Chapter 50 050 The Coveted One

Chapter 50 050 The Coveted One

"Is Lu Xu really this gentle in person?"

"...His response to Zhang Che really surprised me. I always thought Lu Xu had a confrontational personality."

"Like I said, Lu Xu is just a little dog. How could a little dog have a bad temper, after all? It's people who are bad."

"If Lu Xu really had such a bad personality, his experiences in Verse wouldn't have remained under wraps until now."

"Do others not work hard? Who said that hard work guarantees an award? There are plenty of people in the entertainment industry who work hard but never make it big. Zhang Che is already lucky. Can such things be dismissed simply by saying you didn't work hard?"

Zhang Che's late-night comment might not have been directed at Lu Xu, but fans aren't new to this game. They've seen all the tricks in the industry and can see through them.

Honestly, the undertones in Zhang Che's words... are hard to interpret.

Doesn't Lu Xu work hard too?

Before the role of Qin Zhao gained popularity, Lu Xu had it much harder than Zhang Che.

But Lu Xu never complained. He could single-handedly face an army with a sword, but he wouldn't lead his fans to fight his battles for him.

"Even more like a little dog, isn't he?"

"The little dog lets you sleep soundly indoors while it barks at strangers."

However, regardless of Zhang Che's inner thoughts, Lu Xu still chose to encourage him.

His portrayal of Qin Zhao was indeed better than Zhang Che's award-contending role, and despite being innocent, he was still criticized by Zhang Che's fans—fans who suddenly noticed a gentle side to the usually fierce Lu Xu.

"Perhaps it's because he recognized Zhang Che's hard work. Lu Xu is gentle with those who work hard."

"Lu Xu is a good person!"

Fans quietly pondered and realized that Lu Xu encouraging Zhang Che wasn't surprising—Yang Shu and Xia Xuewen, who co-starred with him in *The Noble Son*, would always stand by Lu Xu in various incidents, even when the truth wasn't clear and Lu Xu was the one being criticized.

So many people said Lu Xu overshadowed the leads in *The Supreme*, but Zheng Xiao and Wei Yi disagreed. Whenever there was an interview about "your favorite actor of the same age," Zheng Xiao and Wei Yi would always vote for Lu Xu.

It's just that Lu Xu's strikingly handsome face makes him seem more aggressive in the entertainment industry, giving the impression that he's the dominant one.

"...It's not that I want to stir up trouble, but Zhang Che's emo episodes aren't a one-off."

"I wanted to say that too. This really isn't the first time."

Zhang Che's tendency to get emo isn't just known by his fans; even casual observers of entertainment gossip have heard about it.

Last year, Zhang Che also vied for the Starlight Award but failed to get a nomination. The supporting actor category last year was highly competitive, and Zhang Che's fans didn't dare to campaign too aggressively, so they ended up promoting the male lead of the show he was in.

That male actor wasn't as famous as Zhang Che, but his character paled in comparison to Zhang Che's supporting role, which is why Zhang Che was cast as the supporting actor.

That male actor didn't get a Starlight Award nomination either, but after the show aired, his reputation was better than Zhang Che's. Critics and influencers praised him more, attributing the show's high ratings to him.

This naturally made Zhang Che's fans even more dissatisfied.

In their eyes, the show's popularity was all thanks to Zhang Che, and the male lead was merely riding on his coattails.

Before this, Zhang Che's fans had also targeted other co-stars. Once on set, Zhang Che fell ill from food poisoning and appeared haggard and pitiful, but the female lead was laughing and joking with the second male lead as if she didn't notice Zhang Che's suffering.

The female lead and the second male lead were later criticized in a live stream, and Zhang Che was emo again late at night, leaving comments urging fans not to misinterpret others' intentions.

This time, Lu Xu was scolded for sleeping soundly through the night without a worry—Zhang Che tossed and turned, unable to sleep, while Lu Xu didn’t even go online all night. The stark contrast made Zhang Che’s fans feel even more pity for their idol.

...

"Nice post," Xu Wen said, curious. "What made you suddenly get it?"

Lu Xu parked his bicycle: "That’s just what I truly think."

He genuinely felt that Zhang Che’s pursuit of the award was not easy. In his previous life, there were even more actors who would go to extreme lengths to win awards.

Some shed a lot of weight, some packed on pounds, some stayed in a room with wild animals to portray fear, and others became so immersed in their roles that they suffered mental breakdowns.

In this industry, those who make it to the top are driven and relentless, with strong beliefs.

But... all that effort doesn’t always pay off.

"Alright," Xu Wen patted Lu Xu’s shoulder. "I thought..."

Xu Wen could only say that Zhang Che is a textbook example of a celebrity in the entertainment industry. Since his debut, he has been constantly questioned, which has cultivated a fiercely loyal fanbase. Before anyone could even do anything to him, his fans already felt like the whole world was out to harm their idol.

Fans going after Lu Xu was wrong from the start, but this time it happened to be tied to the Starlight Award. Xu Wen was concerned that the feud between Lu Xu and Zhang Che might sway the judges.

The Starlight Award judges aren’t fans of celebrities with rowdy fanbases.

Of course, this isn’t the reason Zhang Che lost to Lu Xu.

Lu Xu landed a nomination thanks to his stellar performance as Qin Zhao.

This time, Lu Xu’s response was heartfelt and gracious, unintentionally exposing Zhang Che’s pettiness.

To go further, even if Zhang Che was just venting about hard work not always paying off, why should Lu Xu have to weather his fans’ wrath?

To stay on top, a celebrity needs the poise to match the position.

The more Zhang Che mopes, the more Lu Xu’s patience stands out—at first, Zhang Che’s repeated misses at the Starlight Award over the years were truly pitiable, but now, he has not only lost the award but also his reputation.

The agent mused silently, initially seeing Lu Xu as just a fighter, but it turns out he’s both refined and talented.

That morning, a reporter cornered Zhang Che, asking what he thought of Lu Xu’s comeback.

Zhang Che hadn’t slept until 3 a.m., and he looked just so-so. Faced with the reporter’s questions, he managed a bitter smile and said he’d think about working with Lu Xu again someday.

Zhang Che likely never expected "Do you deserve Zhang Che?" to blow up as a meme.

A snap of Lu Xu biking made the rounds, with the top comment being, "He didn’t sleep well, and you’re out here biking?"

Lu Xu had a warm beef pancake in his mouth, "How can you even eat that?"

Lu Xu fumbled the pancake, and it dropped to the ground. His crestfallen look had fans picturing a puppy in tears.

This kicked off the "Lu Xu spin-off," which morphed into a "public spin-off," with quips like, "How dare you XX? Zhang Che was up all night."

Lu Xu: "..." Sometimes he thinks he’s got a knack for meme-making. Anything tied to him seems to go viral.

Luckily, fans soon figured it out—on the day Lu Xu got flak from Zhang Che’s fans, he just happened to be out on his bike.

...

The Starlight Award ceremony is scheduled to take place a month later. During this month, Lu Xu has taken on three new commercial projects and has also established a preliminary cooperation intention with G brand.

G brand's move this time has been judged by marketers as "precise, swift, and decisive."

Although other luxury brands mocked them for piggybacking on Z brand's advertisement, the cooperation was successfully secured.

Luxury brands, often aloof with lengthy evaluation periods, see selecting a cooperation partner as a gamble.

When a star is just emerging, major luxury brands will place their bets on the star, choosing someone whose brand image matches and who has sufficient development potential.

Idols are typically excluded from the candidate list due to their limited long-term potential, and the high-intensity exposure also prevents them from possessing the mystery that brands need.

Of course, in an era when brands are struggling to survive and focus more on sales, the massive fan base of idols will also make brands consider them as alternatives.

Often, brands can also misjudge.

Some stars' popularity is as fleeting as a passing cloud; before the brand can recoup its investment, the star has already faded into obscurity.

Thus, brands favor stars with significant potential, especially those with awards under their belt.

Stars who have been nominated for the Starlight Award and have sufficient public recognition almost all have luxury brand collaborations. If a brand uses Starlight Award nominations as a criterion for selecting cooperation partners, then usually, it would take years to find one.

But this year, Lu Xu has emerged.

Young, talented, a natural model, and a Starlight Award nominee—the day Lu Xu sold out G brand's shirt category, there were high-level proposals within G brand to evaluate Lu Xu.

However, this would make G brand appear too desperate, losing the elegance expected of a luxury brand.

But later, once the Starlight Award nominations were announced, G brand no longer cared about grace or not; if they didn't speed up, Lu Xu would surely be snatched away by competitors!

As a brand, G brand knows full well that the shirts they sold out are merely standard ready-to-wear, and the reason they looked good was purely because of Lu Xu, the model.

Few stars can effortlessly make clothes look good.

And besides commercial projects, offers for Lu Xu to play leading roles in scripts have gradually increased.

Though these offers are still confined to roles like "aloof prince" and "lurking revenge," mostly in period dramas, they are more varied than the roles Lu Xu recently took on.

While collecting scripts, Lu Xu is also analyzing what roles he wants to take on next year.

He genuinely wants to film something like "Rising Sun," but such scripts are rare; it requires a scriptwriter who understands history and has enough patriotic sentiment.

If he can't film it, watching a series would suffice.

At this thought, Lu Xu can't help but channel Mu Qian, joining him in cursing Ling Ge Entertainment.

...

As Lu Xu attentively listens to his agent outline the precautions for attending the Starlight Award, Kong Le texts him, saying that "The Path of Bones" will premiere after the New Year.

Shortly after, Lei Ai sends him the same message.

"The Path of Bones" was originally planned to be broadcast in the middle of next year, during the summer season, when young book fans are on vacation, to boost the show's popularity.

The production team had this plan, but unfortunately, the platforms were rather indifferent. After filming, given the poor reception of the previous show "The Informant," the platforms lacked the confidence to acquire "The Path of Bones."

Lei Ai was even contemplating promoting it alongside Kong Le. After all, Kong Le is a renowned author with a solid reputation in the director's circle and a harmonious relationship with various platforms. If they both push harder and the platforms are more accommodating, the show should sell.

Right at this moment, the announcement of Lu Xu's Starlight Award nomination came through.

The previously overlooked "The Path of Bones" suddenly became highly sought after.