Chapter 49: I Tried My Best
Lu Xu realized that the gap between making the shortlist and not making it was immense.
Overnight, his agent sent him more than ten potential business collaboration proposals. Each brand’s reputation was no less than that of Z-brand. Naturally, Lu Xu couldn’t work with every single one, but for a few high-end brands and those with higher public recognition, his agent still suggested he give them some thought.
On top of that, Lu Xu hadn’t even known there were so many events happening at the end of the year!
He looked at his agent, who returned his gaze with an innocent expression.
Lu Xu rubbed his nose and said, “…Oh, nobody approached me.”
#SorryAboutThat
Before starring in My Baby Prince, he had indeed been a near-invisible figure in the entertainment industry for a long time.
“You really didn’t need to say that out loud,” Xu Wen said. “Of course people have been reaching out to invite you to events lately. I just turned down the unsuitable ones for you.”
When it came to business collaborations, Xu Wen only started negotiating for Lu Xu after Supreme had become a hit.
Objectively speaking, Z-brand shampoo wasn’t the most top-tier business deal, but at the moment, it was the most suitable one for Lu Xu to take on.
Xu Wen had always believed that as Lu Xu took on more dramas and gradually solidified his acting career, he would undoubtedly secure better business opportunities. However, that might take a few years.
The agent was patient enough to wait.
But then, Lu Xu was nominated for the Stellar Awards.
As his agent, Xu Wen had considered the possibility—over the past year, purely in terms of acting performance, no young actor had surpassed Lu Xu.
However, the bar for a Stellar Award nomination was incredibly high. While Xu Wen might have his own bias toward Lu Xu, the judges might not share it.
The morning Lu Xu was nominated for the Stellar Awards, the senior executives at the company called Xu Wen, instructing him to pay closer attention to managing Lu Xu’s career. Unless something unexpected happened, this marked the moment Feiyang Entertainment would begin shifting more resources toward Lu Xu.
Feiyang Entertainment primarily signed young actors who followed a path focused on acting skills. However, because of Lu Xu’s exceptionally striking appearance, the senior executives had subconsciously categorized him as an idol-type actor. Yet so far, among all the young actors under Feiyang Entertainment, Lu Xu was the only one to be nominated for the Stellar Awards.
In fact, it wasn’t just Feiyang Entertainment. Across the entire entertainment industry, Lu Xu was the sole young actor to receive a Stellar Award nomination.
The long-term career trajectory Xu Wen had meticulously planned for Lu Xu—one that would take several years to unfold—was abruptly fast-tracked due to the unexpected nomination.
…
The Stellar Award nomination exploded like a bomb, creating a wave of shock throughout the entertainment industry.
Most of the young male actors in the circle regarded Lu Xu’s rise to fame this year with indifference.
Lu Xu was a former member of the idol group Verse, transitioning into acting. While Verse had indeed been wildly popular during its peak, idols and actors belonged to two completely different worlds. Few idols ever succeeded in transitioning into credible acting careers.
Even Gu Sinian, with all his top-tier resources, had failed to make a mark in the acting world.
As for Lu Xu, while it appeared he had done slightly better than Gu Sinian, his achievements so far were all based on playing supporting roles.
He spent his days dissing actors like Gu Sinian and Chen Ye, who belonged to the same tier. In the eyes of the top-tier young actors, this tier was collectively referred to as ‘irrelevant nobodies’.
In other words, within the acting world, Lu Xu wasn’t even considered part of the main circle.
For him to gain acknowledgment from the industry’s leading male actors, he would need a hit show where he played the lead.
For actors, playing a supporting role and being the lead were two entirely different things.
Previously, Lu Xu’s fans and Xie Qingyang’s fans had clashed over a brand endorsement, a spectacle that the top-tier young actors found utterly ridiculous and laughable.
It wasn’t just that they looked down on Z-brand’s endorsement itself; the way the fans got so worked up over it clearly revealed their lack of exposure to the real game.
[Actors who started as idols only care about this kind of thing. When have professionally trained actors ever cared?]
[Professionally trained actors value actual achievements more—streaming numbers and awards come first. Everything else is just window dressing.]
[Exactly. Look at Zhang Che; he’s pushing hard for the Stellar Awards again this year. If you can’t win awards, what else can you rely on? Business deals? Better make money while you can—what happens when your relevance fades?]
Zhang Che and Lu Xu had never directly crossed paths, but Zhang Che’s fans had privately thrown shade at Lu Xu several times.
In some ways, Lu Xu and Zhang Che overlapped in their positioning—both had initially gained attention for their looks but gradually began proving themselves through acting.
After Lu Xu rose to fame with his roles as Qin Zhao and Ji Xiuya, Zhang Che’s fans occasionally stumbled upon comments like “Lu Xu acts a bit better than Zhang Che” or “Lu Xu seems like an upgraded version of Zhang Che.”
Although these remarks didn’t come from Lu Xu’s fans, they still managed to irritate Zhang Che’s supporters.
Wasn’t Lu Xu just punching above his weight class?
However, since the two fanbases had never clashed, and Lu Xu himself, though occasionally sharp-tongued, wasn’t the type to engage in attention-seeking or opportunistic marketing, Zhang Che’s fans saw no need to create a new enemy.
Most of those comparison posts seemed more like bait planted by rival fans.
Zhang Che’s fans genuinely believed that Lu Xu didn’t even deserve to be compared to Zhang Che.
Zhang Che was steadily transitioning to more serious roles. As long as he secured a Stellar Award nomination, he would leave other young actors in the dust and ascend to even greater heights.
And Lu Xu? He only had one lead role in a series that hadn’t even aired yet!
The day the Stellar Award nominations were announced, Zhang Che’s fans refreshed the organizing committee’s official account over and over, eagerly hoping to see his name listed under the “Best Supporting Actor” category.
To secure a Stellar Award nomination, Zhang Che had played the third male lead in a period drama. In the show, he portrayed the eldest son of the main couple—a young man with big dreams, trapped in a traditional household by his conservative parents.
To perfect this role, Zhang Che had turned down several endorsements and rejected two male lead offers, dedicating over six months to honing his performance on set.
Both Zhang Che and his fans believed this was his closest shot at winning the Best Supporting Actor award.
When Guo Yining’s name was announced, Zhang Che’s fans weren’t surprised. He was the frontrunner for Best Supporting Actor this year. His portrayal of a morally ambiguous minister had captured the complexity of the character in a deeply compelling way.
After Guo Yining’s name was revealed, Zhang Che’s fans assumed Zhang Che’s name would be next.
But what they saw instead was the face of a young crown prince.
It wasn’t Zhang Che.
Zhang Che had always believed that historical dramas were notoriously difficult to win awards with. For this reason, he had avoided costume dramas entirely in recent years, focusing instead on modern dramas designed to appeal to awards committees.
When Lu Xu’s name appeared, Zhang Che’s fans fell into stunned silence. A sinking feeling began to grow within them.
Young actors being nominated for the Stellar Awards was already rare enough. The odds of two young actors being nominated in the same year were slimmer than winning the lottery.
As the names of the third, fourth, and final nominees were announced, Zhang Che’s name never appeared.
Though they couldn’t see it, Zhang Che’s fans could imagine the look of disappointment on his face after the list was revealed.
Why? Zhang Che worked harder than anyone!
[Zhang Che is online…]
Sharp-eyed fans noticed that on the morning the Stellar Awards nominations were announced, Zhang Che logged in and out repeatedly.
Online, then offline. Offline, then back online again.
[He probably can’t accept this outcome, right? Just thinking about how Zhang Che must be feeling right now makes my heart ache.]
[With his self-critical personality, he’s probably really upset. But people like him can’t quickly move past things—they’ll keep checking, keep overthinking, until they completely break down.]
[Why, why is it Lu Xu?]
[The Crown Prince only needed one nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Why did they give it two?]
Zhang Che himself couldn’t accept the result, and his fans felt just as devastated. However, for the industry’s top young male actors, Lu Xu’s nomination was a slightly better outcome than Zhang Che’s would have been.
If Zhang Che had “ascended,” it would have disrupted the current balance among the top-tier young actors—a balance they had worked hard to maintain.
But with Lu Xu in the picture, the dynamic was different. His nomination meant that the circle of young actors had gained another disruptor.
Even if Lu Xu had risen to fame through supporting roles, he already had a lead role waiting to be broadcast. And even if he had nothing else, the prestige of a Stellar Awards nomination alone would make directors consider him.
In the entertainment industry, promoting newcomers was a common practice.
Lu Xu now had the qualifications to be elevated.
In many ways, aside from his relatively short career, Lu Xu had no significant weaknesses. His roles as Qin Zhao and Ji Xiuya were enough to make him a breakout star, and in terms of looks, Lu Xu was on par with any of the top actors in the industry. Now, with a Stellar Awards nomination in hand, he had an even stronger foundation.
Previously, the top-tier actors hadn’t taken Lu Xu seriously. But now, almost unanimously, they began to remember his name.
…
Late that night, Zhang Che’s fans noticed he was still online at 3 a.m., having been on and off all day.
[How much longer are you going to keep looking? Stop it already, please!]
[I knew he cared about this award, but I didn’t realize he cared this much. This is breaking my heart.]
[Just let it go!]
At this point, Zhang Che’s social media page finally showed some activity.
Zhang Che: [I really tried my best.]
This post stayed up for barely a minute before he deleted it, but not before fans managed to screenshot it.
That night, because Zhang Che couldn’t sleep, many of his fans stayed up in solidarity, sharing in his sleeplessness.
Their frustration had no clear outlet, so some directed it at the Stellar Awards’ official account, while others flooded Lu Xu’s social media page.
Meanwhile, Lu Xu had gone to bed early that night. After a long, restful sleep, he woke up feeling refreshed and decided to take his little bike out for a spin.
Recently, Lu Xu had avoided going out too openly because fans often recognized him. He wasn’t the type to enjoy being heavily disguised and preferred to wander around casually, like a typical guy.
Before heading out, he casually opened his social media, only to see a comment under his post:
[Do you think this is fair to Zhang Che? He didn’t sleep all night because of you.]
Lu Xu’s immediate reaction was pure confusion: Who’s Zhang Che? What did I do to him?
Truthfully, he had no idea who Zhang Che was.
But Lu Xu had matured. Instead of blurting out this potentially hurtful question, he thoughtfully searched Zhang Che’s name and pieced together the story.
He also came across the screenshot of Zhang Che’s post: [I really tried my best.]
By this point, Lu Xu finally understood who Zhang Che was—and why his fans were upset.
Lu Xu hadn’t heard much about Zhang Che’s name, but he recognized his face—he’d watched the period drama Zhang Che starred in.
Objectively, the drama’s leads stood out more, and although Zhang Che had plenty of screen time, his performance was still overshadowed by the male and female protagonists.
That said, for a young actor, Zhang Che had delivered a solid performance.
Lu Xu could understand his frustration.
Actors often held a deep attachment to awards. Lu Xu didn’t care as much now because he had already received his share of recognition.
More importantly, he had immense confidence in his acting. Before anyone else acknowledged his talent, he had already affirmed it for himself.
Zhang Che was different.
Zhang Che had risen to fame through idol dramas and had been plagued by doubt ever since. Every attempt at transitioning into serious roles had been met with skepticism.
Zhang Che wasn’t the type of person with an unshakable inner resolve.
He craved validation. He wanted to be nominated for the Stellar Awards. He didn’t want to be dismissed as an actor who relied solely on his looks.
Lu Xu sighed softly.
News of Lu Xu logging onto his social media quickly caught the attention of gossip accounts and curious netizens.
Tracking Lu Xu’s online activity had become routine for entertainment bloggers. After all, his candid and often sharp remarks had earned him the reputation of being the entertainment industry’s most unfiltered celebrity.
Speculation ran wild that Lu Xu might clap back at Zhang Che’s “tea talk” post.
Sure enough, Lu Xu posted something—but it was nothing like what they expected.
Lu Xu: [Everyone is working hard. Don’t give up. Keep going!]
No sarcasm, no passive-aggressiveness, no cryptic allusions—just a simple, earnest message.
The response took everyone by surprise, leaving gossip bloggers with little to sensationalize.
#OurPuppyIsTiredOfFighting #OurPuppyWantsToRest#
**TN
Merry Christmas everyone! °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°
