Why Is the Male Lead Looking at Me Like That [Entertainment Circle] (BL) - Chapter 5

Who could have guessed that Director Zhang’s massive historical production would actually be a male harem drama?

Xia Xu admitted he was just as shocked!

It truly would be an offense to heaven if this drama didn’t become a hit.

He quickly tried to find his name among the many male supporting roles in the first episode. The characters that appeared included the top scholar who turned heads in the capital, the pale and sickly most beautiful man in the capital, the sweet and obedient young eunuch in the palace, the brave and resolute young general, and the ambitious Shen brothers who were desperate for the Emperor’s favor. A whole string of supporting male characters would appear at the Flower Festival Banquet in the first episode.

“So, am I going to play one of the consorts, a bodyguard, or an eunuch?”

Qi Hong looked up, her excited eyes barely contained by her glasses: “You’re going to play the beautiful, anti-human, and completely perverted Tyrant!”

Xia Xu was stunned.

“A role this important… how did it fall to me?”

The Tyrant had to be at least the male lead or the second male lead, right?!

“Do you want the honest truth? Because you’re beautiful enough! There are too many handsome guys in this drama. The male lead must be able to overshadow everyone else to be convincing. The Tyrant is a beautiful man. In the original novel, he is so radiant and good-looking that people around him suspect he is possessed by a demon and try to perform an exorcism on him. They looked and looked, and they decided you are the most suitable person for the role!”

Beauty truly is the number one productive force in the entertainment circle.

Both of them were very excited. Qi Hong stood up: “Do you have any alcohol here?”

Today was definitely worth a drink.

“I have beer.” Xia Xu got up and returned shortly with two bottles of beer.

As the two of them drank lightly, Xia Xu took the opportunity to read the scripts for the first two episodes.

It made his blood boil, and the crown of his head felt numb. He looked up at Qi Hong, his eyes moist.

“A great script, right?” Qi Hong smiled knowingly.

Xia Xu nodded heavily.

The two clinked their beer bottles. Xia Xu asked, “Who will be acting opposite me?”

“I’m not sure about that. I heard the supporting roles are mostly cast. Liu Fen seems to have auditioned successfully, but I don’t know who he’s playing. Mr. Lin even wanted me to take Wen Yu to try his luck, since he’s also a cute little handsome guy.”

“Who is playing Chen Liuqing?” Xia Xu asked.

The Tyrant has countless consorts, but the one with the most substantial role is undoubtedly the famous monk, Liu Qing.

The beautiful, crazy Emperor and the pure, transcendent famous monk are the main CP of this drama.

“It’s rumored that the role hasn’t been finalized yet. Director Zhang’s team is looking for a top-tier star. The image has to be right, and the star power can’t be low. If all the leads are rookies, the risk is too great. But not every big star is willing to ‘take the plunge’ (enter the BL genre), so they’re still searching,” Qi Hong put down her beer bottle. “Actually, I have someone in mind who I think no one is more suitable than.”

Xia Xu looked up.

“Nan Qingyan is perfect. His image and star power are both a good fit,” Qi Hong said.

Xia Xu: “…”

Qi Hong was in an exceptionally good mood today and couldn’t help but laugh: “Just kidding! He’s at the peak of his popularity, constantly getting good scripts; he has more movie roles than he can handle. I heard Director Zhang’s team approached Guangcheng Media initially, but Nan Qingyan refused.”

That’s for the best.

“But thinking about it carefully, he really is so suitable to play an ascetic monk with beautiful eyebrows and eyes, and an elegant demeanor.”

“If he plays it, will I even have a chance at this drama?” Xia Xu said.

“You’re that afraid of him.”

“It’s not that I’m afraid. Forget it, let’s not talk about him,” Xia Xu asked, “You mentioned the original novel—does it have one, and what’s it called?”

“The original novel only has about 60,000 words, and the scale is quite large. You don’t have to read it; just wait for the script. It will definitely be heavily modified.”

“…I want to read it.”

Qi Hong looked at Xia Xu: “It’s called The Tyrant’s Favor. You can search for it online. It’s quite popular.”

Xia Xu immediately searched for it on his phone. Qi Hong said, “You’re not going to read it in front of me, are you?”

Xia Xu glanced at his phone screen, and the opening was already full of “Ah ah ah.”

Qi Hong stood up and smiled: “Go ahead and read it. Just don’t get scared.”

After Qi Hong left, Xia Xu immediately read the original novel.

He was drenched and his palms were sweating after reading it. When he returned to the first two episodes of the script, the image changed: the gentle spring water and the dark, crazy Tyrant standing on the covered bridge, watching Chen Liuqing preaching under the shade of the trees and flowers in the distance.

This CP is so intense.

When luck turns around, nothing can stop it. The cannon fodder suddenly had a change of fortune, and his momentum was unstoppable. A few days later, the official microblog for Tyrant opened and immediately announced the first batch of actors, instantly exploding the entertainment circle with its shocking subject matter.

“A BL Harem Drama?! Oh my goodness!”

“Capturing all the handsome men in the entertainment circle to film a harem drama—isn’t this what I’ve always dreamed of?! Is my dream coming true?”

“Director Zhang’s move is truly sensational. Someone had previously rumored that Director Zhang might film a BL drama this time. I thought BL dramas were so overdone now, what new tricks could he pull? I didn’t expect him to go for a male harem drama! I’m in!”

“I hope Director Zhang delivers this time. Harem dramas already have a built-in audience. A group of beautiful women fighting in the palace isn’t new, but a harem full of men is truly explosive!”

“The subject matter is great, but who the hell is Xia Xu? Director Zhang, have you fallen so low!”

“They all say Xia Xu has a big harem, and now he’s actually going to have a harem.”

“Xia Xu filming a harem drama? How messy is that set going to be?”

“It’s over, it’s over. I don’t know how many male stars he’s going to corrupt now.”

“I suddenly don’t want my gege to act in this. Gege, run!”

As the production team for Tyrant was officially established, more and more information was leaked. When it was revealed that the original novel was the wildly popular online book The Tyrant’s Favor, it shot straight to the top of the trending searches.

“Don’t stop me. I. Want. To. SCREAM!!!”

“Oh my god, I seriously can’t handle it.”

“I can’t handle it! I can’t handle it!”

“Will the scale be as large as the original novel? Director Zhang, don’t you dare chicken out! I support you!”

“Surpass those Thai/Japanese/Korean dramas about young masters and bodyguards! Give us a scale that hits the ceiling!”

“I went to read the original after hearing the news—help! My face is completely flushed.”

“Go check out the fan art online! I guarantee you’ll faint!”

“My request is simple: film the 6,000-word forced love scene for ten minutes, and I’ll be satisfied.”

Xiao Li hugged his phone, secretly devouring this gossip.

After reading it, he said to the person next to him, feeling fortunate:

“Thank goodness Brother Nan didn’t take this role.”

Everyone gathered to discuss the original novel of Tyrant, and a few of them had flushed faces.

Honestly, the subject matter was truly captivating.

In the beginning, it was as restrained as could be; they wouldn’t even hold hands. You’d think the plot was about the crazy emperor trying every trick to seduce the eminent monk, and the monk converting him with his virtuous heart. But then, when the tension reached its peak, the string snapped with a bang, and it immediately became an explosive forced love scenario!

A lawless, supreme, crazy Tyrant who is ultimately taught a lesson and becomes a man who cries and begs for mercy.

Xiao Li: “Wuwuwu, I kinda want to see it.”

Nan Qingyan, sitting in the back, squinted his eyes, and the thinner his lips were pressed together, the more he listened.

He hadn’t read the original novel, but he had read the script.

The number of kissing scenes in the later stage was terrifying—literally 360 unique kissing scenes!

The entertainment circle in May was quiet—no scandals, no divorces, no one getting married or announcing a relationship. It was completely dominated by Tyrant.

Mr. Lin watched excitedly: “I didn’t sell my house for nothing! At this rate, even if it gets filmed and can’t be broadcast, you’ve already become famous.”

They even managed to get the group’s maknae, Wen Yu, into the crew, playing a small consort role.

Online, people also began to match the leaked actors with their roles.

“So, according to current leaks, Wei Qiang plays General Han, who is also a consort titled ‘Noble Consort’ by the Tyrant? Liu Fen is the Little Noble Consort Prince? I heard Wen Yu, the second most handsome member of the HOPE boy band, plays the young eunuch who is conferred the title of ‘Talented Person’? The officially named consorts include three of Xia Xu’s rumored boyfriends! Is this seriously just a selection of consorts for Xia Xu?”

“I finally understand why this huge role fell to someone like the semi-transparent Xia Xu.”

“Is it only those three? I think Hu Hai is quite suitable for the role of the personal bodyguard. What about Huang Pu? What about Zhao Kai? Just Xia Xu’s rumored boyfriends alone are enough to form an entire cast! Director, are you really not considering inviting them all?”

“Looking at it this way, Xia Xu has quite the luck with women/men. His rumored partners are all handsome guys!”

“Then what about his latest favorite, Nan Qingyan? He’s not in it! I’m so disappointed!”

“Yeah, among Xia Xu’s CPs, my favorite is still Nan Qingyan! The contrast is the best ever!”

“I am willing to eat vegetarian for a week in exchange for Nan Qingyan joining the harem!”

“What are you thinking? How could the Purple Star (a title for a top-tier celeb) Nan Qingyan act in this?”

“Let’s just dream. Maybe the dream will come true?”

“If a person has no dreams, what’s the difference between them and a salted fish?”

“Come on, sisters! Let Director Zhang hear our voice!”

“Where are the Summer Ice girls!”

“Is there anyone more suitable to play the ascetic high monk than Nan Qingyan?”

“No! The last virgin in the mainland entertainment circle, who else but him!”

…These were the most-liked comments under Director Zhang’s Weibo post.

Facts proved that not only Qi Hong but also netizens thought Nan Qingyan was suitable to play the monk.

Xia Xu watched, terrified.

He tried to look at the problem from Nan Qingyan’s perspective: This scumbag was interested in my beauty back then, then he played with me and left me. Now, after years of breaking up and pursuing separate careers, he sees me gaining immense popularity in the entertainment circle and wants to hype up with me again. This isn’t just scummy; it’s downright evil.

But if he posted on Weibo now to actively distance himself, it would likely look even more like hype.

Since filming was approaching, Qi Hong didn’t want Xia Xu to be bothered by this old, insignificant fling. She came up with an idea for Xia Xu.

“The reason people keep tagging Nan Qingyan under the official microblog is because they ship your CP. If you can get your CP with someone else to overshadow him, then the problem is solved! Netizens only ship CPs for a short time!”

Xia Xu felt this made a lot of sense.

That night, Xia Xu went out to have dinner with Liu Fen. After a few drinks, the two friends hugged each other around the waist, and the trending search immediately climbed.

Since Xia Xu had some buzz lately, the scandal hit particularly hard this time.

“OMG, so the true love was here all along!”

Liu Fen was also going to act in Tyrant, and the production team was happy to see them generate hype. Given his historically close relationship with Liu Fen, the fans dug deeper and felt that this CP was real.

In the ever-changing harem of scandals, only Liu Fen has been by his side since his debut!

Looking at Liu Fen’s flashy, seductive consort-like appearance, no one expected him to be the original, legitimate partner!

Did they get the attributes wrong? Xia Xu has 180cm long legs and a sunny disposition—he could totally be the Top (Gōng)!

The Willow-Summer CP (Liu-Xu CP) instantly soared to the top of the CP rankings.

The voices mentioning Nan Qingyan under his Weibo quickly disappeared like a receding tide.

This strategy actually worked!

So, Xia Xu started interacting with Liu Fen occasionally.

Liu Fen loved to say suggestive things. When he went out to eat with Xia Xu, he’d post a joint photo: “I was chosen again today.”

Nan Qingyan looked at Liu Fen’s Weibo, mechanically stroking the cat named Niuniu in his arms. The room was dark, and as the phone screen went black, his beautiful, pure eyes were completely swallowed by the darkness.