Chapter 185 The Impact of the Mistake on "The Storm"...
Chapter 185
"??????"
"Although Lin Yuan has already left the idol category and it is his freedom to be in a relationship, this situation... feels a bit awkward."
"Subtlety +1."
"Tsk."
"What kind of filter do you all have for male celebrities? It's true that Lin Yuan is keen on his career, and isn't it normal to have rumors? It's just that I always feel that he's ruining his image. His fans like to portray him as a heartthrob. If this continues, won't the fans break down?"
"Tsk."
There was discussion, ridicule, and some netizens even raised questions—
"Don't you think the tall, sexy girl in the photo is a bit too tall? Is it possible that she's actually... a ladyboy?"
"A series that's terrifying to think about."
"+1, and her figure... isn't particularly slender, is it? Her back looks a bit bulky."
"If I remember correctly, something like this has happened in the entertainment industry before?"
"Where is it not slender? Isn't it normal for your back to look like this when you wear a down jacket?"
"I feel she's not slender enough, but she is quite tall."
Initially, netizens focused their discussion on Lin Yuan's suspected relationship.
Because no matter how many times he was photographed, Lin Yuan was always seen going downstairs alone to buy milk tea or strolling around, fans never associated him with the word "romance".
Although Lin Yuan did not deliberately create a persona, in the minds of his fans, being alone and free is indeed Lin Yuan's persona.
He is different from those male celebrities who are not enthusiastic about their careers and spend all their time dating. This is how fans perceive Lin Yuan.
To some extent, this has also led to some male celebrities being dragged down and criticized.
Although it wasn't Lin Yuan's side that did it on purpose, male celebrities' rivals would bring up Lin Yuan when they were trying to discredit him, saying how awesome Lin Yuan was and how incompetent their own celebrity was, and so on.
This time, the report was accompanied by photos, which provided an opportunity for some people.
Suddenly, comments like "Lin Yuan is just a mortal," "Lin Yuan is no different from anyone else," "He claims to be focused on his career and refuses to join film crews while secretly dating—that's your goodness," and "Ah, my idol can finally be let off the hook"...
Lin Yuan had no idea when he had ceased to be an ordinary person.
"Have I become an immortal?" Lin Yuan exclaimed.
“It’s done,” He Xun said. “The moment you appeared, the paparazzi automatically went blind. This is an effect only a god could achieve.”
Lin Yuan: "..."
While chatting with He Xun and the others, he tapped He Mian on the shoulder.
Upon hearing the news, Lin Yuan initially sent a long string of question marks, while He Mian, after being hit, responded with a long string of ellipses.
It was incredibly long, taking up four lines.
Lin Yuan guessed that the other party must have been speechless as well.
Lin Yuan also paid close attention to the comments from netizens.
At first, the topic was indeed on track, discussing "Lin Yuan's first relationship," but gradually, Lin Yuan noticed the comment that "seemed to be a transvestite."
Lin Yuan: "..."
This comment really went viral, receiving enthusiastic responses from netizens.
Next, Lin Yuan saw that the debate about whether the "mysterious woman" was actually slender or not began to escalate. The media used the word "slender" to describe her, but netizens had their own opinions.
Lin Yuan: "..."
Seriously, can we not be so enthusiastic about discussing this kind of thing?
Is this important?
But netizens were clearly keen on the discussion, bringing up all sorts of evidence, even using architectural theories, all to prove that this "mysterious woman" wasn't actually slender.
"Otherwise, why would you be hiding it in broad daylight?"
"I never expected Lin Yuan to have such unique taste."
“I noticed it a long time ago, didn’t you realize it? Lin Yuan has always loved taking on marginal roles since he started acting. What does that mean? It means that he has an unfillable void in his heart, he has unique hobbies that he can’t let others know, and he can only vent them through his roles.”
"Tsk, even big stars have this side to them."
"The probability of her being a transgender person has increased by 60%. The analysis upstairs is indeed very reasonable."
"This is terrible. Lin Yuan's female fans' dreams are about to be shattered."
Feng Zeng naturally intended to deny the rumors, but since the news also involved He Mian, the studio couldn't handle it independently and had to negotiate with He Mian's agency.
However, the speed at which the rumors spread far exceeded expectations.
From the time Lin Yuan saw the headline until now, only two hours have actually passed.
News of Lin Yuan's passion for transvestites has spread far and wide.
Feng Zeng: "...How dare you think that way?"
The agent was absolutely stunned.
He and He Mian's agent weren't very familiar with each other before, and they originally planned to communicate after the movie was filmed, but now they've become busy because of this misunderstanding.
Feng Zeng could not ignore this.
Next up is the Spring Festival film season.
He could tell that among those voices attacking Lin Yuan, there were also competitors of "The Storm" during the Spring Festival season.
"The Storm" is a science fiction disaster film, and the protagonists of this type of film are usually portrayed as tough guys.
Although Lin Yuan doesn't have a rugged appearance, the Qin Ri he portrays is a guardian and pioneer.
If an actor portraying such a character is perceived to have unusual fetishes, his public image will be completely shattered in the eyes of the audience.
Therefore, audiences will choose not to go to the cinema to support "The Storm" - once they see Lin Yuan's face, they will associate it with something not so good.
The agent is not being overly pessimistic.
Why did he reduce Lin Yuan's exposure and barely respond to variety show invitations from the platform? It was because he was considering Lin Yuan's image.
If an actor gets too much exposure, their image will become fixed, and when audiences watch their movies again, they will naturally be taken out of the story.
...
"Has Lin Yuan's fortunes collapsed?"
The moment the rumor started, Sangzi's friend sent her a message.
“It’s not illegal, so what’s the big deal?” Sangzi replied.
She was indeed a little unhappy, not because of the news—Lin Yuan's studio had not issued a statement yet, and she still didn't know the specifics.
However, Sangzi was quite familiar with the members of the game groups she had joined before, except for one or two people with whom she had only a casual relationship.
When chatting with everyone, Sangzi didn't shy away from expressing her liking for Lin Yuan. She would talk about how she had gone to see Lin Yuan's performance and how she regularly supported Lin Yuan's albums and movies.
Lin Yuan's gossip had barely made the headlines when a group member who didn't get along with her jumped out and said that he had seen through Lin Yuan's persona long ago.
"What a rip-off! Where are those celebrities these days? Look, he's really showing his true colors."
"I think so too. Tsk, a ladyboy, haha, I really can't tell, he's such a good actor."
The two of them were chatting and laughing in the group, and they even tagged Sangzi.
Sang Zi instinctively felt that she was about to lose control of her anger.
She naturally had to say a few words in defense of Lin Yuan.
As a result, the two people labeled her a brainless fan: "You're still very into it now, you'll know when you come to your senses."
"People are all like this when they are young. You'll understand when you get to our age."
"How innocent and naive."
Sang Zi was furious: "This is just a message from a marketing account, who knows if it's true or false?"
"Oh, yes, yes, you're right. It's pitiful for your brother to give in."
Sang Zi: "..."
Go to hell, you big idiot!
I'm so annoyed!!
Although the marketing accounts presented "conclusive evidence," Sang Zi did not see any ambiguous atmosphere in those photos. The two were not arm in arm, and they went to a coffee shop... Couldn't they have gone to discuss work?
Isn't it normal to discuss work without any outsiders present?
Assuming the other party is a business partner, shouldn't Lin Yuan also tidy himself up?
Sang Zi's thoughts were drowned out by the flood of gossip, and no one cared at all.
She even noticed that several celebrities in the industry had accidentally liked the post, clearly also secretly following the gossip.
Sang Zi: "..."
Just then, another friend on her WeChat Moments sent her a message.
Sang Zi is a fan of Lin Yuan, while this friend is a fan of He Mian.
Although He Mian and Lin Yuan are considered rivals, they are among the few celebrity fans in their social circles, so they still have common topics to talk about.
Sangzi doesn't think that the other person is kicking her when she's down; that's not the kind of person they are.
When the two chatted, they were both very mindful of boundaries and never touched on each other's taboos.
"Sang Sang, did you see today's news?" That was indeed the first thing the other person said.
“It’s okay, I don’t need comforting.” Sang Zi sent a sighing cat emoji.
“No, I’m not here to comfort you,” the other person said. “I just think that the person the paparazzi photographed looks like He Mian.”
Sang Zi: "? What makes you say that?"
“I’m not the only one who thinks so. Several other fans also say they look alike. Don’t forget, I’m a huge fan of He Mian. I would recognize him even if he were ashes.”
Sang Zi: "..."
There's no need to say that about your own idol.
It's not good to turn it into ashes.
"The body shape is very similar, and the back view is also very similar." The other party sent a screenshot. "Most importantly, he wore this down jacket last year."
"And he has a mole on his hand. Look, isn't the location very similar?"
Sang Zi: "..."
The bone ash powder is incredibly effective.
Although she had been a fan of Lin Yuan for a long time, she had no idea that Lin Yuan had a mole on his hand.
And although the photo is quite clear, how exactly did they see the mole on the hand?
That's terrifying.
"Isn't Lin Yuan wearing sunglasses? Look closely, the edge of the sunglasses reveals a bit of the mysterious woman's chin. Don't you think that chin looks a bit square for a girl? He Mian has that kind of chin."
"...Could it be a transvestite?"
"If a transgender person gets injections, why would they get such a square chin?"
Sang Zi: "..."
All she can think now is that her sisters are truly master detectives.
It's such a waste to be a fan of celebrities; you should open a detective agency instead.
Although it's still unknown whether Lin Yuan's date is He Mian, Sang Zi has already been persuaded, and her low spirits have instantly lifted.
After being reminded by her friend, the more she looked at the photo, the more she felt that the person in the photo looked a lot like He Mian.
We'll see when Lin Yuan's studio issues a denial.
...
The online discussions, however, are becoming increasingly heated.
Just as Feng Zeng had predicted, at this moment, someone indeed made a move against "The Storm".
Just as Lin Yuan's "scandal" was exposed, a marketing account posted a questionnaire link - Will you still support "Storm"?
In addition, some marketing accounts have analyzed that the fate of "Storm" is now uncertain.
Among the films released during the Spring Festival season, "The Storm," which features extensive special effects, is the highest-budget film, including investments from Lin Yuan himself.
Films of this genre inherently face enormous risks. The first is whether the special effects and scenes can satisfy the audience's tastes. If the technology cannot keep up, "The Storm" will inevitably collapse.
Lin Yuan is the only lead actor in the film and the most famous actor in "The Storm". Some industry analysts have said that Lin Yuan is one of the reasons why "The Storm" dared to compete in the Spring Festival film season.
In other words, Lin Yuan cannot afford to make any mistakes at this point in time, as even the smallest scandal could have a huge impact on his reputation.
"This is probably the first time the director of 'The Storm' has participated in the Spring Festival film competition. He has no experience and suffered a loss this time. He will probably know better next time."
"Lin Yuan's studio should also suppress this news."
The problem is that the paparazzi published their article directly, without giving the studio enough time to react.
Lin Yuan Studio does not usually collaborate with these marketing accounts.
Feng Zeng guessed that the reason the paparazzi chose to release the news immediately instead of using it as leverage to demand hush money from the studio was probably because... the party the paparazzi usually cooperated with needed the news to be exposed more.
The hush money received from Lin Yuan's studio was 1, but if this information were sent to the competitors of the Spring Festival film "The Storm," it would probably be 5, or even more.
Just like when "The Ghostly Arts" was released, Xu Lijia jumped out and kept criticizing it, which was because he had accurately identified the Achilles' heel of "The Ghostly Arts".
Lin Yuan could also use this "scandal" to deepen the audience's impression of "The Storm".
However, after weighing the pros and cons, Feng felt that doing so was not worthwhile.
Lin Yuan's personal image is very valuable. The longer it drags on, the more likely it will create the impression that Lin Yuan has "unique tastes".
"There are quite a few reporters gathered at the entrance of your residential compound now."
Feng had driven to find Lin Yuan, and his car was even stopped when he passed the entrance of the residential area.
"Why don't we take this opportunity to explain?" Feng Zeng said. "There are reporters broadcasting live right now."
"And while you're at it, call out your mysterious hottie."
Lin Yuan: "..."
So he sent a message to He Mian.
He Mian agreed: "I'll wear the one I wore during the day."
Lin Yuan: "...Okay."
His biggest realization now is that the mysterious hot girl is indeed a good person.
When He Mian arrived, Lin Yuan also came downstairs.
He was indeed wearing the same outfit he had worn during the day.
Although Lin Yuan was inexplicably embroiled in a scandal, and He Mian was even mistaken for a transvestite, the two were in a very peaceful state of mind, seemingly undisturbed.
"It's nothing serious," He Mian said.
Lin Yuan silently gave a thumbs up.
Well, He Mian wasn't as excited as he was when he agreed to cooperate earlier today.
As Lin Yuan went downstairs, his studio also issued a statement saying that the paparazzi's report was pure nonsense and not true.
"XX said it, XXX said it too, does anyone really take the statements from celebrity studios seriously?"
"Hilarious, they practically have the word 'dating' printed on their face, and they're still talking nonsense."
"Tsk tsk, even more fake. What kind of man dares to do something but not admit it? Lin Yuan is such a loser."
While netizens were condemning Lin Yuan's studio, reporters were also using social media to post real-time updates of Lin Yuan coming downstairs.
The moment Lin Yuan showed his face, cameras and microphones were immediately aimed at him.
In fact, reporters love interviewing Lin Yuan. From the very beginning of his conflict with Xie Yu, Lin Yuan did not shy away from the outside world's questions. He was very direct in his criticisms and dared to express his thoughts.
There aren't many celebrities like that anymore.
The public thinks it's normal for celebrities to be fake. When this happens, their agents stand in front of them, and their fans rush to defend them. The celebrities themselves are no different from cowards, and they don't dare to respond to the scandals directly at all.
Lin Yuan at least showed his face, which is quite brave of him.
But this doesn't mean the reporters will let Lin Yuan off the hook.
"Lin Yuan, is the news about the date true?"
"Congratulations on your relationship! Can you tell me the details?"
What are your thoughts on netizens saying that your date is a transgender person?
After Lin Yuan stood still, he took the microphone from a reporter. Before the reporter could react, the microphone was already in Lin Yuan's hand: "The dating news is not true."
"There was no romance, so there are no details."
"So who is the other party?" the reporter continued. "This is a question that your fans and netizens are very concerned about."
Faced with this question on camera, Lin Yuan frowned, seemingly finding it difficult to answer.
The reporters seized on this point.
"Is it inconvenient for you to answer?"
Lin Yuan seemed to hesitate again: "It's not appropriate to talk about the things that happened between him and me, as it would affect our careers."
"The reason we agreed to meet at a coffee shop was also due to this consideration."
The reporters exchanged glances, their minds quickly flashing through names of female celebrities in the industry who were over 180cm tall.
Lin Yuan's meaning was clear: since the other party couldn't reveal their identity, this date was to be held secretly in private.
So who exactly is it?
The reporters conducted interviews while simultaneously uploading news at lightning speed.
"Live stream?"
"Feeling curious."
"Are you discussing cooperation?" a reporter asked at the scene.
Lin Yuan nodded: "That's right, this is a collaboration that cannot be made public."
Reporters: "..."
Are you kidding me? If it's a collaboration, why be so secretive?
They're clearly in a relationship, but they're afraid it will affect the box office of "The Storm".
That's how it is with celebrities who have a lot of female fans; they're not honest at all.
I thought Lin Yuan was willing to give an interview because he was willing to publicly announce that he was in a relationship, but in the end, he just kept repeating the same old things, and not many people wanted to hear them.
But after a moment, a commotion broke out among the reporters.
"What? You got a picture?"
"Who took the picture?"
A reporter just photographed a car entering Linyuan residential area, and the person in the car looks very much like that mysterious rumored girlfriend.
The reporters' eyes were fixed on Lin Yuan.
Ha, they call it a collaboration, but they've even come to the neighborhood!
It was clearly Lin Yuan who was worried that the other person would be targeted by paparazzi, so he arranged for the other person to stay by his side.
Tsk.
The reporters will definitely not let Lin Yuan off the hook again.
They must reveal the secret tonight.
The microphone was extended again.
Lin Yuan sighed: "It seems there's no other way but to make it public."
His tone was full of helplessness, as were his eyes. Seeing him like this, many reporters at the scene clenched their fists slightly, sighing that he had won this time.
"Are you really going to make it public?"
"A moment of heartbreak for fangirls."
"From this point of view, Lin Yuan is quite frank."
"Who exactly is it?"
"I feel it must be someone in the industry, but are there any female celebrities in the industry that tall?"
"Why not just wear high heels? Snow boots can be made with 10-centimeter thick soles these days."
The reporters were waiting.
Many netizens are also waiting in front of their screens.
“We didn’t mean to hide it from everyone,” Lin Yuan said. “After all, it was only just confirmed.”
"The other person is also quite shy and doesn't like to put things out in the open."
"But since we've been photographed, there's nothing we can do about it."
To reporters and netizens at the scene, this was clearly Lin Yuan's attempt to make amends.
It's too late now.
Why not just admit it sooner?
"The studio is still spouting nonsense, but Lin Yuan himself has admitted it. Isn't that a slap in their own face?"
"Sure enough, you can't become a star without thick skin."
As everyone watched, a figure indeed appeared, exactly the same as the one photographed that morning...
The reporters who were rushing to take photos stopped what they were doing.
Because... as the other person got closer, they suddenly realized that this person looked... quite familiar.
Once the other person took off their sunglasses and hat, they looked even more familiar.
"Hello everyone, I'm the rumored girlfriend of the mysterious, slender transgender woman." Facing the camera, He Mian rolled his eyes dramatically. "How am I similar?"
"So, where does it resemble it?"
Reporters: "..."
Netizens: "..."
Lin Yuan, who was standing to the side, was already clutching his stomach and laughing uncontrollably while leaning against the wall: "We really didn't hide our thoughts from everyone, but the collaboration has only just been confirmed and filming will probably start next year, so it's not convenient to reveal the details now."
"For further questions, please contact our respective brokerage firms."
"By the way, let me give a shout-out to 'The Storm' here. See you on Chinese New Year's Day!"
Netizens: "..."
Now they carefully recalled Lin Yuan's response. Every word he said was true, but every word was different from what they had imagined.
Isn't this just misleading?
...
"I almost died laughing. He Mian's eye roll was so big it almost reached the sky."
"It's really hilarious. The expressions on everyone's faces when He Mian appeared were just... How could they have made such a huge blunder?"
"It really is He Mian himself, the license plate is the same, and the clothes are the same too."
"Hilarious! There are still people who insist that she's a transvestite and that He Mian was just pushed out to take the blame. I just want to ask, is it really necessary for He Mian, a top-tier male actor, to make such a huge sacrifice for his competitor?"
"Hahahaha, my mysterious girlfriend has a slender figure, hahaha, it's almost the end of the year, the paparazzi know I have to work overtime, so they're deliberately trying to make me laugh, right?"
"He Mian's expression is hilarious, hahaha, how did he manage to take the wrong picture? My God, so many people actually took it seriously, and they keep criticizing Lin Yuan."
"I understand now. People of their stature naturally want to keep a low profile when they meet, otherwise there will be a lot of gossip. Besides, Lin Yuan and He Mian are not the type to hype up their friendship, so it's no wonder they had to meet in a secluded place behind people's backs."
"I'm dying of laughter!!!"
Netizens were absolutely thrilled.
The main reason is that after the "scandal" was exposed, all the tall female celebrities in the industry were speculated to be involved. Netizens would rather guess that they were transgender than believe that there was no such scandal at all.
Those who had so confidently claimed that Lin Yuan had unique quirks had now disappeared, deleted their posts, and were pretending nothing had happened.
Lin Yuan and He Mian's fans are starting to have high expectations for this collaboration.
The production team of "The Storm" thus gained more attention.
Many netizens still consider this gossip to be the biggest blunder in the entertainment industry this year. No matter who it was attributed to, no one could have guessed that it was He Mian who met with Lin Yuan.
As a result, memes featuring He Mian and Lin Yuan flooded the internet.
The marketing account that first published this gossip publicly apologized to Lin Yuan.
Clips from the variety show He Mian previously participated in have been dug up and rewatched by netizens countless times.
Netizens speculate that this collaboration likely originated from Lin Yuan and He Mian's interactions on a variety show.
However, after the variety show ended, the two did not have any public interaction, so netizens always felt that Lin Yuan and He Mian were still in a bland competitive relationship.
They're actually going to collaborate on a movie next.
"That's pretty amazing."
"What should I do if I still want to laugh no matter how many times I do it?"
Lin Yuan has been ridiculed by all his friends lately, and it's said that He Mian wasn't spared either.
The media has once again launched a discussion on the so-called authenticity of reports, using this incident to criticize the behavior of some media outlets that pursue traffic and have lost their true nature.
But everyone knows they'll never change; they're just saying it for fun.
Lin Yuan's promotion of "The Storm" can be considered a success. Before this blunder, the number of people who wanted to watch "The Storm" was not very high. After the incident, the number of people who wanted to watch "The Storm" almost doubled.
Some netizens decided to watch "The Storm" out of a sense of compensation, while others were simply curious about the film.
In short, the production team of "The Storm" did save a lot of publicity costs because of this blunder.
“It was quite a close call,” Feng Zeng said. “Too many people wanted to bring you down.”
Feng Zeng's decision to have Lin Yuan give a public interview was also partly for the purpose of marketing "The Storm".
Lin Yuan rarely receives such a lot of attention, and his agent felt that if he didn't take advantage of it, it would make his competitors who were secretly plotting against him too happy.
On the surface, this was indeed a misunderstanding, and for netizens, it was just a joke. However, Feng Zeng cannot easily dismiss the criticisms leveled against "The Storm" by marketing accounts.
The malice was real, and their desire to destroy "Storm" was genuine.
Ideally, both "The Storm" and Lin Yuan would be in trouble at the same time; that would be the best outcome.
The paparazzi who initially exposed the "scandal" may have had a simple intention: to expose the "scandal." However, as more and more press releases about Lin Yuan's incident and the resulting impact on "Storm" emerged, Feng Zeng's anger began to build.
Fortunately, from now until the Spring Festival season, Lin Yuan will be the most watched actor in the entire film industry, and no one can overshadow him.
Whenever there are reports related to the Spring Festival film season, netizens spontaneously spread the news about Lin Yuan's rumored girlfriend.
This was also facilitated by Lin Yuan Studio.
From an outsider's perspective, this kind of marketing is a bit awful, since it's something outside the movie. However, from the agent's point of view, as long as it benefits the box office of "The Storm" and makes the competitors unhappy, it doesn't matter.
The pairing of Lin Yuan and He Mian is growing stronger, and Lin Yuan's presence is becoming more and more prominent.
A week before the start of the Spring Festival film season, "The Storm" was far ahead in terms of "want to see," more than double that of the second-place film.
Prior to this, "The Storm" was not the most anticipated film of this period.
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Author's Note: It's here!!! [Hugs][Hugs][Hugs]
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