The outdoor portion was about to be finished, and the indoor part of the red carpet was all about the media.
Fan Xuexue turned around to make a final interaction with the fans.
Even if she was a so-called big flower, fans were still her basic foundation.
She couldn't rely on her works to make it onto the celebrity wealth list.
Opportunity knocked!
As Fan Xuexue turned, the hem of her skirt traced a wave-like arc on the ground, very, very close to Qi Hao's feet.
If Qi Hao continued walking now, he would definitely step on Fan Xuexue's skirt.
What would happen if he stepped on her skirt?
Actually, nothing much. After all, it's not uncommon for skirts to be stepped on at various banquets, and stepping on one doesn't usually end with someone exposed.
Of course, there's a tiny chance of this joyous scene happening.
Besides, even if the skirt didn't come off, it might still result in other embarrassing situations.
So, try not to step on someone's skirt if you can avoid it.
Just like children are taught not to pull on people's skirts.
To avoid stepping on Fan Xuexue's skirt!
Yes, this was a perfect reason. Qi Hao suddenly pulled back his foot.
And stumbled down...
Thanks to adding twenty points to his stamina recently, Qi Hao, with one hand supporting himself, squatted back up instantly.
His agility was so impressive that even he found it hard to believe.
Moreover, he didn't pull Fan Xuexue down, didn't rip off her skirt, nor did he stick his head into her skirt... to peek.
Qi Hao worried that if he did something like that, Fan Xuexue would hold him accountable.
And he didn't want to take responsibility.
He could only apologize to the male netizens.
Besides, it's not as if Fan Xuexue's films don't have daring scenes.
The only flaw was his current pose...
Damn, miscalculation!
This pose looked like he was kneeling on one knee!
Even though he stumbled, he didn't let go of Fan Xuexue's hand.
After all, at the moment of falling, it was instinctive to hold tight; letting go would have revealed the fall as fake.
The fake falls of female celebrities on the red carpet were heard of often and seen plenty, but for male celebrities, there really weren't many.
How could he continue like this if it got out?
The current situation was he hadn't let go of her hand and was kneeling on one knee — or at least it looked like it — which seemed like a proposal no matter how you looked at it.
Fan Xuexue was completely baffled by Qi Hao's maneuvers.
She was truly startled, covering her mouth in disbelief looking at Qi Hao, her mind uncontrollably starting to think...
Should she agree to him?
Luckily, Qi Hao quickly stood up.
Otherwise, if Fan Xuexue really nodded vigorously, tears welling up, shouting "I agree, let's get married tomorrow," there'd be no way to wrap things up.
Qi Hao apologetically let go of Fan Xuexue, lightly dusting off nonexistent dirt from his body, the whole action flowing like water, entirely concealing the previous awkward fall.
Actually, he was conveniently asking Brother Tongzi if that counted as completing the task?
If you think otherwise, I could pretend my ankle was twisted just now and lie on the ground demanding a stretcher to be sent over.
Do you believe I dare to roll on the ground in pain?
Face?
That's Penguin stock, after all, how many Penguin stakeholders care about face?
Perhaps the system also felt embarrassed and recognized his tumbling skills.
He made it!
"Almost stepped on your skirt just now..." Qi Hao explained to Fan Xuexue with a smile.
Fan Xuexue had a complex expression.
Qi Hao, a popular idol star, went to the point of risking a fall to avoid stepping on her skirt.
Claiming not to be touched would undoubtedly be a lie.
Media journalists frantically snapped photos; Qi Hao and Fan Xuexue were both top-tier, leaving no gap for the media to miss, faithfully capturing that moment earlier.
Someone suddenly shouted:
"Qi Hao, what a man!"
"Snow, say yes to him!"
"Qi Hao, we're entrusting our Xuexue to you!"
"Qi Hao, can you face Yuanyuan, Qianqian? Can you face me?"
What a load of nonsense, Qi Hao smiled and waved his hand, once again taking Fan Xuexue's offered hand, heading towards the venue.
Sis, can't we stop holding hands?
About to reach the signing wall, are we going to sign holding hands?
Qi Hao usually seemed not so bright, but now he realized he'd caused trouble again.
Fortunately, there was Old Tian.
And Zhanqi Laiden.
Fan Xuexue finally let go of Qi Hao's hand in front of the signing wall, returning to normal as she left her signature.
Qi Hao followed closely and signed as well.
Then they were guided by staff to the interview area.
"There seemed to be a little mishap earlier..."
The host got straight to the point.
If such things weren't clarified, who knew what rumors would arise?
Saying their organizer's red carpet was frozen and slippery would be easy.
"Just now Qi Hao twisted a bit and fell to avoid stepping on my skirt." Fan Xuexue proactively explained the reason for Qi Hao's action.
In fact, she really thought that was the case.
"Oh, were you hurt?" the host asked with concern, as long as it wasn't their organizer's fault, it was fine.
"No, just a bit awkward."
Qi Hao didn't show much expression.
His persona was always rather aloof, making him a super male idol in the eyes of countless female fans.
Though that image had already crumbled considerably.
"Not embarrassed at all, Qi Hao is a gentleman!" Fan Xuexue sincerely praised.
She also knew that saying this would only fuel the rumors further.
This went against her principle of wanting to create buzz with Qi Hao but not genuinely being with him.
However, if she said nothing, how would the public perceive her?
After all, everyone knew Qi Hao fell to avoid stepping on her dress.
"Exactly, not embarrassed at all, I saw it, it was just like hanging on wires, really handsome. Qi Hao, have you thought about starring in action films?"
Since the blame wouldn't fall on the organizers, the host didn't mind giving Qi Hao some praise.
"I don't rule out the possibility." Qi Hao replied succinctly.
"Do you two have any plans to collaborate again?"
The host looked at these two high-profile idol stars, thinking it would be a pity if they didn't work together.
In recent years, Fan Xuexue leaned towards collaborating with the Acting Faction, like Liang Jiahui, Li Ming, Liu Dehua, Ge You, etc., and Qi Hao now belonged to the Acting Faction too, so they could definitely collaborate.
"There is already an intention, you all can look forward to it."
Fan Xuexue was referring to "October Wei City," but the way they would collaborate was still unclear.
The producers might not arrange for them to play a couple.
It's possible she could even play Qi Hao's stepmother.
"Will you star in 'Chinese Paladin 3'?" the host asked again.
"Currently, I have no plans in this aspect." Fan Xuexue unhesitatingly denied the news.
Sugarman was indeed a bit annoying in the industry.
They liked to tease potential collaborations.
Ever since they got Qi Hao to play the eldest disciple in Shushan, Sugarman started secretly teasing his potential pairings.
Almost every rumored partner of Qi Hao had been teased by them.
Qi Hao suspected Sugarman hired him for a high price because he had the most rumored partners.
Especially An Feng, who had appeared in "Chinese Paladin 1".
They persistently claimed she would return for the third installment, even providing a clichéd plot of "Qi Hao, Hu Ge, two men fighting for one woman."
Fan Xuexue was also one of the teased subjects.
With Qi Hao there, she didn't know his stance on this teasing business, so denying it counted as being quite subtle.
"The main cast has basically been decided, and filming starts in February."
Qi Hao didn't want Sugarman to keep teasing his "girlfriends," so he straightforwardly stated that the lead roles had been finalized.
Most of his "girlfriends" were already quite successful and couldn't possibly join such a drama as extras.
"Then I'll wish you a smooth shoot in advance."
Due to a sudden heavy snowfall, some time was wasted setting up the tent, and Qi Hao also fell on the red carpet. The host asked a few more questions and then quickly concluded the red carpet interview.
Backstage, Qi Hao suppressed his eagerness to settle tasks.
His gaze wandered around the hall, searching for someone suitable to be this round's training NPC.
However, he couldn't just rush directly to find an NPC.
He first had to socialize with old seniors and friends in the industry.
Like Li Lianjie, with whom he had just worked on "Oath of Allegiance."
"Oath of Allegiance" was released on December 12th, earning a total of 222 million in box office revenue, which was not much compared to its 270 million budget.
Moreover, the film was not well-received.
Qi Hao thought the movie wasn't bad, but perhaps the higher the expectation, the greater the disappointment.
Furthermore, it's not about failing to recognize quality but fearing comparison.
Feng Xiaogang's "Assembly," released on December 20th, had already surpassed "Oath of Allegiance" in box office, and its production cost was only 80 million, making the winner clear.
Qi Hao chatted briefly with Li Lianjie before quickly moving on to find the next person.
Sun Honglei!
This guy's performance was actually quite good, especially when asking if your watermelon is ripe.
Qi Hao decided to chat with him a bit longer.
If he could "capture" him as a training NPC, he could experience the pressure of selling ripe watermelons.
Ni Dahong!
Rumor had it that Ni Dahong was going to star in the upcoming "New Three Kingdoms."
Old Tian was also vying for that role.
Qi Hao hoped to play either Lu Bu or Zhao Yun.
Who wouldn't like to play a tough guy?
One of his career plans was to play all the badass men in Huaxia's history.
Lao Ai doesn't count.
If he could snatch this role, it would be perfect to jump into the "New Three Kingdoms" production after "Chinese Paladin 3" wrapped up.
However, "New Three Kingdoms" had its flaws.
Firstly, with the classic older version, trying to surpass it was almost like a pipe dream, and secondly, the filming duration was too long, which wasn't ideal for Qi Hao, who was transitioning his career.
"What role does Ni plan to play?" Qi Hao curiously asked.
"I actually wanted to play a military general, to ride out and quell the land, east to eliminate, west to exterminate, commanding respect..." Ni Dahong's face darkened as he sighed, "Gao Xixi got me to play Sima Yi, I was so fooled by him at the time that I agreed. He's really good at persuading, be careful if you meet him, he might talk you into something."
"Is it stressful to play Sima Yi?" Qi Hao asked softly.
"Sigh... even if it's stressful, you have to play. If you become a film emperor, isn't that stressful?" Ni Dahong retorted.
"Incredibly stressful!" Qi Hao nodded vigorously.
The Capital Satellite TV film awards ceremony wasn't a major event, so there weren't many Acting Faction members who caught Qi Hao's eye.
He circled around once and gave up on continuing the search.
With Ni Dahong and Sun Honglei as a backup, picking either wouldn't be a loss.
Once the event started, Qi Hao settled into his seat and began task settlement.
An excited heart, trembling hands.
Three billion worth of shares, here I come!