Chapter 128: You Call This Show Garbage?

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On March 30, the official account of Tonight Has a Show released the latest trailer for that evening’s episode.

Over the past few days, the official account had been warming up the show with daily posts. Although most of the publicity revolved around The Right Way to Enjoy Independence, Portraits of Crime and Good People Have It Hard still received some promotion.

In addition, on March 30, Portraits of Crime released its final trailer.

“It looks somewhat interesting so far, but to be honest, the publicity has been far too weak.”

“I’ll watch it tonight, but can you put a little more effort into promoting it?”

“I have to say, you can’t keep squeezing Lin Xing for all he’s worth. At the very least, buy a few trending searches.”

“Support my brother Xing. I believe in my brother Xing.”

…

The comments and reposts under Portraits of Crime were still dominated by Lin Xing’s fans.

They really were consistent to the end.

Ever since Portraits of Crime was officially announced, the show had essentially been left with only Lin Xing to rely on.

The fans went without saying. From beginning to end, even though many of them had not approved of Lin Xing taking on this online series, they had still chosen to trust him.

As for casual viewers who liked Lin Xing, they remained neutral. The lingering impact of Black Wave Sweep was still strong, so their attitude was basically: Since it’s Lin Xing’s show, we’ll give it a look when it airs.

The anti-fans needed no explanation. To them, any show starring Lin Xing had to flop.

Beyond those groups were the marketing influencers who stirred up the discussion. Some did so because they had been paid, but others did it simply because controversy brought traffic.

If praising Lin Xing brought them traffic, they would praise him wildly.

If insulting Lin Xing brought them traffic, they would curse him just as enthusiastically.

Praise and abuse were both merely matters of profit.

Take the account called “Trashy Xing,” for example. At first, he had simply disliked Lin Xing and set himself a so-called challenge. Later, however, he discovered that insulting Lin Xing could actually gain him followers.

The more he cursed, the more followers he acquired.

And so “Trashy Xing” began putting on all kinds of performances, building himself into a major influencer with thirty thousand followers purely by attacking Lin Xing. Just as “Old Wang Watches Movies” had criticized Black Wave Sweep, he now criticized Portraits of Crime from every possible angle.

The comments section was equally varied.

That day, before Portraits of Crime premiered, “Trashy Xing” posted on Weibo:

“To be honest, Portraits of Crime ought to thank me. Although I’ve been cursing Lin Xing all along, I’ve still promoted this show for them. As for what the show is really like, I believe viewers will know clearly enough tonight.”

“That’s true. We’ll know tonight. I’m actually rather curious to see it.”

“Exactly. If it weren’t for this blogger, I really wouldn’t have been interested in the show. Now I just want to see him pull off his promised upside-down stunt.”

“I’m not so optimistic. I don’t think Portraits of Crime will become popular. A show with this sort of subject matter is bound to flop.”

…

“Hah, this blogger really has discovered the secret to getting traffic. But I hope you’re not going to become Old Wang 2.0.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Old Wang may be getting more and more extreme, but he has real ability.”

“Exactly. This ‘Trashy Xing’ does nothing but vent his emotions. He has absolutely nothing useful to say.”

…

Apart from the differences between the comment and repost sections of “Trashy Xing,” there was also the discussion surrounding “Old Wang Watches Movies.”

Old Wang now believed that since he had already been exposed as a fraud, there was no need to keep pretending. All he had to do was hold on to his current followers, then mock Portraits of Crime once it began airing.

So far, both the number of viewers discussing Portraits of Crime on Weibo and the overall level of buzz surrounding it had been ordinary at best.

Aside from a few controversial discussions that occasionally escaped into the wider public eye, most people were genuinely indifferent to the show.

Even Lin Xing’s involvement was not enough to change that.

To be honest, whether it was Du Fei in Only to Wait for You or Zhou Bo in Black Wave Sweep, Lin Xing’s breakout performances had both been supporting roles.

Most people did not believe those roles proved Lin Xing could carry a show. On the contrary, Only to Wait for You had flopped, while many felt that the success of Black Wave Sweep was due to Liao Qingshan’s script, Zu Ming’s direction, and the contributions of such accomplished actors as Ren Yi, Wang Fei, and Song Wen.

That was the true foundation.

From beginning to end, neither ordinary viewers nor industry insiders believed that those shows had become popular because of Lin Xing. Rather, they believed Lin Xing had become popular because of those two shows.

Under such circumstances, everyone naturally attributed Lin Xing’s success to the appeal of his characters, the scripts, and the directors.

Yet none of those qualities could be seen in Portraits of Crime so far.

The crime-investigation genre was stale, while Lin Xing’s portrayal of the supposed forensic portrait artist seemed completely out of place in the trailer. It appeared to offer nothing that could genuinely stir the audience’s interest.

That was also the source of Old Wang’s confidence.

“Every advantage is on my side. How could I possibly end up being mocked by everyone again, the way I was with Black Wave Sweep?”

Old Wang was already rubbing his hands in anticipation. He had even recorded his video in advance, waiting only for Portraits of Crime to update that evening so he could bury Lin Xing, who was already in the pit, under another layer of dirt.

Portraits of Crime was scheduled to update at ten that night. Members would be able to watch six episodes on the first day, while non-members could watch two.

As for Tonight Has a Show, it would begin airing punctually at 7:50 p.m. on Tan Province Television.

That was Ma Wen’s greatest effort on behalf of Portraits of Crime.

The end of Tonight Has a Show would coincide almost perfectly with the premiere of Portraits of Crime.

At that point, the trending searches were filled almost entirely with promotional clips from Tonight Has a Show. That was the influence of a flagship variety program.

Some of the attention came from longtime viewers of the show, while some came from the fans of its several popular guests, who were frantically boosting the numbers.

Zhao Yining, Xu Tong, Han Long, Lin Yu, Wei Hai, Wei Ying, Hu He, and the other actors appearing in that episode had naturally all posted the final promotional trailer as well.

See you tonight.

Zhou Wei, Ning Rong, and Lin Xing not only posted promotional copy for Tonight Has a Show, but also included publicity for Portraits of Crime.

At the same time, the group chat for the cast and crew of Portraits of Crime was equally lively.

“Good luck with the premiere!”

That was the message accompanying a large digital red packet from Wei Fei.

She did not stop there, but sent a whole series of reaction stickers as well.

What could anyone say?

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Throughout the entire production of Portraits of Crime, only two people had remained completely emotionally steady.

One was Wei Fei. From the moment the show wrapped, she had declared, “The fact that it can air at all is already a victory.” She truly felt no pressure whatsoever.

The other was Lin Xing. From beginning to end, he had remained remarkably calm. Whether it was choosing the script, beginning production, or facing the countless doubts and taunts during post-production, Lin Xing had stayed composed even with the premiere drawing near.

Did that mean Lin Xing was simply detached from everything?

Absolutely not.

Everyone knew how desperately Lin Xing had worked during the recording of Tonight Has a Show.

But at other times, Lin Xing was unlike Ma Wen and Wang Yi, or even Liu Zhou, who had initially been calm but later become anxious and started hoping for a miracle. Nor was he like leading actors such as Zhou Wei and Ning Rong, who were consumed by worry over success or failure.

Lin Xing’s approach was simply one of equanimity.

He believed that the script for Portraits of Crime was good, and that his character was decent enough—at the very least, it was better than those cookie-cutter domineering CEOs.

As for the show becoming a massive hit, Lin Xing had never entertained that thought.

Keep a normal heart. Keep a normal heart.

For the past decade, Lin Xing had maintained that attitude. He had quietly faded from the spotlight, quietly accumulated strength, quietly done charity work, and quietly continued unlocking new skills.

As long as he was moving in the right direction, he could advance at his own pace and enjoy the journey along the way.

For that reason, even if Portraits of Crime turned out to be an utter disaster, Lin Xing could accept it.

After all, such things were hardly unusual in the entertainment industry.

Why should anyone expect to hit it big every single time?

Lin Xing was already more than satisfied with the good fortune of Only to Wait for You and Black Wave Sweep. Whatever the outcome of Portraits of Crime, it would not affect him too deeply.

But accepting any result did not mean Lin Xing would simply lie down and do nothing.

He would complete every part of his own work.

For example, during the recording of Tonight Has a Show, he could give everything he had for the sake of Portraits of Crime.

“Thank you for the red packet, Sister Fei. I hope Portraits of Crime has a smooth premiere tonight.”

“May it be a smash hit! A huge success!”

“Portraits of Crime premieres tonight. Everyone, let’s get the publicity moving!”

…

Lin Xing saw Wei Fei’s red packet in the group chat while he was resting on set that afternoon.

At the same time, the publicity team for Portraits of Crime tagged all the actors and wrote:

“Everyone, please tell your family and friends about the show and ask them to support it together. Use the hashtag ‘Support Portraits of Crime.’ Remember to promote the series with this hashtag during the two hours before tonight’s premiere.”

The others all replied that there would be no problem.

Lin Xing simply answered, “Received!”

He had no intention of messaging every actor he knew.

Portraits of Crime had not even premiered yet. At a time like this, Lin Xing did not want to ask other entertainers to endorse his show.

Just as he disliked endorsing a terrible show himself, he would not impose that on others.

Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you.

At least on that point, Lin Xing was not a hypocrite.

Naturally, the group chat for Portraits of Crime remained extremely lively that day.

The show was finally about to premiere.

The cast were all looking forward to it. A series premiere often meant that the actors would be introduced to the audience once again. If a character became familiar to a larger number of viewers, perhaps a change of fortune would follow.

At 7:50 p.m., Tonight Has a Show began airing first.

Over the course of the two-hour variety program, viewers focused on entirely different highlights.

And things did indeed unfold just as Minnie and Lin Xing had predicted.

Tonight Has a Show cut away two-thirds of Lin Xing’s best moments, but even so, one-third remained.

That one-third was already enough to leave the audience stunned.

“Holy crap, is Lin Xing some kind of human calculator?”

“What the hell? That’s ridiculously overpowered. Was this all arranged by the program beforehand?”

“No, how did Lin Xing guess everything in one go?”

…

“My God, it’s just a variety show. Did Lin Xing really have to work that hard?”

“Good grief, that slide wiped out practically all the male celebrities last time. Lin Xing really isn’t afraid of falling.”

“No, if you don’t watch Lin Xing in the tug-of-war this episode, you’re the ones missing out. Anyone who complained last time that the tug-of-war was too exhausting should watch this.”

“Now that is what you call a male celebrity. Where did he get all that strength?”

…

Compared with certain male celebrities who were delicate and frail, or who even had to fake their abdominal muscles when filming, Lin Xing’s performance on Tonight Has a Show could not merely be called perfect.

It was explosive.

“Can Lin Xing appear on more variety shows? I don’t usually approve of actors going on variety programs, but Lin Xing is genuinely great at them. At first, when I saw him on Let’s Farm, I thought he was just there to fool around. Then he could cook, drive a combine harvester, and even picked up all sorts of other skills…”

“Exactly. Watching Lin Xing on Set Off at Once made me realize that he could take care of every other entertainer in every possible way.”

“Right. At first I didn’t think Lin Xing was doing anything extraordinary, but then compare him with people his own age—or even people who are less capable than he is…”

…

Many people had begun to see Lin Xing in a new light after Let’s Farm. When he displayed his versatility, along with a somewhat humorous side, on that program, he suddenly turned around and played a cold, domineering CEO.

Before everyone had even recovered from that role, he took on a dangerously unhinged character.

At the same time, between those two roles, Lin Xing appeared on a comedy program and revealed another side of himself. Soon afterward came the new variety show Set Off at Once.

Viewers thought those programs had already given them a good understanding of Lin Xing. Little did they expect him to unlock yet another new skill on Tonight Has a Show.

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He was absurdly capable.

It was almost as though Lin Xing had a different set of attributes on every variety program.

And yet no one felt that he was putting on an act.

That was because Lin Xing was equally sincere on every show.

Sincerity was always a lethal weapon.

It was also something many actors lacked.

With certain actors, you always felt that they were pretending. Their so-called sincerity was merely a mask.

Lin Xing did not give people that impression.

Everyone believed that his sincerity was genuine.

He was straightforward.

For example, during the post-recording interview for Tonight Has a Show, the program staff asked whether Lin Xing had worked so hard to promote Portraits of Crime because he was confident in the series.

Lin Xing immediately denied it.

“I’m the lead actor in this show, so promoting it is part of my job. Besides, I don’t think I worked that hard.”

“It was just playing a game. How could that count as working hard?”

…

Those words sounded remarkably genuine.

In fact, many viewers had often been misled into believing that other celebrities were constantly pushing themselves to the limit on variety shows. At the time, some fans would think, Our favorite star is suffering so much. He’s working so hard.

But Lin Xing’s casual remark—“It was just playing a game”—really did make him seem genuine.

Honest.

That was because Lin Xing truly thought that way.

He was not merely pretending to be honest.

Because of Lin Xing’s outstanding performance on Tonight Has a Show, combined with the fact that he had worked so hard without even acknowledging that he had worked hard, he shot straight onto the trending searches that day.

The amusing thing was that Lin Xing did not trend because his new series, Portraits of Crime, was about to premiere. Instead, he trended because of his appearance on a variety program.

By then, there was not much time left before Portraits of Crime began airing.

The hashtag “Support Portraits of Crime” had already entered the trending searches.

Aside from Lin Xing, the other leading actors—including Zhou Wei, Ning Rong, and Wei Fei—had begun promoting the series.

The leads from the various story arcs had joined in as well. Even Lin Miaoyin posted twice on Weibo.

Then there were their colleagues.

Many of the actors in the show had friends in the industry. Wei Fei, for instance, had a great many well-known friends, and those celebrities all enthusiastically showed their support.

Zhou Wei and Ning Rong also had friends doing the same.

As for Lin Xing, although he had not promoted the show himself, many people still supported him out of friendship.

That was how personal connections worked in the entertainment industry.

Lin Xing had once taken the initiative to support Hong Fei and Guan Peng. Now everyone was returning the favor.

Not only Guan Peng and Hong Fei, but also Zheng Zhou, Minnie, and even Yao Xue, whom Lin Xing had only recently added as a friend, all posted messages of support.

The hashtag “Lin Xing Worked Too Hard” had clearly risen to the top of the trending searches.

“If this were some other pretty-boy celebrity, I’d probably be cursing the moment I saw this topic. But with Lin Xing, I don’t mind.”

“Hahaha, I’m dying. Was Lin Xing afraid people would criticize him, so he got ahead of them by making fun of himself first?”

“Exactly. He even mocked himself on the show, saying it was only a game and asking what all the fuss was about. So how did he end up trending anyway?”

“Ha. I really am going to watch this show because of Lin Xing.”

…

Just like that, Lin Xing reached two trending searches because of Tonight Has a Show, while “Support Portraits of Crime” reached another.

In other words, before Portraits of Crime even premiered, Lin Xing had already appeared on three trending searches.

Whether that would have any effect remained unknown.

Whatever the case, Portraits of Crime might have been an online series, but it was Lin Xing’s first leading role in eleven years. Many of his fans were determined to support him.

Among them was Big Cat, one of Lin Xing’s longtime super-fans. She was planning to watch the series.

“Daybreak is here. Let’s support Lin Xing together.”

Big Cat posted that message to her circle of friends.

At first, she had not been particularly excited about Portraits of Crime. She felt Lin Xing should not have accepted the role and believed the project was beneath him.

But then?

After watching six episodes that night—or, more precisely, after finishing the first three—her thoughts had completely changed.

How could this possibly be a terrible show?

And you call this garbage?

…

…

I’ve read everyone’s opinions. Xingxing will consider them carefully and work hard to write the pacing and emotions better. I’ll also do my best to avoid the problems everyone mentioned about the story dragging. Thank you again for your support, and please subscribe.

End of chapter