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

Under the curious gazes of the two, Yang Chaoyue stuck out his tongue a little shyly:

"I'm just having a gut feeling, there's no basis for it... Last time, Brother Shen, you met her at the event and took a picture with her, right?"

As I waited nearby, I thought her smile was quite pretty, but it just felt... a little fake, not a truly genuine smile. Maybe I'm just being too sensitive.

Lin Shen thought back for a moment and seemed to have some recollection, but there were too many people around at the time, so he didn't pay much attention.

He nodded thoughtfully, offering no further comment: "You'll see how it goes once you're in the group. As long as you can get by on the surface, that's fine."

After all, there are too many people in the industry who have two faces, one in public and one in private. As long as it doesn't affect the actual work and things are out in the open, it's considered a good collaboration.

Bai Mengyan gave a thoughtful "Oh," quietly noting in her mind the intuitive impression from her assistant that Tang Yan might not be easy to get along with.

As a newcomer about to join a film crew, it's never a bad thing to have a general idea of ​​who you'll be working with beforehand.

However, she wasn't too worried. Anyway, she had Brother Shen and the people in the company, so she just needed to focus on her role.

The meal was almost finished, and most of the dishes on the table had been eaten, mainly thanks to the two young girls.

Seeing their satisfied expressions, Lin Shen called the waiter to settle the bill.

Stepping out of the restaurant, a cool evening breeze blew. Bai Mengyan patted her slightly rounded belly, feeling content.

"I'm so full! Thank you for the treat, Brother Shen. I'll treat you next time!"

Yang Chaoyue was also in high spirits, and the frustration from the online argument had long since vanished.

"Let's go, I'll take you back," Lin Shen said to Bai Mengyan.

"Mmm!" Bai Mengyan skipped along to catch up.

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

In the days that followed, the heated discussion sparked by the Southern Metropolis Daily interview not only failed to subside, but intensified as more details were interpreted and disseminated.

Derivative topics such as "Lin Shen's persona," "Lin Shen's arrogance," and "the bottom line of a top star" have appeared on the list one after another, with fan wars, onlookers, and industry insiders intertwining to create a noisy public opinion landscape.

Supporters believe Lin Shen is clear-headed and responsible, while critics mock him for being pretentious and eager to distance himself.

However, Lin Shen, who was at the center of the storm, seemed to be detached from it all.

His schedule was so packed that he had no spare energy to pay attention to the noise.

Lin Shen's attention was almost entirely focused on the trajectory that was about to be launched.

Finalizing the bulk order details with Boss Zhou, confirming the receiving process at the South China warehouse, finalizing the priority delivery agreement with SF Express, overseeing the design team to refine all visual materials, coordinating inventory checks and backend switching for several Taobao stores...

No matter how small the matter, Lin Shen would personally review it or listen to reports at key junctures.

The program is launching during the crucial National Day holiday, and we must make a strong start; no link in the chain can falter.

Meanwhile, another line of work is also progressing rapidly.

Following the plan agreed upon with Lin Shen's team, Xiaohongshu platform completed a round of algorithm optimization and topic operation upgrades for fashion, outfits, and lifestyle categories.

Shenzhen Bank's investment funds are already in place, and the two teams are in frequent communication.

Lin Shen was also thinking about how to post his first note.

Although Xiaohongshu's daily active users are not comparable to those of platforms like Weibo at this time, its user profile is mainly concentrated in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, and consists mainly of young, highly educated, high-spending female users who value quality of life.

This aligns closely with the target audience of the trajectory and the personal image that Lin Shen wants to cultivate—a person who shares aesthetics and lifestyle.

Simply put, 90% of the platform's users are currently targeted individuals who can view its content and are likely to earn coins for it.

Therefore, Lin Shen attached great importance to this move, personally participating in the conception of content direction, presentation format, and release schedule.

Everything was proceeding smoothly until the day of the script reading for "The Grave Robbers' Chronicles" arrived.

On September 28, the reading session was held in a conference room at a high-end business hotel near the headquarters of iQiyi.

At 9:30 a.m., Lin Shen arrived on time with Yang Chaoyue.

Staff members were already at the entrance to guide us. Once inside, there were already quite a few people, and it was rather noisy.

The conference room was large, with a long conference table pieced together in the center that almost filled the entire space.

Bottled water, name tags, and script booklets were already laid out on the table, and there were also many chairs placed against the walls around the table for assistants, entourage members, or non-core actors to sit on.

By this time, quite a few people had arrived.

Director Luo Yongchang was discussing something in hushed tones with the cinematographer, while screenwriter Bai Yicong was surrounded by two or three young screenwriters, planners, and other staff members, who were adjusting the projection equipment.

The actors' area was also quite lively.

Liu Tianzuo, who plays Wang Pangzi, has a loud voice and is chatting with Zhang Zhiyao, who plays Wu Sansheng. Both of them are experienced actors. Wei Wei, who plays Pan Zi, sits quietly to the side flipping through the script, occasionally looking up and smiling.

On a chair against the wall near the door, Bai Mengyan sat upright, clutching the script and her character biography tightly in her hands.

Li Rong sat beside her, whispering something to her. Bai Mengyan nodded from time to time, but her eyes couldn't help but glance towards the door.

As soon as Lin Shen entered, he quickly attracted the attention of most people, and the conversations all quieted down considerably.

"Teacher Lin Shen is here!" A staff member immediately came forward to greet him.

"Director, Teacher Bai." Lin Shen nodded to the director and screenwriter with a polite smile.

"Lin Shen, we've been waiting for you." Luo Yongchang smiled and raised his hand in greeting. This Hong Kong director had a sharp style, but he was very polite to the top-notch lead actor who could carry the show and investment.

Bai Yicong looked up and smiled, "Teacher Lin, the final adjustments to the script have all been included. We'll discuss that in detail later."

"Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Bai," Lin Shen replied.

His gaze then shifted to the other end of the conference table, where several people with distinctly different auras sat.

Kiwi's Chief Content Officer (CCO) Ma Dong and Vice President and General Manager of the Copyright Management Center Zhang Yuxin were prominently present.

Ma Dong wore his signature blue suit, a subtle smile on his round face.

Zhang Yuxin, dressed in a sharp business suit, exuded a capable and efficient demeanor. She was a key figure in the communication between Kiwifruit and Huanrui and Nanpai Investment, and also the direct promoter of this project within the platform.

"Mr. Ma, Mr. Zhang, thank you for coming over in person." Lin Shen walked over quickly and extended his hand.

Kiwi invested heavily in this first big-budget web series because of Lin Shen. After multiple negotiations and additional investments, the relationship between the two parties has long transcended the simple relationship between a platform and an artist, and is more like a close partnership.

"Teacher Lin, you absolutely have to come. This is our platform's top priority for the first half of next year."

Ma Dong grasped Lin Shen's hand, shook it vigorously, and laughed:

"Your voice has been all over the internet these past few days. This buzz is perfect for building momentum for our project."

Zhang Yuxin smiled and shook hands with Lin Shen: "Teacher Lin, I look forward to your Wu Xie. Today is a good day for everyone to go over the characters and the play face to face."

On the other side, the producer sent by Huanrui had a rather complicated expression.

This is understandable, as the original producer of this project should have been Jia Shikai, but now the benefits of the key roles have all gone to Lucky Film.

Jia Shikai himself has already established his own business, so Huanrui naturally lost interest.

The final project structure became a joint production of iQiyi, Huanrui, and Lucky Film, with Lucky Film further increasing its investment as a primary market investor, thus gaining considerable influence.

The producer from Huanrui is now more of a symbolic participant, exercising the copyright holder's supervisory rights.

At this moment, when the producer from Huanrui faced Lin Shen, his smile inevitably became somewhat formulaic, carrying a hint of forced politeness.

Lin Shen responded calmly, striking the perfect balance—neither overly enthusiastic to appear deliberate, nor cold and impolite.

He knew very well that in this conference room, multiple forces such as capital, platforms, creation, and performance were intertwined, and he was one of the core elements at the intersection.

Lin Shen returned to the actors' area. Liu Tianzuo was a hearty Northeastern man with a loud laugh.

"Brother Lin Shen! We finally meet. This trio of us needs to work on our teamwork!" He extended his hand proactively, his attitude friendly.

"Brother Zuo, please guide me in the future." Lin Shen shook hands with a smile. Liu Tianzuo's acting skills and audience appeal were both excellent, making him a great collaborator.

Zhang Zhiyao has a refined and scholarly demeanor, and Ying Haoming, who plays Xie Yuchen, and others also came over to greet him.

Just then, there was another noise at the door.

Yang Yang walked in somewhat reservedly. He was dressed simply and neatly today, with an upright posture. He first greeted the director, screenwriter, and platform representatives respectfully, then his gaze found Lin Shen, and he quickly walked over.

"Brother Shen."

"You're here, have a seat." Lin Shen patted the empty chair next to him, which was the main actors' area.

Yang Yang's arrival further enhanced Le Kai's presence in the film crew.

Bai Mengyan, standing next to Li Rong, saw Lin Shen and Yang Yang interacting, and her eyes lit up even more. She leaned forward slightly, almost standing up to greet them.

Li Rong gently pressed her arm, signaling her to calm down.

Lin Shen noticed the subtle movements, met Bai Mengyan's gaze, and gave her a smile to reassure her.

Almost at the same time Yang Yang sat down, the meeting room door was pushed open again.

Tang Yan also walked in. Today she was wearing a beige knitted sweater, paired with light-colored trousers, with her long hair draped over her shoulders, exquisite makeup, and a sweet smile on her face.

"Sorry everyone, have you been waiting long?"

Her voice was soft, her gaze swept across the room, lingering on the director and platform representatives before nodding. When she saw Lin Shen, she smiled and greeted him.

"Lin Shen, it's been a long time."

"Sister Tangtang, it's been a long time." Lin Shen stood up and gently shook hands with her.

The touch was slightly cool, and the smile was impeccable, but just as Chao Yue said, it was indeed a bit too perfect.

Tang Yan then exchanged brief greetings with the other main cast members before sitting down in the assigned seats.

With everyone present, the atmosphere gradually calmed down, and the reading session officially began.

Director Law Wing-cheung gave a brief opening speech, emphasizing the importance of this reading session and hoping that the actors could delve into their roles and ask questions.

Screenwriter Bai Yicong then began to explain the overall structure and core adjustments of the script.

Because of Lin Shen's early involvement and the increased influence brought by Lucky Film's additional investment, the script was optimized compared to the original version.

Bai Yicong mentioned: "In the Seven Star Lu Palace part, we enhanced the humor and brotherly tacit understanding in the interactions between Wu Xie and Fatty Wang, and weakened some of the overly childish coincidences."

For the grand scenes at Zhangjia Ancient Building and Yunding Tiangong, we also listened to Professor Lin's advice and, within the budget, will try our best to combine real sets with special effects to highlight the profound sense of history and eerie atmosphere of being sealed for thousands of years..."

Lin Shen listened attentively, nodding occasionally. These changes were exactly the key points he had raised when communicating with Bai Yicong, with the aim of preserving the essence and quality of the original work as much as possible while balancing censorship and production costs.

The reading session began from the very first episode. As the actors immersed themselves in their roles and read their lines, the atmosphere in the meeting room gradually became one with the bizarre and fantastical underground world.

Lin Shen has a solid foundation in dialogue delivery, and his voice is steady yet clear and youthful, perfectly capturing Wu Xie's initial curiosity, nervousness, and occasional吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese internet slang term for sarcastic or critical remarks).

Yang Yang's Zhang Qiling has very few lines, but every time he speaks, he has to convey a huge amount of information and an icy aura in just a few words. This is a considerable challenge for him, but he is well prepared and performs with composure.

Liu Tianzuo's Wang Pangzi is witty and lively; Zhang Zhiyao's Wu Sansheng is shrewd and steady; Wei Wei's Pan Zi is loyal and rugged, each with their own unique characteristics.

Bai Mengyan's role as Huo Xiuxiu is towards the end. At this moment, she is holding her pen tightly, watching and listening intently, trying to match each person's performance with their character. Her face is slightly red from her focus.

Tang Yan's portrayal of A Ning is concise and efficient, and her delivery is decent, with a sweet yet powerful voice. However, she occasionally appears slightly formulaic at certain emotional transitions.

When it was Bai Mengyan's turn to speak as Huo Xiuxiu, you could tell she was a little nervous; her voice was slightly strained, but the preparation she had done beforehand had paid off.

She was familiar with the lines, and she still managed to portray the character's charm and intelligence.

After reading it, Bai Mengyan subconsciously glanced at Lin Shen, who smiled and nodded, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.

Midway through the meeting, according to the script, Wu Xie had a line:

[Wu Xie]: I want to donate this bull's head to the country! (I think donating it is a little bit better than handing it over, maybe.)

When Lin Shen read this sentence, he paused, then suddenly laughed. This laugh eased the serious atmosphere of the reading session, and everyone looked at him.