Chapter Eighty-One: This Is the Role of a Bystander

October 20th, Friday, noon. “Comedy Should Make You Laugh” updates.

“This ‘Rent-a-Girlfriend’ is pretty interesting—I really didn’t expect Da Zhi to fit so perfectly into the ‘Chop a Big Watermelon’ troupe with his comedic acting.”

“That’s true. Even though Da Zhi isn’t exactly handsome, he makes you forget that. A humorous man really does get bonus points.”

“Exactly! Just look at Cui Zhi, famous in the entertainment industry for his high emotional intelligence—he makes people ignore his looks too.”

“Hahaha, Da Zhi actually plays a rich and handsome guy in ‘Rent-a-Girlfriend’. The contrast is hilarious!”

…

With the premiere of “Comedy Should Make You Laugh,” the viewers immediately started chatting in the live comments.

The first act, “Rent-a-Girlfriend,” was well received, especially with stand-up comedian Da Zhi blending seamlessly into the piece.

But the second act, “Cowardly Hero,” was a letdown.

As some comments put it, it’s a pity this piece didn’t make it to the Spring Festival Gala—it was all about positive messaging, with not a trace of actual humor.

It felt like everyone was just supposed to gather and make dumplings together.

And as for that model’s acting—it was painfully awkward. Aside from her long legs and attractive face, she brought absolutely nothing to the role.

She was like a robot, expressionless from start to finish.

Fortunately, the third act was a bit better. After all, comedian Pei Yan was quite skilled, and the script was decent, so there weren’t many complaints.

Then, “Anti-Fraud Bank” took the stage.

“Wow, is Lin Xing trying to build a ‘straight-shooter’ public persona now?”

“Too late for that, isn’t it?”

“I can’t stand celebrities who try to create fake personas. Some claim to be innocent boys but turn out to be total players.”

…

Some viewers who didn’t like Lin Xing didn’t hold back; their first reaction was to accuse him of faking a persona.

But then, the comments exploded.

“Damn, I need my family to watch ‘Anti-Fraud Bank’. Telecom scams are out of control these days.”

“Don’t even get me started—my dad just wired money to ‘Qin Shi Huang’ the other day. He still insists he did the right thing.”

“My wife got scammed in a fake shopping order recently. No matter how I tried to persuade her, it didn’t work.”

…

Compared to topics like heroism, matchmaking, or corporate drudgery, the subject of ‘telecom fraud’ truly struck a chord with everyone.

Who doesn’t know at least a few friends or relatives who’ve been scammed these days?

The most frustrating thing is, some of these scams seem so amateurish—posing as Qin Shi Huang or Qianlong, for instance.

Then there are the “send me $4,000, I’ll send you $5,000” scams, impersonating bosses, claims that your credit report is in trouble, or even extortion through video chats.

The thing is, most people see these as crude tricks, but it’s often the simplest scams that succeed.

Take Zhu Fang as an example—she works in police publicity in her town, responsible for anti-fraud education, often speaking to seniors about scam prevention.

She’s even managed to stop many elderly people from being scammed—like buying a $9,999 mattress or an $18,888 head massager. At least those scams provided physical goods.

But some seniors, like the grandpa in “Anti-Fraud Bank,” just keep wiring money—every scam, they fall for it, making them prime targets for fraudsters.

What Zhu Fang never expected was for her own family to fall victim.

Yes.

Her grandfather ended up being scammed by a fraud she herself thought was too obvious. The worst part was that he kept it from her. If the bank staff hadn’t called her, all his remaining savings might have been lost.

From then on, Zhu Fang understood why people say that anti-fraud education starts at home.

“Grandpa, stop listening to opera for a moment and check this out…”

As Zhu Fang ate lunch, she quickly called over her grandfather, who was listening to “Collecting Jiang Wei.”

“What?” Grandpa Zhu shook his head and said, “Why should I watch what you young people are watching? I don’t even understand this whole celebrity thing.”

“It’s not about celebrities, Grandpa. It’s a skit—didn’t you say you love watching skits?”

Zhu Fang handed her phone to her grandpa, showing him “Anti-Fraud Bank.”

“I recognize that young man,” Grandpa Zhu said, startled when Lin Xing appeared. “Isn’t he the one always on the ‘DiMa’ farm tricycle ads?”

He might not know the other young actors, but he recognized Lin Xing.

After all, the “DiMa Electric Vehicle” commercials feature those farm tricycles.

“Yes, Lin Xing is their spokesperson. He even rides a ‘DiMa’ in ‘Let’s Farm’…”

Zhu Fang smiled, “And he’s not just an endorser—he really knows how to farm.”

“He knows how to farm?” Grandpa Zhu was surprised.

These days, it’s rare for young people to know how to farm, let alone a celebrity.

“Yep, Lin Xing doesn’t just farm—he can drive that tricycle and even operates a combine harvester…” Zhu Fang said with genuine admiration.

Even though Zhu Fang isn’t a fan of celebrities, she doesn’t dislike Lin Xing.

Having grown up in a small town and worked in the fields herself, she was naturally curious about a farming reality show and decided to check it out.

She was truly impressed by Lin Xing’s skills—harvesting wheat, operating a combine, raising animals, growing vegetables in greenhouses.

Because of this, her feelings toward Lin Xing were very different from her attitude toward other popular entertainers.

In fact, sometimes she’d even praise Lin Xing in conversations.

“In that case, the farm trikes he endorses must be good quality.”

Grandpa Zhu thought for a moment, “Let’s just buy a ‘DiMa’ farm tricycle.”

“Sure.” Zhu Fang had no objections.

As she agreed, she typed into the barrage: “I showed this skit to my grandpa, and now he wants me to buy a ‘DiMa’ farm tricycle to support Lin Xing.”

“Is this a ‘DiMa’ ad?”

“Hahaha, is ‘DiMa’ so broke they have to advertise in the comments?”

“Not at all! You know, I’m thinking about buying the ‘DiMa’ tricycle Lin Xing endorses because I trust the quality.”

“I have to say, having a spokesperson who can actually farm and drive a combine is pretty convincing.”

…

The comments section actually turned into a discussion about “DiMa Electric Vehicles.”

What’s a genuine public endorsement? This is it.

Compared to the harsh attacks on Weibo—accusing Lin Xing of bad acting or worse—the live comments during “Comedy Should Make You Laugh” painted a completely different picture.

So, does Lin Xing’s acting really need to be debated any further?

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