Chapter 238: The No-Name Star Beckons, the Benefactor Becomes a Simp 11

Chapter 238: A Nobody Crooks His Finger, and the Sugar Daddy Turns into a Lapdog 11

However, there were still vacant artist dormitories, and they were free. The environment looked pretty decent now, too.

After speaking with his agent, he was assigned a single room. It was a bit small, but more than enough for one person.

He organized all his belongings, placing the flowerpot in the most prominent spot on the windowsill—everything just right.

Finally free of that scumbag Fei Xiu, Lin Huaiqing felt completely at ease. Maybe he should've left that place ages ago.

Before going to bed, Lin Huaiqing made sure to block Fei Xiu on every platform. He also put his phone on silent, so no clueless idiot would bother him while he slept.

He slept straight through to the afternoon. If his stomach hadn't been growling, he figured he could've kept lounging around even longer.

When he opened his phone, Lin Huaiqing broke out in a cold sweat from the flood of messages coming in.

Most of the calls were from his agent, Sister Li. The other unknown numbers weren't important.

Lin Huaiqing shook off the drowsiness and quickly called Sister Li back.

She picked up almost instantly, and the next thing he heard was Sister Li screaming her head off.

"Lin Huaiqing! Where the hell did you disappear to? I've called you so many times and you didn't pick up! If you're gonna die, at least do it at a decent hour!"

Chewed out royally, Lin Huaiqing gripped the phone tightly, feeling oddly guilty.

"Sister Li, I'm sorry. I mean, I got blacklisted, so I figured there was nothing to do, and I just slept—"

"Enough with the nonsense! I've got good news for you. One last chance to cash in before you quit the industry. You down or not?"

"Quit? Who said anything about me quitting?"

The news of his blacklisting had come from Sister Li in the first place. She probably assumed he couldn't make it anymore—anyone else would've quit by now.

Little did she know Lin Huaiqing was still hanging on.

"Fine! Quit or not, next Monday there's a variety show. They want you to play a villain to stir up hype and buzz. If it works out, it's a hundred grand—though you'll only see half of it."

The other half, of course, goes to the company.

Sister Li had always been straight-up. A lot of new actors couldn't handle her bluntness and asked to switch to a different agent.

But Lin Huaiqing knew that besides her sharp tongue, Sister Li was a no-nonsense person who really looked out for the artists under her.

Back then, Sister Li was the one who told him to audition for the doctor role, saying it suited his vibe.

Who knew it would actually make some waves?

"Okay! Sister Li, I'm in. But I'm not planning on quitting the industry. From now on, I'll take any gig like this."

Isn't it just going on a show to play a villain and get roasted by the audience? Get yelled at a bit and make five hundred grand—who wouldn't want that?

Besides, playing a villain was his specialty! Just wait and see!

But his firm answer just drew a cold sneer: "Hah! In your dreams! Fine, go get ready!"

Lin Huaiqing's role as the doctor in his last drama had actually made him pretty popular with viewers. If it weren't for this mess, he would've gotten that guest spot on the show.

But after all this, the director had originally planned to swap him out. But then he was told to keep Lin Huaiqing on.

It was obvious they wanted to milk Lin Huaiqing for everything he was worth—trash his reputation completely and kick him out of the industry.

Quietly bowing out on his own was totally different from being hounded into quitting by netizens.

A nobody like Lin Huaiqing, an eighteenth-tier artist, was actually worth someone behind the scenes going after him like this.

He really was born to be the internet's favorite punching bag.

After hanging up, Lin Huaiqing didn't actually feel as pumped as he'd let on to Sister Li.

Sure, bad publicity was still publicity, but he had a feeling there was more to this than met the eye.

Still, he wasn't gonna let this chance slip away.

The day of the show came fast.

The show was a livestream with live comments for interacting with fans.

The show didn't have much hype at first, but because two weeks before airing, they announced that both Fei Xiu and Ji Jingzhao would be on, the show blew up overnight.

The Fei Xiu and Ji Jingzhao ship was huge, with tons of CP fans waiting to see them on stage together.

An hour before the show, the livestream was already packed with CP fans and Fei Xiu's solo stans.

The comments started flooding in all at once.

An hour early, Lin Huaiqing had already landed.

The moment he got off, he was stunned by the sea of fans holding up light boards.

He quietly made his way to the exit, where the show's crew pulled him aside for an interview.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Lin Huaiqing? Can we ask you a few quick questions to open the show?"

"Yeah, sure."

Before the actual show, they usually film these little interviews. Lin Huaiqing wasn't new to the industry, so he knew the drill.

"As the first guest to arrive at the airport, you'll get first pick of transportation to the filming location if you answer some questions."

"Shoot..." Probably just some boring questions anyway.

Who knew the host's questions would be tailor-made for him.

"We just saw you get off the plane—mind telling the audience what class you flew?"

Anyone else wouldn't have gotten such a dumb question.

Lin Huaiqing looked at the camera and said without missing a beat: "Economy."

The host, like he was trying to stir up drama, kept asking dumb questions:

"Why'd you fly economy?"

"Because business class is too pricey, and the company won't pay for it."

Other than that, Lin Huaiqing couldn't think of anything else to say.

Seeing the host's slightly awkward expression, Lin Huaiqing spoke up and asked:

"May I go choose my mode of transportation now?"

The card in front of him listed several modes of transportation.

They included a sports car, a bus, a motorcycle, an electric scooter, a bicycle...

Without even thinking about it, Lin Huaiqing directly picked the card for the bus.

At his level of fame, if he chose the sports car, wouldn't people tear him apart? Even if he wanted to be criticized, he couldn't be too obvious about it.

Guided by the staff, Lin Huaiqing boarded the program's bus.

As soon as he got on, a staff member informed him that the bus wouldn't leave until two guests were on board.

And the order in which guests arrived at the filming location would determine their advantages in the games ahead.

This meant that if no one else chose the bus, he would be stuck there until the last guest left.

Fine, something even worse was bound to be waiting for him later.

He had no idea how long he'd been sitting there when the bus door suddenly opened.

Lin Huaiqing felt a surge of excitement—it seemed there was someone else who had made the same choice as him.

But when he saw who it was, his excitement quickly died.

Upon spotting Lin Huaiqing in his seat, Ji Jingzhao immediately lit up and greeted him, "Teacher Lin! What a coincidence! You chose the bus too!"