Who Wants to Be the Affectionate Cannon Fodder?! [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 44

Shen Xingzhuo was the first person in the entertainment industry to tag marketing accounts and fight them directly.

The video consisted of promotional material that Zhou Yao had filmed over the past few days. He had originally planned to edit it into a vlog for fans after the production wrapped, so the clips he had sent to Yu Lin were just scattered, unfinished fragments. He never expected Yu Lin to post them without saying a word.

In the video, Yu Lin, suspended by wires, leapt from a five-meter-high roof while his long sword carved a chaotic pattern in mid-air. Upon landing, his steps were steady, without a single wobble. The night breeze ruffled his hair, and beneath the dark night-traveling suit, only a pair of clean, transparent eyes were visible, looking exceptionally bright in the moonlight.

The footage cut off at that moment and quickly switched to a scene of him fighting a martial arts expert in a courtyard. His straight, powerful legs traced an arc through the air, and the whistling sound of the wind was sharp and clear. When his roundhouse kick was blocked by a pillar, Yu Lin used the momentum to step off the pillar, spinning again to kick the martial arts actor opposite him.

The short one-minute video was enough to showcase Shen Xingzhuo’s powerful core control and fluid martial arts skills. The Weibo comments below exploded.

@StarVendingMachine: Am I seeing this right? Are you really the Shen Xingzhuo I follow who supposedly had nothing but a face? I am really not a hater, but you are too impressive! Am I actually following a career-focused star?

@AreYouSick: Is that it? He is covered up like that; who knows if it is really him? Even if it is, isn’t that what he is supposed to do? After all, he is getting paid millions per drama. Fans, go get some better standards.

@PeachCanned: Every time I read the original novel, I imagined how spirited and dashing Xiao Jingyan would be. Thank you, Xingzhuo, for bringing him to life. He is truly both beautiful and badass!

@StarPolishingJade: Such powerful and fluid martial arts. Marketing accounts and haters, come out and apologize!

@IfYouArgueYoureRight: Is it possible they were not even talking about you using a stunt double? Why are you so eager to identify yourself?

@ShenXingzhuo replied to @IfYouArgueYoureRight: Oh, so those three words in the comments and trending topics do not spell “Shen Xingzhuo”? I am not arguing, and I am still right.

Zhou Yao, who was in the middle of communicating a solution with Li Rui, suddenly received a notification. He picked up his phone, and his vision went black. He lunged to the bedside, snatched Yu Lin’s phone away, and stuffed it behind Ning Jinghe.

“Have some mercy! If you keep posting, I will never finish solving this. My hair is going to fall out tonight!”

Yu Lin looked at Ning Jinghe innocently. After Zhou Yao turned and left, he secretly reached out and beckoned with his finger, signaling for Ning Jinghe to quietly return his phone.

Unsurprisingly, the cold and heartless Ning Jinghe hid the phone behind a sofa cushion. He pressed down on Yu Lin, who was trying to sit up, and said in a low voice, “I am applying your medicine.”

As he spoke, even he could not help but let out a small laugh; he seemed to be applying medicine to Yu Lin quite often lately.

“I know you have many ideas, but for dangerous moves, protect yourself first.”

Yu Lin lifted his eyelids to look at him. “Are you worrying about me, Brother Ning?”

Ning Jinghe’s hand faltered. The cotton ball he was holding pressed gently against the edge of the bruise. Yu Lin cooperatively let out a pained cry.

“I get it,” Yu Lin grumbled. “I will just listen to you.”

Ning Jinghe awkwardly pressed the cotton ball, rubbing along the edge of the blue mark. Even though he knew Yu Lin was faking the pain and might not feel it that intensely, his touch inevitably grew gentler.

Zhou Yao and Li Rui discussed a plan and decided to ride the momentum of the trending topic. Starting with the character of Xiao Jingyan, they would edit the behind-the-scenes scraps into a video to release as official character promotional material.

The next morning, the official Weibo for The Song of the Broken Array released a character promo.

@Drama_TheSongOfTheBrokenArray: “The capital is surging with wind and clouds; I shall risk my life to help my brother achieve his wish.”

Hello, Xiao Jingyan. @ShenXingzhuo [Video]

The video released by the crew was far more refined than Yu Lin’s. From Yu Lin’s first day riding and shooting arrows to the second day touring Jinling with the female lead, Xiao Xiyun, and the fourth day’s night probe into the Minister’s manor, under the high-definition lens, that face looked like a gift from the Creator. Every feature seemed meticulously carved.

Yu Lin’s horse-riding and archery scenes were dashing and unrestrained; the young man in fine silk practically leapt off the screen. His fight scenes during the night probe were sharp and agile, matching the martial arts actors. The “black fans” who had been jumping around fell silent after watching the video, vanishing instantly.

Meanwhile, the comments were a carnival for fans and “face-connoisseurs.” At the same time, Li Rui logged into his long-unused account and reposted the Weibo.

@DirectorLiRui: In the past, only others said I acted wildly on set. This is the first time I’ve heard people say I would allow someone else to act wildly in my crew. Quite interesting. //@Drama_TheSongOfTheBrokenArray:

“I feel like Shen Xingzhuo’s acting has improved so much. In his last drama, he was just glaring and flaring his nostrils. He actually did not turn Xiao Jingyan into a brainless idiot.”

“Damn! For the first time, I ‘get’ Shen Xingzhuo’s face. Such lively features and amazing body control. This level of riding and shooting should not be something you can practice in a short time. He really looks like a little prairie wolf on horseback!”

“I remember in the novel, Xiao Jingyan is a ‘white-cut-black’ psycho later on. Anything involving his brother makes him switch to mad dog mode. He has the innocent charm of the early stage now, but I wonder if he can handle the later stage. After all, his acting is indescribable.”

The marketing account that first leaked the “scoop” played dead, but Lingxiao Media’s PR did not give them a chance for peace. They released a condemnation statement that same day, stating they would pursue legal responsibility.

While the buzz for the drama grew, the crew was still pushing through a tight filming schedule.

Yu Lin was given a day off because of the injury on his waist. The bruise had spread so wide it looked like he had been abused; Li Rui truly felt too guilty to keep pushing him.

However, even if he had not been given the day off, Yu Lin had planned to take a break anyway. He had received a plot point notification from 007.

In the original world line, Shen Xingzhuo was in a foul mood because of the breakup with Jiang Shiyan. During filming, he was lazy and skipped work frequently. When he accidentally learned that Jiang Shiyan had invited a group of friends to a golf course in the suburbs of Xiamen to relax, he skipped his filming schedule and rushed there to corner him.

However, that was where he heard the truth: that he had always been a substitute for Ning Jinghe.

As a key plot point, if Yu Lin did not complete it, the “persona correction” function would kick in to help him finish it. This was the only thing Yu Lin could be sure of from his previous experiences; it was the trigger for that annoying added feature.

Since it was just about learning a truth, there was no need for him to risk damage to his mental network by resisting. He obediently took the leave and hailed a taxi to the golf course.

The Golf Course

The daylight was not particularly intense. Jiang Shiyan had just finished a round and sat down on the sofa behind the tee box. He spread his arms wide, occupying most of the sofa.

“What is wrong? You do not seem to be in a good mood today,” his friend Lin Nanzhi said, leaning casually against the armrest.

The others had a vague inkling of Jiang Shiyan’s feelings for Ning Jinghe, but the only one who truly knew the relationship between Jiang, Ning, and Shen Xingzhuo was Lin Nanzhi.

“Ning Jinghe is back, and you have broken up with Shen Xingzhuo. What is left to be annoyed about?”

Jiang Shiyan blurted out, “It is because we broke up that I am annoyed.”

“Oh?”

Jiang Shiyan gritted his teeth. After hesitating for a few seconds, he continued, “He sent all my things back. I thought, with his personality, he would definitely cling to me for a while, even after I warned him.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“It is.” It was just that he was not used to it.

It was like raising a clingy dog. Every day you came home, it would wag its tail at you. One day you got bored and ignored it, intending to abandon it, only to find that it had already planned to leave you, departing with absolute finality.

But clearly, it was the dog that had provoked you first, begging for a home.

Jiang Shiyan was startled by his own weird and disgusting thought. He gave a mocking laugh and said, “Forget it, do not mention that. Tell me something I want to hear.”

“Then how is your progress with Ning Jinghe lately?”

Jiang Shiyan frowned. Actually, he did not want to hear that either. “Not great. He is deathly cold.”

He would message Ning Jinghe, and the man would reply once every ten messages. Proud as Jiang Shiyan was, he could handle it once or twice, but he lost patience over time. He could not do the whole “pressing a warm face against a cold surface” thing.

Lin Nanzhi soothed him, “He is probably busy filming. I saw their crew on the trending topics yesterday. Well, it was Shen Xingzhuo-related. But he is likely busy; it is normal not to have time to reply.”

“Shen Xingzhuo?” Jiang Shiyan arched an eyebrow, asking with malicious curiosity, “Was he getting scolded again?”

“Actually, no. This time, it was praise.”

“With acting skills worse than an amateur? Besides that face, he should not have anything worth bragging about. Did Lingxiao buy more marketing for him?”

“Not really. I took a look; he is actually quite good.”

Jiang Shiyan’s interest was peaked. He gestured for the phone, saying playfully, “Let me see.”

“Here.” Lin Nanzhi opened Weibo, clicked on the video released by the crew, and handed it to Jiang Shiyan.

The camera zoomed in. Shen Xingzhuo’s face was magnified; golden sunlight fell on him, and his determined eyes were as dark as ink. With red lips and white teeth, a cynical smile hung at the corner of his mouth. With one glance, he was indescribably soul-stirring.

Three arrows fired in succession, the bustling wind brushing the stray hairs from his forehead.

The Shen Xingzhuo in the video was bright, flamboyant, and his provocative eyes carried a sense of desire.

For the first time, Jiang Shiyan discovered that Shen Xingzhuo could be something other than a hollow, beautiful statue.

And for the first time, he realized that Shen actually did not look like Ning Jinghe.