Qi Lin's appearance gave Hu Zichen a sense of pressure!
After all, he was supposed to be the most handsome one in the cast. Otherwise, why would Zhu Yingtai fall in love with him?
Hu Zichen's manager had an even more complex expression. To put it bluntly, he even considered canceling the contract!
But unfortunately, he didn't dare to!
In the industry, you can't afford to cross Tangshi Entertainment. Just look at Huang Yi, whose company's boss is his own uncle! Yet, his popularity has plummeted, and he's been relegated to performing in sitcoms. The impact on his career has been tremendous!
If Qi Lin were just an ordinary minor celebrity, Hu Zichen would have immediately asked the director to fire him!
This is common in many productions— the lead is always the most attractive and outstanding to avoid being overshadowed by supporting actors.
But with Qi Lin's looks, this wasn't just overshadowing; it was outright scene-stealing!
However, Hu Zichen couldn't do anything because Qi Lin's manager was Wang Xiaohua!
Now, he could only hope that the director would cut as many of Qi Lin's scenes as possible, reducing his presence.
…
The filming of the movie quickly commenced. Given Qi Lin's few scenes and Wang Xiaohua's influence, they started by filming his parts.
Qi Lin didn't disappoint, completing most of his scenes in one take.
While he was busy on set, he was unaware that he had gone viral online again!
This time, the reason was simple: Cheng Qingying's new music video had been released!
As a long-time chart-topping Mandopop singer, her album release attracted a lot of attention.
The most attention-grabbing was the title track, "Finding the Way"!
Cheng Qingying's ethereal voice especially enhanced this traditional-style song.
In her previous albums, the traditional-style songs always received widespread acclaim.
But this time, everyone's focus was on the music video. The less-than-six-minute video moved many sensitive viewers to tears.
In the dim light, the woman wore a wedding dress, with vermilion lips, waiting for her fiancé's return.
The prelude began softly, the melody gentle and moving.
The story then delved into flashbacks of the couple's childhood sweethearts, growing up together.
The man was the son of a military officer who died in battle. He inherited his father's position.
The woman, a precious daughter from a wealthy family, was betrothed to him. But before the wedding, news of an enemy invasion arrived!
The man had to go to war to defend the country.
At the moon gate, Qi Lin gently touched Cheng Qingying's face and said, "Wait for me to come back and marry you," giving the audience a sense of foreboding.
The background music quieted down, leaving only the echo of "Wait for you to return victorious! I will wait for you in my wedding dress!"
Then the chorus burst out, switching to the battlefield.
Qi Lin's armor was soaked in blood, his helmet missing, surrounded by enemy soldiers. Yet he fought valiantly on his horse, spear in hand!
"Who will mourn at the desolate temple, a handful of yellow earth!"
"The general fought a hundred battles, this new grave looks old!"
"Pity the wife and mother sighing at the door!"
"The old horse knows the way but can't bring back the one in the dream!"
In the scene, Qi Lin roared and fought fiercely!
No one could withstand a single blow from him!
But eventually, he was surrounded, growing weary, barely holding onto his spear.
In the next moment, a spear pierced his waist, freezing the frame.
He slowly turned back, looking homeward, his eyes blank.
In the city, Cheng Qingying woke up from a nightmare, tears streaming down her face as she looked towards the border.
The chorus ended, the scene shifted to outside the city gate.
Countless families waited, today being the day the army returned.
They all hoped to find their sons, brothers, and husbands among the troops.
Cheng Qingying, in a red wedding dress, stood out but didn't care about the stares.
The army slowly approached, hooves clattering.
But as they got closer, they saw only horses without riders!
Armor hung on the horses, and cries filled the air.
The chorus played again as Cheng Qingying's wedding dress fell away, revealing a mourning outfit beneath.
With bloodshot eyes, she sang softly.
"Pity the wife and mother sighing at the door!"
"The old horse knows the way but can't bring back the one in the dream!"
The music video ended.
The single's release saw a staggering number of paid downloads!
Cheng Qingying was stunned, not expecting such a great response.
In just one afternoon, "Finding the Way" climbed into the top three trending searches on three major music platforms!
The staff at Cheng Qingying's studio started celebrating, seeing this song as potentially becoming one of her signature hits!
But after celebrating, they were surprised to find that over half of the comments were about Qi Lin!
"Oh my god! Who is the male lead in this MV? He's exactly my type!"
"He's so handsome! Really handsome! I need to know everything about him within five minutes!"
"Guys, don't you know? This is Qi Lin, the one who took the role from William under Huang Yi!"
"Honey! Honey! I've believed in you since childhood!"
"Haha, has my treasure boy finally been discovered? Everyone, if you like Qi Lin, contact me to join his fan club!"
"This is so touching. The MV's script is amazing, and the composition is great. It made me cry!"
Cheng Qingying was dumbfounded, turning to her manager, Si Tian, asking, "Sis, what's going on? People are praising the script and the male lead, but no one is complimenting my singing?"
Si Tian chuckled, "Does it matter? You're the one who got famous!"
Qi Lin thus unexpectedly rode the coattails of the pop diva's fame, gaining over a million followers on Weibo!
Wang Xiaohua seized this opportunity, releasing a few leftover photos from Qi Lin's previous transformation video, which the fans loved!
Seeing the growing number of fans, Wang Xiaohua started organizing to find reliable moderators to manage the fan club.
After all, one dedicated fan is worth ten haters! Managing fans is crucial!
As the hype grew, even the "Charming" crew joined in!
#This National Day, "Charming" will be with you#
The tweet even tagged Qi Lin!
Wang Xiaohua, using Qi Lin's account, replied directly.
"See you then!"
…
Thanks to "Finding the Way," Qi Lin was exposed to a wider audience.
Meanwhile, in reality, Qi Lin stood in a room, staring incredulously at "Zhu Yingtai"!
NEXT