Chapter 210: Black & White Premieres
When Reverse City wrapped up filming, Mu Lang was in a bad mood. He wasn’t satisfied with Zhao Yifan’s performance, and on top of that, the actor had caused a series of troubles for the production team. In a way, it reflected Mu Lang’s lack of control over the set as a director.
However, when his new film finished shooting, Mu Lang’s mood was completely different. He waved goodbye to Lu Xu with a smile and sighed, “Small-budget films really are easier to handle.”
Big productions involved too many people and too many moving parts. As Mu Lang got older, he found that shooting an entire film drained him more than before.
Lu Xu, on the other hand, had been incredibly easy to work with.
The only issue was—just as they wrapped up the new film, Lu Xu had already started asking about his next project.
Mu Lang said helplessly, “Are you trying to work me to death?”
He used to be the one pushing Lu Xu, but now, the roles had reversed. Mu Lang wasn’t used to it at all.
Faced with Lu Xu’s bright, grinning face, Mu Lang had no way to deal with him. They had already worked on two films together, and by now, Mu Lang’s intimidation factor was close to zero in Lu Xu’s eyes.
Although Lu Xu had finished his job as an actor, Mu Lang still had a pile of post-production work to handle. The director kept in touch with Lu Xu, updating him on the film’s progress.
The title hadn’t been decided yet—Mu Lang had a few in mind and wanted Lu Xu’s opinion.
Lu Xu: “……”
At this point, he really felt like Mu Lang’s top general.
“What’s wrong with that?” Xu Wen glanced at him. “The director likes you, and you like the director too.”
Xu Wen was also quite surprised by how much directors liked Lu Xu. From Liu Chunfeng and Mu Qian, who worked on TV dramas, to Miao Zhi and Mu Lang in the film industry, Lu Xu had always managed to get along well with them and remained in contact even after their projects ended.
The directors were also open to working with Lu Xu again in the future.
Although Lu Xu had mainly focused on movies in recent years, he had considered returning to television. He never planned to stay a leading man in films forever—after all, if an actor stayed in the same role for too long, audiences would inevitably grow tired of him.
All in all, as long as he had the opportunity to act, Lu Xu would continue acting. He was determined not to abandon his career as an actor.
…
Back in C City, Lu Xu felt a bit disheveled.
Since Ma Yanwen, his character, had nothing to do with the word “handsome”—in fact, he was a rather dark and sinister role—Lu Xu didn’t need to maintain the abs he had built while filming Code A77. He let himself indulge in food and drinks freely, which resulted in a rounder belly and a fuller face. Paired with the makeup designed by the stylist… the result was hard to describe.
His agent immediately ordered him to lose weight.
Normally, if Lu Xu didn’t have any upcoming engagements, his agent wouldn’t push him too hard. But in just a few days, the promotional period for Black & White was set to begin.
Although Lu Xu wasn’t the lead—he had only stepped in at the last minute to help out—his villainous supporting role had left a strong impression. The Black & White production team had already started its early promotions, and Lu Xu hadn’t participated yet. Now that he had finally wrapped up filming his new movie, they were determined to bring him in.
Even while Lu Xu was still busy on set, Ren Ningyi had already sent him multiple messages.
As the film’s lead, Ren Ningyi was highly invested in its promotion. Once the release date was confirmed, the production team even used the tagline “Ren Ningyi X Lu Xu” in their marketing—despite the fact that their scenes together in the movie weren’t actually that many.
There was no helping it—Lu Xu’s last film was Observing the Stars at Night. If Black & White could ride even a little on that movie’s popularity, it would be an immense benefit to the production team.
Of course, while Lu Xu needed to cooperate with Black & White’s promotional efforts, his workload was far lighter than Ren Ningyi’s. Ren Ningyi’s schedule was packed with back-to-back roadshow events, requiring him to attend nearly every promotional activity. In contrast, Lu Xu only needed to select a few key appearances.
In the two-minute-plus trailer, Lu Xu’s character, Cui Kaiwen, had a significant presence.
The director, An Bin, had unreservedly included all of Cui Kaiwen’s most unsettling scenes in the preview.
[I thought the next one was Code A77—totally forgot about Black & White.]
[…Another psychotic villain? It feels like every time Lu Puppy plays a normal person, he rewards himself with a crazy villain role right after.]
[LMAO, you really just cracked the pattern.]
In Reverse City, he played a villain. Then in Fearless Life and Observing the Stars at Night, he took on heroic lead roles. Now, Black & White had him back as an antagonist again. Fans, aside from joking about his apparent fondness for playing villains, couldn’t help but admire how effortlessly he switched between vastly different characters.
The reason Lu Xu kept “rewarding” himself was simple—he could pull off all these contrasting roles with ease.
While some idol actors relied purely on their looks to carry a film, Lu Xu could do the same—but with actual acting chops to back it up.
Fans who followed Lu Xu closely knew that he had only joined Black & White as a last-minute replacement. The production team’s attempt to frame the film as a joint effort between Ren Ningyi and Lu Xu was undoubtedly a strategic move to boost box office appeal.
Whenever Lu Xu attended a roadshow event, audience enthusiasm far surpassed other sessions. Beyond that, discussions about him never ceased after Black & White premiered. Whether it was his scenes with Ren Ningyi or the chilling presence of his character, Cui Kaiwen, he even topped the trending charts for a time.
Cui Kaiwen was a devil shaped by both internal and external forces.
As a young man, he had already shown a dark side. After suffering cruel treatment from his parents, he turned his hands toward smaller, more helpless beings.
As an adult, he was intelligent and manipulative. Understanding how to control people, he became even more reckless, pushing everyone around him—and everything—deeper into darkness.
[When Ren Ningyi appeared, all I could think was how he’s still got it—his action scenes were so crisp and clean. When Lu Xu showed up, all I wanted to say was, ‘Get away from me, you psycho!’]
[The only thing I’m curious about is… is that cat okay?]
[Oh my god… If I ever encountered someone like Cui Kaiwen, I’d surrender immediately. He’s completely locked into his own twisted logic. No one can reason with him. He’s just terrifying—truly terrifying, the kind that makes your scalp tingle.]
Fans agreed—Lu Xu had created yet another unique villain.
[Lu Xu’s acting is so good that I’m starting to suspect he’s done everything Cui Kaiwen did. Can the production team please clarify?]
That day, both #CuiKaiwen and #LuXu’sActing trended simultaneously. The official production account even issued a statement explaining that Lu Xu’s time on set had been short, and that he had purely acted in the moment—he had never attempted to mimic any of Cui Kaiwen’s behaviors in real life.
As for the cat that Cui Kaiwen had tortured in the film, the production team set up a special “Cat Update” thread. Their first post reassured everyone: The cat is alive. It just doesn’t like Cui Kaiwen very much.
Lu Xu shared the post with a simple comment: [You really didn’t need to explain this.]
The official production account quickly released more behind-the-scenes footage, including clips of the crew playing with the cat. The only exception? The cat absolutely despised Lu Xu, even attempting to scratch him multiple times.
Lu Xu tried to win it over by buying cat food and treats, but the cat refused to eat anything from his hand.
Whenever Lu Xu approached on set, the cat would arrogantly turn its body away—leaving him facing nothing but its backside.
There was simply too much material showcasing Lu Xu’s struggles. The production team had a blast sharing it, and in addition to the cat’s disdainful expressions, the background audio even captured Ren Ningyi and the other actors laughing uproariously.
[The tragic life of a puppy rejected by a cat.]
[On screen: Cruel cat-ab*sing Cui Kaiwen. Off screen: A poor puppy trying to befriend a cat, only to get smacked in the face.]
[LMAO, I used to think Lu Xu had a solid chance at next year’s Best Supporting Actor at the Contention Awards. But now? Honestly, based on its acting skills, that cat deserves a Best Pet Performance award too.]
[I analyzed it carefully—yep, that’s definitely the same cat from the movie. It’s alive and well. What a lucky kitty!]
Once Black & White started releasing cat-related content, the film’s popularity skyrocketed. Fan artists flooded social media with drawings of “Lu Puppy” being mercilessly shunned by the cat, and as a result, Cui Kaiwen’s villainous aura dropped by a staggering 80%.
Lu Xu: “……”
For the production team, any publicity was good publicity.
Of course, Black & White’s box office success wasn’t built solely on cat-and-dog jokes. But undeniably, this running gag brought even more attention to the film.
Once potential viewers took an interest, Black & White naturally became one of their top choices when picking a movie to watch.
Black & White was released in the spring, a period that wasn’t considered a prime box office season. Ren Ningyi had a decent pull at the box office, but he wasn’t among the top-tier actors whose movies were must-sees for audiences. As a result, he had never been entirely confident about the film’s commercial performance.
However, with Lu Xu joining the promotions—especially after Cui Kaiwen’s character gained unexpected popularity—Black & White saw an explosive surge in attention.
The movie first broke the 500-million-yuan mark, then surpassed 1 billion. Given the relatively slow season and the overall lukewarm activity in the film market, Black & White achieving such numbers far exceeded the production team’s expectations.
[It’s all thanks to the cat. We should buy it more cat food.]
[LMAO, just sponsor its cat food for life. The little guy deserves it.]
The online jokes surrounding Black & White continued to spread, while the film’s box office kept climbing.
When the film officially crossed 1 billion yuan, Ren Ningyi couldn’t help but boast about it in the group chat—after all, this was an impressive milestone for him.
In this day and age, making big box office numbers wasn’t easy for actors.
Now that the movie had made back its budget, his burden as the lead actor naturally lightened.
At a time when many hadn’t even gotten the chance to work with Lu Xu, not only had he collaborated with him, but the film had also done well. If that wasn’t worth celebrating, what was?
[Tch…]
[Refund my ticket money! I refuse to let you gloat like this!]
[Old Ren, I’m telling you—if you wanna brag about your own movie, that’s fine. But why are you flaunting Lu Xu’s success? You don’t even look as good as him.]
[I can’t take this anymore. Just wait—I’m messaging Xiao Lu right now. If he could work with you, then why not me?]
[Send it. We’re all sending messages. Let’s do this together.]
Black & White performed well at the box office, and Lu Xu was showered with congratulations. He replied to so many messages that his hands started to ache. Just as he finished expressing his humble gratitude, his phone was flooded with nearly identical messages asking when he would be available for collaboration.
Lu Xu: “…”
Sorry.
The pressure he was feeling now was exactly the same as what he had once inflicted on Director Mu Lang.
What he didn’t know was that in the coming days, every time Black & White reached a new milestone, Ren Ningyi would undoubtedly boast about it in the group chat—adding another wave of pressure onto Lu Xu.
“This is the price of being too popular.” His manager anticipated Lu Xu’s thoughts and voiced them first.
Lu Xu: “…Can’t you just let me be happy for a moment?”
“No.” Xu Wen’s response was ruthlessly direct. “Hurry up and lose that extra weight.”
Though Lu Xu had slimmed down a little from attending Black & White’s promotional events, his longtime fans could tell he still looked rounder compared to when Observing the Stars at Night was released.
“There aren’t any new films coming up, right?” Lu Xu counted on his fingers. “Not much other work either.”
In the past, whenever he had breaks between filming, Xu Wen would schedule various commercial activities for him. Lately, those had been significantly reduced. During his free time now, Lu Xu mainly attended official events.
At this stage in his career, he could afford to lower his exposure slightly.
Xu Wen was also adjusting his career trajectory accordingly. When he first signed Lu Xu, he had mapped out an entire development plan. However, by now, most of those plans had never actually been carried out.
Since Lu Xu cared deeply about his projects, his manager focused on securing the best ones for him. In that regard, the two had a strong understanding.
