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

Chapter 86, Midfield, let's stop!

Lin Shen raised the microphone in his hand: "Okay, let's begin. There are too many people today, it's definitely not feasible to go one by one. How about this, I'll select a few families, ask one question to each family, and then everyone can leave, okay?"

The reporters exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

Lin Shen's gaze swept across the room, and the first person he pointed to was: "This teacher from Mango TV."

A male reporter wearing glasses immediately raised his hand, his eyes lighting up.

"Lin Shen, I'm from Mango TV. I'd like to ask if you wrote the song 'The Lone Warrior' yourself? The lyrics are exceptionally well-written; I'd like to know the background of its creation."

Lin Shen nodded: "I guess so. I wrote the lyrics, and the music was polished together with my teacher. Background of the creation ————"

He paused for a moment: "I just wanted to write this for those who work silently behind the scenes. Narcotics officers, firefighters, medical staff, and grassroots police officers walk alone through dark alleys every day, but few people know their names. This song is dedicated to them."

"Thank you, Lin Shen!"

The second one: "Teachers from Tencent Video."

A short-haired female reporter raised her hand: "Lin Shen, have you seen the reversal in public opinion online? So many people were criticizing you before, but you didn't respond. What were your considerations?"

Lin Shen smiled and said, "I didn't think about it in any particular way. I just feel that some things, once done, will naturally be seen by others. And some things, it's better not to say them."

He paused for a moment, then added, "And I've really been busy with work these past few days and haven't had time to check my phone."

Another burst of laughter erupted from the group of reporters.

The third one: "SMG's teacher."

A middle-aged male reporter took the microphone: "Lin Shen, I'm from Shanghai TV. I'd like to ask, what are your feelings about being appointed as an anti-drug ambassador?"

Lin Shen became serious: "My feelings can be summed up in two words: honor. I also thank the Ministry of Public Security for their trust. There are no bystanders in the fight against drugs. I am willing to use my influence to let more people understand and support the fight against drugs."

"Thank you, Lin Shen!"

The fourth one: "The teacher from Sohu Entertainment".

A young female reporter asked, "Lin Shen, some people online are saying that you were able to receive official recognition this time because of your father's situation. Is it convenient for you to respond to this?"

The scene fell silent for a moment.

Lin Shen looked at her, and after a brief silence, he said, "I can't say much about my father. But I can tell you one thing: he is the bravest person I have ever met."

He paused, then said calmly, "The song 'The Lone Warrior' is also dedicated to them."

A round of applause broke out among the reporters.

Fifth: "The teacher from Sina Entertainment".

A smartly dressed female reporter asked, "Lin Shen, what are your work plans for the future? What projects are planned after 'The Lost Tomb'?"

Lin Shen smiled and said, "The Lost Tomb is still filming, and the scenes in Changbai Mountain have just started. My Sunshine will most likely start filming after the New Year. And—there might be some new attempts, but that's a secret for now."

[Remember the fastest online novel website: 20 ...

"Thank you, Lin Shen!"

After asking a few questions, Lin Shen clasped his hands together and bowed slightly: "Thank you everyone, that's all for today. It's cold outside, everyone should go home and rest early."

Lin Shen turned and walked towards the fans, saying a few more words like "Go home early" and "Be careful" before leaving surrounded by security.

Behind them, the flashbulbs were still on.

At the same time, in the capital city.

Wang Zhonglei walked into the company humming a song today.

He's been in such a good mood these past few days.

Online opinion overwhelmingly condemned Lin Shen, and the support from their own artists was quite effective. More importantly, the popularity of "Mr. Six" soared, and Huayi's stock also rose by three points.

Good morning, Mr. Wang!

"morning."

Wang Zhonglei walked into the office, took off his coat, sat down in the boss's chair, and prepared to make himself a nice cup of tea.

There was a knock on the office door.

"Come in."

Xiao Zhou pushed the door open and came in. The expression on his face made Wang Zhonglei frown.

He knows that expression all too well; something's wrong.

"What's wrong?"

Xiao Zhou swallowed hard: "President Wang—something terrible has happened."

Wang Zhonglei put down his teacup: "Speak."

Xiao Zhou handed the tablet over, and Wang Zhonglei took it and looked down at it.

The top trending topic: #LinShenAntiDrugAmbassador#

Second on the trending list: #The Lone Warrior in the Deep Forest#

Third on the trending list: #LinShenPositiveEnergyArtist#

Fourth on the trending list: #LinShenItinerary#

Fifth on the trending list: #HuayiArtistsDeletePosts#

Wang Zhonglei's face gradually darkened.

Keep scrolling down.

Official Weibo accounts of the Ministry of Public Security and the State Administration of Optoelectronics, as well as the opening screen of Tencent Video and WeChat news pop-ups —

One by one, they were glaringly obvious.

Scroll down further.

Lin Shen's itinerary, a 36-day timeline, densely packed with business activities —

The comments section was filled with criticism of Huayi.

Wang Zhonglei slammed the tablet onto the table.

"#!"

The tablet nearly bounced off Xiao Zhou, who was standing nearby. Xiao Zhou was startled and took a half-step back. Wang Zhonglei stood up and paced back and forth in the office, his face ashen.

"What the hell is going on? The Ministry of Public Security? The State Administration of Optics and Electronics? How did he get involved with this?!"

Xiao Zhou said cautiously, "Mr. Wang, there's one more thing—"

"Speak!"

"Just now—someone passed on a message over there." Xiao Zhou's voice trailed off, "They said that someone has noticed our recent public opinion manipulation. Lin Shen, this ambassador, was directly appointed by the Ministry of Public Security. It's a cross-departmental joint propaganda effort, and many leaders above have given their approval."

Wang Zhonglei stopped in his tracks.

"besides--"

"Anything else? Tell me all at once."

Xiao Zhou said with a forced smile, "Someone from the film company also contacted us, saying that the subject matter of the 'Mr. Six' project is sensitive, and that we should be careful with the publicity and not cause any trouble."

Wang Zhonglei was stunned.

Is the subject matter sensitive?

He had read the script for "Mr. Six". It was about an old man and a rich second-generation. Where did the sensitive subject matter come from?

"Is there anything else?"

Xiao Zhou hesitated for a moment: "Also—I need you to return a call to your brother."

Wang Zhonglei remained silent for a while before picking up his phone and dialing the number.

"elder brother."

On the other end of the phone, Wang Zhongjun's voice was a few decibels deeper than usual: "Zhonglei, I know about what happened online."

Wang Zhonglei remained silent.

"Speaking of Lin Shen, he has connections in higher places. How much do you know about his father?"

Wang Zhonglei was taken aback: "His father?"

"His father sacrificed his life in Operation Thunder." Wang Zhongjun's voice was frighteningly deep. "This cross-departmental joint publicity campaign was spearheaded by the public security department. The leader's exact words were: 'This kid has impeccable character and is worth nurturing.'"

Wang Zhonglei gritted his teeth: "Brother, what about ours?"

"What about us?" Wang Zhongjun interrupted him.

Wang Zhonglei remained silent.

Wang Zhongjun sighed: "Make them apologize immediately, and take all the online marketing accounts down. Stop this."

"elder brother!"

"Listen to me," Wang Zhongjun said sternly.

Wang Zhonglei remained silent for a few seconds, then finally gritted his teeth and said, "I understand."

The phone hangs up.

Wang Zhonglei stood there, looking out the window at the sky over the capital, his face so gloomy it could drip water.

Xiao Zhou cautiously asked from the side, "Mr. Wang, what about the marketing accounts—"

"Withdraw!" Wang Zhonglei gritted his teeth. "Withdraw everything."

Xiao Zhou hesitated for a moment, then quickly nodded: "Yes, I'll take care of it right away!"

He turned to leave but was stopped by Wang Zhonglei.

After he left, the office became quiet.

Wang Zhonglei stood by the window and slammed his fist hard on the windowsill.

Oh shit.

He picked up his phone and glanced at the trending topics again.

#Lin Shen Anti-Drug Ambassador# is still listed at the top.

It was followed by that glaring "explosion" character.

Wang Zhonglei stared at those words for a few seconds, then tossed his phone onto the sofa and plopped down in a chair.

The sky over the capital city outside the window was as gray and hazy as ever.

At 1:30 p.m., Lin Shen's car was parked downstairs in an office building.

Yang Chaoyue looked at Lin Shen: "Brother Shen, we've arrived."

Lin Shen nodded and opened the car door.

The afternoon sun was a bit dazzling, so he squinted and looked up at the building. It wasn't a tall building, but the sky over Shanghai outside was a clear, blue expanse.

Lin Shen lowered his gaze slightly, examining the building: SOHO Fuxing Plaza, Tower C.

The red "Little Red Book" lettering on the smooth glass was particularly eye-catching.

Yang Chaoyue followed behind Lin Shen, muttering to himself as they walked, "Brother Shen, this place doesn't seem as grand as I thought?"

Lin Shen smiled but didn't reply.

style?

In a few years, this company will be a unicorn valued at tens of billions of dollars, a platform that countless brands are scrambling to collaborate with, and a gateway for young people to make life decisions.

But now, in the autumn of 2014, it has only recently completed its Series A financing and is still exploring its way forward in the transformation from a community platform to an e-commerce platform.

Lin Shen walked towards the building, and as soon as he entered the lobby, he saw two familiar figures already waiting there.

Mao Wenchao was wearing a dark gray casual sweatshirt, while Qu Fang wore a simple white shirt and trousers; both of them had smiles on their faces.

"President Lin!" Mao Wenchao quickly took two steps forward to greet him, extending his hand. "We've been waiting for you! Is this your first time here?"

Lin Shen shook his hand and then greeted Qu Fang: "President Mao, President Qu, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Yes, this is my first time here. We've always met outside before."

Qu Fang smiled and stepped aside to lead the way: "Come on, let me show you around our headquarters. Although it can't compare to the grandeur of your capital, it's young and lively."

The three of them walked in talking, with Yang Chaoyue following behind, already looking around.

As the elevator ascended, Mao Wenchao casually remarked, "Our building has excellent natural lighting, which was a key factor when we chose this location. Community operations are all about keeping the employees happy."

Lin Shen smiled and nodded. He knew that the company in front of him was now valued at tens of millions of dollars and had a couple hundred employees. It was in its most dynamic stage.

The elevator doors opened, revealing an open-plan office area.

Sunlight streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, making the entire space bright and airy.

The open-plan workstations are arranged in a staggered manner, and the walls are covered with various hand-drawn posters and screenshots of user-generated notes. There are also beanbag chairs and green plants in a few corners.

The staircase was painted dark red and decorated with a ring of green plants, creating a strong visual impact.

Lin Shen paused slightly in his steps.

young.

It's a truly young team.

Looking around, most of the faces at the workstations were in their early twenties, dressed casually in hoodies, T-shirts, and baseball caps. Some were typing on their laptops by the window, while others were gathered in groups of three or five, discussing something, with laughter occasionally drifting over.

This is what the future "grass-planting empire" will look like now.

Mao Wenchao noticed Lin Shen's gaze and smiled, "The average age in our company is only twenty-six or twenty-seven; we're all young people."

""

Qu Fang chimed in from the side: "To build a lifestyle platform, you first need to understand young people. That's why when we hire, we don't look at qualifications, we look at intuition."

Lin Shen's gaze swept over the screens on those workstations. Some people were watching beauty product reviews, some were browsing travel guides, and some were comparing prices for overseas shopping.

At this point in time, Xiaohongshu's community atmosphere is at its purest.

"The forest is deep?!"

I don't know who shouted it first.

Several young girls who were holding laptops looked up at the same time, and their eyes widened instantly when they saw Lin Shen.

"Holy crap, is it really Lin Shen?!"

"Wow! The forest is so deep and alive!!"

"Aaaaaah—!"

The work area instantly erupted in commotion.

Some people stood up, took two steps forward, and then stopped embarrassed. Some people took out their phones and frantically pressed the shutter button. Some people excitedly pulled their colleagues next to them and screamed softly.

Mao Wenchao waved his hand with a smile: "Alright, alright, don't scare our General Manager Lin. We're here to work today, let's talk about it after we're done."

A bolder girl raised her hand: "Mr. Mao, could Mr. Lin sign autographs for us after he's finished with his work? Just one!"

Several people nearby nodded in agreement.

Lin Shen smiled and waved to them: "Okay, I'll come find you all when I'm done with this. None of you will get away."

A cheer immediately erupted from the workstation area.

Lin Shen withdrew his gaze and continued walking forward with Mao and Qu, a sense of emotion rising in his heart.

Xiaohongshu is still a vibrant community.

The employees talked about content, users, and community atmosphere, and their eyes shone with excitement.

When searching for local specialty product guides, Xiaohongshu always offers the most authentic user feedback; asking niche questions yields a significantly higher rate of real-person responses compared to other platforms.

On this platform, genuine appreciation and genuine criticism never conflict.

Just then, Lin Shen's gaze was drawn to an open area on his right.

It was a fairly large room, with the door wide open and people coming and going inside.

Some people were setting up backdrops, some were adjusting lights, various photography equipment was piled on the ground, and several people were running around carrying reflectors, all working busily.

"This is—" Lin Shen's steps slowed down.