Chapter Eighty-Eight: So You Think You’re Above It All? A High-Tension Preview, with a humble plea for monthly votes

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A lightning-fast man.

Lin Xing felt that Zu Ming truly was a man of astonishing speed.

The wrap on Crime-Sweeping Storm had already been remarkably swift, and yet only twelve days after filming ended, the first teaser trailer was out.

Today was Singles’ Day, and releasing the trailer amid such enormous traffic was a shrewd move indeed.

At this pace, the drama would probably not be far from announcing its premiere date.

After receiving the message, Lin Xing replied to the staff with a simple acknowledgment.

These were the kinds of promotional duties, just like the wrap announcement, that required the actors’ cooperation.

Half an hour later, Lin Xing arrived at the restaurant Kong Tian had mentioned.

“Brother Kong, what’s the good news?”

Lin Xing entered the private room, took off his mask, and asked with a smile.

“There really is some good news. A television series needs me as an acting coach, and they’re also giving me a supporting male role. I’m getting ready to join the cast tomorrow.”

Kong Tian said with a somewhat wry smile, “Right now, when I act, it’s basically a buy-one-get-one deal. As long as they let me act, I’ll coach them for free.”

On this point, Kong Tian and Si Tu Hui were not the same.

Si Tu Hui had long since lost much interest in acting; she focused entirely on coaching, and with her connections in the industry, she only did better and better.

But Kong Tian was different. He was well known in the business, yet many people only wanted to hire him as an acting coach. That was a mark of respect, certainly, but when it came to acting, they did not invite him.

That was why Kong Tian was so conflicted.

He could only strike out on his own.

“Then congratulations, Brother Kong,” Lin Xing said after taking a seat. “Opportunities have to be created. I believe the public will eventually notice you.”

“Ha, at this point all I can hope is that producers, directors, and screenwriters in the industry will notice me.”

Kong Tian said helplessly, “An artist like me, who works well and is cheap, has excellent value for money, and I even throw in acting coaching for free.”

Lin Xing thought for a moment, then said, “Brother Kong, have you ever considered that some people in the industry may not actually want your coaching?”

Kong Tian froze. “What do you mean?”

“Before, in an interview, Nie Ziming said that when he was filming some movies and dramas, he wanted to give guidance to younger actors, but he was criticized for it, because people felt: who the hell do you think you are?”

Lin Xing said to Kong Tian, “Right now this business has people who really want to make good dramas, but there are also people who just want to make a quick buck. Sometimes on a set, from the investors to the director, the screenwriter, and even the actors, everyone is just trying to get by and fool the audience. But you want to make a good production, and you want to teach others how to act? Isn’t that just wasting time and money?”

How should one put it?

This was not merely a problem of the traffic era; even before, there had been plenty of such things.

Ten years ago, rating fraud had already become impossible to control. Some dramas were even arranged with television stations before filming had begun. You did not even need to make them properly; even if you turned them into absurd, overblown spectacles, they could still be sold at a high price.

In that environment, good actors could not survive.

And it was the same now.

Because the internet was so developed, crews could no longer be quite so outrageous, but they could simply choose not to use “good actors” at all.

Kong Tian was the kind who could not see the woods for the trees.

At times he was too stubborn; he only thought about how to make a production good, and often he even told the leads how he thought they should act. But for most people, all they wanted was to finish shooting quickly and secure their payday.

Why was it that some veteran actors, despite having real talent and being utterly devoted, suddenly found themselves with no roles to play?

In this business, those who are too stubborn and too true to themselves often cannot last. The ones who do well are invariably seasoned slicks.

Lin Xing had seen too much of that over the past ten years, but he could not manage everyone. He could only manage himself: the work could be terrible, but he absolutely could not be terrible.

Acting skill had to be honed through acting.

When you had no choice, the only thing you could control was yourself.

Yet Kong Tian could not quite do that.

Whenever he worked on a film or drama, he looked at every actor with the mindset of a performance teacher. If he felt someone’s acting was lacking, he would want to say so and help correct it.

The problem was: did anyone actually need him to say it?

People just wanted to happily recite their “one, two, three, four, five” and get through the scene. They were not short of work, so why bother striving?

Take Li Jingjing, for example. Even if she played the “numbers actress” in Only Waiting for You, even if that drama had mocked her to the point of ridicule, did her resources suffer afterward?

No.

She still had several projects where she was the unquestioned female lead.

If Lin Xing had walked up to her then and said, “How can you just recite numbers? How can you disrespect acting? As an actor, you should be professional, you should be like this...”

Believe it or not,

he would have been kicked out of the crew on the spot.

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What? Just because you think you’re so noble?

Lin Xing believed Kong Tian understood all this; after all, Kong Tian had been in this circle for so many years. How could he not know?

“You’re right.”

After Lin Xing finished, Kong Tian shook his head with a laugh. “But sometimes, when I encounter actors who aren’t professional, I really can’t help myself. From now on, I’ve got to hold back and not think I’m all that important.”

“It’s not quite that either. Brother Kong, I think you’re the kind of person who has real standards for acting, someone with ideals. But sometimes one still has to bend with the wind.”

As he spoke, Lin Xing poured Kong Tian a drink. “Just treat it like a job. If the boss wants us to do something, we do it.”

Hearing this, Kong Tian burst into laughter. “A-Xing, that’s exactly right. Come on, drink.”

“Brother Kong, last time I drank white liquor with you, I felt awful all night, so let’s take it slow this time. You have the clear liquor, I’ll have beer, and we can try to talk a bit longer.”

Lin Xing glanced at the time. “Crime-Sweeping Storm is about to release its first teaser. I still have to do my part for the promotion.”

“No matter, take your time. I’ll drink on my own.”

Kong Tian said indifferently, “Come, I’ll finish mine. Drink as you please.”

As for drinking capacity, Kong Tian was indeed formidable.

If this had been a drinking table with strangers, and someone said, “I’ll finish mine; you do as you like,” then if you did not follow suit, it would often be taken as a lack of respect.

That was the culture of drinking tables.

But Lin Xing did not need to be polite with Kong Tian, and he did indeed drink half a glass of beer.

“I heard from Old Ren that you really shocked him on set?”

After drinking, Kong Tian said with a grin, “He didn’t expect you to hold your own in the scene.”

“No, no, I’m still quite far behind Brother Yi.”

Lin Xing said with a bitter smile, “I know my limits on this point. I only benefited from my persona. If the roles were reversed and I had to play Brother Yi’s part, I’m afraid I’d have shown my true form in an instant.”

“A-Xing, humility is good, but don’t sell yourself short either. At your age, being able to handle Old Ren’s scenes is already very impressive.”

As he said this, Kong Tian suddenly laughed. “So that’s why people say you should make your debut early. Look at you: five years at your peak right after debut, then ten years of being passé. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were in your forties. And yet you’re only thirty-one.”

Lin Xing said, “I’m nothing special. Look at those child stars—after all the ups and downs, they turn out to be only in their twenties, yet they seem to have lived through a whole forty years.”

The two of them chatted while sipping their drinks.

Before long, they were both pleasantly tipsy.

Sometimes, when one is slightly drunk, the conversation becomes more open and more candid.

“I’m joining a new production soon. What about you?”

Kong Tian said to Lin Xing, “A-Xing, while your popularity is still strong, you absolutely must pick a couple of good scripts. For an actor, works are the only thing that can keep you evergreen.”

Lin Xing smiled. “I know, Brother Kong. I should still be recording another episode of Comedy Must Be Laughter. Originally, I thought one episode would be enough, but I didn’t expect there to be a final episode for the overall champion, so I have to record one more. After that, I’ll be joining a production too. I’ve taken on a web drama.”

“A web drama?”

Kong Tian paused. “Why did you decide to take a web drama? With your current popularity, there shouldn’t be any problem getting into television dramas. Even though Crime-Sweeping Storm hasn’t aired yet, landing a low-budget TV series as the male lead should still be possible.”

“True, but the scripts TV dramas offered me were either domineering CEOs, young masters from the Republican era, or scripts for period idol dramas or modern romance dramas.”

Lin Xing sounded a little helpless. “It’s not that I’m opposed to acting in idol dramas again, but at least give me a decent script. If it’s the same old cookie-cutter role, I feel like it would just be draining my popularity.”

“Fair enough. That’s true. You’re like Huang Ning. At first everyone had high hopes for him, but over these past five years he’s made one bad project after another and completely wrecked his own reputation.”

Kong Tian poured himself another drink, then said to Lin Xing, “A-Xing, it’s right that you cherish an actor’s image.”

“It’s not really about cherishing it. Before, I had no choice. Now that I do, of course I should try to choose the better scripts.”

“Mm. Doing your best when you have no choice—simple in theory, but difficult in practice.”

Kong Tian drank again. “Still, what you said today really stayed with me. I was indeed stubborn in the wrong way before.”

“Please, Brother Kong, don’t take my clumsy, low-emotional-intelligence way of speaking too seriously. It can come off as oily and overly smooth, so you really don’t need to mind it too much.”

Lin Xing waved a hand lightly.

“Hahaha, the truly oily and slick never think of themselves that way. Take that one, for example.”

Kong Tian said with a smile, “Chu Chen has already joined his next production. His agent had actually wanted to invite me as the acting coach, but I turned them down and recommended they go find Si Tu Hui instead.”

Lin Xing said, “Mm, I also think Si Tu Hui is better suited to coach Chu Chen. You aren’t. My sense is that if you coached Chu Chen, you’d probably be flipping the table within a few days.”

More often than not, it is hard for actors to recognize their own flaws, because everyone around them is busy flattering them; it is difficult to see themselves clearly.

Even accomplished actors like Fu Shu only recognized it after being crushed in Power’s Way.

Let alone traffic idols.

And Chu Chen was the archetypal narcissist. When he acted, he could not tolerate even a single suggestion. Not only that, but sometimes he would drift away from the script and invent his own “performance.”

Such a person, taught by Kong Tian?

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How could that possibly work?

Kong Tian was stubborn enough already; the two of them would have to fight.

Chu Chen was suited to someone like Si Tu Hui, someone who could speak to any person in their own language, yet was also extraordinarily emotionally intelligent.

That was precisely why Si Tu Hui was so famous in the industry, and why many major productions were willing to invite her as an acting coach.

While they were talking, eight o’clock arrived.

On Weibo, the official account of Crime-Sweeping Storm posted.

“Crime-Sweeping Storm trending topic #Crime-Sweeping Storm first teaser trailer# #Crime-Sweeping Storm full cast lineup# Light is drawing near. A storm surges through Jinghai—must this day remain dark forever? Sweep away corruption and evil, break through the umbrella network, fearless against the raging tide.”

Along with this promotional copy came a two-minute teaser.

“You say Jinghai has been a civilized city every year, and its crime rate is so low every single year—how can there really be no injustice?”

“Injustice? Who dares cry injustice?”

“Everything in Jinghai belongs to Shen Ming. Shen Ming is the great philanthropist of Jinghai.”

“There is no gambling, no drugs, no vice in Jinghai, because everyone there is blind, everyone is deaf.”

...

“You say, why not live a good life? Why insist on courting death?”

“I’ve been a dead man for fourteen years. The only thing I do while alive is arrest you.”

“In Jinghai, I’m not afraid of the police, but I am afraid of the Shen family. Offending the police might only get you detained for a few days, but offending the Shen family means dying without a whole corpse.”

“Report them? Come on, if I were to report anyone, it would be myself for causing trouble for Mr. Shen.”

...

“Godfather, this task force isn’t beating me up. They’re slapping your face.”

...

The two-minute footage was extraordinarily thrilling, and the dark visuals made it feel especially oppressive.

When speaking of gambling, drugs, and vice, there were scenes of naked online loans, drug use, and even a basement full of money.

A highly charged teaser.

In the trailer, you could not tell the righteous from the wicked.

That is what veteran actors were for.

More importantly, everyone appeared without makeup and without filters, so the audience could fully see the minute transformations in each face and expression.

That was the real contest.

Look at some period idol dramas: on some actors’ filtered faces, you cannot find a single wrinkle or blemish, as though they were mannequins.

None of that existed in Crime-Sweeping Storm.

Because everyone appeared bare-faced and without filters, every frame of the teaser felt strikingly real.

At eight o’clock that night, the teaser went live.

Soon after, Ren Yi, Wang Fei, Song Wen, and the others reposted it on time.

Lin Xing also reposted the Weibo post and wrote: “#Crime-Sweeping Storm first teaser trailer# #Crime-Sweeping Storm full cast lineup# I am Zhou Bo. In all of Jinghai, apart from my godfather, I call the shots.”

The other actors then reposted it one after another.

This time, the actors all reposted in character, and each one delivered a line from the drama.

At 8:18 p.m., a time when many people would ordinarily be paying the remaining balance on their purchases, the hot search list was full of things like “refund” and “the final payment collapsed.”

Yet the fifth and eighth entries on the trending list stood out starkly from the rest.

Fifth: #Crime-Sweeping Storm first teaser trailer#

Eighth: I woke up and suddenly this teaser is this explosive

...

...

The end.