Chapter 138: Maintaining the Persona, Speaking Up for the Working Class

9:20 AM, Sina Lounge.

Lin Xing, Ning Rong, Zhou Wei, Lu Quan, Wei Fei, and Li Chuang had all arrived.

Compared to the last time Lin Xing came alone on behalf of the crew of *Anti-Darkness Wave* to tour the offices, this time the lineup was quite substantial.

This did not even include the female leads of the various anthology units.

After all, Sina's office tour could not accommodate too many people; having the six main leads was more than enough.

"Teacher Lin, everyone, our official office tour starts at 10:00 AM. Since this time it's different from previous office tours, we are essentially holding our press conference right here at Sina..."

Xiao Liu, the person in charge of this office tour for *Portrait Tracker*, spoke once again.

He briefly explained the situation to everyone and walked them through the schedule.

With six people, it wouldn't be appropriate to play games or anything like that during the office tour. Firstly, even though today was Saturday, there were still quite a lot of people in the Sina building.

Secondly, the nature of this event did not lend itself well to playing games.

Because of this, Sina arranged for everyone to go through the motions briefly and then proceed directly to the press conference.

After all, Sina had its own agenda: *Portrait Tracker* had not held a single press conference since wrapping up, nor had it hosted any offline ceremonies upon its premiere. Generally speaking, both the industry and the audience were currently quite unfamiliar with it.

Under these circumstances, holding a press conference was the most appropriate move.

Hosting the press conference right inside Sina was in itself a fantastic promotional hook.

"Teacher Lin, we need to conduct a pre-interview with you."

Xiao Liu turned to Lin Xing and said, "This pre-interview will be released later after the live stream ends."

"Alright, that's fine."

Lin Xing said with a smile, "So, how shall we do this? Am I being interviewed here or somewhere else?"

"We need to go to the shooting room next door," Xiao Liu quickly replied. "The equipment is already set up over there."

"Got it."

Lin Xing stood up as he spoke. "Let's go then."

This was the treatment reserved for top-tier stars.

No one else, not even Wei Fei, felt any discomfort about this. To say nothing of the entertainment industry, every walk of life had its own distinct social strata, didn't it?

For instance, just like that.

"Teacher Lin, this pre-interview is essentially a mini exclusive interview with you, lasting roughly 30 minutes. If there are any questions you find inconvenient to answer, you can just skip them."

On the way to the shooting room, Xiao Liu explained the upcoming pre-interview, or rather, exclusive interview, to Lin Xing.

"Okay."

Lin Xing nodded gently.

"Hello, Teacher Lin."

Upon reaching the shooting room, Lin Xing met Gong Yan, a reporter from Sina Entertainment. She was a relatively well-known journalist within the platform.

She usually managed the pace of various exclusive interviews and small-scale press conferences.

"Teacher Lin, please take a look at our questions first..."

Gong Yan handed a sheet containing the upcoming questions to Lin Xing. "See which ones might be inconvenient for you. If you feel any of them are inconvenient, just shake your head directly during the recording to signal us."

These words were very similar to what Xiao Liu had said earlier.

Lin Xing took the manuscript from Gong Yan. Most of the questions revolved around *Portrait Tracker*.

After all, *Portrait Tracker* currently enjoyed the highest popularity, and Lin Xing, as the leading actor, was naturally the center of attention.

Sina's invitation for *Portrait Tracker* to tour their offices was, in large part, aimed at Lin Xing.

Why single out Lin Xing for a pre-interview?

Why even think of turning it into an exclusive interview?

Wasn't it simply to capture the first wave of hype?

"Alright, this is good."

After glancing over the questions for about a minute, Lin Xing raised his head and said to Gong Yan, "Let's begin."

Gong Yan looked somewhat startled and asked, "Teacher Lin, we're starting now?"

"Yeah, let's start."

Lin Xing smiled and said, "There's only half an hour left until the live stream. Let's make it quick and decisive."

"Understood."

Gong Yan made a hand gesture toward the cameraman.

Three days—no, three seconds later, the official recording began.

After a brief opening, the exclusive interview officially commenced.

"Teacher Lin, why did you choose to take on this script in the first place?"

This was the first question.

Lin Xing replied, "When I first read this script, I really liked the story. Moreover, I felt that the character Guan Feng suited me very well, so I took the initiative to contact the crew of *Portrait Tracker*..."

The second question concerned the controversies sparked by his decision to star in a web drama.

"How do you view the opinion of many people who think that taking on a web drama is lowering your status?"

This question made Lin Xing laugh. He looked into the lens and said, "What status do I have? I'm just an artist who makes dramas. Besides, I don't think there is a high-and-low distinction between web dramas and television dramas. As long as the work is good, and as long as the audience enjoys watching it, then it's a good drama..."

Many people's mindsets simply hadn't caught up yet.

It was just like how acting in a TV series was considered high-brow while acting in a web drama was considered lowering one's prestige. Some people also felt that movie stars had higher prestige, and when a movie star acted in a TV series, it was considered 'descending to the mortal realm.' In Lin Xing's eyes, all of this was utter nonsense.

He believed that whether one's prestige was high or not didn't matter; what mattered was whether the work was good.

Artists needed to let their work speak for themselves, not their prestige.

A good work was one that the audience loved to watch, rather than one where the audience disliked it, yet the creators jumped out to claim that their drama had prestige and the viewers simply lacked the capacity to appreciate it.

Go fly a kite.

Lin Xing didn't particularly want to drag anyone down, but he believed that if you didn't respect the audience and blindly tried to maintain your own pretentious prestige, sooner or later you would become detached from the market and ultimately be abandoned by it.

If you don't believe me, just look at those pretentious folks in the entertainment industry—did any of them ever come to a good end?

On this point, Lin Xing was exceptionally clear-headed.

Therefore, regarding the fourth question—"Do you want to shed your 'traffic star' label and transition into a heavyweight acting powerhouse?"—Lin Xing directly replied, "Of course not. Why would I want to shed my traffic label?"

Gong Yan was genuinely curious at this point: "But you dissolved your official fan club, and the dramas you've chosen are all mainstream prestige dramas. Even though we previously mistook *Portrait Tracker* for an idol drama, we were wrong; it's also a mainstream prestige drama. Furthermore, yesterday at the airport, you told all your fans not to come pick you up anymore."

Lin Xing asked, "So?"

Gong Yan was taken aback: "What?"

"I dissolved the official fan club because I hoped fans wouldn't waste time on meaningless things like managing comments, boosting chart rankings, and generating data. I chose these scripts simply because the scripts were good. As for airport pickups, I feel that doing so causes chaos at the airport and creates inconveniences for ordinary passersby."

Lin Xing stated, "Does any of this have anything to do with me shedding my traffic label?"

Well then.

Gong Yan was indeed rendered speechless by Lin Xing's counter-question.

And she was rendered speechless twice.

Xiao Liu, standing off to the side, wasn't surprised at all. During the last office tour, Lin Xing's defining trait was rebellion, completely refusing to play by the rules.

Where was this exclusive interview even going?

"So you're saying, Teacher Lin, that you aren't resistant to people calling you a traffic artist?"

Gong Yan continued to probe.

"People can call me whatever they like. I'll say it again: I'm just an actor, and my job is to act well and do my work properly."

Lin Xing said with a smile, "I just hope people won't put me on a pedestal or overhype me. Just like you said earlier about me trying hard to shed the traffic label and transition into an acting powerhouse—that's really not the case. I'm actually quite a worldly person; who wouldn't want traffic?"

Still the same old saying:
Children make choices; adults want it all.

Fifteen minutes later, the mini exclusive interview concluded.

"Teacher Lin, we will release this interview tonight..."

Gong Yan said to Lin Xing, "We'll start editing it now, and after your live stream finishes, I'll send the final cut over for you to review and see if anything needs adjustment."

"Alright, thank you, you've worked hard."

Lin Xing stood up and said to Gong Yan.

"Teacher Lin, you're too polite, this is my job."

Gong Yan hurriedly replied, "You and Brother Liu go ahead with the live stream. I won't take up any more of your time. I'll send the final cut to you as soon as it's edited."

After Lin Xing returned to the lounge, the live stream was practically about to begin.

Since there were six people this time, the official Sina Weibo account served as the main camera, with professionals handling the filming and broadcasting.

The location of the live stream was right in Sina's work area.

A small press conference setup had been arranged.

The backdrop was a multi-person poster for *Portrait Tracker*.

"Everyone, please take a seat..."

When Lin Xing and the others arrived at the scene, Xiao Liu gestured to them.

"Sister Fei, you sit in the middle, I'll just sit to the side..."

Lin Xing said with a smile.

"No, you're the lead, you sit in the C-position."

Wei Fei firmly pressed Lin Xing into the middle seat while motioning for Ning Rong and Zhou Wei to sit on either side of him.

After all, Wei Fei was also the producer of *Portrait Tracker*, and she possessed a good sense of the bigger picture.

Her main responsibility for attending today's live stream was logistical support.

Once Lin Xing and the others were seated, the live stream officially commenced.

"First!"
"Here they come, here they come."
"Goodness gracious, is this an office tour or a premiere press conference?"
"Oh my god, why is it so formal today?"
"Must have woken up on the wrong side of the bed, never thought I'd see *Portrait Tracker* holding a press conference at Sina."
...

Countless fans and netizens poured into the stream instantly.

"Hello everyone, I am actor Lin Xing, and I play the sketch artist Guan Feng in *Portrait Tracker*."

As the stream began, Lin Xing gave a brief self-introduction.

Following closely were introductions by Zhou Wei, Ning Rong, Lu Quan, Li Chuang, and Wei Fei.

The host for this Sina press conference was someone else. Of course, she didn't need to show her face during the stream; her role was simply to guide the flow.

She offered a brief welcome to the netizens tuning in together for the premiere press conference of *Portrait Tracker*.

Then, it transitioned into the interview segment.

"As we currently know, *Portrait Tracker* features nine cases. Among these nine cases, which scene left the deepest impression on each of you during filming?"

This was the first question, asked by the Sina TV department.

"Teacher Lin, why don't you answer first?"

Lin Xing had originally intended to start with Wei Fei on the end, but since he was called out by name, he picked up the microphone and said, "If we're talking about which scene left the deepest impression, it would probably be the case that aired yesterday."

Saying this, Lin Xing paused. Everyone assumed Lin Xing was talking about the *Domestic Violence Counter-Kill Case*, but instead, Lin Xing mentioned the *AI Face-Swapping Scam Case*.

"Those of us who frequently use the internet always feel that those scams are full of loopholes, but for some elderly people, these count as a new type of fraud."

"Because they are out of touch with the times and lag behind on information, it's hard for them to discern fraudulent tactics disguised with familial affection. Therefore, I also hope that no matter how busy everyone is, you should regularly contact your parents..."

...

"Damn, Lin Xing is truly maintaining his persona without fail. He never forgets to promote anti-telecom fraud at any given moment."

"Hahaha, who's to say otherwise? He was promoting it nonstop during his last office tour, and now he's at it again."

"True, but I think promoting it is totally fine."

...

The bullet comment section saw a surge of discussions.

After talking about that case, Lin Xing mentioned that the scene that left the deepest impression on him was collaborating with the two veteran actors who played his master and master's wife in the drama.

Next was Zhou Wei.

Zhou Wei stated that the scene that left the deepest impression on him actually happened off-camera.

It was during the filming of the *Screenwriter Murder Case*, where the female screenwriter in the drama murdered her husband and her husband's sister, and then turned the husband's sister into a stool.

This scene left a deep impression on Zhou Wei because Lin Xing pointed out that the brickwork was wrong, feeling that building it that way would cause the stool to collapse.

In the end, Lin Xing was the one who laid the bricks.

Not only did this leave a deep impression on Zhou Wei, but Ning Rong, Lu Quan, and Li Chuang all agreed.

Following that, Wei Fei stated that her most memorable filming experience was the *Exchange Murder of Wives* case, though this particular case hadn't aired yet. Wei Fei said, "This case airs tonight. Once everyone watches it, you'll understand why it left such a deep impression on me—because one of the lines in it was rewritten by Lin Xing."

This remark displeased the bullet chat.

"What the heck? What is it actually about? Can you spill the beans first?"
"I've actually read about a real-life case similar to this *Exchange Murder of Wives* plot before."
"Right, two men who didn't know each other both wanted to get rid of their wives, so they hit it off."
"That's why I say *Portrait Tracker* is a show that truly stays close to reality."
...

During the subsequent segments, when Lin Xing was once again asked by the media about how great his character was, he modestly stated that the success of *Portrait Tracker* came from the concerted efforts of the screenwriter, director, and the entire crew.

Watching from the side, Xiao Liu felt that Lin Xing's office tour today was no different from the last one.

He still possessed exceptionally high emotional intelligence while successfully sharing the spotlight evenly among everyone.

"Next is our editor experience segment. We hope everyone can wear our employee badges and act as trainee editor-reporters for Sina Entertainment..."

After listening to the instructions, Lin Xing smiled and said, "I've already 'checked in' once before, I'm familiar with this routine."

He then proceeded to explain to the others: "In a moment, we'll log into official accounts like Sina Entertainment and Sina TV and use them to promote *Portrait Tracker*."

Almost without needing assistance from Sina's staff, Lin Xing handled the tasks for everyone single-handedly.

At the very end, Lin Xing even posted a Weibo update reading: "It's really hard for us editors to work on a Saturday. We hope we can get a raise!"

"Hahaha, last time Lin Xing visited Sina he said he hoped they'd improve the cafeteria food, and this time he hopes the boss will give the editors a raise. He truly speaks for the working class."
"Indeed, Lin Xing is really acting as the voice of the working class."
"Lol, when Lin Xing posted it, he even asked if he was allowed to post this, and the staff on site all chorused 'Post it!'"
...

The 45-minute Sina Weibo press conference proved quite lively and full of memorable running gags.

Moreover, midway through, when Wei Fei talked about filming, she mentioned that she truly enjoyed the *Portrait Tracker* crew—unlike a previous collaboration where her co-star...

This counted as dropping some behind-the-scenes shade.

At that point, Lin Xing interjected: "Sister Fei, I'm sorry, I really didn't act well back then."

This single sentence made Wei Fei snap back to reality, while the others—and the bullet comments—erupted into uproarious amusement.

"Goodness, Lin Xing's emotional intelligence is seriously off the charts. If he hadn't interrupted Wei Fei, I suspect she might have actually named names."
"I remember now, Lin Xing and Wei Fei really did act together over a decade ago."
"Hahaha, Lin Xing's EQ is truly sky-high. He's self-deprecating to cover for others."
...

Once the Weibo press conference concluded, the six individuals on site conducted another office tour and took group photos with the Sina employees.

This time, the viewer count for the *Portrait Tracker* office tour live stream hit a new record high, while discussions about it skyrocketed.

At 11:50 AM, the office tour officially ended.

Half an hour later, inside a restaurant private room.

"Well played!"

Ma Wen said to Lin Xing and the others, "The moment the office tour wrapped up, our drama's trending heat surged significantly."

"No wonder so many crews are willing to do office tours at Sina, the results really are fantastic."

Wang Yi smiled and said, "I noticed our drama didn't leave the hot search list for those two hours."

Wei Fei was also in a great mood: "It's mainly because our drama is good, and Ah Xing is great at playing along with jokes and keeping the banter going."

"You really should thank Ah Xing."

Liu Zhou said somewhat helplessly, "If Ah Xing hadn't cut you off, I suspect you really would have blurted out Yao Nian's name."

"So what if I blurted it out? That guy's acting is genuinely terrible and he's also a total illiterate, yet he gets coddled endlessly by his fans..."

Wei Fei maintained a nonchalant attitude.

"Sure, you're not afraid, but do you know how combative Yao Nian's fan base is? What would happen to our drama then?"

Liu Zhou pointed out.

These words caused Wei Fei's expression to shift slightly, and she immediately stated, "Alright then, try not to have me participate in the upcoming promotional events. I only made a guest appearance anyway; I think we can have Lin Miaoyin and the others attend instead."

...

*(The End of This Chapter)*