The Vicious Cannon Fodder Despised by Everyone Really Doesn't Want to Go Viral - Chapter 9

On the car ride back, the song “A Sprig of Plum” was playing. The bleakness of the lyrics about “snowflakes fluttering” pierced straight into Lin Zhiyu’s mind.

He endured it for three minutes, but when he saw the driver hit “repeat track” again, he finally spoke up. “Master, can we please change the song?”

If he listened to it any longer, he feared he would kneel on the spot and howl at the sky in despair.

The driver glanced at him through the rearview mirror and grumbled, “You sure have a lot of requests.” However, he still switched to the next song on the playlist.

Satisfied, Lin Zhiyu closed his eyes and leaned back. He hadn’t even rested for a few seconds before Xu Dongdong’s call came in like a death summons. Lin Zhiyu stared at the name “Xu the Flayer” on the screen and counted to ten before answering at the very last second.

Before he could say a single word, Xu Dongdong began to ramble on the other end. “Zhiyu, is the audition over? It doesn’t matter if you weren’t chosen. After all, it’s Director Zhao’s project; we only went to get your face out there. I’ve picked a few web dramas to compensate you. Take a look and see if any catch your eye. If you act in enough of them, you’re bound to get a hit eventually.”

Lin Zhiyu interrupted him faintly. “Brother Xu, I passed the audition.”

“Oh, it’s fine. I didn’t have high hopes for your acting anyway. Even if you failed, I think it’s very… Wait, what did you say?!”

Xu Dongdong’s voice spiked sharply. Lin Zhiyu pulled the phone away in disgust and waited a few seconds before putting it back. “I passed. I’m playing Xie Yunce. The contract should be sent over shortly. Since it’s Director Zhao’s production, I want to focus entirely on filming. Let’s not schedule any other appearances for now, alright, Brother Xu?”

“I see… but Xie Yunce doesn’t seem to have much screen time. Maybe we can squeeze in a web drama; the schedules could be coordinated.”

“Director Zhao Jinyu’s set isn’t a place just anyone can enter. We can’t be ungrateful,” Lin Zhiyu said, looking out the window and speaking earnestly. “If people find out I’m being half-hearted and trying to grab everything at once, what will they think of me? Besides, the character Xie Yunce comes with his own traffic. If I play him well, my value will soar. Why worry about getting roles then? A single episode’s pay might equal several web dramas. Brother Xu, we shouldn’t drop the watermelon just to pick up a sesame seed.”

Xu Dongdong was silent for a few seconds. “…Are you actually trying to sell me a dream now?”

Lin Zhiyu thought to himself: So you actually know what “selling a dream” looks like?

But he said aloud, “How could I, Brother Xu? I’m just stating facts. So many people are fighting to get in; we shouldn’t waste the opportunity.”

Xu Dongdong took a few breaths before saying reluctantly, “Fine, have it your way. Just make sure you act well and don’t embarrass yourself. We’ll see about the other appearances later.” He then hung up with a sharp click.

Lin Zhiyu was actually worried that Xu Dongdong might play tricks with the contract or try to hike up the price, potentially ruining the collaboration with Zhao Jinyu. While that would satisfy his desire to avoid work, it would inevitably lead to people talking behind his back, making his already poor reputation even worse.

Fortunately, Xu Dongdong wasn’t that stupid.

The contract was finalized quickly. Lin Zhiyu made sure to read it from start to finish and secretly kept a backup copy.

The day after he received the script, a piece of insider news landed on the Weibo trending topics with a bang.

#Rumor: Lin Zhiyu to Star in “Blue Bird”#

The incident actually had nothing to do with him initially. The production had just released promotional photos of the leads, Jiang Yubai and a popular young actress. Fans of both sides were flooding the trending topics with praise and celebration. Then, out of nowhere, a discordant voice appeared:

• [A friend of mine who works in the industry says the role of Xie Yunce was given to Lin Zhiyu.]
• [What?! For real? That’s impossible. Zhao Jinyu is famous for looking at acting, not looks or traffic. My dog barks with more emotion than Lin Zhiyu acts.]
• [Heh, don’t believe it until it’s official. My friend in the industry says Lin Zhiyu has no work left and can’t even land small-budget web dramas.]
• [Did the person above forget the live-stream sales from a few days ago? Infamy is still fame. He can still milk Mu Yunji’s traffic; he won’t fade away just yet.]
• [My Xie Yunce! (Crying) He was the ‘white moonlight’ brother who made me cry eight times while reading the novel. If Lin Zhiyu plays him, I’m pretending this character doesn’t exist.]
• [If it’s true, just imagining Lin Zhiyu and Jiang Yubai acting as loving brothers gives me goosebumps!]
• [Hilarious! I just want to know if they’ll fight on set. Lin Zhiyu, give this dead entertainment industry a little ‘real person’ shock!]

The public outcry reached a fever pitch. Since the rumor was trending right behind Jiang Yubai’s promotional photos, the Blue Bird production team simply officially announced the cast list an hour later. The comment section immediately erupted into a bloodbath.

• [??? Am I crazy or are you guys crazy?]
• [If Lin Zhiyu can still film, the industry is truly finished!]
• [It seems Zhao Jinyu has really lost her touch over the years. She’ll let any cat or dog into her sight now.]
• [First he milks Mu Yunji, now he’s milking Jiang Yubai. When can Lin Zhiyu walk on his own?]
• [Blacklisted. This is disgusting. I won’t watch a single second of this drama!]
• [Recast him!! We refuse to let a vicious ‘licking dog’ covered in scandals play Xie Yunce! Novel fans, follow this Weibo: @HasLinZhiyuKickedHimselfOutOfTheIndustryYet. The first post has contact info for all the major investors. We MUST change him!!!]

Jiang Yubai had just opened the comments on the production’s Weibo and was startled by the screen full of large red “RECAST” characters.

His manager, Sister Li, glanced over and said nonchalantly, “I don’t know what Zhao Jinyu was thinking. If I had known, I would have added a clause to the contract refusing to work with Lin Zhiyu.”

Jiang Yubai pursed his lips and remained silent.

“I heard the major investors are being bombarded with calls. If you ask me, he ruined a good hand of cards. The anti-fans he attracted from Mu Yunji alone could circle the Earth three times.”

Jiang Yubai said softly, “But he acted very well that day.”

The lines, the articulation, and the emotion. Jiang Yubai suddenly remembered the look Lin Zhiyu gave him over Xie Jingyao’s arm, and he couldn’t help but reach up to soothe his racing heart.

“How good could it be? You think I haven’t seen his work?” Sister Li asked.

The young assistant poked her head out from behind Jiang Yubai. “I can testify! He really did act well. I was stunned. I couldn’t believe it was the Lin Zhiyu I knew. Even Xie Jingyao was praising him afterward. At first, I thought he was there for Brother Yubai, but he didn’t do anything to him. Maybe after being quiet for a few months, he went to an acting class and wants to focus on acting now?”

“With Xu Dongdong’s short-sighted greed, would he ever think to pay for an acting class?” Sister Li scoffed and rolled her eyes. “He’s probably planning another ‘bundled marketing’ scheme. I hate people like him the most.”

“But don’t worry,” Sister Li patted Jiang Yubai on the shoulder. “Ultimately, Xie Yunce doesn’t have much screen time, and his interaction with you is minimal. If he tries to cause trouble like before, don’t blame my eight hundred water army accounts for being heartless.”

The assistant whispered, “Didn’t you say you had a thousand the day before yesterday? Did more accounts get banned?”

Sister Li snapped, “You talk too much.”

Jiang Yubai gave a faint smile and looked over the dense text in the script. “I don’t actually care if he tries to cause trouble. I’m just wondering…”

“Wondering what?”

Jiang Yubai shook his head. “I just hope next month’s medical bills aren’t paid by someone else for no reason again.”

Sister Li looked confused.

At the same time, Lin Zhiyu was slumped over the coffee table, boredly scrolling through his phone.

The official cast announcement for Blue Bird was followed by a bright “Exploding” tag. Clicking in, apart from the leads’ fans tirelessly posting beautiful photos of their idols, the rest were novel fans and anti-fans shouting for a recast.

The number of private messages filled with “flowery language” was countless. At twenty-four, Lin Zhiyu was finally experiencing what it felt like to be in the spotlight, and it was certainly not pleasant.

His useless manager didn’t even want to handle the PR or comment control. What was the point of having him?

Lin Zhiyu closed his private messages, tossed his phone across the coffee table, and watched it slide away. Then, he propped up his head and pressed play on the remote.

The image on the living room TV resumed. Low background music flowed as the camera locked onto the facial expressions of the film’s lead. Lin Zhiyu held a pen in his hand, feeling a wave of nostalgia for his senior year of high school.

After thirty seconds, he rewound the progress bar to the close-up shot again. Having watched many movies with his college roommate, he knew more or less how to analyze and mimic other people’s performance styles. At that time, he didn’t know this skill would one day come in handy.

The sound of tires rolling over the transition between the living room and the hallway caught his attention. A shadow fell over the edge of the coffee table, and Lin Zhiyu finally looked up.

Mu Sui seemed to have just woken up, and he looked somewhat unwell. He had changed into a navy blue suit, but the buttons on his cuffs were still undone.

Lin Zhiyu’s heart skipped a beat. He sat up abruptly and asked, “Did I disturb you?”

Mu Sui finally turned his head to look at him and said flatly, “No.”

“That’s good. There isn’t a TV in the bedroom, so I had to use the living room. I’ll be careful to keep the volume down while you’re resting, don’t worry.” He was, after all, the most considerate roommate in the world.

Seeing that Mu Sui didn’t object, Lin Zhiyu breathed a sigh of relief and slumped back down. However, he misjudged his movement this time, and his chin hit the coffee table with a loud “thud.” He instantly saw stars from the pain.

Mu Sui: “…”

Lin Zhiyu’s eyes welled with tears as he rubbed his chin. Then, he heard Mu Sui say emotionlessly, “This coffee table cost one hundred and twenty thousand.”

Terrified, Lin Zhiyu immediately let go and looked down to check where he had hit it. Fortunately, his head wasn’t hard enough to leave a crack.

Mu Sui glanced at the crown of Lin Zhiyu’s head and watched him frantically feel around the surface of the coffee table. He let out a mischievous chuckle.

“I was lying.”

Lin Zhiyu: “?”

Mu Sui ignored the silent protest, turned his electric wheelchair, and headed straight for the entrance. “I won’t be back tonight,” Mu Sui said.

Lin Zhiyu responded with joy, thinking that if the man wasn’t coming back, the house would be his kingdom.

Yet, for some reason, Mu Sui still came back that night.