Chapter 43: A New Kind of Absurd Drama

Chapter 43: A New Kind of Absurd Drama

Fans were speechless...

To this day, Lu Xu has always been at the forefront of clashing with others. It was originally thought that he would tone it down after signing with an agency, but Lu Xu seems to have no concept of restraint.

Someone get his agent to rein him in!

Lu Xu's comment section is in an uproar.

"You're the one who breached the contract, right? How is someone else cleaning up your mess considered attention-seeking?"

"Taking on Ji Xiuya's role is just for attention? Who would dare take on this role then?"

"Someone spread the word: Chen Ye wants to take nude photos."

"Honestly... I want to see Lu Xu take those nude photos."

"Be bold, I want to see it too!"

"Let's watch together!"

"...Who breaches a contract and then trashes the character? Do you really think you're worthy of Ji Xiuya?"

The audience is really into "The Supreme," and while Chen Ye is as quiet as a chicken, he pops up like an annoying fly, which really displeases the audience.

While "The Supreme" is airing, he's here singing and dancing!

Ji Xiuya's fans are particularly annoyed. How easy is it to come across an actor like Lu Xu?

Do you think every character gets that lucky?

If Chen Ye doesn't want to act, why does he have to trash Ji Xiuya?

The character's fans moved quickly, digging up all the roles Chen Ye has played.

Coincidentally, Chen Ye had previously played a role similar to Ji Xiuya, also a villain, also full of hatred, but his performance paled in comparison to Lu Xu's, even starkly contrasting.

"Not everyone can play a villain well."

"I can only see that Chen Ye indeed looks down on the roles he plays... What makes one role better than another?"

"Honestly, I don't even want to compare him with Ji Xiuya."

"Me too..."

Chen Ye got so much flak that he had to disable his Weibo comments. Unfortunately, GIFs of his character were all over the place. This character didn't have much presence when the drama aired, but because of Chen Ye himself, it got a lot of screen time.

Of course, most of the comments were just mocking him.

In the end, the director and scriptwriter had to step in and clarify that when they invited Chen Ye to play this role, the crew didn't want him to hog the spotlight.

"With actors thinking like this, no wonder a great character like Ji Xiaoyuan got butchered."

Before adaptation, this drama was way more popular than "The Supreme." Unfortunately, the script was just okay, and the acting was pretty bad. Once the drama ended, the original work immediately became obscure.

Ji Xiaoyuan was the major villain in the original work, and his backstory was way more tragic than Ji Xiuya's, thus attracting a group of sympathetic fans.

When Chen Ye took on the role of Ji Xiaoyuan, fans protested, saying Chen Ye didn't fit Ji Xiaoyuan's image. Unfortunately, at that time, the original work was quite popular, and many young actors in the industry were eager to play the role, turning the drama into a battlefield. Even if the character's fans were dissatisfied, they couldn't change the investors' opinions.

Later, that drama flopped, and the popularity of all the characters in the original book declined, including Ji Xiaoyuan.

At that time, Chen Ye was scolded along with a group of people, and among the actors, he wasn't the main focus, so he managed to escape the worst of it.

But now, Chen Ye directly dissed Ji Xiuya, and the contrast between Ji Xiuya and Ji Xiaoyuan was so stark that the fans of Ji Xiaoyuan, who had been hurt before, exploded.

Old grievances and new grudges piled up.

How many faces does Chen Ye have to look down on Ji Xiuya?

Isn't Ji Xiaoyuan far more tragic than Ji Xiuya?

The original work of *The Supreme* wasn't a hit, but Ji Xiuya soared because of Lu Xu's performance. As for Ji Xiaoyuan, after the drama ended, it was as if he never existed. Even if the original fans wanted to find some crumbs of sweetness, they couldn't create fan works based on Chen Ye's face.

Fans' preferences are always straightforward. Doesn't Chen Ye look down on *The Supreme*? Then let *The Supreme* outperform *Nine Turns Decree* in ratings.

...

Although *Nine Turns Decree* is set to premiere during the summer, its broadcast dates overlap with the last ten episodes of *The Supreme*, meaning the two dramas will face direct competition within a few days.

Naturally, the industry is more optimistic about *Nine Turns Decree*.

The A-list actress Wei Fangfei and the mid-tier actor Chu Tianshu are returning to the TV drama field after many years. The drama has a substantial budget, though not as large as *Watchmen*, it's still impressive.

Although Wei Fangfei and Chu Tianshu returned to TV dramas after not doing well in the film industry, they have had iconic TV roles before, making them more relatable compared to other film stars.

In any case, the two leads, Wei Fangfei and Chu Tianshu, are the main draw of *Nine Turns Decree*.

Wei Fangfei is brimming with confidence.

When she was still in the film industry, she naturally held herself in high regard, unwilling to easily promote TV dramas. If a TV drama crew invited her to act, Wei Fangfei wouldn't even consider it.

The entertainment industry has clear boundaries; film actors and TV actors operate in different circles.

But things have changed. After flopping three movies in a row, no matter how high and mighty Wei Fangfei was, she was ruthlessly rejected by the film industry.

Relying solely on high-end endorsements and past status couldn't sustain her former glory. The entertainment industry is known for favoring the successful and trampling the fallen. As soon as Wei Fangfei showed signs of decline, people were already lining up to take over her high-end endorsements. Coupled with failed investments in recent years, her finances suddenly became tight.

For Wei Fangfei, the invitation from the *Nine Turns Decree* crew was a godsend.

She unapologetically took half of the paycheck. She didn't know how much Chu Tianshu took, but it was likely a substantial amount.

Although Wei Fangfei commanded a high salary, her demands on the crew were equally high. She demanded a good script and outstanding supporting actors. Whether the crew's budget was sufficient after her high salary was not her concern.

She's an actor; her only job is to perform well.

Wei Fangfei doesn't believe that *Nine Turns Decree* will perform poorly.

She performed seriously, and Chu Tianshu did the same. They have been in the film industry for so long; handling small TV roles should be easy, right?

Because she was overly confident, Wei Fangfei only reposted one promotional post for *Nine Turns Decree*.

The news of her starring in *Nine Turns Decree* had already spread everywhere. Given her status, who hasn't heard of *Nine Turns Decree*?

In the days leading up to the premiere of *Nine Turns Decree*, Wei Fangfei didn't even pay attention to the data.

As a big-name actress, she has too many things to be busy with. She is still thinking about using *Nine Turns Decree* to make a comeback in the film industry, so she needs to maintain all kinds of relationships in the industry.

She can't just abandon the connections she has built in the film industry over the years just because she temporarily left, right?

The TV drama scene is just a temporary phase; her roots are still in the film industry.

Wei Fangfei skipped the premiere event of *Nine Turns Decree*, which was entirely led by Chu Tianshu. She planned to wait for the show's buzz to build before stepping into the spotlight as the leading lady.

After all, there are so many premiere events, and missing one wouldn't matter much.

Wei Fangfei had high hopes, but five days after *Nine Turns Decree* premiered, she hadn't received a single congratulatory message.

No jealous or backhanded compliments came from her junior colleagues, nor did any familiar directors from the film world reach out to suggest future collaborations. Everything was eerily silent, too quiet.

Her manager did remind Wei Fangfei to cooperate with the *Nine Turns Decree* crew for promotion.

But Wei Fangfei, having been rooted in the entertainment industry for years, has always been in a dominant position in her relationship with her manager.

She always believed that her current status was achieved through her own efforts and had little to do with her manager.

She acknowledged her manager's advice but didn't fully commit to it.

She was confident she could pick the perfect moment to promote the show.

Truth be told, Wei Fangfei wasn't thrilled about promoting *Nine Turns Decree*.

A-list actresses have their own circles, and with her status, while others are still steadily working in the film industry, getting too excited about a TV drama would feel beneath her.

Just as Wei Fangfei was about to check in with her manager, her phone rang.

She glanced at the screen and saw a number she hadn't heard from in ages.

The caller was an A-list actress of similar status.

They were close in their younger days, as they didn't overlap in roles and supported each other while climbing the ranks in the film world.

But the A-list actress circle is small, and with both being brand favorites, their bond faded, and they eventually clashed over a role.

Back then, Wei Fangfei came out on top, cementing her status as an A-lister.

But the other actress later outshone her in awards and firmly established herself in the A-list circle.

The other actress hadn't reached out in ages, and Wei Fangfei, unsure of her motives, let the call go to voicemail.

A sense of dread suddenly washed over her.

The next moment, the other actress sent a text message:

"Second on the trending chart, congratulations, you're indeed still sharp."

Just second?

Soon after, Wei Fangfei's manager filled her in: *Nine Turns Decree* was second on the trending chart, but it was a hollow victory.

On premiere day, *Nine Turns Decree* hit 10,000 in trending numbers but was eclipsed by *The Supreme*, which soared past 12,000.

By day two, *Nine Turns Decree* hadn't cracked 10,000, while *The Supreme* stayed above 12,000.

In other words, despite having a cast of A-list actors and actresses and an investment far exceeding *The Supreme*, the gap between *Nine Turns Decree* and *The Supreme* was actually widening.

But that wasn't even the worst of it for the *Nine Turns Decree* team.

The most awkward part was that after *The Supreme* ended, for several days, the average trending numbers of the series actually surpassed those of *Nine Turns Decree*.

Although the win was narrow, every night, the buzz of *The Supreme* just edged out that of *Nine Turns Decree*.

As for reputation—since *The Supreme* premiered, while it didn’t match the long-running *The Son of Heaven* in terms of reputation, the audience’s reviews were not bad.

First, the plot made sense, and the actors’ performances were up to par. The production team was tight on budget, but when it came to key scenes, the set design and special effects didn’t drag the show down. Several fight scenes were even considered brilliant.

The scene where He Ziqing died had viewers in tears multiple times, and Zheng Xiao won over a lot of fans because of it.

Currently, *The Supreme* wrapped up a few days ago, and its rating on authoritative drama review websites is still above 9.0.

In contrast, *Nine Turns Decree*—just a few days after the show aired, many viewers claimed they were duped, calling it a laughable soap opera of middle-aged actors and actresses indulging in a publicly funded Mary Sue fantasy.

Yes, the madness of *The Noble Son* is the kind of madness that the audience enjoys.

The madness of *Nine Turns Decree* is... beyond words.

In the third episode, the male lead played by Chu Tianshu invites the female lead to check out his ripped chest and asks, “Woman, have you been captivated by me?”

One moment it’s Chu Tianshu’s Jack Sue, the next it’s Wei Fangfei’s Mary Sue. The audience even suspects that the two brought their own scriptwriters, vying to craft their perfect images, terrified of being outshone by the other.

“It looks like a plot only a lunatic could dream up.”

“I’m blind.”

“Captivated my ass, save me!”