Chapter Five: We Are Not the Same

Thirty minutes later, Lin Xing finally settled into the business van. Even as the door was about to close, he still wore a smile, waving gently to the fans in farewell—a gentle idol, portrayed to perfection.

“Sister Dao, let’s not do this again in the future.”

Lin Xing rubbed his sore cheeks and said, “I’ve smiled more these past thirty minutes than I have all year.”

“Nonsense, don’t you smile every day when you do charity work?” Sister Dao replied leisurely. “Besides, Xingxing, today was just a little practice.”

Lin Xing frowned. “What do you mean by practice?”

“I just heard from ‘Big Cat’ that none of these people were organized by her.”

Sister Dao, visibly excited, continued, “And that’s with our schedule barely public! According to Big Cat, most of those here today are old fans who’ve been lurking and had already left the fandom. If it weren’t for Wu Yao’s scandal, they wouldn’t have come back this time.”

Lin Miaoyin chimed in, “Wu Yao’s downfall has stirred up old memories—many people’s youth is tied to that once-beautiful face.”

“Exactly,” Sister Dao agreed wholeheartedly. “Xingxing, you have no idea how lively the fan groups are now. Even Big Cat, the admin, is stunned.”

Lin Xing was baffled. “Really?”

Forty minutes later, at the West Lake State Guesthouse, in the banquet hall.

“Xingxing, I’d hoped to pick you up at the train station, but you’re just too popular now. The entire station was packed—I was worried…” Feng Gang explained briefly, then gripped Lin Xing’s hand tightly. “But really, thank you so much for stepping in to help us this time.”

“Director Feng, you’re too kind,” Lin Xing replied with a smile. “I told you over the phone—you’ve always been a benefactor to me. Besides, I actually think this farming variety show sounds interesting.”

Feng Gang then introduced the eight guests of “Let’s Farm, Stars!” to Lin Xing one by one.

Of them, six were little-known idols—either only ever appearing on survival shows or in web dramas and shorts, largely unknown and obscure.

The oldest was barely twenty.

The remaining two were washed-up entertainers, now without any filming opportunities and rarely invited to variety shows. These days, they mostly sold goods via livestreams.

The elder was Guan Peng, now forty years old. He’d once starred in a series of period dramas, admired for his heroic looks—many remembered him as the unattainable ideal. Now, with a broad face and thick neck, he looked more like a kitchen hand.

The younger, Hong Fei, was thirty-five. Once an action star, with the decline of kung fu films, he’d all but vanished from the entertainment scene in the past five years.

Frankly, with a cast like this and such a show concept, it would be miraculous if the program wasn’t a flop.

“Mr. Guan, I look forward to working with you.”

“Hong, it’s been almost ten years, hasn’t it?”

Lin Xing didn’t say much to the six obscure idols, but was particularly courteous to Guan Peng and Hong Fei—especially Hong Fei.

Ten years ago, Lin Xing and Hong Fei had co-starred in a film called “Vengeance Must Be Had.” It was Hong Fei’s last leading role, and also Lin Xing’s last project before going solo.

No need to mention the film’s quality—those who know, know. It was a disaster.

“Yes, ten years have flown by,” Hong Fei said, a little wistful. “Who would’ve thought we’d meet again after a decade, all because of Director Feng’s variety show?”

Feng Gang raised his glass at the right moment. “It’s fate! Come, let’s drink to this reunion.”

Everyone raised their glasses together.

After the toast, Feng Gang turned to Lin Xing. “Xingxing, tomorrow’s shoot starts early. You’ll stay at the State Guesthouse tonight, and we’ll pick you up at nine in the morning. Filming will begin right away. I’ll send your manager the script shortly—have a look at it this evening.”

Lin Xing nodded lightly. “No problem.”

“Xingxing, make sure to get a good rest tonight, or you won’t manage tomorrow,” Hong Fei, speaking from experience, warned. “Let me tell you, working in the fields is brutal, and Director Feng really makes us do the labor.”

Guan Peng chuckled. “It is tough. Just look at Xiao Hai and the others—when we started filming, they were all fair and plump. Now, they’re as tanned as can be!”

Xiao Hai, one of the lesser-known idols, chimed in, “That’s right, Mr. Lin, you should be prepared. Harvesting wheat every day is exhausting.”

“Tell me about it. Look at the blisters on my hands.”

“The wheat harvester is so hard to use, and we aren’t even allowed to hire help!”

“I didn’t know that after harvesting, you still have to dry the wheat, rolling over it with a vehicle again and again.”

The other lesser-known idols joined in, each sharing their woes.

Clearly, before this show, none of them realized how complicated wheat harvesting could be.

At the next table, Sister Dao and Lin Miaoyin sat together. As she accepted the script from chief writer Li Xia, Sister Dao frowned. “Our Xingxing can’t be in the fields all day—it’ll ruin his looks, and his face is his livelihood.”

“Don’t worry, he won’t,” Li Xia assured. “During filming, he just needs to make a brief appearance. We’ll edit it in post-production.”

This had already been discussed in meetings between Feng Gang, Li Xia, and others before Lin Xing’s arrival.

Lin Xing’s agreement to participate was more than enough.

Especially with Lin Xing dominating the trending topics today, which also brought attention to “Let’s Farm.” There was no way they would actually make Lin Xing work in the fields all day like everyone else.

Feng Gang and Li Xia understood this, and so did Guan Peng, an old hand in the industry. He grinned, “Relax, Xingxing won’t be out there all day—he’s different from us.”

His words brought the others’ chatter to an abrupt halt.

Suddenly, everyone realized: yes, we are not the same.

“Mr. Guan, we’re all the same,” Lin Xing said, shaking his head with a smile. “Since I agreed to take part, I’ll take the job seriously. Besides, I actually know a thing or two about farming.”

Guan Peng gave a short, amused snort, but didn’t push further. He simply raised his glass. “Alright, Xingxing, I’ll look forward to seeing what you can do tomorrow.”

Hong Fei quickly smoothed things over. “Let’s raise our glasses—here’s to a successful shoot tomorrow!”

Feng Gang finally smiled. “Yes, to a smooth recording tomorrow!”

When the banquet ended, Lin Xing, Sister Dao, and Lin Miaoyin saw everyone off to their cars before returning to the hotel.

As soon as they entered the room, Sister Dao said to Lin Xing, “Xingxing, I finished reading the script. I’ll go with you tomorrow. It’s just three days of shooting—if they demand too much, I’ll protest. You can’t risk ruining your face.”

In summary, Sister Dao had one message: the show could be filmed, but there would be no real fieldwork for them.

…