Chapter 68: Rats
[Why does it feel like the Voice of the Dead crew has such amazing vibes?]
[LOL, this feels like a puppy finding a new friend and excitedly showing them off. Shao Yao is such a happy little puppy!]
[Shao Yao giving off this sunny and cheerful vibe… wow, the contrast is huge!]
[You two and your snacks… no comment.]
The main thing was that their smiles were too bright, exuding pure golden retriever energy—cheerful, carefree, and infectious!
[Character settings officially broken!]
[Whoever said Lu Puppy has no friends? He doesn’t lack friends; he just doesn’t want to hang out with you. Nyah nyah nyah!]
Lu Xu’s fans couldn’t help but laugh as they recalled a recent incident. After Verse disbanded and essentially booted Lu Xu out, Yao Yuan—desperately clinging to Xie Qingyang for clout—posted some old photos of himself with Lu Xu.
Most of the pictures were from their days in Verse, images fans hadn’t seen before, clearly meant to suggest that he and Lu Xu had once been close friends.
But unfortunately, fans only remembered one thing about Yao Yuan—he still owed Lu Xu money and hadn’t paid it back.
[If Lu Xu hadn’t become famous? These photos probably would’ve stayed buried forever, right?]
[Thank goodness Lu Puppy got big. Otherwise, even though he didn’t do anything wrong, no one would’ve cared about the truth.]
Yao Yuan had long lost any significant popularity. Even Xie Qingyang, the celebrity he had clung to for attention, wasn’t as influential as before and was unlikely to share any resources with him again.
No sooner had Yao Yuan posted the old photos with Lu Xu than he appeared in a brand’s live stream. There, he not only promoted products but also nostalgically recounted how Lu Xu had once looked out for him.
Fans were baffled, wondering if Yao Yuan had completely lost his mind. And, in some sense, he had—his behavior showed he was utterly shameless.
The odds of him regaining popularity were nearly zero, and unlike Lu Xu, he didn’t have the talent or luck to pull off a comeback with a flop drama.
For someone as irrelevant as Yao Yuan, survival was the priority.
Yao Yuan occasionally analyzed Lu Xu’s rise to fame. He could only sigh and think to himself, ‘With a drama like My Baby Prince, which averaged over 10,000 in popularity score, Lu Xu’s comeback was destined to happen.’
Lu Xu’s fans didn’t bother to engage much with Yao Yuan, throwing out a few casual jabs before moving on. After all, the other three members of Verse were nowhere near Lu Xu’s current level, let alone Yao Yuan, who only got attention by clinging to Verse.
In the entertainment industry, whether it was feuds or shoutouts, everything came down to matching levels of fame. And right now, Yao Yuan simply didn’t qualify.
Perhaps… when Yao Yuan had ridden on Xie Qingyang’s coattails and tried to drag Lu Xu down, he had never considered the possibility that Lu Xu might someday rise again.
…
The filming of Voice of the Dead was still ongoing, yet fans were already eagerly anticipating this dual male-lead drama.
As for the rumors that Shao Yao was a ‘tyrant scene’ who loved to direct others during filming, fans remarked that it depended on who he was guiding.
[Lu Puppy, at least, had a Stellar Awards nomination. He wouldn’t fear being guided.]
[+1. I watched the big scenes in Song of Southern Country back then. Not naming names, but some people’s acting truly needed professional instruction.]
[Professional instruction… Are we talking about Gu Sinian’s three acting coaches? Objectively speaking, talent is one of those things… If it’s completely absent, no amount of teaching can help.]
Gu Sinian, inexplicably dragged into the discussion, said, ‘You’re seriously ill.’
He wasn’t the only actor whose project flopped. So why was everyone always picking on him?
Lu Xu’s fans were just as insufferable as he was.
Unfortunately, Gu Sinian couldn’t think of any way to undermine Lu Xu, unless Voice of the Dead ended up being a complete disaster.
But… that seemed highly unlikely.
The lineup for Voice of the Dead was clearly strong.
Lu Xu’s current rise in popularity wasn’t inferior to Qiao Mengyao’s at her peak. In fact, it seemed even more aggressive.
With good film choices and a bit of luck, Lu Xu could easily maintain a stable position in the acting world.
…
Fans were convinced that Lu Xu and Shao Yao had become good friends one morning when paparazzi photographed the two biking to the set together.
[It looked like one puppy biking and taking another puppy along.]
The two arrived at the set in high spirits, but once filming began, they automatically switched to serious expressions.
The paparazzi didn’t capture many photos, but what they did show depicted the two whispering over the script and gesturing with their hands as if discussing details.
Lu Xu’s expression as he lowered his head could genuinely be described as warm, evoking memories for fans of Yu Yi’s first appearance in The Path of Bones.
During the Verse era, such expressions were almost never seen on Lu Xu’s face.
The same was true for Shao Yao—
[Shao Yao always looked like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders in Song of Southern Country. When I said he had a great personality, no one believed me!]
[+1+1+1! Being easy to get along with is what matters!]
While filming his previous dramas, Lu Xu had gotten along quite well with the cast. However, his connection with Shao Yao was noticeably closer.
It was likely because Lu Xu rarely encountered such an extremely introverted partner. What others perceived as Shao Yao’s peculiar personality ended up complementing his own unexpectedly well.
Moreover, Shao Yao’s reluctance to talk didn’t mean he was incapable of speaking. His personality was straightforward.
In the entertainment industry, people who were blunt and direct had become exceedingly rare. Lu Xu preferred dealing with such individuals. He didn’t enjoy deciphering the hidden meanings in others’ convoluted words—it was far too exhausting.
The second story in Voice of the Dead was triggered by rats.
One day, a sudden rat infestation broke out in a certain area, leaving the residents in misery. Upon investigation, a corpse was discovered in the ground-floor unit of an apartment building. The weather was scorching, and the vicinity of the ground floor was swarming with flies, mosquitoes, and rats, occasionally emitting a foul stench.
Lu Xu had assumed that his chemistry with Shao Yao was strong enough for them to finish this segment smoothly, perhaps even more efficiently than the first.
Then he turned to look at his partner, who had maintained a composed and aloof demeanor throughout.
On Shao Yao’s face, however, a crack appeared.
With an expression of utter resignation, Shao Yao confessed, “I’m afraid of rats.”
—This was during the group read-through of the script before filming had even started.
Once filming began, the crew introduced real rats onto the set. Lu Xu personally heard his tall, aloof co-star emit a sharp, piercing shriek.
It sounded like a mix of a rooster’s crow and some unearthly noise from hell. The moment it rang out, Lu Xu couldn’t help but wonder—was this truly a sound a human being could produce?
Shao Yao frantically backed away, retreating step by step, his legs refusing to touch the ground as he adopted a sort of bouncing posture. His eyes were filled with terror, and he mumbled a long string of unintelligible words.
Lu Xu: “…”
This guy might be better suited to becoming a dancer.
To be fair, Shao Yao wasn’t entirely at fault. Voice of the Dead worked with new scripts for each chapter, and before coming to the set, he hadn’t received a complete script.
Normally, prop rats would be used during filming. However, to enhance realism, the Voice of the Dead crew opted for live rats.
Xu Yan asked, “What should we do about this?”
The director, as usual, delegated the task to Lu Xu: “You try convincing him.”
Lu Xu retorted, “How am I supposed to convince him? Catch the rats myself?”
He hadn’t mastered that many skills yet.
The problem was, seeing the terror on Shao Yao’s face made him think the rats were pretty scary too.
The greasy fur, the beady little eyes like tiny beans… Couldn’t the director film something a little more pleasant?
Turning back to Shao Yao, Lu Xu sighed and said, “You’re over 1.8 meters tall. Those rats aren’t even 18 centimeters.”
“If the rats were 18 centimeters, I’d want to die.”
Clearly, Shao Yao had just visualized the image of an 18-centimeter rat, and his mind had already drifted off to some other dimension.
Lu Xu: “…”
Talking sense into him was hopeless.
In the end, under the director’s instructions, Lu Xu assisted Shao Yao through a desensitization process to help him deal with the rats. The only condition was that during filming, Shao Yao had to maintain Su Yang’s cool and composed persona—no screaming, no sharp, piercing noises allowed.
Fortunately, Shao Yao was a professional actor. Although he turned into a dazed, empty-headed goose after the scene was completed, he managed to get through the filming without any further issues, diligently finishing the scene.
In truth, Lu Xu didn’t feel much better during the shoot.
Jiang Lin, the character he played in Voice of the Dead, could hear the voices of corpses. To help Lu Xu immerse himself in the role and better embody Jiang Lin, the crew played the sounds Jiang Lin “heard” during filming.
In the previous scene, it had been pleas for mercy and the cries of children. For this scene, the sounds were of rats gnawing on the living flesh of their victim—the victim hadn’t died immediately and had to watch themselves being devoured alive.
Even though the sounds were simulated, they left Lu Xu deeply unsettled.
Every crew had different requirements, and an actor’s job was to comply and deliver their best performance.
Sometimes the demands were genuinely tough, but he had no choice but to accept them.
Noticing the identical expressions of “surviving a disaster” on Lu Xu’s and Shao Yao’s faces, the director said, “Starting tomorrow, you two get two days off. Just finish the earlier scenes quickly, and we’ll be good.”
He couldn’t help but be amused by these two funny guys.
Later, it became evident that Shao Yao was slowly overcoming his fear of rats. However, for some reason—whether it was due to Shao Yao’s influence or something else—Lu Xu started jumping at the sight of rats as well.
Xu Yan: “…”
And he had the nerve to make fun of Shao Yao.
That said, the director was satisfied with their performances. The fear of rats was real, but it hadn’t affected the filming. The moment he called for action, the two of them instantly transformed into Jiang Lin and Su Yang.
Aside from the chaos caused by rats, the second story of Voice of the Dead was shot without any major obstacles.
The first story had already allowed Lu Xu to fully internalize Jiang Lin’s character. By the time they entered the second story, he was naturally at ease.
Jiang Lin’s personality was laid-back, so Lu Xu didn’t have to keep himself too tightly wound while portraying him.
In a way, Jiang Lin was probably the most relaxed character Lu Xu had ever taken on. Qin Zhao and Yu Yi had been challenging to shape, while Yu Wei and Ji Xiuya were… erratic, leaving people struggling to follow their thought processes.
The filming of Voice of the Dead was relatively unaffected by external factors. In contrast, when Lu Xu had taken on roles in Son of Heaven, Supreme, and The Path of Bones, there had been significant skepticism from the outside world.
Now, however, any drama involving Lu Xu tended to elicit ambiguous reactions from marketing accounts. Regardless of how much trash talk there was before a show aired, it was far too easy for them to eat their words afterward.
Shao Yao, on the other hand, faced much more scrutiny.
His career in recent years had been fairly unremarkable, and the public’s strongest memory of him remained the controversy he caused on the set of Song of Southern Country.
Shao Yao’s Weibo comment section had essentially become a gathering place for Yan Qichen’s fans. Although Mingniao Entertainment had issued a statement condemning the trolls, it only resulted in Yan Qichen’s fans mocking him even more audaciously.
Given his lack of skill in clapping back, anything he posted inevitably became fodder for ridicule. Eventually, he decided to stop posting altogether.
“Anyway, nothing I post is all that interesting,” Shao Yao said calmly. “So, I just won’t post anything.”
But that didn’t stop Shao Yao from thoroughly studying Lu Xu’s Weibo.
Through this, he got to know the other three members of Verse and gained a basic understanding of the so-called “V-School.” Despite having previously worked with Chen Ye, Shao Yao had no clue about the subject Chen Ye had initiated.
Lu Xu exclaimed, “What’s even worth learning about this kind of stuff?!”
He was on the verge of losing his temper!
Ridiculous!
**TN
Chen Ye – the former Demon Lord Ji Xiuya actor