Chapter Fourteen: Breaking Out, Joining the Cast

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July 9th, Imperial Capital, High-Speed Rail Station.

Lin Xing and Lin Miaoyin, both wearing masks, quickly exited the station and got into Sister Dao’s car.

“Hurry, drive,” Sister Dao said briskly.

The driver stepped hard on the accelerator and sped away from the station.

There was no other way—Lin Xing was currently trending online, and many entertainment reporters and paparazzi would be trying every trick to capture his movements. This time, Sister Dao hadn’t even informed the fan club to meet them at the airport.

Everything was to be kept low-profile.

“Feng Gang just called me about you guest-starring on ‘Back to the Fields,’” Sister Dao said to Lin Xing in surprise as they sat in the car. “Xing, do you really trust him that much?”

“I don’t trust Feng Gang—I trust the variety show itself,” Lin Xing replied with a smile. “Audiences are already immune to these countryside lifestyle shows. After all, everyone knows that pastoral living exists only in dreams.”

Lin Miaoyin agreed from the side, “That’s right, Sister Dao. I think this show could be a hit.”

“Today at noon, ‘Back to the Fields’ will release a teaser. Miaoyin and I will help share it,” Lin Xing told Sister Dao. “You can check it out then.”

“Alright, there’s no rush.” Sister Dao shook her head. “Xing, you’ll be joining the crew this afternoon. I’ll have Xiao Nan accompany you so it’ll be easier to look after you.”

Lin Xing nodded gently.

He didn’t refuse this arrangement—after all, having an assistant was invaluable when filming.

“At Your Waiting” was currently being filmed by two teams.

Team A was directed by Kong Yi, who was mainly in charge of Chu Chen’s scenes as a pilot.

Team B was directed by Qiu Ke, focusing on the lawyer storyline.

Most of Lin Xing’s scenes were with the female lead, so after joining the crew, Qiu Ke would primarily direct his parts.

Sister Dao went over all these details with Lin Xing thoroughly.

“Xing, call me anytime if anything happens this week, and don’t ever meet women alone. Make sure Xiao Nan is always present.”

Sister Dao reminded him once more.

A film crew was its own world.

There were women who wanted to climb the ladder, some willing to sleep their way from the lighting department up to assistant director for more screen time.

Not to mention the endless internal power struggles.

Finally, Sister Dao reminded Lin Xing never to open his hotel door at night—no matter who was knocking, man or woman.

These were lessons paid for in blood.

There had been incidents of sexual harassment in crews, suspicious script readings in hotel rooms, and so on.

Especially for a handsome and popular male artist, caution was paramount.

You never knew when you’d be stabbed in the back or framed.

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What’s more, countless people were on guard against Lin Xing now—Sister Dao had no choice but to be extra careful.

If it weren’t for the filming schedule, she wouldn’t even want Lin Xing staying at a hotel.

“Alright then, Xing, I’ll leave you to it. I’m taking Lin Miaoyin to a business meeting,” Sister Dao checked her watch and repeated, “Be sure to protect yourself. Call me for anything, anytime.”

“I know, Sister Dao. Go ahead,” Lin Xing waved her off. “I’m going to rest in my room.”

At the company, Lin Xing had his own lounge.

As for joining the crew, he didn’t need to worry—Sister Dao had handled everything, and the rest was up to Xiao Nan.

An assistant often handled tasks that were half the job of a manager.

Half an hour later, Xiao Nan knocked and entered.

“Xing, I’ve coordinated with the crew. We need to be at Xingyi Hotel by 2:00. After settling in, we’ll rest and go over the script—there’s a night scene to shoot later…”

Xiao Nan spoke quickly, notebook in hand.

“How long will it take to get to Xingyi Hotel?” Lin Xing asked.

“An hour and a half, so we can have lunch first. After that, the company car will take us over. Our contact is the B team’s assistant director, who’ll walk us through the script.”

Xiao Nan finished and asked, “What would you like to eat, Xing? I’ll get it.”

“Whatever you think, but something light. The food on ‘Back to the Fields’ has been too greasy lately,” Lin Xing replied with a smile.

“Got it,” Xiao Nan acknowledged.

An hour later, Xiao Nan returned with three dishes and a soup.

Stir-fried eggs with enoki mushrooms, homemade tofu, cabbage with sizzling oil, and seaweed and egg soup.

As they ate, the official “Back to the Fields” account released the new episode’s teaser.

Harvesting wheat.

Cooking in a giant pot.

Driving a combine harvester.

In the tight three-minute teaser, half of Lin Xing’s highlight moments were shown—after all, if it all aired in the teaser, what would be left for the audience?

Moreover, the teaser masterfully cut off just at the climaxes.

For example, how did Lin Xing do at harvesting wheat? It didn’t say.

How did the giant pot dish turn out? Not revealed.

Did Lin Xing get his combine harvester license? The teaser left it unanswered.

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Want to find out?

Tune in to Banana Video next Friday at noon.

The teaser didn’t even need the show’s team to pay for hype—the haters rushed in first.

“Oh please, Lin Xing can drive a combine harvester? Are you kidding me?”

“Haha, is this illiterate trying to pass himself off as some jack-of-all-trades? Farming? Does he even know the difference between crops?”

“I just don’t get why all these celebrities want to act like they’re chefs.”

“Hilarious. And people say Lin Xing didn’t pay to trend?”

“This is too funny. Lin Xing really knows how to harvest wheat? Does he even know how to speed up a combine?”

…

Just as the haters piled on, someone in Lin Xing’s super-topic group posted a photo.

“I was Lin Xing’s examiner. He really did get his combine harvester license. Here’s a photo of us together.”

Aside from this message, there was a selfie with Lin Xing.

Of course, the examiner had blurred his own face.

He added, “Lin Xing is truly down-to-earth, much better than some of those diva idols.”

Lin Xing’s fans immediately shared this post until it trended.

Along with it, “Back to the Fields” became a hot topic.

“Wait, is this variety show actually about real farming? Why take a combine harvester exam?”

“Yeah, isn’t this just another show where they pretend to work for ten minutes and then sit around sharing life philosophies for the rest?”

“Exactly, I thought it’d be ten minutes of farming and ninety minutes of talk.”

…

Even casual viewers started discussing it—which meant one thing.

It had broken out of its niche.

To break out of the niche meant that even outsiders were talking about it, not just a small circle of fans.

Like some other celebrities—if you left their fan circle, who would know them?

Of course, a single teaser didn’t mean much, and whether breaking out would be good or bad remained to be seen.

So Lin Xing also reposted the official “Back to the Fields” teaser, adding: “Whether it’s a donkey or a horse, we’ll see when it runs. See you all next Friday at noon.”

After posting, he turned to Xiao Nan, “Let’s go.”

It was time for Lin Xing to officially join the crew.

…