Chapter 874: [Xiao He is shot]
Xiao Chen shrank back in fright at Liu Rulan's sudden change of expression, and then immediately explained in a low voice: "This video was initially only circulating in Brother Xiao's fan group. It seems that one of Brother Xiao's rich female fans was also successfully invited to board the ship this time, so she agreed to the request of other fans in the group, planning to shoot more videos related to Brother Xiao after boarding the ship, and then upload them to the group so that others can watch Brother Xiao together."
"However, according to her explanation in the group later, it seems that she did not film the video. She herself was not very clear about the situation at the time and did not manage to meet Brother Xiao on the ship. The video was accidentally filmed by other guests on the ship, and then it was circulated among the guests on the way back to the port, and then she forwarded it to the fan group."
So overall, the network equipment on the Xiang Sheng was just too good. Once back in Chinese waters, there was no lag at all, and all kinds of messages could be sent.
And Xiao He, why were you secretly photographed at such a critical moment?
Isn't it said that life doesn't have that many spectators?
Why is it that when something happens on the street, everyone immediately pulls out their phone?!
That statement was definitely a lie!
Liu Rulan also knew that under such dangerous circumstances, Xiao He could not possibly have prevented others from taking photos, let alone the other people on the Xiang Sheng. It was simply impossible to guard against.
There's no point in saying more now; the more important thing is how to solve the current problems.
Liu Rulan quickly checked the video to see other people's reactions.
【What's going on? Is it related to what happened early this morning?】
【I'd recognize that figure even if I were ashes! It's clearly Xiao He! Wasn't he on the Xiang Sheng? Why does this background look so off?! And is that a real gun he's holding?】
【Holy crap, so what happened on the Xiang Sheng is related to Brother Xiao? Ugh, what kind of photographer are you? Why are your hands shaking at such a crucial moment? Did you hit Brother Xiao? I was terrified!】
【What the heck? I've been following this drama since early this morning, and I still don't understand what's going on. Can anyone explain it to me?】
【I'm so confused too, so did something happen to Brother Xiao? He couldn't have gone to rescue someone, could he?】
【I heard that everyone on the Xiang Sheng is still under investigation, and many people's phones have been confiscated. Information about what happened on the ship is strictly prohibited from being disseminated. I think this video will most likely be lost as well.】
【No, the official explanation is necessary, right? They can't keep us fans in the dark!】
【Please, please, tell me Brother Xiao will be alright, okay? I really don't want to end up with a death notice for him!】
【People have gone mad; even the hashtag for "Brother Xiao" is trending on social media.】
【What?! This is pure fabrication!】
【But isn't this video already quite obvious? How can Xiao He survive? You can't exactly tell me Xiao He was filming a movie at the time, can you? I don't recall Xiao He filming any scenes like this, and none of his recent roles are related to the sea.】
【But that doesn't make sense either. Brother Xiao was on the Xiang Sheng, but the background of this video is clearly not the Xiang Sheng. You can't exactly say that Brother Xiao ran off to another ship to fight criminals midway through the Xiang Sheng, can you?】
Some people speculated, some were confused, and some accidentally stumbled upon the truth.
When Liu Rulan noticed someone mentioning the trending topics, her heart skipped a beat. She then checked Weibo's trending topics and, sure enough, found that the related trending topic "【Xiao He was shot】" was already prominently displayed.
It's unclear whether other media outlets were involved, but several major companies were trying to suppress the trending topic with "Xiao He's death," as the speed at which the topic's popularity soared was nothing short of rocket-like.
She refreshed the page just once, and the trending topic had already taken the top spot, with six or seven lines down the list all related to Xiao He.
This is absolutely disgusting! What's the difference between this and directly cursing someone to die?
Liu Rulan was furious.
The anger that had been rising on the Xiang Sheng ship became even more uncontrollable after she disembarked and entered her familiar and proficient territory.
At this moment, she couldn't help but think of what Xiao He had said.
"If you want to do something, just do it. If you have emotions bottled up inside, then you naturally have to let them out through action..."
Without any hesitation, Liu Rulan tossed Xiao Chen's phone back to him, wiped her face, and resumed being the calm and composed top agent.
"Immediately contact Linghui Entertainment to have a meeting in an hour. Also, invite our legal team and have them set off for Hong Kong immediately. Xiao Chen, could you please contact Director Zhuang again later and ask him to inquire if he knows any influential figures or connections to gauge public opinion regarding the Xiang Sheng Hao incident? Finally, everyone, go to the car and get some sleep."
Liu Rulan's last words surprised Xiao Chen and Lao Qi, who were both ready to make a big splash: "Huh?"
“We haven’t had a break in a long time.” Liu Rulan looked calmly at the two people in front of her. “We’ve been busy from yesterday morning to this morning, it’s been a whole day. We’re not in a good state. We should close our eyes and rest for a bit.”
Especially after everything that happened tonight, she and Lao Qi have been on edge the whole time. Although they seem to be in pretty good spirits now, they are actually very tired.
The upcoming media battle is crucial; she needs to rest well and quickly clear her head.
So you should still rest when you need to.
Liu Rulan raised her wrist to check the time on her watch again and continued, "Public relations needs time to come up with a solution, and we should be among the first batch of people to come out. The others on Xiang Sheng should still be being questioned and investigated, so we still have time."
"Then Sister Liu, you and Brother Qi can rest in the car. I've already rested on the shore, so I'll take care of these things."
Xiao Chen immediately took the initiative to do the work.
Liu Rulan nodded without refusing, and Lao Qi had no objection either. The two went directly to the car to rest.
...
Meanwhile, Xiao He is currently completely unaware of the situation outside.
Perhaps because he was acting as an assistant to the police this time, having registered and left his name in advance, the officials who spoke with him were all quite friendly, and they immediately thanked Xiao He for his help to Officer Cheng Bei and the other victims.
Xiao He glanced at the police officer outside who was about to close the door, and guessed that the officer had already told the leaders about his decision to donate.
Although Xiao He's original intention was to help others and dedicate his love, it would also be a good thing if he could also improve the favor of the higher-ups, so that he wouldn't have to suffer too much when he was investigated later.
So Xiao He thanked them in a cooperative manner, without repeatedly mentioning his own contributions, but rather expressing his gratitude for their timely arrival.
Sure enough, the subsequent questioning went more smoothly than expected.
The atmosphere suddenly turned cold when the topic turned to the two bottles of mosquito larvae.
The questions were no longer from the Hong Kong City Police Department officials, but from another group of people, also in uniform, but with a much more serious attitude. Xiao He had a rough idea of who they were.
He sat up slightly straighter, appearing a little nervous in the face of their questions.
At that moment, there was another knock on the door.
A somewhat familiar figure walked in from outside: "Sorry, I hope I'm not too late."
The others didn't mind this person joining halfway through, and simply said politely, "Director Yan has already gone through a lot of trouble to come all the way from Shanghai overnight. Please have a seat here."
"Thanks."
The tall and imposing leader nodded slightly.
Then Xiao He met the other person's gaze—
Yan Zhengbai, Zhou Junhao's brother-in-law, is the highest-ranking official in the Shanghai police system.
Before that, Sister Liu helped them report to the highest-ranking commander they were in contact with.