7: Try to manipulate other people's mentality

Shen Lian didn't even need to look to know how the internet was bashing him.

And the moment Zheng Ge saw Shen Lian, he felt completely thrown off.

His smile froze, his eyes shifting unpredictably, holding deeply hidden wariness and resentment. But he seemed to quickly realize they were on camera; those negative emotions vanished in a blink, coalescing into compromise and nonchalance in his eyes. He said hoarsely, "Long time no see, Shen Lian."

Shen Lian thought to himself, *This acting is pretty good. Why do some haters online smear Zheng Ge, calling him a vase when it comes to acting?*

Shen Lian nodded: "Long time no see."

[Damn! My little Ge is being wronged to death.]

[What exactly is Shen Lian pretending for?!]

[Newbie checking in, asking weakly: is this the Shen Lian you all call crooked-eyed, twisted-mouthed, and old-loofah-like?]

[Holy crap! Accidentally clicked on this variety show recommendation. Who is this handsome guy in the blue T-shirt? I want all his info within three minutes!]

[To the one above, you can actually stomach Shen Lian? Are you starved crazy?]

[Answering the one above, I like whoever I want. Is that any of your business?]

The comment section immediately erupted into an intense argument.

To be honest, even some professional haters went silent.

They originally planned to stir up drama around Zheng Ge, since he has high engagement, but no one expected Shen Lian to "strike back strongly" after two months of silence.

Changed his persona?

You have to say, this change is kind of interesting.

Everyone decided to wait and see.

But regardless, the clash between Zheng Ge and Shen Lian had a much better effect than the production team expected!

The production team originally intended for Shen Lian to attract the fire, bundling all the audience's negative emotions onto him. He wouldn't need much screen time; anyway, he was very good at digging his own grave. Just having one or two scenes of him being spineless to stir up emotions would suffice.

Who knew that as all the guests stood together, Shen Lian stood tall and proud like a pine, making people notice him at a glance.

And this type of person is undoubtedly the photographer's favorite.

Noticing the camera had been on him for a while, Shen Lian narrowed his eyes and smiled lightly.

Comments: [???]

[No, does this douche think he can become handsome just by trying to look cool?]

[As a pervert, I have verified: he is genuinely very handsome.]

No one noticed that Shen Lian's long-stagnant Social Media Platform follower count was slowly increasing...

Lunch was a boxed meal, and the afternoon was the official start of filming, still in a live broadcast format.

In the break room, the atmosphere was very strange.

Almost no one spoke.

"Shen Lian, is that little bit of food enough for you?" Zhu Yingyu stepped forward, holding her boxed meal, the rice inside split in two.

Zheng Ge glanced over here.

Shen Lian looked up, "It's fine. Can't you finish it?"

"Yeah." Zhu Yingyu nodded: "I need to maintain my figure."

Shen Lian handed out his lunch box, "Then pour it for me."

I don't know if the production team did it on purpose, but not only was Shen Lian's portion small, it was mostly vegetables. Compared to the three meat and one vegetable dishes of the other guests, it was miserable.

The production team was also waiting, waiting for Shen Lian to lose his temper so there would be something to watch when the broadcast started.

Who knew this guy was as steady as an old dog.

When Zhu Yingyu scooped rice for Shen Lian, she also shared some of her braised pork and stuffed green peppers with him.

Shen Lian looked at Zhu Yingyu and said in a low voice, "Thanks."

Zhu Yingyu smiled.

After Zhu Yingyu sat back down, Feng Susu, who had witnessed the whole thing, suddenly bit her chopsticks and said, "Sister Yingyu gets along well with everyone, huh."

Zhu Yingyu had a single ponytail today, dressed neatly. Feng Susu was wearing candy-colored clothes; it didn't look like casual wear, more like some anime character.

Zhu Yingyu met Feng Susu's gaze and felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

The next second, she heard Shen Lian speak lazily: "If I remember correctly, Zhu Yingyu is younger than you."

Feng Susu's eyelashes fluttered.

Shen Lian delivered the finishing blow: "Two years younger."

When the guest information was just released, Shen Lian had memorized everyone's details.

Feng Susu stopped talking and lowered her head to eat, but anyone with eyes could see she wasn't very happy.

"Oh, a two-year difference is nothing." Li Jiabo jumped out to smooth things over, smilingly saying to Feng Susu, "You should learn more from Shen Lian; his mental fortitude is invincible."

He always spoke with a smile, which perfectly masked his original hostility, making it seem like a joke.

Feng Susu's expression changed, and she suddenly remembered Shen Lian's position—the show's punching bag.

So Feng Susu regained her confidence, put down her chopsticks, and coughed exaggeratedly, "Shen Lian, can you share some experience?"

"Thick skin." Shen Lian continued: "As long as it's thick enough, you'll be impervious to swords and spears."

Feng Susu was about to laugh, but heard Shen Lian continue: "But you have a special talent, so you probably don't need to learn. Just rolling around in this industry for two days and you'll master it."

His tone was more natural than anyone's; there wasn't a hint of sarcasm in it. He even had the tone of a senior, as if he were earnestly passing on experience.

In terms of skill, Feng Susu was far from adequate, her eye twitching fiercely.

Li Jiabo slightly disapproved, "Shen Lian, be a bit more polite to girls."

"You spend all day thinking about your 'sunny boy' persona, which is why you don't put your mind into acting. Look at Fang Ke. He debuted a year ago; although it was a web drama, they were all hits." Shen Lian still hadn't completely detached from the glory of his previous life, speaking with authoritative flair: "Fang Ke, keep it up, your future is promising."

Fang Ke was naturally humble and eager to learn, and Shen Lian was a senior; being praised by him, he immediately nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay, I will continue to work hard."

Zhao Lin, the big brother, watched as Shen Lian's saliva flew, firing shots at anyone who dared to step forward. His instinct for self-preservation told him it was best not to speak.

"Hey." Zheng Ge put down his lunch box and finally looked directly at Shen Lian. His expression carried a natural sense of innocence, his tone pitiful and helpless: "Shen Lian, don't be like this. Zhou Tangsi and I..."

"Zhou Tangsi." Shen Lian interrupted, rubbing his temples intolerably, and said earnestly: "Can we not mention this unlucky name again?"

He had been played like a dog by Zhou Tangsi, all the way to the Original Host's demise.

It can be said that without Zhou Tangsi's exploitation and wanton harm, the Original Host wouldn't have ended up like this.

Zheng Ge was stunned.

Everyone else was also like they had been pressed on mute.

Let alone Zheng Ge, who present didn't know that Shen Lian was obsessed with Zhou Tangsi? Over these years, how many bizarre things had he done for Zhou Tangsi? He could practically be called a textbook-level simp.

That was towards the Original Host. For Shen Lian, Zhou Tangsi was a selfish, stubborn, and utterly unscrupulous idiot. If possible, they should never cross paths again in this lifetime.

"Eat! Eat!" Zhao Lin couldn't help but shout twice.

Production team: "..."

Their original intention was to mess with Shen Lian's mentality, not to let Shen Lian mess with others' mentalities.

Later, when Zheng Ge stood up, he seemed to be immersed in the shock brought by Shen Lian's words just now, looking a bit dazed.

Shen Lian was lazy and cold. Since peaceful coexistence wasn't possible, he would use the bad cards in his hand to blow everyone away.