Chapter 145 145 Mountain Group

Chapter 145: The Mountain Group

"Respected Teacher Lu, you've arrived."

The moment Lu Xu appeared in the group chat, Zheng Xiao and Shao Yao roasted him mercilessly.

Having worked in the entertainment industry for years and known Lu Xu for just as long, the two had never imagined Lu Xu would be mocked in such a way.

Though Lu Xu himself didn’t mind, Zheng Xiao and Shao Yao could hardly hold back their laughter: "What’s their deal? Did they assume they’d never age?"

Zheng Xiao and Lu Xu actually got along fine, but in groups Lu Xu had previously joined—whether with the cast of *The Son of Heaven*, *The Path of Bones*, or *The Year I Was 18*—actors were lamenting: "Am I ancient now? Ready for the grave?"

In front of Lu Xu, Cheng Yun and the others kept their tone mild, but in interviews, these older actors didn’t hold back, delivering backhanded digs with phrases like "ready for the grave" repeated multiple times.

Liu Rennong Studio couldn’t afford to provoke these actors, who, while not the most famous, had deep industry seniority, and quickly muted Bei Hong.

"What’s their problem? Of all things to mock, they chose Lu Xu’s age?"

"Hahaha, the youngest nominee for the Starlight Awards and winner of Best Actor in a Television Series, one of the youngest Golden Flame Awards Best Actor nominees in history—yet in some people’s eyes, he’s just an ‘old zombie’ in their way. Maybe they should try breaking his records first?"

"He’s signed with Liu Rennong Studio and is set to star in films—why would he care about your lame TV gigs?"

"...I really have to ask, what’s going on with *Sanctuary*? It’s not even finished filming, and it’s already burned bridges with half the industry."

Though Lu Xu had deliberately broadened his criticism, senior actors in the industry sided with him. Whether it was Cheng Yun and Guo Yining, who co-starred with him in *The Son of Heaven*, or Han Xiao and Zhou Lin, who played Huang Luning’s parents in *The Year I Was 18*, all had enjoyed career second winds thanks to their collaborations with Lu Xu, leaving them with fond memories.

Meanwhile, Bei Hong, a newcomer who had just debuted, used Liu Rennong Studio’s resources to throw shade at Lu Xu’s age. Even if these actors knew he was deliberately trying to drag Lu Xu, none were willing to indulge him.

Lu Xu had the credentials to be indulged—what did Bei Hong have?

"From Qi Di to this guy, what’s their problem? They’re not even famous yet, but they’re already this arrogant."

As a director, Liu Rennong actually had a decent reputation, with awards and box-office success to his name. After founding his studio and managing artist representation, many actors and productions in the industry supported him.

Unfortunately, both Qi Di and Bei Hong had trash attitudes, making people question Liu Rennong’s judgment in talent selection.

"Maybe it’s a case of ‘you never really know someone’?"

The main issue was that Qi Di had already screwed up once. Regardless, when promoting Bei Hong, they shouldn’t have repeated the same approach used for Qi Di.

Yet Bei Hong was immediately cast as the lead in *Sanctuary*, a project with a hundred-million-dollar budget, and his arrogance surpassed even Lu Xu’s, whose achievements far outshone his. It made Liu Rennong Studio look like it’s signing clowns.

Netizens criticized the director’s casting choices relentlessly, and Guo Yingyu couldn’t stay silent any longer: "Actually... it’s not all like that. I’m pretty normal."

As another artist signed under the same studio, she had already defended Lu Xu against Bei Hong multiple times in group chats.

Mostly because Bei Hong’s antics dragged her down too. She had worked hard for years, earning her role in *Feather of Youth* through her own efforts in auditions. The film’s modest box-office success had finally improved her opportunities—only for Bei Hong’s backlash to brand her as another "nepo baby."

"Grinded all year just to get set back overnight." Guo Yingyu asked herself, "Sure, my opportunities are decent, but aren’t they about the same as other agencies’ newcomers? Not *that* outrageous, right?"

She couldn’t even land a role in a big film like *Sanctuary* and was still struggling to move from obscurity to semi-relevance. Yet because of Bei Hong’s nonsense, she got dragged into it.

"This is BS!" Guo Yingyu suddenly realized. "When Qi Di acted up before, I got blamed too."

"Am I just hexed by Liu Rennong Studio?" Guo Yingyu moaned. "I need to get my fortune read."

Lu Xu didn’t know what Guo Yingyu’s fortune-telling revealed, but the next day, she changed her profile picture to a ‘stepping on haters’ charm: "Just changed it—wards off the haters."

Lu Xu couldn't help but ask: "Will this even work?"

Guo Yingyu directly sent him the original image: "Whether it works or not doesn’t matter—it’s all about feeling better."

Lu Xu agreed with her perspective and quietly changed his profile picture.

As it turned out—the new profile picture worked remarkably well. Shortly after switching, the Starlight Awards announced this year's nomination list.

Acting awards have always been the most anticipated part of any awards ceremony, and this year's Starlight Awards were no exception. What caught everyone's attention was—three series that premiered around the same time not only ranked on the annual popularity charts but also all secured nominations for this year's Starlight Awards.

*Chivalrous Fragrance*, *Illusory Realm*, and *War Flames* were all works released last year and were all up for the same Starlight Awards.

On the popularity charts, the rankings of the three series were as follows:

*Chivalrous Fragrance*—No. 1 on the annual chart.

*Illusory Realm*—No. 2 on the annual chart.

*War Flames*—No. 4 on the annual chart.

Beyond that, these three series were rare examples of shows without messy drama, serving as models of storytelling where actors “just got along.”

At this year's Starlight Awards, the nominations for the three series were as follows:

*Illusory Realm*—Best Female Lead nomination.

*Chivalrous Fragrance*—Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor nominations.

*War Flames*—Best Actor nomination.

In other words, the main actors from all three shows received nominations.

The Starlight Awards may have seemed distant, but at this moment, they felt within reach.

"My 'Mountain Bike Squad' (fans’ nickname for the trio), I’m so moved!!!"

"Awww! It was already rare enough for the Mountain Bike Squad to have shows airing in the same timeframe, and now they're all nominated together!"

"Though... I have to say, I’m not surprised at all by this outcome. Whether it’s Lu Xu, Zheng Xiao, or Shao Yao, they’re all hardworking actors who give it their all in every role. These nominations are just the rewards for their dedication."

"So touching! Before this, people accused Shao Yao and Zheng Xiao of faking a romantic bond for publicity, but anyone who truly knows them understands—they chill together off-camera, they hang out privately, and that’s exactly why they don’t need to hype anything up."

"Outside of promoting their shows, the three of them don’t even show off their friendship in public, okay? The only time they appeared on a variety show together was because someone tried to ‘ride Lu Xu’s coattails.’ I just wish they’d share more behind-the-scenes moments—the Mountain Bike Squad is a riot when the cameras are off!"

After Lu Xu, Zheng Xiao, and Shao Yao were all nominated for this year's Starlight Awards, a certain mountain bike brand even drew a comic for them, claiming their nominations were all because of mountain bikes.

One netizen joked: "If Zheng Xiao's bike hadn't been stolen, he wouldn’t have ridden Lu Xu’s bike. If Lu Xu hadn’t ridden a bike, they wouldn’t have all been nominated for the Starlight Awards."

Fans were baffled: "...?"

"So the logic here is... bike = Starlight Award?"

"That makes as much sense as a dog riding a bike!"

Even so-called internet detectives were lost at this "logic," which made zero sense.

"What, I’m already #TeamLuXu, and now you’re recruiting me for #TeamBike?"

"Bike brand, where’s our sponsorship check?"

In short, netizens were happy for Lu Xu, as well as for Zheng Xiao and Shao Yao, who were also nominated—when good people become friends, they bring out the best in each other.

Zheng Xiao was usually very talkative, but that day, he was unusually quiet. It wasn’t until nearly two hours after the nomination list was announced that he finally @-ed Lu Xu and Shao Yao in the group chat: "Are you guys there? I’m speechless with happiness, and I keep wondering if I’m dreaming. Wanna hang out?"

Lu Xu and Shao Yao, who had free time, both agreed.

When they met, Lu Xu finally understood what it meant to be incoherent—Zheng Xiao stumbled over his words every time he brought up the nomination, not at all like a composed Starlight Awards nominee should be.

"I never thought I’d actually get nominated, okay?" Zheng Xiao explained. "Well, I did imagine it, but only like a pipe dream. I never thought it could actually happen in real life."

His original intention for taking on *War Flames* wasn’t to win awards—he just wanted to challenge himself with a role that could improve his acting. That was all.

After bouncing around like an excited kid and riding his bike for a while, Zheng Xiao finally calmed down.

As usual, paparazzi snapped pics of the trio hanging out.

"Before today, this photo would’ve just been labeled as ‘young male actors who get along well hanging out.’ But now? It’s a shot of pure Starlight Awards nominees—the cream of the crop in TV dramas."

"I wonder what Zhang Che would think if he saw this?"

Contrary to what marketers assumed, Zhang Che was completely indifferent. He used to harbor ambitions of competing at the Starlight Awards, but now, he had no expectations left—having burned bridges with the awards, he knew he wouldn’t receive their favor again.

On top of that, he wasn’t getting cast in productions eligible for the Starlight Awards.

For actors, moving up is painfully hard, but falling is much faster than anyone imagines.

Zhang Che had already given up.

After chuckling to himself for a while, Zheng Xiao started congratulating Lu Xu and Shao Yao. All three were calm about the awards—Lu Xu had already won before, while Zheng Xiao and Shao Yao were first-time nominees. Just being nominated was an honor; winning was worth hoping for, but not banking on.

Netizens, however, had other thoughts—

"Lu Xu’s magic touch works again!"

"Truly… terrifying."

"Just… compare him to the others."

"Gimme some of that luck—rub, rub, rub!"

The trio planned to walk the red carpet around the same time. Lu Xu already had sponsorship from G brand, while Zheng Xiao and Shao Yao had previously collaborated with menswear labels—though before the nominations, those brands were lukewarm toward them. After the list was announced, the brands suddenly couldn’t get enough of them.

Zheng Xiao and Shao Yao weren’t surprised—that’s showbiz for you.

...

On the day of the awards ceremony, the *Chivalrous Fragrance* crew walked the red carpet first. After a short while, Liu Chunfeng and Qin Yu moved ahead, leaving Lu Xu and Shao Yao slightly behind.

Moments later, when announced, the *War Flames* team stepped onto the red carpet, and fans watched as Lu Xu and Shao Yao waved at Zheng Xiao, urging him to hurry and join them.

Zheng Xiao, still getting used to the Starlight Awards atmosphere, had been a little stiff—but at their gesture, he grinned widely and jogged over to his friends.

"Team Mountain Bike for the win!"