"Sister, what nonsense are you talking about?" Lin An was a bit confused by Sister Li's words, "I'm so confused right now, who cares if I date or not? Besides, why can't idols date?"
When Sister Li heard this, she thought Lin An was about to start arguing and showing off his temper again, so she decided to skip Lin An's question and directly asked, "Think carefully about what you might lose after dating. Are you really willing to do that?"
"What could I lose?" Lin An really didn't know what he could lose, "Besides, I haven't dated anyone yet."
Sister Li was a bit annoyed by Lin An's nonchalant attitude, but considering that young people are always impulsive when they first fall in love, she had the patience to break down the pros and cons and benefits and analyze it for Lin An.
"Sister, I get it. Then, I won't be an idol."
Lin An said this sincerely, but to Sister Li, it sounded strange.
"You!" Sister Li didn't expect that after all the analysis, Lin An would still be so stubborn. Her temper flared up, "You say you won't be an idol? Won't that be a waste of the company's investment in you?"
Lin An really wanted to say that he could go be a model and make money. Today's work made Lin An feel quite interesting, and it paid well too.
Moreover, whether it was the original host or Lin An, they both knew they didn't have much talent in acting. But seeing Sister Li getting angrier, Lin An decided to keep quiet and not touch on sensitive topics.
"Alright, think about it carefully yourself and give me your answer tomorrow." After saying this, the car fell into silence.
After dropping Lin An off at the villa, Sister Li hurriedly left.
Looking at the empty villa, Lin An thought he might as well do something productive. He picked up his phone and started searching for everything related to idols.
Unconsciously, Lin An continued searching until evening. He was so engrossed that he only snapped out of it when Nian Wenran called him for dinner.
It turned out that the current reality of being an idol was completely different from what he had imagined.
While eating, Lin An was still thinking about this. Considering Su Nuo should have the most experience in being an idol, he decided to talk to Su Nuo after dinner.
"Su Nuo, do you have time later?"
As soon as Lin An spoke, the dinner table suddenly fell silent.
"What's wrong?" Su Nuo raised an eyebrow lightly.
"I want to ask you something about being an idol."
Su Nuo nodded in agreement.
Lu Ruifeng, who had subconsciously held his breath just now, sighed in relief, "Gosh, you scared me. I thought something serious had happened."
Dao Huiqing knocked on Lu Ruifeng's head, "You talk a lot, hurry up and eat."
At this moment, Lin An was completely out of it and didn't realize the earlier strangeness. He hadn't paid much attention to what Lu Ruifeng had just said, his mind was preoccupied with the conversation with Su Nuo.
After finishing dinner, the two sat on the small wicker chairs in the yard and started their conversation.
"What do you think is the meaning of being an idol?" Lin An asked.
"Starting with such a philosophical question?" Su Nuo felt a headache whenever she heard questions about the meaning, "I don't know."
Lin An didn't mind and continued, "I always thought being a good role model for fans was enough for an idol."
"That's indeed true. But there are many types of idols in this world." Su Nuo, seeing Lin An genuinely confused, couldn't help teasing him a bit.
"How so?"
"People always need a bit of beautiful fantasy to add color to their lives. Idols with outstanding appearances grab the most attention and are the easiest to become subjects of beautiful fantasies for fans.
Such idols can be the perfect partners or fantasy objects in fans' hearts. Fans spend money to satisfy their fantasies, and that's how these idols make money. Of course, they also need to give something in return."
After listening to Su Nuo's words, Lin An understood a bit and continued to ask, "What about you? Aren't you afraid of losing fans when you go on a dating variety show?"
Su Nuo nodded, "Indeed, when I announced that news, I did lose quite a few fans. It made me sad, but I'm not afraid. I wasn't someone who relied on fans to make money in the first place.
More importantly, I don't want to hide things from them. If I really have someone I like, having an underground romance would be a kind of harm to both the fans and the person I like."
Su Nuo shared many examples, and after listening, Lin An became even more firm in his initial thoughts.
Lin An sighed, "I guess I'm really not suitable for the entertainment industry."
Su Nuo smiled and asked, "Is it because of Nian Nian?"
"What?" Lin An was a bit confused.
"Nothing." Su Nuo nodded towards where the French windows were, indicating Lin An to take a look. A small group of people was sitting over there.
Lin An was surprised, "What are they doing?"
Su Nuo stood up, patting her dress, "Let's go. I don't want to stay out in the cold."
The two walked into the living room one after the other, and the people in the living room immediately sat back as if nothing had happened.
Lin An sat next to Nian Wenran and noticed that she was reading the plant observation log he had written, "Why are you looking at this?"
"Just suddenly wanted to take a look." Nian Wenran replied calmly, but couldn't restrain her curiosity, "What were you guys talking about just now?"
When the few people were having dinner, Nian Wenran hadn't come back yet. When she returned, the two were already chatting in the small courtyard. Lu Ruifeng had told her that they were discussing things related to the entertainment industry.
Nian Wenran really wanted to know what Lin An was talking about. When you like someone, you can't help but want to understand everything about them. But it seems like everyone thought she was being jealous.
On this point, Nian Wenran felt everyone was overthinking. Based on her understanding of Lin An, if he said he was going to talk about work, then he really was going to talk about work. Nian Wenran was more interested in how to help Lin An open up.
"We talked about some things related to my current profession." Lin An casually flipped through the log.
"What's wrong? Are you thinking of making a career change?" Nian Wenran continued to ask. She had looked into Lin An's resume over the past few days.
He became popular with a low-budget idol drama back then, but since then, there haven't been any notable works. Later, due to various scandals, he could only play some supporting roles to make a living
Especially this year, he had become so faded that even those who used to criticize him had disappeared.
"I'm thinking about it. Today, when I went to shoot the cover, the photographer said I have some talent in that area." Lin An finished speaking and waved the log in his hand, "How about it? Did I do well with my log?"
"It looks good." Nian Wenran nodded, "Being a model would be good for you too."
"It's not easy." Lin An ruffled Nian Wenran's hair, "Enough about that. Do you want to see some of the photos I took today?"
Lu Ruifeng, who had been paying attention to Lin An all this time, perked up at this statement, "Brother, I want to see too!"
The others also gathered around, curious.
"Wow, these photos are amazing, bro. I really like the two with the Republic of China style."
"I think the one in the pavilion looks better."
"The blue and white porcelain one is even more amazing!"
The discussion among the group became lively, and Xia Jubai, who was standing on the side, suddenly spoke up, "Did you get the endorsement from Shang Dao?"
Before Lin An could respond, Lu Ruifeng jumped in first, boasting, "Of course! With my Brother Lin's looks and figure, securing the endorsement is a matter of minutes!"
After saying this, he successfully earned two puzzled looks from Dao Huiqing and Lin An.
Xia Jubai nodded, acknowledging Lu Ruifeng, and then continued to ask, "And what about these photos?"
"Photographed by Shang Yi."
As soon as Lin An spoke, Su Nuo and Lu Ruifeng exclaimed.
The amateur guests, except for Dao Huiqing, were a bit confused. It was only under the explanations of Su Nuo and Lu Ruifeng that they understood the influence of Shang Yi.
While everyone was congratulating Lin An, Xia Jubai remained calm, clapping with a smile.
No one noticed that as she lowered her hands, she clenched them tightly.
Obviously I was the one who was contacted first...
After some playful banter, the group dispersed to do their own things.
However, the content of their conversation had caused a stir in the live broadcast. Some netizens happened to record that segment and quickly posted it online, attracting the attention of netizens from all walks of life.
The hashtag #LinAnEndorsement#
The topic was on the hot search list.
Li Jie soon noticed the popularity of this topic and immediately contacted Shang Dao and the people at Shang Yi magazine.
Swiftly responding, they officially announced the collaboration on the platform, along with four pictures that were just taken today and have not had time to be edited.
Lin An's company also worked behind the scenes, pushing the topic to the top of the trending list in a very short time.
Most netizens were still a bit puzzled when they saw this hashtag. The name Lin An was relatively unfamiliar to them.
Clicking on this topic, the most discussed post within this hashtag was one expressing curiosity about Lin An's background. After all, how could a small obscure coffee shop worker secure the cover of the September issue of a top magazine and endorse a high-end fashion brand?
The September and October issues are the periods when magazines invest the most in advertising throughout the year. For artists, getting the covers of these two months is a symbol of strength.
「September Gold, October Silver, what is Lin An's background?」
「I'm curious about the same model. The key is that the endorsement is also top-notch」
「I get why Lu Ruifeng got it, but who is Lin An?」
「With his 'no one knows him' status, and the fact that Lu Ruifeng is willing to collaborate, his background must be huge」
「The person above clearly hasn't checked the trending topics. Lu Ruifeng is really hyping up Lin」
After this topic hit the trending charts, various pieces of information related to Lin An were dug up.
Among them, because Lu Ruifeng is a very popular singer recently, the hot searches generated along with this topic include: #LuRuifengHypesLin#, #The Most Unprofessional Person in the Entertainment Circle#, #Visual Impact#
The first one is a compilation of videos from the show where Lu Ruifeng expresses various forms of admiration and starry-eyed looks towards Lin An. The second one includes some recent small news about Lin An.
Which includes, a thank-you tweet from the official account of the ocean wildlife rescue officer, his participation in a charity gala, and the news of him joining the Hundred Flowers Contest.
The third one consists of several photos posted by the official account, capturing Lin An in a particularly handsome light and drawing in a large number of fans who appreciate good looks.
The post also emphasized that the photos have not been edited yet. Some netizens, particularly those obsessed with natural beauty, even earnestly discussed whether Lin An has had any plastic surgery.
Taking advantage of the momentum, Lin An's company seized the opportunity to promote previously released short videos featuring Lin An cooking and engaging in interesting interactions with guests on the show.
Moreover, given that it was in the evening when netizens tend to have more free time.
Lin An suddenly gained huge popularity.