Chapter 28 028 Rhyme

Chapter 28 028 Rhyme

"Tell me his name right now!!!"

"...It seems to be an unfiltered original photo. It really captures the beauty of Ji Xiuya in my mind, super gorgeous!"

"If the Demon Lord in the drama has this kind of look, I'm willing to rewatch 'The Supreme' a hundred times!"

The set of photos released by 'The Supreme' crew were obviously unretouched; they were raw images of the actors on set. Whether it's the male and female leads or Lu Xu making his first appearance as the antagonist, they are all instantly captivating.

Lu Xu's expression matched the description of Ji Xiuya in the original novel—seemingly lazy, yet always carrying a faint sense of detachment.

Even though these aren't official stills from the drama, some fans of the original work have already quietly saved them.

At the very least, when it came to looks, Lu Xu had passed the test.

Of course, the moment 'The Supreme' crew posted the photos, there were already questions in the comments section—

"I remember... wasn't Ji Xiuya originally cast as Chen Ye? How did it suddenly change to Lu Xu?"

"+1."

Fans who followed the casting process of 'The Supreme' knew that Ji Xiuya was initially played by Chen Ye. You could still find the opening photos of 'The Supreme' crew online, where Chen Ye was present, but as filming progressed, Chen Ye was replaced by Lu Xu.

In terms of fame, Chen Ye was still slightly more recognized than Lu Xu.

"What's going on?"

"Chen Ye... didn't he go to film 'Nine Turns Formula'? I remember his fans mentioning this. So did he terminate his contract with 'The Supreme' to join 'Nine Turns Formula'?"

"Shouldn't he be considered in breach of contract? Did 'The Supreme' crew just let it slide?"

"...I checked, and it's really not Chen Ye's fault. The lineup of 'Nine Turns Formula' is on a whole other level compared to 'The Supreme'."

Chen Ye had previously played a couple of notable roles, and when he joined 'The Supreme' crew, his fans weren't thrilled. In their minds, Chen Ye's status was too high to only play a supporting role in 'The Supreme'.

However, because Ji Xiuya's character had a strong presence and great personality despite being a supporting role, the fans tolerated it.

Although the fans knew the truth about Chen Ye's contract termination with 'The Supreme', they kept it quiet to avoid having marketers spread the news everywhere.

After all, it's not a glorious thing for an actor to do.

But when it came to choosing between 'Nine Turns Formula' and 'The Supreme', the fans knew very well which one to pick—'Nine Turns Formula' was a major production marking the return of middle-aged actors to the television market. Any actor from that crew, pulled at random, had a higher reputation than Zheng Xiao and Wei Yi from 'The Supreme'.

Carrying a sedan chair for a major star is not the same as carrying it for someone like Wei Yi, who is relatively unknown.

When 'The Supreme' revealed their new choice for Ji Xiuya, Chen Ye's fans originally planned to remain silent. After all, Chen Ye had already terminated his contract with 'The Supreme', and both sides were now unrelated.

What Chen Ye's fans didn't expect was the overwhelming praise in the comments for the recast.

"This Ji Xiuya is great!!"

"As a fan of good looks, I'm thoroughly satisfied. I can't wait to see the official costume photos!"

"Amazing recasting!!!"

"Lu Xu is so handsome! Haha, finally, I can say it! I wasn't satisfied when Ji Xiuya was cast as Chen Ye. It just felt like his match with the character wasn't high enough. I'm so happy they finally changed him, yay!!"

Not a single comment in the comment section expressed any nostalgia for Chen Ye—they were all drooling over a few photos!

Chen Ye's fans: “......”

This is purely ridiculous, right?

Chen Ye's fans were furious.

Chen Ye had already joined the cast of *Jiuzhuan Jue*, yet the original fans of *The Supreme* were still looking down on him!

"Do you really think anyone can't see through this cliché drama of tearing someone down to build another up? Please, Chen Ye couldn't care less about playing Ji Xiuya, okay?"

"It's really absurd that some people consider *The Supreme* to be like it’s the best thing ever. Seriously, the actor has already moved on to *Jiuzhuan Jue*. What does *The Supreme* even matter now? Stop flattering yourself, it's hilarious."

"......with Lu Xu's acting skills, he's trying to compare himself to Chen Ye? Just because he showed off his acting in some low-quality drama, does he really think he can act?"

"Besides his face, what else is even worth promoting?"

In the eyes of Chen Ye's fans, *The Supreme* crew was clearly using Lu Xu to put Chen Ye down.

But Lu Xu doesn’t even come close to deserving such a comparison.

Even though Chen Ye's breach of contract and leaving was indeed excessive, the fans believe that any other actor, given the choice between *Jiuzhuan Jue* and *The Supreme*, would have chosen the former.

"Lu Xu might be enjoying his moment now, but once *The Supreme* airs, he’ll be regretting it."

......

Jiang Wangshu had long anticipated that these photos would ignite a full-blown internet war.

But he did it on purpose.

Everyone, including Chen Ye's agency and fans, were aware of his contract termination with *The Supreme*. However, both the agency and the fans held the attitude that *The Supreme* didn't deserve Chen Ye.

No matter how undeserving, it was Chen Ye who had come to audition for Ji Xiuya on his own.

If Chen Ye had just apologized and admitted his mistake, the issue would have been resolved. But instead, he acted like he was above everyone, which really ticked Jiang Wangshu off.

Jiang Wangshu wasn’t intentionally setting Lu Xu up for criticism—it’s just that Lu Xu fit the role of Ji Xiuya so perfectly, and his look was so striking, it made for an ideal promo.

The fans were turning a blind eye and kept praising *Jiuzhuan Jue*, but anyone with half a brain could see that Lu Xu’s casual photos looked way better than Chen Ye’s official stills.

Jiang Wangshu logged into his Weibo account: "In my heart, the only Ji Xiuya is Lu Xu. No one can compare."

His snarky post made it clear he was backing Lu Xu for the role of Ji Xiuya.

As a director, Jiang Wangshu was seen as an easy target by many actors, but even a pushover can have their limits.

In response, Lu Xu expressed that having someone argue on his behalf felt... not bad.

He didn’t mind that *The Supreme* crew had posted his photos online, even if it meant stirring up trouble.

After all, he had already accepted the role of Ji Xiuya, and sooner or later, there would be a clash between him and Chen Ye unless *The Supreme* crew never did any publicity.

Of course, with the director jumping into the mix, things got even messier.

On one hand, *The Supreme* crew shared photos showing Lu Xu was a better fit for Ji Xiuya. On the other, *Jiuzhuan Jue* released clips of Chen Ye discussing the plot and bonding with the show’s lead actress.

Climb high to see far.

“Ouch!”

“That’s brutal!”

“This time, the Nine Turns Decree crew struck first with some seriously nasty moves. It’s really getting under everyone’s skin.”

“They’re the real deal when it comes to snark!”

“With big names backing them, who cares about your little crew’s snide remarks? Stop acting like you matter!”

……

Once the Nine Turns Decree crew posted, Chen Ye felt a bit more at ease.

He knew he had messed up by jumping ship from The Supreme to the Nine Turns Decree crew. If Jiang Wangshu and The Supreme crew called him out, it could hurt his reputation.

After all, Jiang Wangshu wasn’t a new director. From what he knew, Jiang had good relationships with several directors in the industry. Even though Director Jiang had a good temperament, that didn’t mean others would be as lenient.

Chen Ye was worried this might hinder his career growth.

Chen Ye also saw the photos posted by The Supreme crew.

He got that the crew was venting, but the online reactions still bothered him.

“Lu Xu, who’s all looks and no substance—how can he even compare to me? Jiang Wangshu is really losing it, picking someone who’s just a pretty face to play Ji Xiuya.”

No one understands better than Chen Ye how challenging it is to play Ji Xiuya.

Chen Ye is not broad-minded and has a somewhat snobbish personality; otherwise, he wouldn't have abandoned the half-filmed *The Supreme* project the moment the *Nine Turns Decree* crew called him.

He really craves fame.

But he feels no guilt.

Who in the entertainment industry doesn't want to be famous? As everyone knows, the more someone claims to be indifferent to fame, the more they're actually obsessed with it. Which person genuinely uninterested in fame would go out of their way to make sure everyone knows it?

Picking *Nine Turns Decree* just means he'll get famous quicker, that's all.

Once he hits it big, who’s going to care about that old contract breach?

The post from the *Nine Turns Decree* crew really resonated with him: "You need to climb high to see far." If he kept working with low-level crews like *The Supreme*, how could he ever have the chance to become wildly famous?

Chen Ye quickly shared the post, writing, "I want to reach the top with my fans."

He immediately received a bunch of likes and words of comfort.

Chen Ye's fans are some of the more proactive fans in the entertainment industry. Besides, the origin of this controversy was that *The Supreme* crew deliberately dragged Chen Ye into a comparison, at least that's what the fans believed.

Even though all they did was post a few photos from the set.

So the fans first attacked *The Supreme* crew, then swarmed Lu Xu's Weibo, pointing out that Chen Ye had already risen to greater heights, and that Lu Xu’s constant attempts to ride his coattails wouldn’t end well.

Seeing the flood of negative comments in the comment section, Lu Xu silently looked at the director.

Jiang Wangshu: "Sorry."

Lu Xu sighed, "Never mind, I'm already used to it."

Since he'd already been criticized, not responding didn't seem like an option.

After all, he was just a B-lister, starring in mediocre shows; their mockery wasn't entirely off base.

But arguing, well, he could do that too.

Since joining *The Son of Heaven* cast, he hadn't posted on Weibo in ages; now was a good time to dust off those rusty skills.

……

Based on what the marketers knew about Lu Xu, there was no way he'd let the sarcasm slide without a response.

That just wasn't Lu Xu’s style.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before marketers caught Lu Xu logging online.

This time, Lu Xu showed off the literary flair he picked up from *The Son of Heaven* set:

"Higher peaks exist, and people keep climbing over them."

"...Pretty catchy, isn't it?"

"Dying laughing at Lu Xu’s quick wit—I can’t keep up!"

"LOL, is Lu Xu trying to go full hipster poet now?"

"But hey, if Chen Ye could bail on *The Supreme*, maybe he’ll ditch *The Nine Turns Formula* next."

"Does *The Nine Turns Formula* crew really think they’ll stay on top forever?"

"Maybe try out for the Olympics?" "Climbing event, huh? I’m cracking up!"