Chapter 57: The Fight Began!

Lu Ding didn’t respond to Mu Qian, so Mu Qian tagged him again: [Brother, can you tell me what exactly X Pleasure House taught its audience? What kind of social value did it produce?]

Lu Ding still didn’t reply.

Mu Qian continued to tag him: [Speak up! Why aren’t you saying anything?]

It was clear that Director Mu Qian had mastered the art of stirring up buzz on the internet. He took it upon himself to tag posts with hashtags like #MuQianQuestionsLuDing, #MuQianSecondQuestionLuDing, and #MuQianThirdQuestionLuDing.

After finishing the tags, he even specifically tagged the platform: [Why am I not trending?]

[I got more reposts, comments, and likes than him!]

However, both Lu Ding and the platform chose to play dead and ignore him.

Lu Ding’s intentions, however, were sniffed out by the netizens.

[You haven’t even cleaned up your own mess, so why are you criticizing The Path of Bones? You say The Path of Bones has flaws, but the flaws in X Pleasure House are way worse.]

[Didn’t Lu Ding speak up for Ningshi Entertainment before?]

[Emmm… Yes, he did. I still remember because that show was really terrible. But Lu Ding acted all high and mighty, subtly blaming the audience for having no taste.]

[Ew, taste? Is he talking about the taste involved in making X Pleasure House?]

[Hahahaha, I just feel sorry for Lu Puppy getting dragged into this mess. Seriously, being banned was so unfair.]

[@Platform, unban our Lu Puppy!!]

[Puppy is cycling over to confront you!]

[I also feel bad for Director Mu Qian. Why isn’t our Director Mu trending? This is unacceptable!]

[Unacceptable +1.]

Mu Qian himself was equally indignant. Not only did he chase the platform for answers, but he also harshly berated Lu Ding, saying that his work was not only full of trashy and borderline obscene plots but also spread incorrect physiological knowledge.

[XX procedure is completely unfeasible!!]

To back him up, a well-known proctologist publicly supported Mu Qian, asserting that the physiological elements depicted in X Pleasure House were neither scientific nor reasonable. The doctor added that even for the sake of art, there was no need to ignore basic human anatomy.

[Art shouldn’t violate normal physiological structures.

[If someone came to our hospital after attempting that, we wouldn’t be able to treat them.]

Netizens: “……”

[Hahahahahahahahaha!]

[I can’t take it anymore—I’m laughing like a rooster!]

[Hahahaha, the proctologist said if you try that, someone could end up… lacking a ‘Ding.’ Lu Ding, no Ding! Hahaha!]

After the proctologist’s statement, reporters eager to stir the pot interviewed another victim of the controversy, Lu Xu.

In front of the camera, Lu Xu wore an innocent expression:

“I didn’t think much about it. I just wanted to study Teacher Lu’s masterpiece, and I accidentally clicked ‘share’ by mistake.

“So this is the kind of work X Pleasure House is? Well, no wonder I got banned.

“I was truly too narrow-minded.

“Teacher Lu’s spirit of pushing the limits is indeed moving.

“But surely, the one lacking a ‘Ding’ isn’t Teacher Lu, right?”

After confirming this with the reporter, Lu Xu let out a long sigh of relief, his face full of gratitude:

“That’s good, that’s good.

“Still, I suggest Teacher Lu visit a hospital—it would be safer.

“Who knows? Medical technology decades ago might not have been as advanced as it is today, and there might be lingering issues.”

Netizens: “……”

What a drama queen!

But we love it!

In any case, Lu Ding’s antics ended up slightly boosting the popularity of The Path of Bones.

After all, Lu Ding couldn’t find any actual flaws in the plot or logic of The Path of Bones. He couldn’t launch a serious critique of Lu Xu’s acting, either, so he had no choice but to cling to irrelevant nitpicks.

However, the original The Path of Bones novel had been published years ago, and its storyline was already widely praised by readers. Now suddenly criticizing the show’s values, as if the drama adaptation was somehow corrupting the audience, felt completely overblown.

The character Yu Yi in the book was exactly the way he was portrayed in the show. The drama’s depiction was entirely faithful to the original.

As the ancients said: “Repay grievances with virtue—how then should one repay virtue?”

With his teammates dying like that, how could Yu Yi possibly live on by himself?

Later, the platform finally unbanned Lu Xu, but the shared link to X Pleasure House mysteriously disappeared from the internet.

Lu Xu, now free, decided to follow Mu Qian’s lead and questioned the platform: Why was only he banned? And why couldn’t Director Mu trend on the platform?

He even went out of his way to retweet Mu Qian’s #MuQianFirstQuestion, #MuQianSecondQuestion, and #MuQianThirdQuestion tags.

Feeling dissatisfied with how things turned out, Grape Film, who produced The Path of Bones, also started speaking up for Mu Qian.

“#WhatAboutOurRisingSunJustice?#”

“#IOnlyHaveEyesForThePathofBones#”

With their love for chaos, the netizens pushed “Mu Qian’s Third Question” to the top of the trending list.

As a result, the trending board was buzzing with excitement.

By the time the Empress production team noticed what was happening, The Path of Bones had been dominating the trending list for quite some time.

This development directly clashed with the Empress team’s plans.

As a result, Lu Ding’s criticisms of The Path of Bones were swiftly removed from the trending list, with the top spots once again dominated by the Empress production team.

However, The Empress had a fundamental issue—

While the lead role was indeed played by Qiao Mengyao, the female protagonist, there were three or four prominent male leads.

After Li Chengfeng’s character appeared, Xu Qingtian frequently trended, consistently securing top positions on the trending list.

But shortly after, Zhai Yiyun’s character, Xi Ling, the aloof prince of the northern desert, made his debut.

Suddenly, Xi Ling began dominating the trending topics.

However, Xi Rongyi, the empress played by Qiao Mengyao, didn’t only have Xi Ling and Li Chengfeng as her closest allies. She also had the top-ranking scholar Hu Feiyin and the loyal guard captain Shen Suiyun, played by rising stars Bai Yuyi and Rong Sheng, respectively.

By the time The Empress had aired over ten episodes, all these characters had appeared.

This led to a peculiar situation on the trending list—

One moment, Xu Qingtian was at the top. The next, Zhai Yiyun replaced him. Then Bai Yuyi and Rong Sheng would climb their way up as well.

Fans of Xu Qingtian declared, “Our man is the true lead! The rest of you are just side characters! His acting is unparalleled—you’re all trash.”

Fans of Zhai Yiyun shot back, “Zhai Yiyun has the most screen time in The Empress. Seriously? With such limited appearances, you think you deserve to trend?”

Bai Yuyi’s and Rong Sheng’s fans also fiercely outlined their idols’ strengths, from acting experience to public influence to brand endorsements, detailing every point with clarity.

To sum it up: “You’re all amateurs. Our guy is the real deal.”

But as The Empress continued to air, disparities in the popularity of the male characters became evident.

Xi Ling, the aloof and domineering northern desert prince, stood out for his unwavering affection for Xi Rongyi. With the most screen time among the male characters, Xi Ling clearly provided Xi Rongyi the strongest support compared to Li Chengfeng, Hu Feiyin, and Shen Suiyun.

Cool and devoted characters had always been more appealing than gentle ones, so Zhai Yiyun, who played Xi Ling, enjoyed a higher level of popularity than the other actors.

To boost The Empress’s publicity, the production team arranged for the cast to participate in variety shows, live streams, and promotional tours. During these events, Zhai Yiyun was always positioned closer to Qiao Mengyao, the lead actress.

But this created another problem—

When The Empress aired, the male leads were not equally billed. Xu Qingtian, who appeared first as Li Chengfeng, held the top rank in the billing order.

So why was Zhai Yiyun always getting the prime position?

Fans erupted:

[Why is the official account secretly shipping Xi Rongyi with Hu Feiyin? Fire whoever’s running that account!]

[Deyi Film is biased! Zhai Yiyun has nearly twice as much promotional material as the others!]

[Does our Rong Sheng not deserve more screen time?]

[Shen Suiyun’s hidden unrequited love is the best subplot in the world!]

Before anyone had time to fight Lu Xu anymore, the male actors of The Empress were already locked in an internal battle.

After all, The Path of Bones and Lu Xu were distant competitors, but rivals within the same production were close at hand!

Evidence of Lu Xu undermining the male actors of Empress? None.

Evidence of cast members undercutting each other? Plenty.

Sharing the same drama, especially with scenes together, naturally invited comparisons of their acting skills.

The Empress production team tried to redirect fans’ attention toward promoting the drama itself, but the effort backfired. As soon as one fan group declared they would focus on supporting the series, another group would take the opportunity to launch a sneaky attack. After a few rounds of this, savvy fans stopped buying into the production team’s narrative altogether.

The fans of the male actors clashed so fiercely that it was almost literal bloodshed. At first, Qiao Mengyao’s fans were just bystanders enjoying the drama. But as they watched, they began to notice something was off—

Where was Qiao Mengyao’s trending spot?

And more importantly, where were Xi Rongyi’s scenes?

As Xi Rongyi’s screen time noticeably decreased—mirroring the rarity of Qiao Mengyao’s appearances on the trending list—the fans of the male actors kept praising their own idols, acting as if their popularity was entirely self-made.

Seriously?

Who handed them the spotlight in the first place?

Wasn’t it Qiao Mengyao feeding them this opportunity?

Who exactly was riding on Qiao Mengyao’s coattails while simultaneously treating her as a mere prop?

It wasn’t just Qiao Mengyao’s fans being overly sensitive—The Empress had reached a point where it was blatantly obvious that Xi Rongyi’s role had been sidelined.

The male leads were portrayed as deeply affectionate, wise strategists, or aloof and domineering figures. The narrative highlighted these traits, but in doing so, it made Xi Rongyi’s presence increasingly awkward.

The deep affection? That belonged to the male leads. Xi Rongyi was shown wavering between different love interests, turning her into a Sea Queen in the eyes of viewers.

The wisdom? Also the male leads’. They provided her with strategies, helped her secure the title of First Princess, and gave her the strength to rival the Crown Prince.

Though Qiao Mengyao conveyed Xi Rongyi’s grandeur effectively, the character as presented in the drama fell short of fans’ expectations for what a “strong female lead” should embody.

Qiao Mengyao wasn’t new to fame.

It was well known in the industry that male actors could gain immense popularity from a single hit show but struggled to secure long-term success or retain their fanbases.

In contrast, female actors had to build their reputations over several projects before solidifying their standing in the industry, but their fans were much more loyal in return.

Qiao Mengyao’s fans had been through countless ups and downs on her journey to becoming an A-list actress, and their fighting spirit was unparalleled.

Unsurprisingly, they decided to confront the Empress production team.

Normally, even the smallest bit of news about Qiao Mengyao would make it onto the trending list. The fact that The Empress wasn’t leaning toward her as the main talking point was already unusual, but once her fans mobilized, the impact was nothing short of extraordinary.

So—after The Empress aired more than ten episodes, every time the official account posted any material, whether it was a highlight reel or behind-the-scenes actor interactions, the comments section was flooded by fans of various actors.

Fans of both the male and female leads criticized the production team, demanding equal treatment for their idols and accusing rival fanbases of stealing their favorites’ spotlight.

Amidst this chaos, The Empress’s popularity score finally dropped to 12,000+, while at the same time, The Path of Bones’s score climbed to 12,000+.

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