Chapter 147: The Premiere of "Twilight in the Forbidden City": A Hilarious Lookalike Mix-up!

Upon returning home, Li Shixin's very first action was to retreat into his bedroom.

The script for *The Last Transfer in Mobei, Great Tang* was already completed, and he needed to send it over to Yang Kuan. According to their plan, they still needed to make contact with China UnionPay regardless of how things played out.

Even when attempting to ride on someone's coattails, one had to observe the basic rules.

Courteous first, aggressive later!

Right?

Here, after spending over an hour generating the electronic version of the script and sending it to Yang Kuan, the phone call from his third adopted son arrived over there.

Clearly, the third adopted son was quite astonished by Li Shixin's speed.

"Godfather, have you arrived home?"

Hearing Yang Kuan's voice from the other end of the line, Li Shixin chuckled and said, "Yes, just got off the plane a short while ago. I was so engrossed in finishing the script that I forgot to report my safe arrival to you. Have you looked at the script?"

"I gave it a quick scan. Godfather, it's incredible! Did you prepare this script beforehand?"

Faced with Yang Kuan's inquiry, Li Shixin smiled faintly.

"You could say that."

"Alright, Godfather. I'll go try my luck at UnionPay tomorrow." Yang Kuan on the other end did not ask any further questions, merely offering a few reminders to get preparations ready over the next couple of days. The project team had already secured a film crew, and they estimated that the team would be in place in a day or two to shoot the promotional commercials for *Only You* and *Dumplings*.

Yang Kuan couldn't afford to delay. It was already the end of December, with only a few days left before New Year's Day.

And the public service announcement broadcasts by China Central Television would begin on New Year's Day.

Having finished all this, Li Shixin breathed a sigh of relief.

Everything was ready, and they were only waiting for the east wind.

There was no one else in the house; only the quartz clock hanging on the wall ticked rhythmically.

With the completion of *Flying Against the Wind*, Zhang Shuo, Zhang Ying, and An Xiaoxiao had all found themselves with free time.

Ever since successfully taking the stage in *Only You* and overcoming the psychological barrier within his heart, Zhang Shuo had grown increasingly lax about his duties as a background extra coordinator. Now that *Only You* had wrapped up, the kid had simply immersed himself in the small theater.

He performed stage plays for a group of old fans, helped scout actors, and trained newcomers, keeping himself busy and thoroughly enjoying it.

Zhang Ying was busy packing up and collecting props.

As for An Xiaoxiao... after filming wrapped, she simply became a freeloader living off her elders.

Either she was hanging out at old Mrs. Wu Ming's place, or she was visiting the sports center where Qiao Hong worked.

Others might not know An Xiaoxiao's true intentions, but Li Shixin knew very well:

The reason this girl spent her days hanging out at Wu Ming's house wasn't because she had a great relationship with Wu Ming, nor was it because of Chen Boshi. For her, the truly attractive thing was simply that Wu Ming cooked delicious meals.

Going to play at Qiao Hong's place wasn't because of any deep bond with the kids practicing gymnastics either. It was simply... because the nutritional meals prepared by the head chef of the training center canteen were super fragrant...

She was essentially just a little foodie devoid of emotional complexity.

Li Shixin had intended to rest for a bit, but just as he lay down on the bed—

A crisp "beep" sounded softly in his ear.

[Received 7,521 points of timed cumulative applause value!]

Hmm?

Hearing this system prompt, Li Shixin knitted his brows.

He... hadn't seemed to do anything at all?!

How could this be? Sitting at home, and applause values drop from the skies?

Beep!

[Received applause value: 2,612 points!]

Beep!

[Received applause value: 2,221 points!]

What the hell?

Seeing the applause values popping out batch after batch, all of Li Shixin's drowsiness vanished instantly.

With a roll, he sat up straight from the bed.

Opening the system interface and clicking on the most recent entries of applause values to check their origin, Li Shixin burst into amusement.

Where did the applause values come from?

Over a month after wrapping up filming and coming to Hengdian, his very first acting project, *The Forbidden City at Dead End*... was finally broadcast!

Looking at the applause values jumping up one after another, Li Shixin chuckled softly and immediately reopened the computer he had just shut down.

He logged into the video streaming platform where *The Forbidden City at Dead End* premiered and opened the series featured in the prime spot on the homepage.

It was evident that *The Forbidden City at Dead End* still maintained a very high level of popularity. After all, it was a major web drama production, coupled with the hype brought by traffic stars like Liu Xin.

Having just been uploaded that morning, by the time it reached the third episode, the view count had already surged to over 700,000. While there was certainly some padding in those figures, even if the data were halved, it could still be considered a pass.

Li Shixin had read the script back when he joined the cast.

According to the plot arrangement of *The Forbidden City*, the first and second episodes primarily showcased the lifestyles of the main characters prior to the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance.

And the beggar extra role he played made its appearance in the third episode.

Li Shixin had originally intended to watch it from the beginning, because back when he joined the crew, he had been very satisfied with the costume design, makeup, and prop setup of *The Forbidden City*. He believed that with such dedication to costumes and props, it must be a heartfelt film and television work.

However, when he noticed that the first episode had over 350,000 views, the second episode only had over 150,000 views, but the view count for the third episode suddenly skyrocketed to over 220,000 views, he furrowed his brows.

*The Forbidden City* premiered today, releasing three episodes all at once. Logically speaking, for episodes that were each an hour long, the view counts should be relatively even.

Yet the viewing trend across these three episodes of *The Forbidden City*... was genuinely a bit baffling!

harboring this trace of doubt, Li Shixin clicked on the user comments for the series.

Upon seeing the remarks left by those witty netizens, he burst out laughing!

"The production is decent, but the opening plot is too bland and boring. The two leads aren't particularly stunning either; there's zero desire to keep drooling over the screen or follow the series. It almost put me to sleep! Honestly... this show isn't even as interesting as the commercials playing in the middle."

"Adding +1 to 'better than the commercials'! What the hell is wrong with this broken app? If you don't buy a VIP membership, the ads just keep getting more frequent and longer! It's completely unwatchable. But today, that one-minute commercial actually got sawdust in this old man's eyes! If all commercials could be shot like that in the future, who the hell needs to watch dramas anymore! I'd rather just go watch the commercials!"

"It's undeniable that *The Forbidden City at Dead End* put genuine effort into its costumes and props. But the plot is truly uncomplimentary. The young actors only know how to pose, act pretty, and strike handsome poses right from the start. The second male lead looks like he put in some effort, but his acting is still stiff. Really... I couldn't endure it by the second episode and would rather watch more commercials instead!"

"An experienced traveler has braved it through to the third episode, let me point you the way! At 12 minutes and 30 seconds, there's an old beggar. Go see if you recognize him!"

"Holy crap! Following the guide's directions, I specifically checked out the old beggar in the third episode and found out he looks like the exact same actor who played the dad in that Want-Job website commercial! And I want to say... I've watched three episodes of this show, and everyone is busy flirting and falling in love, except for this old beggar, who stands out way too much!"

Closing the silly comments, Li Shixin directly opened the third episode and, guided by the previous commenters, located his scene.

Amidst utter chaos, an elderly beggar knelt on the street.

Watching a contingent of Qing soldiers hurriedly pass by before him, he slowly reached out his hand.

"Milords, have mercy. That steel saber you no longer need... bestow it upon this old man!"

Just as Li Shixin was feeling sentimental about his very first extra role since arriving in Hengdian, the computer screen automatically paused.

There was no free lunch in this world; if you don't pay for a membership, you have to contribute your time.

After all, in this materialistic society, everything runs on commercialization. Even high-definition versions of the Great Compassion Mantra require paid streaming—Buddha doesn't save the penniless, he only saves VIPs, right?

Just as Li Shixin was feeling quite pleased with himself over his first role, *bam*, a commercial popped up from the page.

"My dad... my dad is the best dad in the world..."

Seeing the Want-Job website commercial he had finished filming less than two days ago, Li Shixin froze, then burst out laughing.

"Successfully airdropped!" "Thanks to the command post!" "Holy shit! This old beggar is divine, gave me goosebumps!" "Such backbone! Even though he's a beggar, even though he's kneeling, he genuinely portrayed the backbone of the Chinese people!" "Huh? Isn't this the dad who worked hard to buy a schoolbag for his daughter? Did I walk onto the wrong set?" "Damn, instead of working hard in the commercial, what are you running over here to beg for steel sabers for? What the hell, the commercial and the TV drama crossed over, the actors share the same face!" "2333333..."

Meanwhile, the bullet comments scrolling rapidly across the bottom of the commercial page were flying thick and fast.