Chapter 62: 062 New Script

Chapter 62: 062 New Script

Zhang Che didn’t expect Lu Xu to be so uncooperative.

"Who does he think he is?" Zhang Che’s face, praised by fans as "divine beauty," was tinged with irritation. "He’s only been famous for a short while."

Although he clearly understood that if Lu Xu was determined to compete with him, the other party had a high chance of winning.

"Feiyang Entertainment isn’t easy to deal with either," the agent added.

Feiyang Entertainment is an established agency, slightly lacking in marketing capabilities, and its reputation isn’t as prominent as many of the newer agencies today.

However, the reason Feiyang Entertainment couldn’t compete with other agencies before was that they had no one to promote.

But now, Feiyang Entertainment has Lu Xu.

Lu Xu is undoubtedly a rising star who can hold his own, with no shortcomings in terms of popularity, acting skills, or looks. With someone like him, Feiyang Entertainment will naturally go all out to secure more opportunities for him.

While Yehai Agency couldn’t connect with veteran directors like Ou Qingchun, Feiyang Entertainment might not have the same problem. Many big names who left Feiyang Entertainment years ago are now part of its extensive network.

Moreover, in terms of talent...

The agent was certain that after Lu Xu made a name for himself in the industry, the voices praising Zhang Che’s "divine beauty" had diminished significantly.

You can’t entirely blame the fans for switching loyalties so quickly—they’re naturally fickle. Thanks to Yu Wei and Ji Xiuya, Lu Xu has pulled off both modern and period looks flawlessly.

After Lu Xu became popular, he landed ad campaigns, walked red carpets, and appeared on variety shows, yet reporters never managed to snap a single bad photo of him.

In fact, when "The Noble Son" first became popular, some people said Lu Xu was a more polished version of Zhang Che, as their looks were somewhat similar from certain angles.

Back then, Zhang Che’s fans lashed out at anyone who dared suggest this—at the time, Lu Xu was still a little-known actor with a tarnished reputation, and his status was miles behind Zhang Che’s. To Zhang Che’s fans, Lu Xu was just trying to piggyback on his success.

They insisted Lu Xu was a pale imitation of Zhang Che.

But look how quickly things changed—now Lu Xu is in a position to rival Zhang Che.

...

Zhang Che quickly realized that Lu Xu wasn’t just talking big—he was the type to act on his words.

Lu Xu had probably just auditioned for Ou Qingchun’s project, and the crew’s tone toward Zhang Che turned noticeably colder. Zhang Che, being naturally sensitive, immediately noticed this.

"Should we contact 'Spring in the Ancient City'?" the agent suggested. "The script focuses on cultural heritage preservation, a hot-button issue these days, and it aligns with the mainstream. The Starlight Award is sure to give it a nod."

Zhang Che had his sights set on the Starlight Award. He picked scripts specifically for their award potential, especially those with themes and teams favored by the Starlight Award.

It was a calculated move, but for Zhang Che, it was the safest bet.

Lu Xu just waltzed into "The Son of Heaven" and snagged a Starlight Award nomination—Zhang Che wasn’t about to get that lucky.

Although Zhang Che believed that Lu Xu’s nomination was definitely influenced by Feiyang Entertainment’s behind-the-scenes efforts.

This was what kept him up at night—the thought that Lu Xu’s victory over him was due to factors beyond acting.

From the very beginning, the competition between them was not fair.

Lu Xu’s response of "Good luck" also carried a condescending tone in Zhang Che’s eyes.

Who does a supporting actor think he is, telling him "Good luck"?

Check out who he's playing second fiddle to?

Yang Shu, a nobody in the acting world.

Zheng Xiao, a struggling second-tier actor who finally got some recognition, is always stuck in his shadow at events.

Cheng Yun, who toiled for decades before snagging his first big lead role.

Zhang Che admits that Lu Xu performed well in *The Path of Bones*, but he can't forgive him for stealing his shot at a nomination.

"*Spring in the Ancient City*?" Zhang Che looked at the script excerpts brought by his agent and pondered for a moment before saying, "Let's go for it."

Zhang Che arranged for his agent to communicate, but before half a day had passed, he saw his agent with a face like thunder: "...Lu Xu is sniffing around it too."

Zhang Che's face darkened like a storm cloud.

The agent looked at him: "Wen Li and Xie Linshen have both tipped off Lu Xu. Now everyone knows Lu Xu is stealing your parts."

Wen Li and Xie Linshen are Zhang Che's arch-nemeses, contemporaries who rose to fame around the same time as him.

Male actors in their rising phase are always at each other's throats, and with fans constantly bickering, they naturally had beef from the get-go.

These two didn't get involved in the competition for *The Empress* and *The Path of Bones*, partly because they had no issues with Lu Xu, and partly because, in their view, facing Lu Xu alone was better than dealing with a crowd.

In their eyes, Zhang Che's move to sabotage *The Path of Bones* was a dumb move.

However, for them, Lu Xu and Zhang Che going at it was music to their ears.

Originally, no one knew Lu Xu was deliberately targeting Zhang Che, but it became obvious as Lu Xu followed Zhang Che to every role he tried out for, flaunting it shamelessly, like a dog on the hunt.

Wen Li and Xie Linshen only wished the two would clash more fiercely, so whenever they noticed Zhang Che's moves, they would quietly tip off Lu Xu.

Zhang Che: "Have they lost their minds?"

Lu Xu is also insane, a total nutjob.

Yet when he opens Weibo, he either sees marketers claiming Lu Xu is now the golden boy of every production team, highly sought after, or a swarm of clueless fans gushing over how "adorable" Lu Xu is.

What's so damn cute about him?

Zhang Che is frustrated. Although he knows deep down that Lu Xu can't possibly play so many roles alone and is just trying to annoy him, he still feels successfully annoyed.

*Spring in the Ancient City* was another blow from Lu Xu. Zhang Che didn't dare to easily approach the production team anymore. He wasn't sure who Lu Xu had bribed, feeling like Lu Xu had eyes and ears everywhere in the industry. The moment he made a move, Lu Xu would snatch the script he was eyeing like a hungry dog.

His fans even like to portray Lu Xu as a dog, but in Zhang Che's eyes, Lu Xu is a real piece of work!

...

Lu Xu did go to audition for Ou Qingchun's production. The director was satisfied with his performance but felt his looks didn't quite fit the role.

Ou Qingchun wanted an actor with a more down-to-earth appearance.

Lu Xu could portray the simplicity of someone born in a mountain village, but his face didn't quite match the character.

"Way too handsome for the role," Ou Qingchun commented.

Lu Xu didn't mind playing an ugly role, but Ou Qingchun advised against it, as his series mostly tells the everyday stories of ordinary people—real, everyday life. Deliberately making oneself look ugly would make it feel unreal.

The director knows Xu Wen, so he was honest with Lu Xu: "I don't want to see headlines like 'So-and-so plays ugly' trending. That's not the focus of my show."

Lu Xu himself might not bring up this topic, but after the drama airs, discussions about him playing an unappealing character are inevitable.

Lu Xu accepted this explanation.

Every director has their own style, and since he doesn’t mesh well with Ou Qingchun’s style, there’s no need for him to force it.

To be fair, Zhang Che is really pushing hard for awards. Lu Xu doesn’t always like the scripts Zhang Che picks, but these are exactly the kind of scripts Starlight Award judges tend to favor.

"I think there’s no need to aim solely for awards. Just focus on doing a solid job with the roles you’ve got," Xu Wen said. "Being too fixated on awards will just make your acting come off as forced."

Among the scripts Zhang Che is interested in, Lu Xu is only interested in the one directed by Ou Qingchun. The other scripts are either too artsy or too contrived.

For example, the script for "The Spring of the Ancient City" has a good subject matter, but before the audition, Lu Xu watched a documentary related to the city and felt that the script overplayed the importance of certain individuals, giving actors the limelight while sidelining the real driving forces of the story.

He felt the production team was just riding the cultural preservation trend without truly respecting the cause.

Of course, Lu Xu’s interest in Zhang Che’s scripts was just a ruse, mainly to annoy him.

If Zhang Che makes a move, Lu Xu will match it. This is Lu Xu’s personal principle.

He sees this as one of his strengths and plans to keep it up.

In the following days, Lu Xu and Xu Wen continued to select scripts.

The impact of "The Path of Bones" is pretty clear—when it comes to roles that are cold, ruthless, or involve major character shifts, or revenge-themed stories, Lu Xu is usually the first among actors of his caliber to receive such scripts.

However, Lu Xu doesn’t want to repeat similar roles too often. He’ll outright reject lower-quality scripts, while keeping the better ones as options.

Script quality comes first.

Now that he has the luxury of choice, if he were still without options as before, he’d still take on roles he wasn’t completely happy with.

Lu Xu treats both good and bad roles with equal respect.

"There are plenty of scripts, but picking the right one is tough."

Xu Wen noticed that while Lu Xu is pretty laid-back in other areas, when it comes to scripts, he’s more serious than most.

When they first started working together, Xu Wen thought Lu Xu had an uncanny knack for picking scripts, as if he had been acting for many years. The longer they worked together, the stronger this feeling became.

Xu Wen’s ability to evaluate scripts was developed over the years as an agent. He’s worked with many actors and naturally honed his script evaluation skills.

In addition, Xu Wen has a few close friends in the industry who are scriptwriters, and he occasionally seeks their advice.

His mindset is pretty traditional, probably from his years at Feiyang Entertainment. Xu Wen feels that he gets along well with actors like Lu Xu.

Actors who focus heavily on marketing and business rise quickly, but a few years later, once their resources decline, they might not even get roles.

In Xu Wen’s plan, Lu Xu is not the type of actor to follow this path.

Of course, Lu Xu himself doesn’t have that kind of personality either.

The two of them discussed their thoughts for a long time. Lu Xu said he wouldn’t mind trying a drama like "The Empress," mainly because he hasn’t done it before. However, upon recalling how the script for "The Empress" was drastically altered, Lu Xu decided it was too risky.

"How about this one?" Xu Wen pulled out a script from the options. "It’s a bit heavy, but your role isn’t."

"Not bad," Lu Xu nodded. "A typical commercial drama."

"Then... give it a try?" Xu Wen suggested. "You haven’t tried this genre yet."

The script selected by Xu Wen is titled "Voices of the Dead," which tells the story of a man who can understand the speech of corpses.

After an accident, Jiang Lin gains the ability to hear the dead speak upon touching their bodies. Since then, strange occurrences have been frequent around him, but he also helps solve numerous difficult cases, uncovering the truth for the deceased.

This is a two-male-lead drama.

Jiang Lin, despite his special ability, is physically weak—unable to carry heavy loads or lift heavy objects—and often encounters dangers. Therefore, he needs a strong and capable partner to protect him.

"I can consider this role, but I need to see the co-star the crew finds before making a decision."

Lu Xu's idea is simple: at least he doesn’t want to deal with the diverse male actors from *The Empress* crew. He simply wants the drama to be filmed and aired without any drama.

Although he knows that, to some extent, he also tends to attract drama, making it difficult to broadcast quietly, at least the crew should not start persecuting each other internally.

"Alright."

The agent is quite efficient. To be precise, after Lu Xu expressed his interest in taking on the role of Jiang Lin, the previously sluggish casting process for *Voices of the Dead* suddenly sped up.

Yes, the roles of Jiang Lin and Su Yang were initially undecided.

But just as Lu Xu planned to take on Jiang Lin, the role of Su Yang suddenly became highly sought after.

The entire *Voices of the Dead* crew felt like they had struck gold.

In fact, the crew wanted to ask Lu Xu if he had any actors in mind to collaborate with for this role.

After all, whoever Lu Xu wanted to work with, the crew could try to invite them.

Unfortunately, Lu Xu didn’t have any specific preferences on this matter.

Author's Note:

Update~

While writing this chapter, I suddenly realized that "they are not sick" and "they are sick" can mean the same thing in certain contexts, highlighting the irony.