Chapter 48: Nomination

Chapter 48: Nomination

Xie Qingyang closed the Weibo app on his phone, but moments later, he couldn't resist reopening it, repeating this cycle many times. His agent, standing nearby, couldn't bring himself to say anything.

Finally, his finger hovered over the trending topic "Lu Xu's Starlight Award Nomination."

Before he noticed, the trending list only had "Starlight Award Nomination List Announced," but now, "Lu Xu's Starlight Award Nomination" and "Starlight Award Best Supporting Actor" were climbing the ranks one after another.

"No wonder G brand reposted Lu Xu, lol~"

"It seems like Z brand really hit the jackpot with their career luck, announcing their endorser less than a week ago, and now he's nominated for the Starlight Award."

"LOL, Xie Qingyang's fans just mocked Lu Xu for not wearing haute couture, and now haute couture has arrived!"

"By the way, is Lu Xu the youngest Starlight Award nominee?"

"Not really, Mo Nanyun was nominated at the age of 13, but in recent years, Lu Xu is indeed the youngest."

One irritating comment after another, Xie Qingyang felt his heart tighten, overwhelmed with discomfort.

He didn't need to search to know that under hashtags like #Lu Xu nominated#, someone would inevitably bring up Verse.

...

The full name of the Starlight Award is the Chinese Television Starlight Award, the most prestigious award in the domestic television industry, now in its 80th year since it was established.

The Starlight Award nominations might not concern outsiders, but for actors who have been in the television industry for many years, it represents industry recognition of their skills.

Even without winning, a nomination is an honor in itself.

Several actors who have risen to top-tier status did so by winning a Starlight Award.

Over the past decade, the overall quality of young actors has significantly declined, with their acting skills criticized by both the industry and the audience. Thus, even though dozens of series starring young actors are aired each year, few young actors earn the Starlight Award's favor.

The Starlight Award is known for its strict standards.

For the Starlight Award itself, nominating mid-generation actors and awarding the industry's backbone isn't necessarily beneficial, leading to a decline in attention on the awards, especially since the Starlight Award occasionally highlights some niche works, which irritates fans of more "popular" series.

As several popular young actors fail year after year to win the Starlight Award, their fans' dissatisfaction grows.

Every awards season, the Starlight Award committee faces pressure from all sides.

Some industry insiders have called for the Starlight Award to be more open, diversifying the genres and performance styles it recognizes, rather than focusing solely on traditional aesthetics.

Media and marketers also generate a lot of buzz during the awards season, predicting which popular young actors might be the first to win the Starlight Award's favor.

Simultaneously, established young actors are no longer content with just starring in idol dramas they are good at but are also trying to act in serious dramas, hoping for a breakthrough in awards.

When the Starlight Award nominations were announced this year, the first to be revealed were the nominees for Best Actor and Best Actress.

As soon as the list was announced, various marketers declared this year's list "predictable," with the favored names still being the familiar ones. These seasoned actors perform consistently well, even if they are not usually in the spotlight; come awards season, the stage is theirs.

Cheng Yun was nominated for the Best Actor award at this year's Starlight Award for his role in "The Son of Heaven."

This is a first in Cheng Yun's acting career.

Lu Xu had just opened WeChat in the morning and grabbed a big red envelope.

"The latest riser gets the best luck."

"Congratulations, congratulations!!"

"Just getting nominated is enough for me," Cheng Yun sent a smiling emoji, "I don't expect more."

"I wouldn't be able to say this in person, so I'll say it here first in the group. If it weren't for the scenes we acted out together, I wouldn't have performed like this, and this nomination wouldn't exist. It's all thanks to everyone."

"What are you saying, old Cheng!"

"Because you're awesome, that's why you're nominated, it's as simple as that, no need to overthink it."

The nominations for the lead actor and lead actress were unsurprising, indicating that the Starlight Award still adheres to its consistent style. When the nominations for the supporting actor and actress awards were announced, the reaction from marketers and the media was predictably lukewarm.

"Probably just another gathering of the old guard."

"+1."

"Can't they give the new generation a shot? The new generation might not be as seasoned, but they're not that bad, right?"

"Like Zhang Che?"

"I actually think Lu Xu is quite good, but Lu Xu has less filming experience. Zhang Che has been coveting the Starlight Award for years, right? It should be his turn to be nominated this year."

The netizen who brought up Lu Xu believed he was more talented, but considering the combativeness of Zhang Che's fans and Zhang Che's persistent pursuit of the Starlight Award in recent years, he quietly held his tongue.

Zhang Che's quest for a Starlight Award nomination has almost become an obsession, and saying this would undoubtedly rub salt in the wounds of Zhang Che's fans.

But... Lu Xu is indeed more impressive.

The cast of "The Son of Heaven" is full of seasoned actors like Cheng Yun and Guo Yining, and Lu Xu held his own in scenes with these veterans, his talent shone through without being overshadowed.

If someone else had played Qin Zhao, it wouldn't have had the same impact.

However, the Starlight Award has always been tough on newcomers, and this year is likely to be the same as previous years.

The netizen idly checked the Starlight Award's official Weibo and found that the official Weibo had announced a new list again—

The still was striking, showing a vast expanse of white snow.

This was the Prime Minister gazing into the distance at a departing old friend amidst the heavy snow.

In the vast snow, it seemed as if only he remained between heaven and earth. His usual majestic official attire was imposing, but in this moment, in this scene, the Prime Minister revealed his true self.

At the bottom of the image, a line of small text gradually appeared—

Guo Yining, "The Son of Heaven".

No one was surprised that Guo Yining got the nod. A professional forecast ranked Guo Yining first among all candidates in terms of winning odds.

And the second place...

Within the palace walls, a black-haired young man silently gazed up at the azure sky.

For as long as he could remember, his only thoughts were of being a good crown prince and safeguarding this vast land in the future.

But in the end, this vast land wasn't his to keep; all he had was this narrow courtyard and a sliver of blue sky that didn't stretch far.

The young man's gaze was wistful, and when he looked up, there was a hint of loss.

The netizen instantly recognized the young man as Qin Zhao.

Sure enough, the list updated simultaneously below the stills—

Lu Xu, "The Son of Heaven."

For a moment, netizens didn't react, but it took a while before they suddenly realized that the Starlight Award seemed to have chosen a young actor this time?

Previously, the Starlight Award organizing committee had been criticized for the judges' bias against young actors and those who became popular through idol dramas.

But...

Lu Xu doesn't seem to have formal training, having been a member of Verse for several years. He was popular, but after Verse disbanded, his reputation was so bad that it was unbearable to look at.

As for becoming popular through idol dramas—Lu Xu's "breakthrough work" was the absurd drama "The Noble Son," which even idol drama actors looked down upon. If the entire TV drama industry followed the way "The Noble Son" was made, it would soon collapse.

Logically, Lu Xu doesn't meet the Starlight Award's nomination criteria at all.

Among the actors who are "biased" by the Starlight Award, Lu Xu should be at the very bottom, never to come close in this lifetime.

Yet, Lu Xu was nominated.

Among the five nominees, Lu Xu is ranked after Guo Yining. Besides these two, the other three nominees are classic supporting actors, not well-known but widely recognized for their acting skills.

The Starlight Award's official blog released a photo collection of the nominees, and among the five, Lu Xu's overly youthful face stood out.

"It really is Lu Xu!"

"Qin Zhao was indeed well acted, and to hit the Starlight Award in one go, Lu Xu is really impressive!"

"Lu Xu signed with Feiyang Entertainment, so his nomination this time must have some help from Feiyang Entertainment, right?"

"...Honestly, even with operations, the Starlight Award isn't that easy to manipulate. At least, the acting skills must match the nomination."

"So impressive!"

"Amazing! Lu Xu's ad has been out for two days, and G brand had no reaction. As soon as the nomination list came out, in just two minutes, the G brand official blog reposted it."

This year's Starlight Award was supposed to be as uneventful as previous years, but as soon as the news of Lu Xu being nominated for Best Supporting Actor was revealed, the popularity of the award immediately doubled.

Firstly, Lu Xu is really too young, and the Starlight Award hasn't nominated young actors in a long time.

Secondly, Lu Xu himself is a collection of gossip, a walking disaster.

Gu Sinian is his rival. Gu Sinian has been filming "Watchmen" and "Rising Sun" back-to-back, hoping to make a breakthrough in the award season, but both dramas flopped, and Gu Sinian didn't get any nominations, while Lu Xu was nominated first.

Chen Ye... needless to say, a big word for tragedy.

And Xie Qingyang's fans were mocking Lu Xu for not having high-end fashion, and the next second, the big opportunity Xie Qingyang had been chasing after was heading straight for Lu Xu.

All the mockery from rivals about Lu Xu has come true on themselves, and what the rivals have always wanted... Lu Xu has it all.

...

The group chat of "The Son of Heaven" crew was originally congratulating Cheng Yun. As soon as the news of Guo Yining and Lu Xu being nominated for Best Supporting Actor was announced, the group was filled with voices of watching the drama.

"It's a tough choice."

"Old Guo, you and Xiao Lu play rock-paper-scissors, and whoever wins takes it."

"Yo yo yo, it's going to be a fight!"

"I vote for Lu Xu, he's handsome."

"Lu Xu is really handsome."

Liu Chunfeng, the group owner and director, quickly set up a poll, asking who was more handsome, Lu Xu or Guo Yining.

Lu Xu got 99% of the votes, while Guo Yining received only one vote, which everyone suspected was Guo Yining voting for himself.

"You all are exaggerating, couldn't it be Lu Xu who voted for me?" Guo Yining pretended to be angry.

Lu Xu quietly logged in: "I haven't voted yet."

Guo Yining: "...Hey!"

"If you replaced my name with anyone else's, the result would be the same, right?"

The group burst into laughter.

This wasn't the first time Guo Yining had been nominated for the Starlight Award. For him, the role of the Prime Minister wasn't the most important or outstanding in his acting career, so he remained quite calm about the possibility of winning.

Everyone expected Lu Xu to be the one who couldn't stay calm. However, in Lu Xu's two lives, this wasn't his first nomination for an acting award.

Naturally, Lu Xu was very happy to be recognized, but he was confident that there would be many more joyful moments in the future. As long as he continued acting, he would come across more interesting roles and have more opportunities to showcase his talents.

Lu Xu wasn't as concerned about the Starlight Award as people outside might think, but someone else was, and they were completely obsessed with it.