Chapter 014 – A Satisfied Smile

Chapter 014 - A Satisfied Smile

Song Zhong was specifically invited by Ling Ge Entertainment to attack "The Noble Son." Even if they couldn't stop the momentum of "The Noble Son," it would still be good to annoy Lu Xu in the process.

As a drama critic, Song Zhong's main job was to contribute articles to various print media. In the past, the television circle was relatively closed, and only insiders could become drama critics. Song Zhong was treated as an honored guest by various production crews, maintaining good relationships with scriptwriters and actors in the industry. He occasionally helped promote films and held positions in various associations.

However, with the rise of internet platforms, anyone could become a TV critic, and production crews gradually turned to bloggers with high popularity and large fan bases.

Song Zhong had a bad temper, and if there was any crew he didn't approve of, regardless of the quality of their work, he would go on a rant. Initially, the crews had no choice but to tolerate him. But now, with more drama critics available, and Song Zhong's poor management of social media resulting in limited influence, production crews no longer had to endure his outbursts.

Objectively speaking, Song Zhong's current situation wasn't great.

Although he held a position in the association and had a seat at symposiums, the fact that he had gone from being celebrated to sitting on the sidelines left him feeling quite unwilling. To put it simply, his income had been cut in half.

This time, when Ling Ge Entertainment approached him, it was a big job for Song Zhong.

Song Zhong may not have had many other strengths, but he had never been afraid of criticizing others mercilessly.

He wrote a 3,000-word essay criticizing "The Noble Son" mercilessly. As he typed, he became more and more fired up because there were so many faults he could point out in "The Noble Son." Despite receiving a substantial amount of money from Ling Ge Entertainment, Song Zhong actually felt a sense of mission, thinking that he was helping to clean up the television industry.

How could a mindless show like "The Noble Son" top the popularity charts?

As soon as his essay was posted, his comment section was flooded with praises—Song Zhong's Weibo had only 30,000 followers, half of which were given by the platform. But after refreshing his Weibo, Song Zhong saw that his comments had already surpassed one thousand and was nearing ten thousand.

"Spot on!"

"The success of 'The Noble Son' does indeed cause anxiety for the television industry. With the current resources, technology, and production costs being so different from before, it's frustrating that we're still churning out digital trash. The fact that 'The Noble Son' is popular is a shame for the entire industry."

"+1, there are few young actors like Gu Sinen who stick to their principles. He didn’t take shortcuts like Lu Xu and even had to endure Lu Xu’s ridicule. Being his fan truly makes me proud."

Seeing these praises, Song Zhong couldn’t help but feel smug, marveling at his own enduring talent, which he had never lost.

He criticized "The Noble Son" out of fear of biting the hand that feeds him, and his criticism of Lu Xu was purely out of jealousy—back in his youth, Song Zhong also had dreams of being an artistic youth, hoping to make a living in the film industry through his talent.

Unfortunately, no matter which production team he auditioned for, he was always turned away.

As one director put it, he wasn’t particularly remarkable in appearance, nor was he ugly in any distinctive way; he was just plain ugly, and filming him too much could even damage the camera.

Now that he was getting on in years, he still had to rely on writing reviews to make a living, while Lu Xu, with merely a good-looking face, managed to salvage such a bad reputation.

Song Zhong was very annoyed, especially since Lu Xu somewhat resembled a popular young actor from years ago, who had long since achieved success and was enjoying a comfortable retirement—Song Zhong always felt that he wasn’t that ugly, but every time he auditioned, he encountered this actor, making himself look uglier by comparison.

...

Gu Sinen had been keeping a close eye on Song Zhong’s Weibo.

As soon as the other party posted a long article, Ling Ge Entertainment would immediately follow up with marketing efforts, ensuring that "The Noble Son" stayed on the trending list for three days straight, effectively deterring curious onlookers.

Gu Sinen originally wanted to secretly give a thumbs-up, but he was afraid that if Lu Xu went crazy again, he wouldn’t be able to handle it.

With Song Zhong targeting Lu Xu, it was best not to draw attention to himself.

However, the more Gu Sinen read Song Zhong’s review, the more satisfied he became.

This review not only harshly criticized "The Noble Son" from start to finish but also praised "The Watcher" and himself.

Although Song Zhong’s personality was unlikable, his reviews were at least of high quality. He specifically highlighted Gu Sinen’s shining moments in "The Watcher," something that neither Ling Ge Entertainment nor his team had previously noticed.

Marketing it this way wouldn’t make his performance in *Watchmen* seem so bad.

Gu Sinian was genuinely curious about how Lu Xu would react upon seeing the review.

Even though he had an audition in the morning, he still instructed his agent to keep an eye on Lu Xu’s Weibo.

"You can check Weibo, but don’t let it affect your mindset before the audition," the agent frowned. "Although your role as the male lead is secure, you still need to leave a good impression on the director and screenwriter."

The poor reception of *Watchmen* would still impact Gu Sinian’s acting career, even though Ling Ge Entertainment had done their best to mitigate it.

The next audition he was attending was for a period drama with a solid cast and script. It was also Gu Sinian’s first time trying out for a male lead role.

The cast had been mostly confirmed, and negotiations with Ling Ge Entertainment were complete. This audition was just a formality for Gu Sinian.

Gu Sinian didn’t have to wait long before his agent informed him that Lu Xu had posted on Weibo.

Gu Sinian thought that even if Lu Xu could retaliate, Dong Zhong’s review was from a professional perspective, which Lu Xu wouldn’t be able to refute.

Even if Lu Xu did respond, with Song Zhong’s temperament, Lu Xu replying once would be like getting stuck with something unpleasant—Song Zhong wouldn’t let go anytime soon.

Every time Lu Xu appeared in a drama, Song Zhong would criticize him.

Eagerly, Gu Sinian opened Weibo and saw—

"*Watchmen* isn’t number one because it doesn’t want to be?"

"Why all the shade? Is Gu Sinian really that ugly?"

This Weibo post had even more comments than Song Zhong’s.

Song Zhong’s review was lengthy, and most people didn’t bother reading it. Lu Xu’s reply was blunt: *Watchmen* stinks, and Gu Sinian’s ugly.

Simple and clear.

Gu Sinian was so angry that he could hardly breathe.

Checking the trending topics, Weibo was clearly capitalizing on both sides. One hashtag, #SongZhongCriticizesLuXu#, shot to the top of the trending list, while #GuSinianNotGoodLooking# also entered the top three.

To make matters worse, Lu Xu posted another update.

This time, he specifically @'d Song Zhong.

"Actors value acting skills over looks. Please don’t trash my ex-teammate Gu Sinian while praising me. Thanks."

Gu Sinian: "..."

Was Lu Xu crazy?

Lu Xu’s comment section had already become a sea of joy.

"Laughing to death, Song Zhong and Lu Xu, one is talking about the city gate, the other about the hip bone."

"Hahahaha, Lu Xu is really straightforward. What he’s saying is, enough with the nonsense, *Watchmen* isn’t as hot as *The Noble Son*."

"This mindset is really worth learning from."

"Lu Xu: No matter who’s insulting me, I’ll only insult Gu Sinian."

"Hahahaha, I’m starting to feel bad for Gu Sinian. Getting tangled up with Lu Xu must be rough."

"I don't know the past grudges of Verse, but I find Gu Sinian's remarks a bit manipulative, if you know what I mean? But Lu Xu didn't entertain his passive-aggressive remarks at all; he really knows how to handle him."

It wasn't even that hot in the early morning, but Gu Sinian was so angry he felt a fire burning in his head.

Looking at the trending topics, there was nothing about Song Zhong on the list now, just discussions about Lu Xu and Gu Sinian.

Originally, "The Noble Son" had high popularity, and Verse's past had already been dug up.

Back when Verse was on the verge of disbanding, Lu Xu couldn't fight back against the others at all because he had no works, few fans, and the company wasn't on his side. The other members just dumped their scandals on him.

But now, Lu Xu only focuses his criticism on Gu Sinian, though he's had a small wave of popularity thanks to "The Noble Son."

After all, "The Noble Son" is a number one drama on the popularity charts.

Even if the production is terrible, its climb to the top of the charts was still the audience's choice.

The onlookers gradually started to get it.

Yes, yes, Lu Xu targets Xie Qingyang, Meng Qin, and Gu Sinian every day. To make up for it, the company gave each of them a luxury brand ambassadorship.

Yes, yes, Lu Xu is terrible. Everyone else just wants to reunite Verse; only he doesn't.

So after the disbandment, Xie Qingyang, Meng Qin, and Gu Sinian continued to get resources, while Lu Xu, who had nothing, refused to reunite?

Even a fool knows that the member without individual resources relies more on the group.

The logic became—Lu Xu relentlessly criticizes his teammates → his teammates get more resources → they continue to criticize others → he gets sidelined, and his teammates get even more resources.

Why does Lu Xu have to target his teammates?

Is he an idiot?

Or is he just clueless?

To this, the onlookers said, "Ling Ge Entertainment thinks we're idiots."

Gu Sinian and the others want to continue developing in the entertainment industry, and these rumors are definitely not good for their reputation.

In the past, Ling Ge Entertainment could suppress the rumors, but as Lu Xu's attention grew, the truth became something even Ling Ge Entertainment couldn't contain.

Gu Sinian let out a long sigh.

Of the three members of Verse, only he is actively pursuing an acting career, and he's the one most frequently compared to Lu Xu.

Xie Qingyang, Meng Qin, and he were never that close. Recently, he and Lu Xu had been trending on Weibo every day, yet the other two hadn't reacted at all.

He had to keep Lu Xu in check.

……

The car drove into the building, and Gu Sinian arrived a few minutes earlier than planned.

As the only candidate for the male lead, he didn't have to wait outside like other actors—the role was pretty much set; it was a mutual understanding between him and the crew.

But Gu Sinian never expected that in the waiting room, among the group of young actors, he would see Lu Xu.

Gu Sinian stopped in his tracks, and at the moment their eyes met, he gave Lu Xu a smile and slightly raised his eyebrows.

There’s a clear hierarchy among actors.

So what if "Watchmen" flopped?

He didn't have to wait in line; the role came to him easily.

Even though "The Noble Son" has high popularity, Lu Xu is just one of the many poor souls waiting for the crew's favor.