Chapter 60: Finale Reaction

[Lu Xu is absolutely incredible! Did anyone watch last night’s Extraordinary Night? I’m a total fan now!]

[I saw it! Honestly, I was drawn in by his looks at first, but wow—the way Lu Xu recreated that scene was truly amazing and so moving!]

[Why hasn’t someone booked Lu Xu for an actor-focused variety show yet? He’s the perfect example right here!]

[I think it’s better if he doesn’t. A good actor should stick to the set and focus on acting instead of chasing a temporary thrill on a variety show.]

The broadcast times for Extraordinary Night and The Path of Bones overlapped. Lu Xu chose to appear on Extraordinary Night that day, which worried some fans about whether it would steal the spotlight from The Path of Bones finale.

Tan Qi had prepared her phone and tablet, watching the finale of The Path of Bones while occasionally glancing at Extraordinary Night.

She had been following The Path of Bones all along and naturally wouldn’t miss the finale. However, Lu Xu’s first appearance on Extraordinary Night distracted her for a few seconds—

What a refreshingly handsome young man!

He wore a clean white T-shirt and jeans. The T-shirt had a small comic-style poster of The Path of Bones printed in the center, though most of the shirt was still plain white, making the look simple yet striking. His black hair was shiny and soft, giving him an overall fresh and vibrant vibe.

When facing the camera, his smile wasn’t the standard one with eight visible teeth. Instead, he grinned at the corners of his mouth, his eyes gleaming brighter than the stars in the sky.

——Lu Xu himself bore no resemblance to the characters he played, yet he had the ability to engrave each role deeply into the hearts of the audience.

It was like magic.

The ending of The Path of Bones had already been outlined in the original work, so viewers familiar with it were mentally prepared.

Yet, for some reason, when Yu Yi stepped into the cage destined to confine him for life, the audience couldn’t help but feel a faint sense of melancholy.

Perhaps it was because, stripped of the lavish surroundings, Yu Yi revealed his true expression.

At that moment, the audience realized that while Yu Yi appeared calm and mature during his quest for revenge, he actually had a youthful face.

It was hard to imagine that his heart had already been torn to shreds.

When his friend’s wife asked him if it was worth it, he answered: “Worth it.”

That simple answer alone gave Tan Qi the urge to cry. In that instant, she felt as though she had stepped into Yu Yi’s inner world.

Tan Qi replayed the scene of Yu Yi gently waving goodbye to the little girl several times.

This was Yu Yi saying farewell.

Even though the words “The End” had already appeared on the screen, Tan Qi remained immersed in the emotional impact of Yu Yi’s character. She didn’t snap out of it for a long time. Only after a while did she realize that Extraordinary Night was… still airing.

Shifting her gaze to Extraordinary Night, the program happened to be showing Lu Xu performing Yu Yi’s final scene.

A different setting, but the same emotional impact.

She experienced it twice in one evening.

Even though Lu Xu looked fresh and ordinary in his casual attire, like any other young man, the moment he stepped into Yu Yi’s role, his expressions, posture, and movements belonged entirely to Yu Yi.

That night, the trending topics list was almost entirely dominated by The Path of Bones.

Whether Tan Qi searched for The Path of Bones or Yu Yi, the live results were filled with wailing comments.

[Yu Yi is so tragic!]

[Lu Xu’s portrayal of Yu Yi completely broke my heart. He’s not inherently cruel or cold, but reality was just too cruel to him.]

[Lu Xu is incredible! His ability to switch emotions seamlessly is simply amazing!]

[Hey, someone made a fan video titled What If That Night Never Happened, and I bawled my eyes out! In the clip, Team 01 didn’t take the escort mission. Old Cat was at the mall dressed as a mascot to cheer up his daughter, Flying Squirrel broke a plate while washing dishes, and everyone chipped in to send Yu Yi to school. They were poor, but everyone was so happy.]

[Ugh, Lu Xu’s look on Extraodinary Night—I feel like that’s the kind of life Yu Yi could have had!]

[I just want to see Yu Yi happy!]

Lu Xu, during his appearance on Extraodinary Night, was incredibly cooperative. Not only did he wear a T-shirt with a still from The Path of Bones printed on it, but he also obediently rode a bike as the show arranged. Later, he even re-enacted the final scene of Yu Yi’s storyline.

To those who knew Lu Xu personally, he seemed like the type to be a quirky, sharp-tongued guy who could argue with anyone about anything. Yet, on the show, the way he smiled at the camera made him resemble a sweet, well-behaved puppy.

Animated GIFs of Yu Yi from the series and clips of Lu Xu’s re-enactment on the program were widely shared by social media accounts, and the comments section was strikingly unanimous:

[No wonder Lu Xu got nominated for the Stellar Awards—he’s amazing!]

That night, the trending topics were notably sparse for The Empress.

However, it was expected. Most production teams avoided clashing with Extraodinary Night broadcasts, knowing even a paid trending spot wouldn’t outperform the natural popularity of the show. Besides, The Empress hadn’t reached its finale yet.

In The Path of Bones, Lu Xu’s role as Yu Yi dominated much of the screen time. Since the story focused solely on Yu Yi’s revenge, the series was naturally shorter in length.

The Empress, on the other hand, was a completely different story. Even with Qiao Mengyao’s scenes being cut back, it was clear that the reductions in her screen time were far outweighed by the increased screen time of other characters. After all, it was a 1v4 dynamic, and the series’ length expanded accordingly. The Empress had a total of 60 episodes.

The story of The Path of Bones had already concluded, while Xi Rongyi’s epic life journey in The Empress was only halfway through.

This was one of the main criticisms of The Empress: after more than 30 episodes, Xi Rongyi’s career storyline had just begun, yet her character was still portrayed as a sweet, youthful girl.

In the original work, Xi Rongyi was depicted as more mature, and her rise as an empress began in her 30s.

However, the drama devoted most of its runtime to irrelevant career developments and drawn-out romantic entanglements, leaving the audience baffled as to how the production team planned to resolve everything with only 20 episodes left.

Surely they wouldn’t drag things out in the beginning only to rush the ending, right?

[Why not switch to The Path of Bones—your eternal source of happiness!]

[Hey upstairs… don’t think I don’t know you’re luring me in just to crush me emotionally!]

[Wait up, I’m sending a truckload of bread after you!]

[Oh, sorry, you’re broke. [dog emoji][dog emoji]]

For viewers, February’s drama market felt particularly strange.

The decision to air a high-profile production like The Empress in February was surprising enough, but even more shocking was its inability to outperform The Path of Bones.

While fans of Qiao Mengyao, Xu Qingtian, Zhai Yiyun, and the rest of the cast ensured that The Empress didn’t flop as disastrously as The Watchers or Nine Revolutions, the only thing keeping it afloat was the appeal of its romantic drama.

Still, the popularity of The Empress kept declining.

The finale of The Path of Bones reached a popularity score of 14,000, while The Empress failed to hold above 10,000, dropping below that threshold.

Barring a miracle, by the time The Empress reached its own finale, its popularity score was unlikely to surpass that of The Path of Bones.

No one had expected that Extraordinary Night on the day of The Path of Bones finale would provide such massive promotion for the series—new viewers flocked to it, and the show maintained a popularity score above 10,000 for the entire following week.

Meanwhile, The Empress was still making waves on trending topics, and fans of the male actors continued their heated arguments.

However, The Path of Bones remained at the top of the popularity rankings. This dominance lasted until The Empress finale, when, under the push of the cast, The Empress finally reclaimed the number-one spot.

[I’m convinced now—Lu Xu really has some kind of mystical aura.]

[I… initially placed my bets on The Watchers, then on Nine Revolutions, and now on The Empress.]

[Hey upstairs—turn back before it’s too late.]

[Incredible! Is there anyone left who doesn’t recognize Lu Xu as a top-tier star? The Path of Bones was phenomenal, and this is what real acting looks like.]

[Four dramas, each with a popularity score surpassing 10,000, a Stellar Award nomination, and the only variety show he participated in, Extraordinary Night, broke viewership records.]

[I wonder how the male actors from The Empress are feeling right now. Any regrets?]

While audiences speculated that the male actors from The Empress might regret their choices, in reality, the one who regretted the most was the lead actress, Qiao Mengyao.

Although The Empress didn’t become a breakout hit, the male actors gained significant visibility through the show. Before The Empress, they weren’t complete unknowns, but they also didn’t have much public attention.

Now?

The fiercer their fans argued, the more famous they became. The responsibility for The Empress flopping fell squarely on Qiao Mengyao. As the leading actress, she was the central figure of the show. At worst, the others might share some of the blame, but it would never rest on one individual’s shoulders.

In the entertainment industry, fame comes first. No matter how it’s achieved, being famous is the prerequisite for having a seat at the negotiation table.

Regardless of whether The Empress flopped or not, the male actors had already achieved their goals.

However, for Qiao Mengyao, while the failure of The Empress wasn’t enough to deal a severe blow to her career, it did leave cracks in her title as the “Queen of Historical Romances.”

Her standing in the industry was built through the accumulation of one successful drama after another. From Qiao Mengyao’s perspective, she naturally hoped every project she took on would deliver solid results.

“If I’d known, I wouldn’t have chosen the February slot,” her manager grumbled. “The Path of Bones completely stole the spotlight.”

Qiao Mengyao shot her a look, and the manager immediately quieted down.

“At least we paid back Wei Fangfei’s favor.” Qiao Mengyao massaged her temples. “Even with a different release window, The Empress wouldn’t have done much better than it did now.”

She wasn’t entirely unaware of the actions taken by the male actors in the cast and their management companies.

She had also noticed the protests from her fans.

The reason she allowed The Empress to air in February, to compete head-on with The Path of Bones, and to let the male actors steal scenes and expand their roles was simple—what she gained outweighed what she lost.

Only her fans thought she had come out on the losing end. The truth was, she hadn’t.

Qiao Mengyao understood better than anyone what she needed at this point in her career.

Being called the “Queen of Historical Romances” was certainly an honor, but she wasn’t sure how long she could sustain this path.

Too many actresses in the industry had risen to fame through the same genre. One batch of fresh-faced newcomers groomed by entertainment companies after another kept emerging.

Although Qiao Mengyao wasn’t one to admit defeat, she also understood that certain roles were best suited to actors who fit them in every way.

Otherwise, why did so many “middle-aged male” actors only gain fame later in their careers?

What could they have played when they were younger?

They had the acting skills, but audiences weren’t interested. Who wanted to watch a less-than-handsome man and a gorgeous young actress fall sweetly in love? The idol drama lane had been closed to them from the start.

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