29: Encouragement from a "mentally ill" commenter in the comments section led to my audition for "The Gate of Rebirth".

Director Sun smiled smugly.

"Sigh, I want that too."

"But Dr. Lin's ambitions lie elsewhere. I already had to put in a lot of effort just to invite him to our hospital this time."

After interacting with the psychiatric patients for a while, Lin Pei felt full of energy.

"Director Sun, there's nothing else for me to do here, so I'll be heading out."

"Alright, alright. I'll see you out, Dr. Lin."

Accompanied by Director Sun, Lin Pei left the psychiatric hospital.

"Dr. Lin, you truly are a godsend. Look, the entire hospital is basically empty now. This is a great deed of merit."

"It was nothing."

Lin Pei felt even more invigorated after being showered with Director Sun's flattery.

"Then... is it possible for us to collaborate again? Don't worry, I won't take up too much of your time."

Lin Pei didn't refuse.

"If I have time, I'll drop by."

Seeing Lin Pei agree, Director Sun was overjoyed.

"There is one million in this card. It's the treatment fee for the vast majority of the patients. Please accept it, Dr. Lin."

Lin Pei wasn't polite either; the patients were indeed cured, so he took the card.

He had to admit, this profession was quite lucrative.

However, he was a man with dreams; he couldn't keep doing this forever.

"Director Sun, there's no need to see me off further."

"I'll be filming for a while. If there are patients, let them wait and I'll treat them all in one batch."

Director Sun stopped in his tracks.

"Yes, yes..."

After leaving the hospital, Lin Pei casually posted an update while in the taxi home.

Of course, he wasn't recording his time treating celebrities or psychiatric patients.

Instead, it was to commemorate the conclusion of his filming for "the disguiser."

After posting the update, Lin Pei dozed off in the car for a while.

By the time he returned to his rented room and checked his phone, he was a bit stunned.

The number of comments on that update was much higher than usual.

Had he become that popular?

With the corners of his mouth curling up, Lin Pei clicked on the comments section.

"Thank you, Dr. Lin!"

"I didn't expect Dr. Lin to be an actor as well. Truly multi-talented."

"I came to check out Teacher Lin Pei. The beds at Anding Hospital were too hard; home is much softer."

"The first half of my life was a muddle. If it weren't for Dr. Lin's guidance, my life would have been over."

"Dr. Lin is the savior of me, Wang Laowu. From now on, I'm his die-hard fan."

"If any bastard dares to badmouth my idol online, I'll skin him alive!"

"Right! When Dr. Lin becomes the best actor, we'll book out entire cinemas as a group!"

Lin Pei finally understood. It turned out his personal account had been occupied.

And the people occupying it were none other than the batch of psychiatric patients he had cured.

Some confused members of the public left messages under Lin Pei's Weibo.

"What's going on? Why are there so many brain-dead fans in Teacher Lin Pei's comments section?"

"Brain-dead fans? Say that again, you bastard!"

"Listen up, I used to have severe mental illness, and it was Dr. Lin who cured me."

"Dr. Lin is like a second father to me. Now that he wants to be an actor, of course we're going to support him with everything we've got."

"Holy crap, this is a bunch of psychiatric patients..."

"Teacher Lin Pei really is a god. This fan-attracting constitution is insane."

"I'm better now, but if you keep talking nonsense, watch out or I'll rip your mouth apart!"

Lin Pei closed his eyes and exited the comments section.

A familiar numbness showed in his eyes.

Fine, in the future, when he opened his account, he'd just look at his follower count and be done with it.

Although the demographics were hard to describe, his follower count was already higher than many B-list celebrities.

Didn't this also prove his popularity?

...A few days later was the day of the audition for the TV drama "the gate of rebirth."

Early in the morning, Lin Pei arrived at the Hengcheng Film Crew.

A staff member led him to the door of the director's lounge and knocked.

"Wait a moment!"

A male voice came from inside.

The staff member told Lin Pei to wait outside and then went off to work.

A short while later, the door in front of him opened a crack.

A woman with heavy makeup, wrapped in a bathrobe, ran out while clutching her chest.

Lin Pei was a bit dumbfounded. This... had he come too early?

Another voice came from inside.

"Here for the audition? Come in."

Hearing the director call him, Lin Pei pushed the door open and entered.

The director smoothed his somewhat messy hair and glanced at him.

"Lin Pei, right? Take this script segment and act it out."

Lin Pei took the script to look at it.

The scene in the script was the daily work of an auxiliary police officer. Although there was no scene partner, it was quite challenging.

He needed to portray the posture and speech of an auxiliary officer, as well as the warm-heartedness of serving the general public.

However, this was no problem at all for Lin Pei, who had graduated from Beijing Film Academy. He had done plenty of related exercises back in university.

With his current acting skills, it should be no problem, right?

...Soon.

Lin Pei finished his performance.

He had performed quite enthusiastically, but when he turned around, he saw the director shaking his head.

Lin Pei was a bit puzzled.

"Director, how was it?"

The director looked thoughtful.

"Lin Pei, I feel like your performance wasn't quite perfect."

"The auxiliary officer you're playing should be full of righteousness."

"But for some reason, I just feel like there's a sneaky vibe in your eyes..."

"Hiss... A thief! Yes, a bit like a thief!"

An ordinary person would certainly feel offended by such a comment.

Moreover, the director had a faint smile when he spoke, clearly up to no good.

However, Lin Pei thought of something else.

That was the system skill he had just awakened.

Damn it.

This skill was screwing him over again.

He seemed to be influenced by it.

He clearly wanted to play a good person.

How did he end up looking like a thief?

"Director, I have a lot of confidence in this role."

"How about you let me try one more time?"

Lin Pei tried to push for it.

The newly awakened Theft Skill was a bit fresh, so its influence on him might be slightly greater.

But that 'sneaky vibe' was something he could deliberately suppress.

Performing it again would definitely be fine.

The director shook his head again.

"Sigh, I see that you're professionally trained and have experience in 'the disguiser' Film Crew."

"I've always trusted Director Li Bing's eye."

"However, a lot of the time, an actor is judged on more than just acting skills."

"For example, when it comes to the most important thing—the vibe—I don't think you're suitable."

"There's a certain deviousness in your expression."

Lin Pei agreed.

Well, of course.

That wasn't deviousness, it was anger.

Who wouldn't be angry after being told they look like a thief?

The director looked thoughtful.

"I have another role here that I feel is a perfect match for you!"

Lin Pei was curious.

"What role?"

The director smiled.

"It's the role of a thief. Although an actor was tentatively scheduled for it, I think you're more suitable than him."

"Would you consider switching to this role?"

Lin Pei was dumbfounded.

Another negative character.

He had finally wanted to play a positive character, and now he was becoming a villain again?