Chapter 145: Mountain Bike Team

[Respected Teacher Lu, you’ve arrived.]

As soon as Lu Xu showed up in the group chat, Zheng Xiao and Shao Yao immediately mocked him without restraint.

After spending years in the entertainment industry and knowing Lu Xu for quite some time, neither of them had ever imagined that he would be ridiculed in such a way.

Although Lu Xu himself didn’t mind, Zheng Xiao and Shao Yao struggled to hold back their laughter.

[What were you thinking? Did you think you wouldn’t age?]

Zheng Xiao and Lu Xu were still relatively composed, but in the groups Lu Xu had previously joined—whether it was the Son of Heaven crew, The Path of Bones, or When I Was 18—the actors couldn’t help but lament: “At my age, is it time to be buried already?”

In front of Lu Xu, Cheng Yun and the others kept their tone polite, but in front of reporters, these older actors didn’t hold back at all. Their words were light and casual, yet carried a sarcastic edge, and the phrase “buried in the ground” was mentioned several times.

Liu Rennong Studio couldn’t afford to offend this group of actors, who weren’t exactly top stars but had plenty of seniority. They quickly had Bei Hong mute himself.

[What were you thinking? Of all things to mock, you just had to mock Lu Xu for being old.]

[Hahaha, the youngest ever nominee for the Stellar Award and the youngest TV Emperor winner, one of the youngest nominees for the Golden Flame Award’s Best Actor. And yet, in some people’s eyes, he’s just an old zombie in the way. Maybe try breaking one of his records first?]

[He’s signed with Liu Rennong Studio and is set to make movies in the future. Do you really think he’d still care about acting in your lousy TV dramas?]

[…I really have to ask—what’s going on with this movie Sanzu River? It’s not even finished filming yet, and it’s already offended half the entertainment industry.]

Although Lu Xu deliberately broadened his scope of fire, the senior actors in the industry didn’t take offense. Whether it was Cheng Yun and Guo Yining, who had worked with him in Son of Heaven, or Han Xiao and Zhou Lin, who played Huang Luning’s parents in When I Was 18, they had all experienced a career resurgence thanks to their collaborations with Lu Xu. They shared fond memories with him.

Bei Hong, on the other hand, had only just debuted and was already using Liu Rennong Studio’s resources to subtly mock Lu Xu for his age. Even though the other actors knew he was deliberately trying to undermine Lu Xu, none of them were willing to indulge him.

Lu Xu had the credentials to be treated with respect—what did Bei Hong have?

[From Qi Di to this guy, what’s wrong with them? They’re not even famous yet, and they’re already this arrogant.]

As a director, Liu Rennong had a decent reputation. He had both awards and box office success under his belt. When he later opened his own studio and started managing artists, many actors and production teams still supported him.

Unfortunately, both Qi Di and Bei Hong turned out to be troublesome, making people question Liu Rennong’s ability to pick talent.

[Maybe he just misjudged their character?]

The main issue was that Qi Di had already caused a scandal before. No matter what, when it came to promoting Bei Hong, they shouldn’t have followed the same strategy they used for Qi Di.

And yet, Bei Hong had been cast as the lead in Sanzu River, a film with an investment of several hundred million. His arrogance even surpassed Lu Xu’s, despite having none of the achievements to back it up. It made people think that Liu Rennong Studio was only signing fools.

As a result, netizens started roasting the famous director’s casting choices. The criticism got so intense that Guo Yingyu couldn’t help but chime in:

[Actually… it’s not all like that. I’m pretty normal.]

As a signed artist under the same studio, she had already chewed out Bei Hong several times in the group chat on Lu Xu’s behalf.

The main issue was that Bei Hong had gone off the rails, and she got caught in the crossfire. She had worked diligently for years, landing her role in Feather of Youth through her own audition efforts. After the film had a modest box office success, her opportunities had finally started improving.

But now, because Bei Hong was being torn apart online, she had also been labeled as one of those so-called “resource-backed” actors.

“A whole year of hard work, and overnight, I’m back to square one,” Guo Yingyu muttered to herself. “Sure, my opportunities are decent, but they’re about the same as other newcomers backed by big agencies, right? It’s not that outrageous, is it?”

She wasn’t even qualified to act in a high-profile film like Sanzu River. She was still struggling to climb from “barely noticeable” to “somewhat recognizable” in the industry. And yet, thanks to Bei Hong’s nonsense, she had become collateral damage.

“This is so unfair.” Suddenly, Guo Yingyu had a realization. “Wait a minute… When Qi Di lost it before, I got dragged into it too.”

“Am I cursed to clash with Liu Rennong Studio?” She let out a dramatic wail. “I should get my fortune checked.”

Lu Xu had no idea what conclusion she came to, but the next day, she had changed her profile picture to an image of someone stomping on a paper villain. [Just switched it—making sure weirdos stay away from me.]

Lu Xu couldn’t help but ask, [Does it work?]

Guo Yingyu sent him the original image. [Doesn’t matter. It’s all about psychological comfort.]

Lu Xu agreed with her logic and quietly changed his own profile picture as well.

And as it turned out—the new profile picture worked wonders. Not long after switching it, the Stellar Awards announced this year’s nominee list.

Acting awards were always the most anticipated part of any ceremony, and this year’s Stellar Awards had an especially interesting lineup—three dramas that had aired in the same period not only ranked among the year’s most popular shows but had all secured nominations.

Lives Beyond Death the Chivalry, Phantom Realm, and Flames of War were all dramas that aired last year, and now they were competing in the same edition of the Stellar Awards.

On the annual popularity rankings, the three shows placed as follows:

Lives Beyond Death the Chivalry — #1 on the year-end chart.

Phantom Realm — #2 on the year-end chart.

Flames of War — #4 on the year-end chart.

Beyond their rankings, these three dramas were among the rare few that balanced both popularity and critical acclaim—widely regarded by audiences as examples of “dramas that don’t spark fan wars.”

At this year’s Stellar Awards, their nominations were as follows:

Phantom Realm — Best Actress Nomination.

Lives Beyond Death the Chivalry — Best Actor & Best Supporting Actor Nominations.

Flames of War — Best Actor Nomination.

In other words, every lead actor from these three shows had received a nomination.

The Stellar Awards had always seemed like an unattainable goal, but in that moment, it suddenly felt incredibly close.

[My mountain bike team, I’m so emotional!!!]

[OMG, it’s already hard enough for the Mountain Bike Team to have shows airing in the same period, and now they’re all nominated together!]

[Honestly… I’m not even surprised by this result. Whether it’s Lu Xu, Zheng Xiao, or Shao Yao, they’ve all been dedicated and hardworking actors. This nomination is just well-earned recognition for their efforts.]

[This is so touching! People used to say Shao Yao and Zheng Xiao were just clinging to Lu Xu and trying to sell fake CPs for popularity, but anyone who really follows them knows they actually hang out privately. That’s exactly why they don’t try to market a CP image.]

[Aside from official drama promotions, these three don’t even flaunt their friendship in public! Except for that one time when someone tried to leech off Lu Xu’s popularity, which forced them onto a variety show. If anything, I wish they’d show off their friendship more—their private ‘Mountain Bike Team’ moments are hilarious!]

After Lu Xu, Zheng Xiao, and Shao Yao were all nominated for this year’s Stellar Awards, a certain mountain bike brand created a special comic featuring the three of them, claiming that their nominations were all thanks to the “fate brought by mountain biking.”

Some netizens took it even further: [If Zheng Xiao’s bike hadn’t been stolen, he wouldn’t have borrowed Lu Xu’s. If Lu Xu hadn’t ridden that bike, they wouldn’t have all been nominated for the Stellar Awards.]

Netizens: “?”

[So, according to this logic… bicycle = Stellar Awards?]

[How is this any different from ‘Even a dog can ride a bike’ logic? I need answers.]

Even self-proclaimed “analysis experts” online were stunned by the absurdity of this seemingly well-structured yet completely nonsensical reasoning.

[Oh, I already joined Lu Sect, and now you’re trying to drag me into the biking sect too?]

[Time to pay up, bicycle brand.]

All in all, netizens were thrilled for Lu Xu, but they were just as happy for Zheng Xiao and Shao Yao—after all, being friends with good people helps you become better yourself.

Zheng Xiao was usually talkative, but that day, he was uncharacteristically silent. Nearly two hours after the nomination list was announced, he finally tagged Lu Xu and Shao Yao in the group chat:

[Are you guys around? I’m so happy I can’t even speak. I’m also starting to think this is all a dream. Can we go for a walk or something?]

With nothing better to do, Lu Xu and Shao Yao agreed.

When Lu Xu finally saw Zheng Xiao in person, he truly understood what it meant to be incoherent—Zheng Xiao was so overwhelmed that he stuttered every time he tried to talk about it. He had none of the composure one would expect from a Stellar Awards nominee.

“I never even thought I’d be nominated, okay?” Zheng Xiao tried to explain. “Well… I did think about it, but only in a ‘dreaming about it’ kind of way. I never actually believed it would happen in reality.”

When he took on Flames of War, he hadn’t been aiming for an award—he just wanted to work on a drama that could help him improve his acting. That was all.

Zheng Xiao bounced around for a while, then rode his bike for a bit before finally calming down.

As usual, the paparazzi managed to snap photos of the three of them hanging out.

[Before today, this picture would’ve just been ‘three young actors with a good relationship out for a casual outing.’ After today, this picture is nothing but a lineup of Stellar Awards nominees—absolute top-tier in the drama scene.]

[I wonder what Zhang Che would think if he saw this?]

Contrary to what gossip accounts assumed, Zhang Che felt nothing at all.

There was a time when he had ambitions of competing for the Stellar Awards, but now, he had completely given up. Having burned bridges with the Stellar Awards, he knew he would never receive any recognition from them again.

Beyond that, he wasn’t even landing roles in productions that could qualify for such awards anymore.

Climbing up as an actor was incredibly difficult—every step forward was a challenge. But falling? That happened much faster than anyone imagined.

Zhang Che had already stopped struggling.

Meanwhile, Zheng Xiao laughed happily for a while before turning to congratulate Lu Xu and Shao Yao again. All three of them were at peace with the outcome—Lu Xu had already won before, and while this was Zheng Xiao and Shao Yao’s first nomination, they saw it as an honor just to be recognized. As for actually winning? It was something they could dream about, but not something to pin their hopes on.

The netizens, however, had a different perspective—

[Lu Xu’s metaphysical luck strikes again!]

[This is… terrifyingly consistent.]

[Seriously… just compare him to certain others.]

[Let me leech off this good fortune too!]

The three of them arranged to walk the red carpet at roughly the same time. Lu Xu already had sponsorship from G-brand, while Zheng Xiao and Shao Yao had previous collaborations with men’s fashion brands. However, before their nominations, those brands had kept a lukewarm attitude toward them—neither too close nor too distant.

The moment the nomination list was announced, those same brands’ enthusiasm skyrocketed tenfold.

Zheng Xiao and Shao Yao weren’t surprised. In the entertainment industry, this was just how things worked.

On the day of the awards ceremony, the Lives Beyond Death the Chivalry crew was the first to step onto the red carpet. After walking for a short while, Liu Chunfeng and Qin Yu moved ahead, leaving Lu Xu and Shao Yao a step behind.

Moments later, as the Flames of War crew stepped onto the red carpet following a reminder, fans saw Lu Xu and Shao Yao waving at Zheng Xiao, signaling him to catch up.

Zheng Xiao, who hadn’t fully adjusted to the atmosphere of the Stellar Awards and had been feeling a little tense, immediately broke into a smile at the sight. He jogged toward his two friends.

[The Mountain Bike Team is the best!]

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