Chapter Forty-One: Keeping a Low Profile, Adding Fuel to the Fire

The next day, Sister Dao arrived at the company early. Ever since the premiere of “Only Waiting for You” last night, she had been keeping a close eye on the series and constantly monitoring the online public opinion.

Now, confusion filled her face.

When she’d read the script, nothing had stood out to her, but watching the finished drama had been quite an unexpected experience.

Saying the plot was “toxic” was not an exaggeration.

However, what truly surprised her was the ferocity and chaos of the arguments erupting on Weibo. The situation had grown so hostile, the factions seemed irreconcilable. Naturally, Sister Dao had instructed both the PR and operations teams to keep a close watch.

“They’re still arguing,” she sighed, watching fans of Chu Chen on the trending topics lambasting those who criticized their idol. She shook her head—this was simply pouring fuel onto the fire.

At that moment, her phone rang. The caller ID showed the person was none other than Li Ming, the person in charge of “Only Waiting for You.”

After a brief exchange, Sister Dao understood and said directly, “President Li, don’t worry. We would never sabotage the show's publicity or maliciously jump on the hype. Even when Lin Xing’s former teammate was embroiled in a scandal, we kept silent, and Lin Xing’s role is just a special appearance with very limited screen time.”

Li Ming laughed, “Of course I believe you. It’s just that there are too many trolls online now. Most are using any means necessary to attack the show, so I wanted to touch base. It’s best if our publicity efforts remain united.”

Sister Dao nodded in agreement but gently suggested, “President Li, the first six episodes have been well received so far. Should we consider adjusting our promotional strategy? Continuing like this feels a bit risky.”

Li Ming replied, “Thank you for your concern, but we have our own considerations regarding publicity.”

Hearing this, Sister Dao didn’t press the issue further. She assured him they would cooperate with the show’s promotion and reiterated that they would not exploit any trending topics for attention.

“Was that a call from the ‘Only Waiting for You’ team?” her assistant asked, placing some documents on her desk. “It’s getting pretty wild online.”

“That’s putting it mildly. Our interests are aligned with the show’s right now, but from the producers’ perspective, they can’t tolerate criticism of the male and female leads. The leads are the key to a show’s success…” She paused and glanced at her assistant. “Have you watched the series?”

“I have,” the assistant replied, pulling a face as if suffering from constipation. She’d vented her own frustrations under a pseudonym after watching last night. Now, hearing Sister Dao’s question, she said, “Honestly, only Mr. Lin’s family seems normal.”

Sister Dao burst out laughing. That was a perfectly rational response.

It’s not just parents who wouldn’t want their daughter dating a delinquent—how many friends or relatives would approve?

What’s more, so-called “controlling behavior” here just meant not speaking at the dinner table, minding hygiene, maybe being a little obsessive-compulsive—nothing people couldn’t understand.

“All right, off you go now. I need to call Mr. Lin. He should be awake by now.” Sister Dao waved her hand and dialed Lin Xing’s number.

“I knew you had the day off, so I waited until now to call,” she said with a laugh. “Are you up?”

“Just woke up. About to brush my teeth—what’s up?” Lin Xing replied as he squeezed toothpaste onto his brush.

“You haven’t checked Weibo yet, have you?” Sister Dao asked, amused.

“Not yet. And anyway, with the show airing last night, it’s normal for the production team to buy some trending spots, right?”

“It’s normal for them, but you’re trending too,” she explained, detailing the situation and mentioning the call from the production team. She concluded, “Xing, this is getting complicated. You only have a little over thirty minutes of screen time—we don’t even know how much will survive the final cut. It’s not worth letting yourself be used as a tool. I’ll keep a close watch on the fans to make sure no one stirs up trouble.”

Lin Xing nodded lightly. “Okay. Things are probably going to get chaotic now. Let’s just keep a low profile.”

“Exactly. The more turbulent it gets, the more we should keep our heads down,” Sister Dao agreed.

They were on the same page.

No production team wants an actor who behaves poorly, especially when that actor only has a special appearance. If Lin Xing started self-promoting now, he’d have no grounds for it.

He could even ruin his reputation within the industry.

After a few more words with Sister Dao, Lin Xing hung up.

After brushing his teeth and washing up, Lin Xing finally checked Weibo.

“I just want to say, Lin Xing’s performance as the domineering CEO is really outstanding—he’s forceful while still showing restraint.”

“Wow, Lin Xing nailed the ‘yearning for his sister but can’t have her’ dynamic perfectly.”

“Everyone, behold the ultimate ascetic CEO.”

“I hereby declare the best brother of 2023 has appeared—Du Fei.”

Good heavens.

Seeing the wave of praise for him on the trending topics, Lin Xing understood why the production team was suspicious.

In that situation, who wouldn’t suspect a special guest of trying to overshadow the leads?

He even noticed that several video creators had already started making edits focused on him.

#NewStyleCEO Lin Xing#
#Lin Xing Nine-Minute Highlight Reel#
#Lin Xing’s Killer Stare#

In just one day, countless edits about him were popping up everywhere, both on Weibo and Bilibili.

Even casual viewers were getting confused by the trending topics.

“I got hooked by the video edits, but after watching the first six episodes, I realized Lin Xing only had nine minutes of screen time?!”

“Exactly! The edits made it seem like he was the lead, but he’s not even the second male lead!”

“Guys, who can understand this? I’m completely captivated by Lin Xing’s looks now…”

As the discussion about Lin Xing’s character Du Fei heated up, the production team of “Only Waiting for You” decided to add fuel to the fire.

“‘Only Waiting for You’ is a professional drama. We hope everyone pays attention to the story itself and focuses on positive energy.”

…