Chapter 28 Part 1

Ying Lin had previously ridden the wave of Youth to gain a large fanbase, and he managed it well, with more than half of those fans sticking around. In this incident, he had his assistant contact several major fans, inciting them to speak out with the reason, “Lin Zi has been wronged; everyone gather to support him.”

This was actually a common fan retention tactic. It made fans feel more heartbroken for him while strengthening the cohesion among those who had “fought” together.

The vague rumors online were from the water army he had bought. He had started planning them ever since Qin Xiaoran told him that Chu Yi had stolen his role.

At first, Ying Lin had been very afraid of Chu Yi and had even spent a high price on several Protective Talismans. But later, he learned that Xuan Arts Masters had taboos against acting against ordinary people—not only was there the Special Affairs Office to regulate them, but they themselves firmly believed in Karma.

Moreover, his withdrawal from the Film Crew to apologize to fans was perfectly reasonable. Fans pitied him, and with all-knowing insiders around, what could he do?

Ying Lin was gambling that Chu Yi had no legitimate reason to act against him. As long as he was careful not to let anyone learn his real Birth Chart and avoided getting injured so no one could obtain his blood, he should be fine, right?

【Xingyao officials, come out and explain! I want to know what reason there is to replace an actor who’s already started filming!】

【It can’t be because of poor integration with the crew, right? Luckily, I secretly filmed a video during my last set visit and haven’t deleted it yet. Director Mo was all smiles to Lin Zi and us fans.】

【This newbie has some nerve, snatching a role right out of someone’s mouth!】

Xingyao’s PR department naturally spotted the rising public opinion trend right away. Although Chu Yi was a fledgling newbie and Ying Lin was a third-tier male star who had only briefly trended recently, their fame wasn’t enough to sustain it. However, with Xingyao, the entertainment giant, involved in this “role swap incident,” the hype fermented quickly.

Xingyao’s PR department didn’t notify Yu Qingxian. After all, that was their job—if they had to bother the General Manager with every little thing, they might as well quit.

But the PR director still contacted Chu Yi’s new agent, Lin Hang. Although Lin Hang had received private instructions from Yu Qingxian, he figured Chu Yi had no fame yet, so gaining some attention from this role swap incident would be good. Thus, he told the PR director to handle it via normal procedures.

The so-called normal procedure was to let the incident ferment until public opinion couldn’t hold, then clarify.

Lin Hang wasn’t worried at all. He didn’t know who fed Ying Lin the false information, twisting things like this. Hadn’t he even contacted anyone from the crew to verify? Ridiculous!

Meanwhile, Qin Xiaoran, who had provided Ying Lin with the false info, spent the whole day filming. During his afternoon tea break, he finally pulled out his phone and soon saw the “role swap controversy” ranking tenth on Weibo trends.

Qin Xiaoran tsked boredly. He had wondered what Ying Lin would do, but it was just this?

He had actually hyped it to the top ten—this guy really went all out…

But the priority now was to inform Ying Lin that someone else was taking over his role. Qin Xiaoran didn’t want to get involved himself.

Ying Lin was shocked when he received the call. “Qin Ge, what do you mean? You clearly told me before…”

Qin Xiaoran interrupted him. “I didn’t know Director Mo wouldn’t agree either. Why didn’t you confirm with me again? Zhuo Zhenyit came over several days ago. Look at the mess now!”

He deflected responsibility masterfully. Though Ying Lin knew he’d been screwed over, he could only grit his teeth and swallow his anger.

“It’s fine, Qin Ge. Anyway, I didn’t start this—my fans are just standing up for me.”

Zhuo Zhenyit’s status was similar to his. They had comparable looks and followed the same route, but Zhuo Zhenyit had more ancient costume dramas under his belt and slightly better industry reputation.

Luckily, Ying Lin had the first-mover advantage as the “victim” of the role theft. The leaks weren’t from him, so he could still direct the water army to target someone else in time…

Ying Lin couldn’t stomach letting Chu Yi off just like that—especially since this wave might even bring him traffic. But as an opportunist, revenge felt good, yet his own interests came first.

Ying Lin hung up and was about to notify the water army and his assistant, but it was already too late. Xingyao judged the timing ripe and posted the pre-prepared costume fitting photos on the crew’s Weibo.

Chu Yi’s had been shot long ago, while Zhuo Zhenyit’s was from a couple of days prior. Since post-production involved editing, adding actor names and roles, the crew had planned to release them together, causing the delay.

The two fitting photos were completely different styles: one a noble young master in elegant white robes holding a Folding Fan, the other a refined young official emerging from the clouds, scholarly and poised. Anyone with eyes could tell who the real protagonist of the “role swap controversy” was.

【LOL, wasn’t the leaker claiming to be an insider? This insider didn’t even know what role the guy was playing!】