Chapter 224: 224 Grateful to Meet

Chapter 224 – Grateful for This Journey

"Ahhhhh I'm so excited! What did I just hear?"

"Lu Xu won another award ahhhhh! Am I dreaming?!!!"

"Our guy is the GOAT!!!"

"Oh my god, a third Contention Award for Best Actor... After supporting Lu Xu for so many years, this is something I never dared to imagine. Who saw this coming?"

"When Lu Xu won his first Best Actor award, I thought the second would take years. Never expected we’d already be at the third—it feels like a dream."

"+1 +1 +1."

The chat was flooded with endless "congrats," overwhelming the screen.

—This win didn’t come easy. Despite so many obstacles, Lu Xu still managed to achieve it.

The camera focused on Lu Xu at that moment. At first he looked stunned, then his eyes lit up. Fans know his smile by heart, but—

"This is the reward for hard work!"

"Ahhhhhh!"

"I can already picture Lu Xu’s acceptance speech—our hardworking king keeps winning!"

"I had braced myself for Lu Xu not winning this award, but he actually broke through again!"

Lu Xu stood up and walked toward the stage. To his fans, this scene had played out many times before. Yet every time he claimed a new trophy, they still felt genuine happiness for him.

Of course, Lu Xu’s acceptance speech was exactly what they expected—"This ain't the last you'll see of me!"

"I can't even imagine what it'll be like when Lu Xu wins a fourth Contention Award."

"He's unstoppable!!! And I firmly believe anything is possible because he never stops working hard."

Lu Xu thanked the *Dough Figurine* crew, his agent, and his fans.

The third trophy looked just like the others he already owned. Yet when he held it in his palm, it still carried its weight.

He gripped it tighter.

Though he never assumed he'd win, he had to admit—All that hard work paying off? *Chef’s kiss.*

"The first time I watched *Dough Figurine*, I thought Ma Yanwen not winning an award would’ve been unfair. And now, he really did."

Lu Xu smiled at the camera, but seeing his expression at that moment, fans were holding back tears.

Though his path looked smooth, there were still tough times.

"Casuals" think his awards come easily, but in the eyes of his fans, everything he achieved was the result of effort.

Was it really that effortless? Are there really so many geniuses? Lu Xu only shows the highlight reel on camera while working relentlessly behind the scenes.

"Also because nowadays, too many slackers are just coasting."

"Too real?"

"Exactly. There were already so many posers when Lu Xu first became famous. Years later, somehow it's even worse."

"Some of them even claim Lu Xu is their idol—though I won't name names here *cough*."

"Because they only aim for Lu Xu’s level of fame but refuse to put even the slightest effort into acting. Even a dog would cringe at their acting."

...

The moment Lu Xu won, the news took over almost every trending topic.

Before the ceremony began, marketers and critics had made endless predictions about who would win, even analyzing Liao Yusheng in depth—all suggesting Lu Xu wouldn’t win.

Winning this third Best Actor award was way harder than the first two.

"Does this mean the Contention Award committee changed its tune?"

"Did Liao Yusheng get lobbied behind the scenes, or was it something else? It feels like the committee mustered serious courage to make this call, probably steeling themselves for backlash."

Yet in reality, while Lu Xu's win sparked discussion, it didn’t trigger the expected storm.

Even the most skeptical marketers just saw it as boldness, not foul play.

To some extent, it was what everyone wanted.

The committee faced huge hurdles and pressure. That the trophy still went to Lu Xu had one and only one reason.

His performance blew the judges away.

"Lu Xu Bags Third Contention Best Actor"

"A Record-Breaking Moment! Lu Xu Becomes the First Ever in Contention History!"

"Lu Xu Is the Biggest Winner of This Year’s Contention Awards"

"The Film Industry Enters the Lu Xu Era"

Media buzz kept buzzing after the ceremony, with Lu Xu’s smiling face plastered all over entertainment news.

Before this win, he was already the most prominent male actor in film. Afterward, as one outlet put it, his status became "untouchable."

Three-time Best Actor winner—unprecedented. Add to that his undeniable star power.

Back at his seat with the trophy, he was surrounded by congratulations—rivals nodding or saying “congrats.”

In fact, because of Lu Xu, this awards season had no surefire winner—no one clearly outshone the rest. If there was anyone, it was only him, though he was never the odds-on favorite.

Plus, thanks to Lu Xu, the suspense lasted until the very end.

"Three now? Damn," Mu Lang patted Lu Xu’s back. "I knew you could do it."

Lu Xu didn’t bother being humble: "I thought so too."

With Lu Xu’s Best Actor win, the night’s momentum was clear. If even the least likely nominee could take top honors, then *Dough Figurine* easily snagged Best Director and Picture without question.

"It’s like watching *Fearless Life* all over again."

"Good boy deserves it! Go, puppy, go!!"

At the after-party, Mu Lang brought Lu Xu over to meet Liao Yusheng.

Though stern, Liao was polite to fellow directors. He didn’t spell out how Lu Xu won, only saying, "If *Dough Figurine* hadn’t taken it, giving this award to anyone else would’ve been tough."

In other words, the committee could indeed withhold the trophy from Lu Xu—provided they could name a winner convincing enough to surpass him.

"Everything else is secondary; it all comes down to the performance," the other party admitted frankly. "Otherwise, I couldn’t live with myself."

Liao Yusheng didn’t say much more, but he stayed and chatted with Mu Lang for a while about this year’s awards and nominees. He secretly told Mu Lang that the voting process had been full of drama, and the judges struggled to reach a consensus: "But when it came to voting for Lu Xu, nobody batted an eye."

Mu Lang gave him a silent look. "Because you favored Lu Xu more, didn’t you?"

Liao Yusheng rubbed his nose and said nothing. "Well… it’s also related to the Golden Flame Awards."

He did prefer *Dough Figurine*—though, as outsiders speculated, he was seen as that stuffy, old-school director who shouldn’t have appreciated a film like *Dough Figurine*, which seemed to break the mold.

Yet in Liao Yusheng’s view, while this year’s nominated films were of good quality, they felt a bit stale. In contrast, *Dough Figurine* was more innovative.

As a filmmaker, he couldn’t just cling to past works or wish for cinema to return to its old ways.

"You always take on unconventional projects—I’ve come to expect it," Liao Yusheng admitted. "When you first said you wanted to make a film like this, I worried you wouldn’t find the right actor. Turns out I worried for nothing."

"Without *Reversal City*, there wouldn’t be *Dough Figurine*," Mu Lang said with a rare smile. "For a director, having the right script but failing to find the right actor is a real kick in the teeth."

"True," Liao Yusheng sighed wistfully. "Now that the Contention Award has gone to Lu Xu again this year, the Golden Flame Awards will look even shadier."

Mu Lang scoffed. "What’s there to look bad about? Lu Xu didn’t even submit—he’s not participating at all. Yet they keep guilt-tripping him every day, acting like they can just hand back the award for *Fearless Life*."

*Dough Figurine* wasn’t submitted for the Golden Flame Awards, and Mu Lang wanted nothing to do with them. Yet this year, the Golden Flame Awards kept dragging Lu Xu into their publicity, even encouraging Mu Lang to bring the entire *Dough Figurine* crew to attend.

Mu Lang had never entertained the idea, and the harder they pushed, the more fed up he got.

"Why come to me? Go bug Liu Rennong instead," Mu Lang grumbled.

"You really said that?" Liao Yusheng asked.

"Not only did I say it," Mu Lang lowered his voice, "I even gave them Liu Rennong’s number."

The two chuckled quietly to themselves. Liao Yusheng remarked, "You sly old fox, you."

"They owe Lu Xu an award. I’m just sticking up for our Best Actor."

"You and your habit of holding a grudge—after all these years, still the same, tsk..."

"Back when we were filming *Reversal City*, Lu Xu saved my skin," Mu Lang said. "I invited him, so of course I hoped he’d win an award for it."

Though Mu Lang knew Liao Yusheng well and had a good relationship with him, he never considered leveraging that connection to secure the award for Lu Xu. He wouldn’t do that, and given Liao Yusheng’s principles, he wouldn’t hand out awards based on personal favors either. Performance was all that mattered.

The reason Mu Lang favored Lu Xu was simple: among the five nominees this year, purely in terms of performance, Lu Xu was his top choice. None of the others could surpass him.

After the awards ceremony, Lu Xu’s phone blew up nonstop. Congrats poured in from top to bottom of his contact list—from Zheng Xiao and Shao Yao to directors and actors he’d worked with before. Even the old *The Noble Son* crew sent him a congratulatory text.

Zheng Xiao sent Lu Xu a fat red envelope of 66.66, showing his props.

"Getting blood from a stone—now that’s impressive."

"Respect the generous benefactor who sent you a fat red envelope. No need to thank me, for I’ve always been this big-hearted and genuine."

Lu Xu: "...Riiiight."

"It's only because this is your third time winning the award that I sent you such a huge red envelope. If it were your first, you'd only get 22.22—that would be so you."

Lu Xu responded with a meme of ten flying kitchen knives, shutting Zheng Xiao up with action.

"But still, congratulations. You're the one I look up to."

Zheng Xiao said this with absolute sincerity, without attaching any memes: "When the nominees were announced, I was both nervous and excited."

Zheng Xiao didn’t feel even a hint of jealousy. At that moment, he genuinely hoped Lu Xu would win. He didn’t know how Lu Xu felt sitting in the audience, but he was even more nervous than him.

The moment the result was revealed, all he felt was pure pride.

But Lu Xu deserved every bit of praise—that trophy was rightfully his.

In his own acting career, Lu Xu had always been ahead of him. Zheng Xiao didn’t feel the gap between them narrowing; if anything, it had only grown wider.

Yet because of Lu Xu, his goals became clearer. He took chances he never would’ve dared before, persevered, and finally made it this far.

Zheng Xiao felt incredibly lucky to have met Lu Xu.