Chapter 80 080 Appearing on a Variety Show!

Chapter 80 080 Appearing on a Variety Show!

On the day when "Voices of the Dead" surpassed 15,000 in popularity, the consensus among major platforms was—Grape Pictures hit the jackpot!

"Why didn’t we go all out to compete back then?"

After "Voices of the Dead" cast Lu Xu as the male lead, multiple platforms were vying for the show. Ultimately, Grape Pictures clinched the project with its deep pockets.

At the time, several platform executives thought Grape Pictures was throwing money around. "Voices of the Dead" was worth picking up, but not at that steep price.

But now, those platforms that didn’t go all out are kicking themselves.

"Voices of the Dead" was a relatively easy grab, but what about Lu Xu’s new dramas in the future?

Just imagining the scene where competitors would pull out all the stops to snag a show, the platforms feel a sense of dread.

It’s going to be a cutthroat battle, isn’t it?

Grape Pictures’ luck… is something else.

In the first half of the year, "The Path of Bones" brought in a surge of VIP subscribers, and in the second half, "Voices of the Dead" kept the momentum going.

The brand deals for "The Path of Bones" were manageable, but the mid-show ads and brand shoutouts in "Voices of the Dead"—what platform wouldn’t be green with envy?

No doubt about it, Grape Pictures’ financial report this year is going to be stellar.

With "Voices of the Dead" being a hit, the portly CEO of Grape Pictures has been all over the place giving interviews, brazenly tooting his own horn.

"What’s there to be so proud of? He keeps boasting about his knack for spotting Lu Xu’s potential, but wasn’t he saying the same thing about Gu Sinian over a year ago?"

"Tsk, what has Grape Pictures done other than jacking up prices and throwing the market into chaos?"

Recently, whenever platform executives gather for meetings, Grape Pictures inevitably gets roasted.

The executives couldn’t care less. After all, the strong walk alone.

They’re a force to be reckoned with!

Besides Grape Pictures, Brand G has also emerged as a clear industry winner.

Brand G signed Lu Xu less than a year ago, and both "The Path of Bones" and "Voices of the Dead" have become massive hits. Lu Xu has skyrocketed from a rising star to A-list status.

Brand G is well aware that if they were to pursue Lu Xu now, the cost would be at least five times higher, and they would face countless competitors.

Even in the men’s clothing category, Brand G still has several strong competitors. But now, while those competitors are still betting on potential stars, Brand G can sit pretty on its throne.

Luxury brands are typically aloof, but Brand G has been all over "Voices of the Dead" crew’s Weibo posts, unable to contain its desire to show off.

"Who said luxury brands are aloof?"

"Some pursue for years without success, while others don’t even need to reach out—the brand eagerly approaches them. Tsk tsk, what a gap."

"Why not mention that some have already faded into obscurity, while others have become the top male stars?"

Lu Xu’s commercial value has doubled again, yet he’s not the type of celebrity who casually takes on endorsements. Both he and Feiyang Entertainment are very cautious about collaborations. Even with "Voices of the Dead" being a hit, there hasn’t been much movement in Lu Xu’s commercial partnerships.

Brands are finding it especially tough.

Executives and users like to directly point and say, "Go get Lu Xu," but who understands that someone like Lu Xu is the hardest to secure?

High prices are one thing, but dealing with endless competition is another.

Do you really think Benbo'erba didn’t want to get rid of Tang Monk and his disciples?

...

While promoting "Voices of the Dead," Lu Xu was back on "Very Night," making him one of the few celebrities in the industry to appear on the show twice in a year.

In this episode of "Very Night," Lu Xu went with Shao Yao. To fit the theme of "Voices," the show arranged a lip-reading game.

The result—throughout the entire segment, Shao Yao and Lu Xu only guessed two words correctly: "bicycle" and "dancer."

"Seriously, these two are clueless; I can’t keep watching!"

"Lu Xu’s mouth was practically cramping from opening so wide, and Shao Yao still didn’t get it. It wasn’t until Lu Xu clenched his fist at the word 'bicycle' that he finally guessed it."

"OMG! The host just said one English word, and they guessed 'dancer'! I’m done!"

"Blame 'Very Night' for not including 'night cream' in the word bank. Ugh, these two are so clueless it’s painful. Where’s their smarts?"

On the set, Lu Xu and Shao Yao were dressed in their "Voices of the Dead" outfits: Lu Xu in a Hawaiian-style T-shirt and jeans, and Shao Yao in a formal shirt and trousers. But their hairstyles were more polished than in the series, and under the soft lighting of "Very Night," fans wished they’d be on the show all the time.

While being unintentionally handsome is true handsomeness, being aware of one's looks can make one seem oily. Yet, Lu Xu and Shao Yao don’t even try to groom themselves off-camera, wasting their looks!

Another show Lu Xu guest-starred on was "Who's the Real Criminal."

It was the perfect show to promote "Voices of the Dead."

This season of "Who’s the Real Criminal" aired at the same time as "Voices of the Dead," a rare moment when both a detective show and a detective drama were hot at the same time. The official social media comments for "Who's the Real Criminal" were filled with requests for the show to invite Lu Xu and Shao Yao.

Then, the new episode of "Who's the Real Criminal" teased that Lu Xu would be appearing.

"Wow, Lu Xiao Gou’s on two shows back-to-back—so exciting!"

"I’m curious, with Lu Xiao Gou on 'Who’s the Real Criminal,' can he even make it past the first round?"

"Lu Xu, don’t look—it’s a roast! Who says Xiao Gou’s dumb? He’s got a big brain, okay? And he can ride a bike!"

...The audience's thoughts clearly influenced the show.

This episode’s plot was a "red herring" story, similar to the detective novel "The ABC Murders," where the culprit created a series of events to hide their true intentions. The real culprit wasn’t any of the ABCs but the hidden D.

Lu Xu was the new guest, and right away, the clues pointed to him.

The result—a barrage of comments:

"Seriously?"

"Lu Xu’s not cut out for solving cases, but he’s great at arguing!"

"Is the show really putting this much on Lu Xiao Gou?"

"I can feel Lu Xu trying hard to clear his suspicion..."

The other guests and fans thought the same. As more evidence piled up, they naturally excluded Lu Xu from the suspect list.

Then—

When the voiceover revealed the result, the camera swept over all the guests from this episode of "Who’s the Real Criminal."

When the camera landed on Lu Xu, many fans instantly widened their eyes.

Because Lu Xu flashed an evil, bone-chilling smile.

A smile more sinister than Ji Xiuya's.

Ji Xiuya is more twisted than evil.

But Lu Xu's smile at this moment made people feel the deep malice he was hiding.

"No way! No way! No way?!"

"????? Puppy, you tricked me??"

The answer was revealed—Lu Xu was indeed the actual criminal D, hidden beyond the ABC suspects, and the suspected A was just his decoy.

"Ahhh, Lu Xu, when did you go bad? I had no idea!"

"Honestly, Lu Xu's final expression—even if I got fooled, I’d be okay with it, ahhhh!"

"@All directors and scriptwriters, cast Lu Xu as a villain, the kind oozing with wickedness. He’s gotta be really bad."

"Upstairs, not now. Having a hot guy play the villain could mess with the audience’s heads. What if, when the hero calls out the villain, everyone just goes, 'So what?'?"

This episode of "Who is the Real Criminal" got a nice little boost in ratings, and Lu Xu's final sinister smile went viral on various platforms.

More fans started pushing for Lu Xu to join more variety shows.

Not only did Lu Xu's Weibo have fans urging, but fans even tracked down Xu Wen’s account, and even Feiyang Entertainment wasn’t spared.

Feiyang Entertainment was like, "..."

An agency like that knows exactly how much cash variety shows bring in.

But Lu Xu himself is unwilling!

Some fans even complained that the "Who is the Real Criminal" team wasn’t doing enough, as Lu Xu’s creepy grin only lasted a couple of seconds, not enough for them to cut into short videos.

The production team: "..."

More screen time would just spread bad vibes, right?

No way, not happening.

This episode of "Who is the Real Criminal" featured Lu Xu, and the next episode brought in Shao Yao, with each lead from "Voices of the Dead" taking turns in separate episodes.

With the experience from Lu Xu's previous appearance, the guests were gunning for Shao Yao, blaming every piece of evidence on him. Fans did the same, with the comment section filled with messages like "There is only one truth—the criminal is Shao Yao."

However, when the results were revealed, the criminal was not Shao Yao at all.

Shao Yao looked as pitiful as a 200-pound puppy.

"So sad, but also hilarious."

"So you’re just gonna pick on Shao Yao, huh? Like we Peony fans aren’t here?! Hmph, I command the production team to invite Shao Yao again next time and bully him more, thank you."

"Hilarious, Lu Xu stirs the pot, and Shao Yao gets the heat. Is this the daily ecology of the 'Voices of the Dead' crew?"

"Why is everyone ganging up on Shao Yao?! I refuse!! Let’s watch some 'dance and roar' to decompress—can’t get through the day without Shao Yao’s squawking."

The three episodes of the entertainment show essentially covered the entire period from the premiere to the finale of *Voices of the Dead*. The first case of *Voices of the Dead* was already highly popular, and with the three episodes of the show featuring trending memes, its popularity continued to rise.

The latter half of the case allowed the audience to witness the moment when Jiang Lin’s character had a breakthrough moment—

The criminal was cruel and bloody, and also held a high position. If not for a coincidence, Jiang Lin and Su Yang would not have been able to trace him.

Everything seemed to be predestined by fate. The flower shop owner placing flowers on her daughter’s grave shattered the criminal’s intention to buy flowers to cover his tracks.

At that precise moment, his alibi fell apart.

In the resolution of the final case, *Voices of the Dead* kept highlighting the role of cause and effect—each clue was discovered because of the previous victims.

Each person contributed a piece of the puzzle, eventually weaving a large net that tightly bound the criminal, stopping him in his tracks and ending his reign of terror.

"Someone grabbed your hair, someone entangled your legs, someone pointed out every scar on your face..."

Jiang Lin’s speech became a classic scene in *Voices of the Dead*, and it also made his character more complete.

The final episode of *Voices of the Dead* officially surpassed 16,000 in viewership ratings.

This data left many in the industry stunned.

Several top-tier talent agencies regretted not launching a major production to compete with *Voices of the Dead*. Even if *Voices of the Dead* still won, it definitely wouldn’t have been such a stunning victory!

Who could have predicted such a massive success?