Chapter 30: Scheduling Conflict

With just one scene, Lu Xu gained the full recognition of the entire Supreme crew.

Lu Xu had been borrowed by the director from the neighboring Son of Heaven crew. Many initially thought the director had resorted to this move out of desperation—after all, even if Lu Xu’s portrayal of Ji Xiuya was inferior to Chen Ye’s in every way, at least his looks were superior. When the show aired, the character of Ji Xiuya would at least have some presence and wouldn’t fade into obscurity.

No one expected Lu Xu to stun everyone with his first scene.

The Supreme crew had a clear comparison in mind since many of them still remembered how Chen Ye had performed this very scene.

In terms of performance, Lu Xu undeniably surpassed Chen Ye by a wide margin—it was almost a complete domination.

“When the show airs, are we in for some real drama?”

“All Chen Ye does is badmouth our crew, calling it trash. Even if we are trash, does that make his acting any better?”

A comparison chart of Chen Ye and Lu Xu’s looks began circulating online. For a male actor in the prime of his career, being completely overshadowed in appearance was a significant blow. That chart was soon taken down by Chen Ye’s agency through public relations efforts.

Chen Ye’s fans, however, were still indignant. The visual comparison was too brutal, so they avoided mentioning it much to prevent being ridiculed for “worshipping ugliness.” Instead, they focused entirely on the acting skills of the two—

It was true that Lu Xu had risen to fame through My Baby Prince, but Chen Ye was a trained professional!

If Chen Ye’s acting was bad, the crew of Book of Nine Revolutions would never have invited him to play an important role.

No matter how much Lu Xu boasted, his true colors would inevitably be exposed when Supreme aired.

Chen Ye’s fans firmly believed that Lu Xu’s acting would collapse.

One night, during a late-night livestream, Chen Ye tearfully confided in his loyal fans about the difficulties he had faced over the years. He said he had missed too many opportunities in the past, so whenever a good opportunity came his way now, he would never let it slip through his fingers.

He explained that he left the Supreme crew because the character Ji Xiuya in the script was overly exaggerated. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t meet the script’s demands. He had shared his thoughts with Jiang Wangshu several times, but Director Jiang simply didn’t understand him.

Feeling broken and hopeless, Chen Ye had no choice but to escape from the Supreme crew.

Chen Ye had always maintained a resilient and strong image in front of his fans. This emotional confession left his fans heartbroken.

On one hand, the fans felt that Chen Ye had made the right decision. On the other, they doubted how Lu Xu could possibly handle the character of Ji Xiuya when even Chen Ye couldn’t manage it.

This time, the Supreme crew didn’t respond to Chen Ye’s complaints.

Previously, they had posted photos on Weibo because they were genuinely upset about Chen Ye leaving midway. There was an undeniable sense of resentment in their reaction.

But now, with Lu Xu displaying increasingly refined acting skills on set, the Supreme crew no longer needed Chen Ye. Lu Xu was more than enough, and their resentment naturally faded.

While the official crew account’s comment section was flooded daily with Chen Ye’s fans mocking Lu Xu, imagining endlessly how poorly his acting and the show’s reception would turn out, only those on the set knew how joyful it was to have Lu Xu play Ji Xiuya!

Chen Ye had quit halfway through filming. If he had stayed, he would have needed at least another month to finish his scenes. Though his acting was decent, it wasn’t exceptional, and he had a high number of NGs.

Ji Xiuya was indeed a challenging role to play.

After Lu Xu took over, however, efficiency soared.

Lu Xu didn’t fuss over trivial matters and focused entirely on the script. For every scene involving him, he delivered an outstanding performance beyond expectations.

The same scenes had been filmed twice before by Zheng Xiao and Wei Yi, but in director Jiang Wangshu’s mind, Lu Xu’s performance still stood out as the strongest.

Jiang Wangshu felt that Lu Xu possessed an undeniable spark of natural talent in his acting that was impossible to ignore.

With each scene Lu Xu filmed, Director Jiang found himself eagerly anticipating the day Ji Xiuya would meet the audience.

Of course, while Director Jiang hoped Ji Xiuya would be introduced to the audience soon, the first to make its debut was Son of Heaven.

Even while Lu Xu was still working on the set of Supreme, Son of Heaven had already been scheduled for release in February on Cloud Film and Television.

Lu Xu wasn’t very familiar with Cloud Film, but he did recall that during the broadcast of My Baby Prince, Cloud Film’s The Sweetness of a Candy had been a competitor. Later, as the hype around The Watchers diminished, Candy also seemed to lose steam.

Back then, Cloud Film had strategically scheduled Candy to avoid clashing with The Watchers, as the two had completely different themes. However, Cloud hadn’t anticipated My Baby Prince to rise unexpectedly, not only surpassing The Watchers but also siphoning off the attention from Candy.

In a way, both My Baby Prince and Candy belonged to the youthful romance genre.

Although… Lu Xu privately thought of My Baby Prince as more of a quirky romance than a sweet one.

What surprised him was that a historical drama like Son of Heaven had managed to secure a release on Cloud Film.

“It’s premiering this soon?” he asked.

“Not particularly soon,” Liu Chunfeng replied. “Historical dramas tend to be less popular, but Cloud’s stockpile of series has a lot of overlap, and their recent performance hasn’t been great. The platform probably wants to try a different genre.”

As the director and Lu Xu continued chatting, the director suddenly asked, “Didn’t your previous drama beat Cloud Film’s?”

Lu Xu hesitated for a moment. “…Kind of. But I wasn’t the lead, just a supporting actor.”

He still hadn’t played a leading role yet—only supporting ones.

“No wonder,” Liu Chunfeng murmured thoughtfully.

By this time, the annual viewership data for various platforms had been released, and a jaw-dropping result emerged—out of the hundreds of dramas aired across platforms last year, My Baby Prince had managed to rank within the top five in popularity!

During a screening hosted by the Son of Heaven crew while negotiating with Cloud Film, a senior executive brought up Lu Xu, asking Liu Chunfeng if the actor playing the Crown Prince was indeed him.

After confirming, Liu Chunfeng faintly noticed that Cloud Film’s sincerity in the collaboration seemed to increase.

It certainly wasn’t because of his own boxing-coach-like appearance. Liu Chunfeng suspected that Cloud Film might feel there was something almost mystical about Lu Xu.

Why?

If someone had told Liu Chunfeng one day that a drama he directed with a budget in the hundreds of thousands would make it to the year’s top five in popularity, he would’ve thought they were out of their mind.

Yet My Baby Prince had done just that.

It was Lu Xu’s first acting role, and his very first drama had achieved such a remarkable and unexpected success.

Given that My Baby Prince was a “three-no” product—no well-known director, no star-studded cast, no big promotional budget—what could have fueled its success? There had to be some inexplicable forces at play.

Though Son of Heaven might not necessarily share the same fortune as My Baby Prince, who could say for sure?

The only connection between the two dramas was Lu Xu’s involvement.

In Liu Chunfeng’s view, even without invoking mystical theories, Lu Xu was bound to make it big in the entertainment industry.

He had all the makings of a star—charisma, talent, and even a work ethic that surpassed most actors in the industry today.

Shortly after Son of Heaven announced its February release, the Rising Sun crew also revealed that after months of filming, Rising Sun would officially premiere in February on Grape Film and Television.

Despite the failure of The Watchers, Grape Film still chose to collaborate with Lin Ge Entertainment this time. The two companies had already been bound by mutual interests before The Watchers aired. While the failure was a major setback, it didn’t result in the immediate collapse of their partnership.

Such a collaboration had proven to be unstable.

By scheduling Rising Sun for a February release, it was clear that Grape Film was aiming to compete directly with Cloud Film.

After the director change fiasco, Lin Ge Entertainment and Feiwo Entertainment found a new director and even paid a premium to bring back the screenwriter, Jin Mu. To prevent Gu Sinian’s acting from becoming the only weakness of the cast, Lin Ge Entertainment hired three acting coaches to work with him, all in anticipation of his complete transformation.

Of course, Lin Ge Entertainment’s penchant for marketing hadn’t changed—before the series had even aired, press releases about Gu Sinian’s acting coaches were already flooding the media.

At the Rising Sun media event, a reporter asked, “With Rising Sun scheduled for February, is it intentionally clashing with Son of Heaven? Is it because Gu Sinian still feels competitive with Lu Xu?”

Before Gu Sinian could answer, the new director, Xiao Bo, responded, “As far as I know, Lu Xu is just a supporting actor in Son of Heaven. Gu Sinian is the lead in our drama. With such different roles, there’s no question of competition.”

Gu Sinian held back from answering, as his manager had already reminded him before the event to avoid commenting on anything related to Lu Xu.

Lu Xu’s words were sharp, and speaking about him could be like being stabbed with a knife.

Thankfully, the director voiced what Gu Sinian had been thinking.

Lu Xu had never played a leading role before! Why would he be compared to himself?

The reporter’s question seemed to suggest that Gu Sinian was jealous of Lu Xu, but in reality, it should be Lu Xu who was jealous of him, right?

When the reporter asked again, the Rising Sun crew responded by stating that the scheduling clash between the two dramas was purely coincidental, and that any time slot would involve competition between multiple shows.

Although Rising Sun was announced later, its teaser was released much earlier.

In the springtime, a group of young people gathered in a square, passionately shouting their vows to serve their country.

The scene shifted, showing dim candlelight and the strong, youthful handwriting deeply etched into a piece of white paper:

“Give my life for the country, facing death as if returning home.”

On a campus, a young man held a book close to his chest, cherishing every moment as he debated a topic with fiery passion.

The next scene showed a young man kneeling at his mother’s feet, tears in his eyes: “Even though I’m top of my class, even though I’m physically strong, and even joined the baseball team, they still say, ‘You’re not like everyone else.’”

“What makes me different?”

“We are all human beings with flesh and blood, independent thinkers!” — The individual voice turned into that of the whole group.

Accompanied by soft music, the will of the youth seemed to spread across the world.

Though this segment of the teaser was brief, it was incredibly captivating. The cries of the young people in the scenes seemed to transcend time and space, resonating in the ears of every viewer.

Mu Qian slapped the remote, turning off the TV with a sharp “pop.”

His brows furrowed into a deep crease, and his head began to throb faintly.

He could only admit that the actor replacing You Zichen was indeed slightly stronger, but not by much. The minute-long teaser did its best to showcase the passion of the youth, but… it seemed like the actors hadn’t fully grasped the core of the script. Their voices were filled with fervor, but their expressions were cold.

This made the passion feel somewhat superficial.

He didn’t feel the same shock and exhilaration that he’d experienced watching Lu Xu’s performance.

Although Mu Qian knew very well that expecting others to portray their characters with the same impact as Lu Xu was a bit unreasonable.

Still, he hoped Rising Sun would achieve good popularity.

After all, it was his friend’s carefully crafted script, and Mu Qian didn’t want to see his friend too disappointed.

<< _ >>

Related Posts

One thought on “Famous! Ch.30

Leave a Reply