A year ago, media outlets had already reported that Director Liu had a new project in the works.

At that time, all media sources agreed on one thing: Director Liu was indeed preparing a new film—some even speculated that filming had already started. But beyond that, no one could dig up any concrete information.

No one knew the film’s genre, cast, or plot. They didn’t even know whether it was a historical or a modern piece.

When it comes to secrecy, Director Liu is arguably the best in the entire Chinese entertainment industry. To this day, aside from a paparazzi leak half a year ago suggesting that the male lead might be Qin Cheng and the female lead an award-winning actress, no other information had been revealed. The renowned director had kept everything under wraps, successfully keeping audiences on edge.

But now, at last, full details about the film have been revealed.

The film is titled “Zhuang Hua Luo.”

The male lead is Qin Cheng, and the female lead is Huang Lei.

Judging by the silhouette-style poster that was released—featuring the shadow of a slim, resilient Xiuchun blade—it seems to be a Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) film.

Then, further down the announcement…

[AAAAHHHHHH Rong Rong?! Rong Rong is in this movie too? He’s in it?! AAAAAHHHH!!!]

Among the people tagged in the official Weibo post from the Zhuang Hua Luo production team, right after the director, the fourth person tagged is Rong Xu. If the tags follow typical billing order, Rong Xu would be the third male lead.

Rong Xu is in Director Liu’s blockbuster? And as the third male lead?!

In China, Director Liu is considered one of the top-tier filmmakers—arguably even above Director Xu in status.

With a career spanning over 50 years, Liu has won four Golden Phoenix Awards for Best Director, three Berlin International Awards, and five Oscars for Best Director. In terms of accolades, no other living Chinese director has more awards than him.

Moreover, Director Liu’s films consistently perform well at the box office and receive critical acclaim.

Though he typically releases a film only every two or three years, each one is a masterpiece. Countless actors are eager to be part of his films, and for newcomers, landing a role in one of Liu’s movies is like boarding a fast track to fame.

Take, for example, Director Liu’s film Twilight Voice, made six years ago with Qin Cheng. One minor male character with only a few seconds of screen time and a couple of lines suddenly became a breakout star. That actor, Han Yanghao, was an unknown film student before the role, and now he’s a top-tier celebrity.

In short, even though Rong Xu is only the third male lead, his fans are ecstatic.

Online, the buzz around  The Zhuang Hua Luo is intense. The production has only released a single, rough silhouette poster—with no character images, just the shadow of a Xiuchun blade—but netizens are passionately speculating: What is the story about? What role is Qin Cheng playing? Who is the female lead? And who does Rong Xu portray?

…

One hour later, The Zhuang Hua Luo shot to the #1 spot on the national trending searches.

Three hours later, every entertainment-related forum and message board was buzzing about the film.

[Historical film! Martial arts film! It’s been so long since Qin Cheng did a period piece, I’m crying QAQ!]

[What a blessed year! Just last week, Qin Cheng’s other movie premiered in the U.S., and it’s releasing here next month. I was already counting down the days, and now he’s in another movie?! I’m fainting from happiness!]

[Is our Qin Cheng possessed or something? He’s suddenly so hardworking! I’m not used to this (:з」∠)]

[Right?! Three movies this year! Black Cloud early in the year, Stormbringer currently in theaters, and now Zhuang Hua Luo! Wait, something’s odd… Has anyone noticed two of these movies feature Rong Xu too?]

That last comment was a wake-up call!

For years, Qin Cheng fans had been longing for their idol to appear more frequently in films or interviews. Now suddenly, he’s in multiple films this year! While thrilled, they also noticed a recurring name alongside his—Rong Xu.

At the same time, Rong Xu’s fans noticed this too.

He has only six projects to his name so far—two TV dramas and four films: Black Cloud, Lost City, Silence, and Zhuang Hua Luo. Out of those four, two are with Qin Cheng?

Now, both fandoms were making connections.

But the most excited group wasn’t Qin Cheng fans or Rong Xu fans—it was the CP fans!

As soon as the Zhuang Hua Luo team posted that Weibo announcement, the Qin×Rong (ChengRong) CP fandom went wild. They couldn’t believe it, rereading the post multiple times. Only after both Qin Cheng and Rong Xu shared the post themselves did they start screaming and celebrating, practically wanting to shout “ChengRong is real!” from the rooftops.

[They’re being forced to work together again! Forced! I’m living for this! Another collab!!!]

[This is the best CP I’ve ever shipped! Black Cloud was only released six months ago, and now they’re teaming up again! I’m sobbing as I eat this delicious CP content! More please!]

[Aaaaah!!! Qin Cheng and Rong Xu again! I don’t care what Zhuang Hua Luo is about—I’m watching it multiple times in theaters! Even if there’s no romance, I’ll write fanfic! ChengRong forever!]

Suddenly, the recently rising “TanXue CP” was overshadowed by the revived “ChengRong CP.”

After seeing Lost City, many fans had fallen for the “Bo Xiewen × Rong Xu” pairing. But now that Zhuang Hua Luo had been announced, the ChengRong CP crowd surged with content—memes, GIFs, edits, fanfics—so much that even those who had never shipped them began switching their allegiance.

[#ChengRong# OMG there was so much subtle romance in Black Cloud! Now Zhuang Hua Luo is coming too! This CP is blessed from above—I’m shipping them hard!

While Zhuang Hua Luo was making waves online, Rong Xu was still busy with the promotional tour for Lost City.

The team was now at the second-to-last stop on their nationwide promo circuit. In this city of eternal spring, fans were passionately participating in events, pushing Lost City’s popularity higher and higher.

The film had been out for nine days, with a total box office of 3.9 billion yuan!

Though that’s far below Black Cloud—which was a complete anomaly—it’s still an excellent performance. So far this year, Black Cloud is the only film to break the 10 billion mark.

Lost City is also showing strong momentum.

Its opening day brought in just over 300 million, but the next four days saw increasing numbers. By day three, it pulled in a staggering 560 million in a single day. Thanks to the film’s success, theaters began increasing its showings, and now it’s making one to two billion daily. On weekends, it could hit two to three billion.

Director Yuan is very pleased with the results. At a private dinner, he said:

“September is a good month. Next month, Stormbringer premieres. We’ll be off the screens just in time!”

Rong Xu couldn’t help but smile:

“Didn’t you carefully choose this release date, Director Yuan?”

Yuan laughed heartily and looked over at Rong:

“You caught me. We’re not trying to compete. This timing is perfect. Why clash with them? We’ll take the box office first, then see how many awards we can grab. Don’t worry—we’re applying to everything. If we can snag a trophy, we’ll grab it!”

The entire table burst out laughing.

Director Yuan’s nickname, “Director Award,” is well-earned. He’s famous for submitting to every award possible, never dismissing even the smallest ones.

Some actors might think he’s too calculating or petty. But Rong Xu actually admires him.

In an industry full of pretenders who say “I love acting and live for the art” while demanding sky-high fees—often more than seasoned award-winning veterans—Yuan’s honesty about his ambitions is refreshing.

In today’s world, admitting your true desires so openly is no small feat.

At least Director Yuan would directly tell you: “I just want box office success, I just want awards.” That’s far better than those who scheme behind the scenes but pretend to be noble on the surface.

Three days later, Rong Xu completed the final stop of Lost City’s promotional tour and returned to B City.

On the very morning he arrived, the production team of Silent took advantage of the heat surrounding Lost City and Zhuang Hua Luo, and rode the wave of Rong Xu’s surging popularity to launch their own first wave of promotion.

Due to the incident with Lu Xiangbo, the team had to revise the script, recast the role of the second male lead, and reshoot his scenes. After such a hassle, the entire schedule became extremely tight.

Fortunately, Silent is a modern school romance that doesn’t require many special effects, so post-production would be relatively simple. Otherwise, the idea of releasing it by November would’ve been laughable.

[Silent Production Team: Hear the sound, hear you. My world is silent, my world only has you. Coming November 30th — Silent, a story of the most ordinary love. @Director Xu Sheng @Rong Xu @Xiao Zitong @Lin Xuan @Liu Huizhen [Image][Image][Image]…]

Unlike the stingy Zhuang Hua Luo team, Silent released a full set of six promotional posters right from the start.

Male and female leads, second and third leads — everyone was included.

In the first image, a handsome, delicate young man stood with his eyes closed, face tilted up to the sky. He wore a snow-white shirt, his thin frame almost frail. A gentle breeze lifted his fine hair and made his shirt flutter behind him.

Fans who saw this image instinctively paused their scrolling and simply stared.

The youth looked peaceful and gentle. His skin was so pale it was nearly translucent, and a soft smile lingered on his lips. Standing beneath the blue sky and white clouds, he didn’t need to speak — you could already feel a tranquil beauty in the moment.

Beside the poster, soft-colored text read:

Du Ran, portrayed by Rong Xu

This was the first time Rong Xu radiated the pure, youthful aura of a student.

Seeing this image reminded countless fans that this young actor was only nineteen years old.

And the contrast made the difference clear: with Lost City currently in theaters, the image of Xue Jiazhe — cold, venomous, psychotic — was still vivid. Now, suddenly, a gentle character like Du Ran appeared, and fans’ hearts melted. They began to realize something: “Rong Rong’s acting… is actually really good.”

Yes, being able to switch so seamlessly between two drastically different roles — without pulling viewers out of the story — is the mark of exceptional acting. Though no trailer had yet been released for Silent, and audiences didn’t know what Du Ran would look like in motion, just this poster alone evoked a sense of peace.

As a renowned film critic once said: Rong Xu’s roles all carry a signature “Rong Xu” essence, yet you never feel he’s playing himself — because he is the character.

When Lost City had just premiered, this kind of praise was fiercely attacked by haters.

They mocked that Rong Xu was just a pretty face with no acting skill. Although fans quickly countered with the various TV awards he had won, many casual viewers still held similar doubts —

“Good-looking actors usually can’t act.”

This stereotype exists globally.

For some reason, audiences tend to believe that the better someone looks, the worse their acting is. Conversely, actors with less conventional looks are often labeled “serious actors.” Maybe it’s because people think: “If they look like that and still got famous, it must be because of their acting.”

So for a good-looking actor to be recognized for their talent, it takes serious effort. Qin Cheng was lucky — he skyrocketed to fame with his very first movie. Others, like Wen Xuan and Xia Muyan, spent years in the industry, making countless films before gaining the recognition they enjoy today.

A clear example: decades ago in Hollywood, there was a superstar whose looks captivated the world — his face was considered a global treasure. But to win an Oscar, he repeatedly destroyed his image, gaining weight and choosing roles that had nothing to do with appearance. It took decades before he finally won the Academy Award.

In truth, his acting had always been strong. Several of his earlier works were Oscar-worthy, but due to various coincidences, he kept missing out. When he finally won, the world celebrated — but also felt regret: this man who once conquered the world with his face had to completely abandon it to win an award.

Leaving aside the strange logic of public perception, audiences were now beginning to sense that Rong Xu might really have acting chops.

If he had only done Black Clouds, people might not have thought much. Even if they were deeply immersed while watching, they wouldn’t go out of their way to praise his skills. Then came Lost City, and although the role was drastically different, the character was still handsome — overlapping a little with Rong Xu’s own image — so it didn’t make a huge impact.

But now, two completely different roles appeared at the same time.

One was a cold-blooded serial killer.
The other, a gentle and refined youth in white.

Such a stark contrast had a massive impact on audiences, and online discussions about Rong Xu’s acting surged. The hashtag #RongXu’sActing climbed into the top ten on the trending list within three hours of Silent’s official poster release.

Many curious netizens clicked on the topic and couldn’t help commenting:
“Rong Xu’s movies are actually pretty good. That Xue Jiazhe really creeped me out — he must be a decent actor.”

No one was happier than the Silent team and Luo Zhentao. The former appreciated the increased exposure; the latter was simply happy for Rong Xu.

Luo Zhentao personally picked Rong Xu up from the capital’s airport. As he drove, he said, “Choosing Lost City and Silent was the right move. Xiao Xu, judging by the current trend, Lost City will definitely pass six billion at the box office. That’s a true performance marker for you, not like Black Clouds. And I believe Silent will win awards — at the very least, get nominated.”

Sitting in the front passenger seat, Luo Xi asked curiously, “Brother Luo, Lost City can’t win awards?”

Luo Zhentao laughed, “It’s too commercial. It might still win something, but the chances for a Golden Phoenix are slim.”

Luo Xi nodded softly.

Luo Zhentao continued talking, excitement and pride in his voice. Sometimes he discussed Rong Xu’s upcoming schedule, and Rong Xu replied quietly, the two soon ironing out all the plans.

Since Lost City, Luo Zhentao had rarely followed Rong Xu onto film sets. Luo Xi now handled Rong Xu’s daily needs, while Luo Zhentao focused on career planning and publicity.

This time, Luo Zhentao picked him up in a new, higher-end car. Now a top-tier agent at Huaxia Entertainment, just launching Rong Xu had earned him a promotion.

As Luo Zhentao chatted with Luo Xi, Rong Xu quietly lowered his head and looked at his phone.

Golden sunlight streamed through the tinted window, casting a soft halo on the boy’s exquisitely beautiful face. The light reflected in his clear eyes like rippling lake water.

He looked at his screen for a while, then curved his lips into a faint smile. His fingers tapped lightly, and soon, a reply came through.

The two messaged back and forth until Luo Zhentao turned and said, “Xiao Xu, we’re home.” Only then did Rong Xu put his phone away.

Luo Zhentao glanced over and studied Rong Xu for a moment, then smiled. “You’re on break for the next few days. I remember you’re staying home alone, so be careful. If you don’t want to go out, ask Xiao Xi to get anything you need. Lost City is still hot, and Silent and Zhuang Hua Luo are trending too… Xiao Xu, if you can help it, don’t go out.”

Rong Xu smiled and nodded.

As Luo Zhentao drove away, Rong Xu could still hear Luo Xi asking, “Brother Luo, hasn’t Xiao Xu always lived alone?”

Luo Zhentao laughed heartily: “Yeah, he’s always been alone.”

The voices faded as the car turned the corner. Watching it disappear, Rong Xu finally turned and entered his apartment.

Luo Xi wouldn’t understand, but Luo Zhentao knew — Rong Xu currently lived in Qin Cheng’s apartment.

He didn’t know why Rong Xu, now wealthy enough to buy a place near the company, still chose to live there. But since Rong Xu never brought it up, Luo Zhentao never asked.

Besides, living with Qin Cheng had its advantages.

Luo Zhentao couldn’t be happier that Rong Xu could stay at Qin Cheng’s house and interact with Qin Cheng more often. The better their relationship, the more resources Qin Cheng might be able to introduce to Rong Xu in the future. For example, like this movie Zhuang Hua Luo, even though it’s just a supporting male role, the film is destined to be a box office hit with rave reviews, which will still bring Rong Xu a lot of subsequent benefits.

So the real meaning of Luo Zhentao’s earlier sentence was: “I remember Qin Cheng isn’t home these days, you should be careful.”

Qin Cheng had just returned from Milan last week and flew to the United States again yesterday to promote The Stormbringer.

The life of a celebrity is actually very busy. If you don’t want to act, it can indeed be quite leisurely, like Qin Cheng in the past, who had at least five months of vacation every year. But Rong Xu has four films this year, and Qin Cheng has three, so the time they can spend together is pitifully little. When one person returns to B City, the other leaves, making it extremely difficult to meet.

Riding the elevator while looking at his phone screen.

The signal in the elevator was too poor. His clear brows slightly furrowed, seeing that the message he sent couldn’t get through, the young man couldn’t help but purse his lips. As soon as he left the elevator, he quickly made a phone call, and just as he entered the house and closed the door, the call connected.