Chapter 63: I Can’t Sleep

Chapter 63: I Can't Sleep

In fact, as soon as Lu Xu showed interest in playing the role of Jiang Lin, Zhang Che proactively contacted the "Voices of the Dead" production team, expressing his own interest in the role of Jiang Lin.

However, the "Voices of the Dead" production team straightforwardly rejected him: "We've already finalized the actor for Jiang Lin."

Can't they change their decision?

Zhang Che was feeling down again.

Thus, late at night when most people were already asleep, Zhang Che quietly went online again: "Why can't the world be fairer?"

This time, he did not quickly delete the post but kept it up for a long time.

A lot of Zhang Che's fans stay up late and naturally saw this update quickly.

"What's up, babe?"

"Has something unfair happened?"

"It's probably still about the Starlight Award, huh? Whenever it's mentioned, Zhang Che's eyes dim."

"I feel for you, babe. Don't be upset—didn't LX also miss out on the award?"

Fans guessed Zhang Che was still bummed about the Starlight Award nomination. They'd been following Zhang Che for a while, so they were used to this, and it could even be said that it was precisely this trait of Zhang Che's that made his fans exceptionally loyal—Zhang Che isn't perfect—he's sensitive and needs support.

Only his fans can really cheer him up.

But this time was different from before—

Not long after Zhang Che posted about "fairness," a marketer grabbed a screenshot: "Top young actor B and rising star A have some beef, it is said that A has been aggressively taking over B's resources these days."

"B's really struggling, and A's being way too aggressive."

Once the marketer posted the screenshot, it was pretty obvious who B was, and as for A, although the marketer did not provide an answer, they liked a comment under the post that mentioned "LX."

"Wait, Lu Xu is stealing Zhang Che's roles?????"

"Seriously? There's a huge gap between their careers."

"Lu Xu only has 'The Path of Bones,' right? What about the Starlight Award nomination? Nomination ≠ winning, please be aware."

"Everyone feels bad for Zhang Che, among the popular young actors, Zhang Che is already very dedicated to his career, and he has been seeking breakthroughs."

Zhang Che was already pretty popular, and Lu Xu, fresh off "The Empress" and "The Path of Bones," was also in the spotlight, so the topic blew up right away.

#Lu Xu snatching resources# #Actor A# #Lu Xu Zhang Che# one tag after another continuously hit the hot searches, and when Lu Xu woke up, his comment section indeed had N more comments of "How can you sleep?"

Feiyang Entertainment put out a statement first thing in the morning, claiming that the so-called "snatching resources" by marketers was not true, and even if there was a resource conflict between the two, Lu Xu would always play fair.

Unfortunately, Zhang Che's fans did not believe it.

Regarding the "How can you sleep?" comments, Lu Xu responded: [I sleep great—slept like a baby.]

"Stealing roles and still acting smug?"

"Amazing, how can you sleep so soundly?"

To this, Lu Xu responded: "Can you stop posting on Weibo at night? Talk about it during the day."

"If you post in the middle of the night, marketers have to pull all-nighters."

"My colleagues start work at 9 AM, forcing us to put out a statement at 5 AM."

"And why can't I sleep just because you can't sleep at night? I'm not your dad!"

Perhaps the term "your dad" was too blunt, Lu Xu revised it several times, first changing it to "your dad," then to "your dad," and finally to "your long-lost... relative."

Netizens: "..."

Come to think of it, that makes sense.

Zhang Che posting in the middle of the night is satisfying, he can vent however he wants, but from the perspective of a worker... it's really tragic.

Before Lu Xu finished his lengthy Weibo post, he @'d the marketer who brought up B and A: "If he's up, why are you up too?"

Next, he @'d Zhang Che: "Isn't there someone who's up keeping you company? Why keep asking me?"

"LOL, is Lu Xu throwing a morning fit?"

"Lu Xiao Gou has a point, with just a picture and a Weibo post, without any proof, it makes Lu Xu look like the bad guy."

"...I still want to say, if you're strong enough, no one can take your resources, and B, have you forgotten, when you were just being promoted by Yehai, you also took resources from others, this happens all the time in showbiz."

"As a top star, you should stop being so emo all the time, you're almost 30, always posting cryptic stuff online."

"If you say Lu Xu is stealing resources, show the receipts, don't just talk smack all day."

Yehai Entertainment does have proof, but it's not the company's place to step in, so it's up to the fans.

For example, right after Zhang Che tried out for Ou Qingchun's new show, Lu Xu followed.

Also, like "Tears Returned," "Snow Night Diary," "Spring in the Ancient City," all were first tried out by Zhang Che and then by Lu Xu.

Lu Xu himself admitted: "Yeah, I did."

"Should we put up a sign on every set Zhang Che tries out for, saying 'No Lu Xu or dogs allowed'?"

Netizens: "..."

Lu Xu's fans: "..."

They really wanted to point out to Lu Xu that saying this is basically calling himself a dog.

Forget it, they're used to it.

"So... this is called stealing resources?"

"Ah this..."

"Director Ou has issued a statement, saying that Lu Xu and Zhang Che both auditioned normally, and there is no so-called unfair competition."

Lu Xu @'d Zhang Che several times in the afternoon, but the other party, although online, pretended not to see and didn't reply.

Lu Xu: "...not sleeping at night, not sleeping now, next time can you @ me before you sleep, if you sleep I won't sleep."

"LOL, Lu Xiao Gou is freaking out."

"Who wouldn't be scared with a bunch of people chasing after you asking how you can sleep."

"Lu Xu: I'm outta here."

"Starting to worry about Lu Xu. What will Zhang Che do next time he tries to sleep at night? Will he just stay awake?"

Zhang Che himself has not responded at all, but Yehai's agency has issued a statement claiming that the so-called resource snatching between B and A by marketers is completely fabricated and false information. Yehai will take legal action against the marketers involved, hoping that the parties concerned remain calm and restrained, and not harm themselves or others.

Lu Xu: "Huh?"

"Why does your statement come out in the middle of the day, while mine has to be out at 5 AM?"

Lu Xu is also feeling down.

So he liked a post from a burner account—"Everyone in the industry knows that Yehai was behind 'The Empress' sabotaging 'The Path of Bones', because LX was in the way. Think about the Starlight Award, and think again..."

Lu Xu quickly unliked it, but the slip-up was already made.

More insider leaks are surfacing, such as Ou Qingchun actually preferring Lu Xu, and after Lu Xu auditioned for "Tears of Regret" and "Snowy Night Diary", both started leaning towards Lu Xu—"After all, the difference in acting skills is obvious, and the crew isn't blind."

"Previously, 'The Path of Bones' was heavily criticized. Lu Xu didn't have time to be down every day. The 'injustice' Zhang Che faced is nothing compared to what Lu Xu went through, okay?"

"It's simple: Zhang Che just lost it."

"This time he's breaking down, just like when he was shortlisted for the Starlight Award."

"It's just that fans like to flip the script. The Starlight Award judges and directors aren't blind."

Zhang Che's fans wanted to tear into this insider, but unfortunately, the insider had previously released a lot of information that was later proven to be true.

At least the connection between Yehai and Qiao Mengyao's agent is real.

Worried about more leaks, Zhang Che's fans only went after Lu Xu, blaming him for not being careful with his likes.

To this, Lu Xu responded that he just wants to sleep when he needs to and eat beef pies when he feels like it. His demands are very low.

He's standing up for his right to eat beef pies.

He's defending his right not to wake up at midnight to reply to messages.

...

If Zhang Che was just feeling down at first, now he's completely checked out.

Zhang Che can't take criticism; he relies on his fans to comfort him. But as soon as he went online, he saw Lu Xu's numerous relentless @s.

—Usually, he vents his dissatisfaction in the middle of the night, and then his fans attack the opposing actor, driving them to shut down.

After all, it's the fans who voluntarily charge into battle for him, not his own will.

But now, he can't tell Lu Xu apart from a perpetual motion machine.

He's just shocked by how relentless Lu Xu is.

No matter what the fans say, Lu Xu always @s him.

Oh, and Lu Xu also @s Yehai's agent, asking about the legal action against the marketers.

"Why does Lu Xu have so much free time?"

Why is he always online all day!

The agent had advised Zhang Che to avoid the negative energy online, but Zhang Che couldn’t help himself and still checked. Then—he discovered that Lu Xu had found another issue.

That was—

The marketing account that revealed the gossip between Person B and Person A posted at a time that was only 20 seconds apart from when Zhang Che tweeted.

And in those mere 20 seconds, the other party managed to complete a screenshot and type over 500 words with godlike speed.

"In the international shorthand competition held in Country G, a female secretary from Country J, XX, set a Guinness World Record with an average typing speed of 807 keystrokes per minute."

"@XX Entertainment Express, the UN needs talent like you."

"That’s why they can make money running a marketing account."

"First there was 'X House,' now there's a Guinness World Record. What do you look at online every day, Lu Xu? (pointing finger)"

"Just discovered some talent @UN, it's time to act."

"@UN, don't miss out on this."

"Maybe they just have the same wavelength as Zhang Che, both staying up late at night, then having a telepathic moment to screenshot Zhang Che’s tweet."

"This is love, please lock it down, no need to come and curse the puppy, the puppy can't handle not sleeping."

Zhang Che really didn’t want to look at Weibo anymore.

But his troubles were far from over.

Lu Xu wasn’t entirely satisfied with the script for "Spring in the Ancient City." Although the production team wasn’t particularly fond of Zhang Che, they had included him as a candidate for the lead role and were planning to discuss the contract with him. However, the marketing account “exposed” the incident of Lu Xu trying to snatch his resources.

The "Spring in the Ancient City" crew decided not to proceed.

According to the logic of the marketers, the crews of "Spring in the Ancient City," "Tears of Repayment," and "Diary of a Snowy Night" were all contributing to Lu Xu taking opportunities away from Zhang Che.

If "Spring in the Ancient City" invited Zhang Che, it would validate the rumors—after all, Lu Xu had indeed considered their crew, and it was after Zhang Che had sought cooperation.

Taking a step back, in the fans' mouths, the crew's invitation would mean "yielding to public pressure to collaborate with Zhang Che," meaning that cooperation would be a liability, and not cooperating would also be one.

So... it's better to just drop it.

After all, Zhang Che's team had been more earnest from the start.

Regardless of whether Zhang Che joins or not, it doesn't change the fact that "Spring in the Ancient City" is a strong contender for awards.

After weighing their options, the crew informed Wild Sea Agency that they wouldn't be working with Zhang Che.

By not cooperating with Lu Xu and also not cooperating with Zhang Che, the crew could stay out of trouble.

Zhang Che: "..."

Truth be told, he only meant to get under Lu Xu's skin, but instead of getting to Lu Xu, he only managed to irritate himself.

That night, Lu Xu, that lunatic, tagged him again: "Are you asleep? I can't sleep."

"Why can't the world have more sleep?"

"Zhang Che, how can you sleep? Lu Xu can't sleep because of you!"

"Even the little dog, who usually sleeps like a log, can't sleep. Poor pup."

Zhang Che: "..."

What a nutjob.