Chapter 211: The New Film
For a long time after Black & White was released, Lu Xu’s daily routine consisted of attending meetings and studying. Having served as a judge for the Contention Awards once, he was now regularly invited to participate in related events hosted by the organization.
Whenever he had time, Lu Xu would attend these events.
He had already submitted all the required documents before meetings, and the articles requested by experts had also been handed in early.
After all, with two lifetimes’ worth of filmmaking experience, Lu Xu certainly had plenty to say about acting.
“Absolutely nothing to do.”
The weather had started warming up, and Lu Xu finally had some rare free time. Although Code A77 was set for a summer release, it wasn’t scheduled for July but rather for August.
Apparently, the box office competition in July was too intense, with several major films already slated for release. So Code A77 had shifted its date slightly later.
Of course, for other films, Code A77 was also a formidable blockbuster. If they had the choice, other productions would prefer to avoid competing with it.
When it came to the box office race, Lu Xu had been nearly unstoppable.
Even though Code A77 was just an ordinary commercial film, ticketing platforms had predicted from the start that its box office revenue would reach 3 billion.
[…Terrifying.]
[Straight to 3 billion? The pressure is now on the underdog.]
[3 billion, huh? That’s hilarious. Even Fearless Life and Observing the Stars didn’t dare predict such high numbers, but Code A77 just maxed it out, huh?]
Lu Xu also thought the platforms’ predictions were a bit too high—he felt like they were putting pressure on him.
“If only it really performed as well as they predicted.” Wu Ming chuckled. “I’ve never directed a film with such a high box office before.”
Wu Ming was well aware that if Lu Xu hadn’t been the lead actor, Code A77 wouldn’t have garnered nearly as much attention.
The director couldn’t help but reflect for a moment—he had directed the film properly, edited it carefully, and now that it was about to meet the audience, he felt fully confident.
…
Before Code A77 premiered, Lu Xu tried to arrange a short trip with Zheng Xiao and Shao Yao—maybe some boating or surfing—but unfortunately, both of them were busier than ever, leaving Lu Xu as the one with the most free time.
Since he couldn’t find anyone to hang out with, Xu Wen was about to schedule a last-minute event for him when an expert he had met before reached out. The expert praised one of his articles, mentioning that it had been published in a newspaper.
Lu Xu hadn’t quite caught which article it was, but he did remember the name of the newspaper. Out of curiosity, he searched for it on the official website. Sure enough, not only had they published his article, but they had also credited him by name.
Lu Xu: “……”
There was really no need to make a big deal out of this.
He hadn’t underestimated his own influence—he knew the moment his article was printed in a newspaper, it would likely land him on the trending list.
Besides that, the expert, who had a good relationship with him, also told Lu Xu that the industry was now encouraging young actors to write more about their experiences. As a role model for young actors, Lu Xu should take the initiative.
In other words, sharing his experiences on the sets of Fearless Life and Reverse City would be valuable for other young actors.
Sure enough, before long, the news made it to the trending topics.
The comment section was filled with praises like “Lu Xu is amazing,” which gave him the awkward embarrassment of an underachiever being complimented.
His writing skills were honestly average. When talking about his acting experience, he never cited classic theories—he wasn’t a typical academic actor. He could only share his personal feelings during performances.
[I still think Puppy is amazing. So this is how actors view performances…]
[I thought Lu Xu’s daily life was all about luxury cars and designer brands, but his writing is much simpler than I expected. He actually wrote over ten thousand words across two articles—really impressive.]
[He doesn’t have luxury cars, but he does own several mountain bikes (assuming they haven’t been stolen).]
[I don’t have much else to say, except that Lu Xu truly loves his roles. You can feel that passion in his writing.]
[As expected of a Contention Awards Best Actor—so powerful!!!!]
Lu Xu received a flood of praise.
After finishing his new film, he attended several meetings and appeared at some formal events. In every video and candid shot, he was always seen listening intently, showing no sign of indifference.
[To me, Lu Xu is a flawless handsome guy.]
[He looks incredible in a suit, and—speaking as a film student—I carefully read his articles. His insights are genuinely sincere. I feel like actors can really learn from them.]
[But honestly, someone like Lu Xu is bound to be seen as a nuisance by some people.]
[Agreed…]
For others in the entertainment industry, Lu Xu’s presence wasn’t always a good thing—especially when it came to box office competition, or in moments like this.
To his fans, Lu Xu’s articles were earnest and sincere. But to certain people, he was just unnecessarily making things complicated—putting on a show.
[What exactly do audiences like about Lu Xu?]
[Lu Xu’s fans call Liu Rennong pretentious, but isn’t Lu Xu just as pretentious as him?]
Images of Lu Xu in a formal suit, listening carefully and taking notes during a lecture, stood in stark contrast to other celebrities who couldn’t even be bothered to bring a pen and paper.
Of course, the contrast in appearance was just as striking.
Lu Xu rarely attended events, yet somehow, without even realizing it, he had offended a lot of people just by showing up.
He hadn’t expected marketing accounts to seize on this particular detail either.
Still, he felt that, despite being a formal meeting, the discussions weren’t as dull as he had imagined. Perhaps because they had taken the entertainment industry’s general knowledge level into account, some of the content was actually quite insightful.
As for offending people… Well, if he wasn’t actively offending someone, he was on his way to doing so. Lu Xu had already made peace with this reality.
Since his planned trip didn’t work out, he ended up hosting a few more sharing sessions instead. One film academy even invited him for a lecture.
The only real shortcoming in Lu Xu’s rise to fame as an actor was that he hadn’t come from a formal acting background. Back when he first started acting in TV dramas, he had been mocked by fans of classically trained actors.
Mocking his lower academic credentials was one thing, but the real issue was that they saw him as a threat. There were only so many top-tier roles, limited drama resources, business deals, and fashion endorsements. If Lu Xu took a step forward, it meant someone else had to step back.
Even though he had already cemented his success, people still used his awkward Verse era performances to ridicule him.
Not being formally trained made it seem as if he was inherently inferior.
But now, even a prestigious acting academy had invited him as a guest speaker—effectively patching up his so-called shortcoming.
And the situation didn’t stop there.
Because this academy had taken the initiative to invite a non-classically trained actor, some online commenters sarcastically declared that the school had “lost its formal status,” falling from one of the country’s top film institutions to a mere “unranked” school.
Lu Xu remarked that his sins had deepened yet again.
At the same time, he also noted that he must be incredibly powerful—capable of single-handedly altering the public’s perception of an entire institution.
…
Time flew by, and summer vacation arrived in no time. Lu Xu’s films were almost always released during these crucial periods, and he was all too familiar with how fierce the competition could get.
Compared to other peak seasons, however, the summer box office battle wasn’t as brutal. Since the holiday lasted long enough, a film had ample time to build word-of-mouth.
In early July, aside from domestic blockbusters, several major international films were also hitting theaters. Every week after the summer break began, at least two high-budget films were scheduled for release. The variety of genres was far richer than during National Day or Lunar New Year.
Lu Xu scrolled through the homepages of a few film bloggers and noticed that the week Code A77 was set to release seemed unusually quiet—there weren’t any particularly aggressive competitors.
[…Could it be that they’re deliberately avoiding Code A77?]
[No production team would ever admit it, but I seriously suspect it.]
[It is kind of strange… Weren’t people saying Code A77 was just a run-of-the-mill commercial film with some special effects? That Lu Xu had ‘fallen from grace’ for taking on a project like this? So why isn’t any film going head-to-head with it?]
[Emmm… a ‘standard commercial film with special effects’—if you think about it, the last movie that fit that description was Observing the Stars at Night.]
[……]
[……Speechless.]
All in all, whether it was the ticketing platforms immediately slapping Code A77 with a 3-billion box office prediction or the film coincidentally landing in a relatively quiet release window, both were undeniable proof of Lu Xu’s current box office pull.
Then, Code A77 dropped a teaser trailer.
The immediate impact? The platforms revised their box office prediction—raising it to 3.5 billion.
From just a single trailer.
The trailer’s comment section was practically filled with screams of excitement.
[…MODEL LU XU!!!!!!!!!!]
[How dare the production team hold onto photos this good until now?! You should’ve served them to us first!!!]
[Handsome, handsome, handsome!!! I’m drooling over this!!!]
In the trailer, Lu Xu looked even more like a top model than actual models. Paired with his sharp, decisive aura, it was a side of him that fans had never seen before.
In terms of artistic merit, Code A77 couldn’t compare to Lu Xu’s other films. Instead, it aimed for sheer volume and satisfaction—pure, unfiltered handsomeness. His character was cold, ruthless, and pushed to the extreme in terms of visual appeal. Not a single frame of Lu Xu looked bad. The way he swiftly eliminated enemies was both decisive and merciless, delivering an absolute visual feast.
From the fans’ perspective, Lu Xu should just make ten more movies like Code A77.
[If Lu Xu looks like this in the trailer, that means over 50% of his scenes will have him in this form, which means Code A77 is an excellent film. My logic is flawless.]
[I agree. Upstairs, you’re a genius. Unmatched.]
Even before its official release, Code A77 had already surpassed Observing the Stars at Night in pre-sales, ranking number one among all summer films.
Marketing accounts eagerly stirred up drama, claiming that the film industry had officially entered the “era of male beauty.” Others argued that if Code A77 lacked any real plot, then it was nothing more than an aesthetically pleasing slideshow. A so-called “PPT movie” achieving high box office numbers would only be an insult to hardworking filmmakers.
But regardless of how people judged it, the reality remained unchanged—Code A77 was the most anticipated film of the summer.
This year’s summer box office competition was especially fierce. There were at least six or seven overseas special-effects blockbusters—featuring everything from mechas to monsters to aliens. Every possible fight-worthy creature got thoroughly beaten across various films, and the box office numbers were generally strong.
On the domestic side, family dramas, CGI-heavy spectacles, comedies, coming-of-age films, suspense thrillers, and animated movies took turns hitting the screens, making the competition just as intense.
Unlike the Spring Festival season, where top-tier films directly clashed, the summer release schedule was more staggered—one film finishing its run before another took center stage. While production teams weren’t as aggressively at odds, the box office race remained incredibly tight.
The summer market was vast enough that no single film could dominate or drain it entirely.
As the lead of Code A77, Lu Xu embarked on an exhausting promotional tour. Every day, he moved between scorching outdoor heat and air-conditioned indoor venues so cold they could freeze a person solid. Unsurprisingly, he caught a cold.
No matter where the production team went for promotions or what events they attended, Lu Xu was required to be there.
He knew full well that many viewers were watching Code A77 because of him.
Lu Xu had always thought of himself as strong as an ox—no matter how many films he shot, he rarely ever got worn out. But this sudden cold hit him hard. On the first day, he just felt a bit chilled and lightheaded. By the second day, he was running such a high fever that he couldn’t even get out of bed.
