Chapter 295 Turmoil (10,000-word update! Thanks to Norns, the Alliance Leader!)
Lu Yanhe is not the lead actor in "Phoenix Terrace", but now his popularity and buzz are no less than those of the main actors in "Phoenix Terrace".
In a typical film crew, they might have already adjusted and changed their promotional strategy by now, focusing their publicity on Lu Yanhe in an attempt to boost the show's popularity through him.
But Huang Cheng did not do that.
The promotional focus for "Phoenix Terrace" has always revolved around the director and several lead actors.
Lu Yanhe also did some publicity, but it was ultimately secondary.
Most of the trending topics he made were orchestrated by his entertainment agency, Star Entertainment, and promoted by his fans.
The ratings and broadcast data of Phoenix TV have shown a steady upward trend.
The viewership ratings, in particular, increased by 0.2 in just three days, almost breaking 1%.
It's possible that no more than three dramas on Beijing and Taiwan TV can break the 1% viewership mark in a year.
The editors' club's media account conducted interviews with several people, including Chen Lingling and Zeng Qiao, but not Lu Yanhe.
Someone in the comments section asked why Lu Yanhe wasn't interviewed.
Their reply was: to avoid suspicion.
As a result, this incident became a trending topic.
"Phoenix Terrace" is a political drama, and its popularity soared after only a few days of airing. This type of drama is often like this: if it's poorly made, well, if it's well-made, either the initial plot has too high an entry barrier, preventing it from gaining traction and resulting in a niche, critically acclaimed drama, or the entry barrier is well-designed, subtly guiding the audience to analyze the motivations behind each character and the truth behind each incident.
No character in "Phoenix Terrace" is a simple, stereotypical figure; they all have twists and turns, and secrets. Chen Lingling has a very solid grasp of the script and editing, and is a director who truly understands drama. You can tell from her on-set shooting style that she is not the kind of director who is so immersed in artistic creation that she ignores commercial rules.
In the first few episodes of this drama, power struggles and intrigues are not the focus and are not brought to the surface.
The first few episodes are just a very ordinary case, introducing all the characters and creating a relatively light atmosphere.
The storyline involving Lu Yanhe and Lang Xia, in particular, is a completely chaotic and hilarious comedic one.
However, in the early episodes, Lang Xia was portrayed as a naive and wealthy young prince, while Lu Yanhe was merely his bodyguard. The most captivating, humorous, and lighthearted scenes were all focused on Lang Xia's character, while Lu Yanhe was more taciturn and preferred to act rather than speak. Therefore, in the early episodes, although Lu Yanhe had far more fans than Lang Xia, Lang Xia still attracted more attention due to the charm of his character.
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Since the Chen Wenwen incident, Lang Xia has reduced his public appearances significantly.
When "Phoenix Terrace" aired, the production team didn't include Lang Xia in the promotion.
Although He Yingzi was very unhappy about this, there was nothing she could do.
They should be thankful that the production crew didn't pursue the matter further.
However, with the airing of this drama, Lang Xia's popularity has also risen. Just as He Yingzi expected, it's hard to say whether this drama will become a hit, but it is already an undisputed popular drama.
The character played by Lang Xia is one of the most eye-catching characters in the early stages. He has a real personality that is quite different from that of the powerful and wealthy, and his straightforward and decisive temperament also resonates with the preferences of young people in today's online environment.
He Yingzi organized a series of promotional activities, which the production team didn't arrange; they spent their own money on marketing. Whether it was trending topics, interviews, or TV programs, they arranged them one by one, and Lang Xia's work immediately started running non-stop.
It's fair to say that Lang Xia's screen time has been no less than that of any of the main actors in the past few days.
He Yingzi was still cheering Lang Xia on.
“This period will be a bit tough, but you have to persevere. This is the time when you're becoming popular, and we must seize the opportunity and do everything we can to consolidate our current popularity, understand?” He Yingzi instructed Lang Xia.
After the Chen Wenwen incident, despite their strong-willed response and the apparent lack of remorse towards Lang Xia, He Yingzi privately gave him a severe scolding.
This incident itself greatly stimulated Lang Xia.
Lang Xia nodded as he listened to He Yingzi's words.
He looks more composed and less arrogant than before.
In the past, He Yingzi would have found a rival actor to Lang Xia in the drama to put him down.
It's not that she enjoys putting others down, but that's just how it is in the entertainment industry—putting others down garners far more attention and generates more buzz than other forms of publicity.
Initially, He Yingzi's target was Lu Yanhe. Even though Lu Yanhe's agent was Chen Ziyan, and He Yingzi knew Chen Ziyan would retaliate, He Yingzi wasn't afraid. She wasn't afraid of a counterattack at all; on the contrary, she was afraid that Chen Ziyan would remain silent and inactive, preventing the matter from gaining traction. The more fiercely Chen Ziyan retaliated, the more people would recognize Lang Xia.
He Yingzi had this idea.
But that's not possible now.
If she were to promote Lang Xia by putting down Lu Yanhe now, Chen Ziyan wouldn't even need to lift a finger; this approach itself would cause a huge backlash.
When two people are roughly equal, using comparisons and contrasts can attract attention and generate buzz.
When there is a significant disparity between two people, using comparisons and belittling will only provoke contempt and even intense resentment.
He Yingzi was just a little puzzled and curious as to why Chen Ziyan seemed to have made no move even though the drama had been airing for so long, and why there hadn't been any major promotion or marketing for Lu Yanhe.
Lu Yanhe's current popularity and momentum seem to be firmly suppressed by Lang Xia.
From this perspective, it seems that even without He Yingzi doing anything, Lu Yanhe has already been trampled down by Lang Xia.
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"Lang Xia's character is indeed loved by many viewers," Chen Ziyan told Lu Yanhe. "It's similar to Li Zhibai's rich second-generation character in 'Accompany You to the End of the World'."
Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "It seems that everyone likes to watch characters who are not really 'naive and innocent' but still have the outward characteristics of 'naive and innocent'."
"You're right," Chen Ziyan nodded with a smile. "That's exactly it."
Lu Yanhe: "Actually, I also think that kind of person is very interesting."
Chen Ziyan said, "But you don't need to worry. Although such roles are inherently attractive, they also have advantages and disadvantages. There are too many similar roles. Now everyone has discovered this traffic code. Almost every drama has such a functional role. Your breakthrough in 'Phoenix Terrace' will only appear in the middle and later stages. In the early stages, let's steadily maintain the popularity. Just be neither outstanding nor mediocre. If we hype it up too much now, it will not be conducive to the breakthrough later. We need to have expectations."
Lu Yanhe nodded, "I think so too. Besides, I didn't have many special scenes in the early part of this drama. It was mainly about the character's performance."
"In the early stages, the storyline still revolves around the main characters," Chen Ziyan said. "He Yingzi did so much marketing for Lang Xia at this time, which is a bit of a distraction. I guess the production team and the main actors' teams are not very happy about it."
The fact that "Phoenix Terrace" refused to leverage Lu Yanhe's influence demonstrates the production team's confidence in its publicity and marketing.
In fact, the production team had the confidence to do so.
Since its premiere, Phoenix TV has shown a good upward trend in both ratings and broadcast data. In particular, with the increasing number of viewers and participants in discussions, the show's reputation has remained strong, firmly maintaining its reputation on major rating websites, which is no easy feat.
The production team was somewhat annoyed by Lang Xia's marketing efforts at this time, but they also understood – after all, every actor has their own marketing during the broadcast period, more or less.
But this is very unpleasant for the lead actors, especially Zeng Qiao, the male lead.
"Phoenix Terrace" is a large ensemble drama, but the main storyline revolves around Zeng Qiao's character, while the other main characters are mostly middle-aged and older actors, with few truly young actors. Zeng Qiao should have been the most talked-about and popular character, and realistically, he should have been. However, the antics Lang Xia pulls make it seem like his character is the most popular and well-received character in the entire series.
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Zeng Qiao had previously been interviewed by the Editors Club. At this time, Zeng Qiao's agent said, "Brother Qiao, the Editors Club has proposed to do a retrospective on your acting career, to sort out the moments when your acting skills improved. They hope that we can cooperate with this plan. Please review the filming experience of a few key dramas and your thoughts on the roles."
Today, the editorial club of "Jump Up" is a very famous and influential self-media platform.
Posts and tweets promoting dramas and artists can get hundreds of thousands or even millions of views, not to mention the spread of long images online.
A tweet that is favorable to the artist's public image will be promoted and spread by the artist's own team.
Zeng Qiao's last interview with the Editors Club was also very well done.
They specifically hired a very famous interviewer to interview him, and the final article solidified his "actor" image. It was a very successful interview, and many friends in the industry told him that the interview was well-written and that they had all read it.
“Sure,” Zeng Qiao nodded immediately.
When "Phoenix TV" aired, Zeng Qiao received a lot of praise, especially for his improved acting skills.
This was Zeng Qiao's biggest hope when she starred in this drama.
When acting in a new film by a renowned director, every actor has one hope: that they might win an award.
Zeng Qiao saw this hope in the TV series "Phoenix Terrace".
Now that the editors' club is planning another feature on this topic, he's naturally happy to oblige.
The agent nodded.
He started having doubts again.
"But it's strange, isn't it? How come the self-media platform 'Jump Up' hasn't published a single promotional article for Lu Yanhe?"
Zeng Qiao said, "Lu Yanhe's character hasn't even entered the climax of the plot yet, so what's there to promote? He doesn't lack popularity. He doesn't need marketing to break out of the circle. Right now, you can tell that Lu Yanhe hasn't even started to put effort into promotion. But Lu Yanhe is still on the trending searches every few days and is getting a lot of attention, right? Look at that clown Lang Xia. He keeps marketing things like being a chosen ancient person, having innate nobility, and being kind-hearted. How long can he keep marketing like that? Marketing like that will backfire sooner or later. There was the Chen Wenwen incident before. They still want to market him as a simple big boy. I'm speechless."
The agent was both amused and exasperated.
"That's He Yingzi's style. She doesn't care whether the marketing is good for the artist or not, as long as it increases the artist's popularity and makes them famous, she can clean up their image later," the agent said.
Zeng Qiao: "It was only at this point that I realized why Huang Kairen and Jiang Yuqian had such a good relationship with Lu Yanhe after we started working together. There's no comparison between people; Lu Yanhe is just too good at dealing with people."
"Yes, he has never wanted to compete with others. Whether it's his own publicity and marketing or cooperation in various aspects, he is willing to let people work with him." The agent said, "People like Lang Xia will be less and less willing to work with him in the future."
Zeng Qiao: "It's a pity that I hardly had any scenes with Lu Yanhe. We weren't very familiar with each other even after filming a movie."
“You have so many promotional schedules ahead of you, there will be plenty of opportunities to get to know each other better, so why don’t you take the initiative to show some goodwill?” the agent said. “Lu Yanhe doesn’t seem like a very outgoing person who would take the initiative to befriend you.”
Zeng Qiao nodded.
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During the recording of an interview program for the film crew, Zeng Qiao, Lu Yanhe, and several other lead actors sat together and were interviewed by a very famous host.
The host asked, "Zeng Qiao, are there any regrets about this collaboration?"
Zeng Qiao immediately pointed at Lu Yanhe and said, "I regret that I don't have many scenes with Lu Yanhe."
Lu Yanhe looked at Zeng Qiao in astonishment.
ha?
He had always felt that he wasn't very familiar with Zeng Qiao, and he didn't know why Zeng Qiao had suddenly brought him up.
Zeng Qiao explained, "Because I often heard other actors and staff members in the crew say that Xiao Lu is a very good actor and very talented, I have always wanted to act opposite him."
Lu Yanhe quickly waved his hand, feeling embarrassed, and said, "Brother Qiao, you flatter me."
The others smiled.
The host asked, "And what about Xiao Lu? Did you have any regrets while filming this movie?"
Lu Yanhe's eyes darted around, and he smiled, "It's a pity that I don't have many scenes with Brother Qiao."
Zeng Qiao laughed and pointed at Lu Yanhe.
“I don’t communicate with Brother Qiao much in private because I’m afraid of bothering him,” Lu Yanhe said. “Actually, I’ve watched a lot of Brother Qiao’s dramas, especially since he’s acted in a lot of period dramas. When I first filmed a period drama, my acting teacher told me that I had to get rid of the language and walking habits of modern people. He recommended several dramas to me, including one starring Brother Qiao, especially the one he starred in, ‘The Eternal Blade.’ Because the character I played was a guard, I referenced a lot of Brother Qiao’s performance in ‘The Eternal Blade’ when I was creating this character.”
Zeng Qiao was taken aback.
To be honest, Zeng Qiao originally thought this was just a business exchange of compliments. He never expected that Lu Yanhe had actually watched his performance and was genuinely learning from him.
Lu Yanhe had never told him about this before.
Lu Yanhe's statement in the interview was undoubtedly a way of praising Zeng Qiao.
The fact that a young actor like Lu Yanhe referenced Zeng Qiao's previous roles when creating his own character is enough to demonstrate the success of that earlier work and the character itself. There's no need to say more; the fact itself is proof.
It's rare for an actor to praise another actor like that; it usually only happens when a junior actor expresses respect for a senior actor.
After the recording ended, Lu Yanhe prepared to go back.
Zeng Qiao suddenly suggested that everyone go out for a meal together.
He even came to invite Lu Yanhe in person.
"Are you free later? If you are, let's go have dinner together. We didn't have a chance to get to know each other properly while filming, so we need to seize this opportunity." Zeng Qiao smiled and put his arm around Lu Yanhe's neck. "After all, he's my little fanboy."
Lu Yanhe: ? ? ? When did I become your little fanboy?
Zeng Qiao didn't understand Lu Yanhe's subtext.
After that battle, Zeng Qiao had already accepted Lu Yanhe as one of her little fans.
Lu Yanhe, naturally, did not refuse Zeng Qiao's enthusiasm and went with him.
Apart from Zeng Qiao and Lu Yanhe, all the people who came to record the interview program today are senior figures.
Jiang Binfan is a leading actor of the National Theatre of China.
He Songlian is the same; he's a veteran actor.
Wei Fang is a veteran TV queen who has won three major awards for Best Actress, demonstrating her formidable talent.
Standing in front of the three of them, Lu Yanhe felt so nervous that he didn't know what to say.
On the contrary, Zeng Qiao was all smiles and laughter, showing no restraint or nervousness whatsoever.
Lu Yanhe suddenly felt a little regretful. The character he played had almost no scenes with these teachers. Otherwise, he would definitely have learned a lot.
At the dinner table, Zeng Qiao kept the atmosphere lively.
The veteran actors were all very talkative, and they talked about many things from the past in the entertainment industry.
For Lu Yanhe, many people and events are merely symbols.
But to Lu Yanhe's surprise, they suddenly mentioned Teacher Jiang Jun.
"Xiao Lu, you just worked with Jiang Jun on a film, right?" Wei Fang suddenly looked at Lu Yanhe and asked.
Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "The Seventeenth Floor."
Wei Fang: "Fortunately, his stomach cancer was discovered, which prevented it from becoming worse. The surgery was successfully completed, and he is still recuperating and under observation. We don't know when he will be able to return to filming."
He Songlian said, "I heard that Jiang Jun was replaced in several of his later dramas, sigh."
“I’m still worried about his health,” Wei Fang said. “Actually, it’s a real pity about Jiang Jun. His acting skills are no worse than yours, but he’s not as lucky as you and he can’t get any good roles.”
Lu Yanhe wanted to say that Jiang Jun's role in "The Seventeenth Floor" was quite good.
Perhaps when "The Seventeen Floors" airs this time, Mr. Jiang Jun will receive a lot of attention.
Wei Fang: "It seems that there is another drama they want him to act in."
“No, even the movie that he was cast in was just a cover, a way to put Jiang Jun at ease so he could have the surgery. Xiao Ran told me all that,” Wei Fang said.
“No, Lian Bei does have another drama that he wants to act in,” He Songlian said. “I met Lian Bei before, and he told me personally that it’s not the drama you’re talking about.”
"What kind of play is that?" Wei Fang asked, somewhat surprised. "Are there still plays that want Jiang Jun? I was thinking of saying that if you have a suitable role, you could lend him a hand."
He Songlian shook her head, "I don't know the specifics, but they said it's a play with a theme somewhat similar to 'The Seventeen Floors,' and Jiang Jun will play the lead role."
Lu Yanhe sat beside him, silently startled.
So they were talking about his movie.
"The Squid Game"
Of course, Lu Yanhe wouldn't jump out and shout at this time, "The play you're talking about was written by me."
That would be incredibly stupid.
Zeng Qiao turned her head and asked Lu Yanhe in a low voice, "What movie are you filming next?"
Lu Yanhe said: "Friends."
"Oh, you mean that sitcom?" Zeng Qiao frowned subconsciously after realizing what was going on, clearly not very optimistic about the show.
Lu Yanhe nodded and said, "Because it's filmed and broadcast simultaneously, we're planning to start filming next month."
Zeng Qiao: "I saw in the news that you wrote the screenplay yourself. You're really amazing."
Lu Yanhe shook his head and said, "Actually, I'm not very familiar with the work of a screenwriter. I made a lot of revisions, and it was only after producer Hu Siwei reviewed the scripts episode by episode that it was finalized."
“Okay, once you’ve finished writing the script, I’ll act in it for you,” Zeng Qiao said.
Lu Yanhe smiled and nodded, saying okay.
Several seniors looked over when they heard what they were saying.
"Xiao Lu is writing a script?" Wei Fang asked, somewhat surprised.
"Your information is so outdated! It's been on the news a lot before, I already know that," Jiang Binfan said.
Wei Fang asked, "What script?"
Lu Yanhe gave a brief explanation.
“Wow! A sitcom? That’s impressive. That’s the hardest script to write. I’ve always wanted to act in one, but I couldn’t find a good script,” Wei Fang said. “You have to go into real life to write a script that’s relatable.”
Lu Yanhe smiled.
He Songlian asked, "Is this script about the story of six young people?"
"Mm." Lu Yanhe nodded.
He Songlian: "I'll take a good look next month. It's been a long time since I've seen a show that's only broadcast on TV."
Lu Yanhe explained with a smile, "That's how Hu Siwei planned this project from the very beginning."
Wei Fang: "It's still a bit risky, but this isn't your first leading role. It's okay, we have 'The Seventeen Floors' to back you up."
Lu Yanhe didn't say anything, just smiled and nodded.
-
Almost no one was optimistic about Friends.
Although Lu Yanhe had long been mentally prepared, the frequent encounters with such voices and attitudes still left him somewhat disheartened.
After each time you feel discouraged, you have to cheer yourself up and keep yourself from being defeated.
Lu Yanhe thought to himself, if he had encountered this situation, what about others?
However, something even worse happened.
Beijing and Taiwan are not planning to give "Friends" prime time.
They're planning to move "Friends" from Saturday nights at 8 pm to Sunday nights at 10 pm.
When Hu Siwei received this news, he was furious.
Sunday...10 PM slot...
Who would watch TV at 10 pm on Sunday when they have to work on Monday?
The show, which was already not well-received, is now facing even greater difficulties.
Hu Siwei questioned the station about why such changes were made.
"When we made this drama, we clearly intended it to be the only one to be exclusively broadcast on Beijing TV, making it the only program on Beijing TV to be exclusively broadcast by a single station. Yet you've done this!"
However, the station's attitude was clear: no changes would be made because advertisers were dissatisfied with the prime-time slot on Saturday nights.
Advertisers are not optimistic about the sitcom starring Lu Yanhe.
The TV station's advertising revenue is already declining, and the remaining advertisers are those with whom Beijing and TV need to maintain good relations. When advertisers clearly stated that they did not want the show to air during prime time on Saturdays, the station had to take it seriously.
Hu Siwei was so angry that her eyes turned red, but it was no use.
“Then at least move it to 8 p.m. on Sunday. How is 10 p.m. possible!” he said. “It would be better to pronounce a death sentence in advance and not even have to go through with it.”
A group of people were arguing.
Lu Yanhe heard the news from Chen Ziyan and felt somewhat helpless.
Such things seem perfectly normal to happen in the entertainment industry.
Chen Ziyan said, "I'm going to talk to the brands you endorse to see if they're willing to advertise in Beijing and Taiwan."
Lu Yanhe shook his head and said, "No, Sister Ziyan, we've been wronged and taken advantage of, why should we pay for it? Why should we let them take advantage of us?"
Fortunately, Hu Siwei has Xu Bin behind him.
After several rounds of negotiations, the airing time for Friends was finally adjusted to Sunday night at 9 pm.
At least it's not that ridiculously bad time of day like 10 o'clock.
During the popular run of Phoenix TV, Friends also began to run promotional advertisements.
Filming hasn't started yet, there's no footage, and the promotional ads only show Lu Yanhe typing on a keyboard and having a meeting with a few people.
The copywriting also has a "say something outrageous" feel to it.
"Lu Yanhe's first Best Actor award!"
"Lu Yanhe, a student from the School of Humanities at Zhenhua University, has made his screenwriting debut!"
"Lu Yanhe's first work since the popular actor Phoenix Terrace!"
As these words were recited with great momentum, the footage shown was of Lu Yanhe communicating with everyone in the conference room about the filming of the drama, of Lu Yanhe typing on the keyboard, and of the others sitting in the audition room watching the actors audition.
Lu Yanhe was stunned when he saw the video online.
Not to mention him, even Chen Ziyan was stunned.
By doing this, Beijing and Taiwan have completely placed all their hopes for the ratings of "Friends" on Lu Yanhe alone.
"How can you do this! How much pressure are you putting on Lu Yanhe?!" Chen Ziyan said. "You can't do things like this, can you?"
Hu Siwei himself was completely bewildered.
“This isn’t a pre-launch advertisement we did.” He was completely exasperated. “I’ll go talk to them.”
Chen Ziyan said, "If you're going to push Lu Yanhe to this point, then since the drama hasn't even been filmed yet, you might as well not start filming at all!"
At this moment, Chen Ziyan acted like a hysterical tigress with a terrible temper.
She seemed about to rush to Beijing and Taiwan at any moment.
Not only did she confront Hu Siwei, but Chen Ziyan also made direct phone calls to people in Beijing and Taiwan, venting her anger on each of them.
So, the advertisement was broadcast on Beijing and Taiwan about four times before being taken off the air and never appeared again.
However, the video went viral online.
Even Lu Yanhe's fans couldn't bear to look at it; they couldn't stand this exaggerated promotional style.
In the internet age, what kind of people do netizens dislike the most?
A pretentious person.
In this video, Lu Yanhe presents himself as a pretentious person.
Although this wasn't something Lu Yanhe wanted to show off on his own, but rather something Jingtai did without his permission, how could others know so much, and how could they clearly say whether he was showing off or not?
Since the video has been released anyway, praising and flattering you, then you can be nailed to the pillar of shame and humiliated by us.
Lu Yanhe has never been afraid to go online.
This time, he encountered it.
-
Aside from attending classes, Lu Yanhe stayed in his dormitory and didn't go anywhere else, not even the library.
The dormitory was also very quiet.
Mao Jiayang and his group were very careful when they came in and out, as if they were afraid of disturbing Lu Yanhe.
The online ridicule directed at Lu Yanhe is now snowballing, growing larger and larger without any sign of stopping.
Those familiar with Lu Yanhe know that he is not like that; it's impossible for him to praise himself like that.
However, that's just how the online world is; you can't explain it.
This time, even Chen Siqi didn't say anything.
I have nothing to say.
All they could do was stand at attention and take the beating.
Chen Ziyan tried to suppress the controversy, but found she couldn't, so she gave up.
To avoid forcibly suppressing the heat and silencing even greater public resentment.
How should we handle this public relations?
The advice Chen Ziyan received was to quietly wait for the hype to die down.
Lu Yanhe is a person who cares a lot about his reputation. If he didn't care about his reputation, he wouldn't have such high expectations of himself. But in this matter, he felt it wasn't a matter of reputation anymore; it was a matter of how he simply didn't know how to deal with it.
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The overwhelming ridicule Lu Yanhe suffered indirectly affected his performance in "Phoenix Terrace".
Over the next two days, any discussion about the drama "Phoenix Terrace" that involved him was filled with sarcasm and ridicule.
Lu Yanhe withdrew directly from the publicity team of Phoenix TV.
Phoenix TV also expressed its understanding.
Of course, some busybodies also asked them what they thought of Lu Yanhe's situation.
Zeng Qiao only said one sentence: "Sometimes, actors can control far less than people imagine. Based on my understanding of Lu Yanhe, he is not the kind of person who boasts about himself."
However, given the prevailing trend, Zeng Qiao's words did not have much impact.
Time, we can only wait for time to let everything pass.
-
Lu Yanhe's public appearances have all been suspended.
Originally, as the year drew to a close, many events invited Lu Yanhe to attend.
Chen Ziyan couldn't refuse them all.
Now that this has happened, there are fewer people coming to see Lu Yanhe, and when they do, Chen Ziyan politely declines, and they no longer press the issue.
It can be considered a blessing in disguise.
Lu Yanhe stayed at school obediently, attending classes, reading books, and preparing for the filming of "Friends" with Hu Siwei and the others.
Several people at school also spoke sarcastically about Lu Yanhe, such as Ji Qianxing.
Once, while the whole class was waiting to start class, she mocked Lu Yanhe, saying, "Lu Yanhe, although we know that as an artist you need to promote and market yourself, please don't use the name Zhenhua so easily, okay? It makes it seem like all the students at Zhenhua are arrogant. If 'Friends' turns out to be bad, people will think that Zhenhua College of Arts can only produce students of this level."
Lu Yanhe clenched his fists under the table.
He remained silent and did not speak.
The other students remained silent.
Even Zhou Mukai and Miao Yue, who were on good terms with Lu Yanhe, didn't know what to say at this moment.
Nothing I say is right.
If it seemed that Lu Yanhe had never encountered a low point since the release of his college entrance examination results last June, then finally, he ushered in the second darkest moment of his acting career.
Sometimes, the darkest moments in life have little to do with what you did; even the actions of others can drag you down.
And there's nothing you can do but try to get through it.
Fortunately, time heals all wounds.
Fortunately, this matter was ultimately just some mockery in the media.
Gradually, as various other things happened, the ridicule directed at Lu Yanhe regarding this matter slowly subsided.
No one mentioned it again.
Lu Yanhe went to record the third phase of the second season of "The Days of Youth".
Li Zhenzhen clearly created a segment specifically for Lu Yanhe, including an interview segment in the program.
The production team will ask each artist a "sharp and sarcastic" question.
When it came to Lu Yanhe, the production team asked him directly: "There's been a lot of ridicule online about that advertisement that promotes you as a genius actor and screenwriter. What's your response to that?"
Lu Yanhe was momentarily stunned, then raised the corners of his mouth and smiled self-deprecatingly, saying, "Don't even mention everyone laughing at me, I want to laugh at myself too. There's nothing to say. Since an advertisement has been broadcast and I'm the main character in it, I might as well stand at attention and take the beating."
He thought he could finish saying these words with a smile and understand them with a self-deprecating attitude, but as soon as he turned around, the grievances in his heart burst forth.
He returned to his seat, head down, and didn't turn around for a long time.
Li Zhibai and Yan Liang noticed his unusual behavior and moved in front of him, blocking his view.
The production team and others gradually noticed something was amiss.
At this moment, Lu Yanhe had composed himself, taken a deep breath, and turned back to face the camera.
He had started laughing again.
-
When asked about his opinion on this step during the preparation for the interview, Li Zhibai simply rolled his eyes.
What can I say?
The production team was taken aback.
Li Zhibai said, "Regarding Lu Yanhe's matter, from beginning to end, Lu Yanhe had no idea how the promotional video was made, nor did he communicate with it or his team. It was broadcast by Beijing TV, which caused such a huge uproar. Beijing TV just hid behind and acted like a coward, while Lu Yanhe was the one taking the brunt of the criticism, as if Lu Yanhe wanted to promote himself in this way."
"Screw him! If he wanted to promote himself, what couldn't he promote? Do you think 'Friends' was the first screenplay he wrote? His screenplays were picked up by Jia Long and Chen Bige and they wanted to make them into movies. Did he need to use a sitcom screenplay to prove his abilities? A lot of things aren't what you see. Some people see that Lu Yanhe single-handedly stood up for him and they bully him because he has a good personality and they think he won't expose everything!"
"It's disgusting. Who was it that offered Lu Yanhe such a record-breaking salary to write the script? They must have no talent. Are they out of their minds to offer Lu Yanhe such a high salary to write a script? Lu Yanhe is the person I know who has the most capital to promote himself but never does it intentionally. He is the kindest person I have ever met and the one who doesn't take himself too seriously. Even when he was being criticized like this, he still remembered to tell us not to say anything in his defense."
Li Zhibai grew increasingly angry as he spoke in the interview room, his voice growing louder and louder, his emotions so intense it seemed he wanted to tear the place apart.
Hearing the commotion, Lu Yanhe came in and called out, "Li Zhibai."
When Li Zhibai saw him, he shut his mouth.
Lu Yanhe called out to Yan Liang.
Yan Liang came over and looked at them, puzzled.
Lu Yanhe said to him, "Take Li Zhibai away, he's gone mad."
Li Zhibai rolled his eyes and walked away, clearly furious, his nose still snorting.
Lu Yanhe took a deep breath, turned to the PD in charge of the interview, and said, "Please delete this part and don't broadcast it."
The PD looked at the boy in front of him—no, he was already a young man.
Listening to Li Zhibai's frantic outburst, she realized how much injustice Lu Yanhe had suffered in this ordeal.
At this moment, he was calm and composed, as if nothing bothered him.
The PD sighed and said, "I'll go talk to the director."
"Yes, I'll talk to the director too," Lu Yanhe said. "Thank you for your help. Please make sure this part doesn't get leaked, or it will cause him trouble."
The PD nodded.
-
Finally, the matter passed.
Half a month later, Lu Yanhe's role in "Phoenix Terrace" has increased.
The truth behind his taciturn nature, the deep-seated hatred he carries, and his inner contradictions and struggles are all revealed to the audience.
For several episodes in a row, Lu Yanhe's inner turmoil, helplessness, and anger are portrayed. In the end, he makes a painful decision to abandon everything after meeting the young prince and is determined to take revenge. In a one-minute long shot with no editing, he is alone in the shadows. His expression changes from blank to bloodshot eyes, bulging veins on his forehead, and a tear rolls down his cheek.
The animated GIF made from this scene topped the trending searches.
Someone quietly remarked: Putting everything else aside, Lu Yanhe's acting in this scene was... truly excellent.
Online opinion of Lu Yanhe has quietly shifted once again.
Since the controversy surrounding the Beijing-Taiwan promotional video, Lu Yanhe has not updated his social media accounts for nineteen days.
After that day, Lu Yanhe did not update his blog.
-
I wrote 10,000 words in an update, and many people said I had stopped updating. I clearly said the day before yesterday that I would start updating at 8 a.m. starting today...
Currently, I have 9711 monthly votes, which means I need to add 6000 more words. I still need 2000 more words.
Plus, I received my first ever patronage donation from a top-tier patron! Thank you, Norns! This makes me think about how much time I'll have to write updates in the next few days, and I'll definitely add more!
Let me emphasize again, my "extra update" refers to increasing the word count, not increasing the number of chapters. If it were about chapter updates, I could split one chapter into five...
I'm still asking for monthly votes! I've always been fulfilling my monthly vote bonuses with both quality and quantity.
(End of this chapter)
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