Chapter 12: Lu Xu Pampering Fans
[Lu Xu is so shameless that I can’t stand it anymore! How can anyone be this shameless?]
[It’s just a trashy web series, yet someone acts so smug. It’s really unpleasant to watch.]
[A washed-up nobody gets a bit of buzz and starts flying high. There’s a reason why he’s the most miserable flop in Verse.]
Lu Xu’s comment section was already filled with criticism, and after he posted that new Weibo update, the comments skyrocketed to over ten thousand in no time. Among the flood of replies, there were all kinds of vulgarities and insults mixed with crude language, but Lu Xu couldn’t even be bothered to read them.
He didn’t care.
No matter how fiercely Gu Sinian’s fans cursed him, there was one undeniable fact: the gap between My Baby Prince and The Watchers had narrowed significantly. In about a day, My Baby Prince would likely surpass The Watchers in popularity.
But here’s the thing: The Watchers was a big-budget production from Grape Film, with an investment exceeding hundreds of millions. And My Baby Prince?
According to industry speculation, My Baby Prince’s total investment might not have even exceeded ten million.
As My Baby Prince’s popularity grew day by day, it naturally caught the attention of industry insiders. From a certain perspective, the fact that the drama made it into the top ten trending list was already a breakthrough for Chenxi Film’s self-produced dramas.
In fact, as long as its average popularity exceeded 5,000, this drama would already turn a profit.
Now, its popularity had already exceeded 8,000, putting it very close to The Watchers, which was ranked number one.
No matter how poor its visual style or how terrible its plot, in this particular timeslot, My Baby Prince was undoubtedly the biggest winner.
Some industry experts speculated that if My Baby Prince could maintain its momentum until the series finished airing, its profits might exceed its production costs by dozens of times.
*
“It’s just a complete trash drama, isn’t it?”
In a luxurious apartment in City C, the sound of something hitting the marble floor echoed loudly. Gu Sinian had just smashed a watch. Seeing his outburst, his manager shot him a disapproving look.
The watch was from a top luxury brand that Gu Sinian had been fawning over recently. He had been counting on The Watchers to explode in popularity so he could secure an endorsement deal with the brand.
Now that The Watchers wasn’t performing as expected, the collaboration was at risk. Luckily, Gu Sinian had broken the watch in private; if the brand’s representatives found out, it would have been disastrous.
Gu Sinian was on the verge of losing his mind.
Initially, he had completely dismissed My Baby Prince, assuming it would flop just like Lu Xu, unable to make any waves. But now, after only a few days, My Baby Prince’s popularity was about to catch up to The Watchers?
And with that garbage show as his backing, Lu Xu had the audacity to act like he was above him!
Gu Sinian had seen all of Lu Xu’s sarcastic and mocking comments but couldn’t find a fitting way to respond.
The truth was, Gu Sinian had indeed benefited from many of Lin Ge Entertainment’s resources. After Verse disbanded, he was the only former member who pursued an acting career. Nearly half of the acting resources that Lin Ge Entertainment could provide had gone to him.
But that didn’t mean he didn’t face competition within the industry.
The Watchers was built to be a hit from the start, with a star-studded cast featuring Yue Hui and Ren Ningyi to elevate it. Gu Sinian was poised to become a breakout star. For other entertainment agencies trying to promote their own leading young actors, this was not an easy thing.
Yet, Lin Ge Entertainment had gone all in to support Gu Sinian. They had meticulously crafted the opportunity that The Watchers represented for him, and no other company could block it.
There was no choice but to accept it. The industry would just have to accommodate another A-list celebrity. Smaller actors’ resources would inevitably be redistributed.
The Watchers’ lineup and production had everyone’s attention. Not only Lin Ge Entertainment but the entire industry believed this drama was destined to be a massive hit.
But who could have predicted that The Watchers would crash and burn on its own?
When The Watchers was basking in the spotlight, rival companies might not have been eager to sing its praises. But now that it was on the verge of flopping, those rivals couldn’t miss the chance to kick it while it was down—it would be a waste not to seize the opportunity for their own rising stars.
And so, overnight, marketing accounts, public platforms, and drama critics all emerged with their analyses: How could a production like The Watchers possibly flop?
The director had been in the industry for years, with an almost 100% positive track record and frequent appearances at major award ceremonies.
The screenwriter was seasoned, with their previous drama in the same genre garnering both acclaim and awards.
As for the actors—did anyone really need to question the acting chops of Yue Hui and Ren Ningyi?
So where did the problem lie? Naturally, it all came down to Gu Sinian, who managed to look awkward no matter who he shared a scene with.
[If Gu Sinian had delved deeper into understanding his character, he would have realized that Yue Hui’s interpretation of the Watchers identity operates on a profound level, while his remains superficial.]
[Awkward acting and hopeless chemistry—The Watchers demonstrates that while you can cast a popular star, their screen time should be limited. Otherwise, the core narrative of a drama becomes unsustainable.]
[A disastrously unaware performance—one person single-handedly ruined an entire show.]
Even after smashing the watch, Gu Sinian still felt it wasn’t enough. He kicked the already cracked watch face, sending it flying across the room.
So now that the drama had flopped, all the blame was on him?
Didn’t they choose him for his fanbase in the first place? If that wasn’t the case, why didn’t the production team go with someone else?
“Grape Film will need an explanation,” his manager said quietly.
For Grape Film, it was a catastrophe that their big-budget production couldn’t even match the popularity of a low-budget web drama from Chenxi Film.
While The Watchers wasn’t the biggest flop in Grape Film’ history, the fact that it almost lost to My Baby Prince made the failure especially humiliating.
When the production of The Watchers was being planned, both Grape Film and Lin Ge Entertainment had the shared intention of promoting Gu Sinian.
If Gu Sinian became a breakout star, Grape Film would gain a long-term collaboration with a top-tier actor.
Because of this, changes were made to suit Gu Sinian’s public image. His character was rewritten, and even some of Ren Ningyi’s scenes were cut—all within the unspoken agreement between both companies.
But now, the situation had changed.
Although only eight episodes of The Watcher had aired, the trajectory of its popularity made it clear that it wouldn’t achieve Grape Film’ ambitious goals.
With the drama failing to catch fire, the plan to make Gu Sinian a leading star had also fallen apart.
However, given the enormous investment and marketing expenses poured into the show, someone had to take responsibility.
And who better to blame than Gu Sinian?
Who else could they fault?
The director and screenwriter were industry heavyweights. Among the actors, Yue Hui and Ren Ningyi were both seasoned Best Actor winners. Neither of them feared Grape Film. If the blame was shifted onto them, Ren Ningyi might even step forward and expose that his scenes were cut to give Gu Sinian more screen time.
As for Grape Film itself—everyone knows that the platform could never be at fault. Even if mistakes were made, they had to lie elsewhere.
Initially, when Grape Film decided to push Gu Sinian, adding more scenes for him seemed like the perfect choice. But now that the drama had flopped, the blame naturally fell on him.
After all, if they hadn’t added those extra scenes for Gu Sinian, would The Watchers have failed?
And besides, Gu Sinian hadn’t even delivered a compelling performance in those additional scenes.
The manager shared this frustration.
He used to represent the entire group of Verse before its disbandment. Back then, Lu Xu had approached him, expressing his desire to stay with Lin Ge Entertainment and continue working under his management.
But for the sake of personal gain, the manager fabricated numerous rumors to tarnish Lu Xu’s reputation. After Verse disbanded, he ended up managing only Gu Sinian.
Managing Gu Sinian alone had turned out to be more profitable than handling all of Verse back in the day. After all, the three former members of Verse had now established their own teams, and their commercial resources were fully independent. Among them, Gu Sinian, with his focus on acting, was bound to have a more stable path compared to the others.
But who could have imagined that The Watchers’ popularity would end up being on par with a so-called “trash drama” like My Baby Prince?
While Gu Sinian’s collaboration with Grape Film hadn’t completely fallen apart—he had already signed contracts for several other dramas with them before The Watchers began production—this precarious situation kept Lin Ge Entertainment from outright blaming Grape Film.
After all, if they truly offended Grape Film, who could say whether those future collaborations would still go forward?
Thinking about Lu Xu made Gu Sinian grind his teeth in frustration.
If My Baby Prince had starred anyone else, he wouldn’t have been this furious. But the male supporting role in that drama was played by none other than Lu Xu!
“Is there no way to deal with Lu Xu?” he asked his manager, his tone sharp. “Don’t tell me everyone is praising My Baby Prince?”
The manager shook his head. “There are plenty of criticisms too.”
“Then find more people to attack it. Hard.”
*
Lu Xu, on the other hand, hadn’t given much thought to how The Watchers’ failure might affect Gu Sinian’s acting career.
He simply felt that Gu Sinian’s performance in The Watchers was subpar. As for the fact that The Watchers’ popularity couldn’t keep up with My Baby Prince, that was something Lu Xu hadn’t anticipated at all.
In truth, no one in the My Baby Prince’s production team had expected this outcome.
[Lately, even my classmates have been asking about the drama,] Yang Shu said, sending a string of emojis to the group chat. [You know how it is—those alumni group chats where no one says anything for six months.]
[Now, suddenly, everyone’s active. Those classmates who became famous are usually too aloof, and people only speak up to congratulate them when they win an award or have a box-office hit.]
Being congratulated wasn’t something Yang Shu ever expected. He had always been the invisible one in the class.
But recently, his presence had skyrocketed.
Even his Weibo followers had multiplied several times over.
When the popularity of My Baby Prince began to soar, even Yang Shu’s agency boss didn’t realize he was signed under their company. It wasn’t until a colleague congratulated him that the boss finally learned that the male lead of the currently trending drama was one of their own.
The same was true for Xia Xuewen. She had little presence in her agency before, but recently, they assigned her a dedicated manager, and she even saw press releases praising her as the “go-to leading actress for youth dramas.”
She had indeed started receiving offers for other youth dramas, mostly starting with supporting female roles.
Thinking about this, both Yang Shu and Xia Xuewen felt as if they were dreaming.
With a 100,000-yuan paycheck, a self-produced web drama by Chenxi Film, and a low-budget production—who would’ve told them they could become popular with this drama? If anyone had, they’d have thought it was a joke.
But now, on the popularity charts, My Baby Prince was inching closer and closer to The Watchers.
Both of them mentioned their growing Weibo followers, and only then did Lu Xu notice that his follower count had also increased.
[Is it really happening that fast?] Lu Xu blinked in surprise.
[…Are you underestimating how much the character Yu Wei appeals to fans?] Yang Shu replied, exasperated.
He suspected that Lu Xu, after being mistreated during his time with Verse, still hadn’t realized how well-liked he actually was.
Otherwise, how could My Baby Prince have gained so much traction?
The drama’s growing popularity was thanks to Yu Wei being incredibly attractive, paired with Lu Xu’s performance, which managed to hold the character together.
As the saying goes, the second male lead exists to be loved by the audience.
Once the role broke out of its niche, My Baby Prince—despite its weak and flawed plot—still managed to avoid being unbearable. With an appealing reason to follow the show, audiences started tuning in, and the drama’s popularity steadily climbed.
No matter who Lu Xu was dragging on Weibo, at the very least, his face was undeniably stunning!
Whenever Yang Shu opened Weibo, he’d see comparison posts between Gu Sinian and Lu Xu’s characters.
Leaving aside their acting for the moment, just looking at their faces, Yang Shu couldn’t help but question how these two had ever been in the same group.
No matter how you looked at Gu Sinian, he appeared old, his face filled with shortcomings. As for Lu Xu, it wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to say he absolutely crushed Gu Sinian in terms of looks.
As the cast and crew of My Baby Prince were still processing the drama’s unexpected success, they suddenly received another piece of good news—
Chenxi Film had decided to shift My Baby Prince to a prime-time slot now that their previous golden-hour drama had concluded.
On the fifth day of My Baby Prince’s broadcast, the series finally had the opportunity to directly compete with The Watchers in the same time slot.
Industry insiders understood one thing: barring any surprises, this was the day My Baby Prince would surpass The Watchers in popularity.
The real question was: by how much?
[Do they really think the audience is as tasteless as Lu Xu’s fans, treating trash like treasure?]
[Even if they do win, it won’t be by much. The Watchers is entering its plot climax.]
[+1. The storyline of The Watchers is getting more and more interesting. Everyone needs to watch it!]
Gu Sinian’s fans spared no effort in promoting The Watchers. As they claimed, the plot had indeed reached its peak. However, at the same time, Gu Sinian’s screen time had also increased—so much so that it became unbearable for many viewers.
Their enthusiastic promotions backfired, achieving the opposite of the intended effect.
The following day, the viewership data for My Baby Prince during its prime-time broadcast was released, leaving Gu Sinian’s fans collectively speechless.
Because, inexplicably, the total popularity score of My Baby Prince had surpassed 10,000.
Meanwhile, The Watchers’ numbers had dropped to just above 8,000.
The tables had completely turned.
“???????”
“????”
In truth, the signs had always been there—
Everyone knew My Baby Prince was an absurd show.
But in this low-budget production where the team couldn’t even afford cars, the effort of the actors shone through.
The female lead’s tenacious, weed-like vitality, the rare chemistry between the leads, a group of bumbling fools banding together to protect the heroine, and the warmth embedded within complex ethical dilemmas—all of these could contribute to a drama’s success.
Of course, the plot was still utterly chaotic.
After the popularity data was released, Lu Xu noticed the same message appearing repeatedly in his comment section and private messages:
[Can you show that again? You know, that thing!]
Lu Xu: ?
What thing?
It didn’t take him long to figure out what his fans were asking for.
And so—
Lu Xu posted: [Screenshot to commemorate this—it’s only the fifth day, mind you.]
[HAHAHAHAHAHA!]
[This guy’s insane! But I love him!]
[True king of doting on fans, Lu Xu!]
So funny 🤣🤣
Hmm