Famous! Ch.224

Chapter 224: Grateful for This Encounter

[Ahhhhh! I’m so excited! What did I just hear?]

[Lu Xu won another award! Ahhhhh! Am I dreaming?!]

[Puppy is the strongest!!!]

[Oh my god, this is his third Contention Award for Best Actor. I’ve been a fan of Lu Puppy for so many years, but this moment is something I never dared to imagine. Who could have predicted this?]

[When Lu Xu won his first Best Actor award, I thought the second one would take a long time. I never expected that now, he already had his third. It feels like a dream.]

[+1 +1 +1.]

Besides the emotional outpouring from his fans, the screen was also filled with endless “Congratulations,” completely flooding the chat.

—This trophy had not come easily. There had been so many obstacles, yet Lu Xu still managed to take it home.

At that moment, the camera zoomed in on Lu Xu. His eyes, initially filled with astonishment, soon glowed with a hint of joy. Even though his fans had long been accustomed to his smile, they were still deeply moved by the emotion in his expression.

[This is the reward for hard work!]

[Ahhhhh!]

[I can already imagine what Lu Xu will say in his acceptance speech. Hardworking Puppy is the best!]

[I was mentally prepared for Lu Xu not to win this award, but he actually broke through again!]

Lu Xu stood up and walked toward the stage. To his fans, this was a scene they had witnessed many times before, yet each time he accepted a new trophy, they still felt genuinely happy for him.

Sure enough, Lu Xu’s acceptance speech did not surprise them in the slightest—’This won’t be the last time!’

[Even with my imagination, I still can’t picture the scene of Lu Xu winning his fourth Contention Award.]

[Puppy is so strong!! Also, I firmly believe that anything is possible because Puppy has always been working hard.]

Lu Xu expressed his gratitude to the Clay Man crew, his manager, and his fans.

The third Contention Award trophy was identical to the two he already owned, but when he held it in his hands, it still felt weighty.

He clenched this hard-earned trophy tightly.

Although he had never dared to assume he would win, he had to admit—it felt amazing to have his efforts rewarded.

[The first time I watched Clay Man, I thought it would be an injustice if Ma Yanwen didn’t win an award—and he really did.]

Lu Xu smiled at the camera, and at that moment, his fans, seeing his expression, felt a sudden urge to cry.

Even though Lu Xu’s journey in film had seemed smooth, there were still difficult moments.

To outsiders, it might have looked like he won awards effortlessly, but to his fans, every achievement of Lu Xu’s was the result of his hard work.

Was it really that easy? Were there really that many geniuses? Lu Xu simply presented his polished side in front of the cameras while putting in relentless effort behind the scenes.

[It’s just that nowadays, there are too many people who don’t seem to put in any effort.]

[Ahem, are we allowed to say this?]

[LMAO, there were already plenty of people like this when Lu Xu first got popular. Years have passed, and not only has the situation not improved—it’s gotten worse.]

[Some of them even claim Lu Xu as their idol. I won’t name names here, but… (pointing fingers).]

[That’s because the only thing they want to emulate is Lu Xu’s fame, but they refuse to put even a fraction of the effort into acting. Even Puppy would shake his head at that.]

…

At the moment Lu Xu won the award, the trending searches were almost entirely dominated by the news.

Before the awards ceremony, marketing accounts and film critics had made countless predictions about the results. Some even conducted in-depth analyses of Liao Yusheng, concluding that Lu Xu’s chances of winning were slim.

Winning Best Actor for the third time was far more difficult than the first two.

[Did the Contention Award committee undergo some kind of major shift in mindset by giving this award to Lu Xu?]

[Was Liao Yusheng successfully managed by PR, or was there another reason? It feels like the Contention Award really mustered up the courage to make this decision—almost as if they were bracing themselves for an onslaught of public backlash.]

However, in reality, while Lu Xu’s win sparked discussion, there was no so-called “public outrage.”

Even the marketing accounts that had been the most doubtful of Lu Xu didn’t claim there was any behind-the-scenes manipulation. At most, they acknowledged that the Contention Award had shown boldness in its decision.

In a way, Lu Xu’s win was exactly what the public had been hoping for.

The Contention Award committee surely faced obstacles and pressure when making this decision. Yet, despite everything, the trophy still ended up in Lu Xu’s hands—for one reason and one reason only.

His performance had convinced the judges.

[Lu Xu Secures His Third Contention Best Actor Award!]

[A Record-Breaking Moment! Lu Xu Becomes the First in Contention Award History!]

[Lu Xu Emerges as the Biggest Winner of This Year’s Contention Awards!]

[The Film Industry Welcomes the Era of Lu Xu!]

The media’s discussions about the Contention Awards showed no signs of slowing down. Posters of Lu Xu holding his trophy flooded entertainment headlines across all major platforms.

Before winning this trophy, Lu Xu was already the most talked-about actor in the film industry. After winning it, as one media outlet put it, his status had become “unshakable.”

Winning three Contention Best Actor awards was an unprecedented feat—no one before him had achieved it, and no one seemed likely to after. On top of that, Lu Xu was widely recognized as one of the most bankable leading men at the box office.

As he returned to his seat after receiving the award, congratulations continued to pour in from all directions. His fellow nominees either nodded at him in acknowledgment or offered their congratulations outright.

In truth, because of Lu Xu’s presence, this year’s awards season had no clear frontrunner—there was no actor who completely dominated the competition. If anyone came close, it was Lu Xu, yet for various reasons, he was never considered the obvious favorite.

It was also because of Lu Xu that the suspense surrounding the Contention Awards had lasted until the very end.

“A third one. Not bad.” Mu Lang patted Lu Xu on the back. “I knew you could do it.”

Lu Xu, without a hint of false modesty, replied, “I thought so too.”

With Lu Xu winning Best Actor, the rest of the Contention Awards’ results became clear. If even he—who had been considered the least likely to win—could take home Best Actor, then Clay Man was bound to secure both Best Director and Best Picture without question.

[It feels like a repeat of Fearless Life all over again.]

[Puppy deserves this! Keep pushing forward, Puppy!!]

…

At the afterparty, Mu Lang introduced Lu Xu to Liao Yusheng.

Liao Yusheng, though known for his stern demeanor, remained civil toward fellow directors like Mu Lang. He didn’t comment on the specifics of how Lu Xu had won Best Actor, but he did say one thing:

“If Clay Man hadn’t won, it would’ve been difficult to justify giving this award to any other film.”

In other words, the jury could have chosen not to give the trophy to Lu Xu—but only if they had another winner who could truly convince the public.

“Everything else is secondary. The key is the performance,” the other person admitted. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to justify it to myself.”

Liao Yusheng didn’t say much else, but he stayed behind to chat with Mu Lang for a while. They discussed this year’s awards and nominees, and he confided in Mu Lang that the voting process had gone through quite a few hurdles. It had been difficult for the judges to reach a consensus:

“Ironically, when it came to voting for Lu Xu, no one had any objections.”

Mu Lang glanced at him silently. “Isn’t that because you favored Lu Xu the most?”

Liao Yusheng rubbed his nose and didn’t answer directly. “Well… the Golden Flame Awards played a role too.”

In truth, he did prefer Clay Man. The public assumed he was the type of old-school director who wouldn’t appreciate a film like Clay Man, which seemed to stray from traditional filmmaking.

Yet, in Liao Yusheng’s view, while this year’s nominated films were of high quality, many of them felt a bit too conventional. Clay Man, on the other hand, stood out with its originality.

As a filmmaker, he couldn’t just cling to the past and hope for cinema to regress.

Besides, Lu Xu’s performance had completely won him over.

“You always make unconventional projects. I’ve gotten used to it,” Liao Yusheng admitted. “When you first said you were making a film like this, I was worried you wouldn’t find the right actor. Turns out, I was overthinking.”

“Without Reverse City, there wouldn’t be Clay Man,” Mu Lang said with a rare smile. “For a director, having a script they want to bring to life but not finding the right actor is a painful reality.”

“Exactly,” Liao Yusheng sighed in agreement. “Now that the Contention Award has gone to Lu Xu again, things will only get trickier over at the Golden Flame Awards.”

Mu Lang let out a cold snort. “What’s so tricky about it? Lu Xu didn’t even submit his name—he’s not participating at all. Yet they keep trying to guilt-trip him. It’s not like they can return the Fearless Life award to him now.”

Since Clay Man wasn’t submitted for the Golden Flame Awards, Mu Lang had no interest in associating his film with them. Yet, the Golden Flame Awards kept using Lu Xu for publicity, even going so far as to encourage Mu Lang to bring the entire Clay Man team to the event.

Mu Lang never had any such intention. The more aggressively the Golden Flame Awards pushed, the more annoyed he became.

“Why are they coming to me? They should go find Liu Rennong,” Mu Lang muttered in frustration.

“Did you actually say that to them?” Liao Yusheng asked.

“Not only did I say it,” Mu Lang lowered his voice, “I even gave them Liu Rennong’s number.”

The two men burst into mischievous laughter.

“You sly old bastard,” Liao Yusheng chuckled. “That’s just cruel.”

“Well, they owe Lu Xu an award. I’m just getting revenge on behalf of our leading man.”

“You’ve always been petty. Still haven’t changed after all these years… tsk.”

“Back when I was filming Reverse City, Lu Xu saved me a lot of trouble,” Mu Lang said. “Since I invited him, of course I wanted to see him win something for it.”

Even though Mu Lang and Liao Yusheng knew each other and had a good relationship, Mu Lang never once thought about using that connection to secure an award for Lu Xu. He wasn’t the type to do that, and Liao Yusheng wouldn’t have entertained it either—performance was the only thing that mattered.

Mu Lang believed in Lu Xu not because of personal bias but because, among the five nominees, Lu Xu’s performance was, in his eyes, the best. None of the others could surpass him.

…

After the awards ceremony ended, Lu Xu’s phone never stopped buzzing. His message inbox was flooded with congratulations, from Zheng Xiao and Shao Yao to directors and actors he had worked with before. Even My Baby Prince, a project from long ago, sent him a congratulatory text.

Zheng Xiao sent Lu Xu a 66.66 red packet as a token of his admiration.

[Managing to pluck a feather from a penny-pinching iron rooster like you—it’s truly a rare achievement.]

[Please show some respect to your generous benefactor who just sent you a massive fortune. No need to thank me—I have always been this magnanimous, generous, and sincere.]

Lu Xu: […Alright then.]

[If this were your first win, I would’ve only sent you 22.22, since that number represents you personally.]

Lu Xu immediately sent a meme of ten flying kitchen knives, shutting Zheng Xiao up with his actions.

[But still, congratulations. You are my role model.]

This time, Zheng Xiao’s words carried no jokes or emojis—just sincerity. [When the winners were announced, I was both nervous and excited.]

There wasn’t even a hint of jealousy in his heart. In that moment, he genuinely wished for Lu Xu to win. He didn’t know how Lu Xu felt sitting in the audience, but he was more nervous than Lu Xu himself.

And when the results were revealed, his heart swelled with pride.

But Lu Xu deserved every bit of the praise—this award had always belonged to him.

Throughout their acting careers, Lu Xu had always been ahead of him. He never felt like the gap between them was closing. If anything, it was growing wider.

Yet, because of Lu Xu, his own goals became clearer. Lu Xu’s presence had given him the courage to take a step he never dared to take before. He persisted, and that persistence led him to where he was today.

Zheng Xiao was deeply grateful for his encounter with Lu Xu.

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