Chapter Seventy-Five: This Is the Benefit of Playing a Role

October 1st, National Day.

Lin Xing rose early, preparing to work out in the hotel gym, only to find Xiao Nan standing there, somewhat dazed.

“Didn’t I give you the day off?”

Lin Xing asked, “Did something happen?”

Although today was National Day, the crew of “Sweeping the Black Waves” was still rushing to film. However, Lin Xing had given Xiao Nan a holiday. Actors had no days off, but for workers like Xiao Nan, days off were even rarer. During the National Day period, the main scenes filmed were Lin Xing’s, so he didn’t need to be everywhere, and thus he simply let Xiao Nan take time off to enjoy the holiday. He’d told her yesterday to make her own plans, and today Lin Xing could just head to the set alone.

“Brother Xing, have you checked your phone yet?”

Xiao Nan could barely contain her excitement: “This issue of ‘Fashion Men’s Style’ has exploded in sales.”

Five minutes later, after listening to Xiao Nan’s account, Lin Xing’s expression turned odd: “Is it really that dramatic?”

“Very dramatic. At midnight, the ‘Fashion Men’s Style’ app crashed, and the fans of Xu Han and Hao Zhi all thought it was their doing…”

Xiao Nan said, feeling vindicated, “Those two groups of fans have been so arrogant lately. Not only did they trample on us, but they also attacked other fan bases, so now they’re being mocked by everyone.”

Just then, Sister Dao called.

“Li Rong just called me. She said the twenty thousand stock sold out in a second, and then another forty thousand went up and disappeared instantly…”

Sister Dao was in high spirits: “The tech department at ‘Fashion Men’s Style’ thought there was still a bug in the system.”

Lin Xing suddenly frowned: “Sister Dao, are you sure the company didn’t buy the sales?”

“Of course not. Buying sales for a digital magazine would only make us a laughing stock in the industry.”

Sister Dao shook her head gently: “Besides, didn’t I say yesterday that we don’t need to prove ourselves with sales numbers.”

Lin Xing smiled, “That’s good.”

“This time, our sales are perfectly clean, which is why everyone is so stunned…”

Sister Dao was thrilled: “These numbers are enough to prove your influence.”

Though Lin Xing didn’t need sales figures to prove himself, the fact that his issue of “Fashion Men’s Style” was bought out was evidence of his appeal.

For Sister Dao, this was truly an unexpected delight.

She had thought the sales would not be impressive; after all, sales usually depended on fans to push them, and Lin Xing’s fan club had already been disbanded. How good could the numbers possibly be?

But the outcome was beyond anyone’s imagination.

Even Li Rong from “Fashion Men’s Style” was shocked, and more importantly, it was Li Rong herself who had planned Lin Xing’s shoot for this issue.

This meant that the higher Lin Xing’s sales, the better Li Rong’s performance metrics.

So early this morning, Li Rong couldn’t help but call Sister Dao for a brief chat, with both expressing their mutual delight.

They even talked about future opportunities to collaborate.

Not only that, Li Rong shared her excitement on her microblog, detailing Lin Xing’s dedication during the shoot and other behind-the-scenes moments.

Soon after, other details emerged.

Staff present commented on Lin Xing’s approachable attitude, noting he carried no airs and was the most down-to-earth young star they had ever met.

In no time, Lin Xing became the undisputed sales king of the October issue of “Fashion Men’s Style,” and even the magazine’s director and chief editor took to social media to express their surprise at the numbers.

A man capable of crashing the “Fashion Men’s Style” app inevitably became a topic of widespread discussion.

On his way to the “Sweeping the Black Waves” set, Lin Xing took a moment to check the latest online trends.

“If this isn’t top-tier popularity, what is?”

“Honestly, I bought the October issue of ‘Fashion Men’s Style’ not for Lin Xing, but for Du Fei.”

“I’m willing to spend for Du Fei.”

“I don’t stan Lin Xing, I just can’t stand the arrogance of Hao Zhi and Xu Han’s fans.”

…

A great many buyers of the October issue admitted they weren’t buying for Lin Xing, but for Du Fei.

Compared to Hao Zhi and Xu Han’s fanbases, which were closed circles, Lin Xing, thanks to Du Fei, had broken through to the wider public.

So rather than Lin Xing’s fans driving sales, it was the fans of Du Fei.

This was the benefit of the role.

Many people now felt both envious and puzzled by Lin Xing.

“How can a supporting role enjoy such prolonged benefits? It’s unbelievable.”

“Exactly! Lin Xing is incredible, but I truly don’t get his choices.”

“Since ‘Just Waiting for You’ aired, Lin Xing hasn’t done any interviews, except for the ‘Fashion Men’s Style’ digital magazine.”

“I don’t understand it either. With Du Fei’s role being so hot, Lin Xing hasn’t promoted himself at all.”

“Heh, Lin Xing disbanded his fan club before ‘Just Waiting for You’ even premiered. No fan base, no hype. Maybe he really wants to be a serious actor.”

“I think he’s still with the ‘Sweeping the Black Waves’ crew. Working with veteran actors should help him see the gap.”

…

Quite a few people thought Lin Xing was foolish.

In today’s entertainment industry, you could be famous today and gone tomorrow.

If someone suddenly becomes popular, shouldn’t they hurry and cash in?

Not to mention the traffic stars—even veteran actors, when their popularity resurges, scramble to rake in money.

Yet who could have expected Lin Xing to head straight for the “Sweeping the Black Waves” set?

Lacking savvy, no capital backing, cutting off his own prospects—these were the criticisms Lin Xing faced.

Some were malicious, but others genuinely felt Lin Xing lacked business sense.

Especially now, with Lin Xing’s issue of “Fashion Men’s Style” being bought out again.

This only further proved the purchasing power of his fans.

For Lin Xing’s fans, it felt like New Year’s had arrived.

But for the fans of Hao Zhi and Xu Han, it was a humiliating blow.

They were furious, convinced Lin Xing must have bought sales.

Some even felt their own sales had been stolen.

A few fans were so upset they cried, wondering why their idol, after working so hard, still ended up bullied like this.

If their idol couldn’t triumph in sales this time, what would his future hold?

Well, in their world, sales numbers were everything.

Lin Xing himself paid little attention to this sales storm; on his way to the set, he was still poring over today’s script.

As for his fans, especially those like Old Cat who took a more laid-back approach, today felt like a holiday.

What is top-tier popularity?

Who claims to be top-tier?

Previously, the fans of Xu Han and Hao Zhi had always mocked Lin Xing, only to now be utterly proven wrong.

Especially when faced with the counterattacks from Hao Zhi and Xu Han’s fans, the other fan bases only needed to say one thing:

“Your idol’s sales can’t match Lin Xing’s.”

…

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