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

Bai Mengyan glanced at him, then at the phone he had taken away, but didn't ask any further questions. She lowered her head and continued eating.

But when her eyelashes drooped, she blinked a couple more times.

Meanwhile, the issue has already begun to gain traction online.

The official announcement of "Mr. Six" was a normal procedure, but Feng Xiaogang's Weibo post was really too inopportune.

The top comment in the comment section has already made everything clear:

"Are you talking about Lin Shen? There were rumors that he would be in 'Mr. Six,' but today the official announcement of 'Mr. Six' didn't include him. Director Feng's Weibo post came at the perfect time, it makes sense."

The comments section has already split into several groups: some fans are saying "Don't mention it if it's not officially announced", some passersby are asking "Did Lin Shen reject 'Mr. Six'?" and some haters are directly mocking, "A top star like him, he doesn't care about the film industry."

And sure enough, people are already digging into the hashtag #OldGuyOfficialAnnouncement#.

A film and television blogger posted a long article:

@KingofSpoilers:

[To briefly summarize. In late August, rumors circulated online that Lin Shen was in talks for an important role in the film "Mr. Six," with a significant billing position;]

In mid-September, news circulated that the schedule was being coordinated; in mid-October, there was suddenly no further news; today, the official announcement for "Mr. Six" was made, but Lin Shen's name was not mentioned.

Director Feng's Weibo post subtly hinted at the young people who were picking on roles—a reasonable guess is that Lin Shen refused, and perhaps the way he refused wasn't very accommodating.

Next, we should pay attention to whether Lin Shen's future film opportunities will be affected. It seems unlikely he'll be able to get roles in films produced for the Beijing film circle in the future.

There are over two thousand comments below.

"So, was Lin Shen rejected or simply refused the role?"

"Feng Kuzi's words are really awful. What does he mean by 'having some looks but no bone structure'...?"

"Come on, Director Feng has been in the industry for so many years, how dare some young upstart put on airs with him?"

"Hilarious! Some people criticize young male celebrities while simultaneously pursuing collaborations, and then turn their backs when the collaborations fall through. Their behavior is utterly disgusting!"

"Wait a minute, so who got the role of 'Mr. Six'? Wu Yifan?"

"Don't bring that up, our brother is currently in seclusion filming!"

"Where are Lin Shen's fans? Come out and show yourselves!"

"The forest is here; we neither cause trouble nor fear it. Brother Shen has his reasons for refusing the role; who has the right to make sarcastic remarks?"

"#ForestTraces# Instead of wasting time on this, why not grab a pre-order now? The third batch just went on sale and it's already sold out!"

Controversy and promotion intertwined, with trending topics extending from #OldGuyOfficialAnnouncement# to #FengXiaogangCriticizesYoungIdols#, and then spreading from #FengXiaogangCriticizesYoungIdols# to #LinShenOldGuys#.

No one openly condemned Feng Xiaogang for saying Lin Shen's words, but there's no need to condemn them either.

In the private room, Gu Man put down her phone and looked up at Lin Shen.

"Was that comment about Feng Xiaogang referring to you?"

Lin Shen hummed in response. Gu Man looked at him and found no trace of anger or resentment on his face, nor the tension one would expect from a young actor who is publicly criticized by a senior.

He just doesn't care.

"Aren't you going to reply?" Gu Man asked.

"I'm not going back." Lin Shen poured himself some tea. "Let him curse all he wants, I'll eat mine."

Gu Man paused for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "You're quite composed."

"It's not that I'm calm." Lin Shen picked up his teacup.

"It's unnecessary. What he wants is for me to jump up and confront him, so that the headline will be 'Lin Shen clashes with Feng Xiaogang.' Regardless of who is right or wrong, I, a junior who has only been in the industry for three years, have already lost in the arena of public opinion."

He paused for a moment, then said, "I won't give him that opportunity."

Bai Mengyan sat next to her, her chopsticks hovering in mid-air.

She looked at Lin Shen, at his unhurried demeanor, and realized that he was the same person who often teased her when they were together.

She lowered her head, took a bite of rice, and felt her heart beating a little fast. What should she do?

Gu Man saw all of this but said nothing. She simply put another piece of food on Bai Mengyan's plate.

"Eat more, you'll be exhausted once you're on set."

At 9:30 p.m., Lin Shen and Bai Mengyan returned to the hotel's underground parking garage.

The car was turned off, but Bai Mengyan didn't get out immediately. She remained silent for a while before speaking:

"Brother Shen, aren't you upset about all the people online criticizing you?"

Lin Shen leaned back in his seat and turned his head to look at her.

"What's there to be upset about? I'm not a hundred-yuan bill; how can I expect everyone to like me?"

Bai Mengyan didn't laugh; she looked at him intently.

Lin Shen paused, then continued, "Besides, if I can't even handle this, how will I be able to handle you in the future?"

"..."

"Let's go! Get off the bus!"

Meanwhile, the top trending topic had become #FengXiaogangSuspectedOfMockingLinShen#

Third on the trending list: #LinShenOldPaoer#

A thread started on Douban's Goose Group: "Whom is Feng Xiaogang standing up for this time? Guan Hu or Huayi Brothers?"

A popular post on Baidu Tieba asks: "Objectively speaking, if Lin Shen really rejected Lao Pao'er, wouldn't that be considered ungrateful?"

On Weibo, the fans have already started preparing their rhetoric:

"Schedule conflicts do not equate to being ungrateful."

"Respect your seniors, but reject moral blackmail."

"Focus on your own work and wait for 'The Grave Robbers' Chronicles'."

However, quite a few bystanders were watching:

"So, is Director Feng implying that Lin Shen is too lazy to come because he thinks the place is too small?"

"...Isn't this just calling out names? They're practically writing down everyone's ID numbers."

"Holy crap, is this a public feud? Is Feng Xiaogang really that resentful?"

"What did Lin Shen do? Turned down a role? Well, he turned down someone and then went after Wu Yifan, and Director Feng was still not satisfied, so he even posted sarcastic remarks on Weibo?"

"The point isn't who's right or wrong, but that someone of Feng Xiaogang's stature personally got involved in criticizing a young actor. That speaks volumes..."

"What does this mean? It means Lin Shen really offended him. I'm on Director Feng's side this time. He's a senior figure, why would he bother with a young guy? Lin Shen was definitely the one who was unkind first."

"Are you siding with your father? Doesn't Feng Xiaogang have any self-awareness about his reputation? You call that a small temple? That dilapidated temple in the Beijing circle is only treasured by themselves."

"How did this thread get so skewed... Can anyone give an objective answer: did Lin Shen actually accept this role?"

"Industry insiders came uninvited. I contacted them, but they declined. I don't know the specific reason, but refusing a role isn't illegal, right? Director Feng's move is really petty."

"Hilarious, industry insider? You're just some pseudonym trying to stir up trouble."

"Is it possible that Lin Shen himself didn't want to take the job, so they found someone else, but were unhappy about it and wanted to smear him later?"

"...Now that you mention it, it makes sense."

"Honestly, that's how people from Feng Xiaogang's generation are; they think young people have to be grateful and take over their burdens."

"Feng Xiaogang's defenses have truly been breached this time."

"Feng Kuzi is notoriously outspoken; hasn't he criticized this person and that person countless times before?"

……

As the thread grew larger, opinions gradually split into two camps:

One faction believes that Lin Shen is ungrateful for his senior's offer of guidance and deserves to be singled out.

Another group felt that Feng Xiaogang was making a mountain out of a molehill; that he was narrow-minded to post sarcastic remarks on Weibo just because someone didn't want to act in his films.