Chapter One Hundred Eleven: Celebration, Harsh Reality, and "The Wicked Child" (Please Support with Votes and Subscriptions)

"All right, Director Zu, I will be there on time."

Lin Xing hung up after a few more words. On January 18th, *Sweeping the Black Wave* would hold a celebration banquet in the Imperial Capital. If nothing unexpected happened, this would be the last time the cast of *Sweeping the Black Wave* could gather together. Whether for award ceremonies or other future events, it would be impossible to get everyone in one place again.

After hanging up, Lin Xing turned to Jiang Li with a smile. "Let's gather again when I return to the Imperial Capital. Director Zu just told me that *Sweeping the Black Wave* is holding a celebration banquet on the 18th. You should be receiving a notification soon."

Being notified personally by Zu Ming was a sign of both respect and recognition. After all, since the premiere of *Sweeping the Black Wave*, Lin Xing had been incredibly diligent—or rather, exceptionally hard-working—when it came to promotion.

As for minor actors like Jiang Li, or even those at the bottom of the industry, they might occasionally get invited to such banquets, but it was usually just a notification from the staff to make up the numbers. That was already considered good; some productions wouldn't even bother inviting the minor actors at all.

But *Sweeping the Black Wave* was different. During the wrap-up party, Zu Ming had announced on stage, "We will meet again at the celebration banquet, and I don't want to see a single person missing." That statement naturally earned him a great deal of gratitude from the minor actors.

Even Zu Ming himself hadn't anticipated the level of success the show achieved. He had expected it to perform well, but its current popularity far exceeded his expectations. Naturally, the celebration banquet had to be a grand affair.

The biggest winner of *Sweeping the Black Wave* was undoubtedly Zu Ming. Through this show, he had proven once again that his methods were correct and that his persistence had paid off. Next was Ren Yi; despite having been an A-list actor for years, he had always been criticized for having a narrow acting range. However, he brought the character Yu Feng to life, showing everyone a completely different side of himself. If all went well, Ren Yi would have even more opportunities ahead.

Then there were Wang Fei and Song Wen. As mentioned before, one was mostly relegated to supporting roles, while the other was practically in a state of semi-retirement. Now, both had successfully returned to the public eye thanks to this drama. Whether it's capital or the market, when you are seen, you will be chosen.

*Sweeping the Black Wave* allowed all three lead actors to reap the benefits. Beyond that, Lin Xing had gained industry recognition through his portrayal of Zhou Bo. To put it simply, while Lin Xing frequently trended due to his massive social media traffic, that didn't mean he was the only one reaping all the rewards. That would be impossible. Not every show was like *Only Waiting for You*, where the two leads were both utter disasters. In *Sweeping the Black Wave*, Ren Yi, Song Wen, and Wang Fei were all master-level actors. If Lin Xing hadn't been able to keep pace with them, let alone stand his ground, it would have been quite impressive.

Moreover, a good show is always the result of actors working together to elevate one another. It is rare to see such a talented group of actors gather to work so diligently on a project. If you don't believe it, look at how many actors fight over scripts. It’s not about the billing order; it’s about the scripts themselves. When two actors are both top-tier, but one has connections and manages to rewrite all the high-profile scenes for their own character, conflicts ensue. This isn't just common among trending stars; it happens frequently with veteran actors, too. Why else was there the saying that "kings don't meet kings"?

Therefore, the success of *Sweeping the Black Wave* could be replicated—as long as you treat the script seriously, respect the screenwriter, and hire a group of committed actors. But to achieve such an explosive hit, that couldn't be copied. Zu Ming’s command, his guidance, and his control over the actors were things not every director could manage.

However, that didn't matter. Capital believed it could be replicated: just pick a "sweep away black and evil" theme, invite a bunch of veteran actors, and add a few popular stars who actually have acting skills—then it could be done. Consequently, companies everywhere began to take action. The "sweep" theme was in high demand. Not only that, but some had already begun registering titles for their dramas; the principled ones were fine, but the shameless ones were even using the phrase "sweep black" directly. "You are sweeping black, I am sweeping black too." After all, there had been such dramas before; it wasn't the exclusive property of *Sweeping the Black Wave*.

Many people also sent scripts to Sister Dao. She had been quite busy lately. As she had told Lin Xing from the start, with the explosion of *Sweeping the Black Wave*, Lin Xing had successfully gained industry recognition for his role as Zhou Bo. Because of this, many serious dramas had indeed reached out to him. While landing a male lead in a major production was unlikely for now, at least every role offered had significant screen time. However, Sister Dao didn't feel any of them were quite right for Lin Xing. Especially in the last two days, a stack of scripts had arrived, and they were all "sweep black" themes, with everyone wanting Lin Xing to play a villain.

Sister Dao communicated this to Lin Xing, stating that she had already categorized the scripts. Once Lin Xing returned to the Imperial Capital, he could go through them again to see if there was anything he liked. That was exactly why Lin Xing came to the company first thing after arriving in the capital today.

"Xing, the celebration banquet starts at 6 PM. This time, we aren't inviting other celebrities to help out; it's just a gathering for the cast of *Sweeping the Black Wave*," Sister Dao said with a smile. "The host is still Zhao Fang, but it will be live-streamed on Penguin Video. After all, they don't want to pass up on such massive traffic."

"Good, that's even better," Lin Xing nodded gently. "I was worried Penguin Video would set up a red carpet and invite a bunch of people from the industry to show support; that would have been exhausting."

"Hahaha," Sister Dao suddenly laughed. "Penguin Video originally wanted to do just that. After all, they scored a major win with *Sweeping the Black Wave*, and their official account has been bragging on Weibo for days."

High-end rivalry is often simple and unadorned; the competition between video platforms is quite straightforward. Among this year's opening dramas, *Student Parents* performed normally—a small hit with decent online discussion and a fair share of views on YiKan Video. But the other opening dramas had all flopped, and no matter how much the production teams bought trending topics, it was useless. The audience simply didn't care to look. It had been 18 days, and people were only discussing two dramas: the finished *Sweeping the Black Wave* and the still-airing *Student Parents*. It was only natural for Penguin Video to brag.

Lin Xing asked, puzzled, "Then why was it canceled?"

"Director Zu insisted on it. He believes that since *Sweeping the Black Wave* is already over, there's no need for any gimmicks. He just wanted to celebrate happily with everyone," Sister Dao explained. "So, as per his instructions, all red carpets and industry invitations were canceled, though we are still going to live-stream for the fans."

"Understood," Lin Xing nodded.

At 5 PM, quite a few media outlets were already waiting at the venue. Although *Sweeping the Black Wave* wasn't holding a red carpet or signing wall, the entire cast was attending today, so the media naturally hoped to interview a few of them. However, their plans were destined to fail. The actors arrived and quickly entered the venue.

"Teacher Ren, Teacher Ren, just a few words, please!"
"Teacher Shang, do you have any plans for the future?"
"Teacher Wang, look here, look here!"
"Teacher Song, Teacher Song..."

Some reporters on the scene were carrying long lenses and cameras, hoping to get some shots, but unfortunately, Ren Yi, Shang Xia, Wang Fei, and Song Wen all smiled politely and walked straight inside.

Lin Xing arrived at 5:30 PM. He had his makeup assistant touch up his look in the car before stepping out.

"Ahhhhh! Xing-ge, look here!"
"Xing-ge, look at me, look at me!"
"Lin Xing!!!"

Among the crowd, there were some of Lin Xing’s fans screaming, hoping he would come over to sign autographs.

"Teacher Lin, we need to get inside quickly," the security guards urged.

Lin Xing waved at the fans, but he couldn't go over to sign autographs; otherwise, the security team would have a heart attack. Still, that single wave caused many fans to scream.

"Sigh, I was hoping Xing-ge would come over to sign something."
"What were you thinking? Didn't you see the staff ready to pull him away at any moment?"
"Yeah, oh well, being able to see him from this far is enough."

Clearly, while the fans were a bit disappointed, they understood. Recently, many of Lin Xing's extreme fans had left, and those who remained had mostly been purged. Those extreme fans had been absorbed by the fan clubs of Li Xingchi, Xu Han, and Hao Zhi.

Extreme fans are ticking time bombs, but sometimes they are also lucrative "leeks." Whether it's manufacturing data, producing videos, or driving sales, they are quite fanatical. To this day, Lin Xing's extreme fans still believe he lost out on a massive opportunity, while the fan clubs that took them in use this to mock him. They think, so what if Lin Xing gained some recognition for Zhou Bo? Haven't you noticed his Weibo comment count has dropped? His topic engagement is down, too. With such a drop in data, he'll be crying later.

That is the fan-circle mentality: data is everything. However, most of Lin Xing's current fans are relatively healthy, and they have been guided not to chase data. Especially since last year, before the endorsement for DiMa Electric, Lin Xing had disbanded his official fan club and urged them not to control comments. Sometimes, it’s all about guidance.

That's why most of the people who came to see Lin Xing today were rational fans; they knew it wasn't realistic for him to sign autographs, and some just took a look from afar and prepared to leave. Others planned to watch the live stream while waiting for Lin Xing to come out.

Compared to the commotion outside, the inside was equally lively. Although they hadn't seen each other in a while, it felt like ages had passed.

"Ren Yi, I heard there are a few good projects looking for you?"
"Yeah, there's a spy drama that wants me to play the lead; we're in talks, and the script is pretty good. Never mind me, Wang Fei, you're doing well, aren't you?"
"Yeah, who would have thought that I'd be invited to play the lead in several historical dramas—and these are serious productions, too."
"It's about the same for me; I've got historical dramas and urban dramas. It feels like scripts are suddenly pouring in."

Indeed, it wasn't just Lin Xing who had crossed the "ten thousand mountains."

"Xing is here." Ren Yi looked at Lin Xing and smiled. "How is it? Is your drama finished yet?"
"Almost, it'll wrap up by the end of the month," Lin Xing said.
"Xing, which one are you planning to do next?" Ren Yi asked with a chuckle. "You must have received plenty of scripts lately."
"Quite a few, but I haven't had the time to look through them yet," Lin Xing nodded.
"Choose carefully, don't rush," Ren Yi advised. "For your next project, try to choose a leading role; don't do web dramas anymore."
Wang Fei, who was standing nearby, added, "That's right, Xing. While your popularity is high, I think you should play a male lead—a proper leading role."
"I think as long as the script is good, it's fine," Song Wen shook his head. "If the script is bad and the cast is weak, what's the point of playing a lead? Old Wang, have you forgotten the Waterloo you faced before?"
"I actually support Old Song's opinion on this," Feng Wei walked over and said with a smile. "At any time, the script and the creative team come first. Xing, don't be in a hurry..."
"Yeah, for now, I'm only thinking about finishing *Image of Crime* before considering other scripts," Lin Xing nodded gently. "One step at a time."
"Regardless of anything else, your mindset is solid, Xing. No wonder Old Kong said you are steadier than him," Ren Yi said, shaking his head. "But in this circle, if you don't advance, you retreat. Today everyone is holding you up and frantically handing you scripts, but tomorrow you might be the one being picked."

That was the truth. Look at Fu Shu—he used to be able to pick any script he wanted, but after becoming increasingly "oily" and being mocked for his performance in Zu Ming's previous film, everything changed. Now he has to audition for roles, and people aren't even sure if they want to use him. Everyone present had experienced the ups and downs of the industry, so they were sharing their wisdom. Lin Xing took it all to heart.

However, he still agreed more with Song Wen: blindly chasing a lead role was meaningless. If the drama was bad, what was the point of being the lead? You'd just end up taking the blame. There were actors who were always leads, but after a few years, they simply vanished from the entertainment industry.

"Old Feng, your son didn't come?" Ren Yi suddenly asked Feng Wei. "And why isn't Situ Hui here?"
"Old Ren, are you really asking, or are you doing it on purpose?" Feng Wei said, feeling speechless.
Wang Fei laughed. "Young people need to experience some setbacks. It's not a bad thing; the sooner they suffer, the sooner they become sensible."
"That's right, the person in your family took too good care of Feng Qing before," Song Wen added. "This time, let him learn about the gap. Is acting really that easy?"
"Yeah," Feng Wei sighed quietly.

Is acting really that easy? Friends and family can support you, but the audience won't. Forget Feng Qing—even those famous directors who made bad films were still scolded by the audience. The audience's mind is simple: you can fool me once, but don't think you can fool me twice.

"Director Zu..." As they were talking, Zu Ming arrived, and everyone greeted him.
"Everyone, take your seats; the live stream is about to start," Zu Ming said, still sounding a bit annoyed. "If it were up to me, we would just close the doors and celebrate by ourselves. Why do we have to do a live stream? It's like making everyone perform again."
"Director Zu, it's for the audience," the head of Penguin Video said with a smile. "Now that *Sweeping the Black Wave* has concluded, this celebration isn't just for us; it's to thank the audience. We have to thank them for today's results."
"Well, you're right about that," Zu Ming paused and nodded. "Alright, let's all sit down."

At 5:50 PM, Penguin Video started the live stream. Countless people flooded in. Even though *Sweeping the Black Wave* had ended a few days ago, the discussion hadn't waned, so many viewers tuned in.

"It's here! It's here! I missed the one-month celebration of the inspection team, but I won't miss this one."
"Start already, I really want to see everyone chatting."
"Yeah, I really want to hear them talk."

The live stream comments were all about the drama. Clearly, these were the most authentic comments for a drama without controlled reviews. Of course, there were some discussions about Lin Xing. Someone said, "I'm waiting outside the venue, but Lin Xing didn't sign anything for me." To which someone else replied, "Just go home, why are you waiting in this cold? Lin Xing isn't going to sign for you after the banquet ends late tonight."

At 6 PM, the celebration banquet began on time. Zhao Fang, acting as host, gave an opening speech and invited the creators of *Sweeping the Black Wave* onto the stage. Ren Yi, Wang Fei, Song Wen, Shang Xia, Wu Jun, and others went up. The stage was luckily large enough.

"Should we invite the director and the screenwriter up as well?" Zhao Fang said. "Director Zu, Teacher Liao, let's get on stage."

With that, the director, screenwriter, and main cast of *Sweeping the Black Wave* were all on stage. The live stream comments continued to chat.

"Eh? Where's Lin Xing?"
"Yeah, why can't I see him?"
"Didn't he just go up?"

As the comments were chatting, someone said, "It looks like Lin Xing is in the corner."

On stage, the Penguin Video representative spoke first, expressing joy that the drama had become a hit for 2024 and emphasizing their commitment to producing high-quality content. Then it was Zu Ming's turn.

"First, I must thank Teacher Liao for writing such a good script. Second, I want to thank the actors; they were incredibly cooperative on set. And then there's Lin Xing..." Zu Ming looked behind him. "Eh? Where is Lin Xing?"

When Zu Ming saw that Lin Xing was in the farthest corner, he laughed. "Move forward a bit; I couldn't even see you standing in the corner." With no choice, Lin Xing was pushed to the center. Zu Ming continued talking about him, noting that Lin Xing was very cooperative and took his acting very seriously. He had mentioned at the premiere that the skepticism toward Lin Xing was unfair.

The comments went wild.
"To be fair, Lin Xing seems to have been scolded the worst."
"True, before it aired, they scolded him for having no acting skills; after it aired, they scolded him because he was too good."
"Hahaha, although Director Zu's words are a bit funny, Lin Xing really sounds pathetic."

The live stream lasted about 40 minutes, mostly consisting of casual conversation. At the end, everyone thanked the audience together, and the live stream concluded. However, the banquet itself did not. It was time for eating and drinking.

"Teacher Lin, I want to apologize to you," Fu Shu said, walking over with a glass of wine. He smiled bitterly. "Don't take what I said back then to heart."
"Teacher Fu, what are you talking about?" Lin Xing replied quickly. "I should thank you for the warning; I was indeed scolded pretty badly after the premiere."

Fu Shu thought to himself that the "scolding" he meant was completely different from what actually happened. Fu Shu never imagined that Lin Xing's performance would so far exceed expectations. With such acting skills and emotional intelligence, Fu Shu felt that as long as Lin Xing didn't have a scandal, his future was limitless. So, at the banquet, he came over to say a few words and address the past. Five minutes later, Fu Shu was calling Lin Xing "Xing," and Lin Xing was calling Fu Shu "Brother Shu."

Even though Lin Xing was pacing himself, he still drank a bit too much. He couldn't help it; there were too many people. Ren Yi, Wang Fei, and Song Wen all toasted him, not to mention Fu Shu, Wu Jun, and especially Cao Xiang—who was now eager to build a good relationship with Lin Xing—all of whom drank three glasses with him. How many was that already? And that wasn't even counting the other actors. Even Jiang Li toasted him at the end.

"Phew!" At 10:30 PM, the banquet ended, and the staff began arranging for everyone to go home.
"Xing, how are you getting home?" Ren Yi hugged Lin Xing. "Why don't I have my driver take you? We didn't have enough fun tonight; in a couple of days, I'll call Old Kong and we'll drink again..." Clearly, Ren Yi was also drunk.
"No need, Brother Yi, my driver is already waiting outside..." Lin Xing slurred his words. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine... I... I... what could be wrong with me? This is nothing..." Everyone knew that when people get drunk, they become talkative, so Ren Yi kept pulling Lin Xing to chat until his manager finally helped him away.
"Xing-ge, are you okay?" Xiao Nan tried to help him, too.
"I'm fine, just a little dizzy..." Lin Xing forced himself to stay calm and said goodbye to everyone else.

"Xing-ge!" Just then, someone called out from afar. Lin Xing looked toward the people being blocked by security and frowned slightly. "Why are people still here?"
Xiao Nan said, "These are the ones who wanted to see you after the live stream ended. I told them earlier, but they insisted on waiting."

Lin Xing walked toward the fans.
"Xing-ge, let's go back, you look..."
"It's fine, it's so cold tonight, I need to say a few words to them."

Lin Xing waved his hand slightly and walked up to the fans, though he kept a respectful distance. "Sorry, I smell like alcohol today, so I won't take photos with you. Go home early and be safe on the road. If anyone wants a signed photo, give it to my assistant; I'll sign them and get them back to you..." He added, his tone becoming a bit more serious, "I hope you won't come home so late in the future, and definitely don't wait for me for this long."

After a few words of caution, Lin Xing had Xiao Nan collect the items for signatures and then waved. "Alright, everyone go home, stay safe."

To Lin Xing, this was nothing. But to the fans, it was incredibly moving. They even posted about it in the fan group, with some saying how gentle Lin Xing was—even when drunk, he still worried about them. Lin Xing hoped his fans would treat him like a human, and at the same time, he treated his fans like human beings.

The night passed without incident. The next day, Lin Xing woke up at 8 AM with a splitting headache. He drank a bottle of mineral water, took a hot shower, and finally felt a bit better.

#SweepingtheBlackWaveCelebrationFamilyPhoto#
#ZuMingPraisesLinXingAtCelebration#
...
#LinXingScoldsFansAfterCelebrationBanquet#

"Eh???" Lin Xing looked at the trending topics. The first few were normal, but what was the deal with the last one? It even had a photo of him pointing at the fans. It really looked like he was scolding them. Damn, they were good at catching those angles.

Below, many people had already started scolding him, saying he had become arrogant or that he had shown his true colors after drinking a little. Some fans tried to explain, but others retorted: "One is willing to hit, the other is willing to be hit; respect, blessings, please lock it up."

They were really good at smearing him. Lin Xing checked it and stopped paying attention. This kind of smear was just meant to disgust people. He believed Sister Dao could handle it.

"Xing-ge, breakfast." Xiao Nan arrived at his home with jianbing guozi and scripts. "We have a flight this afternoon; Sister Dao has categorized these scripts for you..."
"Okay." Lin Xing ate while browsing the scripts.

*Sweeping the Black Duel*
*Sweeping the Black Justice*
*Sweeping the Black Decisive Battle*
...
Good grief. All ten of these scripts were "sweep black" themes. He flipped through them; they were all much the same, and they all wanted him to play the villain.

Half an hour later, Lin Xing looked at the scripts labeled as web dramas. Eh? He picked up one titled *Evil Child* and began to flip through it.

(End of chapter)