Chapter 51: A Very Good Treatment
From the very beginning of filming, doubts surrounding the crew of The Path of Bones never ceased.
The failure of Undercover had led the public to call on the crew to “find a lead actor with real acting skills.” Later, when Lu Xu was cast as Yu Yi, the skepticism lessened somewhat, but some still repeatedly emphasized that Lu Xu had never played a lead role before or that his acting skills were limited to period dramas.
Lei Ai and Kong Le found themselves at a loss for words; no matter how they explained, the critics always seemed to have a point.
Previously, an unkind colleague had even called Lei Ai to ask if the platform issues had been resolved. If not, the colleague kindly offered to help Lei Ai connect with the platform.
So, when Lu Xu was just shortlisted for the Stellar Awards, Lei Ai immediately called that person and said, “Why else do people say I’m lucky? Honestly, when I picked Lu Xu, I never thought he’d get shortlisted. Do you think the price for someone shortlisted is the same as for someone who isn’t?”
“Hey, look at us now. We don’t even need to spend on promotions. As for the release… why don’t you check with the platform for me and see what price they’re offering? We’ll compare options.”
“Too popular now. Nothing we can do about it.”
Listening to the person stammer and fail to form a coherent reply, Lei Ai raised an eyebrow. We’re all old foxes here, so why play games? Do they really think I’m that easy to fool?
As for being accused of crowing like a rooster, Lei Ai didn’t mind one bit—he was genuinely delighted.
Lei Ai hadn’t even been the first to hear about Lu Xu being shortlisted for the Stellar Awards; it was the platform that informed him.
Before that, Lei Ai had been working with Kong Le to secure a release slot on the platform. The platform’s attitude had been vague, neither confirming nor denying whether the drama could go live or when it might happen. In short, if a drama more suitable than The Path of Bones appeared, their drama would have to step aside.
The platform had always prioritized profits, and Lei Ai was long accustomed to it.
But that day, the tone of the phone call was entirely different.
Lei Ai understood that the mere fact that Lu Xu’s first lead role after being shortlisted for the Stellar Awards was enough of a selling point for the platform to invest in securing the rights.
“We’re riding on your career luck here,” Lei Ai joked with Lu Xu. “When we release the trailer in a bit, remember to repost it a few more times.”
No matter how early The Path of Bones aired, it wouldn’t be until after the Stellar Awards ceremony.
Previously, the drama had been filmed quietly. Even if it garnered a little attention, it was mostly because Undercover had flopped so badly. But now, things were different.
Not only was the crew of The Path of Bones paying close attention to the drama’s progress, but several top-tier actors in the industry were watching as well.
With a Stellar Awards nomination in hand, if The Path of Bones could match the popularity of Son of Heaven or Supreme, Lu Xu’s momentum would be unstoppable.
*
Lin Ge Entertainment
Turning on the TV, any random entertainment news program was sure to cover updates about the current Stellar Awards. And whenever the Stellar Awards were mentioned, Lu Xu was inevitably a focal point.
The lighter reports merely highlighted Lu Xu’s rise as an actor. The deeper dives traced his career path from his debut in Verse, detailing every step with precision.
In these stories, Lin Ge Entertainment naturally played the role of the villain.
It was rare for all three members of Verse to be at the company at the same time. Watching the news broadcast, their expressions turned increasingly sour.
Only in private, away from the cameras, did they reveal their true selves.
“He’s really got all the luck,” Gu Sinian sneered.
“Jealous, are you?” Xie Qingyang raised an eyebrow, sarcasm dripping from his words.
“And you’re not jealous?” Gu Sinian retorted sharply, showing no courtesy toward Xie Qingyang. “From the way you’re talking, I almost thought your deal with G-brand had already gone through.”
Xie Qingyang’s face immediately darkened.
Getting played by G-brand was one of his sore spots. He wished he’d never even tried for that opportunity—it was humiliating to have chased after it so eagerly.
Meng Qin, who usually delighted in mocking the other two, stayed silent this time. In the fashion world, he’d always been well-connected and treated like a favored son by several major brands. Yet recently, one of his intended collaborations had prioritized Lu Xu as their first choice.
Lu Xu had effectively become a roadblock in Meng Qin’s career.
A little over a year ago, none of the three could have imagined that Lu Xu, who had nearly disappeared from the entertainment industry, would find such smooth success as an actor.
“We need to come up with something,” Gu Sinian gritted his teeth. “We can’t just let him keep going like this.”
The better Lu Xu did, the worse they looked in comparison.
If Verse had disbanded amicably, it might not have been so bad. But Lu Xu was the one who got kicked out, and just before the disbandment, the three of them had put all their effort into smearing him with bad press.
Gu Sinian had always believed that acting was a difficult path. He’d mentally prepared himself for the challenges.
But if Lu Xu weren’t around, even with the failures of The Watchers and Rising Sun, the ridicule he faced wouldn’t be as severe as it was now.
To this day, he couldn’t understand how Lu Xu could possibly deserve a Stellar Awards nomination. Were the judges blind?
The three of them stood there, thinking hard, but couldn’t come up with any new dirt on Lu Xu worth digging up.
The old accusations from their time in Verse were long obsolete. Repeated claims of him being a weak link, having poor dancing skills, and lacking vocal ability didn’t hold much weight anymore. After all, Verse had been a boy band, and while Lu Xu hadn’t excelled, the others weren’t significantly better either.
Anyone with real talent had already gone solo.
The group’s once-proud dancing skills had gradually declined since their disbandment. Aside from occasionally showing off a move to make fans scream, they had no standout advantages in the entertainment industry anymore.
“Why not focus on his drama?” Gu Sinian suggested as he contacted his manager. “Didn’t the company just sign Sister Fei?”
The manager replied with a simple “Yes,” to which Gu Sinian responded, “Then that makes things easier.”
“Doesn’t Sister Fei also have a grudge against Lu Xu?”
Gu Sinian had always believed that the failure of Rising Sun was Lu Xu’s fault. It had been his first lead drama, and since Lu Xu had supposedly caused it to flop, leaving Gu Sinian unable to land any good roles, he intended to turn the tables.
If Rising Sun failed, why should The Path of Bones succeed?
Within Lin Ge Entertainment, Wei Fangfei was another person who disliked Lu Xu.
The Book of Nine Revolutions had flopped miserably, turning into a joke, and Wei Fangfei’s dream of returning to the film industry had been thoroughly shattered. She had established her own studio, but now, her resources were too limited to keep it running, leading her to sign under Lin Ge Entertainment.
Gu Sinian figured that with Wei Fangfei’s help, targeting The Path of Bones was a realistic possibility.
Wei Fangfei’s close friend had a new drama scheduled to air in February.
“But would they even agree to this?” The manager hesitated, unwilling for Gu Sinian to act so recklessly. “We should play it safe and take things step by step.”
Gu Sinian shook his head lightly. “I can’t wait anymore.”
“Do you think, given Lu Xu’s current momentum, I still have any chance to rise again?”
Lin Ge Entertainment was already reluctant to allocate him resources, and no other company would either. Running a talent agency wasn’t charity work.
“I’ll talk to Sister Fei myself. I’ve heard she’s been short on money recently.”
The manager said no more.
The failure of The Book of Nine Revolutions had been catastrophic, and with Wei Fangfei’s unseemly behavior, no one in the industry dared to pay her a high price for acting anymore.
No one knew exactly what investments she had made, but her losses seemed like a bottomless pit. The reason she had humbled herself to sign with Lin Ge Entertainment was that their signing bonus was higher than what any other company had offered.
“I’m just afraid we won’t be able to satisfy her appetite,” the manager said softly.
“But there’s no one left willing to give her a large sum of money now,” Gu Sinian replied with a faint smile. “She’ll agree.”
*
Meanwhile, Lu Xu was completely unaware of the impending efforts to sabotage The Path of Bones. He was busy preparing intensively for the Stellar Awards ceremony.
The organizing committee had sent over the ceremony itinerary in advance, and it was far more complicated than Lu Xu had imagined. He had initially thought it would just involve walking the red carpet and then sitting down in the hall.
In reality, before the ceremony even began, Lu Xu had already gone through an official interview with the committee, a mandatory step for every nominee.
He also had to go through makeup and styling trials. G-brand had sent over multiple outfits, and thankfully, Lu Xu found all of them acceptable, which simplified the process.
Afterward, Lu Xu posed for photos with the sponsor’s car brand and participated in the ceremony’s rehearsal.
By the time all of this was finished, he felt more exhausted than after an all-night shoot. His mind was in a bit of a daze.
“Tough, isn’t it?” Guo Yining, standing nearby, said with a laugh. “The sponsors just love you. We clock out and leave, but you’re stuck there posing for photo after photo.”
Lu Xu shot a resentful glance in his direction.
“That’s how it is,” another nominee, Zhang Yuguang, chimed in with a nod. “It’s great being young—gives us all a bit of reflected glory.”
Zhang Yuguang, a seasoned Stellar Award nominee and a regular at the event, was nominated this time for his portrayal of a construction worker. Among the five nominees, he was the oldest.
In contrast, Lu Xu was a complete newcomer to the Stellar Awards. Yet, from start to finish, he seemed perfectly at ease. This was partly because he had grown accustomed to such environments in his past life and partly because Guo Yining had taken special care of him.
Guo Yining’s attentiveness even prompted the other nominees to regard Lu Xu with what could only be described as affectionate (or was it?) glances.
Lu Xu couldn’t help but wonder what exactly Guo Yining had said to them.
Their time working together on Son of Heaven had been long enough for Guo Yining to feel comfortable spilling the truth to Lu Xu.
First, he had praised Lu Xu to the skies, extolling his extraordinary acting skills and mentioning how much his own daughter adored Lu Xu.
Then, he brought up how Lu Xu had been heartlessly ousted from Rising Sun by the production’s connections. Despite delivering an excellent performance, he had suffered cold sarcasm from the casting assistant director.
“And this kid is just too honest for his own good,” Guo Yining had told them. “Even after Rising Sun treated him so badly, he still turned around and helped out with Supreme.”
“Do kids like this still exist in the entertainment industry?” Guo Yining asked rhetorically, prompting all the other nominees to shake their heads. “No, definitely not.”
Veteran actors like Guo Yining and Zhang Yuguang, who had been perennial nominees for Best Supporting Actor, were particularly aware of the chaos in today’s productions. Even for seasoned performers like them, early fame didn’t always protect them from being pushed around on set.
Young stars with the momentum of popularity were treated like royalty; one project for them could earn as much as ten years of work for the older generation.
The importance of being “the hottest star of the moment” was evident in every aspect of the industry.
The drama Son of Heaven was already well-known in the industry, and insiders were aware of how Liu Chunfeng had scoured the entire entertainment circle before finally discovering the hidden gem that was Lu Xu.
Without acting skills, Lu Xu would never have been chosen by Liu Chunfeng, nor would he have earned a nomination from the famously stringent Stellar Awards jury.
Guo Yining wasn’t someone who casually sang praises, yet today, he led Lu Xu around, introducing him to various people and paving the way for him. His attitude was almost indistinguishable from how one might treat their own nephew or son.
But just when it seemed that Guo Yining had gone above and beyond, Cheng Yun took it even further. Leading Lu Xu directly to the directors, he earnestly requested that they consider Lu Xu for more opportunities.
With a straight face, Cheng Yun declared that Lu Xu was the “lucky star” of any production he joined.
Lu Xu: “…”
This was too embarrassing.