Lu Jing: [I’m coming to find you.]
During this time, rumors spread within the crew that Lu Jing was extremely dissatisfied with Lin Shen due to his poor performance.
“Born without the fate to be popular, no spark after so many years in the industry.”
“Only fit to be a supporting character.”
“Even Actor Lu can’t stand it.”
These idle remarks became the latest topic of gossip among a group of people in the crew.
Although Lin Shen didn’t pay much attention to gossip unrelated to work, these words still reached his ears through various channels.
Xiao Xu created a small account to infiltrate their group and observe the situation, cursing at the screen every day.
In the break room, Xiao Xu had just finished cursing some people’s ancestors and handed a cup of coffee to Lin Shen. “Brother, don’t mind what they say. They don’t know anything; they’re just talking nonsense.”
Lin Shen took the coffee. “What are they saying now?”
Xiao Xu hugged his phone, refusing to show it to Lin Shen. “Anyway, it’s nothing good. You don’t need to know, Brother, lest it dirty your eyes.”
Lin Shen took a sip of coffee, not paying much attention.
Rumors and gossip in the entertainment industry had never been scarce. Having struggled in the industry for so many years, Lin Shen naturally didn’t take everything to heart. After all, there were too many messy things in the industry—even if one wanted to remember them all, it would be impossible.
Moreover, Lu Jing had already explained the matter to him on the night of the shoot.
At that time, Lin Shen was completely enveloped by Lu Jing, with most of the light blocked.
Lu Jing lowered his head, his voice low and gentle as he asked, “Are you angry with me?”
Lin Shen looked up in surprise, meeting Lu Jing’s gaze.
“I’m not angry.”
“You can be angry with me.”
Lin Shen remained silent.
“I’ve said it before—to me, you will always be the exception. So you can be angry with me, you can express your dissatisfaction.”
“I know you did this for my own good,” Lin Shen said, his voice slightly hoarse. “It’s just that I couldn’t perform well.”
After a moment of silence, Lu Jing took his hand. “Why aren’t you the least bit willful?”
Lin Shen was amused by this. “Do you like willful people?”
Lu Jing gently rubbed the back of Lin Shen’s hand with his thumb. “No.”
Lin Shen looked puzzled.
“It’s because I like you that you can be willful around me, that you can show your feelings without any reservations.”
It felt as though something had struck Lin Shen’s heart, and his fingers curled slightly.
The weight that had hung in his chest since the shoot slowly lifted at that moment. Lu Jing wasn’t dissatisfied with him, nor was he deliberately making things difficult. He simply wanted to love him while also ensuring that this love didn’t become a shackle on his life’s path.
How fortunate he was to have met a partner like Lu Jing.
Lin Shen suddenly took a step forward, wrapping one arm around Lu Jing’s waist and resting his head on his shoulder. “Thank you.”
The sudden embrace caught Lu Jing by surprise.
His breath hitched for two seconds before he reached out and hugged Lin Shen back, pulling him even tighter into his arms.
The summer heat hadn’t completely faded yet. With their chests pressed tightly together, they could feel each other’s beating hearts, the warmth seeping through the thin layers of fabric and merging.
Only when Lin Shen’s heartbeat gradually steadied did Lu Jing finally speak, asking, “So how do you plan to thank me?”
For a moment, Lin Shen’s mind seemed to knot up, unsure how to respond.
Lu Jing’s low, husky laughter brushed against Lin Shen’s ear, resonating in his eardrum. “If you really want to thank me, discuss those topics less with Xiao Xu in the future. Come to me instead, or…”
“Come to me for practice.”
After realizing what Lu Jing meant by “those topics” and “practice,” Lin Shen’s face flushed bright red in an instant.
—”Brother, check Weibo quickly! You’re trending!”
Xiao Xu’s voice pulled Lin Shen out of his memories. He took his phone, unlocking it as he asked, “What’s wrong?”
Xiao Xu was so angry his voice trembled slightly: “Someone leaked a video of you being asked by Lu Jing to retake scenes multiple times during filming the other day.”
“The edited clips in this video only show Lu Jing looking serious and speaking in a somewhat harsh tone.”
Clicking into the trending topic, Lin Shen saw the hashtag #Perpetual Flop Lacks Acting Skills, Lu Jing Shows Displeasure and Demands Multiple Retakes# followed by a glaring “explosive” symbol.
The video indeed showed what had happened that night, but although Lu Jing had high expectations for Lin Shen that day, he had never displayed any dissatisfaction.
Yet this video spliced together various emotional outbursts from Lu Jing during his acting guidance, easily misleading viewers into thinking he was displeased or even angry due to the actor’s mistakes.
This incident was clearly not an accidental leak—someone was deliberately scheming against Lin Shen, trying to ruin his reputation just as he was finally gaining recognition.
It felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head. Lin Shen felt a chill spreading through his body, from his fingertips to his limbs, radiating a cold, penetrating chill.
Scrolling into the comments section, one abusive sentence after another filled Lin Shen’s vision.
【The domestic entertainment industry is being ruined by capital and people like this [vomit]】
【No talent for fame, yet suffering from delusions of grandeur.】
【Making my husband coach this kind of useless actor is such an insult. What if he gets so angry it affects his health?】
Someone had dug up Lin Shen’s personal information.
【This actor is called Lin Shen. He’s been in the industry for years but has always been invisible.】
【With acting skills this bad, no wonder he’s invisible.】
【Isn’t Lin Shen the actor endorsing Chiyun? I used to think he was handsome, but I was clearly mistaken [vomit]】
【Previous commenter, same here +1】
【+2】
【+3】
…
In an instant, a tidal wave of negative comments about Lin Shen came crashing toward him.
“Brother, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Lin Shen exited Weibo and was about to turn off his phone when Lu Jing sent him a message.
Lu Jing: [Where are you?]
Lin Shen: [In the break room.]
Lu Jing: [I’ll come find you.]
Lin Shen guessed Lu Jing had already seen the trending topic.
Lin Shen didn’t have a private break room; this one was shared by several actors, and there were others inside at the moment.
Lin Shen lowered his head to type: [There are many people here. I’ll come to you instead.]
After a while, the reply came.
Lu Jing: [Okay.]
When he arrived at Lu Jing’s break room, Ren Chen was standing at the door. He stopped Xiao Xu to keep watch together, while Lin Shen entered the break room alone.
Lu Jing was sitting on the sofa with his phone, scrolling through something, his expression grim.
Hearing the sound, he looked up and met Lin Shen’s gaze.
Lin Shen walked over to the sofa. Lu Jing took his hand and pulled him to sit beside him: “Don’t pay too much attention to the online comments. I’ll step forward to clarify.”
He already knew, as expected.
Lin Shen lowered his eyes and said, “I really didn’t perform well in that scene. It was my fault.”
Holding Lin Shen’s hand tightly, Lu Jing said, “You’ve already performed very well. With artistic works, there’s no such thing as ‘best,’ only ‘better.’ You’re just repeatedly challenging yourself, striving to present an even better work to the audience.”
Although Lin Shen understood the reasoning behind Lu Jing’s words, he still felt guilty. “If I could understand the character a little more deeply, if my acting skills were a little better, perhaps I wouldn’t have needed so many NGs.”
“It’s not your fault that your pursuit of perfection in your work has been twisted into incompetence. Your interpretation of this character is already excellent, and in terms of acting ability, you’ve long surpassed most actors.”
“Don’t blame yourself, and don’t worry. I’ll handle this matter.”
Lu Jing’s words were like a sedative, calming Lin Shen’s restless thoughts.
On his phone, his agent Brother Huang was bombarding Lin Shen’s WeChat.
Brother Huang: [Lin Shen, what’s going on with that trending topic about you and Lu Jing?]
Brother Huang: [PR is already handling this, but the person who spread the video has capital backing them, so we can’t get the topic removed from the trending list right away.]
Brother Huang: [Think about whether you’ve offended anyone in the crew.]
Brother Huang: [Lu Jing is famously demanding when it comes to filming. Don’t let it weigh on your mind; just do your best. I believe your ability couldn’t possibly be as bad as what the trending topic claims.]
Brother Huang: [It’s clearly someone deliberately causing trouble behind the scenes.]
Brother Huang: [Call me when you have a moment.]
Although Brother Huang didn’t know exactly what had happened, the moment he saw the trending topic, he chose to believe Lin Shen unconditionally.
Compared to the encouraging words from those around Lin Shen, the online mockery and insults suddenly seemed pale and insignificant.
Author’s Note:
Lu Jing (staring at his phone, looking very displeased): Insulting my wife but still calling me husband? If my wife sees you, you’re done for.