Chapter 8: The One Weakness

Chapter 8: The One Weakness

"Lu Xu, what are your plans after the shoot wraps?"

The wrap of *"The Noble Son"* was quite swift. On the day Lu Xu was packing his luggage, Yang Shu cheerfully knocked on his door. "Ji Zhan and I are planning to go out for a couple of days. It's too hot to stay at home."

"Don't we need to promote the drama?" Lu Xu asked.

Yang Shu looked at him, surprised. "Our show... doesn't really need promotion, does it?"

Chenxi TV, the platform airing *"The Noble Son,"* has struggled in recent years. It's far from the leading status of Grape Film and Television. Among online platforms, Chenxi TV was spun off from Deyi Film and Television and has the least resources.

With the rise of web dramas, Chenxi TV quickly shifted to producing low-cost web dramas. Although the returns were limited, their library became quite rich.

*"The Noble Son"* couldn't even touch the edge of being a blockbuster and wasn't worth heavy promotion. To be honest, Chenxi TV churns out several dramas of this size every month.

"I'll just stay home and watch some movies; it's too hot to go out," Lu Xu replied.

Yang Shu sighed disappointedly. "I was hoping to invite you to come out with us."

Yang Shu and Ji Zhan were around the same age as Lu Xu. When they first met, they would politely call him "brother." After getting familiar, they became more casual.

Since Lu Xu followed them on social media, they had received some online criticism. But compared to the rumors on the internet, they trusted the Lu Xu they knew in real life more.

"Before, no one knew who I was. Now at least people introduce me as the extra who acted in something."

Yang Shu had a cheerful personality. After graduation, since he didn't have many opportunities to act in dramas, he settled into being an extra in various crews.

Among his classmates, some became famous, and others returned to their hometowns after graduation. He belonged to the group that was doing just okay.

Yang Shu was still renting a place, but as soon as he received his pay from acting, he would reward himself with a trip.

Although the pay for *"The Noble Son"* wasn't high, it was still better than what an average worker earned. Yang Shu was quite content. "But I'll need to start worrying about my next project soon—my agent hasn’t contacted me in months."

"I sometimes wonder if my agent even remembers that they signed me," Ji Zhan sighed. "At our company, I’m just filling a spot."

"But we're still lucky to have signed with a company."

Film schools only accept a handful of students each year. Many get signed by different companies even before graduating, but their success depends on their own efforts. If they're lucky enough to sign with a big company, they can at least appear in the dramas and films produced or invested in by the company, ensuring they have work.

Yang Shu and Ji Zhan signed with smaller companies with limited resources. Even if they had decent resources, they wouldn't be allocated to newcomers like them.

Still, compared to classmates who had no company willing to sign them and had to find work on their own after graduation, their path as actors was smoother.

In fact, Yang Shu being the male lead of *"The Noble Son"* made many of their classmates quite envious.

Thanks to Lu Xu, *"The Noble Son"* wasn’t entirely obscure before it aired and had already created some buzz.

When the show finally aired, even if the plot got panned, anyone wanting to watch it would have to go to Chenxi TV, boosting Yang Shu’s visibility, right?

"I really hope this drama becomes a hit," Ji Zhan sighed deeply. "Though, the chances are probably lower than winning the lottery, right?"

"Sigh."

"It's not impossible," Lu Xu said slowly after closing his suitcase.

Yang Shu and Ji Zhan were each occupying a corner of a chair. Upon hearing Lu Xu's words, their eyes lit up like light bulbs. "How so?"

"This drama of ours still has its strengths."

"Tell me more about that."

The two of them moved closer to Lu Xu. "To be honest, it's really hard to find any positives, but the second male lead being very handsome is one."

Lu Xu: "……Don't flatter me."

Lu Xu had been an actor for far too long. In his previous life, he mostly acted in serious dramas like "The Watcher." He rarely did idol dramas, and he almost never touched feel-good dramas or other similar shows. However, he understood very well that the success of a drama wasn’t absolutely tied to its quality.

A drama that viewers cursed as idiotic gained more attention the more it was criticized.

Under normal circumstances, such dramas had nothing to do with the word "flop."

Lu Xu felt that the character in "My Precious Young Master" maintained its consistency from start to finish, with highlights that never faltered.

Even in serious dramas, there were times when a cold-blooded protagonist suddenly became overly compassionate or entered an indecisive romance, which would draw criticism from the audience.

"This is just my feeling," Lu Xu added, "What I say might not be right."

"It's very right."

"It is right." Yang Shu smiled, "Anyway, I didn't have too much hope."

After working together on set for so long, Yang Shu and Ji Zhan trusted Lu Xu's judgment a lot. They always felt that when it came to being an actor, Lu Xu was much more certain than they were.

Even if Lu Xu was just saying it to encourage them, they would still be happy for a long time.

As actors, who wouldn't want to be famous?

There were indeed actors who persisted despite never becoming particularly famous, but fame meant choices and a voice. It meant they could take on more roles they wanted and improve their lives.

Even when traveling, they wouldn’t need to worry about cutting costs and could explore freely.

……

The filming location of "My Precious Young Master" wasn't far from Lu Xu's home. After the filming wrapped up, Lu Xu went home to rest.

He had previously applied to many other crews, but most of them had rejected him. At that time, Lu Xu gained some sympathy due to Yao Yuan owing him money. The crew might have considered him, but as "The Watcher" gained more attention and Gu Sinian was increasingly adored by fans, Lu Xu received more criticism.

For safety reasons, no production team would likely hire him for now.

Suddenly having free time made Lu Xu feel uneasy. As an actor, he was used to a busy life.

Luckily, Lu Xu had always been very patient. With nothing to do, he stayed home watching movies and shows, familiarizing himself with the classic works of this world's cinema and pondering acting techniques.

His Weibo was still inundated with hateful comments. Xie Qingyang and Meng Qin both went to support Gu Sinian. Some fans scolded Lu Xu for not supporting him, while others thought his support would bring bad luck.

Lu Xu: "……"

#Should I even bother listening to what you’re saying?#

With enough time at home, Lu Xu worked out for a while. Since he had taken over this body, he always felt it was a bit weak.

If he wanted to continue being an actor, a strong body was necessary.

Days passed by, and one day, after finishing a movie, Lu Xu received a notice from the crew——three days later, "My Precious Young Master" would be released on Chenxi TV.

In contrast to the massive promotional campaign for "The Watcher," everything about "My Precious Noble Son" maintained a low profile.

Despite this, "My Precious Noble Son" still managed to launch on the same day as "The Watcher," albeit at a different time. Specifically, "The Watcher" premiered at 8:00 PM during prime time, while "My Precious Noble Son" aired at midnight the following day.

The airtime for "The Watcher" had already been set, and facing this blockbuster, various platforms chose to step aside rather than directly compete with it. Chenxi TV was no exception. When "The Watcher" premiered, Chenxi TV countered it with only an ordinary urban drama.

In terms of quality, cost, and cast, it didn’t really matter when "My Precious Noble Son" went online, but Chenxi TV deliberately chose to release it four hours after "The Watcher." It didn’t take much guessing to see this was absolutely intentional.

Sure enough, even though the official Chenxi TV Weibo account only mentioned "My Precious Noble Son" once that day, Gu Sinian’s fans erupted.

“!! I knew Lu Xu was trying to ride Gu Sinian’s coattails!”

“Just giving Lu Xu a glance is my mistake, but I really can’t stand this person anymore.”

“Is Chenxi TV sick? Why did they have to schedule that crappy web drama on the same day as ‘The Watcher’? It’s really bad luck!”

Lu Xu: “……”

In fact, he had anticipated this outcome a long time ago.

Although "My Precious Noble Son" had a low budget, a weak cast, and a poor plot—an assembly-line product of Chenxi TV—it was still a show that the platform had invested in.

For the platform, as long as there was a chance to recoup the cost, it would never let the opportunity slip away.

In the past, a web drama like "My Precious Noble Son" would have faded into obscurity without a trace. By being linked to "The Watcher," "My Precious Noble Son" at least didn’t lack attention.

And so, "My Precious Noble Son" officially launched.

……

On the day "The Watcher" premiered, Weibo was abuzz like never before.

Before the drama aired, hashtags like "Verse All Supporting Gu Sinian" and "the pinnacle of dual male leads" appeared one after another. Once the drama officially started airing, the two male leads, Yue Hui and Ren Anyi, along with Gu Sinian, dominated the hot searches, with nearly half of the trending topics belonging to "The Watcher."

Lu Xu also made a point to check out this drama.

Although he hadn’t been familiar with the cast of "The Watcher" before, thanks to the repeated explanations by Gu Sinian’s fans, Lu Xu now fully understood the significance of this cast.

"The Watcher" was a crime drama, telling the story of a group of people in the city known as the "Watchers," who silently upheld justice and curbed crime on behalf of the public, becoming symbols of justice in the hearts of the people.

Yue Hui was one of the "Watchers," while Ren Anyi played a police officer.

The Watchers indeed did good deeds, but their actions impacted the normal social order. Around each case, the connection between the two male leads grew closer, and they gradually developed a strong chemistry.

From Lu Xu’s perspective, the first two episodes of the drama were definitely up to par. The pacing was fast, the directing was skillful, and there were no glaring plot holes. The two male actors also had a solid grasp of their characters.

However, in a production that was so well-executed in multiple aspects, any shortcomings were easily noticed.

In Lu Xu’s opinion, the only shortcoming in the first two episodes was Gu Sinian’s performance.

When acting opposite Yue Hui and Ren Anyi, Gu Sinian was completely outshone, and it was a very obvious outshining.

Moreover, when the two award-winning actors were having an acting showdown, the plot flowed seamlessly. As a viewer, watching the drama was a comforting experience. However, whenever Gu Sinian appeared, the smoothness of the plot disappeared. His presence created a sense of fragmentation, and the more frequently he appeared, the stronger the discomfort for the audience.

But at the moment, searching the hashtag "The Watcher" showed that mentions of Yue Hui and Ren Anyi were actually quite scarce.

Below the hashtag, almost all the hot searches were about Gu Sinian—what a god-tier performance he gave, how he didn’t fall short when acting alongside the award-winning actors—and the comments section was filled with rave reviews from fans. Lu Xu frowned as he saw this.

#Is this even human language?#