“What do you all think?”
On the way back in the car, Feng Gang asked.
Wu Bing smiled, “Better than I imagined. I was worried Lin Xing would have a bad temper and be difficult to work with.”
“He’s a very smart person. It seems the Entertainment industry really hones people.”
Assistant Director Guo Biao also said, “I remember Lin Xing was once called the number one illiterate, empty-headed, and constantly messed up interviews. Who would have thought he’d be so mature and steady today?”
Wu Bing found it a bit amusing, “Old Guo, you’re talking about Lin Xing when he was in the group. Starsea disbanded 10 years ago. How could Lin Xing not have improved?”
“It’s different.”
Guo Biao shook his head, “Did you notice? Lin Xing didn’t act arrogant towards the washed-up Guan Peng and Hong Fei, or even towards the lesser-known Duan Hai. Instead, he was quite amiable. After all, even though Lin Xing’s development over the past 10 years is far from Wu Yao’s, he still has a large fan base.”
“That’s true.”
Feng Gang also said, “I was actually worried Lin Xing would get carried away, especially since he’s currently at the top of the entire Weibo hot search list.”
Yes.
Who would have thought?
Wu Yao’s scandal actually brought Lin Xing back to popularity.
Ten years ago, when he left the group, Lin Xing was reported by the media as an illiterate who should be eliminated by the Entertainment industry, stating that his five years of popularity were a disgrace to the entire Entertainment industry.
Yet, ten years later, the media today are all publishing articles saying that the Lin Xing of yesteryear was the originator of the 'fresh meat' idol, and at the very least, he sang live, danced live, did public welfare genuinely, and was truly handsome.
All thanks to his peers, Lin Xing’s reputation has completely reversed in ten years.
More crucially, more and more people are unearthing numerous small deeds by Lin Xing. These small things would normally go unnoticed, but today they all surged to the top of the hot searches.
Lin Xing acted bravely for a just cause.
Lin Xing sponsored impoverished students.
Lin Xing went to mountainous areas alone for poverty alleviation.
And so on.
He’s practically being praised as a person of both moral integrity and artistic skill.
Many passersby, upon clicking on the top hot search, first thought it was paid marketing.
Even Feng Gang initially thought so, but when he inquired, it turned out to be completely different. Lin Xing had indeed been quietly doing things all these years.
What’s more, the person involved in the act of bravery eight years ago even came forward and said, “If it weren’t for Lin Xing, I might not have survived. Later, he also paid all my medical expenses.”
This incident happened eight years ago.
If Lin Xing wanted to hype it up, he wouldn’t have waited 8 years, would he?
Adding to that, sponsoring impoverished students, going to mountainous areas for poverty alleviation, and doing public welfare in Dafeng Mountain every year—individually, these seem like small things for a celebrity, but collectively, they become significant.
In ten years, how many celebrities can keep it up?
Just like Best Actor Wang Ruo'an, everyone thought he was hypocritical, that his enthusiasm for fans, his concern for passersby, and his support for colleagues were all faked.
But he kept up the act for 35 years.
Now, at 55 years old, he can still stand up to an Assistant Director on set for an extra, simply because the Assistant Director didn’t provide any protective measures when the extra fell.
After 35 years, who still says Wang Ruo'an is hypocritical?
If you can keep up an act for 35 years, then you too are a person of both moral integrity and artistic skill.
Moreover, most artists, after suddenly rising to fame or regaining popularity, will more or less put on airs.
In this Entertainment industry, celebrities who manage to maintain their original intentions are not non-existent, but they are few and far between.
Precisely because of this, Feng Gang was both surprised and satisfied with Lin Xing’s performance tonight.
“But if we don’t let Lin Xing actually work the land tomorrow, will it lower the show’s effect?”
Wu Bing said with some concern, “I saw Old Guan was already a bit displeased when we discussed this tonight.”
“If he’s displeased, he can just keep it to himself.”
Li Xia sneered, “What right does a washed-up old man like him have to be displeased? What’s his caliber? What’s Lin Xing’s caliber?”
“Li Xia is right. What our variety show lacks now is buzz. With Lin Xing willing to participate, the buzz will immediately rise. I just checked the online discussions, and because of Lin Xing’s soaring popularity, some people are already starting to discuss our variety show.”
Guo Biao also said, “I think as long as there’s buzz, that’s enough. If we really make Lin Xing work the land, let alone Lin Xing, his manager probably wouldn’t agree.”
Feng Gang nodded slightly, “Exactly, it’s a temporary measure. After all, we’re the ones asking Lin Xing for a favor. We’ll see during the official recording tomorrow.”
Clearly, the “let's farm, Celebrity!” production team didn’t dare to hope that Lin Xing would actually work the land.
If Feng Gang were still at Tan Province Media and still the top figure at the TV station, he naturally wouldn’t indulge Lin Xing.
But now, times have changed.
A variety show with only minor celebrities and washed-up artists truly won’t work.
Several episodes of “let's farm, Celebrity” were so obscure that no one paid attention. Making a show isn’t about fearing criticism; it’s about fearing there isn’t even criticism.
Just like a celebrity scandal, some artists’ scandals result in no casualties, but look at Wu Yao; see how destructive his scandal was.
Therefore, Feng Gang now knows that if this episode with Lin Xing still doesn’t improve, then his first variety show after leaving Tan Province Media will end in dismal failure.
At that time, the saying ‘Feng Gang is nothing without the platform’ would become true.
“I hope tomorrow’s recording goes smoothly.”
Feng Gang sighed to himself.
He doesn’t ask for Lin Xing to bring much buzz to the show, only that this episode shows some improvement.
Feng Gang doesn’t aim for grand success now; he just wants to avoid failure.
Hotel.
“Xing Xing, you have to listen to me this time.”
Sister Dao was still earnestly trying to persuade Lin Xing.
As a celebrity, who the hell works the land?
She even used “The Leisurely Life” as an example, where celebrities basically just do a little bit of work and then it counts as experiencing going up and down mountains and living in the countryside.
The “let's farm, Celebrity!” production team was simply out of their minds.
“Yes, yes, Sister Dao, you’re right.”
Lin Xing was very cooperative, then glanced at her and said, “It’s already 10 o’clock. We have to record tomorrow, so go back and rest.”
Alright!
Sister Dao knew Lin Xing hadn’t listened to a single word, but she thought that since it was only a three-day recording and she would be there watching, there shouldn’t be any major issues.
Moreover, the script had no problems.
She gave Lin Xing a few more instructions and then left with Lin Miaoyin.
After Sister Dao left, Lin Xing reread the script.
The script was actually quite simple, basically just a farm stay.
However, what the actual recording would entail, he wouldn't know until he got to the set.
As for what Sister Dao said, Lin Xing certainly understood, but he didn’t agree with it.
Being a celebrity is also a job; not to mention professionalism, but one cannot be perfunctory.
The next day, at 8:45 AM, the “let's farm, Celebrity!” production team arrived by car to pick up Lin Xing.
The recording was about to begin from inside the car...