I hit the maximum guarantee every time in games, and now in real life too?"
Despite claiming not to believe in superstitions, Xiao He still specifically went to bathe and change clothes, then knelt devoutly before the coffee table, sincerely bowing three times toward the void: "God bless, Buddha bless, Goddess of Luck bless, God of Wealth bless..."
Never mind whether they were Western gods or Eastern gods - any deity that could bless him was a good god, and he would be eternally grateful...
With hopeful anticipation, Xiao He pressed the button—
Third draw, fourth draw, fifth draw...
Finally, Xiao He looked at the remaining guarantee count after the targeted lottery, his eye twitching.
[Targeted Lottery: Skill Upgrade Capsule (Remaining until guaranteed: 1 draw)]
"Wait, system, are you fucking doing this on purpose?"
Xiao He finally couldn't hold back.
"You call this targeted guarantee, but you're really making me hit the maximum guarantee? Are you sure you haven't secretly adjusted the values?"
"You might as well just put a clear price tag - 100,000 for one skill, I'd feel better buying it outright."
"Damn it, is there a complaint button? I want to file a complaint!"
However, the system popped up a reminder:
[Attention! This system's lottery absolutely contains no falsification or deception. Since its creation, this system has always adhered to the principles of fairness, justice, and transparency, upholding the system assistance regulations, firmly ensuring the system correctly assists the host on the path to successful crime, achieving one listening, one answering...]
Xiao He: ...Wait, what is this?
Hold on, system, does your world also use bureaucratic language?
Such a strong political flavor in this response...
Xiao He thought of that year, that exam, that score, and couldn't help shedding a cold sweat.
Pfft!
Trash system, instead of giving me all this roundabout talk, just give me the gold reward ahhhhh!
The next moment, the prize finally appeared before Xiao He's eyes—
[Congratulations on obtaining "Skill Upgrade Capsule," automatically stored]
[Skill Upgrade Capsule Details: It can help you upgrade one of your current primary crime skills, provided the skill has upgrade potential.]
Xiao He made an exasperated face: "Look at this, look at this! When I don't complain, you don't give it, but as soon as I complain, it appears!"
It's really hard not to suspect it's doing this on purpose! Feeling guilty, aren't you!
[Attention! This system's lottery absolutely contains no falsification or deception...]
"Alright, alright, stop! No need for you to say more!" Xiao He directly interrupted the system's disclaimer and official explanation. "I still need to draw another skill upgrade capsule, but I only have five draws left. You figure it out yourself!"
It had already taken nine draws from him earlier - if his bad luck continued, he was going to fight this system to the death!
This time, the system gave no response, remaining quiet as a chicken.
Xiao He snorted coldly, then pressed the lottery interface—
First draw: nothing happened, second draw: nothing happened, third draw...
[Targeted Lottery: Skill Upgrade Capsule (Remaining until guaranteed: 6 draws)]
Xiao He: ...
Damn damn damn, isn't this bullying honest people?
This is really too much!
Why did he ever develop a guarantee mechanism for the system back then? This is screwing himself over!
Xiao He was getting fed up.
Is the system being serious about this?
"Brother Xiao!"
Just at that moment, Xiao Chen walked in from outside, carrying a bunch of things: "Sister Liu wants you to film a somewhat abstract funny video later and post it on Douyin to ride on Hidden Star Shine's traffic wave."
Hidden Star Shine's recent plot had become too intense and depressing. Liu Rulan was worried Xiao He might get attacked on the street, so she wanted him to film some abstract short videos to connect with the audience, helping them separate the actor from the character, ensuring the villain's actions wouldn't be projected onto the actor.
This was a common strategy in the industry. When villain actors portrayed their roles too convincingly, they would post funny or abstract short videos on their accounts to create contrast, divert public hatred, and simultaneously attract some traffic and fans.
Of course, this also served promotional purposes.
But in Xiao He's case—Liu Rulan was simply afraid Xiao He might get beaten up.
Xiao He: "...Please thank Sister Liu for me."
Xiao Chen put down the things he was carrying and, seeing Xiao He still kneeling before the coffee table with a koi fish image on the table and a wooden fish for accumulating merit beside him, looked at Xiao He with great confusion: "Brother Xiao, what are you doing?"
Xiao He glanced at the system panel that Xiao Chen couldn't see at all, blinked, and suddenly had a brilliant idea.
"Xiao Chen, usually... how's your luck?"
Xiao He rubbed his hands together, smiling with great benevolence.
Xiao Chen shrunk his neck, feeling like he'd been targeted by some weirdo: "M-my luck is pretty average—"
"Colleagues steal my work at the office..."
Xiao He: But in the end, those colleagues got thrown under the bus to take the blame...
"I get into car accidents on my way home..."
Xiao He: But in the end, nothing happened, and I even got a few days of paid leave...
"Even when going out with you guys, I encounter boat capsizing incidents..."
Xiao He: That was my fault, but in the end, this guy earned MVP and got nicknamed "Hawkeye Xiao Chen."
"And also—"
"Alright, no need to say more."
Xiao He firmly grasped Xiao Chen's hand, saying with great melancholy: "You... are the Emperor I've been waiting for!"