Famous! Ch.20

Chapter 20: A Storm of Chaos

During the filming break of Rising Sun, Gu Sinian had been clutching his phone, his fingers tapping incessantly, completely engrossed in what he was doing.

The TV drama forum was anonymous, so even if he shared a few behind-the-scenes tidbits, no one could figure out it was him.

Director Mu Qian silently glanced in his direction several times.

Earlier that day, Gu Sinian hadn’t performed particularly well in a scene. Mu Qian had asked him to use the break to reflect on the script. Gu Sinian had verbally agreed but was once again absorbed in his phone.

He hadn’t even flipped through a few pages of the script.

Mu Qian couldn’t help but frown.

His gaze returned to the set, where You Zichen, playing Wu Shen, was giving him an even bigger headache. Out of all the candidates, they hadn’t chosen Lu Xu, opting instead for someone even worse than Gu Sinian.

You Zichen’s abysmal acting skills were unbearable to watch—it was like a complete mess.

His presence might have even given Gu Sinian a sense of superiority, making him think his acting had improved dramatically. Little did he realize they were both in the same league: neither was particularly good.

Mu Qian’s temper was boiling, yet these two continued to act so carelessly that he truly felt as though he’d hit a streak of bad luck.

Mu Qian didn’t dare let himself stay angry any longer. If he kept at it, those two would remain unaffected, but his health would suffer instead.

At his age, he really couldn’t afford to let it get to him.

He sighed deeply and turned to Jin Mu, the screenwriter. “Am I asking for too much?”

Or had he simply fallen out of touch with the times? Were directors nowadays willing to endure anything?

Jin Mu shook his head sympathetically. “Just bear with it a little longer.”

The two of them had high hopes for the drama’s production. Who would have thought the on-set atmosphere would turn out like this?

…

After posting a particularly malicious reply, Gu Sinian kept refreshing the thread, eagerly waiting to see other users’ reactions.

He couldn’t stand the comments predicting that Lu Xu would become a massive star—it was pure wishful thinking!

Recently, Gu Sinian had lost several endorsement deals, and his reputation had taken a noticeable hit. Asking him to refrain from mocking Lu Xu’s misfortunes was almost impossible for him to manage.

Fortunately, the online reactions were mostly to his satisfaction. After he leaked the news about Lu Xu failing his audition, the forum was soon flooded with supportive comments.

[No serious director would want him, right? Directors generally dislike actors who stir up constant gossip. Which legitimate actor trends on social media every day?]

[Even Yang Shu didn’t land the male lead role. Isn’t it totally normal for Lu Xu to fail to get the second male lead? Who does he think he is?]

Gu Sinian patiently waited, and sure enough, it didn’t take long before that post was brought to Weibo.

[…Seriously?]

[Why couldn’t Lu Xu even audition for the second male lead? Is the role in Rising Sun that hard to get?]

[Not popular enough, or maybe his acting skills aren’t up to par. Isn’t getting rejected pretty normal?]

[LOL, Lu Xu disses Gu Sinian all day and acts like he’s distancing himself from Verse, yet he still desperately wants Gu Sinian’s second male lead role? The drama writes itself.]

[+1. Fans are so passionate, but their idol was the first to give in. Absolutely hilarious.]

[He just wants to ride Verse’s coattails. Without Verse, he can’t stay relevant.]

[Lin Ge Entertainment would never give him a chance. The fact that he didn’t make the cut is entirely his own doing.]

Recently, because of Lu Xu, Lin Ge Entertainment and the other three members of Verse had also been heavily criticized. The rise of the “V-school” meme had become so widespread that even Lin Ge’s attempts to suppress trending topics couldn’t fix it. The phrase “V-school” was well on its way to becoming a running joke that no amount of PR suppression could contain.

Lin Ge Entertainment had even tried reaching out to Lu Xu, advising him to tone things down and let go of old grudges, but Lu Xu refused to comply.

When the forum post gained traction, Lin Ge Entertainment thought of a new strategy—

The hashtag #LuXuBackstabber quickly shot into the top ten on the trending list.

Marketing accounts working with Lin Ge Entertainment quickly sprang into action. Their narrative? Lu Xu had been using his fans to attack Lin Ge Entertainment, only to turn around and betray them himself.

[Fans are important, sure, but profits come first, right?]

[Didn’t get the role? Serves him right. Never seen a celebrity embarrass themselves this badly.]

[So low—he’s the definition of low. If he’s so high and mighty, why not keep it up?]

[I think the real issue isn’t that he sucked up to Gu Sinian but that he didn’t even succeed. Absolutely laughable.]

Fans, who had initially hoped Lu Xu would land a great role, were stunned to learn he had auditioned for Rising Sun. It wasn’t just that he didn’t get the part; it was the fact that Lu Xu, who had always acted like he wanted nothing to do with Gu Sinian, had gone to audition for his project.

[Hating Gu Sinian is work, licking(sucking up to) Gu Sinian is life. Lu Xu keeps his priorities straight, huh? Tsk.]

When Lu Xu logged in, he immediately saw his name trending on Weibo again.

At this point, he felt like the CEO of Weibo ought to partner with him—he practically lived on the trending list. Surely, he deserved a share of the profits?

Seeing the trending tag, Lu Xu narrowed his eyes. He let out a quiet sigh before typing:

[Cooperating with Gu Sinian is equivalent to licking Gu Sinian?]

Then, he opened the search bar and started screenshotting posts.

“A worked with Gu Sinian,”

“B teamed up with Gu Sinian,”

“C,” “D”… “Z.”

After taking countless screenshots, Lu Xu posted with a sarcastic comment:

[Guess Gu Sinian doesn’t even need to bathe anymore, huh? I’m different, though. I bathe every day.]

…

[…Pfft.]

[Hahaha, his logic is wild.]

[Is he crazy? Do you know I was drinking milk tea? If my computer’s motherboard fries, it’s on him!]

[Honestly, this trending topic is ridiculous. It was just an audition—failing is normal. That counts as sucking up? By that logic, Gu Sinian must’ve sucked up to so many people, considering how many auditions he’s failed before.]

[+1 +1 +1]

…

Lu Xu posted the audition notice sent to him by the production team: [I attended the audition as instructed. Before participating, I had no idea that the lead role in this drama had already been given to Gu Sinian.

As an actor, pursuing every audition opportunity is part of my job, and I value each hard-won chance.

I’m not sure if my failure in this audition was influenced by Gu Sinian or Lin Ge Entertainment. If it was, I regret it. I hope the integrity of the audition process remains intact—every actor deserves an equal chance.]

For once, Lu Xu was serious, but netizens quickly picked up on another layer of meaning in his words:

[This drama is funded by Lin Ge Entertainment and Feiwo Film, so the male lead is set to be Gu Sinian, and the second male lead is You Zichen.]

[Is Lu Xu implying that Lin Ge Entertainment ruined his chances?]

[That’s not even subtle; it’s a direct hint.]

Lu Xu had carefully chosen his words, using “if” to avoid outright accusations. As a result, most comments in his post’s reply section were encouraging, like “Keep going!” or “Better luck next time.”

In truth, Lu Xu didn’t particularly like revealing audition details. To him, a role always fits only one actor. Does not being chosen make the others failures?

The answer was clearly no.

Later that evening, Lu Xu’s implied grievances found some validation.

He wasn’t the only actor who had auditioned for the role of Wu Shen. One of the other actors had mentioned it briefly during a previous livestream, saying he hadn’t been selected either.

When Lu Xu’s failed audition started trending, fans of that actor specifically went to his livestream to ask about it.

The actor confirmed:

“Yes, I only found out on the day of the audition that the male lead had already been decided. I hadn’t heard anything before that.”

“As for Wu Shen’s role, I learned about it later. But honestly… if the decision had already been made, there wasn’t much point in having us show up. Our time is valuable too, and every failed attempt is discouraging. It chips away at your confidence.”

The actor hadn’t spoken too bluntly, but they had said enough—if Lin Ge Entertainment and Feiwo Film had already settled on their choices, why call others in just to make them “benchwarmers”?

It made them look as if they weren’t as good as You Zichen!

Feiwo Film eventually issued a statement, claiming that the casting of Wu Shen was conducted fairly and solely based on the compatibility between the actor and the role, without any other considerations. They dismissed the rumors as baseless and threatened legal action.

However, with Gu Sinian and You Zichen both in the picture, Feiwo Film’ statement carried little credibility.

[They should just admit, ‘It’s my investment, my choice.’ That wouldn’t even be shameful.]

[+1. If the investors wanted to handpick their people, just say so. There’s no need to organize auditions. Other actors wouldn’t mind.]

[Why mock Lu Xu for this? Isn’t this just a standard audition process? Using the term ‘backstab’ is seriously dramatic.]

[+1.]

[I remember back in the 80s, Huang Jin and Yuan Xiaoyu had such a terrible relationship that they almost came to blows on set, but it didn’t stop their movie from being a success—and it was high-quality, too. That’s basic professionalism. Personal grudges are one thing, work is another. Both Huang Jin and Yuan Xiaoyu were megastars, and the market was struggling back then. Despite their feud, they knew the industry needed them. If Lu Xu and Gu Sinian collaborated, I’d be fine with it.]

[The rest of Verse sabotaged Lu Xu to the point where the narrative became that Lu Xu was bullying three people by himself. Now he auditions for a drama starring Gu Sinian, and people are accusing him of backstabbing his fans? Poor Lu Xu.]

[I can’t help but feel sorry for Lu Xu now.]

Fans were understandably frustrated, but Lu Xu’s audition failure was final. Rising Sun had already started filming.

Still, Lu Xu’s reputation took a turn for the better.

There was no “backstabbing” involved—he had merely played the part of a scholar reading alongside the crown prince, only to walk away empty-handed.

Of course, looking at recent events in the entertainment industry and the unfolding aftermath of the “backstabbing” incident, fans reached a conclusion: any gossip involving Lu Xu would inevitably escalate into a major scandal.

Take “V-school,” for example.

Or… the director clashing with the production team.

Here’s what happened:

As the future “crown prince” of Feiwo Film, You Zichen was highly valued within the company. His role as Wu Shen in Rising Sun was due to Feiwo Film having a smaller investment share than Lin Ge Entertainment in this production.

Next time, if Feiwo Film held a larger share, You Zichen would undoubtedly secure the male lead.

You Zichen himself had a decent fan base, and with Feiwo Film’s resources backing him, his fans initially believed he would be treated favorably on the Rising Sun set.

However, after monitoring the crew for some time, they discovered that You Zichen was scolded by the director daily.

Fans were outraged.

On one hand, they argued that You Zichen had earned this role through his own efforts. On the other, they couldn’t understand why he had to endure constant reprimands.

How could the “crown prince” be scolded every day?

They turned their frustration toward Feiwo Film, bombarding the company’s official social media accounts, demanding that they intervene and ensure You Zichen was treated equally to other actors on set.

At the same time, You Zichen’s fans found their way to Mu Qian’s personal Weibo account, urging the director to treat You Zichen more gently.

[You’re the director. Just guide him properly.]

[Scolding won’t help an actor improve. Zichen is a talented performer; he won’t let you down.]

[Why do you always scold people? You’re not acting like a respected director at all.]

They flooded his account with these comments day after day. Already frustrated, Mu Qian became even more enraged when he saw the messages.

In his eyes, You Zichen was utterly hopeless.

If it weren’t for his love of Jin Mu’s script and their friendship, why would he bother putting up with these idiots?

It’s just a pile of shit!

As everyone knew, Mu Qian didn’t have the best temper.

A powder keg will eventually explode.

After consulting with Jin Mu, the screenwriter, the director finally lost it:

[From the very beginning, I wasn’t satisfied with Gu Sinian or You Zichen. Jin Mu and I both agreed that Lu Xu was the most suitable actor for Wu Shen, but our decision was overruled.]

[Since the roles were assigned, it’s an actor’s duty to perform their part well.]

[As of today, I am officially resigning from the Rising Sun production. I leave it to Lin Ge Entertainment and Feiwo Film to find someone better suited for the job.]

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