Chapter 180: Filming Routine
Life on set was much more monotonous than the outside world imagined. If the filming location was in the middle of nowhere, with no village in front and no shop behind, then apart from acting, there was almost no entertainment throughout the day.
The filming location for Observing the Stars at Night was chosen from several scenic areas in the country with unique landscapes and stunning views. The infrastructure was relatively well-developed, making the experience less grueling compared to when they filmed Fearless Life.
This time, Lu Xu didn’t bring his bicycle.
The filming sites were either deep in the mountains or full of steep slopes. Even if he could ride, it would be a teeth-gritting struggle, and falling into a pit by accident would definitely not be worth it.
“This is better than that last drama Peony acted in. He got so tanned I could barely recognize him,” Zheng Xiao said. “You should’ve brought a camera with you.”
Lu Xu didn’t bring a camera, but he bought one on the spot. On days when he wasn’t filming and the sun was shining brightly, he would go around the scenic area taking pictures. To be honest, his photography skills were… quite mediocre. When he showed his photos to the production’s photographer, the man, out of respect for the lead actor, gave a polite assessment.
Lu Xu: “…Alright then.”
After all, he wasn’t a professional.
And from the day Lu Xu started running around with his camera, a new hashtag quietly appeared on Weibo—#Chance Encounter With LuXu#.
[Ahhh, guess who I ran into today at XX Scenic Area?! This morning, I heard the tour guide mention that a film crew was shooting nearby, but I didn’t pay any attention… until—ahhhhh, I saw Lu Puppy in person for the first time! He stood out so much in the crowd!]
[…Another day without any idol awareness. This is hilarious.]
[As someone working in C City, I rent an apartment near Lu Xu’s home, but I’ve never once seen Lu Puppy ride past. Yet the one day I take leave and go back to my hometown, he appears right at my doorstep! Hahaha, I got both an autograph and a photo!]
[So jealous of everyone upstairs who got an autograph!]
[Of course, I didn’t go and bother Lu Xu. It’s rare for the crew to have a day off. There are many tourists here, but not a lot of locals, so he can be spotted frequently without being harassed by paparazzi. I even saw him strolling through the local market with Li Yan—got a duo pic too!]
[Ahhhhh, Li Yan as well?! Jealousy level: MAX!]
Lu Xu was seen the most often. As for Li Yan—after spending some time together, Lu Xu realized that the man was actually an introvert. Despite years in the industry mastering the art of social interactions, at his core, he preferred peace and quiet and avoided crowds whenever possible. If unnecessary, he wouldn’t even talk much.
Still, whenever Lu Xu invited him out for a walk, he was usually willing to go.
Before long, the hashtag #Chance Encounter With Lu Xu# evolved into #Chance Encounter With Lu Xu And Li Yan#.
Both Lu Xu and Li Yan were now in their thirties. Lu Xu was doing fine—having debuted in an idol group, his fans remained passionate. Of course, as his career stabilized and his public appearances decreased, his fanbase became more grounded, though not as fanatical as those of younger celebrities.
Lu Xu never really considered himself part of the “mature” celebrity category—mainly because most of the trending male leads in popular dramas were only a few years younger than him.
That said, whenever he scrolled through the trending topics, he would occasionally see names that he didn’t recognize at all.
Some were rookie actors, while others came from idol groups launched by various entertainment companies. Rumor had it that Lin Ge Entertainment had just debuted a new group, aiming to replicate the former glory of Verse. There were also newcomers who had entered the industry through variety shows, talent competitions, or even as internet influencers—Lu Xu had even less idea who they were.
At times like these, he had to admit—there was indeed a generation gap between him and the younger stars.
He shared his thoughts with Zheng Xiao and Shao Yao, and the two of them responded in unison, “…Relax, we don’t know them either.”
Lu Xu was deeply satisfied with this answer.
Although he and Li Yan didn’t have an overwhelming number of obsessive fans, they were undoubtedly well-liked by the general public. The #Chance Encounter With Lu Xu And Li Yan# tag was filled with not just young fans but also cheerful aunties and uncles posing for pictures with them.
[There was even a tourist from Bai Qianshan’s hometown who took several photos with Lu Puppy, saying they absolutely loved his portrayal of Bai Qianshan. Their whole family went to the cinema multiple times to watch it.]
[That area didn’t get many visitors before, but this year, a ton of people have been coming to tour and even study there. When asked, they all said they came after watching Fearless Life.]
[This is the power of a great role—so happy for Puppy!]
[When Lu Xu took on that fantasy movie, I was actually pretty worried for him. But now, seeing him and Li Yan standing together, I suddenly feel at ease. Who else gets this feeling?]
[Same here! These two working together is double the reassurance.]
[Let’s not hype it up too much just yet. What if it flops like Sanzu River? It’s been years since a fantasy film had a box office hit. Don’t get overconfident—Lu Xu isn’t that amazing.]
[…Even if it flops, there’s still his Contention Award for Best Actor and Fearless Life, Reverse City, Feather of Youth.]
[LOL, are we pretending all of Lu Xu’s past films didn’t exist? Don’t forget the global $4 billion box office hit Deception! And if you actually acknowledge TV actors, there’s his Stellar TV Emperor title and multiple record-breaking dramas. Every step he’s taken has counted.]
There were always voices online predicting Lu Xu’s downfall. His fans used to argue back, but now they completely ignored them—Lu Xu’s track record was already thick enough to speak for itself. If some people insisted on pretending not to see it, why waste time trying to wake someone who was deliberately playing dead?
No matter what project Lu Xu took on, these people would always come up with a dozen so-called reasons why Lu Xu was doomed to fail. A couple of years ago, some fans even compiled a list. If they printed out every instance of people prematurely predicting his failure—starting from My Baby Prince—the PDF would be thousands of pages long.
…
From time to time, Lu Xu would upload his photography works online.
Fans: [Uh… let’s just… force out a couple of compliments? At least he put in the effort?]
[This is really… great. So artistic. The focus is very clear.]
[…How about a selfie instead? Let’s see what real skills you have.]
The reason why people said his photography had a clear focus was because everything he shot was aggressively zoomed in. He would shove his camera right into flowers and plants, capturing bold and vibrant colors—but as for composition? That barely existed.
Not long after, fans noticed that Zheng Xiao and Shao Yao, as if conspiring with Lu Xu, also started posting their own photos.
[Finally, I understand why the Mountain Bike Team became best friends. This is literally Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in photography form.]
[…Your shots are amazing. Please don’t ever take any more. Just go ride your bikes instead.]
[LOL, leave Lu Xu alone. He’s the first dog in history to take his own photos. Besides, he barely promotes himself these days—if he keeps up this photography habit, that just means we can run into him anywhere.]
Fans collectively decided to forgive him. The top comments on his Weibo were all nothing but exaggerated praise, which only fueled Lu Xu’s enthusiasm for photography even more.
Fans: “…”
Fine.
He was handsome, so they’d forgive him.
Fans especially loved seeing Lu Xu in this state—no matter the time or place, whenever he was doing anything related to acting, he was always full of energy, his eyes always shining with passion.
Whether it was watching his performances on screen or seeing him at promotional events, fans rarely saw any signs of exhaustion on his face. His joy was contagious, and because of that, they knew—Lu Xu was truly happy being an actor.
…
Thanks to the chemistry between Lu Xu and Li Yan, the filming progress for Observing the Stars at Night moved faster than expected. For Lu Xu, the acting itself wasn’t particularly challenging, as Wei Qingfang wasn’t a character that required deep psychological analysis. Even the character biography Lu Xu wrote for him was relatively short.
However, due to the heavy reliance on visual effects, he had to do a lot of imaginary acting. On top of that, the filming locations were breathtakingly beautiful, and director Yue Chen was determined to capture the most stunning natural landscapes possible. As a result, the actors often had to wait long hours just to shoot at the perfect moment.
Lu Xu didn’t see Observing the Stars at Night as an easy project. On the contrary, different films had different filming techniques, and Yue Chen’s style was distinct from other directors. Through this experience, Lu Xu was able to witness firsthand how a visual effects-heavy film was brought to life.
For example, the location scouting process—Fearless Life had also made use of a desolate landscape near an experimental research base, but there, the environment was deeply tied to Bai Qianshan’s psyche and the struggles of the scientists, using scenery to enhance the atmosphere of perseverance. Observing the Stars at Night, on the other hand, was purely about delivering breathtaking beauty to the audience.
As the lead actor, Lu Xu wasn’t actually the busiest person on set. The director and crew had a much tougher workload. While Lu Xu had breaks between filming, the director was constantly handling an overwhelming number of tasks—coordinating with the VFX team, making adjustments to the visuals, and sometimes, when new ideas struck, staying up all night just to refine them.
Lu Xu felt that although the film industry was a complex world, the directors he had worked with were all genuinely decent people.
Their personalities varied—some were easygoing, some were strict—but when it came to their work, they were always meticulous, never cutting corners.
Yue Chen was a seasoned veteran in filming fantasy movies, yet Lu Xu felt that he approached this project with the same level of precision as if it were his very first time.
Yue Chen put his heart into it, and that dedication was reflected throughout the entire crew. The cinematographers and screenwriters were highly experienced, and the special effects makeup artists were so skilled that Lu Xu was genuinely impressed by the transformations they created for him.
Even though filming was still ongoing, Lu Xu was already looking forward to the final cut of Observing the Stars at Night.
He truly believed the script had the potential to captivate audiences, and as an experienced actor, he had full confidence in his own judgment.
…
From spring to summer, Observing the Stars at Night continued filming steadily, with incredible attention to detail. Spring was manageable, but by summer, when Lu Xu occasionally had to wear motion sensors and have tracking markers attached to his face, the heat became almost unbearable.
Since Wei Qingfang was human, Lu Xu didn’t have to wear sensors too often, but the actors playing demons and supernatural creatures had it far worse. Yue Chen tried to schedule those scenes during cooler hours, but by late April, the weather was already hot and stayed that way through September. Even in October, the temperatures remained high.
On top of that, the script featured fight scenes and elaborate single-use props designed for visual impact. While they would look stunning on screen, for the actors, filming these scenes could only be described as grueling.
In July, there was a scene that required igniting thick smoke. The actors had been warned multiple times beforehand, and all necessary precautions had been taken. Lu Xu happened to be acting alongside an actor playing a demon in that scene, and both of them ended up inhaling the smoke. Lu Xu managed to dodge quickly, but the other actor was wearing an extremely heavy costume and ended up coughing for several days. Fortunately, there were no lung issues.
As a result, Yue Chen had to postpone the scene.
Lu Xu hadn’t lost weight while filming Fearless Life, but after joining the set of Observing the Stars at Night, he had unexpectedly dropped seven or eight pounds.
This made Zheng Xiao extremely jealous. [Why do you two lose weight so easily?]
It wasn’t that Zheng Xiao had a tendency to gain weight, but he did suffer from water retention. If he wasn’t careful, he’d appear noticeably rounder on camera. Lu Xu jokingly suggested that he should endorse hyaluronic acid, but Shao Yao misheard it as “uric acid” and thought Zheng Xiao was being asked to promote urea instead.
Zheng Xiao responded, “…If I endorse urea, the first bag has to be mixed with water to fertilize peonies.”
Lu Xu: “…”
At this point, he had also started calling Shao Yao “Peony,” just like Zheng Xiao did. Meanwhile, Zheng Xiao kept repeating “urea” so often that Lu Xu was now worried he might accidentally call Zheng Xiao “Urea” one day.
Zheng Xiao sighed. […Can you guys think something nice about me for once?]
He had come to a realization—there wasn’t a single normal person in this group.
**TN
“Shao Yao” (芍药) literally means peony in Chinese
