Chapter 16: Male Lead Number Three, Tang Qu, Seeks the Limelight Again

In the blink of an eye, it was time to join the film set.

When Zhang Yong came to pick up Tang Qu, he felt a deep sense of guilt. After not seeing the boy for a few days, he seemed even thinner!

On the way, Zhang Yong couldn’t help but advise, “Xiao Qu, you don’t really need to deliberately lose weight. Your weight doesn’t have much impact on the screen.”

Tang Qu turned to look at Zhang Yong, “Brother Yong, I’m not dieting. I’ve just been working out a bit recently.”

That night, when Tang Qu looked in the mirror, he found his body resembled a poached chicken, with no muscle at all, too soft. How could a qualified tough-guy actor not have muscles!

Zhang Yong nodded, “Exercising is a good habit.”

But in reality, Tang Qu wasn’t very satisfied with himself. He felt like he hadn’t achieved much from his workouts.

The two arrived at the set very early, and there were hardly any people around, just a few crew members.

Zhang Yong looked around, “Xiao Qu, let’s find a place to rest for a while. We’ll come back when more people arrive.”

But Tang Qu shook his head, “I’ll stay here and see if there’s anything I can help with. It’s the first day, so we probably won’t be filming, but there’s likely a lot to do.”

Zhang Yong was about to say that there were plenty of people to handle those tasks, but then he thought, Tang Qu was the newest among them and would be staying on set for quite some time. It would be good for him to get along with the crew, so he didn’t stop him.

Actually, Tang Qu hadn’t thought that much about it. When he first entered the entertainment industry, he was just an extra, occasionally helping the crew organize things. So he understood the behind-the-scenes staff. Even after he became famous, he still kept the habit of arriving early, trying to help the crew with preparations or causing them as little trouble as possible. This was true empathy.

Today, the busy crew suddenly noticed a young man among them, working efficiently and easy to talk to. They thought he was a college student the leader had brought in to help temporarily, but the boy looked really handsome.

It wasn’t until the director arrived that everyone realized this was the male lead number three that Director Chen had found.

“Xiao Qu, come here.” As soon as Director Chen arrived on set, he spotted Tang Qu. The boy stood out in the crowd, easily recognizable. Not just because of his looks, but also his demeanor.

“Director Chen.” Tang Qu came over to greet him.

“You’re here so early?”

“Yes, I didn’t have much to do, so I came early.”

Director Chen nodded and didn’t say more.

Tang Qu then obediently stood by Director Chen’s side. Helping the crew was something he volunteered to do. Now that everyone was almost done, if he went to help again, it might seem like he was showing off. Moreover, every time such news appeared, he felt like everyone was putting the crew and actors in two different classes, which made him very uncomfortable. Everyone was working hard for the same thing, there was no distinction.

Gradually, more people arrived, and Zhang Yong suddenly remembered something. He quickly advised, “I’ve already looked into this production. You’re probably the only new actor here; most of the others have one or two projects under their belts. Be a bit cautious, especially with the lead actors. Try not to provoke them.” Although Zhang Yong didn’t think their company couldn’t handle the others, he didn’t want Tang Qu’s first official appearance to leave a bad impression in the industry.

“Got it, Brother Yong. I understand.”

By around ten o’clock, everyone had arrived.

Tang Qu took a moment to observe the lead actors of the production.

The male lead was played by Yu Ting, who Tang Qu thought looked like a clean-cut kid with a touch of childlike innocence. Noticing Tang Qu’s gaze, Zhang Yong leaned in and whispered, “Yu Ting has always been the lead since his debut. Rumor has it he has backing, but the kid genuinely has talent. As long as he’s serious about his craft, his future achievements could be limitless.”

Tang Qu nodded, not paying too much attention, but instead turned to ask Zhang Yong a question: “Brother Yong, how old are you? Why do you keep calling everyone ‘kid’?”

Zhang Yong fell silent for a moment, then replied with a cold expression, “Let’s not talk about age. We can still be good friends.”

While Tang Qu was observing others, others were also observing him. Tang Qu stood out because he was truly unique. Director Chen hadn’t cast any other new actors for this production—Tang Qu was the only one. Moreover, Tang Qu had recently made a small splash, and many in the online community had heard about him. Naturally, everyone was extremely curious about him.

As the actors sized each other up, the production team proceeded with their preparations in an orderly manner.

First up was the mandatory opening ceremony for the new production.

Director Chen Ke’s new project had already attracted media attention even before it officially began, so naturally, many media outlets were present for the ceremony.

In addition to focusing on Director Chen’s new project, the media was also paying attention to the third male lead.

The industry was accustomed to Director Chen casting new actors in his productions, but based on the information revealed about this project, Tang Qu was the only new actor involved.

Tang Qu’s recent news, combined with his participation in Director Chen’s project, created a potent mix that the media, with their innate sensitivity to news, couldn’t ignore.

Director Chen had no intention of keeping things under wraps for this new project. The more buzz, the better.

In the center of the opening ceremony photo was Director Chen, flanked by the lead actors, with Tang Qu positioned slightly behind. The photo captured the moment perfectly.

Afterward, the lead actors filmed their first scene, and at the same time, the news of Director Chen’s new project, *Demon Soul*, officially starting production climbed the trending charts.

The lead actors had already been building anticipation, and many people left comments expressing their excitement for Director Chen and *Demon Soul*.

This trending topic remained steady, maintaining an upward trajectory.

However, another hashtag quietly began to rise.

By the time the production team noticed something was off, the hashtag had already entered the top ten.

#ThirdMaleLeadTangQuRidesTheHypeAgain#

Tang Qu didn’t have any scenes on the first day, but he stayed on set instead of leaving. Zhang Yong was with him, and when he saw the trending hashtag, he was completely baffled. He had no idea his artist was so adept at making headlines.

The crew members also noticed this trending topic, but they didn’t take any action. A third male lead didn’t have much impact on the production.

“Xiao Qu, you stay here for now. I’ll go take a look.”

Tang Qu grabbed Zhang Yong: “Brother Yong, don’t rush. Let’s wait and see.”

Zhang Yong was puzzled.

However, Tang Qu remained silent. As a newcomer, he shouldn’t have been trending at all. It was clear that someone had bought this hot search. The only people who could have known about his role in this drama so quickly were those from the previous audition. Since the other party had put on such a big show, he had every reason to observe carefully.