33: Please listen to my excuse... oh no, listen to my explanation, what you've seen is just the surface.

"My luck is quite good. I didn't even do anything, yet I landed another second male lead role!"

After finishing coffee with Director Zhong, Xu Lu returned home with a look of joy.

During their casual chat, he learned that Director Zhong Li was preparing to shoot a horror film.

The male lead number one and the female lead number one had already been cast. Today, Director Zhong was originally going to the Haunted House to scout locations.

Unexpectedly, he ran into Xu Lu, the man who managed to terrify all the Haunted House NPCs into submission.

Director Zhong Li's eyes lit up.

Because his horror film happened to be missing such a strong second male lead.

Seeing Xu Lu leave the Haunted House with two girls, he worried about missing a good candidate, so he followed them directly.

Zhong Li was initially worried that he would have to spend a long time persuading this handsome young man to star in a film... ahem, a legitimate one, of course.

But who knew that the person himself was already an Actor, though he hadn't had much fame before.

But Director Zhong Li didn't care about that at all. Furthermore, he wasn't casting the male lead number one or the female lead number one, so he didn't need to look among the big-name Celebrities.

Meanwhile, Xu Lu had just finished the web series 'god of comedy' and was planning to call around for roles after returning home.

He didn't expect to run into such a good opportunity on the way. Naturally, he wouldn't refuse. It could be said that both parties hit it off immediately, and they quickly settled on the relevant details.

It was another male second lead role, and the salary was naturally generous.

However, what Xu Lu cared about most was perhaps the possibility of gaining some mystical abilities after participating in this type of horror film.

Of course, everything was still a process of exploration, and Xu Lu didn't know the specific outcome.

Another point that interested Xu Lu was that Director Zhong Li was quite famous within The Industry.

If he could shoot a film under him, especially as an important character like the second male lead, it would greatly benefit Xu Lu's 'Resume'.

Next time he met other directors, he wouldn't have to mention shooting a film with Brother Long or whoever, but could openly state that he had played the male second lead role in a certain production.

Furthermore, although horror films are niche, they are ultimately legitimate Screen Films.

Their value is much higher than that of a Web Movie like 'god of comedy'.

Of course, Xu Lu wasn't saying god of comedy was bad—the salary they offered wasn't low—but if he wanted to land better roles in the future, Xu Lu couldn't just limit himself to Web Films.

"Hello, friends! Sorry to keep you waiting, but I wasn't just wandering around today. I was handling serious business, which is why I was delayed!"

After returning home, Xu Lu started his Live Stream Room. He had only spoken a couple of sentences to the audience when the bullet comments 'went wild':

[He says he went to handle serious business? Hahaha, does this guy think we haven't seen the Hot Search?]

[Uh, maybe he hasn't seen the Hot Search himself, so he thinks we don't know what he did...]

[Seriously, Streamer! You pranked a 'Prank Show,' and you terrified the Haunted House Staff Members. What the hell kind of serious business is that? Tell us, what kind of serious business is that?]

...[Exactly! And you still have the nerve to say that. Although, regarding these two incidents, I can only say, 'Well done, kid!'

But you can't just casually fool us. After all, we can see things that make it onto the Hot Search...]

[The Streamer is stunned! 'What Hot Search?' That's the expression on his face right now. Hahahaha, I'm dying of laughter!]

...Just as the Fans said, Xu Lu was indeed a little stunned.

Hot Search?

He quickly opened his Mobile Phone to check and saw two Hot Searches related to himself, both ranking quite high.

He didn't even need to click on them; the Titles alone confirmed that this was indeed his handiwork.

No wonder these Fans laughed so maliciously after hearing him say he was 'handling serious business'!

Xu Lu thought grumpily.

Who the hell is so bored that they exposed my little bit of Privacy?

I'm not even a Big Celebrity yet, and I've already lost my privacy like this. If I become a Big Celebrity in the future, won't I be afraid to even leave the house?

Muttering to himself, Xu Lu spoke toward the Camera:

"Ahem, everyone, everyone, please listen to my defense... oh wait, please listen to my explanation. These are all just appearances that you've seen.

I really went to handle serious business. Look, I just landed a male second lead role and chatted with the Director for quite a while..."

Unexpectedly, before Xu Lu could finish speaking, the bullet comments in the Live Stream Room came back even faster and denser:

[Streamer, are you sure you were chatting with some Director for a long time, and not with a Pretty Girl?]

[Yeah, yeah! We saw the two girls you were with at the Haunted House. Their Appearance was quite stunning.]

[Actually, forget the second male lead role the Streamer is talking about. I'm more concerned with how you managed to cause two incidents that made the Hot Search today?]

[Exactly! It's already amazing for others to get one Hot Search mention, but you got two, and your Fans are skyrocketing...]

...[If you guys hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have noticed! The Streamer's Fans are almost over 500,000 now! That growth rate is astonishing!]

[But I think it's quite reasonable for the Streamer to have this many Fans. Everyone can see his ability to cause trouble.]

[Right! He's the kind of person who causes trouble every day. If this Streamer ever stopped causing trouble, I'd definitely find it weird.]

[Ahem, everyone, don't misunderstand. Your Streamer didn't lie. I am that Director, and we talked quite a bit today!]

[Exactly! I am that Action Film Director who is proficient in 360 styles, and I had an in-depth discussion with the Streamer today.]

[...]

[Thank you, Streamer. If it weren't for what the Streamer did today, I might still be shrouded in the Shadow of that prank show...]

[That's right. That unscrupulous Program Production Team pranked me terribly back then, but because I signed an Agreement, I couldn't hold them accountable.

Now that I can personally witness the downfall of that Program Production Team, I can't describe how I feel. I can only offer the Streamer a word of thanks.]

[I didn't expect that I wasn't the only one who wanted to thank the Streamer.

I am Little Boat, and my good friend Little Treasure and I were both pranked by that show...]

...Xu Lu originally thought the thread in the Comment Section would get increasingly derailed... well, you could still say that.

But the direction of the derailment wasn't what he had imagined.

He absolutely hadn't expected so many people in the Live Stream Room to suddenly pop up and thank him.

The reason, ultimately, was that unscrupulous 'Hilarious Prank' show.

Xu Lu's actions today led to the closure of that unscrupulous show.

Therefore, those who had been pranked by the Program Production Team before considered Xu Lu to have helped them resolve their emotional knots and find release... "Ahem, everyone, there's no need to keep thanking me. What I did today was just a chance encounter, and the fact that that Program Production Team met this fate is just karma coming back to bite them!"

Seeing so many people expressing thanks, Xu Lu quickly stepped in to say a few words, thankfully bringing the atmosphere back to normal soon after.

He thought for a moment, then spoke toward the Camera again:

"Everyone, I haven't done any Drawing for several days. Today, I'm going to draw something different for you all. Stay tuned..."