Chapter 57: The Fight Begins!

Chapter 57: The Fight Begins!

Lu Ding did not respond to Mu Qian, so Mu Qian @ him again: "Hey, buddy, can you tell me what 'X Le House' taught the audience and what social value it produced?"

Lu Ding still did not reply.

Mu Qian then continued to @ him: "Come on, why aren’t you saying anything?"

Clearly, Director Mu Qian has mastered the skill of stirring up drama on the internet. He tagged #MuQianAsksLuDing, #MuQianAsksAgain, and #MuQianAsksOnceMore.

After tagging, he specifically @ the platform: "Why haven’t I made it to the trending list?"

"I’ve got more reposts, comments, and likes than him!"

However, both Lu Ding and the platform chose to remain silent.

Internet users, however, sensed Lu Ding's intentions.

If he hasn’t even cleaned up his own act, why is he so fixated on criticizing 'The Path of Bones'? If 'The Path of Bones' has issues, 'X Le House' has even more serious problems.

"Didn’t Lu Ding also defend Ning Shi Entertainment before?"

"Hmm... he did, I remember because that drama was really bad, and then Lu Ding acted all high and mighty, subtly accusing the audience of having no taste."

"Ew, taste? Are we talking about the 'taste' it took to make 'X Le House'?"

"Hahaha, I just feel bad for Lu Xiao Gou getting dragged into this. Getting banned is so unfair."

"@Platform, unban Xiao Gou already!!"

"Xiao Gou’s coming at you on a bike!"

"I feel bad for Director Mu Qian too. Why isn’t he trending? I’m not buying it!"

"Same here!"

Mu Qian himself was also quite unconvinced, not only chasing after the platform for answers but also scolding Lu Ding, saying that the explicit pornographic plot he filmed was bad enough, but it also spread incorrect physiological knowledge.

"Those kinds of moves are impossible!!"

A well-known proctologist backed Mu Qian, saying the physiological scenes in 'X Le House' are scientifically inaccurate and unnecessary, even for art.

"Art shouldn’t mess with basic human anatomy."

"If they came to our hospital, we couldn’t help them either."

Internet users: "..."

"LOL!"

"I’m dying laughing!"

"Hahaha, the proctologist said this kind of move could make someone lose their Ding. Lu Ding, no Ding! Hahaha!"

After the proctologist’s comments, reporters looking for drama interviewed another victim, Lu Xu.

On camera, Lu Xu looked innocent: "I didn’t think much of it. I just wanted to learn from Teacher Lu’s work and accidentally hit share."

"So 'X Le House' is that kind of show, huh? No wonder I got banned."

"I guess I was being too narrow-minded."

"Mr. Lu's spirit of pushing boundaries is truly inspiring."

"It can't be Mr. Lu who's missing something, can it?"

After the reporter confirmed, Lu Xu sighed in relief, saying, "That's good, that's good."

"But I still think Mr. Lu should get checked at the hospital, just to be safe."

"Technology back then wasn't as advanced, so there could still be some hidden problems."

Netizens following the drama were speechless: "..."

"This is insane! But I’m here for it!"

In the end, Lu Ding's antics actually gave "The Path of Bones" a slight boost in popularity.

Lu Ding couldn’t find any real flaws in "The Path of Bones" or Lu Xu’s acting, so he resorted to nitpicking.

The original "The Path of Bones" has been out for years, and fans already love its story.

Now, out of nowhere, they’re acting like the TV adaptation would ruin the story for fans.

But Yu Yi in the show is just like the book version—nothing’s changed.

As the old saying goes, if you repay evil with kindness, what do you repay kindness with?

How could Yu Yi go on living after losing his teammates like that?

...

Later, the platform unblocked Lu Xu, but the link to "X Le Wu" vanished entirely from the web.

Lu Xu echoed Mu Qian, questioning why he was blocked while Director Mu couldn’t even trend.

He even reposted Mu Qian’s "Three Questions" hashtags.

Grape Film and TV lost the trending battle to Ning Shi Entertainment and De Yi Film and TV.

After Lu Xu’s release, Grape Film and TV, not taking this lying down, also rallied behind Mu Qian.

#What happened to the "Rising Sun" grudge? Did we forget?#

#All I see is "The Path of Bones"#

Loving the drama, netizens quietly boosted "Mu Qian’s Three Questions" to the top of the trends.

The trending list blew up as a result.

By the time "The Empress" team caught on, "The Path of Bones" had been trending for a while.

This went against what "The Empress" team had planned.

So Lu Ding’s criticism of "The Path of Bones" was quickly buried, and "The Empress" still dominated the top spots.

But "The Empress" had one big issue—

Qiao Mengyao is the female lead, but there are three or four male leads competing for attention. Once Li Chengfeng showed up, Xu Qingtian started trending nonstop, holding the top spots.

But not long after, Di Yiyun, who played the Northern Desert Prince Xi Ling, made his appearance.

Suddenly, Xi Ling's hashtags started trending more frequently.

However, Xi Rongyi's close male friends weren't just Xi Ling and Li Chengfeng; there were also the top scholar Hu Feiyin and the chief guard Shen Suiyun, played by rising stars Bai Yuyi and Rong Sheng.

By the time "The Empress" aired over ten episodes, all these characters had appeared.

As a result, the trending list became a wild spectacle—

One moment Xu Qingtian was on top, the next Di Yiyun, and then Bai Yuyi and Rong Sheng climbed up.

Xu Qingtian's fans insisted he was the true lead, calling everyone else side characters, boasting about his superior acting skills.

Di Yiyun's fans shot back that he had the most screen time, asking how anyone with less could even trend.

Bai Yuyi and Rong Sheng's fans went all out, listing their idols' strengths, from acting experience to their status and commercial endorsements, clearly and distinctly.

In short—everyone claimed their idol was number one, trashing the others as second-rate.

But as "The Empress" went on, it became clear that some male characters were way more popular than others.

Xi Ling, the cold and domineering Northern Desert Prince, was totally devoted to Xi Rongyi, and he had the most screen time among the male characters, providing the most significant support to Xi Rongyi compared to Li Chengfeng, Hu Feiyin, and Shen Suiyun.

Cold, brooding types always outshine the sweet, gentle ones, hence Di Yiyun, who played Xi Ling, was more popular than the other actors.

To hype up the show, the "The Empress" team sent the actors on variety shows, live streams, and promo tours, where Di Yiyun was often positioned closer to Qiao Mengyao.

This sparked debates—

When "The Empress" first aired, the male actors weren't on equal footing; Xu Qingtian, who appeared first, was ranked first.

So how did Di Yiyun end up front and center?

The show's official Weibo was low-key shipping Xi Rongyi and Hu Feiyin! Fire them already!

Deyi Film and Television was playing favorites—Di Yiyun got nearly twice the promo materials as everyone else!

Doesn't Rong Sheng deserve more spotlight?

Shen Suiyun's secret crush is the ultimate!

Forget Lu Xu—the "The Empress" guys were too busy tearing each other apart.

After all, "The Path of Bones" and Lu Xu were distant threats, but their real rivals were right there in the same show!

No one could dig up proof of Lu Xu dissing the "The Empress" guys, but evidence of someone in the same crew belittling their idol was presented.

When you're in the same show, especially sharing scenes, it's only natural for people to compare your acting chops.

The "The Empress" team wanted fans to focus on hyping up the show, but the moment one fan group vowed to focus on the show, another would sneak in to trash-talk their idol, and after a few times, the savvy fans stopped falling for the crew's tactics.

The guys' fans were at each other's throats, while Qiao Mengyao's fans were just here for the tea, but then they noticed something was off—

Where were Qiao Mengyao's hashtags?

And what happened to Xi Rongyi's screen time?

Xi Rongyi's screen time was shrinking fast, and Qiao Mengyao's hashtags were disappearing too, while the male actors' fans boasted about their idols' popularity, as if they had achieved it all on their own.

Is that so?

Isn’t this opportunity created by Qiao Mengyao?

Who’s using Qiao Mengyao’s fame while treating her as a tool?

It’s not just Qiao Mengyao’s fans being overly sensitive, but it’s visibly clear that Xi Rongyi’s screen time has significantly decreased as *The Empress* has progressed.

The male leads are depicted as either deeply loving and wise or cold and controlling, with the plot focusing heavily on these aspects. However, this has led to the awkward positioning of Xi Rongyi, the main female lead.

The deep affection belongs to the male leads, while Xi Rongyi wavers between different male leads, becoming a player in the game of love.

The intelligence is attributed to the male leads, who strategize for Xi Rongyi, helping her secure the position of the first royal daughter and enabling her to compete with the crown prince.

While Qiao Mengyao has captured the essence of Xi Rongyi, the portrayal of Xi Rongyi in the series doesn’t match fans’ idea of a “strong female lead.”

Qiao Mengyao didn’t become popular overnight.

It’s well known that male actors can easily gain popularity with just one drama, but it’s hard for them to establish a firm footing in the industry, and fans can easily drift away.

However, it’s different for female actors. A female actor must accumulate experience through several dramas to confirm her status in the industry, but in return, her fans are also very loyal.

On Qiao Mengyao’s journey to becoming a top-tier actress, her fans have experienced too many events, naturally making their influence extraordinary.

Predictably, Qiao Mengyao’s fans demanded an explanation from *The Empress* production team.

In the past, even the slightest movement from Qiao Mengyao would trend on social media. Although *The Empress* is a production that doesn’t particularly favor her in terms of topic popularity, the effect is still astonishing once the fans take action.

So, after *The Empress* aired over ten episodes, whenever the official blog pushed any material, including highlights of the plot and details of actor interactions, the comment section was flooded by fans of various actors.

Fans of both the male and female leads are criticizing the production team, demanding equal treatment for their actors and opposing the theft of their actors’ key scenes.

Amidst this chaos, *The Empress’s* popularity finally fell to 12,000+, while the popularity of *The Path of Bones* also rose to 12,000+.

Author’s note: Update—This story doesn’t reference any real people or works, so please don’t take it personally.