Chapter 102: Think Bigger, Visiting the Sina Headquarters (Seeking Monthly Tickets and Subscriptions)

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“As someone who has been a fan of Lin Xing for sixteen years, let me say a few words. I initially liked Lin Xing because of his face and also his kindness. During his five years with ‘Star Radiance Sea,’ despite being mocked for having nothing but his looks and being called illiterate, I still admired him.

Later, after ‘Star Radiance Sea’ disbanded, I witnessed firsthand how hard Lin Xing worked. He began seriously studying acting and diligently learning his lines. Over these ten years, Lin Xing has appeared calm and indifferent but has consistently stayed on the right path.

How many popular celebrities have fallen from grace?

How many have been criticized for being unprofessional or just focused on numbers?

How many have delivered terrible performances, only interested in cashing in?

But what about Lin Xing?

After his resurgence, his role in ‘Only Waiting For You’ showed us he was still that handsome idol. Yet Lin Xing is already 32—how much longer can he keep relying on his idol image?

In ‘Black Tide Rampage,’ we saw Lin Xing’s versatility as an actor. He didn’t confine himself to his comfort zone but boldly stepped beyond it. Doesn’t that signal broader horizons?

…

This article was written by Da Mao, who has always been Lin Xing’s staunchest fan; no one knows him better than she does.

During Lin Xing’s decade of obscurity, Da Mao took opportunities to connect with him, chatting with him personally. More importantly, fans occasionally interacted with him in the comment section of his Weibo posts.

Any fan who has followed him all the way would know how much Lin Xing has done in these ten years.

Precisely because of this, Da Mao took the lead in calming the situation and steadying the fans.

She has maintained communication with Sister Dao and some early fans.

These people all began to step in to control the narrative.

At the very least, they aimed to cool down the hype.

Moreover, they also went to the ‘Black Tide Rampage’ production team’s page to thank them for giving Lin Xing the opportunity.

Still, it’s hard to lower the heat quickly.

Half an hour later came ‘Portrait Seeking the Killer.’

“Hello, Teacher Lin.”

The makeup artist was a bit nervous while doing Lin Xing’s makeup, especially whenever he smiled, causing a slight tremble.

After all, Lin Xing had been on set for many days, and everyone was familiar with him.

Furthermore, Lin Xing played Guan Feng, a cultured portrait artist—equally, if not more, handsome.

Who would have thought Lin Xing’s performance in ‘Black Tide Rampage’ was so intense?

How to put it?

Everyone knows it’s acting, but when an actor plays a role too realistically, the audience can easily get immersed.

It’s like when an actor portrayed a domestic abuser so convincingly that his mother-in-law called him to ask if he was really hitting her daughter.

In ‘Black Tide Rampage,’ Lin Xing’s portrayal of Zhou Bo was just too real.

“Thank you.”

After the makeup was done, Lin Xing smiled warmly.

Only after Lin Xing left did Xiao Chen finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“Xiao Chen, are you serious? Lin Xing is Lin Xing, Zhou Bo is Zhou Bo. Why are you merging the character with the actor? Learning from those idiots?”

A colleague nearby responded dryly.

“Have you even watched ‘Black Tide Rampage’?”

Xiao Chen suddenly asked.

The colleague nodded faintly. “I haven’t had time lately; I’m exhausted every day.”

“Then wait until you watch it,” Xiao Chen shook his head. “Lin Xing’s portrayal in ‘Black Tide Rampage’ is really twisted.”

“Not just twisted, I think it’s outright mad.”

“I’ve watched it too. I get what Xiao Chen means. Although I know Lin Xing wouldn’t do those things, in ‘Black Tide Rampage,’ he made me believe it wasn’t acting.”

…

It wasn’t just the makeup team talking. At the same time, when Lin Xing appeared on set, everyone congratulated him.

Yes, congratulations.

Fans felt it was painful to see their idol play such a role—it hurt his image and seemed inappropriate.

But those in the industry knew well what it meant to perform such a challenging role successfully.

“Ah Xing, if I act opposite you after watching ‘Black Tide Rampage,’ I won’t be in the same state as when we started,” Zhou Wei joked. “I haven’t seen the full series, but I’ve watched clips on Weibo—it’s truly remarkable.”

“Yeah, Ah Xing, I used to think you weren’t suited to play a villain, but now I feel it suits you perfectly,” Wei Fei said admiringly.

If Lin Xing’s success in ‘Only Waiting For You’ was largely thanks to Du Fei’s popularity, catching the eyes of producers, directors, and writers who even offered him scripts, then ‘Black Tide Rampage’ earned him genuine industry recognition, showcasing his acting skills.

Du Fei was an easy role; Zhou Bo was difficult. Few actors in the industry could portray both in dramatically different styles—only seasoned veterans could achieve that.

Through his role as Zhou Bo in ‘Black Tide Rampage,’ Lin Xing proved his acting ability.

To be precise, he proved he’s not just a pretty face but has real talent.

“Brother Zhou, Sister Fei, you flatter me too much.”

Lin Xing shook his head. “I owe it to Director Zu and Teacher Liao for their help. Just like on our team, without Director Liu and Teacher Wang’s support, I couldn’t have portrayed Guan Feng’s temperament…”

“Ah Xing, if you don’t make it big, then that would be truly unjust.”

Wei Fei looked at Lin Xing earnestly.

She was so eloquent—not only praising Zu Ming and Liao Qingshan but also the director and writer of ‘Portrait Seeking the Killer.’

“Hahaha, Ah Xing, feel free to share any ideas during the shoot later.”

Liu Zhou laughed.

He had heard that Lin Xing often brought explosive suggestions to the ‘Black Tide Rampage’ set, many of which benefited the production.

Take Zhou Bo’s character, for instance—Lin Xing gave him a second life.

“Director Liu, you’re too kind.”

Lin Xing quickly replied.

Though the crew’s attitude toward Lin Xing had improved significantly, he remained grounded.

He behaved as usual.

This earned him even more respect from the crew.

Many actors become arrogant after a comeback, but Lin Xing kept his composure.

As some celebrities have said, if their treatment doesn’t improve after they become famous, all their years of hardship would be for nothing.

Many who achieve overnight fame easily lose themselves in the entertainment industry.

Without living two lifetimes, Lin Xing would hardly remain so calm.

But his calm doesn’t mean his fans are calm.

Thanks to the control by Da Mao and some veteran fans, the extreme voices on Weibo were not as harsh as before today—but they still existed.

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Don’t forget the haters who were stirring trouble.

More importantly, ‘Black Tide Rampage’ had only been airing for two days. As the plot deepened, fans would find it difficult to calm down.

Sure enough, that evening, episodes 9 and 10 were released on the streaming platform.

In these two episodes, Lin Xing had limited screen time but took Zhou Bo’s madness even further.

As a result, the fans who had barely calmed down started demanding explanations again.

“We definitely support Lin Xing, but I think there’s a problem with ‘Black Tide Rampage.’ Why did they make Lin Xing’s character so ruthless?”

“Exactly, I don’t mean to attack the production, but I think they owe us an explanation.”

“Have you seen how much Lin Xing is being insulted? Isn’t this production just exploiting him?”

“Yes, I see this as exploitation.”

…

In an instant, after today’s broadcast of ‘Black Tide Rampage,’ many fans launched widespread attacks on the production team.

It began anew.

Lin Xing only saw this after finishing his scenes and returning to the hotel.

“Sister Dao, what do you think about this?”

Lin Xing dialed Sister Dao.

She said, “Ah Xing, this is just fans venting. I’m already trying to coordinate with various departments for publicity and have asked some fans…”

“Sister Dao, let me handle it,” Lin Xing interrupted after some thought. “We can’t let fans be manipulated. I firmly believe the silent majority supports me; their voices are just drowned out.”

Just like during ‘Fashionable Men’s Style,’ many thought Lin Xing’s fan base wouldn’t boost sales, but unexpectedly, the sales soared.

This time is no different.

“Ah??”

Sister Dao was stunned. “Ah Xing, are you planning to post something? This isn’t the right time.”

“If I don’t speak up, the self-justification will never end.”

Lin Xing waved his hand. “I’ll do a sweep on Weibo this Saturday, and when the interview comes, I’ll speak out.”

“Alright.”

Sister Dao thought for a moment. “I’ll continue to manage things on my end.”

“Sister Dao, don’t be too obvious.”

Lin Xing smiled. “We don’t want another fan war. That would be petty and only annoy onlookers.”

Controlling comments is the most hated thing by onlookers.

Yet fans believe that without controlling comments, onlookers won’t notice how great their idol is.

But the moment you start controlling comments, onlookers won’t even bother to click on your idol’s Weibo.

“Okay, got it,” Sister Dao replied cheerfully.

At this time, the situation on Weibo became a bit absurd.

The trending topic #AskTheBlackTideProductionToApologizeToLinXing# had dropped, but discussions around it continued.

Because of Lin Xing’s portrayal of Zhou Bo’s perversity, many believed the production was behind this.

These were extreme fans who felt Lin Xing was being unfairly targeted.

There was also a group of pure onlookers discussing how intense and grim the drama was, and how they found Zhou Bo’s character truly hateful.

Many found the character Shen Ming less hateful, merely hypocritical and occasionally cold, but Lin Xing’s role as Zhou Bo genuinely terrifying for his evil deeds.

Then there were some influential critics who had previously mocked Lin Xing’s acting.

Among them, some were like Jia Dong—they had watched the first 10 episodes of ‘Black Tide Rampage’ and thought it was decent, with Lin Xing’s acting quite good, admitting they had misjudged him.

Others were stubborn and refused to admit their mistakes.

Like the influencer ‘Old Wang Reviews.’

He built his popularity by criticizing popular celebrities and relied on that audience.

He could never afford to lose his base.

Yes, he acknowledged Lin Xing’s portrayal of Zhou Bo was good, but if you want to criticize someone, you’ll find a way.

‘Old Wang Reviews’ made a video titled ‘Wow, Someone Actually Praised Lin Xing’s Acting as God-tier?’

In the video, Old Wang rehashed criticisms of certain popular celebrities without naming names, calling them all overrated despite fans hyping them up, claiming their acting was godlike while they needed eye drops to fake tears.

Seriously, terms like ‘god-tier acting’ and ‘explosive acting’ have been overused lately.

People constantly claim how good the acting is.

…

As background, what Old Wang said was indeed annoying—like watching a show without finishing it, seeing wooden acting, hearing dubbed voices, yet fans rave about ‘explosive acting,’ analyzing facial expressions and interpreting empty eyes with wild imagination.

Isn’t that disgusting?

Old Wang usually takes this stance to bash popular stars.

This time was no different.

After his setup, he began discussing Lin Xing’s performance in ‘Black Tide Rampage.’

His points sounded plausible—how Lin Xing could portray Zhou Bo as such a madman, how he transformed the original character.

Old Wang also commented that current dramas are too harsh on common and poor characters while glorifying the rich.

If you hadn’t watched the first 10 episodes, just heard about the show online, Old Wang’s points might seem valid.

Once his video was released, many began sharing it wildly.

“As expected, shows with popular stars always get hyped as divine.”

“Hahaha, protect our Old Wang.”

“Sorry, this is Old Wang’s personal opinion, unrelated to fans.”

“Lin Xing’s fans, hurry up and rebut Old Wang.”

…

Suddenly, Old Wang’s video soared to the top of trending.

One must admit, the video was well-made, condensing the first 10 episodes into 10 minutes with a simple narrative style.

Most viewers understood the plot clearly.

The remaining 10 minutes had 3 minutes of setup and 7 minutes criticizing Lin Xing.

Old Wang represents the typical critic who built success on bashing popular stars and is now reluctant to abandon that lucrative path.

So even though most praised Lin Xing’s acting, he still had to criticize him.

The key was that many fans actually believed him.

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Thank you, Old Wang.

After ending the call with Sister Dao, Lin Xing smiled lightly as he watched Old Wang’s video.

Originally, fans were about to attack the production team again, feeling disrespected.

Now, this completely unified their stance.

Bring it on, Old Wang.

At this moment, Lin Xing’s fans said, “Stop fighting. What we need most is to protect Lin Xing’s public image. Look, you’re all being used.”

Soon, Old Wang’s video was systematically refuted by Old Zhong.

Old Zhong even scathingly said, “Old Wang, you refuse to hear criticism of popular stars and are trapped in your own echo chamber. How are you different from those stars now?”

The battle was on.

Old Wang versus Old Zhong.

All because of Lin Xing.

At least the fans temporarily forgot attacking the production, Sister Dao, and even themselves—they were ready to join the fray.

A typical three-way conflict.

“I’m on Old Zhong’s side. Honestly, Old Wang’s previous videos were reasonable, but this one’s a stretch.”

“I think so too. Old Wang has forgotten his original intention.”

“This is hilarious. Old Wang is stubborn. Previously, if someone said anything negative in his comments, he’d block and mute them. Now he’s wrong but still refuses to admit it.”

…

Currently, more people on Weibo supported Old Wang.

Online, it was all verbal battles, but on Bilibili, Weishi, and Xiaohongren, many were editing Lin Xing’s secondary creations.

Many compiled all Lin Xing’s scenes from ‘Black Tide Rampage,’ set to the song ‘Evil.’

It was incredibly fitting.

Some videos were about three minutes long; others went up to twenty or thirty.

This time, Lin Xing’s footage was very different from ‘Only Waiting For You.’

Back then, his personal clips were few.

But now, there were plenty.

While Weibo was embroiled in fights, other platforms were bubbling.

“Getting intense, the outlaw is truly infuriating.”

“How did Zhou Bo go from honest man to villain?”

“Human nature is evil—Zhou Bo is terrifying.”

“Killing your dog and making you eat it.”

“Zhou Bo x Ren Yi: mutual salvation or mutual betrayal?”

…

More videos about Lin Xing’s Zhou Bo appeared on other platforms.

The most striking were those emphasizing Zhou Bo’s evil.

Others focused on shipping pairings.

Some shipped Zhou Bo and Ren Yi.

Others shipped a mother-son pairing, because in the first 10 episodes, Zhou Bo’s feelings toward his godmother were somewhat unusual, even his gaze toward her felt off.

My goodness.

What’s more taboo than that?

People’s mental states were already unstable, so they wildly debated using these secondary creations.

Some fans even made compilations contrasting Zhou Bo and Du Fei.

“I once dreamed of becoming Du Fei, but I ended up living as Zhou Bo.”

Such a title was irresistibly clickable.

Du Fei’s lines and Zhou Bo’s were juxtaposed.

For example, Du Fei said he had suffered no hardship since birth, his family was great.

Zhou Bo said, “Why must I be bullied? Why do some enjoy life while I suffer?”

Thus, from Bilibili and Weishi, over several days of continuous discussion post-release, it all circled back to Weibo.

“Stop fighting, let’s all ship the CP.”

“No idea what to say, just watch the editors’ videos.”

“Old Wang, wake up, stop criticizing popular stars. Can you do something useful?”

“Hahaha, has Old Wang been depressed after fighting Old Zhong these days?”

…

These past two days felt like a duel between Old Zhong and Old Wang, though Old Wang was clearly on the defensive.

He always looked down on popular stars and mocked them, insisting he’d never become a fanboy.

Yet he was extremely sensitive because he appeared on camera sometimes, and people thought he looked disheveled.

When he mocked others, it was teasing; when others mocked him, it was appearance shaming.

He blocked many people.

Now that he had more fans, he became arrogant.

He had long manipulated public opinion, stirring controversies and winning battles against fans of popular stars.

But this time he stumbled.

In two days, he lost many followers.

Of course, apologizing was impossible—it would lose fans and break his persona.

After the drama’s premiere, Lin Xing again took leave from the set to return to the capital.

Sometimes, after a drama starts airing, actors need to participate in promotion. In the live-stream era, they must interact with fans.

Also, sweep campaigns on Weibo, once only for films, now extended to TV dramas.

Today, it was the ‘Black Tide Rampage’ crew’s turn for the Weibo sweep.

…

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(End of chapter)