Chapter 142: Gossip

As for Qi Di’s struggles, Lu Xu paid little attention. The director backing Qi Di, Liu Rennong, was indeed influential, but Zhao Yifan’s agency, Enne Entertainment, was no pushover either.

The two companies engaged in a war of words, constantly bickering back and forth. Meanwhile, the atmosphere on the Reverse City set felt frozen—cold and tense.

Mu Lang was never the type of director who joked around, and when he was serious, he could be downright intimidating. However, Lu Xu generally met the filming requirements, and perhaps realizing the challenges Reverse City faced during production, Mu Lang began to provide more detailed direction.

Lu Xu felt he benefited greatly from this.

The director’s perspective and the actor’s perspective on the same scene were different—this was why, even when Lu Xu thought his performance was adequate, it still didn’t align with Mu Lang’s expectations.

“That last scene was excellent.”

The more Mu Lang watched Lu Xu, the more satisfied he became. With just a little guidance, Lu Xu’s subsequent performances would surprise him even more.

Every time Mu Lang thought Lu Xu had mastered the role, Lu Xu’s actual performance would prove that he could take it to an even higher level.

Luo Kun, observing Mu Lang’s expression, joked, “Think we should have cast Lu Xu as the male lead?”

Mu Lang shook his head, “Having Lu Xu play Ji Chongyang would be a bit of a waste. This role is difficult—most people couldn’t handle it; it has to be Lu Xu.”

Both Mu Lang and Luo Kun weren’t particularly talkative within the crew. To be honest, if they hadn’t entered the film industry, neither would have enjoyed being in the public eye. This whole fiasco with Zhao Yifan pushing Reverse City into the spotlight had left them both quite displeased.

They didn’t show it openly, but during the shoot, Luo Kun had already revised the script several times, aiming to reduce the lead character Ji Chongyang’s screen time as much as possible without disrupting the story’s integrity.

Zhao Yifan was aware of this but chose not to say anything.

He knew that he, as the male lead, was this close to being replaced.

If not for the substantial investment in Reverse City and Mu Lang’s temporary inability to secure funds to reshoot the movie, given the director’s past style, Zhao Yifan might very well have been kicked out of the crew.

Zhao Yifan no longer showed any dissatisfaction toward Lu Xu—all of his frustration had shifted onto Qi Di.

Both he and Qi Di were currently the media’s hottest topics. However, since Zhao Yifan was holed up in the Reverse City set, filming, reporters couldn’t get in and had no way to harass him for now.

Qi Di, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky. The entrance to Liu Rennong Studio was practically trampled by journalists. On the day of the court hearing, even several internet influencers showed up to livestream, eager to catch a glimpse of a big star in real life.

Later, Zhao Yifan heard that Qi Di had terminated his contract with Liu Rennong Studio.

After the double-standard controversy, Liu Rennong Studio had already cleaned up one mess for Qi Di. They even pushed him as the lead in Song of Tears. However, the production costs for Song of Tears had far exceeded the investment. Though the film gained some recognition overseas, it failed to generate any returns domestically.

Liu Rennong was well-connected and experienced in the film industry, but he wasn’t running a money-printing business. No matter how much wealth he had, it wasn’t limitless.

The studio had already sunk too much into promoting Qi Di, and if he continued down the same path, they would only incur more losses.

It was better to invest in new talent instead.

Qi Di did have acting talent, but in the entertainment industry, talented actors came in waves. Even those without talent could be hyped into stardom.

And so, Qi Di was abandoned. For now, no agency was willing to take him in.

A star getting into trouble wasn’t necessarily a big deal. To the average internet user, even Lu Xu, who frequently trended on social media, seemed like someone who loved stirring up drama.

But Lu Xu was famous enough—his dramas had high viewership, and his movies generated box office success.

Qi Di, on the other hand, had constantly positioned himself as Lu Xu’s rival, yet his ability to generate profit wasn’t even a tenth of Lu Xu’s.

Liu Rennong Studio had invested far more in Qi Di than Feiyang Entertainment had in Lu Xu, yet the returns had been disappointingly limited.

The buzz surrounding Qi Di’s contract termination with Liu Rennong Studio was initially quite high, but it was soon overshadowed by a much bigger incident—Wei Fangfei got into trouble.

Wei Fangfei had once been a big name in the film industry. Later, she came down to the TV world and starred in Book of Nine Revolutions. Unfortunately, the drama flopped so badly that the investors nearly lost their shirts, though Wei Fangfei and the male lead, Chu Tianshu, walked away with an astronomical paycheck.

After the disastrous failure of Book of Nine Revolutions, Wei Fangfei signed a high-priced contract with Lin Ge Entertainment, becoming a labelmate of Gu Sinian and a few others.

At the time, some in the industry had already analyzed her investment portfolio, pointing out that she lost money in everything she touched, with an air of mystery surrounding her financial decisions.

Recently, investigations revealed that Wei Fangfei had a gambling addiction, often losing tens of millions at the tables. Back when she was popular, it wasn’t a problem—she had high-quality roles, audiences liked her, and investors were willing to pay a premium to cast her.

But after her career tanked, things changed. Her income could no longer support her extravagant lifestyle, so she started scamming ordinary people out of their money under her own name. The fraud grew bigger and bigger until, finally, the truth could no longer be covered up.

Lin Ge Entertainment immediately announced the termination of her contract, stating that neither the company nor its other signed artists were aware of Wei Fangfei’s personal actions.

However, netizens didn’t buy Lin Ge Entertainment’s statement at all. Some had already dug up evidence that Gu Sinian, Xie Qingyang, and Meng Qin had all publicly endorsed Wei Fangfei’s so-called “business ventures.”

Wei Fangfei herself had already been blacklisted, but whether the celebrities who supported her should be banned as well remained an open question in the industry. One thing was certain, though—Gu Sinian and the others were no longer suitable to appear at formal events.

Lin Ge Entertainment had planned to hold a fan meeting event for the three former members of Verse this year. Even though Lu Xu was no longer part of the group, all of Verse’s previous copyrights were in Lin Ge Entertainment’s hands. Despite the fact that Gu Sinian and the others had lost much of their reputation and popularity, they could still make money off fans willing to pay for nostalgia.

However, before the plan could even be put into motion, it had to be scrapped.

At first, none of this had anything to do with Lu Xu.

Although Qi Di was sued because he was jealous that Lu Xu had landed the villain role in Reverse City, reporters still went to interview Xu Wen about it.

Xu Wen’s response was similar to Zhao Yifan’s: “He didn’t get the role—who else is to blame for that?”

But as Qi Di and Wei Fangfei both got into trouble and Verse’s fan meeting was canceled, netizens suddenly had a realization—

[Wait… don’t all three of them have a grudge against Lu Xu?]

[??????]

[Now that you mention it, Lu Xu really never misses, huh?]

[For real. If someone told me about this character in a novel, I’d think it was ridiculous. But watching it unfold in real life… there really isn’t a single person Lu Xu can’t take down.]

Lu Xu: “……”

To be honest, he had literally done nothing.

He didn’t even know that Wei Fangfei had a gambling problem.

Besides, Wei Fangfei wasn’t even a recent rival—Lu Xu had never considered her to be competition in the first place.

Back then, the drama Supreme had been competing against Nine Revolutions, but he had only had a minor grudge against Chen Ye. In Supreme, he had played a side villain, Ji Xiuya, who barely had any screen time.

Meanwhile, Wei Fangfei had been the undisputed leading lady of Nine Revolutions.

So why should he be the one taking the blame for this?

Why couldn’t Chen Ye take the fall instead?

Maybe it was actually Chen Ye who brought the bad luck when he jumped ship to Nine Revolutions halfway through. Not only did Wei Fangfei suffer, but even the male lead, Chu Tianshu, had been struggling with his career ever since.

But—none of that stopped netizens from stacking all kinds of buffs onto Lu Xu.

Nicknames like “The Entertainment Industry Sorcerer,” “The Living Spring Demon,” “Tai Sui,” and “The Walking Curse Bike” started spreading online.

[Repost Lu Xu, and you’ll win the lottery tonight.]

[I printed a Lu Xu poster and made it into a ring—now I can repel toxic bosses.]

[Changed my desktop wallpaper to Lu Xu’s face. Hah, from now on, I’m invincible.]

Lu Xu: “……”

First of all, he was a serious actor. He firmly rejected superstition.

He absolutely did not believe he had some sort of anti-weirdo aura. If anything, having the ability to repel weirdos meant constantly encountering them in the first place.

If he had to believe in something, he’d rather assume he had the kind of aura that attracted weirdos.

Yes. That must be it.

While the internet was in chaos, filming for Reverse City was also entering its final stages.

Lu Xu had shot several scenes with Guan Sha.

He had to admit—Guan Sha was every bit the award-winning actress she was reputed to be. Ever since she joined Reverse City, the discomfort he had felt while acting alongside Zhao Yifan had completely vanished.

Just a second before the cameras rolled, Guan Sha still felt like a person completely detached from her role. But the moment filming started, she was instantly in character.

It could be said that while she had a seemingly laid-back personality, when it came to acting, she had her own unique sense of dedication.

“No actor who reaches a certain level is ever simple,” Xu Wen remarked. “They all have real skills.”

In Reverse City, Lu Xu played the villain—the mastermind behind everything. Naturally, as his lover, Guan Sha’s character was far from simple as well.

The script had plenty of intimate and ambiguous scenes between them.

Luo Kun only found out by chance, while they were chatting on set after getting into costume: “You’ve never filmed a romance scene before?”

Lu Xu shook his head honestly.

Luo Kun was completely stunned.

In today’s entertainment industry, how many popular actors hadn’t risen to fame through romance dramas? The bigger the star, the messier their on-screen CP drama—along with the inevitable fan wars between solo stans and shippers.

And yet… Lu Xu had never filmed a romance scene?

And now, in just a few moments, he was about to act out an intense, toxic entanglement with Guan Sha.

“Can he handle it?” Luo Kun turned to Mu Lang.

Mu Lang simply shrugged.

The screenwriter, feeling a bit uneasy, looked at Guan Sha and said, “Go easy on him during the shoot.”

He meant for Guan Sha to take it slow and not overwhelm Lu Xu.

At Guan Sha’s level, she was a powerhouse when it came to acting—especially with a role like this, which was well within her comfort zone. She had played many seductive, morally ambiguous characters before, and she excelled at them.

But then—once the cameras started rolling…

Guan Sha’s expression turned sultry, her eyes dark and alluring, filled with a dangerous kind of seduction. She gazed at Lu Xu with a look so intoxicating it could melt ice.

Her fingertips traced lightly over his skin, teasing and suggestive, while her red lips lingered near his neck…

Luo Kun had fully expected Lu Xu to freeze up like a deer in headlights.

But that didn’t happen.

Not only did he hold his own in the scene, but he wasn’t even overwhelmed by Guan Sha’s intensity.

He merely tilted his gaze toward her, his dark eyes calm and composed—without the slightest hint of losing himself in lust.

Even though the atmosphere was dripping with tension, everyone on set could see it clearly—Lu Xu was the one in control.

His fingers closed around Guan Sha’s, firm yet controlled.

When he chose to sink into desire, he could sink into it completely. But the moment he decided to withdraw, he could detach just as easily. None of it was within Guan Sha’s control—the reins were in Lu Xu’s hands.

In the script, Guan Sha’s character was supposed to fear Lu Xu’s character. She had originally thought that this fear would come from her own understanding and imagination, something she would craft and perform on her own.

However, the moment their eyes met, the moment his fingertips brushed against her skin, an eerie sensation wrapped around her mind.

It was as if she were being watched by something lurking in the dark.

In that instant, the touch on her back seemed to turn ice-cold.

She could feel the terrifying presence of the man in front of her. The fear came naturally—she didn’t need to act, didn’t need to imagine. She only had to follow his rhythm and let herself be led by him.

When the scene wrapped, Guan Sha still hadn’t completely shaken off the feeling.

She couldn’t help but send Xu Wen a message: [I get why you signed Lu Xu now.]

Her own studio had recently started working in talent management as well, and if she had come across someone like Lu Xu, she would have signed him without hesitation.

It had been a long time since she had felt pressure from a younger actor.

She saw the typing indicator appear on the screen. After a brief pause, a message popped up—

[My artist is amazing, huh?]

Guan Sha couldn’t hold back a laugh. “What are you showing off for?”

<< _ >>

**TN

Tai Sui, God of the year; archaic name for the planet Jupiter 木星; nickname for somebody who is the most powerful in an area.

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