Huayu: You were supposed to be a top star, but you've become capital?

Bai Mengyan followed Xiao Yang out of Lin Shen's office, feeling dizzy, and returned to the waiting area.

In the corridors and meeting areas, there were still many girls waiting for their turn to communicate, or those who had just finished communicating and were excitedly discussing their future in small groups.

Bai Mengyan's appearance immediately attracted almost everyone's attention.

Curiosity, curiosity, envy, jealousy... all kinds of gazes were fixed on her.

Who told her to be the only one called into the boss's office alone and stay there for quite a while?

Qiqi rushed over immediately:

"Saltie! How did it go? What did Brother Shen say to you? Is there some special arrangement?"

Bai Mengyan opened her mouth, but the words she was about to say took a sharp turn. Just as she was about to mumble something, a slightly shrill voice interrupted from the side.

It was the same girl in the black dress who had mocked her before; now she wore a seemingly friendly smile, but her tone was somewhat sarcastic:

"Yes, Bai Mengyan, President Lin kept you behind for a long chat, it must be something good, right? Share it with us so we can learn something too."

The other girls didn't say anything, but they all pricked up their ears.

A small flame suddenly ignited in Bai Mengyan's heart. What's it to you?!

The word "guan" almost slipped out of her mouth; she could even feel her canine teeth twitch.

But in a flash, she remembered that she might soon become an artist under Lucky Film, remembered Brother Shen's advice, and remembered that the people in front of her might be considered half colleagues or at least peers in the future.

Bai Mengyan swallowed back the words she was about to say, switching to a sweet smile tinged with shyness and gratitude as she looked at the girl in the black dress:

"We didn't talk about anything special, it's just that Brother Shen is a nice guy and cared about what we newbies thought. Thanks for your concern!"

Her voice was soft, and her smile was flawless, as if she wasn't the one who wanted to curse.

The girl in the black dress was taken aback by her "sincere" response; all the follow-up teasing she had prepared got stuck in her throat, and she could only manage a couple of dry laughs.

"Oh...really? Mr. Lin is so considerate."

Bai Mengyan smiled at the other girls around her who were watching, her smile still sweet, but for some reason they felt a little... strange, as if there was something between them.

Then she naturally took Kiki's arm: "Kiki, shall we go? It seems like there's nothing else going on."

"Oh... okay." Although Kiki was full of questions, she could also sense the subtle atmosphere and quickly nodded.

The two left briskly under the watchful eyes of everyone.

Only after stepping into the elevator and the doors closing, blocking the view from the outside, did Bai Mengyan finally let out a long breath, pat her chest, and the well-behaved and sweet mask on her face instantly collapsed, replaced by an expression that was a mixture of extreme excitement and suppressed laughter.

"Holy crap, Salty! What's going on? The speed at which you changed your expression just now!" Qiqi asked impatiently.

Bai Mengyan made a "shh" gesture and whispered in Qiqi's ear:

"I can't tell you right now! Anyway... it's super, super good news! I'll tell you as soon as I confirm it! Trust me!"

Seeing her mysterious and excited expression, almost as if she could fly away, Qiqi, though itching to try it herself, knew better than to hesitate and nodded.

"Okay! I'll wait for your news! Don't forget me when you become rich and powerful, sister!"

"Absolutely!"

-----------------

Time flies, and September 10th has arrived in no time.

The Weibo trending topics list these past few days has been nothing short of a spectacular display of Lin Shen's fans dominating the competition.

#LinShenGucciDinner##KrisWuBurberryPromotion##LuHanOverseasCommentRecord# and related derivative topics take turns appearing at the top of the list.

The battle between the three fan groups seems to have never stopped. From fashion resources, commercial value, and data collection to work achievements, character, and appearance, the battle has spread to every corner. However, throughout the entire process, the Forest fans have been overwhelming the Wu and Lu fans, who have almost no chance to fight back.

However, a closer look reveals that Lin Shen's team never intervened from beginning to end. To deal with this level of staged incident, there was no need for official intervention; the fans' strength was enough to crush it.

Meanwhile, Wu and Lu's teams were in a panic, trying several times to step in and salvage the situation, but they were rendered speechless by the impressive achievements of Forest's fans.

In the end, they could only symbolically deal with some of the more egregious personal attacks, barely maintaining the semblance of a fighting spirit.

After all, for Wu and Lu, being able to ride on Lin Shen's popularity and trend on social media is already a great opportunity to gain exposure with minimal or even no money.

Thus, this so-called three-way battle ultimately became a one-man show where Wu and Lu fans artificially inflated the hype, and Forest fans used various tricks to crush the weaker opponents. The battlefield was clearly limited to these two fan groups who were trying to gain attention and Forest.

Seeing this, many fans of other celebrities also tried to join in and ride the wave of popularity, but they all ended up being disappointed.

A few days ago, fans of Huang Zitao and Zhang Yixing attempted to "support" Wu and Lu by claiming they were former teammates or had a brotherhood with them.

The result was an immediate and overwhelming backlash from Forest's fans, who also criticized the artist himself.

"Your own idol hasn't even made it in the Korean music scene, yet you're trying to ride on the coattails of top Chinese celebrities. Go back and hone your skills in the domestic music scene first!"

Chen Weiting's fans originally wanted to join in the fun as fellow fans of "Gu Jian" (Ancient Sword), but were politely asked to leave by Forest's fans.

"Thank you for your concern, William. We can handle this minor incident ourselves, so we won't trouble you all."

Even TFBOYS, who have gained popularity among children with their slow-motion left and right hand gestures, had their fans try to squeeze into the topic and make their presence known, but were quickly shut down by Forest fans with a single sentence:

"Kids, go home and do your homework. Don't meddle in adult matters."

This move not only left many celebrity teams hoping to ride the wave of popularity feeling humiliated, but also astonished many industry insiders and media outlets:

Lin Shen's fans are surprisingly powerful?

They are well-organized, confident, and have a proven track record, completely unlike the K-pop fans of the past who only cared about generating data.

The era of top-tier local artists seems to have quietly arrived.

In the afternoon, a black Mercedes-Benz was driving on its way to Lucky Media.

Inside the car, Xiao Yang, holding a tablet, excitedly reported to Lin Shen:

"Brother Shen, our Weibo followers have officially surpassed 700 million! And data analysis shows that over 95% of them are real, active local fans."

There are almost no bot accounts or silent overseas followers. The increase in followers over the past week was entirely organic, without any boosting from our team, and came from casual followers who became fans because of this controversy!

Lin Shen took the tablet and glanced at it. The screen displayed a clear comparison of the three sets of data, and the differences were obvious at a glance:

Lin Shen: 702 million Weibo followers, consistently ranking in the top three on Weibo's celebrity topic list, with a daily net increase of over 10 followers.

"Swords of Legends" achieved a viewership rating of over 2 on two channels, topped the V Chart actor index for three consecutive weeks, and boasts both high local popularity and real online buzz, with a leading lead in active fan interaction.

Wu Yifan: 553 million Weibo followers, ranked fifteenth on the celebrity topic list. Although his fans are highly loyal, over 70% of them are overseas K-pop fans, with less than a million active domestic fans. He has no domestic works to show for it and relies solely on overseas promotions and scandals to maintain his popularity.

Lu Han: 586 million Weibo followers, ranked seventeenth on the celebrity topic list. Her impressive data is supported by a large number of fans in the K-pop circle. She has almost no local casual fans, no independent works, and relies solely on the traffic of the XO team.

The so-called three-way balance of power is nothing more than self-comfort for Wu and Lu's fans; in reality, it is Lin Shen's one-sided crushing victory.

This seemingly absurd publicity stunt inadvertently helped Lin Shen complete a new round of traffic filtering and fan base consolidation.

Not only did he gain a large number of real local fans, but he also firmly established himself as a top domestic star in the Chinese entertainment industry, making more casual viewers remember this young actor who lets his work speak for itself.

Seeing these data, Lin Shen's lips curved into a smile. This result was even better than expected.

With the popularity of "Gu Jian" and this latest attempt to gain attention by associating with celebrities, he has firmly secured his position as one of the first generation of top domestic celebrities in the Chinese entertainment industry, while Wu and Lu are nothing more than opportunists returning from the K-pop scene.

"Maintain the health of the fan base, ignore the underhanded tactics of those two parties, and let the fans have their own fun," Lin Shen said casually.

"Understood, Brother Shen." Xiao Yang nodded and noted it down.

Just then, Lin Shen's phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID; it was an unfamiliar number, but the location was Beijing. He answered it casually.

"Hello?" A cautious yet excited voice came from the other end of the phone. It was Bai Mengyan. "Shen-Brother Shen! It's me, Bai Mengyan!"

"Hmm, I can tell. You've made up your mind?"

"Um... I've discussed it with my family, and they're very supportive! I've also carefully reviewed the contract, and there are no problems!"

Bai Mengyan's voice was noticeably lighter, and then she asked cautiously, "Brother Shen, when would be a convenient time for me to come and sign the contract? Is today okay?"

Lin Shen's lips curled slightly. This girl was quite impatient. He glanced at the street scene flashing past the window and calculated the time:

"I'm on my way to Lucky Film right now. If it's convenient for you, you can come over today."

"So convenient! So convenient!" Bai Mengyan's voice instantly rose an octave, as if afraid Lin Shen would change his mind. "I'm free right now! We can leave immediately!"

Hearing the almost overflowing urgency on the other end of the phone, Lin Shen replied with a smile:

"Okay, the company address is on the contract. Contact Xiao Yang when you arrive, she will pick you up. We can discuss the specifics when you get there."

"Okay, okay! Thank you, Brother Shen! I'll get ready to leave right away!" Bai Mengyan hurriedly agreed.

After hanging up the phone, Lin Shen said to Xiao Yang in the front row, "Bai Mengyan will be here to sign the contract in a little while. When she arrives, go downstairs to meet her and take her directly to President Jia's office."

"Bai Mengyan? Hmm, okay." Although Xiao Yang had a premonition, she was still somewhat surprised to receive confirmation.

The car quickly drove into the office building's underground parking garage, and a moment later, Lin Shen pushed open the door to Jia Shikai's office.

Jia Shikai was on the phone, seemingly discussing the specific terms of additional investment in "The Grave Robbers' Chronicles". When Lin Shen came in, he quickly said to the person on the other end of the phone, "Okay, that's all for now. We'll finalize the details when we meet tomorrow," and then hung up.

Old Jia smiled, but his brows weren't fully furrowed yet: "You're here? I have something to discuss with you."

"What's wrong? Is there some trouble with 'The Lost Tomb' again?" Lin Shen asked casually.

"No, not at all. Progress is going quite smoothly," Jia Shikai waved his hand.

"It's Yang Yang's side. He agreed to the terms faster than expected, but there are some additional conditions, such as the contract term and profit sharing ratio, which need to be finalized."

In addition, the production team of "My Sunshine" has also responded that the schedule can be coordinated, but they hope you can give them a clear answer as soon as possible so they can adjust the overall plan.

"You can decide about Yang Yang's situation. I'll get back to you about the schedule later."

Looking at the composed Lin Shen, Jia Shikai couldn't help but tease him:

"Lin Shen, you've been working so hard to create Wuyou, signing so many new talents and securing projects. The brand is about to launch, and you also need to keep an eye on the investment companies..."

Isn't this expansion going a bit too fast? My old bones can hardly keep up.

Lin Shen picked up the tea that Jia Shikai had brewed on the table, took a sip, and then slowly said:

"Old Jia, this is just the beginning. The real excitement is yet to come."

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door, and Xiao Yang pushed the door open and peeked in:

"Mr. Jia, Brother Shen, Miss Bai Mengyan has arrived."

Jia Shikai paused for a moment, looked at Lin Shen, and asked with his eyes: Bai Mengyan? Who?

Lin Shen put down his teacup, stood up, and smiled at Jia Shikai:

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, I've found another female artist for Lucky Film, and she's here today to sign the contract."

Jia Shikai: "...???"