Chapter 16 Meeting the KPI

Chapter 16 Meeting the KPI

After the audition, Lu Xu was about to go downstairs when someone stopped him at the elevator.

The man who approached him introduced himself as the assistant director of the production team. He added Lu Xu on WeChat and said he would contact him once the results were out: "Director Mu is quite impressed with you. It’s very likely you’ll get the role."

Lu Xu thanked him.

He didn’t put too much faith in the assistant director’s words.

The director is the one who runs the whole production, while the assistant director has many responsibilities, including coordinating actors and the various departments within the crew. For an assistant director, it’s easy to compliment someone.

But unfortunately, casting decisions aren’t in the assistant director’s hands.

Until the contract is signed, no actor can guarantee a role as their own. Even if the contract is signed and the actor has joined the crew, there’s still a risk of being replaced last minute.

However, Lu Xu believed he had performed well. He portrayed Wu Shen as he understood the character. Even if his interpretation differed from the director’s or the scriptwriter’s, he had given it his all.

…

Back home, Lu Xu checked his work email but found no new audition requests.

He had pretty much given up on that historical drama and was focusing all his attention on today’s audition. However, as soon as he got home, the assistant director of the historical drama sent him another message, sincerely inviting Lu Xu to try out for their crew.

Before Lu Xu could ask why, the assistant director sent him several more messages.

The crew was interested in Lu Xu, but not solely due to 'The Noble Son.'

Nowadays, there are fewer standout young actors. In the past, whether famous or not, young actors used to have solid skills and could perform as soon as they were brought in.

The Crown Prince is a character with a weak personality and a gloomy inner core. He has long been overshadowed by his father and couldn’t stretch his wings. As he grew older, his more outstanding brothers each developed their own power, while he, the Crown Prince, remained trapped like a caged bird. Even when his father, the emperor, personally told him the throne would be his, the shadow in his heart never disappeared.

By chance, the director saw Lu Xu’s portrayal of Yu Wei.

The director believed that Yu Wei’s gloomy and manic traits resonated with the Crown Prince.

Historical dramas are inherently difficult to film. Whether it’s the palace or the court, the roles and events require a group of excellent actors to support the production. With "Watchmen" as a precedent, the role of the Crown Prince was not considered for popular actors from the start.

As the eldest son, the Crown Prince has the most screen time among the young actors in the script, so the casting had to be more careful.

The crew would try to secure the best actors they could.

In order to get Lu Xu to audition, they were even willing to extend the audition time for Lu Xu.

Lu Xu: “...”

To some extent, he was a soft-hearted person.

He was a little tempted.

Mainly because they praised his acting skills. "The Noble Son" was still being criticized on social media, yet they appreciated his portrayal of Yu Wei.

He couldn’t handle being complimented.

After Song Zhong criticized "The Noble Son," several of his peers also slammed "The Noble Son" as a disgrace to the industry and Lu Xu as a disgrace to actors. But according to the assistant director of this historical drama, their director had watched "The Noble Son" and they had come to invite Lu Xu after seeing his performance.

The reason "The Noble Son" was criticized was mostly due to its low tone. "Watchmen" is a high-end, prestigious production, a high-quality series, while "The Noble Son," a despised web series, how dare it compete with "Watchmen"?

These critics prattle on about the industry, history, and prestige, thinking they’re above the fans who enjoy 'The Noble Son.' However, when Lu Xu checked the director’s profile for this historical drama, in terms of seniority, reputation, and even position within the industry, that director far outranked those who had slammed 'The Noble Son.'

Lu Xu decided to wait for the audition results of Wu Shen's character.

……

While waiting for the results, Lu Xu took some time to scroll through Weibo.

Since his audition day, the entire Weibo platform had been in disarray.

Song Zhong and several of his peers were bashing "The Noble Son," but that didn’t stop "The Noble Son" from climbing in views. When it first topped the trending chart, "The Noble Son" had around 10,000 views. After Song Zhong’s tirade, the views mysteriously rose to over 11,000.

Lu Xu posted a screenshot of the view count and @'d Song Zhong: "Thanks a ton, bro! You're the best!"

As a professional data worker, Lu Xu said that he was doing the fans' work for them. Every time he posted a view count screenshot, he would carefully calculate the difference between the views of "The Noble Son" and "Watchmen," accurate to the individual digit, just to make sure Gu Sinian wouldn’t miss it.

While Lu Xu was busy, the official account of "The Noble Son" production team quickly reposted Lu Xu’s Weibo post, followed by the two main actors, Yang Shu and Xia Xuewen.

Even though "The Noble Son" lagged behind "Watchmen" in cast, investment, and promotion, it was still topping the trending charts. Why should they be intimidated?

Perhaps because Lu Xu had been taking jabs at Gu Sinian, Ling Ge Entertainment had given Song Zhong specific instructions. After that, Song Zhong focused on bashing the "The Noble Son" production team and stopped targeting Lu Xu.

With the new drama already past auditions and set to begin filming soon, this was Gu Sinian’s first lead role, leaving no room for mistakes.

After the failure of "Watchmen," Grape Film and Television had pinned the blame on Gu Sinian, and he had already faced enough criticism. Ling Ge Entertainment had bought a series of promotional articles to rescue Gu Sinian from the mess of "Watchmen."

Lu Xu repeatedly dragging Gu Sinian into diss posts would only deepen his association with "Watchmen," something Ling Ge Entertainment didn’t want.

However, while Ling Ge Entertainment had planned well, reality was far from perfect—

Verse fans used to criticize Lu Xu for not mentioning the group, accusing him of betraying the deep bond the other three members shared. Now, Lu Xu often looks back fondly on his time in Verse.

For example, today, he reposted a set of stills from "The Noble Son": "Purchased in September 2021, still looks new."

In "The Noble Son," the uniforms of Ariel Academy always gave off a sense of poverty, but the casual clothes of the male lead, Pan Lingfeng, were quite expensive. After the series became a hit, Yang Shu revealed in an interview that Pan Lingfeng’s casual clothes were borrowed from Lu Xu.

This was an extravagant brand jacket with a somewhat flashy design, which fit perfectly with the flashy nature of "The Noble Son."

But after Lu Xu reposted these stills, a former Verse fan who supported him noticed the jacket looked familiar.

"If I remember correctly, isn’t this the performance outfit Lu Xu wore on the 1114 stage?"

"??? Yes!"

"That ostrich feather narrow-sleeve double-breasted jacket, I remember now!"

"……Damn! 1114!!!"

The 1114 stage performance, known as the 1114 incident in the days leading up to Verse’s disbandment.

On that day, all Verse members were heavily made up, and their outfits were increasingly flashy. What was supposed to be an ordinary stage performance was later uncovered by fans. Among the four Verse members, the outfits of the other three were mostly worth around ten thousand yuan, with Xie Qingyang’s being the cheapest, only a few thousand yuan. However, Lu Xu’s ostrich feather jacket was worth six figures.

At that time, Xie Qingyang was already the top member of the group.

The fact that the top member of the group was treated the worst—how could Xie Qingyang’s fans tolerate this?

An "insider" from Ling Ge Entertainment soon claimed that Lu Xu had forcibly removed the jacket from Xie Qingyang backstage.

"Qingyang is known for his patience. He put up with a lot for the sake of the group."

Xie Qingyang's fans immediately erupted in outrage.

Lu Xu posted a purchase receipt, but fans argued that it was just the company’s record and didn’t prove anything.

Later, Lu Xu publicly explained, and Xie Qingyang also tried to clarify, but the "bitterness in his smile" made it clear he was being coerced.

As a result, the six-figure coat appeared again on Yang Shu.

"Couldn't Lu Xu have stolen it from Ling Ge Entertainment?"

"First of all, the performance outfits were all assigned by the company, usually tweaked here and there, and they belonged to the company's property. Some of Verse's outfits were used by junior groups."

"Secondly, when Verse disbanded, I remember Lu Xu was mocked for not taking any classic stage outfits, while Xie Qingyang, Gu Sinian, and Meng Qin did. Even the 'insider' admitted it at the time."

"……So, actually, Ling Ge Entertainment didn’t provide clothes for Lu Xu?"

"Tsk, the more we dig, the more we find."

Netizens discovered that Verse's gossip just kept increasing.

Coincidentally, in *The Noble Son*, Pan Lingfeng wore almost all of Lu Xu's private clothes, and those outfits had appeared in Verse's different stage performances.

Stars need constant exposure, so they avoid wearing the same clothes too often, particularly on stage. Usually, members of the same group don’t repeat outfits.

But since *The Noble Son*’s budget was so tight, even outfits worn only once were reused by the show’s extravagant characters.

"Wait, wasn’t Lu Xu’s style always out of sync with the rest of Verse?"

"+1, he even went viral for being tacky."

"I used to laugh at how ugly he dressed."

"So…… actually, Ling Ge Entertainment didn’t prepare clothes for Lu Xu?"

"OMG!"

The collective interview video of Verse was also dug up by netizens.

With a bitter smile, Xie Qingyang was described by fans as having "even his eyelashes showing brokenness." Despite this, he still tried to explain on behalf of Lu Xu: "Please view each member of Verse kindly. The outfits are just accessories to the stage. We’re all doing fine."

Regarding the Bohemian outfit, Gu Sinian casually mentioned, "Lu Xu definitely had a thing for pricey clothes."

Regarding the diamond-studded coat, Meng Qin said, "I really wanted to try those flashy outfits, but sadly, I never got the chance. Next time, though, I’ll definitely give it a shot."

Netizens: *crickets*

#Want to try it? Buy it yourself!#

#I’d love to rob a bank too, but no chance#

In *The Noble Son*, Pan Lingfeng changed over a hundred outfits. Fashion-wise, Lu Xu alone helped several marketers hit their annual KPIs.