Why Is the Male Lead Looking at Me Like That [Entertainment Circle] (BL) - Chapter 6

As the start of filming drew nearer, Xia Xu grew more and more anxious.

He was still waiting for the production team to formally sign a contract with him.

If he was replaced at the last minute before, that was one thing, but if it happened again this time, he truly felt he’d be depressed.

His biggest weakness right now was his acting skill. The Tyrant, Zhao Xuan, in the novel had a strange, perverse temperament, with a face “like a hibiscus, eyes like a wolf.” The richness of the character’s layers was something he had never dealt with before. To improve his competitiveness, Xia Xu signed up for an acting training class, and as soon as he registered, he took a photo and posted it on Weibo.

He hoped Director Zhang and the team would see it.

The official announcements from the production team were coming out step by step. The actor for the eminent monk, Liu Qing, the one he cared about most, had not been announced. Qi Hong told him that the production team was still auditioning actors, and the delay in signing his contract was related to this.

Director Zhang wanted the main CP actors to look compatible enough.

This was not good news for Xia Xu.

It meant that if the actor playing Liu Qing was not compatible with him in height or style, or simply didn’t like him, he could be replaced at any moment.

“We’ve done everything we can. Now we can only wait slowly. You just focus on your acting class,” Qi Hong said.

Despite saying that, Qi Hong was actually anxious too.

Their company had truly staked everything on this.

If he were replaced at the last minute, never mind them, Mr. Lin would be the first to jump into the river.

The unprecedented attention brought unprecedented pressure. In one week, Xia Xu lost seven or eight pounds, which scared Qi Hong into immediately forcing him to bulk up.

“You’re not fat to begin with. If you look emaciated, you’re finished.”

Xia Xu immediately went back to his massive eating regime.

Compared to him, Liu Fen was much more relaxed.

He entered the entertainment circle only as a hobby; his family was not short of money. He auditioned for Tyrant just to give it a try. In his words, “It’s not my fault I’m so good-looking. I got the role on the first try.”

Liu Fen was indeed good-looking, a beauty vastly different from Xia Xu—a spoilt, glamorous charm built with silver and gold. His only worry now was that he didn’t expect Wei Qiang to have also successfully auditioned.

“Why is that person so inescapable?”

“Actually, Wei Qiang is quite nice. He’s handsome, and his reputation is decent; he’s just a bit childish,” Xia Xu said. “Better than your cousin. You just have to seek abuse from your cousin.”

Liu Fen, while walking briskly on the treadmill, lamented, “Straight men are my fate.”

Liu Fen also had a reputation for being a playboy, but he was actually still a virgin. In his words, he was utterly captivated by his distant, distant cousin ever since he saw him during a Chinese New Year family visit when he was a teenager.

This indirectly influenced his later style. He even grew out his hair so he would look “more likely to be loved.”

Xia Xu was too lazy to discourage him further and started doing sit-ups with his hands clasped behind his neck.

They were about to start group training, and he heard they would have physical training. To avoid falling behind during the training, they were spending most of their days in the gym recently.

Liu Fen couldn’t run anymore and collapsed on the treadmill, frantically drinking water: “By the way, guess who I ran into on the plane yesterday?”

Xia Xu, expressionless while doing sit-ups: “Your cousin?”

“I ran into Nan Qingyan.”

Xia Xu lost all strength and fell onto the floor.

Liu Fen burst into laughter: “Seriously? Why such a big reaction?”

Xia Xu blushed, clasped his hands again, and resumed his sit-ups.

“Don’t you start. Every time I see him now, my admiration for you grows a little more. It was raining yesterday, right? It was especially cold, and Nan Qingyan was wearing a thin coffee-colored overcoat. My God, it felt like he was walking with a scent around him, like he was shooting a fashion editorial. He looked so high-class! He ran into a group of fans right after coming out. They were screaming and chasing him, and he completely ignored them—so arrogant. I was walking behind him, and all I could think was, ‘This is the man my sister (friend) dumped.’ My sister is amazing.”

Xia Xu tried to imagine Nan Qingyan wearing an overcoat.

His kind of demeanor should suit a long coat well.

“I even took pictures. Do you want to see?”

Xia Xu: “No.”

But Liu Fen opened his phone and showed him anyway.

Xia Xu glanced at it unwillingly and saw another person with Nan Qingyan, with an arm draped over Nan Qingyan’s shoulder.

The photo only caught the person’s profile. They wore black-rimmed glasses and were about the same height as Nan Qingyan.

Nan Qingyan is almost 1.9 meters tall; not many people are that tall.

Xia Xu once again felt the chill from years ago.

Is that Xie Muxin?

“This is definitely not his partner,” Liu Fen said.

Xia Xu remained silent.

“I heard him call him ‘cousin’… Picking him up at the airport in front of fans, he must be a real cousin!”

Xia Xu said, “It has nothing to do with me anyway.”

“Maybe he still likes you?” Liu Fen suggested.

“I know why you keep bringing him up. You should give up that idea now. He stopped liking me a long time ago.”

Liu Fen looked at him: “Who said that? Did he say that?”

Xia Xu increased the frequency of his sit-ups and didn’t answer him.

Liu Fen had to let it go, turning his head to stare at Xia Xu for a while.

Xia Xu turned his head to look at him.

Liu Fen sincerely lamented: “I don’t believe anyone who has dated you can truly forget you. That waist, that butt, that face—you’re absolutely the kind of person you meet once and regret for life!”

Xia Xu’s physique was genuinely excellent, belonging to the most delicate type of athletic student body, and he was naturally fair-skinned, unable to tan.

He aimed his phone at Xia Xu, snapped a few pictures, then picked the best one and filtered it again for Xia Xu’s approval: “I’m posting it on Weibo now.”

After saying that, he posted the picture of Xia Xu working out on Weibo with the caption: “Getting ready for the crew!!”

The comments under his Weibo were consistently friendly, mainly from their CP fans, all praising Xia Xu’s good looks.

“Looks like there’s no one else in the gym.”

“Must be a private gym.”

“Is the CP starting to operate (do fan service)?”

“Go, Noble Consort! The Queen’s throne is not far!”

Liu Fen very suggestively liked this comment.

“Aren’t you afraid your cousin will misunderstand?” Xia Xu asked.

“I wish he would misunderstand,” Liu Fen said, feigning a cry.

Honestly, he really admired Liu Fen’s persistence. To still have the mood to joke after years of silent, tumultuous unrequited love.

“Are you using me for CP hype to make your cousin jealous? I really am doomed to be a cannon fodder tool.”

“But we’re trying so hard, and our CP fans are only a tenth of yours and Nan Qingyan’s. Why is that? Do we look too much alike (in terms of position)?”

He turned to look at Xia Xu: “You look quite like a Top (Gōng).”

Xia Xu was an athlete in his youth, after all. Though fair and delicate-looking, his demeanor was by no means gentle. He just had a certain handsome, youthful vibe.

Xia Xu said, “Maybe the netizens just have sharp eyes.”

“Are you truly a Pure Bottom (Chún Líng)?” Liu Fen asked suspiciously.

Xia Xu joked casually, “I wasn’t before, but after sleeping with Nan Qingyan once, I became a pure bottom.”

Liu Fen was stunned for a moment, then stuck out his leg to kick him.

Xia Xu laughed, got up, and went to take a shower.

“You think I’d take that as a joke? That obviously sounds like the truth!” Liu Fen shouted.

Xia Xu’s face flushed slightly.

Actually, he thought it was good for Liu Fen to mention Nan Qingyan around him more often.

It builds immunity.

Since they’d met once, they were bound to meet again.

If he truly filmed Tyrant, his popularity would definitely rise, and the opportunities to meet Nan Qingyan would increase.

He had to get used to it sooner or later.

The thing he worried about the most didn’t happen. The next day, the production team signed the contract with him and requested he join the crew three days later.

“This drama will be the first domestic drama to be intermittently live-streamed during filming. The cooperating platform is Xinghai.net (Star Sea Network), the best in the country for live streaming.”

Xinghai.net’s same-sex dating reality show, Red Blue Signal Season 4, exploded last year. This year, it started a series of live-streaming programs, which other sites have been scrambling to imitate, but Xinghai.net remains the king.

Now that they were tired of live-streaming variety shows, they were reaching out to film and television dramas.

Film and television dramas are very concerned about spoilers. Many release behind-the-scenes documentaries after broadcast, but none have done live streaming during filming. To attempt live streaming, two conditions must be met: First, it must be a highly anticipated, major production to attract attention. This is crucial—like Red Blue Signal, the first to try something big has to make a huge impact.

Second, the drama must not be afraid of spoilers.

This is the hardest part. It requires that even after being spoiled, the audience must still be eager to watch the finished product. The quality of the completed drama must be high, and the subject matter must be captivating enough.

Tyrant met all these requirements.

A master director at the helm, a cast of stars, a male harem drama—a series of BUFFs stacked together meant they wouldn’t worry about the finished product not being watched, even if it was spoiled a thousand times!

Since the first day of arrival required live streaming, Qi Hong paid out of her own pocket to take Xia Xu shopping for outfits.

“Don’t thank me yet. You’ll have to pay me back when your salary comes in. Are you still giving all your salary to your family this time?”

Xia Xu paused: “I’ll keep a portion for you.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Qi Hong said. “Your visibility will keep increasing, so you need to be mindful of how you dress. You must keep some money for yourself. You’ll definitely need more money in the future. Mr. Lin plans to hire a few more assistants for you, and you’ll have to support them.”

Xia Xu nodded.

“But you don’t need to worry. Once you’re famous, all the difficulties will be resolved. So, now you know how important fame is, right? You must seize this opportunity well!”

Xia Xu nodded with exceptional vigor this time.

Qi Hong said, “Alright, go try on the clothes.”

They went to Huajiang Commercial Plaza. As soon as they entered the mall, they saw a billboard of Nan Qingyan.

Nan Qingyan had a frightening number of endorsements. In less than half a year, his advertisements had covered the streets and alleys. The speed of his rise and the extent of his popularity were rare in the history of the entire mainland entertainment circle. With his high-quality image, youth, and fashion sense, he was the male star most loved by advertisers.

Qi Hong knew about Xia Xu’s hang-up and pretended not to notice.

Xia Xu, however, stopped, looked up for a moment, and said, “Sister Hong, do you think I can become a person like him someday?”

Qi Hong was stunned for a moment, then said firmly, “Yes, you will.”

Qi Hong said, “You definitely will.”

The two continued inside. Qi Hong asked, “Are you not getting angry when you see Nan Qingyan now?”

Xia Xu said, “I’m slowly getting used to it.”

Was it because of his recent good luck? She felt Xia Xu had regained some of the easygoing, slightly rebellious attitude he had when he first entered the circle.

“That’s right. He’s so popular, you’re bound to run into him all the time. Hiding all the time is not an option. In fact, once you get used to it, it’s nothing—he’s just an ex. The entertainment circle is a small world, and the one thing it doesn’t lack is exes. Since you don’t care anymore, I won’t hide anything either.”

After saying that, Qi Hong pulled out her phone and took a picture of Nan Qingyan’s life-size standee: “To be honest, I’m completely obsessed with him lately. The thought that he was dumped by you makes my maternal love overflow even more.”

Xia Xu: “…”

Qi Hong said, “Why did you dump him? Because he was heartless? I keep thinking, he’s great as an idol, but as a partner, he seems truly lacking. He seems all fragrant and distant, like he doesn’t have any worldly desires.”

Xia Xu thought, you guys are seriously mistaken.

Your Nan God is the kind of person who would say, ‘Be a little more provocative when you call out.’

After buying the clothes, Xia Xu went with the other members to his last commercial activity before joining the crew. It was already midnight two days later when they returned. Qi Hong was leaning in the car, scrolling through short videos. Recently, the algorithm kept recommending videos of Nan Qingyan to her. She didn’t hide it anymore, and when she scrolled to one, she watched it again. Wen Yu leaned over and said, “I got this video, too!”

Qi Hong said, “Kids shouldn’t watch this kind of stuff.”

“I’m 22!” Wen Yu said. “The male god’s legs are so long, and his hands are so good-looking.”

“You think the title of ‘Most Beautiful Hands in Mainland Entertainment’ is just empty talk?”

“Are they as good-looking as the Captain’s hands?” Huang Yue asked unconvinced.

Xia Xu laughed: “Your Captain truly can’t compare.”

Qi Hong was stunned for a moment. Okay, he can joke about it now. Looks like he’s adjusted.

So, Qi Hong began to analyze seriously: “His fingers are seriously huge and long. His joints are prominent, and they’re so white, and his fingertips are a little pink. They match his whole persona so well. It feels like his fingers even have a scent.”

Xia Xu, thinking of something, opened the car window a crack and subtly shifted his position in the summer breeze rushing in.

As the weather started to heat up, the Tyrant project officially began. On the day of his arrival, Xia Xu got up before dawn.

The four corners of Mo City each had a hotel modeled after an ancient academy. Their crew chose the southeast one. Facing the main gate was a two-story antique-style dormitory building, which was where the crew would stay collectively.

For the next few months, aside from location shooting, they would spend most of their time here. Xia Xu carried his luggage out of the car.

The bulk of his luggage had already been sent in by Qi Hong and her team. The suitcase he was carrying now was purely for the live stream.

The small plaza outside the dormitory building was already packed with people.

Xia Xu pushed his suitcase across the plaza and greeted everyone.

“Once you pass this door, you’ll be on the live-stream screen. Many actors are already inside waiting,” a staff member reminded him.

Qi Hong had already told him countless times about the things to be aware of during the live stream.

“Talk less, smile more. Focus on gaining a wave of visual fans first!”

The attention on Tyrant was unprecedentedly high. Coupled with Xinghai.net’s heavy promotion on its homepage, as soon as the live stream began, its popularity was on par with the finale of Red Blue Signal.

Before going in, Xia Xu glanced at the live-stream screen and saw Liu Fen waving at the door: “Xia Xu, over here!”

Liu Fen’s voice was captured by the camera, and the bullet comments immediately exploded.

“Is the King of the Sea Xia coming?”

“Quick, let me see the notorious Lord of the Harem!”

Xia Xu: “…”

He put away his phone, composed himself, and walked in with his suitcase.

The onlookers had spammed the bullet comments so much they were almost unreadable.

A staff member stared at the screen: “Xia Xu… is he that popular?”

Someone next to them whispered, “Infamous popularity, yeah.”