Chapter 240: 240 Ni Xiuzhu

Chapter 240 Ni Xiuzhu

From *I'm Sick of Lu Xu* to the recent debates about the Contention Award, Lu Xu had read everything carefully.

He reached a conclusion—while some people disliked him, those who liked him clearly outnumbered them.

As an actor, being universally loved was nearly impossible, but as long as fans supported him, Lu Xu could keep going.

He rarely cared about others' opinions of him, unless they were especially harsh.

Lu Xu knew the real cause was this year’s Contention Award nominations.

Notably, the Golden Flame Awards had announced their nominees before the Contention Award this year.

Traditionally, the three major awards followed a set order—Contention Award first, then the Golden Flame Awards and Critics’ Awards.

The Golden Flame Awards clearly changed their schedule to grab more attention—making sure audiences didn’t just focus on the Contention Award as awards season ramped up.

But in reality, their efforts had little impact. This year, *Reign Supreme* was only submitted for the Contention Award and Critics’ Awards, and the same was true for *The Season of Good Rain*, starring Li Yan.

The showdown between top male actors would happen only at the Contention Award ceremony—nothing to do with the Golden Flame Awards.

Lu Xu once asked Li Yan privately why their film skipped this year’s Golden Flame Awards.

His beef with the Golden Flame Awards was no secret, but as far as he knew, Li Yan had no issues with them.

“Do I need a reason not to submit?” Li Yan shot back.

“Fair point.”

Gossip accounts never expected that Lu Xu and Li Yan—who they swore were no longer friends—still talked privately.

Of course, neither posted photos to “shut down the feud rumors.” Since the tabloids had decided they were on bad terms, no proof would change their minds—they’d just call it damage control.

...

After the Contention Award nominations dropped, Lu Xu faced a barrage of hate, and Li Yan got dragged even worse. One gossip account crunched numbers to “prove” Li Yan, famous for commercial hits, had no business competing for the Contention Award.

Lu Xu was criticized, but Li Yan got it worse—at least Lu Xu had three Best Actor trophies, while Li Yan hadn’t won squat after all this time. Shouldn’t he be embarrassed?

Reading this pissed Lu Xu off. He admired Li Yan’s patience—taking such insults without snapping. If it were him, he’d have blown up already.

After years of award shows, Lu Xu had learned one thing: like the cutthroat competition during peak movie seasons, awards season was equally brutal—subtle, ruthless, and lost on outsiders.

Lu Xu and Li Yan were the biggest names this season, making them prime targets. Drama around them guaranteed clicks.

Li Yan shrugged it off. “Back when my films did well, people would badger me about awards,” he said bitterly. “The more you lack something, the more they poke at your weak spot.”

Lu Xu: “...”

He’d been called a pretty boy too, with folks asking if he’d play tough-guy roles.

This year, the Lu Xu-Li Yan debate was everywhere. Despite five nominees, the buzz made it sound like the award was between just them—the others stood no chance.

But both knew: the louder the chatter, the more the Contention Award committee would steer clear of looking biased.

Whoever started this PR war was shrewd—and wanted that award way more than anyone realized.

Here is the edited translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

In short, by now, the rivalry between Lu Xu and Li Yan has escalated to a direct comparison of achievements. When it comes to awards, Lu Xu naturally holds the advantage, while Li Yan still leads in box office performance.

At their level, comparing fashion influence with commercial endorsements isn't particularly meaningful, yet netizens still created detailed charts comparing the two.

Both Lu Xu and Li Yan felt significant pressure: "Should I take on more endorsements? At least the comparison charts would look better."

Their agents replied: "...Why not just directly show off your bank accounts?"

Lu Xu & Li Yan: "..."

They gave up.

The competition between them isn't about determining a winner—even if someone were declared superior, there would be no prize.

...

In this year's Best Actor category at the Contention Awards, besides Lu Xu and Li Yan, the nominees include Xie Zejie for *Still*, Ni Xiuzhu for *By the River*, and Shi Tianhao for *The Wellness Handbook*.

While Lu Xu and Li Yan were repeatedly thrust into the spotlight before the ceremony, the other three nominees remained unusually quiet, almost unnoticed.

This year's Best Actor nominations surprised many—apart from Lu Xu, none had ever received a Contention Award nomination previously.

This was true not only for Best Actor but also for Best Supporting Actor.

Xu Wen and Li Yan’s agent initially dismissed Shi Tianhao. Simply from the title *The Wellness Handbook*, it's evident that Shi Tianhao is quite elderly—he even struggles with smartphones.

*The Wellness Handbook* portrays the challenges of aging, with Shi Tianhao playing a demanding elderly man who turns his household upside down.

For someone like him, winning the Golden Flame Award for Best Actor isn’t urgent. He only comes out of retirement every few years to make a film and rarely appears publicly otherwise.

Xie Zejie and Ni Xiuzhu are mid-career actors who recently gained recognition, each represented by a major agency.

Although Lu Xu already has three trophies, he remains competitive because Xie and Ni’s performances haven’t fully convinced audiences.

Their nominations largely reflect efforts by their agencies to lobby.

Under the opinion piece titled "Tired of Lu Xu," award observers cited Xie and Ni as evidence that "it’s not yet time to write off Lu Xu."

Xie Zejie has recently concentrated on dramas that receive high praise and keeps a low profile, having climbed his way up from smaller roles. As for Ni Xiuzhu… he has earned the nickname "The Opportunist" (能蹭).

He collaborates with whichever director or actor is currently popular.

More than half of his films generate controversy over scene stealing—even when Actor A is the lead, Ni often ends up with more screen time. Among the year’s top ten box office hits, he might appear in four.

Though not a box office star himself, he consistently delivers strong supporting performances, standing out in every project.

Lead actors’ fanbases universally dislike him. His "Opportunist" label is notorious, yet he continues to land high-profile projects one after another.

For Ni Xiuzhu, a Contention Award could potentially silence long-standing criticism.

However, his disadvantage is obvious: he lacks respect from the public.

If the award went to him instead of Lu Xu, Li Yan, or Shi Tianhao, it would provoke widespread backlash.

Audiences simply dislike him.

Yet nothing is certain. Despite widespread disapproval, Ni Xiuzhu continues to thrive in the industry, increasing his visibility relentlessly. When the nominations were announced, insiders predicted that the results of the Contention Awards might be full of surprises.

Here's the edited translation incorporating the expert suggestions:

Xu Wen had a pretty good idea of who had been hyping up Lu Xu and Li Yan, though he wasn't entirely certain yet.

Truthfully, Lu Xu himself didn’t have high expectations for winning this year. After all, he’d already won so many awards—the Contention Award wasn’t his personal property, so how could he possibly win every time?

But with all the online commotion, Lu Xu started acting a bit more eager about the award.

Yes, it was deliberate.

He began actively attending cocktail parties hosted by the Contention Award committee, participating in film screenings, and frequently interacting with the judges... In a way, he had every right to do so.

He was the male actor with the most Contention Award trophies in history and had even served as a judge for the award before. If he hadn't been nominated this year, no one would have batted an eye if he'd pursued the position of Jury President.

It was rare for Lu Xu to be this proactive—during the year *Dough Figurine* was nominated, he had almost no direct interaction with the judges at all.

Naturally, Lu Xu faced backlash.

A certain nominee's agent subtly hinted on Weibo, "The grab for attention is too shameless—what goes around comes around."

Xu Wen also spoke up unusually: "Isn't it normal for former judges and current judges to communicate?"

The agent's tone was relatively mild, but after seeing Ni Xiuzhu's agent's over-the-top reaction, netizens flooded the comments with ellipses.

"'The grab for attention is too shameless'... referring to who?"

"??? I thought someone was finally reflecting on their own shamelessness, but turns out it's the pot calling the kettle black?"

"I still haven't forgotten how in *The Writer*, he played the protagonist's husband and turned her suicide for ideals into a suicide for her husband."

"That's why I didn't even watch *The Writer*. The moment I saw his name, I knew trouble was coming—I'd been fooled once before and now have ptsd."

"*The Writer* too??? *Spring Dream* turned from a female-led story into a male-led one—I'll hate that forever. This guy's a repeat offender, yet he still has the nerve to call others shameless. I don't think there's a single actor in the industry with worse behavior than him."

"I'm just waiting to see which blind judge votes for him as Best Actor!!! I'll never forgive this!!!"

Ni Xiuzhu's agent quietly deleted the post and reposted, claiming he was just thinking about something small and wasn't targeting anyone. "Please don't overreact, colleagues."

"First, you call someone shameless, then accuse them of overreacting. Mr. Know-It-All is never wrong, is he?"

"Who's overreacting? Weren't you the one who overreacted first?"

"Too, too arrogant—it's unbearable! His credits pale in comparison to Lu Xu's, yet his ego is ten times bigger!"

Lu Xu's fans couldn't help but sigh—every time a character like Ni Xiuzhu appeared in the industry, their love for Lu Xu deepened.

Ni Xiuzhu's agent never apologized. For Ni Xiuzhu, this was just a trivial matter—he'd caused bigger scandals by snatching roles before, and hadn't collaborators just tolerated it?

To him and his agency, the audience's opinion meant nothing. He didn't rely on them for roles. Even if they hated his presence or resented his effortless Contention Award nominations, there was nothing they could do.

"Judging from Ni Xiuzhu's agent's Weibo, he must really care about the Contention Award, huh?"

"He might care now, but if he actually wins, just watch—he'll say, 'I didn't even want this award, they forced it on me. Do others really care that much? (sarcastic) My apologies.'"

"Ughhhhh *The Writer* nightmare all over again. Back then, he claimed he had no idea about the script changes—it was just a so-called normal role to him, and he didn't expect the protagonist's fans to overreact."

"Now I've got overreaction trauma—I hate this so much."

"Now I'll send up a prayer 100 times a day, praying Ni Xiuzhu doesn't win Best Actor at the Contention Award. Otherwise, actors copying his credit-grabbing tricks will never stop. When this kind of cheating pays off, who'd bother taking the right path?"

"Please! I'd take the dog winning, or even Li Yan winning—just not that clout-chaser."

This year is considered an off-year for the Contention Awards, with less intense competition. The awards tend to be traditional, and winners are usually predictable. After the nominations were announced, several industry insiders who've long followed the awards shared their predictions—among them, Lu Xu and Li Yan emerged as top contenders for Best Actor.

But everyone knows Ni Xiuzhu is serious competition.

"I just hope the Contention Awards don't go the way of the Golden Flame Award—that would be truly regrettable."

Some award show bias is expected, but that bias shouldn't insult the audience's intelligence. At the very least, it should align with viewers' expectations.

With the film market cooling and audiences paying less attention to movies, if award ceremonies further alienate viewers, movies will just become a playground for the well-connected, with audiences reduced to mere bystanders.

Though numerous prediction lists circulate online, no one offers a definitive answer.

...

Lu Xu was nominated for Best Actor, while Zheng Xiao and Wang Yu both received Best Supporting Actor nominations. Compared to other nominated films, *Reign Supreme* still has an edge.

Lu Xu's nominations always draw more attention because his projects simply have more clout.

This awards season, *Reign Supreme* stands as the only highest-grossing film among the nominees.

Regardless of the judges' opinions, audiences know *Reign Supreme* best—its popularity dwarfs the other nominated works.

Zheng Xiao never saw coming his first Contention Award nomination, let alone competing directly with Wang Yu. The production had submitted two names for Best Supporting Actor, and Zheng Xiao assumed Wang Yu had better odds. Surprisingly, the judges gave two nominations to *Reign Supreme*.

Period dramas seldom land multiple acting nominations in one year, making *Reign Supreme*'s three acting nods particularly impressive.

The film is very male-dominated, with few female roles, which explains the lack of actress nominations.

"I don't stand a chance," Zheng Xiao sighed. "Just being nominated is incredible—I've already won."

Against anyone but Wang Yu, Zheng Xiao might have stood a chance. But facing Wang Yu, he's resigned himself to defeat.

"The nomination itself is enough."

For Zheng Xiao, this recognition marks a victory.

In film circles, Lu Xu is in a league of his own—his achievements are staggering, especially for his age. Without Lu Xu in the picture, Zheng Xiao's Best Supporting Actor nomination would already place him ahead of most peers.

Zheng Xiao couldn't be more satisfied.

He credits his *Reign Supreme* nomination to the inspiration from co-stars Lu Xu and Wang Yu—both exceptional actors who pushed him to deliver his best performance.

Zheng Xiao's agency is pulling out all the stops for this award, but even without winning, the nomination alone will raise his profile.

Since the announcement, more roles have been coming his way. After years in the industry, Zheng Xiao doesn't chase overnight fame—this steady climb suits him perfectly.

Watching the online buzz about Best Actor, Zheng Xiao notes how intense that race is. The Supporting Actor competition seems way less stressful by comparison.

Lu Xu lives constantly under the microscope, facing pressures Zheng Xiao has never known. While Zheng Xiao has faced criticism, it's nothing like what Lu Xu endures.

Naturally, Zheng Xiao is team Lu Xu. If anyone deserves Best Actor this year, he hopes it's Lu Xu.

...

After Ni Xiuzhu's agent stopped commenting, Xu Wen likewise fell silent.

The date of the award ceremony drew near, and Lu Xu no longer tried to cozy up to the judges, even though he still felt a twinge of darkness when he saw the so-called “battle of nominees’ outfits” online.

It was truly outrageous.

Wasn’t it enough to just focus on acting?

Lu Xu wasn’t at all worried about his appearance. G brand had been collaborating with him for years, and they always arranged the most suitable outfits for him for each Contention Award.

To some extent, G brand cared more about the awards than Lu Xu did, as they needed to prepare early to ensure that Lu Xu presented an image that best aligned with their brand’s ethos.

Their collaboration was smooth because, besides being a top-tier star who consistently performed at the highest level, Lu Xu was extremely cooperative.

While G brand had worked with many stars, in terms of cooperation, Lu Xu ranked among the top few. He entrusted almost all the preparations to G brand, respected their choices, and never made unreasonable demands.

Moreover, Lu Xu’s fit with G brand was exceptional—no other celebrity could achieve the same effect.

In recent years, handsome men in the entertainment industry had become increasingly rare, a fact recognized not only by audiences but also within the industry. This trend was evident both domestically and globally.

In such a context, handsome men had become a rare breed.

Lu Xu once earned the title of “the last handsome man in the film industry,” which deeply moved him, but he still refused to accept it.

Typically, those labeled as “the last of something” faced a rather tragic fate.

There would definitely be another handsome man to emerge, Lu Xu firmly believed.

...

Once again, it was the red carpet of the Contention Awards.

Lu Xu was all too familiar with this place. The moment he stepped onto the red carpet again, he actually felt a hint of understanding toward that film critic's remark in *I'm Tired of Lu Xu*.

He wouldn’t eat the same brand of ice cream four times, but he would receive the same nomination four times.

Counting the number of times he’d walked the red carpet, it should actually be six—once as a judge, and another for *Black and White*’s Best Supporting Actor nomination.

*"The moment I hear this sound, I know Lu Xu is here,"* sighed the reporter from *Film* magazine.

*Film* covered the *Contention Award* every year, and in recent years, this reporter had encountered Lu Xu on the red carpet surprisingly often.

*"When Lu Xu appears, the sound is thunderous—completely unique."*

Just a moment ago, he had been checking his camera, but the moment the roar erupted around him, he immediately pressed the shutter, ready to capture the shot.

No matter what, photos of Lu Xu were always useful.

There was one year—he couldn’t remember if it was the red carpet for *Fearless Life* or *Dough Figurine*—but the spontaneous shot he took of Lu Xu turned out exceptionally striking. The magazine’s website saw high traffic, and the issue sold well, earning him a small bonus.

This time, the entire *Reign Supreme* cast made a joint appearance.

The industry had analyzed *Reign Supreme* alongside Lu Xu’s other films, and it was clear that *Reign Supreme* wasn’t the highest-quality film he had starred in. Yet, at this year’s *Contention Award*, it was a strong contender.

Once again, *Reign Supreme* was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director, naturally quite competitive. Typically, films starring Lu Xu enjoyed such treatment.

On the red carpet, Zheng Xiao and Lu Xu walked side by side, neither one walking properly—arms slung over each other’s shoulders, and at one point even marching in lockstep.

*"What a bad influence!"*

*"Mountain Pair forever! Missing one—next time, remember to bring Shaoyao, or she’ll be at home crying her eyes out."*

"Hahaha! The scene where Lu Xu and his buddies appear is always the most joyful."

"Such a happy puppy!"

Fans on both sides of the red carpet couldn't resist snapping photos. Through the lens, Lu Xu had a flawless face, and when that face broke into a smile, fans found it hard not to love him even more.

Lu Xu and Zheng Xiao waved to the crowds on either side, quickly drawing screams from the fans.

And then—

The two reenacted Hu Qing's elimination scene right on the red carpet.

Others watching from behind them: "..."

The director couldn't help but cover his face, while Wang Yu, also nominated for Best Supporting Actor, pretended to nonchalantly rub his forehead.

"This is hilarious—you can just imagine how wild the *Reign Supreme* crew must be."

"Did the director's hair turn white because of Lu Xu?"

"Stop it! The security guards are going to come kick them out!"

"I can't handle these two goofballs anymore. The director looks like he doesn't even know them."

"Really wanna remind Zheng Xiao—you're the one who got eliminated, why are you acting so happy about it?"

Whether fans who witnessed the red carpet moment firsthand or those who saw the GIFs on Weibo, everyone couldn't help but sigh—these two are beyond saving.

"Whatever, as long as they're happy."

In any case, the Contention Award red carpet was originally quite serious, but the moment Lu Xu and Zheng Xiao stepped onto it, the atmosphere instantly changed.

As they reached the end, the camera clearly caught the host's speechless expression before asking Lu Xu and Zheng Xiao to do it again.

Fans were baffled: "???"

"Going all out for ratings."

"So dedicated. Seriously dedicated."

"These two thirty-something guys really going for it."