Chapter 53: The Official Announcement—As Expected, the Backlash Was Overwhelming

The next day, "Sweeping the Waves of Crime" was officially announced.

"#TVDramaSweepingTheWavesOfCrime# With money comes more money, with power comes higher authority. Though the fight against crime is fraught with obstacles, we will never retreat for the sake of light. Justice may be delayed, but it will never be absent. #SweepingTheWavesOfCrime officially announced today.

Screenwriters: Liao Qingshan, Ning Yi.

Director: Zu Ming @ZuMing.

Leading Actors: Ren Yi @RenYi, Song Wen @SongWen, Wang Fei @WangFei.

Main Cast: Shang Xia @ShangXia, Wu Jun @WuJun, Cao Xiang @LittleActor, Lin Xing @LinXing.

Special Appearances: Ji Ya @JiYa, Yang Liang @YangLiang.

Joint Cast: Mo Hu @MoHu, Yu Hai @YuHai, Fu Shu @FuShu, Song Shuyuan @SongShuyuan, Zhou Guang @ZhouGuang, Feng Wei @FengWei, Zhao Lili @ZhaoLili, Xu Rong @XuRong, Cai Ying @CaiYing, Liu Bo @LiuBo, Lei Yunfei @LeiYunfei.

...

"Sweeping the Waves of Crime" announced its cast all at once—nearly forty actors in total. Yet, there was none of the usual fuss about billing order.

Leading actors were simply that: leading actors.

Main cast, main cast.

Special appearances, joint appearances, and guest stars were all listed exactly as they were.

All that nonsense about billing order—Zu Ming couldn’t care less. As a well-known director in television, especially for serious dramas, many actors—some even willing to appear as guest stars—were eager to join Zu Ming’s projects.

After all, in his dramas, even minor roles could become breakout hits.

When a show became popular, most of the cast stood to benefit; sometimes, every single actor gained fame.

This was still possible. But in recent years, it had grown harder—many “traffic stars” joining the cast would disrupt the chemistry. Add to that the habit of both stars and veteran actors changing the script, and you had another key reason dramas kept getting worse.

Everyone wanted more screen time for themselves.

Some screenwriters, upon seeing the final product, could only ask, “Is this really the script I wrote?”

In contrast, "Sweeping the Waves of Crime" was a breath of fresh air.

No so-called disputes over billing.

Most crucially, there was respect for the screenwriters. They’d even brought in the original author to write the script.

With this announcement, many people were quick to give their approval.

“This cast is incredible, I can’t wait! Damn, Ren Yi, Song Wen, Wang Fei—this is a winning hand. I never expected these three to star together.”

“They can play good or evil; all three of them have won Best Actor, right? Though Song Wen hasn’t acted much in recent years, and Wang Fei has mostly played supporting roles, only Ren Yi has consistently been the lead. But I don’t think these three have ever worked together before.”

“No, they haven’t. They really haven’t. Now I just wonder which one will play the villain?”

“I’d love to see Wang Fei play a villain again. That psychopathic doctor he played left me traumatized.”

“Honestly, it’s been twenty years and it’s still terrifying—so polite on the outside, but a criminal mastermind within.”

“Exactly! These days Wang Fei is stuck playing CEOs who don’t even need to act.”

“The rest of the cast is full of seasoned actors too. This drama is definitely something to look forward to.”

...

With the official announcement, everyone who saw the leading actors—Ren Yi, Song Wen, Wang Fei—grew excited.

It was classic Zu Ming.

Bringing these three together in one go.

And not just them; Mo Hu, Yu Hai, and others were all known for their skill.

Then, someone noticed a jarring presence in the cast.

“Yesterday, people were saying that ‘Sweeping the Waves of Crime’ had a traffic star stealing a role—weren’t they talking about Lin Xing?”

“Damn, I didn’t even notice—Lin Xing’s in this?”

“Yeah, and not just in it—he’s a main cast member?!”

“For real? Lin Xing as a main cast? Isn’t he getting a little too full of himself?”

...

Yesterday’s rumors had already drawn a lot of attention to the show.

For the average viewer, maybe not everyone had heard of Lin Xing, but everyone knew Ren Yi, Song Wen, and Wang Fei.

Ren Yi had played too many iconic roles—ruthless crime boss, traitorous collaborator, cautious undercover, righteous cop—you name it. Even now, his influence was immense.

Compared to him, Song Wen had acted less in recent years; he claimed that without a good script, he’d rather not act.

Wang Fei was a bit less prominent.

So there was no one who didn’t know Ren Yi, and both Song Wen and Wang Fei were equally respected for their acting.

These three leading together, with a supporting cast of veterans, promised another serious drama in the vein of "Return of Power."

It might even achieve the same high ratings.

But into this serious ensemble, they’d forcibly inserted a traffic star—Lin Xing, who’d recently been trending for all the wrong reasons.

Really?

Did Lin Xing really think that just because he’d played a domineering CEO and gotten a few compliments, he was now an “acting powerhouse”?

What nonsense.

“I get it now—the rumors about capital buying roles are true; someone’s definitely backing Lin Xing.”

“I said before, if Lin Xing didn’t have powerful supporters, how could he have become popular again out of nowhere?”

“Exactly! He was irrelevant for a decade, and now he’s suddenly back? Who’d believe that without backing?”

“So annoying. I actually liked him as a domineering CEO, but what’s he doing in a serious drama?”

“He’s not even qualified...”

...

People had been wondering which traffic star might show up, but no one expected it to be Lin Xing.

In an instant, Lin Xing was back at the top of the trending topics.

Most of the chatter was people criticizing him.

“Get lost and stop changing things.”

Some traffic stars saw the trending topic and cursed under their breath.

They felt quite satisfied, honestly.

Did he really think a few compliments as a CEO meant he was a real actor?

We didn’t even dare touch serious dramas, but he dared to act in a Zu Ming production.

He was clearly overestimating himself.

At the same time, at Kong Tian’s studio.

“No wonder you suddenly wanted to intensify your line study,” Kong Tian said with a wry smile to Lin Xing. “You’re under a lot of pressure this time.”

Lin Xing smiled. “That’s why I came to you, Brother Kong. I need some extra coaching.”

“Ah Xing, I’ve met so many artists, and you have the best attitude I’ve seen,” Kong Tian admitted with some admiration. “The internet’s in an uproar, yet you can still laugh.”

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