140: The 140th day of being popular
Even Yao Xinxin herself had completely failed to anticipate that the situation would turn out like this.
She originally thought that after making a splendid appearance with an excellent lineup, public opinion would improve. But to her surprise, not only did no one anticipate her new drama, but it also attracted even more mockery from netizens.
Her fans tried to control the comments under her Weibo posts, but obviously, they were outnumbered and overwhelmed by the majority of netizens.
[Oh, still trying to control comments? Learn from Yao Bianliang next door, never control comments, and avoid embarrassing self-praise.]
[Yao Xinxin, quickly go back to being a pampered rich lady in your noble family. The entertainment industry is not where you belong.]
[I just want to know, besides the Yao family, who else is the person behind Yao Xinxin? Is she the darling of the entertainment industry?]
Yao Xinxin felt anxious as she read these comments.
Even if she was slow to understand, she now realized some of the issues.
After the semi-finals, she became a live target. No matter how she maneuvered or found people to set the rhythm, the situation would only worsen.
"How did it come to this! Have these netizens all gone mad?" Yao Xinxin frowned and closed the comments section on Weibo with an unpleasant expression.
Over the past few days, she had rarely read netizen comments and private messages. She was in a semi-withdrawn state. Now, she mustered up the courage to go online and took a glance, only to see these comments of resistance.
Lu Yanchen sat next to her, looking at those comments with a slightly furrowed brow. "Xinxin, don't be too angry. It's not worth it for these people. After you finish filming this drama, your reputation should improve."
Compared to Yao Xinxin, Lu Yanchen's Weibo comments appeared calm and peaceful.
His team lineup this time was also quite impressive, and most of his fans expressed anticipation for his new drama. Due to the luxurious cast, many people speculated that Lu Yanchen's background was extraordinary.
However, in his comments section, there were also many people criticizing Yao Xinxin.
Comments like "Brother, can you not get too close to that Yao Xinxin?" or "Yao Xinxin is shameless, with such a bad reputation, she still seduces my brother Chen" were not uncommon.
Lu Yanchen coldly noted down every account that criticized Yao Xinxin, intending to have their accounts blocked in the near future.
Yao Xinxin forced a smile toward Lu Yanchen and said, "I understand. Thank you, Yanchen... If it weren't for you helping me this time, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to assemble such a great team."
Yao Xinxin knew deep down that if she wanted to turn the tables now, she could only rely on her work.
Only if she performed well in her role, even won an award, could she wash away the labels of "capital-backed" and "lacking talent."
Lu Yanchen chuckled softly, "I carefully selected the script this time. The female lead is a doctor with a resilient and determined personality, which is appealing to the audience. As long as you perform well, it will definitely work."
Listening to Lu Yanchen's encouragement, Yao Xinxin softly murmured in agreement.
She returned to her fan group and saw a stream of compliments: "Xinxin is amazing," "The cast is luxurious," "Perform well and prove others wrong." This improved her mood slightly.
After the events of the semi-finals, many fans unfollowed and withdrew from supporting her. Those who remained were mostly steadfast supporters.
Yao Xinxin decided, "I will perform well this time."
This final competition was probably her last chance.
Perhaps for other finalists, even if the drama for the finals failed, they could still continue acting, participating in variety shows, and gaining a new wave of popularity.
But for Yao Xinxin, if nobody watched this drama, then she would truly have no way to turn things around.
At that time, she would either choose the path of being blacklisted across the internet or simply withdraw from the industry.
Thinking of this, a hint of resentment appeared in Yao Xinxin's eyes.
If it weren't for Yao Bianliang, how could she have fallen into such a situation?
If it weren't for Yao Bianliang's exceptional acting skills, overshadowing her, she wouldn't have been criticized for her acting abilities.
If Yao Bianliang hadn't participated in this variety show, even if she had received seven votes, it wouldn't have caused such strong public resentment.
Now, she was left with this final opportunity to make a comeback.
With these thoughts in mind, Yao Xinxin tightened her grip on her hands.
So what if it's a make-or-break situation? Yao Xinxin has never been afraid of anyone.
This time, with such a great team and ample funding, she didn't believe she could still lose to Yao Bianliang.
"Oh, by the way, Yanchen, what is the lineup of Yao Bianliang's team this time?" Yao Xinxin couldn't help but ask.
Lu Yanchen was taken aback, then a slightly mocking smile appeared on his face. "What kind of good team could she find?"
An insignificant and powerless little star like her, how could she possibly find resources?
Yao Xinxin, however, remained skeptical. In her opinion, it wouldn't be difficult for Yao Bianliang to find some good teammates based on her popularity and reputation.
With that thought in mind, she clicked on Yao Bianliang's team introduction information.
Director: Zhang Hao; Screenwriter: An Xincheng.
Yao Xinxin felt a bit puzzled—had she been ignorant? Who were these two?
As she scrolled down, looking at the list of actors, apart from Yao Bianliang, everyone else was unfamiliar.
"These...these actors?" Yao Xinxin turned to look at Lu Yanchen.
Lu Yanchen gave her a confirmation, "You didn't read it wrong, they are all extras."
Yao Xinxin found it a bit hard to believe. She turned to double-check and then a strong sense of surprise flashed in her eyes.
Yao Bianliang actually hired a group of extras!
Did she really think that a bunch of extras could accomplish something significant?
Extras are called extras because they lack appearance, ability, background, and luck.
In other TV dramas, a group of extras like this might only have a brief half-second shot in a whole scene, and they might not even show their faces.
When Yao Xinxin acted in the past, she never paid any attention to these background actors.
But now, Yao Bianliang suddenly recruited so many extras, and she even had them play important roles!
She didn't even consider whether they could handle such a burden.
With that in mind, Yao Xinxin finally revealed a relaxed smile.
With just this kind of lineup, what could Yao Bianliang rely on to compete with her?
This time, she finally had the upper hand!
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