Shu Han still trusted Liu Rulan quite a bit. He knew that if Liu Rulan said something like this, it definitely wasn't without basis—there was probably some hidden situation behind it.
"Are He Wenming and He Jinnian preparing to separate?"
Shu Han immediately pressed for more information.
"There's no definite news about that, but if you try to make contact, you might have a chance to poach him."
Xiao He was also curious: "Weren't they collaborating very well? Why would their partnership suddenly become so precarious?"
If he remembered correctly, He Wenming had been with He Jinnian for nearly seven years. Their relationship was genuinely solid, with deep intertwined interests. Xiao He couldn't understand why such a golden partnership would choose to go their separate ways.
"It's actually not as complicated as you imagine." Liu Rulan spread her hands. "Their relationship is still very good at the moment. It's just that He Jinnian is now vaguely considering transitioning to behind-the-scenes work. And if he makes that transition, then He Wenming wouldn't be able to utilize his full capabilities."
Actually, He Wenming could continue being He Jinnian's agent, but it would be a waste of his talent. Most of the work could be handled by an assistant or a slightly more ordinary agent to meet He Jinnian's daily needs for behind-the-scenes work. A gold-medal manager like He Wenming should be standing beside star artists, helping them handle all kinds of matters both in and out of the spotlight.
And someone like He Wenming definitely wouldn't be willing to give up his identity as an artist agent.
So the separation between He Wenming and He Jinnian was inevitable sooner or later.
After listening to Liu Rulan's words, Shu Han fell into deep thought.
Xiao He glanced at Shu Han and also sank into contemplation.
The person Liu Rulan mentioned had given him some different ideas—of course, he couldn't get a second agent for himself, but this little thought was aimed at their current studio.
Back when he accidentally overheard them, Xiao He knew that Shu Han actually wanted to join Linghui Studio.
However, his main goal at the time was Liu Rulan—he wanted to use joining the studio as a reason to become Liu Rulan's artist. But Liu Rulan wasn't willing to take on a second artist, and the studio didn't have a second agent, so the matter was dropped.
But if they could poach He Wenming, that would be quite different.
As for He Jinnian, an artist Xiao He had heard about many times since entering the industry, Xiao He had naturally studied his career development path.
He Jinnian built his career through serious dramas, and his subsequent resources were basically all righteous roles in serious dramas. In terms of development path, this was very suitable for Shu Han, since Shu Han's face was perfect for serious drama male leads. Plus, Shu Han had martial arts skills, making him suitable for even more serious drama roles. Just various police officer or special forces roles alone would be more than he could ever finish acting.
And the fact that He Jinnian could play these roles definitely had a lot to do with He Wenming's resources and connections.
If they could poach He Wenming, then Shu Han's future development path would be worry-free.
At that point, Shu Han could take the path of righteous male leads in serious dramas, while he himself would take the path of villainous male leads. Their resources wouldn't overlap, competition would be greatly reduced, and the studio would have two cash cows... Just thinking about it made him feel delighted!
Moreover, from his interactions with Shu Han, Xiao He's overall impression was quite positive. Shu Han had good character and got along well with Sister Liu. With this kind of partner, he wouldn't have to worry about being betrayed.
Of course, Xiao He didn't express these thoughts directly at the dinner table, but planned to discuss them privately with Liu Rulan first.
After the gathering ended and everyone dispersed, when Xiao He got into the car driven by Xiao Chen, he finally cautiously asked Liu Rulan: "Sister Liu, if Brother Shu doesn't join the company, is he planning to establish his own studio?"
Liu Rulan was resting with her eyes closed, but wasn't surprised by Xiao He's question: "Hmm, he's currently going through the procedures and plans to officially start building his studio after the Festival."
"I wonder if Brother Shu would be interested in joining our studio?"
Xiao He's words made Liu Rulan open her eyes in surprise and look at him.
"If the studio only has me as an artist, even if we continuously invest in other production team projects, the speed of capital recovery is still too slow." Xiao He analyzed seriously. "If Brother Shu could join our studio, it would definitely add wings to a tiger."
"Besides, Sister Liu, you're also very clear about Brother Shu's character. Having him join us is much better than bringing in other strangers or newcomers."
The studio would inevitably expand sooner or later, and rather than bringing in others, Xiao He preferred to bring in someone relatively familiar to them.
Xiao He hadn't forgotten his determination to become capital.
Liu Rulan also reconsidered the matter.
Previously, she had refused Shu Han largely for Xiao He's sake, while also not wanting to hold Shu Han back.
Now that Shu Han's agent problem might be solved, pulling Shu Han into their studio would naturally be a very cost-effective move...
"Alright, I'll ask him later," Liu Rulan said. "Don't worry about this matter for now. He hasn't been back to the country for a long time and will definitely need to return to his hometown during the Spring Festival. This matter will have to be handled after the new year at the earliest."
"Okay."
"There's another thing—The Phantom Thief Alliance will also be released during the Spring Festival slot. But since you're not the lead and are busy with the filming schedule for Corner Also, you don't need to follow the production team for promotions. Just support it online when the time comes."
"Alright."
Xiao He had known for a while that The Phantom Thief Alliance would be released during the Spring Festival slot. After all, when he went for reshoots, the work was already in its later stages. Given the genre of this script and Director Zhuang's ambitions, it was definitely aiming for the Spring Festival slot. Now he just hoped this work would be a big hit, so his chances of participating in a sequel would be higher.
"Also, I looked at the filming progress for Corner Also—it should be completely finished before the Festival. Are you sure you're not returning to Shanghai?"
"Hmm, I promised my parents I'd take them around to various places during the Spring Festival."
"Alright, then Xiao Chen and I will head back first when the time comes."
"Okay."
After discussing their upcoming arrangements, the two fell silent and began resting with their eyes closed.
This year's Spring Festival falls in mid-February. Just three days before the Spring Festival, the script for Corner Also was finally about to complete filming and prepare to wrap—to be precise, Seasons 1 and 2 of Corner Also.
According to the normal plot content, Corner Also was actually divided into three seasons. This filming period was very long because they were shooting two seasons' worth of content at once.
Season 1 mainly tells the story of the test subjects and the world-building background, along with the main character team. It includes four unit stories, where Yin Qi, played by Xiao He, doesn't reveal his identity but follows the main team searching for test subjects from beginning to end, without any clearly directed dark transformation scenes.
Season 2 mainly tells the remaining unit stories of the main character team, along with some daily sibling interactions between Yin Lan and Yin Qi. It's only in the later part that the plot finally twists—Yin Lan discovers Yin Qi's problems and guesses what Yin Qi has been doing. At the end of this season, all the previously filmed murder scenes and White Outside Black Inside scenes officially appear, finally confirming Yin Qi's true identity and stance.
Season 3 naturally tells the main storyline climax where Yin Qi leaves the main team, formally breaks with Yin Lan, and the righteous and villainous sides begin their confrontation.
Throughout the entire plot, Seasons 1 and 2 clearly needed to be filmed together because Season 2 has many flashback scenes showing Yin Qi's dual white and black sides during the same timeline. So this definitely had to be filmed in one go to save on the costs of rebuilding the same sets and refilming time.
As for why they didn't film Season 3 all at once...
You'd have to ask Yan Shaohan why he's not updating the comic anymore!!!