In the heavy rain.
Lin An, braving the heavy rain, patrolled the mountain he had recently taken over. By the time he returned home, it was already deep into the night.
However, as a young man, Lin An felt he could endure for another two hours. So, he opened the novel link that his classmate had shared with him, claiming that there was a supporting character with the same name as him.
With a curious mind, Lin An started reading the romantic novel that he had never bothered to open before.
Then, he was successfully pissed off...
Damn!
The supporting character with the same name as him in the novel made Lin An want to rush in and give him a couple of punches. How could there be such a wimpy and cowardly man in this world?
He was cursing when he suddenly heard a very dull crashing sound.
Not good, it's a mudslide!
Lin An quickly grabbed a megaphone and ran outside, loudly informing the villagers to hurry towards the long-abandoned ancestral hall.
That was the village's highest, flattest, and most solid ground.
As the notification reached the last household to turn back, Lin An, with sharp eyes, noticed that Granny Lin was lagging far behind the group.
With determination, Lin An ran over and lifted Granny Lin onto his back.
"An, my child, put me down quickly. Carrying me, you won't be able to run with anyone else. An old woman like me doesn't have many years left anyway," Granny Lin anxiously said after being suddenly lifted.
Breathing heavily, Lin An reassured her, "Granny, don't worry, it won't happen."
No matter how Granny Lin tried to persuade him, Lin An remained silent, steadily carrying Granny Lin up.
He brought Granny Lin to the ancestral hall, where the people who had climbed up earlier reached out to pull her up.
At this moment, Lin An's tense spirit relaxed.
It was precisely in this brief moment of relaxation that Lin An missed a step, and he fell heavily backward. Soil and stones covered his body, and he seemed to see Granny Lin crying.
Granny, don't be sad. Lin An is fortunate to have you taking care of him in this lifetime.
When Lin An woke up, he felt a splitting headache and a tumultuous churning in his stomach, extremely uncomfortable.
If he remembered correctly, he was buried by a mudslide. In theory, there was a 99% chance he wouldn't have survived. Even if he were rescued, he shouldn't be devoid of pain like this. And these symptoms felt more like going to the hospital after drinking too much alcohol.
It doesn't seem to be a very serious problem.
Just as Lin An was thankful for his good fortune, the door to the hospital room was forcefully pushed open, and an irate woman stormed in.
"Lin An, are you capable? Don't you think your black materials are enough, rushing to boost the paparazzi KPI even before the end of the year!"
Looking at this woman who came in and scolded him from the get-go, Lin An was utterly bewildered.
He didn't know her.
For some reason, the woman on the other side seemed to have lost some of her anger, her tone softening, "The company has spent a lot of resources on you, and it can be said that basically all of it is a loss. You were lucky to receive an offer for this dating variety show, it's your only chance. Even if you don't care, at least think about Director Li. Moreover, I'll make sure to communicate with the director to give you a good persona. Don't be so resistant to it."
Lin An: Why can't I understand what this woman is talking about?
Lin An was about to speak, but the woman opposite clearly didn't want to give him the opportunity.
"Lin An, don't look at the monk's face; look at the Buddha's face. It's been so long since your accident, Director Li hasn't given up on you. With your current state, are you being fair to Director Li? Are you being fair to those fans who have always believed in you?"
【Don't look at the monk's face; look at the Buddha's face [不看僧面看佛面] It advises looking beyond superficial appearances, prioritizing substance over surface, and focusing on the essence of a matter rather than being swayed by external factors】
Wait, dating variety show, Director Li, fans, and Lin An. Isn't this exactly what he read in that novel last night?
Good lord, he has entered the world of the book.
While he was not unfamiliar with transmigration, being inside a book was still quite novel for Lin An. After all, it was like having precognitive abilities, which was a bit thrilling.
But Lin An's joy was short-lived because he realized he had earnestly read the plot related to the male supporting character yesterday.
He wasn't saying he's a straight male, but in the book, while the main characters were enjoying sweet romantic moments, the subplot involving the supporting character Lin An was particularly tragic, making Lin An feel quite distressed.
If Lin An had read more online novels, he would immediately know the reason. It's because the Lin An in the book serves as a foil to contrast the happiness of the main characters, essentially a tool for highlighting the protagonist's joy.
Fortunately, Lin An was unaware.
Presently, Lin An was still in the midst of balding his head over how to terminate his contract
That's right, the first thing on Lin An's mind after transmigration was how to terminate his contract and make a run for it.
This way, not only could he avoid the plot, but he could also continue his beloved planting business.
With this in mind, Lin An immediately spoke up, asking, "Sister, I have a friend who wants to terminate his contract..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the woman across from him, visibly to the naked eye, skyrocketed in anger.
"You want to terminate the contract? Fine, terminate it! A penalty of ten million. As long as you take out every single yuan now, I guarantee to expedite the termination for you!" The woman finished her sentence with an angry glare at Lin An.
Lin An, a big lad, found himself somewhat trembling under her gaze. Of course, the most intimidating part was the ten million penalty.
Lin An quickly calculated, deciding to sell the mountain he had recently contracted, sign additional large contracts with several food and fruit processing plants, and, with his savings, car, and house, he could barely scrape together ten million.
Anyway, as long as his special ability remained, he had no worries about making money.
About to speak up and express that he could gather ten million, Lin An suddenly realized: Transmigrated, life is there, but the money's gone.
Haha, he suddenly felt that venturing into the entertainment industry wasn't such a bad idea after all. Smiling.jpg
"No, no, sis, don't be upset. I've already said it's for a friend. Why would I want to leave the industry? I'm eager to get up and rush for ten more endorsements right now."
Li Zhi, Lin An's manager, smirked, "As long as you've figured it out. But with your current commercial value, there are no endorsements for you to rush to."
Ah, the cold and ruthless reality.
The manager paused for a moment, carefully observing Lin An's reaction. She realized he didn't erupt in anger as before, breathed a sigh of relief, and continued, "Don't worry too much. Rest assured, recover well, and participate in a variety show to whitewash yourself. Then, not as many people will criticize you."
Lin An muttered in a small voice, "But I wasn't black in the first place."
The manager choked for a moment, rolled her eyes, and repeatedly instructed Lin An to rest well before getting back to work. After all, she had more than just Lin An under her management.
Initially, Li Zhi didn't have high expectations for convincing Lin An today. Although she sensed that Lin An seemed a bit different today, it didn't put her mind at ease either.
Ever since Lin An was hacked, his temperament had become unpredictable, his mood swinging from good to bad. Li Zhi had long become accustomed to Lin An's unpredictable character.
And Lin An, who was lying down on the hospital bed, just felt that life was very difficult.
Those distressing plotlines weren't such a big deal. The crucial point was that the filming process for that romance variety show didn't follow the typical shoot-first-broadcast-later routine everyone expected.
The director of this dating variety show is quite adept at stirring things up. The first week follows the typical process of a dating show, but in the second week, all the guests are thrown onto a secluded island to live for a week. The island life is presented through continuous live broadcasting, showcasing the guests' most authentic cabin life.
After reaping the benefits of live streaming, the director developed a fondness for this method. Upon returning from the island, he started live streaming for two hours every night.
So, the company's initial plan to create a positive image for him to attract fans can be considered a complete failure.
Not only did they fail to gain fans, but the number of anti-fans also increased.
Because among the celebrity guests invited by the director, there is a female actress whom the original host had previously publicly expressed admiration for.
Originally, the director's intentions were quite optimistic. The girl hasn't gained much fame in recent years, but her reputation is still decent.
Although Lin An has many anti-fans, there's not much real negative information about him, and none of it involves any fundamental issues.
If these two see eye to eye, not only could Lin An clear his name, but the actress could also become popular. The show could attract more CP fans, creating a win-win-win situation.
The scenario sounds wonderful, but before coming on the show, the actress starred in a film that unexpectedly became a sleeper hit and won a prestigious film award. Moreover, during the show's recording, she also received another award for Best Actress.
Suddenly, the actress became a hot topic, and some fans saw the original host's interaction with her as an attempt to ride on her popularity.
Adding to this, after the original host was targeted with various negative publicity, his temperament became more sensitive and suspicious. He became more aggressive, and his emotional intelligence wasn't very high.
Under the lens of the live broadcast, all of this was infinitely amplified. This led to more and more people to dislike the original host and curse at him. In the end, he prematurely terminated the recording early and died of depression.
Lin An truly believes that without strong mental resilience, it's best not to venture into the entertainment industry—growing vegetables would be more peaceful.
However, burdened with heavy debts, Lin An has no choice. So, the plan he set for himself is to stay away from female actresses. If he can endure until the end of the program, as for dating, he's in no hurry—just let nature take its course.
Moreover, his face is genuinely handsome, and Lin An really thinks that with this face, it's impossible not to find a girlfriend.
Of course, success is easy and failure is easy. The reason the original host was heavily criticized is that he refused to engage in any unethical deals. Coincidentally, his arch-enemy and the person he rejected got together...
It's a perfect collision of "new grudges and old hatreds." Of course, the scandals they created aren't a big deal for the veterans in the entertainment industry. The most outrageous thing they did was snatch away a few of the original host's endorsements.
Endure it a bit, and it will be fine after some time. After all, the original host's popularity is there, and once the storm passes, he will definitely get his due.
Moreover, the biggest flaw in the original host's reputation is probably just having an early taste of fame and a bad temper. Other than that, it's hard to find any real black spots. Therefore, the other party can only keep hammering on this one point.
But in the end, the original host was young and arrogant, and his psychological resilience was somewhat weak. Watching his popularity decline day by day while his arch-enemy flourished, he felt increasingly unbalanced. In a fit of pique, he rejected many programs, unintentionally offending a wave of people. The arrogant celebrity image was indeed well-established.
In addition to all this, the original host's confusing behavior left Lin An feeling puzzled.
For example, he liked someone but insisted on saying hurtful things, or when he saw the person he liked interacting with others, he would sulk, resembling a spoiled child.
The most crucial part was constantly leaving others to guess his thoughts, stubbornly maintaining silence until he exited the program without expressing his feelings.
Lying on the hospital bed, Lin An carefully analyzed the points for which the original host was criticized. He realized that he should be able to avoid these pitfalls and hoped that the audience would go easy on him.
Thinking about all this, Lin An felt an even stronger desire to leave the entertainment circle and focus on farming, and it was another day of a tough guy shedding tears.
Sleep, sleep; dreams hold everything!
The next morning, Lin An was violently awakened by his manager...
Save me, let the child sleep a little longer, please.