Chapter 52: Award Ceremony
“Wow, it’s so cold today.”
Tan Qi and her friend arrived at the Stellar Awards venue by cab, only to be met with a gust of icy wind that made her voice tremble. The two huddled together, shivering for a moment, before her friend extended a hand to point ahead. In their line of sight was a queue stretching as far as the eye could see.
“Why are there so many people?”
Before coming, they had searched online and found that the Stellar Awards typically didn’t attract a large audience, and the red carpet crowds were usually smaller compared to major gala events.
However, standing here now, they were stunned by the sheer number of people.
After some thought, they reasoned that the Stellar Awards was, after all, the most prestigious award in the TV drama industry. A large turnout made sense.
Yet, as they waited in line, Lu Xu’s name came up no fewer than ten times in just a short while.
Tan Qi exchanged a glance with her friend and instantly understood.
By the time they reached the red carpet area, the crowd was packed tightly. The cold weather seemed far less biting amidst the throng of excited fans.
Tan Qi guessed that Lu Xu wouldn’t make an early appearance, but she had plenty of patience to wait.
After visiting the crew of The Path of Bones once, she felt that she liked Lu Xu even more.
Lu Xu had been quiet throughout the time he spent on set, only shooting an ad for Z-brand after the series wrapped. She had watched that video seven or eight times by herself.
Lu Xu looked great in the ad, but in person—he looked many times better.
On the red carpet, stars arrived one after another. Tan Qi stood not far from the interview area. Judging by how frequently the reporters raised their cameras, she could easily tell how famous the appearing stars were.
“So many big names.”
The stars attending the Stellar Awards weren’t typically the type a fangirl like Tan Qi would follow, but their faces were all too familiar. Open any classic drama, and you were bound to find these people playing a role in it.
Of course, there were also those who just came to “ride the coattails” of the event.
Every year at the Stellar Awards, there were stars on the red carpet with endorsement tasks, committee invitations, or mid-show performances. Fans always fought fiercely over who was merely “crashing” the event.
In past years, the arguments had been more evenly matched—after all, the highest standard for crashing was to have some work to your name. If you didn’t, you were universally labeled as a crasher.
Everyone was crashing—why bother distinguishing high or low status?
But this year, the Stellar Awards had, for the first time in years, nominated a young actor. If others were considered crashers, he wasn’t. Naturally, this made things awkward for the young stars showing up under various pretenses.
[Our artist was invited by XX Beauty as the sole post-’95 star. Thank you very much.]
↑ [What’s there to brag about? Your artist is just an ambassador for a side product line. Lu Xu is a Best Supporting Actor nominee.]
[XX Beauty is the Stellar Awards’ exclusive brand sponsor. Isn’t it perfectly normal for an ambassador to attend the event?]
[Lu Xu got nominated. Aren’t you embarrassed flexing about your brand activity?]
No matter which fan group tried to use the Stellar Awards as a platform to brag about their idols, the moment Lu Xu’s name was mentioned, everyone fell silent.
In contrast, Lu Xu’s fans were more low-key.
[Because just being nominated is already high-profile enough.]
[There’s no need to boast—Lu Xu’s track record is impressive as it is.]
Even though Lu Xu’s breakout roles so far were all supporting characters, when fans pulled up the stats, they realized that his achievements were anything but weak.
The average popularity scores for My Baby Prince, Son of Heaven, and Supreme were all above 10,000, and he had even been nominated for the Stellar Awards. While his commercial endorsements and fashion ventures might be slightly lacking, for an actor, those weren’t the key indicators of success.
Although The Path of Bones had yet to air, fans had a strong hunch that the show wouldn’t perform poorly.
Even in supporting roles, Lu Xu always delivered a dedicated performance. Since The Path of Bones was his first lead role, there was no doubt he would give it his all.
…
“He’s here! He’s here!”
As the weather warmed up, Tan Qi had started to feel drowsy and was just nodding off when her friend suddenly gave her a hard shove. “Lu Xu is here!”
“Where?”
“Over there, over there! He came with Son of Heaven crew.”
At this year’s Stellar Awards, Son of Heaven crew was undoubtedly one of the top contenders, having been nominated for Best Long-Form Series, Best Director, and both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor awards.
Director Liu Chunfeng and screenwriter Qin Yu walked in the front row, with the actors half a step behind them. Flanked by Cheng Yun and Guo Yining was none other than Lu Xu.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”
Tan Qi wasn’t exaggerating; at that moment, it felt like thunder had erupted around her. Screams and cheers sounded as if orchestrated, continuing without pause.
Even a nearby reporter seemed caught off guard by the uproar, nearly losing their grip on their camera.
At that moment, Tan Qi’s eyes could no longer see the bustling crowd around her. Across from her, there was clearly another row of fans, yet in her vision, there was only the young man walking toward them against the light.
It was a cold day, but the sunlight was brilliant. By the afternoon, it shone so intensely that it stung the eyes. Lu Xu’s figure happened to block a portion of the sunlight, making his face not entirely clear, and his features slightly blurred.
However, his physique, perfectly suited to a suit, was unmistakable.
The combination of his dress shirt and black suit struck a perfect balance, avoiding any hint of bulkiness. His wrist, peeking out from the sleeve, was pale, with long, slender fingers.
His legs were exceptionally long, with a glimpse of his ankle showing beneath his trousers, yet it didn’t appear delicate in the slightest.
As the shadow of the sunlight gradually receded, his complexion seemed to darken slightly under the light, accentuating the depth of his features. When the sunlight fully moved away, the young man’s handsome brows, straight nose, and radiant face were entirely revealed.
When not smiling, he exuded a quiet intensity, but the moment he smiled, he was like a sunny, playful puppy.
On the red carpet, the young man wasn’t as fresh as in the Z-brand ad. Wrapped up warmly, his appearance took on an additional layer of deep, understated sensuality.
Though, well… his cheerful smile didn’t exactly match the word “sensual.”
“There really is someone in this world so breathtakingly good-looking it takes your breath away!”
“He looked at me! He looked at me!”
“His eyes are so dark! Ahhh, really, when he glanced over, I felt like I saw stars in his eyes.”
“The beautiful boy has arrived!”
In that instant, Tan Qi felt as though he had truly seen her, even though he was merely waving casually in her direction.
“G-brand suits are going to sell like crazy again,” she overheard a nearby reporter say.
“They do look amazing. Should I get one for myself?”
“He looks great wearing it, but it might not look the same on us. Check your figure first.”
The comment was amusing, and she couldn’t help but laugh. Still, she ended up searching online for the model of Lu Xu’s suit. To her surprise—or perhaps because so many people were searching for it—the keyword “Lu Xu Suit” had already made it onto the trending list.
Several marketing accounts and fashion bloggers she followed had already posted photos of Lu Xu on the red carpet.
G-brand went a step further, showcasing the most stunning shots on their homepage. The interplay of sunlight and shadows on the young man was even more captivating than a meticulously styled ad campaign.
[Seriously… it’s already sold out.]
[I was just clicking to take a look, not planning to buy it… Maybe I’d consider getting one for my partner on a special occasion, but—why?! Why is it gone so fast?!]
[It’s normal not to be able to buy luxury items, okay? I can’t even get my shampoo, and do you hear me complaining?]
[Ugh, so frustrating!]
Tan Qi simply saved the photos in silence.
…
On the day of the award ceremony, Lu Xu received a message from Lei Ai: [If all goes as planned, the first trailer for The Path of Bones will be released tonight.]
Lu Xu asked curiously, [Can we afford to edit two trailers?]
Lei Ai: “…”
[Why state the obvious?]
[No worries. This time, we’ve partnered with a wealthy platform. If the sponsor’s footing the bill, we can edit ten trailers if we want.]
Lu Xu couldn’t resist asking, [You’re this extravagant—does the sponsor know?]
There was a long, suspicious silence on the other end.
So, Lu Xu changed the topic. [Which platform is so well-funded?]
[Grape Film and Television,] Lei Ai replied without hesitation.
This time, it was Lu Xu’s turn to fall silent.
He hadn’t expected that, after all this time, one of his shows would end up landing on Grape Film and Television.
He vaguely remembered that The Watchers had been defeated by My Baby Prince, and Rising Sun had been overtaken by Son of Heaven.
[…Don’t worry, they don’t hold grudges.] As if anticipating Lu Xu’s question, Lei Ai preemptively answered for him.
On the contrary, the offer and terms from Grape Film were the best among all the competing platforms.
Lei Ai had even gone out of his way to investigate. A friend working as a mid-level manager at Grape Film revealed that the reason they bought The Path of Bones was that their strategy this time was “to rise again from where we fell.”
Lei Ai: “?”
In short, Grape Film had suffered a series of defeats, almost as if they’d been cursed by some kind of “Lu Xu Superstition.” After Rising Sun, the dramas Grape Film had gambled on all performed mediocrely.
Determined to learn from their failures, the platform decided to “fight fire with fire.”
It just so happened that Lu Xu was nominated for the Stellar Awards. Among fierce competition, Grape Film managed to snatch The Path of Bones away from its rivals, becoming Lei Ai’s ultimate golden sponsor.
Lu Xu: […So I’m the curse?]
[No, you’re the one who can break the curse,] Lei Ai replied.
From a certain perspective, the director had compromised his dignity quite a bit to sell the show.
Lu Xu didn’t mind collaborating with Grape Film. After all, he had no deep-seated animosity toward them. If anyone should hold a grudge, it was Grape Film against him.
In any case, The Path of Bones had secured its platform and funding for trailer production. All Lu Xu had to do now was wait patiently for the show’s release.
After replying to Lei Ai’s message, Lu Xu also responded in the group chat created after The Path of Bones wrapped up filming. What had been a quiet chat immediately sprang to life.
As soon as Lu Xu popped into the group, a flood of mentions tagged him.
[We’re watching your livestream. Stop playing with your phone.]
Lu Xu: “?”
[The awards ceremony hasn’t officially started yet, but there are already too many cameras pointed at you. Take it easy, Teacher Lu. You’re the face of our production team now.]
[I’d trade twenty pounds of my fat for Teacher Lu to win an award.]
[Take my fat instead—I’ve got more to spare!]
[Let’s patiently await the results. The trailer is coming soon.]
The Stellar Awards began with the announcement of the Best Supporting Actor and Actress categories. Lu Xu didn’t have to wait too long. Once he was seated, the guests took their places, and the award presenters ascended the stage with graceful steps.
At that moment, the camera focused on the five nominees.
Guo Yining, Son of Heaven.
Lu Xu, Son of Heaven.
Zhang Yuguang, Living in Ordinary Times.
Lu Jianyang, Look at This World.
Rong Hua, Eyes of the Future.
When all five faces appeared on the screen, Lu Xu was unmistakably the youngest among them.
As the camera swept over him, Lu Xu didn’t shy away. Nor did he exhibit the nervousness of someone attending such a grand occasion for the first time. He remained composed, his deep, spotlight-enhanced eyes seeming to hold a hint of starlight.
The results were revealed quickly.
As expected, the winner was Guo Yining.
In Son of Heaven, the scheming prime minister’s character had more iconic moments. He was devious and calculating but also displayed occasional warmth and sincerity.
In terms of depth, the scheming minister’s role offered more layers than Qin Zhao’s.
However, this didn’t mean Lu Xu’s performance was inferior to Guo Yining’s—it was simply a matter of the role’s inherent limitations.