Chapter 53.2 – Trailer

The trailer for The Path of Bones had directly broken the viewership record for new dramas released by Grape Film in the past two years.

It was probably because the winners of the Stellar Awards had just been announced, and Lu Xu’s name was still trending. Combined with the fact that the original novel The Path of Bones wasn’t entirely unknown, many netizens, regardless of their level of interest, had taken a curious glance at it.

But… Lu Xu had indeed acted exceptionally well.

Although Grape Film had initially purchased the drama with the idea of using Lu Xu to clear their streak of bad luck, the content acquisition manager who had seen the finished version of The Path of Bones could only admit that, compared to another member of Verse, Lu Xu’s performance exuded a strong sense of narrative depth.

The character he portrayed wasn’t flat or hollow; instead, it carried the weight of a story, unconsciously drawing viewers in.

This was Lu Xu’s unique charm as an actor—something irreplaceable by others.

According to Grape Film’s usual approach, when a new drama was about to premiere, the platform would have already been splurging on trending searches non-stop. However, tonight was the live broadcast of the Stellar Awards, and no matter how much they paid for trending topics, it wouldn’t be able to surpass the buzz surrounding the awards.

The platform had hoped that, riding on the wave of Lu Xu’s nomination for the Stellar Awards, The Path of Bones might at least gain some attention.

What they hadn’t expected was that, in less than two hours since the trailer’s release, it had already climbed high on the trending list.

The platform: “?”

#FreeThingsAreTheBest#

#BeingASugarBabyIsApparentlyThisFun#

For a moment, Grape Film genuinely felt a fleeting illusion of being “kept” by Lu Xu.

There were two trending topics related to The Path of Bones: one was #ThePathOfBones#, and the other was #LuXu YuYi#, both generating considerable discussion.

It was only after a while that Grape Film finally learned the real reason why The Path of Bones had made it onto the trending list.

The first reason, of course, was Lu Xu’s nomination for the Stellar Awards. The second was the massive fanbase of the original novel The Path of Bones.

The poor adaptation of Undercover had not only deeply disappointed Kong Le but also left a large number of book fans with a pessimistic and even resistant attitude toward adaptations of Kong Le’s works.

However, this didn’t mean they disliked The Path of Bones.

Since The Path of Bones had been adapted into a drama, fans were determined to watch it, no matter how good or bad it turned out to be.

News of the adaptation spread quickly, and before long, most book fans had heard about it.

Fans of the original work could sometimes be forgiving. Before clicking on the trailer for The Path of Bones, their simplest hope was: “As long as it’s better than Undercover, that’s enough.”

Although this version of The Path of Bones involved Kong Le’s input and had Lei Ai, a fellow book fan, as the director, there was still no guarantee that the series wouldn’t turn into a disaster.

After all, the cast for Undercover hadn’t been bad either.

With a mix of hope and trepidation, the book fans clicked on the trailer—only to find:

[Huh? This version of Yu Yi is pretty good?]

The warm, casual conversation by the campfire had already perfectly outlined the essence of Yu Yi’s character.

As for finding a handsome actor to play the post-surgery Yu Yi, this was where the fans’ frustrations had always lain.

In theory, there were plenty of handsome actors in the entertainment industry, but their acting skills… It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they were unwatchable.

A truly good-looking actor couldn’t handle the twisted psyche of Yu Yi after his revenge. Yet, if they didn’t cast a handsome actor, the story’s internal logic would fall apart.

In the original work, the villains were all disgustingly depraved, and if Yu Yi’s appearance didn’t cater to their warped tastes, he wouldn’t even have been able to get close to them.

Then, the new Yu Yi made his debut.

He had a face that was immensely convincing and executed his vengeful methods with ruthless precision.

That slash across the throat, followed by the frenzied carnage, and the icy coldness in his gaze—it all gave the impression that Lu Xu had been in the business of killing for decades, to the point of utter desensitization.

But this was precisely the true state of Yu Yi in the midst of his revenge.

The most frequently asked questions in the book fan community today were:

[Who is this guy?]

[Where did they find him?]

[Search the trending list, type in Lu Xu.]

The obedient fans quietly searched and were greeted by a lively photo of him waving at fans, radiating charm.

His dazzlingly handsome face made it hard to reconcile him with the frenzied killer from the trailer.

This stark contrast was, in itself, a testament to his acting skills.

[No wonder Kong Le spent so long searching for the perfect actor and finally chose him.]

No matter how the final production of The Path of Bones turned out, book fans were satisfied with the casting of Lu Xu as Yu Yi.

After the trailer was released, the official social media account of The Path of Bones shared a series of behind-the-scenes photos.

Among them were moments showing the assistant director and the cinematographer being so terrified by Lu Xu’s “killer” act that they actively avoided him for several days afterward.

Not only that, but the two looked at Lu Xu with extreme caution, as if afraid he might suddenly unleash his “powers.”

The assistant director even suspected that Lu Xu was carrying a concealed weapon.

The director, exasperated, replied, “He doesn’t need to bring one. The production team will issue it to him.”

There was also a meme of Lu Xu with a cold, detached expression during a killing scene, as if he’d been filleting fish at a supermarket for over a decade.

The crew found his demeanor so intimidating that they all took turns telling him corny jokes. While Lu Xu could hold his composure during filming, as soon as the cameras stopped rolling, he often laughed uncontrollably.

[Spare the poor guy! Do you think it’s easy for him to ‘fillet fish’ like this?]

[Is there any other production team as hard on their lead actor? Shocking!]

[Who knew Lu Puppy loved corny jokes so much? It’s completely at odds with his character.]

[Filming so many intense killing scenes back-to-back—director, are you a devil?!!]

The production team of The Path of Bones even managed to incorporate the mountain bike meme into their antics. After Lu Xu completed a string of intense “killer” scenes, the director, convinced that Lu Xu’s presence was too evil, specially bought a mountain bike and placed it on set.

Lu Xu: “…”

Honestly, shouldn’t the mountain bike manufacturer be asking him to endorse their brand?

Even though, admittedly, his skills on the bike were absolutely terrible.

[Crazy!]

[OMG, I’m dying of laughter. It feels like the whole Path of Bones team has gone bonkers ever since Lu Xu joined.]

[So why did they only buy one bike? Do you really think a single mountain bike is enough to suppress the evilness of Lu Puppy?]

The fans quickly shifted the conversation. They went from discussing the original story to debating mountain bike brands, then to the bike’s “mystical powers.” Eventually, they all reached the same conclusion—

Lu Xu on a mountain bike was simply the most iconic.

[Maybe Lu Xu unknowingly became a devotee of the Mountain Bike God.]

[Wait, is there even such a thing as a Mountain Bike God?]

The Path of Bones production team posted several behind-the-scenes clips, but fans still weren’t satisfied and demanded more.

[Today is a day of being fully fed by Lu Puppy’s content!]

[So happy! Can’t wait for The Path of Bones to air soon!]

The release date for The Path of Bones was set for February, conveniently overlapping a few days of the winter holiday.

In terms of scale, the drama wasn’t a major production. However, thanks to the loyal fanbase of the original novel and the fact that this would be Lu Xu’s first drama to air following his Stellar Award nomination, the announcement of its release date garnered significant buzz.

Grape Film initially believed there wouldn’t be any major productions competing with The Path of Bones during this time slot.

Normally, Grape Film relied on their major productions to crush competing content on other platforms. But after the catastrophic failure of The Watchers, they were no longer blindly confident in the so-called advantage of big-budget productions.

Of course, major productions typically had much higher competitive power than low-budget ones, even if their failures were equally spectacular.

However, an unexpected announcement from Deyi Film left Grape Film frowning.

“They didn’t show any signs of releasing something during this time slot. Why did they suddenly move it up?”

“This doesn’t look good for us.”

“Well… it’s probably because there’s so little competition during this period. No need to crowd into the summer release window.”

Lei Ai and Kong Le soon heard the news as well—The Empress, starring the popular actress Qiao Mengyao, was scheduled to air in late February.

In the world of television dramas, Qiao Mengyao was a household name. She rose to fame through historical romance dramas and excelled in female-led narratives. Since her debut, she had rarely delivered a flop, even managing to turn low-budget productions into successes that satisfied investors.

She had earned the nickname “Empress of Historical Romance,” a testament to her dominance in this genre.

The Empress was also an adaptation of a novel, telling the story of a princess who rose from obscurity to become a benevolent empress ruling over the land. It was the ultimate example of Qiao Mengyao working within her comfort zone.

In other words, the moment The Empress was confirmed for this time slot, the title of the month’s most-watched drama had essentially already been claimed.

Qiao Mengyao had previously ventured into the film industry, but her journey there had been far from smooth. Compared to the television world, the film industry was much more insular, offering her limited opportunities to shine.

However, Qiao Mengyao wasn’t discouraged. She returned to television and continued to build her career steadily.

The dramas she starred in always had top-tier production teams, and she even had the privilege of choosing co-stars she personally found satisfactory. Though some mocked her for only thriving in historical romance dramas, she believed that every actor had their strengths and weaknesses. To her, there was no shame in excelling in a specific genre.

“Let it be. There’s nothing we can do about it,” Lei Ai said. “It’s not like we can ask them to step aside for us.”

“They wouldn’t agree even if we tried,” Kong Le retorted, rolling his eyes.

The two remained calm, having weathered countless ups and downs in the industry.

What they were more concerned about was Lu Xu’s mindset. After all, The Path of Bones was his first drama as the lead, and its significance to him was immense.

When they called him, however, Lu Xu answered, slightly out of breath: “I’m riding my bike.”

“It’s fine. This isn’t my first time facing this kind of situation. I’m used to it.”

Lei Ai: “…”

Well, alright then.

#Looks like you’ve already hopped on the bike!#

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