339: Chapter 339 Both Reality and the Game Are Being Tortured

Who exactly is hating on this man? Naturally, it's the Haters.

Surely no one thinks such a popular celebrity wouldn't have Haters, right?

No, the reality is that as his fame grows, the number of people hating on him will only increase.

To be fair, Lin Chuyan has offended quite a few fanbases of his rivals.

Besides, with his personality, those who love him love him to death, while those who can't stand him are just as numerous.

Take the year-end bonus welfare, for example. Those who like him naturally think Yanzi is a great person, someone who treats his employees well when he has money, and is a very good boss.

Do you think it's hard to find reasons to hate on him? How could that be?

Two simple words can explain all his actions: hype.

"It cracks me up, how are there still people praising Lin Chuyan's conscience? Do you know how much money he made this year? With such a small studio staff, just taking a fraction of his earnings is enough to immediately earn a good reputation and hit the trending searches. Isn't that money well spent?"

Of course, if someone argues, saying "There are plenty of bosses who make more money, why don't others do the same," it's very easy for the Haters to retort.

Three words: Lin's apologist.

Even if you're just a passerby trying to be reasonable, I'll just slap a label on you. Everything you say afterwards becomes the ramblings of an apologist, devoid of any persuasiveness. That's how the Haters remain invincible.

Of course, there's another group of people who are just there to play with memes.

Don't let the fact that they are Haters fool you; in reality, they are the ones who pay the most attention to our Idol. They visit Lin Chuyan's Weibo to post memes more frequently than fans check in on their super-topic.

Like the ones visiting our Idol's Weibo these past two days, the topics basically revolve around Erlang Shen.

Speedrunner videos have long been out, and everyone knows that Erlang Shen isn't actually a villain in the true sense.

Not only is he not a villain, but the dialogue that has been revealed is truly eye-opening.

The words Erlang Shen says to Brother Monkey make players sigh and exclaim: "Aren't these two a little too close?"

Things like "You monkey truly bring me joy," or "In the days you were gone, I thought of you every day"...

Some people find it a bit gay, but others feel that Yang Jian guarding the Great Sage's "will" alone for five hundred years—this kind of mutual appreciation between men, or rather, between heroes—is actually quite moving when you think about it.

Some were even moved to tears: "Erlang Shen endured the loneliness of his friend's death alone, bore the stigma of killing his friend, held onto the most important thing his friend left behind, and waited bitterly for five hundred years for his friend's successor. Who can understand this pressure?"

"I'm crying. Choosing Lin Chuyan as the face model for the character of Erlang Shen was truly the right call. Lin Chuyan has a cinematic face, has works to his name, and they are all characters who are beautiful, strong, and tragic—it's really quite similar to Erlang Shen in the story of black myth: wukong."

"The chosen Yang Jian!"

Also, regarding the point that "Lin Chuyan is actually the final boss," the Haters were also very excited: "Holy crap, it's getting intense. It really feels like this is a fated showdown between them and Lin Chuyan..."

Wouldn't it be delightful to give him a good beating and then take a screenshot to show off under Lin the Dog's Weibo?

Then they discovered they couldn't win.

They really couldn't win.

How the hell does Lin Chuyan have a first, second, and third phase? He has shields, and some players can't even break the shield. His attacks are fast, he has flying swords, and laser eyes...

Damn it, they originally planned to beat up Lin the Dog, but they didn't expect to be chased and beaten by Lin the Dog instead.

In an instant, many unpleasant memories came flooding back.

Remembering how they were retorted and mocked by Lin Chuyan on Weibo before, and now being hunted by him in the game... Is there any justice? Is there any heaven?

Abused, so abused.

What on earth were they doing this for!

The bold words from two days ago instantly turned into endless regret.

Then they came over to Weibo to curse.

But Lin Chuyan didn't reply—the guy was busy with the premiere of pegasus 2, and in his remaining time, he had to practice boxing and practice dragon fist. Where would he find the time to go on Weibo to reply to them?

The Haters saw that Lin Chuyan wasn't retorting, and felt it was pointless, so as they cursed, the style of the comment section changed again and started becoming a mutual aid zone.

"Family, how on earth do you beat Lin Chuyan? I've been fighting for four hours, damn it, I can't get past him."

"Why can't I break Lin the Dog's shield?"

"The staff spin is crucial for breaking the shield, brothers. Those who aren't good at operating shouldn't skimp on invisibility."

"Use staff spin with Earth Wolf and add staff stance, brothers."

"What are you afraid of? Just use the Spell Binder and go head-on!"

"Damn, Lin Chuyan's rhythm-changing blade, I'm going to be infuriated to death by him. I'm not playing anymore, not playing anymore."

"Don't worry, brothers, use this talent build of mine [Image]"

"Brothers, in the second phase, after dodging Lin the Dog's axe, remember to immediately follow up with a four-focus heavy staff attack."

"Finally passed it, thanks for the help, brothers. I almost went to find Sect Master Fengling."

...

Lin Chuyan didn't look at Weibo. Today is the 27th, and he has to attend the premiere with the main cast.

It is worth mentioning that the premiere of Fengshen is also today.

However, the two groups won't run into each other.

The biggest capital behind them is not from the same company, so naturally, their main cinema venues are not the same either.

As for the guests to be invited to the premiere, since Lin Chuyan is just the second male lead, he won't steal the spotlight; Director Chu Dong and Dong Peng can invite people themselves.

Lin Chuyan just invited his girlfriend and Ruan Shan—Chen Wanyi was sent by Lin Chuyan to his teacher's side to watch the premiere of Fengshen; after all, the male lead is the Idol of the auntie's youth.

His senior brother Zhang Wentang also went to the side of Fengshen.

On one side is the Fengshen starring his teacher, and on the other is his junior brother's pegasus 2. He couldn't be in two places at once, and in the end, he still went to support his teacher.

This is very reasonable, and Lin Chuyan naturally wouldn't mind. He himself couldn't go to support his teacher's new movie, so it wouldn't do for neither of the two disciples to go, right?

The outside world also had a desire to watch the drama unfold.

A disciple and teacher clashing during the Spring Festival Movie Season? Good to watch, love to watch!

Some busybodies went even further, writing extensively about the grudges between Lin Chuyan and Fengshen, making the titles as clickbaity as possible.

— — "Lin Chuyan's Revenge"

Clicking in, the author wrote a piece of non-fiction, half true and half false, fantasizing about the experience of Lin Chuyan being treated coldly by Director Yu Jin when he went for the audition, and even including a description of Lin Chuyan's internal monologue, the gist of which was: "I will definitely return."

— — "Fengshen? Can't seal Lin Chuyan"

This piece was mainly by Lin's fans, the style was a bit similar to Wawa, mainly talking about the many actions Lin Chuyan took after failing the audition for Fengshen, and then analyzing why pegasus 2 would be more popular during this Spring Festival Movie Season.

— — "pegasus 2 box office champion is secure"

Clicking in, the author's reasoning is very simple: Does it need to be said? Just look at the fact that Director Yu Jin rejected Lin Chuyan back then, and you know what kind of judgment this person has. Fengshen is done for.

However, the Haters' contrarian psychology immediately kicked in: "I didn't originally want to watch Fengshen, but now I have to watch it."

— — "The biggest highlight of the Spring Festival Movie Season: The real and fake Erlang Shen"

This piece was the most straightforward, directly poking at what Director Yu Jin feared most: "Family, it's fine to watch Fengshen, but don't forget to compare exactly where the Erlang Shen that Director Yu Jin finally chose is better than Lin Chuyan."

...

The premiere was already underway.

When the movie was more than halfway through, Lin Chuyan sent a message to Ruan Xingyu.

"Where are you at? Is it good?"

Although the script was good, Lin Chuyan hadn't seen the full film either. Asking Director Chu Dong wasn't appropriate; how would you expect him to answer? Could he say he filmed it poorly or what?

Better to ask his girlfriend.

After a while, he finally received a reply: "Older brother is so handsome."