Chapter 124: Is There Any Need to Go This Far? (Happy Mid-Autumn Festival)

Lin Xing was genuinely not trying to be overly competitive.

He had a foundation in martial arts himself, and over the past decade, he had consistently maintained a fitness routine while continuing to learn various action movements.

Therefore, from Minnie’s perspective, there was no real need for Lin Xing to participate too deeply in the upcoming games on *Tonight's Drama is Thrilling*, but Lin Xing had his own ideas.

He didn't come to *Tonight's Drama is Thrilling* to build connections. If he had truly wanted to forge relationships, he could have continued participating in the recording of *Set Out Immediately*.

Just as Ma Wen had said, the current promotional resources for *The Portrait Detective* were very poor, and acquiring any decent treatment with A-tier resources was basically out of the question.

Through Lin Xing?

Stop joking. Aside from gaining industry recognition through Zhou Bo in *Sweeping the Dark Storm*, what extra prestige did Lin Xing have left?

At present, Lin Xing could only be considered somewhat stronger in terms of traffic and exposure, but that was all.

Just like on the variety show *Tonight's Drama is Thrilling*, if not for Ma Wen's connections, based solely on the prestige of Lin Xing and Minnie, he wouldn't have been qualified to appear on the show at all.

Guan Peng was the one who saw things most thoroughly: in the entertainment industry, you only earn qualifications and connections once you have strength.

Because of this, Lin Xing saw the situation very clearly. Minnie could help him secure some screen time and introduce him to a few people, but during the recording, everything would undoubtedly center around the drama *The Correct Way to Be Independent*.

After all, that drama belonged to Tan Province TV, so naturally, they had to prioritize their own projects.

Since that was the case, if Lin Xing wanted to promote *The Portrait Detective*, he would have to rely on himself, Zhou Wei, and Ning Rong to figure something out when it came time to play the games.

*Tonight's Drama is Thrilling* basically wouldn't go out of its way to help promote your work; when a cast came onto the variety show, it was predominantly about playing games.

Therefore, for Lin Xing, securing close-up camera time wasn't the most important thing—what mattered was leading Zhou Wei and Ning Rong to actively participate in the games.

The rehearsal took about half an hour.

Since it was mostly just running through the flow, they covered how they would make their entrances, how they should walk, which segments required a script, and which segments allowed for free improvisation, among other details.

"A-xing, let's have dinner tomorrow after the recording wraps up."

Minnie had originally intended to have dinner with Lin Xing, but the broadcasting station had just announced that evening that she and the rest of the main creative team of *The Correct Way to Be Independent* had to dine together, so she would have to wait until tomorrow.

Of course, Minnie didn't bother to explain this, nor was there any need to.

It was simply too common an occurrence.

"Alright."

Lin Xing smiled and said, "Then I'll see you tomorrow at the recording."

"Good."

Minnie nodded gently.

Lin Xing exchanged farewell greetings with the others, and then left together with Zhou Wei and Ning Rong.

"Sister Mi, I couldn't really tell what was so special about this Lin Xing?"

After everyone else had left, Cao Zhiming spoke up, "Weren't you giving him a bit too much face?"

Shang Wei laughed and said, "Old Cao, you don't understand this. Your Sister Mi belongs to the aesthetics club. Besides, Lin Xing's face is an invincible existence among his peers. Even though he's thirty-two now, his looks still hold up."

Yao Xue chimed in, "That's right, Lin Xing isn't greasy at all. I never expected him to stage a comeback in popularity last year, and I certainly never expected him to start walking the path of a true acting powerhouse."

Minnie, however, shook her head and joked, "You guys are all too superficial."

Fang Juan added from the side, "Lin Xing's performance in *Sweeping the Dark Storm* this year really made people unexpected that he could change so drastically."

"Look, Juan'er is an actress, so she can tell. As for me, I couldn't quite see Lin Xing's other changes, but just watch this person—within ten years, he will definitely secure a prominent place in this entertainment industry."

Minnie said this with exceptional seriousness.

To say nothing else, just based on Feng Gang's praise for Lin Xing, Guan Peng's endless words of commendation for him, and the firm support from Zu Ming, the director of *Sweeping the Dark Storm*.

Not to mention that Ren Yi essentially treated Lin Xing like a sworn brother almost immediately after finishing filming with him.

This could be considered a kind of ability: after collaborating with him, everyone's perception of you would undergo a massive positive shift.

Including Minnie—she hadn't held a particularly high opinion of Lin Xing initially, but while recording *A Day's Journey with Mi*, she developed a much deeper understanding of him.

As for the recording of *Set Out Immediately*, it went without saying; even Zheng Zhou stated that Lin Xing was genuinely suited for variety shows.

He was handsome, emotionally intelligent, damn well-dedicated to his work, and most importantly, his current capabilities were quite strong. How could he possibly fail to make it big?

How many people with strong capabilities in the entertainment industry ultimately ruined themselves because of low emotional intelligence?

In this circle, having ability alone doesn't guarantee you an opportunity to rise.

Leaving aside young actors and traffic artists, how many veteran actors are similarly undeserving of their high status?

The logic is the same.

It's all dependent on packaging.

It wasn't as if Minnie had never seen those seemingly virtuous veteran actors who behaved wildly and dissolutely at dinner banquets, or even acted obscenely and greasily beyond belief, yet their public relations image remained as upright as ever.

Before the recording of *A Day's Journey with Mi*, Minnie genuinely shared the public's perception that Lin Xing was the type who relied entirely on external packaging to project the image of a so-called acting powerhouse.

After all, during the gathering on the very first day, Lin Xing had only presented himself in a standard, mediocre fashion.

Yet subsequently, Minnie truly felt that Lin Xing was genuinely different from other artists.

And even later on, recording the variety show *Set Out Immediately* made her completely certain of this.

An artist can be packaged, but that is only for the front stage; there is simply no way to package what kind of damn person you are behind the scenes.

Because of this exact reason, Minnie held Lin Xing in particularly high regard.

Minnie didn't bother explaining too much of this, because even if she did, the others wouldn't believe her anyway.

As mentioned earlier, ever since its revamp, *Tonight's Drama is Thrilling* featured a ten-person regular cast. Among them, Minnie and Shang Wei served as the lead hosts, while Cao Zhiming, Yao Xue, and Zhou Yundong remained from the previous lineup, though they were now responsible for leading teams.

Meanwhile, five newcomers had been added. Among them, Fan Hualong and Lu Hongshe were born after the year 2000, representing typical traffic artists.

Then there was Fang Juan, who used to be an actress before discovering that variety shows paid much more than acting, leading her to participate in them frequently.

As for Ye Qingzhong, he was an internet influencer who had successfully transitioned into a key opinion leader. With a massive female fan base and over ten million followers as a major influencer, he had gradually started participating in variety shows in recent years to voice his opinions.

The last one was the stand-up comedian Zeng Yuanfu. Although he was only twenty-five, he possessed the face of a thirty-five-year-old, and his audience affinity among the general public was quite good.

In reality, the thoughts and motives of these ten people all differed. It was just like a workplace where everyone was merely a fair-weather friend.

Why was it that just after Cao Zhiming asked his question, Shang Wei made that teasing remark implying Minnie belonged to the aesthetics club, and then Yao Xue and Fang Juan spoke up in defense of Lin Xing while the others maintained neutrality? It was precisely because everyone belonged to different factions.

On *Tonight's Drama is Thrilling*, Minnie and Shang Wei occupied the top spots as lead host and hostess. Not just on this variety show, but across the entire television station, the two of them held the premier positions.

Naturally, resources were bound to conflict.

Initially, Shang Wei had wanted to host a talk show-style program, but ended up having it snatched away by Minnie first. Of course, behind the scenes, the station also arranged for Shang Wei to host a different variety show, yet minor frictions between the two constantly persisted.

This time, since Minnie wanted to elevate Lin Xing, Shang Wei wasn't petty enough to deliberately trip him up, but he certainly wouldn't harbor any good feelings toward Lin Xing either.

Minnie was crystal clear on all of this in her heart, whereas Lin Xing remained completely oblivious.

Although he hadn't come to *Tonight's Drama is Thrilling* to build connections or make friends, he also hadn't come to cultivate hatred.

Yet who would have thought that he would somehow end up being resented through sheer cluelessness?

There was simply no helping it.

Being handsome was a double-edged sword.

Sometimes good looks brought convenience, while other times they still managed to attract resentment.

That evening, the production crew of *Tonight's Drama is Thrilling* held a separate dinner with the cast of *The Correct Way to Be Independent*.

As for Lin Xing, Zhou Wei, and Ning Rong, the three of them simply found a small tavern and drank a little together.

"I heard Director Liu say that our drama won't have a premiere press conference."

Ning Rong said with a trace of disappointment, "I'm afraid this drama is really going to air without a single sound or ripple."

Zhou Wei took things quite in stride: "What else did you expect? The lack of a premiere press conference isn't because there's something wrong with the drama; it's because there's something wrong with us, aside from A-xing—because we simply aren't worthy."

"Alright, Brother Zhou, though those words pierce the heart, they are indeed the truth."

Ning Rong gave a wry smile and said, "It's true that we aren't worthy. I'm sorry, Brother Xing, we held you back."

Lin Xing chuckled softly: "We might not get the chance for a premiere press conference, but who knows, we might just get the chance for a celebration banquet."

"A-xing, I just love this optimistic mindset of yours."

Zhou Wei laughed out loud and said, "Human beings, you really ought to be optimistic. With so many miracles happening in the entertainment industry, who's to say a miracle can't happen to us?"

"Right, to miracles, cheers!"

Ning Rong raised his wine glass and said.

Lin Xing and Zhou Wei raised their glasses as well: "To miracles, cheers!"

Even if you lose the battle, you must never lose your momentum!

The three of them didn't stay long at the tavern, and they only had a single drink each, because they had much more important work to do.

That was to study the games and rules of *Tonight's Drama is Thrilling*.

"Based on past recordings, *Tonight's Drama is Thrilling* has three games that count as major highlights. We saw this during our rehearsal this afternoon: one is the classic game 'Pointing in One Direction, Turning the Head in Another.'

This game primarily tests reaction speed. The basic gameplay involves one person waving their hand to indicate a direction, while another person must react instantly and turn their head in a different direction. If the head and hand end up pointing in the same direction, then that person loses.

..."

Lin Xing went over the first game first, noting that it relied mainly on reaction time.

"By then, the eight people from our drama's cast will definitely be broken up and scattered, because those eight people can form pairs with the eight cast members from the other show. However, Zhao Yining and Xu Tong definitely won't play this game."

Lin Xing said with a hint of certainty, "So, it will work out to exactly eight versus eight."

Ning Rong asked in puzzlement: "Why?"

"Because this game is played in pairs of two, with one person per team responsible for playing the game and the other responsible for taking the punishment. Whoever loses in the game gets splashed with water, and the other teammate has to help block the water..."

Lin Xing said with a smile, "Female artists' makeup is already easy to smudge. Even if those two wanted to play, their managers probably wouldn't agree; after all, their public image cannot afford any slip-ups."

Saying this, Lin Xing paused for a moment: "This is our opportunity. Whether we win or lose, the most important thing is to have a presence. The production crew certainly won't let all eight pairs play, so by then, the three of us will all participate. Ning Rong, you have no problem with that, do you?"

"Of course no problem."

Ning Rong said unconcernedly, "I don't have some artificial persona to maintain anyway. Getting splashed with water, what's so bad about that?"

"Right, when you go on a show, you must never try to force an artificial persona, and definitely don't put on airs or act pretentious. When a man acts pretentious, he becomes greasy; when a woman acts pretentious, she becomes a green tea bitch."

Lin Xing told the other two: "We'll keep a normal mindset when the time comes, but we must display a competitive and fighting spirit."

Zhou Wei and Ning Rong both replied, "No problem."

"Aside from that, the game most likely to generate comedic moments is *You Act and I Guess*. I've looked into it roughly; currently, every variety show has this, but if every single episode of *Tonight's Drama is Thrilling* features this game, it only proves one thing—the ratings for this game segment are definitely high..."

Lin Xing continued, "So the three of us can exaggerate things a bit during this game segment. Anyway, it boils down to one sentence: whatever is the most comedic, we do that."

Zhou Wei frowned: "I'm not good at being funny."

"Brother Zhou, as long as you play this game with complete sincerity, it will definitely turn out funny."

Lin Xing smiled and said, "Because wearing headphones, trying to read someone's lip movements, guessing what they're saying, and passing it on to the next person makes misguesses very easy. You just need to perform normally."

What kind of humor is the funniest?

Isn't it precisely when someone acts completely deadpan and serious, only for the resulting output to produce drastically different comedic material, that it becomes the funniest?

Next, Lin Xing outlined three more games: *Guess the Celebrity from Facial Expressions*, a recently popular game which Lin Xing brought up from the internet for both of them to review.

In addition to that, there were two physically demanding games.

One was the tug-of-war game, which consumed a considerable amount of stamina and basically belonged to the category of celebrity challenge games, meaning celebrities could challenge strongmen to a tug-of-war match.

The other was climbing a slippery staircase, which everyone participated in and naturally resulted in all sorts of hilarious mishaps.

The dangerous games Minnie had mentioned were the tug-of-war and the kicking-board game.

Lin Xing explained each game in thorough detail, ensuring that Zhou Wei and Ning Rong had a firm grasp of everything in their minds.

At this moment, both Zhou Wei and Ning Rong wore expressions of utter bewilderment—no, rather, they gazed at Lin Xing with looks of absolute admiration.

As far as the two of them were concerned, their initial thought was simply to participate in a variety show, and use that participation to promote *The Portrait Detective*.

That was all.

Besides, both of them knew they were merely supporting actors, so they basically intended to just go through the motions as minor extras.

Yet who would have thought that Lin Xing would do his homework to such an exhaustive degree?

To be completely honest, whether it was Zhou Wei or Ning Rong, they weren't unfamiliar with *Tonight's Drama is Thrilling*. After all, both of them had appeared on the show before, it was just that ever since the revamp, they hadn't qualified to appear on it again.

Aside from that, they hadn't watched full episodes of the revamped *Tonight's Drama is Thrilling*, let alone paid attention to the games featured on it.

Everything they knew had come from the scripts they received earlier that day and what they saw live during the rehearsal.

It turned out that after the revamp, so many new games had been added.

If *Tonight's Drama is Thrilling* had previously focused primarily on so-called guest interviews before its revamp, then after the revamp, guest interviews were no longer important.

Or rather, there were basically no guest interviews to speak of; everyone simply played games.

Yet how could Zhou Wei and Ning Rong have anticipated that Lin Xing would do his homework so thoroughly? He hadn't just marked out the key game segments of *Tonight's Drama is Thrilling*; he had even laid out numerous scenarios for the next day in advance.

After listening, Ning Rong felt a deep sense of admiration, while simultaneously feeling as though a fighting spirit had been ignited within himself: "Brother Xing, don't you worry. I'll definitely give it my all when the time comes, and I absolutely won't lose face."

Zhou Wei also chimed in: "A-xing, seeing as you've gone to this length, how come I suddenly feel my blood burning too?"

"It's not that dramatic."

Lin Xing chuckled good-naturedly: "I'm just used to it. Whenever I face any task, I always try to think of solutions. After all, we're supporting acts, and tomorrow we'll be accompanying the crown prince to study—no, rather, accompanying the princess to study. The focus of this episode of *Tonight's Drama is Thrilling* will definitely be on *The Correct Way to Be Independent*. We can't compete with that, so..."

Saying this, Lin Xing paused for a brief second before continuing: "So we can only try our best to find ways around it. As long as we put in more effort, for the sake of the show's effect, the producers won't edit us out entirely."

This was just like how veteran actors with strong acting skills, even if they only played cameo roles in a drama, would exhaust all their energy to make themselves shine.

In the end, the director wouldn't cut their scenes.

Because the overall big picture mattered most.

Even if the production crew of *Tonight's Drama is Thrilling* felt that their presence was perhaps a bit too strong, they still couldn't cut their performances away completely and would inevitably leave a portion in.

And that was more than enough.

How did the saying go?

There are no small roles, only small actors; as long as you put your heart into it, everywhere is a stage.

The following day, at 8:15 AM, the three of them—Lin Xing, Zhou Wei, and Ning Rong—arrived at the recording venue and were first led away to have their makeup done.

At 8:30 AM, the audience entered the hall.

The official recording was scheduled for 9:00 AM, but at 8:45 AM, all the main creative cast of *The Correct Way to Be Independent*, except for Zhao Yining, had already arrived.

At 8:58 AM, Zhao Xiaoning arrived right on the dot.

She didn't like waking up early, and the hotel she stayed at wasn't the one arranged by the production crew of *Tonight's Drama is Thrilling*, keeping some distance from the recording site. However, Zhao Xiaoning had simply continued to sleep for a while inside her motorhome while having her makeup artist touch up her makeup right there inside the vehicle.

This kind of situation could be seen everywhere in the entertainment industry.

Nobody thought there was anything wrong with it.

So what if someone who became popular enjoyed a few special privileges?

At 9:00 AM, *Tonight's Drama is Thrilling* officially commenced its recording.

Following a brief opening sequence, everyone stepped onto the stage in order.

Minnie and Shang Wei took their places in the center C-positions.

"Tonight's drama is thrilling, there are thrilling shows to watch without end!"

Minnie, Shang Wei, and the others shouted the slogan of *Tonight's Drama is Thrilling* in unison.

Immediately afterward, Minnie began by thanking the exclusive title sponsor of *Tonight's Drama is Thrilling*, delivered a promotional advertisement, and only then moved on to the main agenda.

"First of all, let's welcome our old friends Yining and Tongtong."

Minnie said with a smile.

As soon as she finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted.