Top Dupe CH 040 Have You Ever Watched Luo Yu Act? Part 2

Xu Han, holding a megaphone, said, "Addressing casting doubts by suppressing or silencing won't solve the problem. Even if I remove those dissatisfied or have a misunderstanding with the crew, they can still continue expressing their dissatisfaction outside."

"Expressing dissatisfaction" was a euphemism for spreading and believing rumors.

"Only through genuine acting competitions can we enhance our understanding of each other. This is a crew, a place for acting. I always believed that each actor's job is to perform their role well, not to stir up trouble or use mutual interests or jealousy to push someone out."

Everyone suppressed their inexplicable excitement, feeling a glimmer of hope amidst fatigue and gloom.

Xu Han continued, "We have no headlines or trending topics here. Tonight's acting PK is simply teambuilding and a forum for resolving conflicts. Those who win the PK should communicate with the writers for the promised five minutes of highlight, without compromise. Those who lose should remember to reflect, as progress requires self-examination."

After saying "wrap it up," Xu Han turned off the megaphone and handed it to a staff member.

Everyone expected Xu Han to give a lengthy summary or reprimand, but it ended just like that!

Some were excited, some felt guilty, some were lost, and some found this crew to be quite interesting.

Xu Han approached the three judges to thank them.

"Thank you so much, teachers! Relying on your prestige to resolve issues makes me, as a director, feel quite ashamed."

"I'm a part of the crew here, and those unpleasant rumors have become quite outrageous. Nowadays, information spreads quickly. You never know if what you hear today and what trends tomorrow are the same thing. Last year, a TV drama was almost boycotted nationwide due to issues between the lead actor and the producer," said Mr. Yang Chen.

Zhu Jun patted Xu Han's shoulder, "Director Xu, why feel ashamed? I think this method is great. It not only identifies talent within the crew but also provides a platform to address conflicts. Otherwise, unresolved grievances would increasingly disrupt your filming."

"What Teacher Zhu said is also what I wanted to say," Yan Mingrui said, holding his thermos cup with a laugh. "Tonight's PK was more interesting than those variety shows centered on acting. Especially Luo Yu, he left a deep impression. I haven't seen such a talented young actor before!"

Mentioning Luo Yu, Mr. Yang Chen couldn't help but continue.

"You have no idea, when Luo Yu acted opposite me in our scenes, his aura was steady as a mountain, his lines fluent, and he particularly stirred my emotions. It's been a long time since a young actor performed so well. It reignited my passion for acting, making me want to run lines with him eight hundred times more!"

Yan Mingrui's smile widened upon hearing this. "Unlike Teacher Yang and Teacher Zhu, I’m from T City. When I first received Director Xu's call, I thought it was to handle some complex interpersonal issues in the crew. Who knew that at noon, Xiao Gu called me!"

"What did he call you for?" Zhu Jun asked curiously.

"Haha, he told me that there was an exceptionally talented actor in Director Xu's crew. He thought this person might be his biggest rival in the future and asked me to come and evaluate his acting skills. With Xiao Gu saying that, how could I not come? I just assumed Xiao Gu was referring to Cheng Fei. Who knew Cheng Fei was just accompanying the prince to study today!"

"Oh? So after watching for a while, who does Teacher Yan think is Xiao Gu's rival?" Zhu Jun asked with a smile.

The three teachers simultaneously looked at the young man leaving shoulder to shoulder with Cheng Fei.

"That kid, I'm looking forward to his future performances!"

The crew wasn't a sealed-off area. That very day, someone posted a cellphone video of the acting PK scene online.

Especially the part where Luo Yu and Li Shengyu were sparring in acting. At first, no one was interested or paid attention, but Brother Long, who was playing a small role in another, saw it and excitedly told his fellow extras, "Look! Look! This Luo Yu is my buddy! Damn, he's awesome! His acting is amazing! He can portray anything! I even suspect he's a computer—he remembers every line!"

Brother Long had some influence among the extras. When they shared it among themselves, the crew members who were filming saw it too. After watching, they agreed that Luo Yu's acting was indeed impressive and gave it a like.

Just like that, the video spread from one to ten, then to a hundred, eventually reaching the lead actor of Brother Long's historical drama, Xia Chao.

That evening, Xia Chao was about to shoot a martial arts scene. Bored while waiting, he was browsing Weibo and accidentally clicked on the video. He got so engrossed that he forgot he was being called to shoot, and inadvertently liked the video. As a result, his fans noticed the acting PK video, and its popularity started to rise.

Cheng Fei took Luo Yu home, reminding him as he got out of the car, "Put on your mask and hat! You're on the bright path to stardom!"

"Haha, thanks for your good wishes, Teacher Cheng."

Luo Yu smiled and walked home under the lights.

In the car, Cheng Fei started browsing Weibo and saw the video. Without hesitation, he shared it to his millions of followers, who quickly noticed.

Moreover, Cheng Fei urged his assistant Ah Qing and makeup artist Xiao Jun, "You two should share it too! He doesn't care about this, so we have to help him get recognized!"

Xia Chao returned from hanging on wires, and his agent alerted him about the video he had liked on Weibo.

Xia Chao was startled, remembering that Luo Yu seemed to have a lot of haters.

He hesitated, wondering if he should support Luo Yu out of principle or avoid trouble by unliking the video.

But then, he was stunned.

"Who knew this Luo Yu was so popular in the circle?"

Because not only did Cheng Fei shared it, but he also praised Luo Yu's acting with great enthusiasm.

Then, Xie Chang surprisingly shared Cheng Fei's Weibo, commenting, "Great minds think alike."

What shocked Xia Chao the most was that at 12:30 AM, Gu Xiaowei also shared Cheng Fei's Weibo, adding the caption: "Senior Brother's acting."

Just a few words, without saying who the senior brother was or how good the acting was, yet it made people curious enough to click and watch the video.

Xia Chao patted his chest in relief. Since so many popular actors had shared it, and even Gu Xiaowei, who used his Weibo as a bulletin board, his like was well in line with the trend, so there was no need to unlike it.

So, as Luo Yu drank a glass of milk and went to sleep in his warm bed, the hashtag #SeniorBrother'sActing# inexplicably shot into the top ten trending topics.

Although it was already late at night, many netizens, seemingly accustomed to competing with the moon, were still active.

Netizens who watched the performance were amazed at how Luo Yu portrayed both the economic investigator Xia Yunzhi and the CFO Huo Haoyan with entirely different auras and personalities. Not only was his portrayal in line with the characters, but the short performance also managed to be highly immersive.

Admiration from some netizens naturally led to the emergence of haters.

They aggressively attacked Luo Yu, accusing him of having terrible acting skills and buying trending topics. They claimed that a short video couldn't showcase real acting talent, that buying trending topics late at night was a waste of money, and that if Luo Yu had acting skills, even pigs could fly...

The words were harsh, and with the video being commented on by well-respected veteran actors, some netizens who couldn't stand it rushed to defend him.

[Buying promotion? I didn't know any marketing company could buy off veteran actors like Yang Chen and the others!]

[Did you even watch the video before hating? Next time, hate more professionally, and drag the veteran artists into it too!]

[Crew members testify that Luo Yu never flubs his lines on set. Director Xu never gets a chance to yell at him—he’s like a line machine!]

[Towards a certain top star's fans, calm down! Luo Yu’s line delivery alone shows his skills! That top star was kicked out of a crew for stumbling over his lines!]

[Haters, haven't you had enough? Which company paid you? Let me in on the deal so I can earn some too!]

Because of this acting PK video, not only did the "Storm" crew's Weibo followers spike, but Luo Yu's Weibo followers also skyrocketed.

Bored from having his gigs suspended, He Mu was playing on his phone late at night and saw this trending topic.

"This was bought! It must have been bought! No… it's because Gu Xiaowei shared it! He can't be that good at acting!"

The more He Mu watched, the more annoyed he became. He found that many comments hating on Luo Yu also mentioned him. Previously, he could rely on his fans to crush Luo Yu, but now he was getting dragged into it as a comparison.

Unable to contain his anger, He Mu made a late-night call to Li Shengyu.

When the call connected, He Mu couldn't hold back his irritation and spoke with an accusatory tone, "Li Shengyu, what's going on? How could you lose to Luo Yu in that acting PK?"

Actually, even if He Mu hadn't called, Li Shengyu wouldn't have been able to sleep.

But hearing He Mu's angry voice, Li Shengyu became 100% certain that He Mu had just been using him.

Think about it, he had been brainwashed by He Mu's talk in the crew, while He Mu lounged on the couch enjoying the benefits.

"Did you watch that video?" Li Shengyu asked, suppressing his anger and trying to sound calm.

"Yes! Those three veteran actors invited by the crew kept praising Luo Yu. Who knows if Luo Yu invited them or if the crew did, they were totally biased towards Luo Yu!"

Hearing this, Li Shengyu clenched his fists.

Because the video was short, it omitted the introduction of the veteran actors' resumes, and the resolution wasn't very clear. Even so, He Mu acted as if he didn't recognize them or didn't care who they were.

Taking a step back, if He Mu had watched the video, he should have realized that their acting skills were in different leagues—He Mu's year at film school had been wasted—he didn't understand acting.

A person who didn’t understand acting had been badmouthing another actor to him for so long, and he, Li Shengyu, had believed it. What a ridiculous irony!

"Are you listening to me, Sheng Yu?" He Mu asked, dissatisfied.

Thinking of how He Mu's biases led him to underestimate Luo Yu's acting, and how he had ignorantly commented on Luo Yu and Lin Yue's relationship in the crew, Li Shengyu realized he had trusted the wrong person.

"I'm listening, He Mu. I have a question for you." Li Shengyu's voice was tinged with coldness.

"What do you want to ask?" He Mu sensed something was off in Li Shengyu's tone.

"Have you ever watched Luo Yu act?" Li Shengyu asked.