Chapter 91: 091 Release

Chapter 91: 091 Release

Lu Xu had initially assumed that the crew for "Deception" would be ready quickly, but he ended up waiting a full three months. It wasn’t until August that the crew was finally assembled, and the main cast and crew were confirmed.

The wait was so long that Xu Wen seized the chance to load Lu Xu with commercial gigs. After all, since he was idle, he might as well make some extra money.

But what Lu Xu didn’t expect was that the filming schedule for "Deception" clashed with the promotional period for "The Year I Was 18," which was also scheduled to release in August.

Yue Hui apologized, "Sorry for the delay."

The script for "Deception" had been in Yue Hui’s hands for a long time, but it only truly started moving forward after he invited Lu Xu to join. Yue Hui had always been thinking about this project and naturally wanted to find the most suitable production team.

He had a lot of connections in the film industry, and this time he brought in people he had worked with before or those who had a good reputation in the industry.

Once the team was assembled, Yue Hui was eager to dive into filming. However, the journey from pre-production to shooting is complex and far from as simple as outsiders might think.

But since the filming had already started, the crew couldn’t afford to idle, so Lu Xu naturally had to join the "Deception" set first.

Mu Qian and Jin Mu understood the situation. Fortunately, there were many promotional opportunities for TV dramas, so Lu Xu wasn’t obligated to make appearances.

...

The release of "The Year I Was 18" faced significant challenges, not because the show couldn’t sell, but because it sold far more successfully than anticipated.

Objectively speaking, it was a straightforward, heartwarming slice-of-life drama with no obvious potential to be a hit. But after Lu Xu was cast as the lead actor, Mu Qian understood what it meant for "one person’s success to lift everyone else up."

He felt a mix of emotions.

Chenxi Pictures and Grape Pictures were platforms Mu Qian had worked with before. Even before filming began, representatives from both platforms approached Mu Qian.

Chenxi Pictures, which was relatively poor in the industry, was ready to shell out a hefty sum to buy the show, to the point of nearly going all-in.

Grape Pictures was even more outrageous—they proposed that Mu Qian direct a new drama as part of the deal.

Mu Qian was speechless.

#Hard to refuse#

But at the same time, he couldn’t help but wonder why such offers hadn’t come his way earlier.

"Is it because I can’t argue as well as Lu Xu?"

Overhearing Mu Qian’s musings, Jin Mu couldn’t help but shake his head.

In any case, it was a win to have platforms eager to buy "The Year I Was 18."

He attributed the smooth filming to Lu Xu’s good luck. From the first day of shooting to the wrap-up, he remained in high spirits, unlike his time on the set of "Rising Sun," where Jin Mu felt weighed down daily, as if a big stone was weighing on him wherever he went.

Apart from Chenxi Pictures and Grape Pictures, other notable platforms in the industry, such as Deyi, Cloud, and Qingkong, all approached the "The Year I Was 18" production team.

Grape Pictures even stirred up some resentment—every platform approaching Mu Qian for deals couldn’t resist taking a dig at Grape Pictures.

"Enough with 'The Path of Bones' and 'Voices of the Dead,' can’t you be less greedy?"

"Greed knows no bounds, why don’t you sign Lu Xu exclusively?"

"You’ve already broken so many records, isn’t it time to let others have a chance?"

In response, Grape Pictures stated, "What can we say? We’ve got deep pockets."

However, this time, the production team of "The Year I Was 18" did not collaborate with Grape Pictures but instead signed with Cloud Pictures—Mu Qian had worked on several dramas with Cloud Pictures early in his career and got along well with several of their executives.

Later, as Cloud Pictures changed its focus, Mu Qian's collaboration with the platform decreased.

This time, Cloud Pictures called in a retired senior executive to persuade Mu Qian, and he went along with it.

The bids from various platforms were substantial, and although Cloud Pictures leveraged personal ties, their offer to the crew was just a bit less than Grape Pictures’ offer.

In fact, several top-tier platforms have no shortage of funds, even second-tier Dawn Pictures is no exception, but platforms need to invest their money wisely, just like how Grape Pictures acquired "The Path of Bones" and "Voices of the Dead" for jaw-dropping sums, yet no one thought Grape Pictures got a bad deal.

On the contrary, all platforms saw these two deals as great bargains.

What caliber of drama "The Year I Was 18" is, all platforms know exactly what to expect.

Naturally, some people were annoyed by the platforms’ rush to secure Lu Xu’s dramas: "Is this really worth it? Are dramas acted by others necessarily bad?"

"It's not that others' dramas are bad, but—Lu Xu’s dramas have a 100% track record of breaking ten thousand in heat, and the Starlight Award nomination rate is 40%, and that’s without even counting 'Voices of the Dead,' so why wouldn’t you pick Lu Xu?"

Before "The Path of Bones," Lu Xu was just a supporting actor, taking on several memorable supporting roles, and he couldn’t claim credit for the drama’s popularity.

But "The Path of Bones" was carried solely by him, and then "Voices of the Dead" took off. Although his resume isn’t extensive, he’s earned the audience’s trust through his work.

Lu Xu doesn’t make bad dramas, this is how many viewers see Lu Xu.

...

The trailer of "The Year I Was 18" is not peculiar or bizarre, just a short comparison of warm and mundane daily life—unlike "Voices of the Dead," which released two versions of the trailer, one showing the sparks between Jiang Lin and Su Yang, and the other bringing the thrill and mystery of the voices of the dead.

Under the same shot, the upper part is Huang Luning fantasizing about making a fortune, while the lower part is Huang Luning squeezing onto a bus, chasing dreams in this city.

There's also Huang Luning who only looks up at the sky and Huang Luning who looks down at the ground.

And Huang Luning who brings tears to his family and Huang Luning who brings smiles to his family.

"If I could go back to 18, I wouldn't want to be rich and powerful, I just want everything to be good, my parents to be good, and myself to be good."

The next moment, the image rapidly reverses, and Huang Luning really goes back to his 18.

"If you went back to 18, what would you do?"

"This is a story about a man and his choices."

"Very plain and ordinary scenes, but I kind of want to watch it."

"Feels like 'The Year I Was 18' is a deep and gentle story, very different from 'Voices of the Dead' and 'The Path of Bones.'"

"I will always, always look forward to Lu Xiao Gou's dramas, it's that simple."

In terms of promotional power, Cloud Pictures is still somewhat inferior to Grape Pictures, unlike Grape Pictures, where whenever a new drama is released, social media is inevitably lively.

"The Year I Was 18" was released at the end of the summer season, during which most dramas broadcasted by various platforms were of good quality. For this drama, the platforms' prediction is—it's easy to break ten thousand in heat, but reaching the heights of "The Path of Bones" and "Voices of the Dead" is difficult.

"The Year I Was 18" is not very aggressive and does not have the strength to dominate the market.

But after all, this is Lu Xu's third leading drama after "The Path of Bones" and "Voices of the Dead," so the audience will naturally pay some attention.

...

When Wei Yi turned on the TV, her mother had just finished washing a bunch of grapes, complaining about how hard it was to peel them while also grumbling about her failing eyesight mistaking the grapes for a different fruit.

She glanced at the TV and asked Wei Yi, "Why are you watching this kind of show now?"

Wei Yi was an actor, but she was more passionate about industry gossip than watching dramas. Being an actor made it easier for her to stay updated on the latest rumors and dynamics that outsiders wouldn't know about, making her life quite enjoyable.

"This is Lu Xu's drama," Wei Yi said, "It's definitely good."

She had followed both *The Path of Bones* and *Voices of the Dead*.

Wei's mother gave a disapproving look.

The crime and thriller genres that Wei Yi loved were precisely the types she couldn't stand. She had only watched two episodes before turning off the TV.

The characters were miserable, and the cases were equally grim, making her feel suffocated.

The show currently on TV seemed different. Wei's mother had only watched a little, but her attention was already drawn to the plot.

Wei Yi's family situation improved only after she entered middle school. They moved to a bigger house and could afford to send her to acting classes. But when Wei Yi was young, Wei's mother had experienced the kind of life depicted in *The Year I Was 18*.

Wei's mother could empathize with Huang Luning's struggles—Wei Yi's grandparents had passed away early, never getting to see her mother live a better life. They hadn't enjoyed a single day of comfort.

This made Wei's mother sad. When they were poor, she hadn't thought about treating her parents better. Now that she had money, her parents were gone, and she couldn't make it up to them.

On the TV screen, Huang Luning was writing his plans under the lamp. If one looked closely, they would notice that his plans didn't focus on success but were mostly about his current life.

Wei Yi knew Lu Xu, and they had a decent relationship from working together on *The Supreme*. But with each new drama of Lu Xu's she watched, her understanding of him deepened—Lu Xu wasn't just a versatile actor; in terms of emotional performance, among the actors she knew, few could surpass him.

Her mother had been sitting far away, but after two episodes, she moved closer, her hand resting on Wei Yi's arm. Wei Yi knew that whenever her mother thought about her grandparents, she wanted to be closer to her.

The tissues on the coffee table were being pulled out one after another.

In Wei Yi's view, *The Year I Was 18* was clearly a warm drama.

Perhaps she wasn't at that age yet, but if she were Huang Luning, with a life full of regrets, she might make the same choices if she could go back in time.

"Is this a drama from Cloud Entertainment?" Wei's mother sniffled, "I want to watch it again tomorrow. Can you set it up for me?"

Wei Yi silently nodded in agreement.

On the first day, she thought *The Year I Was 18* was the kind of show her mother's generation would enjoy. But by the time the drama reached episodes 3 and 4 on the second day, Wei Yi was also drawn into the story.

Huang Luning had met both good and bad people. In his second chance at life, he remained ordinary, but Wei Yi was moved by his optimism—he wasn't the type of character who brainwashed the audience with clichés like "enduring hardship brings blessings." Huang Luning was genuinely optimistic, like a blade of grass that wouldn't be blown down no matter how strong the wind was.

Lu Xu's performance was incredibly lifelike, as if he himself were Huang Luning.

Wei Yi couldn't help but recall the intimidation of working with Lu Xu on *The Supreme* set. Both she and Zheng Xiao had learned a lot from that collaboration. It was no exaggeration to say that this experience gave her a new understanding of acting.

What moved Wei Yi the most was the plot in *The Year I Was 18* where Huang Luning broke free from his predetermined fate.

He saved a little girl from drowning, thereby saving a family. He ran out in the middle of the night to carry away a neighbor's dog, sparing it from being poisoned.

Even if interfering in others' fates would disrupt his own, Huang Luning still did it because he was good-hearted.

*The Year I Was 18* had a slow pace, devoid of the usual conflicts in family dramas—no mother-in-law and daughter-in-law disputes, no marital discord, no stories of "phoenix men" and "peacock women." The entire drama was peaceful—the plot was peaceful, the music was peaceful, and the audience's mood was peaceful.

Yet, for some reason, Wei Yi was willing to keep watching, episode by episode.

She wanted to see Huang Luning find happiness.

Because she was so engrossed in watching "The Year I Was 18," Wei Yi didn't have time to pay attention to the recent gossip. As a result, when she glanced at the trending chart and saw that the latest episode of "The Year I Was 18" had already reached over 13,000 in popularity, Wei Yi was stunned.

What’s happening?

She thought "The Year I Was 18" was just her own little hidden gem.

Even with Lu Xu in the lead role, she never thought it would blow up like this.

Author's note:

Next chapter will mention "The Swordsman," so some setup is needed first.