After finishing breakfast, Fan Congwen also arrived.
Not only did he come, but he also brought along several assistants from other artists. These people were holding flowers and carrying gifts in their hands, with smiles plastered across their faces.
"Today, Junior Yan is handling work on set, so I came on his behalf to check on you." Fan Congwen casually pointed to the several assistants beside him. "The other actors from 'Corner Also' are also very concerned about your situation, so they sent their assistants to come check on you with me."
Following his words, these assistants put down the gifts they were carrying and said with equal concern: "Brother Xiao, I'm Sister Sitong's assistant. She's very concerned about your situation, so she sent me to check on you."
"Brother Xiao, I'm Li Haoxuan's assistant..."
"Brother Xiao, I'm..."
Watching the assistants eagerly introducing their artists, Xiao He somewhat helplessly rubbed his temples, then smiled and expressed his thanks: "I'm very happy, thank you."
Although the atmosphere in the 'Corner Also' crew wasn't particularly great, with everyone having their own little schemes, the necessary superficial pleasantries still had to be maintained.
After these people finished chattering about their respective artists, Fan Congwen helped Xiao He shoo them away: "Alright, they didn't rest well last night and are eager to return to the hotel now. You should first take the things you brought to the parking lot—"
"Okay, okay."
The assistants were just going through the motions - they came quickly and left quickly. Soon the hospital room became quiet again.
Fan Congwen apologized to Xiao He: "Sorry, I already told them not to come, but they insisted on following me."
"It's fine." Xiao He shook his head, not particularly bothered.
After all, social interactions in the entertainment circle were the most complex and also the most harsh. Since Xiao He had been in a car accident, if they didn't send someone to check on him and leave some trace, they would probably immediately be targeted by marketing accounts spreading rumors online, fabricating stories about internal discord within the crew and bullying through isolation.
So regardless of their actual relationships or what they truly thought, they had to make this visit. And if Xiao He and the others didn't hurry up and get discharged from the hospital, there would likely be even more people, both familiar and unfamiliar, arriving at the hospital soon.
So everyone quickly packed up to prepare for discharge.
Xiao He picked up his backpack, planning to go out first to handle the discharge procedures. But as soon as he pushed the door open, he almost collided head-on with a man—
Fortunately, Xiao He reacted quickly, nimbly leaping to the side and landing steadily.
"Sorry, sorry, my apologies, I almost bumped into you!"
The man had originally wanted to steady Xiao He, but didn't expect Xiao He to be so agile. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes, then he immediately asked politely: "Sorry, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine."
Xiao He waved his hand while somewhat warily looking at this man wearing a hat and mask: "Are you here to visit someone?"
"I'm here to see Sister Liu."
The man explained.
"Shu Han?"
Xiao He didn't recognize this man who was dressed so thoroughly covered up, but when Liu Rulan turned her head to look, she recognized him immediately.
"It's me, Sister Liu."
Shu Han removed his mask to respond, while smiling friendly toward Xiao He: "You must be the artist Sister Liu is managing now, right? That was some impressive agility just now."
Xiao He opened his mouth, quite surprised: "Yes, I'm Xiao He. Hello, Senior Shu."
This was a man with very regular features - high brow bones, deep-set facial features, with both heroic spirit and a touch of wildness. He was exactly the type of tough-guy handsome that had been particularly popular a few years ago.
And Xiao He was already deeply familiar with this face without Liu Rulan needing to introduce him much.
—Shu Han, an artist Liu Rulan had previously managed. After developing quite successfully domestically back then, he had ridden the Hollywood wave and transitioned to developing his career in the United States.
He could be considered the most noteworthy person in Liu Rulan's career as a manager, belonging to one of her shining achievements.
Moreover, unlike the two artists who came after him, who forgot their roots after parting ways and cut off all contact with Liu Rulan, Shu Han had always maintained a very good relationship with Liu Rulan. They kept in touch during holidays, and in their free time would chat on the phone about their current lives and careers.
He could be said to be a rare example in the domestic entertainment industry of parting on good terms.
What surprised Xiao He was that Shu Han had actually returned to China.
He didn't know when he had returned—it seemed that as Hollywood's development had gradually declined in recent years, many star actors who had gone abroad back then had slowly faded from the spotlight in recent years. Most had either transitioned to capital investment or shifted their focus back to China, redirecting their attention to the domestic entertainment market.
And Xiao He had been paying less attention to news about Shu Han over the past couple of years.
Suddenly seeing him appear in person, Xiao He really hadn't processed it immediately.
Meanwhile, Liu Rulan patted her forehead, looking quite regretful: "Look at my memory. You did mention to me some time ago that you were planning to return to China, but I've been too busy recently and completely forgot about it."
Some time ago, Liu Rulan had been pursuing Zhuang Hongyi and Ning Jiaqi to help Xiao He secure scripts, so amidst all the busyness, she had accidentally forgotten about this matter.
"It's fine, I didn't specify exactly when I'd return anyway. I originally wanted to come find you directly to give you a surprise." Shu Han smiled in response. "But I didn't expect you to give me a big scare first! I just got off the plane and saw the news about your car accident. I was so worried—are you all uninjured?"
"We're fine, we're actually preparing to be discharged from the hospital right now." Liu Rulan said, while asking with concern, "You came straight here after landing—haven't you eaten yet?"
"I ate on the plane."
Shu Han looked at Xiao He, examining him up and down with quite serious eyes: "Good, you're an outstanding young man. I've seen all your news—daring to rescue people from that tanker truck in that situation, you've got real guts. I truly admire you."
"Ah, don't mention that. I haven't even found the time to properly lecture this brat yet." Liu Rulan also walked over to Xiao He's side, somewhat helplessly poking Xiao He's forehead. "You kid, be more careful when saving people in the future! If I hadn't been dizzy at the time, I really would have dragged you down and given you a proper scolding."
"I was wrong."
Xiao He surrendered very smoothly, while not forgetting to play the sympathy card: "Sister Liu, my mom already called and scolded me about it yesterday. I won't dare do it again next time!"
Liu Rulan sneered: "I see it clearly now—you'll admit you're wrong this time, but you'll dare to do it again next time."
Xiao He shifted his gaze, meeting the amused expressions of others in the room. Feeling quite awkward, he chose the "escape" tactic: "I'll go handle the discharge procedures. Mr.Shu, you and Sister Liu can catch up. Xiao Chen, hurry and go get Sister Liu's medicine!"
"Got it."
Xiao Chen ran off quickly, and Fan Congwen also proactively headed out: "I'll go to the parking lot to prepare the car."
After everyone had left, the hospital room finally returned to quiet.
Liu Rulan gestured for Shu Han to sit wherever he liked, then casually sat on the edge of the bed herself.
"Sister Liu, are you really okay?"
Shu Han removed his hat, looking at Liu Rulan with some concern in his eyes.
"I'm really fine." Liu Rulan shook her head. "What about you—are you leaving again after this return?"
Hollywood's development was becoming less and less promising these days, especially with the prevailing "correctness" there quickly stifling creators' creative vitality. Although there were still good scripts and movies being released, these opportunities were almost vanishingly slim for people like them.
To put it bluntly, if they were filming a pet cat now, they would definitely prefer a black cat or white cat, or else a good-looking mixed-breed cat, while purebred Chinese garden cats weren't as popular.