I Became Famous in the Entertainment Industry with High Martial Arts Skills - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: A Divine Shot for Sure!

Team Leader Liu Mingliang quickly leaned over to look at the screen, letting out a long sigh of relief only after reading the specific contents of the private message.

He stared wide-eyed, his glasses wobbling with his movement. “Can you fix that habit of not finishing your sentences? You nearly scared me to death!”

Xiao Yun giggled, knowing the leader wasn’t truly angry, and playfully changed the subject: “Leader, how about we do a crossover collaboration?”

In promotional work, collaborating with brands or other artists is standard practice, but an opportunity to collaborate with the Public Security Bureau is a rare find.

A spark of inspiration hit Liu Mingliang: “Good! We have to seize such a great opportunity. Direct all the marketing toward a ‘positive energy’ angle and try to attract a wave of general public interest.”

The entire promotion team rolled up their sleeves, everyone standing ready as they began the editing and publicity in an organized fashion.

At 10:00 PM, Xie Ci’s personal promotional video was posted on the official Diving Abyss account.

“Xiao Xie, quick, look at your phone! The crew just posted the promo video!” Mo Li came thumping into the next room, holding his phone up to Xie Ci’s face.

Xie Ci was also a bit curious about the final effect of the shoot. He put down his notes and watched it with Mo Li.

The text posted by the official Diving Abyss Weibo had a very modern, internet-savvy feel: “Report: This crew has discovered a ‘Good Citizen’ the police have been looking for! It turns out to be Xie Ci, the actor playing Yin Shisan in the movie Diving Abyss. He is very grateful for the police’s recognition and would like to express his thanks here!”

The post included a few small “cupped fist” emojis, and below it, they posted Xie Ci’s promotional video and his personal account.

In the video, Xie Ci wore green robes, blending seamlessly with the bamboo forest background added in post-production. With his eyelashes lowered, an air of elegant and refined charm flowed naturally.

However, even more stunning than his appearance were the youth’s subsequent fluid and crisp movements.

Even netizens who knew nothing about sword dancing could see how smooth and sharp Xie Ci’s actions were.

The soft sword held in his hand seemed to come alive, erupting with a chilling sword intent.

Between the transitions of movement, clips of Xie Ci dancing with the sword in modern clothing were spliced in, as if two versions of Xie Ci from different dimensions were colliding and dancing together.

Three minutes later, the camera shifted to a somewhat bashful Xie Ci.

Seeing this, the Xie Ci outside the screen felt a bit embarrassed. The moment he heard his own voice, he quietly shuffled backward.

“Hello, everyone! I am Xie Ci, the actor playing Yin Shisan in Diving Abyss. I play a wandering swordsman in the movie… I hope after the film is released, interested viewers can give us a lot of support!”

Mo Li smiled with satisfaction: “Brother Liu and the others really know how to handle promotion. There are already new tags on the hot search.”

He pointed to the tag #GoodCitizenXieCi x DivingAbyssYinShisan and excitedly gave Xie Ci a warm hug.

A large number of netizens poured into the comments under the video, beginning to flood the screen with messages.

“So handsome I’m speechless. Shouting it out: Male God!”

“First time seeing an artist come out unscathed under a blue background and white text (police notice style). The domestic entertainment industry can start worshipping now.”

“Does the Male God really use a face like that while pinning a 200-pound adult male to the ground and beating him…?”

“I also want to be pinned to the ground by the Male God…”

“The character Xie Ci plays seems to have very little screen time. He wasn’t even mentioned when the cast was officially announced.”

“I saw a discussion on the Diving Abyss dedicated movie forum; the screen time is indeed quite low, but the actor’s image fits perfectly. Can’t wait for the release.”

“I think I scrolled past some insider info before; apparently he replaced someone else’s role and was ‘airdropped’ into the crew.”

An insinuating comment appeared, and soon, netizens who didn’t know the truth began following the thread.

“Ah, a ‘resource car’ someone with connections?”

“Snatching resources is truly disgusting. Avoiding this!”

However, some netizens keenly noticed the abnormality of this comment and posted rebuttals.

“Stop talking nonsense above. The crew never officially announced an actor for this role, okay?”

“Exactly. If you’re going to come out as a paid water soldier, at least hide your homepage. The posts on Douban are practically calling out your ‘idol’ by name.”

“I remember that person even bought a hot search saying they ‘learned a lot from a famous director.’ Someone has a lot of little schemes going on.”

Seeing internet-savvy “melon-eaters” entering the fray, Wu Xinyue, holding his phone, rolled his eyes and quickly deleted his comment, even deactivating his account.

He hadn’t expected that in less than two weeks—before his paid water soldiers could even take full effect Xie Ci had already accumulated so much heat.

Originally, he had planned to take advantage of Xie Ci’s lack of a fan base to splash dirty water on him. Once linked with words like “resource car,” “role-snatcher,” and “behind-the-scenes backer,” Xie Ci’s reputation would rot before he even became famous, and he’d never be able to make a comeback.

Wu Xinyue slammed his fist onto the sofa, his face full of resentment.

Thinking about missing the opportunity for Diving Abyss made his heart ache with frustration. Furthermore, he had already hinted to his fan groups and on Weibo that he had secured a role in the film. Who could have known that Guo Yao’s company would go bankrupt and flee, causing his role to go up in smoke.

He bit his teeth and, thinking of the new boss his manager had recommended, dialed the phone.

In one hour, Xie Ci’s social media account directly gained 400,000 followers, and the likes on the official video exceeded 500,000.

Mo Li looked at the rising numbers on his phone screen, already imagining his glorious future as a top-tier manager.

Xie Ci waved his hand in front of Mo Li’s eyes several times, saying amusedly: “What time is it? Go back to your room and rest early. Don’t you have class tomorrow?”

The classes Mo Li signed up for were arranged with Zhang Yunjiang’s help. When Zhang Yunjiang heard about it, he said with a smile: “It’s a good thing to partner with a friend, but pay attention to your methods; don’t lose sight of one thing while focusing on another.”

Xie Ci understood Zhang Yunjiang’s meaning, but during these days, he had seen all of Mo Li’s hard work.

Xie Ci didn’t know how to drive yet, so Mo Li drove him to the set every day. After communicating with the relevant filming staff, he would rush to class. When Xie Ci finished his scenes, he could always find Mo Li back at the set, greeting everyone with a smile and asking about his filming progress.

He knew that Mo Li, like himself, was learning and accumulating bit by bit, just so the two of them could go further.

Hearing Xie Ci remind him to rest, Mo Li reined in his excitement and went back to his room with a yawn, turning off the living room lights on the way.

“You should sleep early too. You have wire scenes to film tomorrow. I’ve already asked the teacher for a leave of absence.”

Early in the morning, the entrance to the filming base was surrounded by fans carrying large bags.

Most of these people were girls wearing hats and masks, their sun-protection clothing covering every inch of exposed skin, fully armed for the wait.

A long-haired girl holding a heart-shaped cardboard sign squatted silently in a corner, only to be tapped on the shoulder by a girl wearing round glasses.

“Sister, are you here to see Xie Ci off to work too?”

The round-glasses girl pointed to the photo on the cardboard it was the same side-profile smiling photo of Xie Ci that Mo Li had posted on Weibo.

The long-haired girl’s eyes lit up, and she immediately shared her support board enthusiastically.

“There’s so little material on Xiao Xie. I made this myself last night; it’s a bit simple.”

“Not at all! I think it’s super cute!” The round-glasses girl then pulled a camera out of her bag.

“Actually, when Xiao Xie subdued that thug at the snack street, I was right there. He is incredibly handsome in person, like he’s on a completely different ‘layer’ from everyone else.”

She patted her camera. “This time, I’m here with the determination to get a ‘Divine Shot’! Let’s squeeze toward the edge in a bit; there are too many people here.”

The long-haired girl was quite introverted, but hearing the suggestion, her eyes sparkled and she nodded vigorously.

The filming base for Diving Abyss was massive. At several entrances, there were many fans meeting their idols for “commute” shots. Most faces showed fatigue, but their eyes were full of anticipation.

Mo Li spoke with a hint of envy while driving: “Most of those are support boards for Teacher Ji and Sister Yunyin. I bet this entrance is full of their fans.”

Some third- and fourth-tier artists in the crew also had fans waiting, but they looked exceptionally inconspicuous next to the fan groups of the main leads.

Xie Ci opened the car window a crack and looked outside with curiosity.

The round-glasses girl, who had managed to squeeze to the front with the long-haired girl, instantly recognized those cat-like eyes with long lashes: “Xie Ci! Look over here!”

She waved her hand enthusiastically, pulling the long-haired girl along, and the heart-shaped support board wobbled back and forth.

A color-printed photo, a line written in marker saying “Xie Ci, go go go!”, and the empty spaces were carefully decorated with tiny sparkling beads.

The thin board carried heavy care.

Since the road was crowded, Mo Li’s car moved slowly, giving Xie Ci the perfect chance to respond.

The car window was rolled all the way down. Xie Ci waved his hand, trying to respond to the support of the two fans.

His slender, fair fingers somewhat clumsily made a heart shape against his face. Receiving a response, the girl in round glasses jumped on the spot in excitement.

The long-haired girl beside her waved the heart-shaped sign vigorously, shouting a soft “Jiayou, Jiayou!” (Go go go!).

The vehicle moved slowly past. Sensing Xie Ci’s mood in the back seat, Mo Li said with a smile: “These might be your ‘founding fans.’ In the future, the people coming for you will definitely grow more and more.”

His tone was casual, yet filled with the steady confidence of total trust in his friend.

The tips of Xie Ci’s ears turned red. He shuffled his body forward in the back seat, leaning against the driver’s seat back, and gave a soft “Mm” in response.

In the small rearview mirror, Xie Ci’s face was slightly squished from leaning against the seat, a small puff of white cheek-flesh bulging out.

Mo Li caught a glimpse in the mirror and reached out to turn down the air conditioning temperature.

“Did you get it? Did you get it!” The long-haired girl gripped her sign tightly, excitedly clutching the other girl’s arm.

“I really did get a Divine Shot!” The round-glasses girl looked satisfied from head to toe as she handed the camera to her friend.

Surprisingly, several heads around them leaned in. While smilingly handing the two girls small handmade pendants, they spoke cautiously: “Can we have a look?”

Sorry to their own idols! They had tried their best, but they could no longer resist this Xie Ci’s charm…

The round-glasses girl waved her hand heroically. “Of course! Newcomer actor Xie Ci: handsome, cute, extraordinary skills a safe investment!”

The long-haired girl also placed the camera in the center of this small huddle. Several girls’ gazes focused on that small, square screen.

In the lens, Xie Ci’s dimple appeared with his smile, his soft black hair fell naturally, and the curve of his nose was just right. The soft light of the sunrise spilled between his brows, and in the reflection of light and shadow, the youth’s beauty was the sole focus of the shot.

“Is there a fan group? I want to join right now!”

A female voice, unable to hide its excitement, rang out.

Not long after, along with the birth of a fan group, a fledgling personal fan account for Xie Ci was also created.

XC-XieCi Support Club: “October 1st, latest commute shots of newcomer actor Xie Ci. Please follow our handsome and kind-hearted Xie Ci!”

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