You Don’t Understand The Pain Of Being Popular

173: THE 173RD DAY OF BEING POPULAR

A series of celebrities' posts climbed to the top of the trending list. Most of these individuals were either artists under the Lu Group or had close ties to them.

Many of them were well-known figures in the industry with significant influence. They were now showing their support through their posts, most likely because of their connection to the Lu Group.

【Zhang Jingwen: He is human too. Thanks for the charitable donation. Thumbs up to Lu Yanchen.】

【Luo Shuai: Lu Ge sometimes acts impulsively. I personally think there's no need to be overacted.】

【Ouyang Xiaoqing: Lu Ge is usually a good person, donates and does charity work every year. Since he has already apologized and retired, I hope your future career goes smoothly.】

"Hmm, Lu Yanchen's face is really huge," Yao Bianliang couldn't help but sigh.

If these celebrities had supported Lu Yanchen when he was being criticized across the internet, it would undoubtedly have dragged them into the mess.

However, now that Lu Yanchen has apologized and retired, supporting him with their posts wouldn't have a significant impact on themselves, so these celebrities naturally wouldn't refuse to help.

Yao Bianliang quickly skimmed through the comments on these artists' Weibo posts, and the netizens were having rational discussions about the matter. However, a few popular stars had a different tone.

Among them, Luo Shuai's comments were the most outlandish, with a lot of obvious praise and fanboying.

【Support Brother Shuai, support Lu Yanchen.】

【I heard Brother Shuai and Lu Yanchen are cousins? Brother Shuai is really loyal.】

【I don't know Lu Yanchen, but I support Brother Shuai. If he says Lu Yanchen is okay, then he must be!】

Yao Bianliang: "..."

Great, should she praise them for being brainless fans?

Of course, among these praises, there were occasionally mixed opinions.

【Speechless, they are all lackeys of the Lu Group, birds of a feather flock together.】

【The reason why Luo Shuai and others are speaking up for Lu Yanchen is because their interests align... Why do fans believe such things?】

【What's on the mind of these celebrities who are speaking up for Lu Yanchen? Are they the same type of person as him?】

【Lu Yanchen has already apologized and retired. Haha, I wonder when these lackeys of the Lu Group will retire.】

【Sigh, let's just forget about it. Even if Lu Yanchen retires, he's still wealthy and powerful. We as a common people have no right to mock him.】

These belittling comments were also quite numerous, but they were usually quickly suppressed by the efforts of navy and fans.

As Yao Bianliang surfed the internet, she fell into contemplation.

Now that Lu Yanchen had apologized and retired, Yao Xinxin was also in a precarious situation. The enemy's influence had greatly weakened, but it wasn't necessarily good for her.

It may be time to find a new candidate.

Her gaze swept over the chaotic content and eventually landed on the topic of Luo Shuai and Lu Yanchen.

Maybe her initial plan had some flaws. Relying solely on these powerful forces wouldn't be enough to suppress her completely.

The methods of capital suppression were limited: pressuring her, tarnishing her reputation, and withholding resources.

These methods were effective, but the problem was... she was a "lucky star"!

As the mission progressed, Yao Bianliang gained a clear understanding of her unique attribute.

From the moment "To Our Youth" exploded in popularity to shooting "The Physician" during the sudden pandemic outbreak, it became evident that someone with her extraordinary luck would still experience unexpected events that would eventually lead her to success, despite any suppression or blockade.

So if she continued to follow the same line of thinking, it probably wouldn't work.

"Maybe it's time to change direction..." Yao Bianliang looked at the flood of negative and positive comments under Luo Shuai's Weibo post, showing a thoughtful expression.

Since she couldn't remain silent and unknown, why not come up with a plan to make herself the target of internet hate?

Once her reputation turned negative, it would be a matter of minutes before she became "Liang" (cold).

And now, there was a readily available target right before her.

Yao Bianliang looked at the picture on the screen – a man with sharp eyebrows and a captivating gaze, a high-bridged nose, and a face as if it were an exquisitely crafted piece of art.

Luo Shuai, a top-tier male celebrity, known for being arrogant and quick-tempered, with a huge fandom of girlfriend fans and irrational fans. Anyone who crossed him would face dire consequences—what a good candidate he was.

Yes, he's the one!

After pondering for a moment, Yao Bianliang contacted her assistant, Chen: "Talk to the crew and arrange for a day to have media reporters come over."

Chen, the assistant, was taken aback, "Uh, media reporters?"

This was the first time Yao Bianliang had actively requested to contact media reporters, and even Chen, who was usually composed, was surprised.

"Are you planning to give an interview?"

"Of course not," Yao Bianliang's lips twitched, "I want them to come to the set, do a live broadcast, take some photos, and later we can release some behind-the-scenes footage."

This was a common promotional tactic used by film crews. As long as they had enough funds, big and small crews would use this method to create early buzz.

However, Yao Bianliang's goal was not to promote the new drama.

She had only one objective - to tarnish her own reputation!

*****

In the following days, the filming of the drama "Spring Warmth, Dew, and Splendor" officially began. As a top-tier male star, Luo Shuai had many scheduled events, often participating in various variety shows, activities and shooting for commercial endorsements. As a result, the crew had to prioritize arranging his scenes.

Yao Bianliang had quite a few scenes overlapping with Luo Shuai, which didn't have much impact on her. However, it caused difficulties for other supporting actors who needed to act alongside Luo Shuai.

To accommodate Luo Shuai's schedule, it became challenging to reasonably arrange the scenes for other actors. Many of them had to film in the morning and evening, leading to long days spent on the set.

"Cut!"

On the set, the director held a megaphone, calling out and clapping her hands as she stood up.

The director, Huadian, was a middle-aged woman with short hair and wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. Her deep and sharp eyes were fixed behind the lenses.

"Teacher Luo, in the performance just now, you skipped several lines again," she restrained her anger and said, "This is the third time you've forgotten your lines."

Luo Shuai, however, didn't look at the director and just shook his sleeve. The heavy costume was making him quite uncomfortable.

In a leisurely manner, he defended himself, "It's normal to have a few variations in the lines. It doesn't need to be word-perfect. That's what we call an actor's improvisation, isn't it?"

Director Huadian: ...

Improvise my foot!

You can't even remember your lines, and you call it improvisation?

The director's face turned sour. "Luo Shuai, you're going to drag down the entire crew with your mistakes. Will you work overtime with them until late at night?"

Yao Bianliang arrived at the set just in time to witness this scene.

Many crew members couldn't help but whisper and looked at Luo Shuai with strong dissatisfaction.

Because of this male lead, they had already worked overtime several times. The screen time of many supporting actors had also been affected.

Yao Bianliang believed that everyone would probably love to sweep Luo Shuai away with a broom if circumstances allowed.

But instead, Luo Shuai had not the slightest hint of self-awareness and remained calm.

He continued, "Exactly, Director. Since that's the case, why don't we just move on with this scene? If we keep filming like this, won't it drag the whole crew into shooting until late at night?"

Yao Bianliang: ...

Isn't the reason why the whole crew is shooting until late at night because you can't remember your lines properly? Why are you blaming the director for it?

Hearing Luo Shuai's unreasonable argument, Director Huadian's chest heaved heavily, her expression not looking good. She forcefully threw the script on the table, trying to contain her emotions.

Luo Shuai rolled his eyes in secret and shrugged nonchalantly, paying no attention to Director Huadian's expression.

The assistant director beside them laughed awkwardly and stepped forward to mediate, "How about this? Let Teacher Luo take a break first, and we'll shoot another scene for now?"

"Take a break?" Director Huadian sneered, "Luo Shuai already has a lot of scenes. If we keep dragging on, we might as well not shoot this drama at all!"

The situation reached a stalemate.

Yao Bianliang glanced at her watch and pondered for a moment. According to the agreed-upon time, the media reporters should have arrived.

She took a step forward and said, "Director, since Luo Shuai can't remember his lines, why don't we shoot the scenes with fewer of his lines first?"

When Director Huadian turned to see that Yao Bianliang had approached, her expression softened. She liked actors like Yao Bianliang, who had good acting skills, followed instructions, and were not troublesome.

"Shoot the scenes with fewer lines first... well, that's not a bad idea."

Director Huadian briefly looked through the script. At the moment, they were shooting outdoor scenes, and indeed, there were a few scenes that didn't require Luo Shuai to have many lines.

"So, it's Liang Liang who came," Luo Shuai smiled at Yao Bianliang, his gaze slightly insolent as he looked her up and down, "Great, I was just thinking of having a few scenes without lines with you, like... a bed scene."

Yao Bianliang remained silent for a moment and said, "Teacher Luo, we are currently shooting outdoor scenes, so the bed scene won't come up yet."

Luo Shuai paused for a moment, slightly disappointed, "Oh, really? I didn't notice."

He paused and looked around at the surrounding environment. Trees, bushes, a small stream, but no other buildings.

"If we're not shooting the bed scene, then what scene are we shooting?" he asked with confusion, looking at Yao Bianliang.

Yao Bianliang smiled calmly, "Of course, we're shooting the scene where the male lead gets beaten up."

After all, when the male lead gets beaten up, naturally, there won't be many lines.