Chapter 99: A Slow-Paced Variety Show
Given that Su Zhao’s page now featured more posts about Lu Xu than Lu Xu’s own official account, the trending hashtags quickly drew attention.
Comments flooded in:
[Zhao Zhao is so adorable!]
[It must be amazing to work at the same company as your idol. Someone from the ‘Dog Puppy Squad’ finally made it inside!]
[Lu Xu’s breakout character was Qin Zhao, and Su Zhao also has ‘Zhao’ in his name. Isn’t this fate?!]
Many fans affectionately referred to Lu Xu as “Puppy.” While he didn’t have an official fanbase name, some fans initially called themselves “Puppyrazzi Squad” (borrowing a joke from one of Lu Xu’s Weibo posts). Over time, this evolved into the “Dog Puppy Squad.”
The “Dog Puppy Squad” was a loosely organized group because, frankly, there wasn’t much for Lu Xu’s fans to do. If fan wars arose, his fans simply pointed to his accomplishments. No matter how you framed it, Lu Xu’s track record always came out on top.
Among actors with stronger resumes than his, most were from the older generation. Among his peers, no one could surpass his achievements.
As for Su Zhao’s “idol-chasing success,” no one doubted it. The photos were proof enough, and Su Zhao was indeed a signed artist under Feiyang Entertainment. Leveraging Lu Xu’s fame for publicity was a common tactic in the industry.
This was standard practice for every talent agency.
…
Lu Xu studied it for a long time before finally matching Su Zhao’s face with his name.
It wasn’t his first day in the entertainment industry, so he naturally knew that such things were quite common.
Xu Wen, however, was very angry. “He didn’t even say a word and just started marketing himself.”
Lu Xu poured a cup of throat-soothing tea for his manager. “Don’t be mad. Was it his idea or his manager’s?”
Xu Wen shot Lu Xu a look that said, ‘You really get it.’ “It was his idea.”
Feiyang Entertainment had always discouraged its artists from engaging in over-the-top publicity stunts. Typically, the company would only invest more in promoting its artists after they had acted in a few decent works and their status had gradually solidified.
“Didn’t his manager stop him?” Lu Xu asked.
“Before joining our company, his career was managed by his family,” Xu Wen explained, gesturing as he spoke. “His manager is Peng Xi—the tall, chubby one I introduced you to the other day. He was furious and complained to me all night.”
According to Xu Wen, Su Zhao was the type who hadn’t made a name for himself in the entertainment industry yet, but his desire for fame had already skyrocketed.
“He probably thinks that being in the same company as you makes it easier to ride your coattails.”
Feiyang Entertainment had quite a few artists and managers, and there was always a degree of competition among them. However, most managers currently maintained a good relationship with Xu Wen on the surface. After all, Lu Xu was popular enough to bring in external resources for Feiyang Entertainment, which allowed other stars to benefit as well.
The managers didn’t want to offend Xu Wen.
Even if someone wanted to piggyback on Lu Xu’s popularity, they would at least inform Xu Wen first.
“Peng Xi told him to delete the Weibo post and remove the trending search, but he refused, claiming he was merely admiring you as a fan.” Xu Wen sighed. “The trending search was removed, but…”
Su Zhao really did manage to ride the wave of attention this time.
At the very least, thanks to this incident, quite a few netizens learned that Feiyang Entertainment had signed a newcomer named Su Zhao, who supposedly had a “good relationship” with Lu Xu.
“Peng Xi suggested that you make a statement to clear things up and give him a little lesson,” Xu Wen said.
Xu Wen had a good relationship with Peng Xi, and Peng Xi didn’t want things to get too difficult for him.
However, given that Peng Xi didn’t have any other noteworthy artists under his management, the chances of him replacing Su Zhao anytime soon were slim.
Lu Xu nodded. “Got it.”
So, during the busy end-of-year period, Lu Xu deliberately set aside a weekend and dragged Shao Yao and Zheng Xiao along to participate in a variety show on Yuewan TV called Me and My Friends.
The show was a laid-back lifestyle program, focusing on the happy daily lives of celebrities. On the show, stars brought their friends along to eat, drink, and play, revealing a side of themselves that they usually didn’t show.
Those who appeared on the show as friends had to be genuine friends recognized by the celebrity themselves.
Lu Xu rarely participated in variety shows; the few he had joined were primarily for drama promotions. But this time, before the program even started releasing promotional material, Lu Xu had already taken a bunch of photos with Shao Yao and Zheng Xiao.
[!!! Adorable puppy pics!]
[…No, these are clearly ugly puppy pics, right?]
[What happened to the puppy? This is making me feel like today’s a holiday!!]
[Haha, why is it that every time passersby snap photos of Lu Xu and Shao Yao, they’re eating, and even the photos you take yourselves are like that? (points accusingly)]
For once, Lu Xu filled his entire Weibo homepage with nine large images. There were shots of him, Shao Yao, and Zheng Xiao cycling together, fishing together, and even pulling exaggerated, exasperated faces together, complete with dramatic eye rolls.
Fans speculated that Lu Xu himself had taken these photos—because there wasn’t a single trace of photo editing!
[Hey, handsome, could you please pay some attention to your image?]
[Lmao, we get it—you’re real friends now.]
[I even suspect that if these photos weren’t taken with Shao Yao and Zheng Xiao, Lu Xu probably wouldn’t have bothered posting them at all, given his personality.]
Sure enough, in Lu Xu’s comment section, Zheng Xiao was the first to leave a message, complaining that Lu Xu had made him look ugly in the photos.
Lu Xu replied, [That’s just how you look.]
Zheng Xiao: “…”
In retaliation, Zheng Xiao uploaded his own edited version of the group photos, which earned unanimous praise from Lu Xu’s fans in the comments.
Shao Yao, on the other hand, simply commented, “Looks good,” to which Lu Xu responded with, “You’re a good person.”
When a fan asked about Lu Xu’s relationship with Su Zhao in the comments, Lu Xu didn’t reply at all.
The fans got the message loud and clear.
After all, everyone knew that Lu Xu had a good relationship with Shao Yao and Zheng Xiao. Yet, even with their close friendship, the two would only repost promotional content for Lu Xu when he had new projects, and neither had ever shared a personal photo with him online.
In fact, when participating in events or promoting their own work, unless prompted by reporters, neither of them would bring up Lu Xu.
Being signed under different companies and holding their own perspectives on acting as a profession, their ability to maintain a friendship without mixing in too many external factors was rare.
Both Lu Xu and the other two were careful to exercise restraint in their interactions.
With that as a contrast, it was obvious where Su Zhao—who loudly proclaimed his admiration for Lu Xu and acted as though Lu Xu highly valued him—actually stood.
Aside from Feiyang Entertainment’s annual gala, there weren’t many visible signs of Lu Xu and Su Zhao interacting online.
Still, since Lu Xu hadn’t explicitly clarified anything, the fans could only read between the lines.
That said, Lu Xu wasn’t the dramatic type. Even if he admired or wanted to mentor a newcomer, it was unlikely he would make a big show of it.
…
Lu Xu, Shao Yao, and Zheng Xiao exchanged playful jabs online after their photo antics. Before long, the episode of Me and My Friends featuring the trio aired.
Thanks to Lu Xu’s spectacularly bad photos, even fans who normally had no interest in slow-paced variety shows found themselves tuning in.
And then—fans genuinely believed this episode shouldn’t have been called Me and My Friends but rather Big Dummy and Two Other Dummies.
The show reenacted a chaotic scene where Zheng Xiao’s bike was stolen, Shao Yao chased after it on another bike, and Lu Xu trailed behind on foot.
There was also a moment when the three accidentally wandered into a small alley, only to encounter a pack of dogs running straight at them. Zheng Xiao bolted immediately. Lu Xu, unable to run any farther, grabbed Zheng Xiao’s jacket in desperation, hoping for salvation—only for the dogs to get perilously close to his backside.
Zheng Xiao tried to shrug off his jacket to help Lu Xu, but the chain on his necklace got caught, making it impossible to toss the jacket away.
Zheng Xiao was on the verge of tears. “Aren’t you Lu Puppy? Talk to your kind and tell them to back off!” he yelled in panic.
“I’m human! I’m human!!” Lu Xu wheezed, struggling for breath but still insisting on his humanity.
Thankfully, Shao Yao had a way with dogs and managed to rescue them both in time.
On top of all this chaos, fans discovered that Lu Xu was hilariously unlucky.
The three of them went fishing by the same riverbank. While Zheng Xiao and Shao Yao each managed to catch fish, Lu Xu didn’t catch a single thing.
Refusing to accept defeat, he switched spots with Shao Yao. Yet again, Shao Yao managed to catch a fish from Lu Xu’s original position, while Lu Xu still caught nothing. Just when he got excited because he felt his line moving, he reeled in… a lone flip-flop.
[I’m dying—when did Lu Xu become a full-blown comedian?]
[Good thing this isn’t the central lake in S City; with those results, we’d have Jiang Lin and Su Yang rounding out the main cast!]
[How should I put it? Even though Lu Xu is hilariously unlucky, he sure knows how to eat! The restaurant the three of them visited—I swear Lu Xu and Shao Yao have been there before. It must be amazing!]
[+1. As a local, I can confirm: every place Shao Yao takes Lu Xu to is fantastic. There’s never a miss!]
Me and My Friends didn’t deliberately highlight their friendship but instead showcased the everyday interactions between Lu Xu, Shao Yao, and Zheng Xiao.
When you’re truly with friends, there’s no need to force moments. Just having the three of them in one place was a treasure trove of jokes waiting to happen.
For fans, Lu Xu was always a picture of perfection. Yet in Me and My Friends, his flaws were laid bare.
To his fans, however, this made him feel all the more authentic.
[I just think Lu Xu is incredible. He’s so carefree and clumsy in daily life, but when it comes to acting, he can bring every character to life. So talented!]
[+1, +1, +1. He’s absolutely adorable!]
For longtime fans who had followed Lu Xu since his Verse days, his appearance on Me and My Friends felt like he had shed the shadows of his time in the group and found genuine friends.
[This version of Lu Xu smiles way more than the Lu Xu we saw during those years with Verse!]
[He’s just such a bright, sunny puppy. I’m so happy for him—he has real friends now!]
…
The ratings for this episode of Me and My Friends were excellent. The show was already known for being relaxed, but Lu Xu, Zheng Xiao, and Shao Yao’s natural chemistry exceeded expectations.
Whether it was cycling in the breeze or roasting each other with playful banter, they were no different from ordinary young people in their twenties.
The authenticity of Lu Xu and his friends came through clearly on camera. The sunny weather on the filming day, with its warm and gentle light paired with soft music, made the entire episode feel uplifting and refreshing.
It was as if viewers had stepped into a real-life scene from When I Was 18, where, around some corner, they might run into Huang Luning.
[Can Lu Puppy participate in more of these variety shows?]
[Sigh, I’ve always felt that a part of Lu Xu’s personality resembles Huang Luning’s a little.]
Shortly after Me and My Friends aired, a video surfaced online, posted by someone who had attended the Feiyang Entertainment annual gala. The video was accompanied by some candid photos taken on-site.
The video did feature Lu Xu, but he seemed slightly reserved, likely because he wasn’t particularly familiar with many people at the company. Even so, he didn’t refuse when anyone asked for a photo.
It was during this time that Su Zhao managed to snap a picture with Lu Xu. From the video, it was clear that their interaction was minimal—they barely exchanged a few words. In fact, Lu Xu’s time spent talking with Su Zhao wasn’t any longer than with other attendees from Feiyang Entertainment.
The supposed narrative of Lu Xu offering Su Zhao “gentle encouragement” was, at best, a fabrication.
[Wasn’t this just clout-chasing?]
[Emmm… it’s glaringly obvious. So why was there a need to buy trending topics?]
[By the way, am I the only one curious about this? Su Zhao debuted years ago but remained obscure. If I remember correctly, his name wasn’t even Su Zhao back then. He only changed it after Son of Heaven became a hit.]
[…Wait, so the trending topic #Su Zhao Qin Zhao# was intentional? Was that necessary?]
[Clout-chasing is one thing, but to go this far?]
[!!!! He changed his name?!]
Fans dug deeper and discovered several videos on a certain platform connecting Su Zhao and Qin Zhao. Titles like A Thousand Years Later: Same Name, Different Person juxtaposed Qin Zhao’s despairing expression from the drama with Su Zhao’s radiant stage presence.
Fans: “…”
Honestly, even trying to latch onto Huang Luning would’ve been better.
Could he at least recognize his own level of attractiveness? Just a little bit?
The harsh cut from Qin Zhao’s stunning face to Su Zhao’s was, upon closer inspection, an act of cruelty.
