Chapter Fifty-One: Travel Plans, Is the Little Shadow Here Again?

Lin Xing didn’t pay any more attention to Sister Dao’s shock, because he himself was still in a daze. After all, judging by the reaction of Zu Ming and the others when he finished his audition, he’d thought he stood no chance. Yet before half an hour had passed since he left Zu Ming’s studio, he received a call from Xiao Ai, the assistant, informing him that he’d passed the audition.

So, when Lin Xing notified Sister Dao, it was to give her time to prepare, since the upcoming contract signing and other details would require her negotiation skills. After hanging up with Sister Dao, Lin Xing called Director Feng Gang and briefly explained the situation.

“Haha, good! I knew you’d have no problem,” Feng Gang laughed heartily. “But Xingxing, once you get the script, make sure you really study it these next few days. Zu Ming is famous on set for being a tyrant—he doesn’t give anyone special treatment during filming.”

“Thank you for the reminder, Director Feng. I’ll do my best,” Lin Xing replied.

“Mhm, I trust your abilities. In the meantime, watch some films and see how others portray villains—learn from them…” Feng Gang added a few more suggestions, clearly treating Lin Xing as one of his own now, someone truly worth befriending.

In fact, Feng Gang didn’t even require Lin Xing to continue recording “Farming With the Stars.” The show was now on solid ground, with each episode’s ratings looking promising and more celebrity guests joining the later recordings. In other words, every episode promised more highlights.

But Feng Gang never forgot what made the show stand out in the first place: its authenticity, grounded nature, and genuine approach—even when scripts were involved, there was no pretense. All the guests had to participate hands-on—farming, planting vegetables, raising animals, and so on.

Feng Gang was unlike those TV stations that made a point of tormenting or embarrassing celebrities for laughs. He genuinely wanted to make good variety shows, not just chase after ratings at any cost. With the first season of “Farming With the Stars” wrapping up as soon as the corn harvest was complete, Feng Gang felt Lin Xing only needed to appear in the last two episodes.

After all, ever since Lin Xing’s breakout as Du Fei, his schedule had been packed. Even with Sister Dao turning down plenty of business offers on his behalf, Lin Xing was still extremely busy.

So, upon hearing that Lin Xing had landed the role of Zhou Bo in “Crackdown: The Furious Tide,” Feng Gang told him to focus entirely on the script and his other commitments.

After he hung up, Guo Biao, standing nearby, couldn’t help but ask, “Director Feng, did Mr. Lin really get the part in the audition?”

“Yes,” Feng Gang replied. “I trust Lin Xing, but you know Zu Ming’s temperament. I was really worried he’d blow up at Lin Xing during the audition. I even told Zu Ming not to scare him off… But now that he’s actually passed, I’m genuinely curious how Lin Xing performed. You keep recording; I need to call Zu Ming to find out what happened.”

…

In the capital, Sister Dao proved her reliability once again. As soon as she received Lin Xing’s call, she began preparing. When the production side of “Crackdown: The Furious Tide” reached out to discuss cooperation details, she went straight to the negotiation table.

Most of the talks focused on specifics: character details, filming schedule, preparation work, promotional duties, and payment terms. Preparations like costume fittings, shoot planning, and script readings were all clearly noted in the contract, as were promotional events such as the opening ceremony, wrap party, premiere, and so forth.

Crucially, the number of promotional events was also specified—any additional appearances would require extra pay. Of course, since this was a hard-won audition for Lin Xing and a serious drama, Sister Dao was accommodating on most points, but she wouldn’t budge on certain details. That’s the job of a manager, after all—most celebrities don’t negotiate their own fees.

Over the course of two days, after the company’s legal team confirmed the contract was airtight, Sister Dao let Lin Xing sign.

“Xingxing, we’ll join the crew on September 20th. The show starts filming on the 15th, so we’ll need to attend the opening ceremony and do some interviews,” Sister Dao explained the start dates for “Crackdown: The Furious Tide.” She also detailed the upcoming work schedule.

“I’ve declined all other magazine interviews and shoots, except for ‘Fashion Men’—that one we discussed already, it’s about three days, from September 3rd to 6th.”

“As for dating reality shows like ‘How Celebrities Date,’ since you’re not interested, I’ve turned them all down. And I rejected all offers from Blue Ocean TV; their variety shows are far too ruthless, and I worry you’d be at risk—no matter how much they offer, I refused.”

“‘I’m Still an Actor’ invited you to be a mentor, but I declined. I think they just want to use your popularity. We’ve only just gained public favor; if you become a mentor now, we might be criticized by everyone.”

“So I chose a well-reviewed comedy show called ‘Comedy Means Laughter’—it’s a competition-based program. We’ll just be guest performers for one episode.”

Originally, Sister Dao planned to discuss the schedule after helping Lin Xing choose a good script. But since he’d already made his choice, this was the perfect time to go over everything.

Listening to Sister Dao’s arrangement, Lin Xing replied, “That works. I won’t be recording ‘Farming With the Stars’ much anymore. Before joining the crew, I’ll focus on studying the script and developing the character. For the rest of the schedule, you handle it.”

He had just received the full script today and needed to study it carefully. This wasn’t like his cameo in “Waiting Only for You”—this time, he was one of the main actors. While his screen time didn’t match the lead roles, he was essentially the second male lead.

Half an hour later, Lin Xing left the company. With the contract for “Crackdown: The Furious Tide” signed and the script in hand, he was headed back to the villa to prepare.

On the way home, Lin Xing called Kong Tian. “Brother Kong, are you free lately? Yes, I’d like to work on my lines with you again. Great, I’ll come to your studio tomorrow.”

Over the years, Lin Xing had visited Kong Tian from time to time to study acting. At first, Kong Tian thought he’d lose interest quickly, but eventually came to recognize his dedication. In total, they’d known each other for seven or eight years.

Now, with filming about to begin, Lin Xing felt he needed to brush up on the basics. It would be irresponsible to let everyone down once he joined the crew.

“Xingxing, where are you?” Sister Dao called as soon as he hung up.

“I’m almost home. Did you forget to mention something?” Lin Xing asked, a bit puzzled.

“No, I just wanted to tell you not to worry about what’s happening online. Since you don’t want to stay in your comfort zone, let’s work hard together. Just focus on being a good actor—I’ll handle everything else,” Sister Dao reassured him.

Her words made Lin Xing frown slightly.

What’s going on now?

He asked, “Are the haters at it again online?”

…