Chapter 54: Broadcast

Chapter 54: Broadcast

Competition between the two shows is pretty standard, and Lu Xu didn’t give it much thought.

Not to mention, "The Empress" was just a routine schedule change. Even if platforms and production companies teamed up to sabotage a certain show, it would be a routine operation in the industry.

You can’t really avoid it.

Moreover, "The Path of Bones" and "The Empress" are not the same type of drama. As long as the quality holds up, both shows will have their own audiences, and a win-win situation is not impossible.

"You’re being optimistic, but..."

Lei Ai forwarded Lu Xu a few links.

The director had been pretty calm the day before, but after waking up, several popular TV drama bloggers started putting together lists of "New February Dramas." Usually, these kinds of recommendation lists are supposed to stay objective and fair, but these bloggers’ comments were subtly undermining "The Path of Bones."

Lei Ai thought he might be reading too much into it, but Kong Le assured him that his thoughts were not wrong.

As a writer, Kong Le has a sharper eye for language than most.

When they say "it vaguely recalls the hype around 'The Informant' premiere," isn’t that a clear jab?

The director was baffled. Qiao Mengyao has a stellar track record, and for "The Path of Bones" to beat "The Empress," the difficulty is not small. Deyi Film and Television had no reason to set up "The Path of Bones" for failure.

Fortunately, Lei Ai has some pull in the industry, and Grape Film and Television is pretty plugged-in. It is said that a Deyi Film and Television VP let slip at a drinking party that the schedule change for "The Empress" was deliberate.

First, Qiao Mengyao and Wei Fangfei are close friends, and Qiao Mengyao got a lot of help from her early in her career.

Of course, this is not the main reason. Qiao Mengyao’s personality is calm and cautious, and the schedule change for "The Empress" doesn’t affect her much. She just went along with Deyi Film and Television’s plan.

Second—

"Ling Ge, Ning Shi, Ye Hai... all had a hand in it. Your lead actor has rubbed quite a few people the wrong way."

With that hint, Lei Ai understood.

It's probably not that Lu Xu has offended many people, but for some in the industry, "The Path of Bones" must not succeed.

Ling Ge Entertainment speaks for itself. Ning Shi is the agency of the male lead and second male lead of "The Empress," both of whom are rising actors eager to climb the ladder. Even if Lu Xu has no direct competition with them, for them, "The Empress" must crush "The Path of Bones" during this period.

Ye Hai is Zhang Che's agency.

"How many targets has Lu Xu set up?" Lei Ai sighed.

"Because he has no weaknesses," Kong Le replied.

Up-and-coming male actors often get targeted by rivals, but some actors don't need to be sniped too hard; their flaws will naturally show.

For example, actors with outstanding looks usually have mediocre acting skills. A few poorly acted scenes are enough to make bad acting synonymous with the actor.

Such actors can only be popular for a short time, not for long.

Lu Xu is different.

Leaving aside his looks, his acting talent is obvious to anyone with eyes. Just compare the fans' attitudes before and after the trailer of "The Path of Bones" was released.

The second trailer of "The Path of Bones" focused on suspense, and Lu Xu didn't have many scenes, but the fans became even more excited.

With the failure of "The Informant," the fact that "The Path of Bones" is still so highly anticipated, the difference is clear to everyone in the crew.

This is why Lu Xu is being targeted.

Lei Ai isn’t sure if these companies are spending big to attack Lu Xu out of mutual agreement or coincidence. If it’s the latter, it just goes to show how much of a threat Lu Xu is.

"The entertainment biz is a mess," Kong Le couldn’t help but sigh. "Luckily, I’m just a novelist."

Objectively, if *The Empress* crew is dead set on targeting *The Path of Bones*, the *Path of Bones* team doesn’t have many options.

Unless they can outshine the other in popularity.

"Big shots are so chill," Lei Ai sighed.

"No need to lose confidence; we’ll see how it goes when the show airs," Kong Le reassured him.

...

In fact, *The Path of Bones* isn’t in as bad a spot as some think, and *The Empress* crew isn’t as composed as some imagine.

Grape Entertainment has always been a marketing powerhouse. Two days before *The Path of Bones* premiered, the platform cleared its prime spot for a huge poster of Yu Yi with a chilling smile—so striking that tons of people swapped their profile pics from red carpet shots to Yu Yi’s stills.

Lu Xu even stepped up his game, diving into all sorts of promo for the show.

While *The Path of Bones* was pushing hard on promo, Deyi Entertainment kept pace, racking up hot searches for *The Empress*.

The two shows were duking it out on the hot search list, making it feel like summer blockbuster season had kicked off early.

That’s when Deyi Entertainment realized the February slot had turned into a two-horse race.

What does that mean? It’s giving *The Path of Bones* a boost!

Whether on purpose or not, *The Path of Bones* has quietly become just as big a deal as *The Empress*.

Remember, *The Path of Bones* is Lu Xu’s first time as a lead. In the acting world, Lu Xu’s still a newbie.

Qiao Mengyao’s a surefire hit!

Honestly, Lu Xu isn’t even in the same league as Qiao Mengyao.

Now, with the two shows being compared, isn’t it dragging Qiao Mengyao down to Lu Xu’s level?

To make matters worse, on premiere day, Grape Entertainment dropped a candid shot of Lu Xu in streetwear.

It was obviously recent, unretouched, with Lu Xu in a basic sports jacket, caught off guard by the camera.

"...Does showing off his looks even work?"

"Do we have to go this low?"

"...Do they really think one pic can move the needle?"

Turns out—Grape Entertainment’s Weibo post got hundreds of thousands of reposts, and *The Path of Bones* saw a spike in interest.

Deyi Entertainment was speechless.

This cheap trick actually worked!

#StopCheating#

#I Can't Handle This Release#

Deyi Entertainment wasn't about to be left behind. On the day "The Empress" premiered, a promotional post by Qiao Mengyao also set a record for celebrity reposts.

Wei Fangfei was the first to repost, followed by Zhang Che, who also shared the tweet. Besides Zhang Che, several other well-known young actors in the industry reposted it as well, including two who had previously feuded with Zhang Che over billing disputes. Yet now, they reposted each other's tweets without any hesitation.

"The ice is broken!"

"Bros sticking together!"

A bit later, Xie Qingyang, Gu Sinian, and Meng Qin reposted in unison: "A fantastic sister we've worked with before—good luck with the new drama!"

Netizens had expected that, given Gu Sinian and the others' dramatic tendencies, they would at least repost something from "The Path of Bones" crew. However, after waiting for a long time, there was no activity on their Weibo pages.

"Has Verse completely cut ties?"

"Tsk tsk, they're not even pretending anymore."

"I still remember when Lu Xu was a nobody. Anything about him would get reposted by others, and fans would feel sorry for their own idols while bashing Lu Xu for being unworthy. But now, yikes~"

"Afraid of their brothers suffering, but also afraid of their brothers succeeding."

"Ahem, wrong. These three probably want Lu Xu to suffer even more."

In response, Lu Xu made it clear: if others won't repost, he will.

The internet never forgets, and Lu Xu quickly dug up old Weibo posts from last year where Xie Qingyang and the others showed off their camaraderie.

It must be said, the original owner was just a tool for these guys to craft their personas. With a quick scroll, Lu Xu found dozens of posts.

"Verse will always be one family." — Shared.

"Though we're apart for now, I believe we'll reunite someday." — Shared.

"Today marks X years since Verse debuted. Remember what we were like back then?" — Shared.

"Lu Xu is still Verse's Lu Xu!" — Shared.

"Wasn't I great to work with?"

"It's a four-person movie, and I deserve my name in it!"

"Alright, alright! You do you!"

"Haha, Verse is reuniting again!"

"Why not repost 'The Path of Bones'? Is Lu Xu not good enough?"

"LOL, I noticed Lu Xu only goes after Verse! He ignores everyone else!"

"Upstairs, Chen Ye begs to differ!"

"What a perfect example of fake brotherhood—so convincingly acted."

When the hashtag #VerseReunionWithoutLuXu hit the trending list, the higher-ups at Deyi Entertainment turned green.

It was rare for Qiao Mengyao's Weibo to get so many reposts, and Deyi Entertainment was just about to build her image as someone with great connections and high drama popularity when Lu Xu's move disrupted everything.

Now, who cares about how many industry friends Qiao Mengyao has? Everyone's busy watching Lu Xu take on his former teammates!

In response, online gossipers expressed that having good connections is boring, but it's more interesting when they get into a feud!

Good relationships might be acted, but bad relationships are definitely real!

Lu Xu is now a high-level player in the V-scene, and he's definitely a force to be reckoned with!

With Lu Xu's feud with them, the attention on "The Path of Bones" has risen again.

Grape Film and Television has felt the brunt of Lu Xu's temper before, and now that Lu Xu is making their competitors suffer, the higher-ups at Grape Film and Television finally feel some satisfaction.

It's not just us who are unlucky, oh well!

#Lu Xu's Power#

...

Amidst all the buzz, both "The Path of Bones" and "The Empress" aired simultaneously.

Lu Xu watched "The Path of Bones" first.

From what he remembered, most of the footage he shot was used, and the scenes that didn't contribute to the pacing were cut by Lei Ai to fill in the details.

The first and second episodes begin Yu Yi's journey of revenge, and the pace isn't particularly fast. However, from Lu Xu's perspective, the shift in Yu Yi's demeanor is stark in these two episodes.

From warmth to coldness, this contrast is impossible to ignore.

Lu Xu watches his own show with a critical eye, usually focusing only on the pacing and the performances themselves. The first two episodes don't reveal much good or bad, as the story has just begun.

But he at least understands what kind of story "The Path of Bones" wants to tell, and the suspense is already set up for the audience.

After that, Lu Xu watched "The Empress."

He didn't keep tabs on how popular the two shows were; there's no need to overthink it, as the audience will judge for themselves.

In the first two episodes of "The Empress," Qiao Mengyao doesn't appear, and the spotlight is mainly on the young actors.

The young Empress Xi Rongyi was just a neglected princess in her youth, and precisely because she was neglected, she witnessed the ruthless nature of palace life—siblings killing each other for profit.

Even as a royal daughter, she could die silently in this palace.

And as a daughter, her only battle was for her father's affection.

But so what?

Her elder sister, who was so favored, was still sent off to a distant marriage for political gain? Entrusting your fate to others is the height of folly and peril.

Lu Xu raised his eyes; this plot is interesting!

Though the young actors' performances were somewhat forced and lacked subtlety, in the face of the plot, these flaws can still be overlooked.

Lu Xu thinks that as long as the show follows the original plot, the ratings should be solid.