Why Is the Male Lead Looking at Me Like That [Entertainment Circle] (BL) - Chapter 7

Xia Xu greeted Liu Fen, and the sound carried through the live stream.

“Where is Xia Xu?”

“Look at Wei Qiang, he can’t sit still, I’m dying of laughter.”

“Among these dozen or so people, are Wei Qiang, Liu Fen, and Wen Yu his rumored boyfriends?”

“I suggest you change ‘rumored’ to ‘exes’.”

“There are so many handsome men, and only three of them are?”

“Sister, don’t rush. They haven’t even met yet, have they? Wait until half the drama is filmed, and maybe Xia Xu will have collected them all, one by one! No one can escape!”

“Oh my god, sister, you’re making me so excited! I love a good Mister Popularity story!”

“Is Wen Yu one, too? How old is he? Has he even come of age? That damnable Xia Xu, so cruel!”

“Are you joking? The scumbag who walks away after getting what he wants, he is always… always so beautiful…”

Xia Xu appeared in the frame, carrying a white suitcase, standing in the light.

“…?!”

“Holy crap, he is way too gorgeous! Why didn’t I notice such a beautiful male star before?”

“Is this Scumbag Xia? Scumbag me, scumbag me, scumbag me to my face!”

“Have your morals run away with your looks?! Do you have any bottom line left as a human being?”

“Well… seeing him in person, it feels quite reasonable that he’s a King of the Sea.”

“Many of them must be seeing Xia Xu for the first time. They should invite the director of the dating reality show to film this! I want to see the other male actors’ micro-expressions!”

“Hahahahaha, dating show micro-expressions are truly the best! By the way, are you guys really going to follow this drama like a dating reality show?”

“Did you see the looks on Wei Qiang and the others’ faces just now? OMG!”

“Is it starting? Is it starting? Is King of the Sea Xia about to start his reign of terror!!”

Xia Xu, in the eye of the bullet screen storm, bowed slightly: “Hello, teachers. My name is Xia Xu.”

Tyrant was a major production, and it wouldn’t just be about romance; court struggles also made up a large part of the drama. Therefore, there were many veteran actors present. Xia Xu didn’t recognize all of them and addressed them all as “teacher.”

There weren’t many female actors present today. Zhou Fengyi was a veteran playing Empress Dowager Xiao, and another important role was the female official Yang Chong, played by the young actress Wang Wei.

Since it was a live stream, everyone was very polite.

The male actors present, even the veterans, were handsome men in their youth, let alone the remaining young male actors. There were over twenty named male stars, a veritable feast of captivating faces, each with a unique kind of good look.

Xia Xu’s gaze swept over their faces one by one. Just thinking about the room full of stellar beauty made him excited.

He heard the extras for this drama were all male students from the three major art schools!

He felt the phrase “I ship them all” would be permanently etched into the bullet screens!

He greeted everyone, both those he knew and those he didn’t, and then he spotted a familiar face in the crowd.

That person’s skin was the darkest among all the male actors—a healthy wheat color, single eyelids, bright eyes, and rugged, heroic features, giving him the aura of a slightly honest Alpha full of youthful hormones.

It was Hu Hai.

Xia Xu had many rumors, but Liu Fen was his good friend, the Wei Qiang rumor was purely a misunderstanding by netizens, and Wen Yu was his group’s junior, a self-hyped group CP by their company.

Those were all false.

But Hu Hai, 24, had genuinely pursued him.

He personally held no grudge against Hu Hai. Hu Hai was a good person. He was very masculine, had a deep voice, and the look and demeanor of a special forces soldier, yet he was a somewhat introverted man. When they filmed together, Hu Hai took special care of him.

But Hu Hai’s fans were terrifying.

Among the dozen or so fanbases that had harassed him, the Pepper Fans (Hu Hai’s fanbase name) were definitely the most aggressive. They weren’t the largest in number, but their fighting power was astonishing, tearing through every rival fanbase, and even Hu Hai himself couldn’t calm them down.

Considering that the Pepper Fans were definitely watching the live stream intently right now, Xia Xu didn’t go over to greet Hu Hai but simply gave a general bow to Hu Hai’s group.

Pepper Fans: “At least he knows his place!”

Everyone was sitting casually. Xia Xu saw Wen Yu sitting alone, so he went and sat next to him.

Wen Yu had actually come with him, but since he was a small supporting actor and a nobody, the crew had him enter the live stream room first. Seeing his captain sit next to him, Wen Yu stood up, shy and excited.

Among those present, the biggest stars were Xiu Zilou and Lin Heng. Both were established male leads who came for Director Zhang, and while they were supporting male roles, they were given special status.

Sitting together, Lin Heng whispered to Xiu Zilou: “He’s even more handsome in person than in the videos.”

Xiu Zilou didn’t speak, only kept his eyes on Xia Xu. Xia Xu wasn’t sitting ramrod straight like Wen Yu and the others; his posture was relaxed yet naturally upright. His body looked well-trained. He didn’t know what Liu Fen said, but Xia Xu flashed a brilliant smile, his eyes lively, and his radiant smile was dazzling.

“Is everyone here?” Liu Fen looked around. “It seems everyone rumored to be in the cast is here, right?”

Xia Xu looked around the crowd, focusing on Lin Heng and Xiu Zilou.

The actor playing Chen Liuqing wouldn’t be a low-status star. Considering their image and popularity, they were the most likely candidates.

They wouldn’t really cast a rookie to partner with him, would they?

He glanced at the group of newcomers again. The newcomers were mostly staring at him—a swarm of young idols. But he immediately spotted a boy sitting in the very back corner of the last row. The boy looked to be about twenty years old, and his face wasn’t particularly outstanding among the crowd of young idols, but his temperament was exceptionally striking.

His demeanor was very Chen Liuqing.

Or rather, very Nan Qingyan.

Fair and cold.

He wasn’t the only one who thought so; Liu Fen thought so too.

“I was startled the first time I saw him, too,” Liu Fen said. “Doesn’t he look a lot like Nan Qingyan?”

Xia Xu silently took another look. Liu Fen smiled and said, “It’s a good thing it’s not Nan Qingyan himself.”

Xia Xu also smiled at that, and noticing the live-stream camera aimed at him, he immediately gave a YES sign to the camera.

Xia Xu got a great start based on his looks. Every time the live-stream camera focused on him, the bullet comments were particularly enthusiastic.

Someone screenshotted the comments to an online forum: “No way, is King of the Sea Xia seriously going to turn things around like this? His popularity is so high.”

“You’re overthinking it. Everyone is just enjoying the show.”

“A male star having a male harem isn’t a good thing. The more people enjoying the show, the more it proves he has no real fans!”

“Not only are they not fans, but many of the onlookers are probably trolls disguised as fans (pīpí hēi), intentionally shipping him with various CPs to attract hatred!”

“Finally, someone with clear eyes! You don’t actually think the dozen or so fanbases harassing him are harmless, do you?”

“Holy crap, are the fan circle tactics that deep now?”

“What do you think! Before filming even starts, various CP banners are already raised. If your gege was forced into a CP, wouldn’t you be angry? I estimate that in a while, it won’t be a dozen fanbases harassing him, but the entire entertainment circle collectively condemning him!”

“He deserves it! Who told him to hype himself up so recklessly? Does anyone really believe he has some kind of Mister Popularity physique?! The most ridiculous thing is that forced CP with Nan Qingyan—that’s Nan Qingyan! He really dares to stir up trouble!”

The actors were soon all present, and the brief live stream was drawing to a close. The production team didn’t intend to fully disclose everyone’s roles during the first live stream.

After the live stream ended, everyone started being assigned rooms. After getting his room assignment, Xia Xu returned to the main hall because Director Zhang was about to arrive.

With nothing to do, everyone started inquiring about each other’s roles.

Liu Fen, tall and slender, with a sweet face like a red apricot blossom on a spring branch, fresh and beautiful, was perfectly cast as the pampered young noble who galloped through the palace, crushing flowers.

Lin Heng, delicate and quiet, seemingly steeped in scholarly elegance, more like a white pear blossom in the thin mist of a deep alley, played Lin Xiu, who was sickly and beautiful but excelled in the palace with his astonishing talent in the arts.

Wei Qiang was surprisingly not playing the rumored role online. He was playing the powerful minister Xiao Zhen, a role with a significant number of scenes.

And the upright and handsome Xiu Zilou was not playing Chen Liuqing, but Lang Huajun, who refused to be disgraced even unto death, and ultimately gave everything for the Tyrant.

Then who is playing Chen Liuqing? They wouldn’t really cast a rookie to partner with him, would they? He was hoping the other actor could guide him.

“Do you know who is playing Chen Liuqing?” he asked Liu Fen while looking over the newcomers. “Is that role still classified?”

The crew hadn’t introduced the actor to him yet.

The role of Chen Liuqing has a huge number of kissing scenes with him. Shouldn’t they hurry up and introduce them to build chemistry?

Liu Fen asked everyone: “Who is playing Chen Liuqing? Hasn’t it been decided yet?”

“It’s already been decided,” Xiu Zilou, who was behind him, said.

Xia Xu’s phone suddenly rang. He stepped out of the crowd and answered Qi Hong’s call.

Qi Hong: “I need to tell you something! Don’t panic!”

Xia Xu’s heart immediately tightened: “Was I replaced?”

Half of his body went rigid.

“Ah? No, no, it’s not that serious! You’ve already signed the contract and joined the crew, how could you be replaced? It’s just…” Qi Hong paused and said, “I just heard from a friend in the crew that the other male lead has been cast! It’s… Nan Qingyan.”

Well, now. The other half of Xia Xu’s body also went rigid.

Xia Xu completely blocked out whatever Qi Hong was saying next. He noticed someone entering the room. He turned his head and saw Nan Qingyan, wearing a cinched white shirt, entering with Director Zhang and his team.

The light and shadow at the door enveloped him, like a bottle of green tea, still covered in ice dew, being handed over in the scorching summer—cool, clear, and fragrant.

He wasn’t the only one stunned; even Wen Yu and the others were shocked.

There were so many different types of male stars in the room, but Nan Qingyan’s appearance instantly made everyone else dim in comparison.

Author’s Note:

The Nan family enters the palace.

Nan Qingyan: I’ve returned from ascetic training at the Sweet Dew Temple.