Chapter 53 053 Trailer

Chapter 53 053 Trailer

Lu Xu was not surprised by the outcome.

He was not a top contender this awards season, although the media and marketers had hyped his name to the point of being widely known, but that was only because of his age.

From the start, Lu Xu believed that Guo Yining had a higher chance of winning.

Guo Yining's seat was on Lu Xu's right, and before going on stage, Guo stood up and gently patted Lu Xu's shoulder.

Lu Xu simply responded with a smile.

His expression remained calm, with no hint of disappointment over the loss. When the camera panned over, Lu Xu's demeanor was incredibly composed.

In the eyes of his fans, despite wearing a suit, Lu Xu at this moment resembled Qin Zhao from his first appearance in "The Son of Heaven," radiating the noble air of a young crown prince.

"It's a shame he didn't win."

"Just being nominated is incredible! Honestly, considering Qin Zhao's screen time in 'The Son of Heaven,' Lu Xu's nomination for Best Supporting Actor is proof enough of his incredible performance!"

"Agreed, Qin Zhao is mainly because Lu Xu fully understood the role + the character's age span is quite large. In terms of richness and depth, Guo Yining's performance still comes out on top."

"Amazing! Haha, actually, I was watching Lu Xu's face the whole time, it's so captivating, and the photographer really gets me, giving him so many close-up shots."

"Well done!"

"The Son of Heaven" was already a major highlight at this year's Starlight Awards. Besides the acting awards, the crew was also nominated for several technical awards. Whenever "The Son of Heaven" was nominated, the camera would always pan to the entire crew, with Lu Xu being the most favored by the lens.

"G brand is not a sponsor but practically is, ╰_╯ pay up!"

"Choosing him as a spokesperson is a smart move, one Starlight Award and it's already paid off."

"But I still have to say, Lu Xu is incredibly handsome. When I was following Verse, I was into Xie Qingyang X Gu Sinian, and I totally overlooked the charm of the puppy."

"Lu Xu's gif looking at the camera has been saved + admired N times, both the red carpet and the awards ceremony are iconic moments."

"The comment above is from a connoisseur!"

Although Lu Xu did not win, the gif of him looking at the camera was featured prominently by countless marketers—perhaps because fame agrees with him, Lu Xu appeared much more composed than when he first debuted. Without flashy, colorful outfits, just a simple black suit and white shirt, he looked even more refined.

...

At this year's Starlight Awards, Guo Yining won Best Supporting Actor, and Cheng Yun won Best Actor, the two biggest awards for "The Son of Heaven" crew.

However, the crew lost out on Best Long Series and Best Director, with Zhang Yuguang's "We Live in Ordinary Times" taking both awards.

This series did not focus on emperors and generals but was deeply rooted in the lives of ordinary people, vividly portraying the joys and sorrows of everyday life.

Losing to "Ordinary Times," the "Son of Heaven" crew wasn't discouraged.

In terms of cast, "The Son of Heaven" was much weaker than this series.

The plot of "Ordinary Times" resonated more easily with the audience, and the story itself was no less than "The Son of Heaven."

Cheng Yun cried after receiving his award. Nearly 60 years old, with the camera still rolling, his tears flowed uncontrollably.

From his youth until now, he had waited decades for this moment.

Perhaps what he was waiting for was not the trophy, but the day he would be recognized by the audience as a leading actor.

"The Son of Heaven" gave him everything he wanted, whether it was ratings or awards.

He was thrilled when "The Son of Heaven" surpassed ten thousand in popularity, and now, holding the trophy, he felt a long-cherished dream come true.

Cheng Yun gave Guo Yining a bear hug, making Guo Yining yelp, "Hey, don’t wipe your snot on me!"

As for Lu Xu, Cheng Yun also patted his shoulder like he did with Guo Yining: "You’ve got this."

He knew he looked pretty awkward in front of the younger generation, but he couldn't care less.

But Lu Xu’s gaze held no surprise or envy—just a gentle smile.

Just like during their first project together, Lu Xu’s maturity never failed to amaze him.

He had been too off his game.

But for some reason, after years in the industry, he rarely felt this relaxed.

It was as if... everyone just got him.

...

Lu Xu’s fans took his loss in stride; everyone knows how tough it is to win a Starlight Award.

Fans from rival camps, however, started mocking him, saying Lu Xu had been hyped up but still lost, putting him back on equal footing with other actors.

Lu Xu’s fans brushed it off, but you could practically smell the salt through the screen from the other side.

"Do they even want it? How can they when they didn’t even get a nomination?"

"If you’re gonna mock Lu Xu, at least get a nomination first."

For the fans, just getting new photos of Lu Xu is a huge win.

It’s all because a certain Lu doesn’t like to show up much.

But fans admit that it’s precisely because Lu Xu rarely shows up that every appearance feels like a big event!

"Today’s update has it all—red carpet, awards, and a sneak peek of 'The Path of Bones'!"

"Who’s happy? Not saying~"

While tuning into the Starlight Awards live, fans were also scrolling through 'The Path of Bones' official blog.

Though 'The Path of Bones' wrapped up a while back, the team’s been stingy with updates.

Yu Yi’s a fan favorite, and even those who haven’t read Kong Le’s book know his vibe.

Nerves are natural—classic roles are tough to nail.

Yu Yi’s a far cry from Lu Xu’s past roles like Qin Zhao and Ji Xiuya.

"It’s up!"

Tan Qi fumbled her phone, and sure enough, 'The Path of Bones' blog had just updated.

The first thing that stood out was a pitch-black night, broken only by the warm glow of a campfire.

Around the fire, 'Team 01' sat cross-legged, grinning as they shared their dreams. Their dreams were so vivid, it felt like even the night grew warmer.

The camera zoomed in, and by the bonfire, a young man with a gentle face and a warm smile silently toyed with a piece of wood.

"It's Yu Yi!!"

"He's the warmest captain!"

Many fans are familiar with the plot of *The Path of Bones*—as expected, the warmth of the bonfire lasted only for a moment. The next second, the night seemed drenched in ink, with no trace of light left.

The people who had been laughing and talking by the bonfire just moments ago were now decapitated, with pools of blood on the ground, slowly congealing from bright red.

A faint light suddenly appeared in a corner, dim but enough to reveal a pair of resolute eyes.

The young man who had been listening gently was still alive, but the warmth in his eyes was gone, replaced by a coldness as unyielding as perpetual ice.

He was drenched in a pool of blood, his forehead and half his face stained with blood. If one didn’t look closely, one might mistake him for a demon freshly emerged from hell.

How was he any different from a demon?

Those eyes no longer held any light, as if steeped in blood. When they swept over, the deep-seated hatred within them made others shrink from his gaze.

It sent shivers down the spine.

When he reappeared in front of the camera, the young man had a totally transformed appearance.

The gentle demeanor was gone. The former captain didn’t have a sharp, stunning face, but after the change, the aura around him was completely altered.

If fans hadn’t known in advance that Yu Yi was played by Lu Xu, they would never have realized that the two entirely distinct personas were both Yu Yi.

"Was it possible that the first one wasn’t played by Lu Xu?"

"It’s clearly Lu Xu in both!"

The first Yu Yi had a more plain appearance, and since he was either in the military or working as a mercenary, he looked far more rugged than the second Yu Yi.

The pace of the trailer picked up here—

The first thing the young man with the new face did was commit murder.

Behind the glitz and glamour, in a dim, enclosed room, the young man raised a sharp knife without hesitation and brought it down with force on his enemy’s throat.

Blood splattered all over the wall, nearly touching the corner of the young man’s eye. The mirror reflected his face, pale and razor-sharp.

Accompanied by the rapid drumbeat of *dong ta ta*, the young man’s figure vanished into the shadows.

For Yu Yi, the deaths of his comrades remained a mystery.

Though he was eager to avenge them, after that brutal night, hatred and patience coexisted within him.

He could endure to the extreme, and then, once the target was confirmed, deliver a single, lethal strike.

Then begin his reign of torture and slaughter.

The final scene of the trailer focused on Yu Yi’s facial expression—on his path of revenge, he once encountered a lovely girl, kind-hearted and caring toward him, who liked him not for his appearance.

Yet, tragically, he could no longer smile gently.

Even if he tried hard to mimic his past expressions, to recall the muscle memory he once had, his eyes were like ice, a deep, bottomless abyss.

He could force a smile, but it was hard for him to show anyone tenderness.

He said, "Yu Yi means being the last one standing."

"Sorry, in my world, there's no room for anyone else."

"I hate this, ahhhhhhh!"

"Villains must die, villains must die, villains must die! Little Fish deserved a warm life, but his happiness was completely ruined."

"The final scene had me in tears, ahhhhhh!"

"Lu Xu's acting is phenomenal; it's just a trailer, yet it moved me to tears so effortlessly!"

"I can't believe the person in the first scene is the same as in the last—it's utterly heartbreaking."

"The scenes are already so tragic; why does the music have to be so sorrowful as well?"

Tan Qi was well aware that *The Path of Bones* was a deeply tragic tale, so she braced herself before watching the trailer.

She expected Lu Xu to portray his character more overtly—perhaps through screams, breakdowns, and direct confrontations with his enemies.

But he didn’t.

The trailer focused heavily on the eyes, with minimal dialogue, yet, remarkably, Tan Qi could grasp all of Yu Yi's suffering just through his gaze.

Yu Yi had transformed himself into an unassailable fortress, with nothing but vengeance sealed inside.

His good looks served merely as a shield, a means to an end.

Despite his quest for vengeance, Yu Yi often smiled, his grin lighting up his face, yet Tan Qi noticed that his smiles never truly reached his eyes.

Yu Yi looked his best when he tilted his head by the campfire, listening to his teammates' banter, his smile soft and bashful, reminiscent of a timid kitten.

"I've only watched it five times," Tan Qi messaged her friend, "It's too heartbreaking; I can't bear to watch it again."

"Same here... I've seen it three times."

"His acting is incredible!!!!" her friend exclaimed, "I was a fan of Qin Zhao, but now, I can't find any resemblance to Qin Zhao in him."

His eyes, brimming with blood and tears in the darkness, were particularly haunting.

In Yu Yi, Tan Qi saw no trace of Lu Xu's own persona, nor any similarity to characters such as Qin Zhao or Ji Xiuya.

Lu Xu deconstructed the character, imprinting it with his unique signature.

Tan Qi was aware of her bias as a Lu Xu fan, viewing him perhaps through rose-colored glasses.

Yet, the jolt she experienced upon watching *The Path of Bones* trailer was something only her racing heart could attest to.

In this trailer, Lu Xu stood as the sole protagonist, with every highlight moment crafted by his performance alone.

Lu Xu didn’t let a single moment go to waste.

...

The view count for *The Path of Bones* trailer shattered the record for new dramas on Grape Video over the last two years.

Likely due to the recent announcement of the Starlight Award winners, with Lu Xu's name still trending, and *The Path of Bones* being a well-known original work, netizens, regardless of their interest, were drawn to watch out of curiosity.

But... Lu Xu's performance was truly exceptional.

Although the intention was to dispel the bad luck associated with Lu Xu, Grape Pictures' acquisitions lead, after watching the completed version of *The Path of Bones*, could only say that compared to his Verse counterpart, Lu Xu's performance carried a strong sense of storytelling.

The character he portrayed was rich with narrative depth, effortlessly captivating audiences.

This is Lu Xu's unique charm as an actor, unmatched by others.

Following Grape Pictures' usual style, when a new drama is about to be released, the platform would have been aggressively purchasing trending topics. However, tonight is the live broadcast of the Starlight Award, and no matter how many trending topics are bought, the heat cannot surpass that of the Starlight Award.

The platform hoped Lu Xu's Starlight Award nomination would boost *The Path of Bones* visibility.

To Grape Pictures' surprise, the trailer trended within two hours of its release.

Platform: "?"

#Nothing beats free stuff#

#So this is the joy of being a sugar baby#

At that moment, Grape Pictures felt as if they were being supported by Lu Xu.

There were two trending topics related to *The Path of Bones* on the hot search: one was #The Path of Bones#, and the other was #Lu Xu and Yu Yi#, both with considerable discussion.

After a while, Grape Pictures discovered why *The Path of Bones* was trending.

One reason was naturally Lu Xu's Starlight Award nomination, and the other was the extensive fanbase of *The Path of Bones*.

The adaptation of *The Informant* was so bad that it not only broke Kong Le's heart but also left many fans pessimistic about future adaptations of his works, even fostering resistance.

However, this did not mean they disliked *The Path of Bones*.

Since *The Path of Bones* had been adapted into a TV drama, whether good or bad, they would take a look.

The news of the adaptation trailer spread quickly, and soon most fans knew about it.

Original fans can be surprisingly forgiving. Before clicking on the *The Path of Bones* trailer, their minimal expectation was that it should surpass *The Informant*.

Despite Kong Le's involvement and director Thunder being a fan, there was no guarantee the series would succeed.

The cast of *The Informant* wasn't bad either.

With trepidation, fans clicked on the trailer and discovered—

Huh, this version of Yu Yi is good?

The campfire conversation vividly captured Yu Yi's essence.

As for finding an attractive actor to play Yu Yi after the plastic surgery—this is where fans felt frustrated.

There are quite a few attractive actors in the entertainment industry, but their acting skills... it's not an exaggeration to say they are unbearable.

A conventionally attractive actor might struggle to portray Yu Yi's complex post-revenge psyche, but without one, the plot's logic would be incomplete.

In the original story, each villain was more repulsive than the last. If Yu Yi's appearance couldn't satisfy their perverted tastes, he wouldn't be able to get close to these people.

Then, a brand-new Yu Yi appeared.

His compelling appearance matched his brutal approach to revenge.

His cold-eyed madness, from throat-slitting to torture, was chilling, suggesting that Lu Xu had decades of experience in such dark roles, desensitized to violence.

But this is the true state of Yu Yi during his revenge.

The most common questions in the book fan group today are—

"Who is this guy?"

"Where did they find him?"

"Check the trending hashtags, search for Lu Xu."

Obedient fans quietly searched and found a lively face waving to fans on the trending list.

He was so handsome it was blinding, with no trace of the madness seen in the trailer.

This contrast itself showcases his acting skills.

"No wonder Kong Le searched for so long before finally choosing him."

Regardless of how *The Path of Bones* turns out, fans are happy with the choice of Lu Xu to play Yu Yi.

...

After the trailer dropped, the official Weibo account for *The Path of Bones* posted some behind-the-scenes clips.

This included scenes where the assistant director and photographer were so spooked by Lu Xu's "killer" performance that they avoided him for days.

Not only that, but they looked at Lu Xu with extreme caution, afraid he might suddenly go all out.

The assistant director even suspected Lu Xu was carrying a weapon.

The director said helplessly, "He doesn’t need to bring one; the crew will supply it."

There were also memes of Lu Xu looking cold and detached while "killing," like he'd been working at a fish market for years.

The crew found this especially intimidating and competed to tell him lame jokes. Lu Xu kept it together during filming, but once the cameras stopped, he often couldn’t stop laughing.

"Cut the kid some slack, isn’t it tough enough for him to kill some fish?"

"Is there a crew that messes with their lead like this? Unbelievable!"

"Turns out Lu Xiao Gou loves lame jokes, totally opposite to his character."

"After filming so many killing scenes, director, are you a monster?!!"

The *The Path of Bones* crew even played into the bicycle meme. After the scene where Lu Xu went on a "killing" spree, the director, considering how evil his character was, bought a mountain bike and put it on set.

Lu Xu: "..."

Seriously, shouldn’t a mountain bike brand sign him for an endorsement?

Even though he’s really bad at it.

"What a nutcase!"

"Laughing my head off, feels like the *The Path of Bones* crew has gone nuts since Lu Xu joined."

"So why only buy one? Can one bike really keep the evil Lu Xiao Gou in check?"

The fans’ conversation took a sharp turn, shifting from the original plot to the mountain bike brand, then to the magical power of bikes, finally concluding—

Lu Xu is still the best at riding mountain bikes.

"Maybe Lu Xu accidentally paid homage to some mountain bike deity."

"Do gods for things like that even exist?"

The "The Path of Bones" team released a bunch of behind-the-scenes clips, but fans still felt it wasn't enough and wanted more.

"Today was packed with Lu Xiao Gou content!"

"So excited! Can't wait for 'The Path of Bones' to drop!"

...

"The Path of Bones" is scheduled for February, coinciding with a few days of the winter vacation.

This drama isn't a big-budget production, but thanks to the original book's loyal fan base and it being Lu Xu's first drama after his Starlight Award nomination, it's already generating buzz since the release date was announced.

Grape Pictures initially figured there wouldn't be any major competitors for "The Path of Bones" during this slot.

Normally, Grape Pictures would rely on blockbusters to dominate other platforms, but after the flop of "Watchmen," Grape Pictures stopped blindly betting on big-budget projects.

Sure, big-budget projects usually have a bigger edge over smaller ones, but when they fail, they fail hard.

But then Deyi Pictures announced a drama, and Grape Pictures started sweating.

"They weren't even hinting at a release during this slot—why the sudden change?"

"This is bad news."

"Well... maybe they figured the competition was light, so why bother waiting for the summer rush?"

Lei Ai and Kong Le caught wind of the news soon after—"The Empress," starring the A-lister Qiao Mengyao, was set to drop at the end of February.

In the TV world, Qiao Mengyao is a big deal. She made her name in historical romances and kills it in female-centric roles. Since she started, she's barely had a miss, and even low-budget shows turn a profit for investors.

Her nickname, "The Empress of Ancient Romance," says it all—she owns this genre.

"The Empress" is another book-to-screen adaptation, following the female lead's rise from a forgotten princess to a wise ruler—right up Qiao Mengyao's alley.

Whenever "The Empress" airs, it's pretty much guaranteed to dominate the ratings for that month.

Qiao Mengyao tried her hand at movies, but it didn't go so well. The film industry is way more exclusive than TV, and she didn't get much of a shot.

But Qiao Mengyao didn't let it get to her. She went back to TV and kept grinding.

Her dramas always have top-notch crews, and she even gets to handpick her co-stars. Even though people tease her for sticking to historical romances, she thinks every actor has their niche, and there's no shame in that.

"If it's airing, it's airing. Nothing we can do about it," Lei Ai said. "We can't exactly ask them to back off for us."

"Like they'd ever agree," Kong Le said, rolling his eyes.

They stayed cool—they'd been through this before.

They were more concerned about Lu Xu's state, as "The Path of Bones" is Lu Xu's first leading role drama, and it holds significant meaning for him.

Over the phone, Lu Xu was out of breath: "I'm biking."

"It's nothing, it's not the first time, I'm used to it."

Lei Ai: "..."

Alright.

#You're already on the bike, aren't you?#