Luo Ding's frivolous gaze landed squarely on Duan Xiubo. Even though he was prepared, Duan Xiubo still couldn't help but feel a slight constriction when he met the other's gaze.

Luo Ding's facial features were not particularly coquettish; his eyebrows, eyes, lips, and nose formed sharp and clean lines, giving him a clear and handsome demeanor. However, he managed to convey a sense of rejection and acceptance with his honest eyes, casual expression, and the aura of someone in power, adding a completely different feeling to the mix. It didn't evoke any sense of narrow-mindedness.

Duan Xiubo was often praised for his extraordinary acting skills, and many people had marveled at the stark difference between his life and his performances. As the one receiving such praise, Duan Xiubo accepted these words as they came, but he didn't truly understand whether the praise was sincere or merely customary.

But now, watching Luo Ding's performance, he suddenly had an epiphany.

So, that's what those people meant. It turned out that the feeling they described was like this. Although Luo Ding's facial features and physique were entirely different, at this moment, he bore no resemblance to the Luo Ding he knew, not even the one he had seen on the set of "Tang Chuan". There was not a single common trait, making him a completely independent individual.

Luo Ding's lips moved slightly as he leaned back on the sofa and gently called out, "Yuer."

Duan Xiubo was taken aback. That hoarse voice was low and smooth, with a special magnetism, and the indistinct pronunciation caused a slight tingling sensation in the ears. It perfectly matched the character of Prince Guangling.

Luo Ding actually knew how to change his voice?

That truly surprised him. Different characters in a drama naturally required different lines. Even slight variations in pronunciation, speed, emphasis, and intonation, when played on the big screen with the clearest audio equipment, would give a different feeling. Many artists couldn't meet this requirement on their own, so they had to hire dubbing actors for post-production. However, no matter how professional or outstanding the dubbing actor was, any sense of discordance could be discerned with careful scrutiny.

Duan Xiubo had spent nearly a year practicing vocalization with the most experienced dubbing artists in the industry in order to master the role of the character through dialogue. After completely understanding the role's portrayal through lines, his acting skills had reached another level.

He could tell that Luo Ding's current vocalization was definitely professional.

"Yuer." Luo Ding called him again, without waiting for Duan Xiubo's response, and smiled gently, as if indulging a lover, "What are you afraid of? No matter how bad things get, I'm still here for you."

Duan Xiubo's rapidly spinning brain immediately recognized that Luo Ding was now portraying the scene where Princess Yu appeared in the drama.

As if hearing another round of depressing words, Luo Ding subtly furrowed his brow, the smile at the corners of his mouth carrying a hint of sarcasm, and he coldly hummed, "Sit down!"

With the utterance of these four words¹Four chinese words, his entire aura suddenly intensified for a moment. Subconsciously focused on his portrayal, Huo Xie instinctively straightened his back, then saw him reach out to support his forehead, his fingers strong and slender, almost covering his entire face.

Without any expression, that self-assured and unyielding demeanor remained unchanged, making people feel it distinctly.

"So what if you escape?" His tone was calm, as if he were talking about something trivial rather than a living person, carrying a taste of indifference, "Kill her as soon as possible."

That chilling and ruthless aura lasted only a short moment. Luo Ding lowered his hand, and there was no trace of Prince Guangling's aura on his face anymore.

"Director Huo." His clear and gentle eyes carried a hint of a smile as he stood up and nodded politely and respectfully to Huo Xie, "What do you think?"

Huo Xie held the teacup, and when he put it down, he realized that his arm muscles were already sore from holding it for too long.

Calming down the turbulent emotions in his heart, Huo Xie opened his mouth, feeling like a traveler who had seen a broad road when he was at his wits' end. Excitement accompanied by elation, he couldn't even utter a single word other than feeling happy.

Luo Ding's portrayal was even more accurate than Chen Xufeng's, more in line with the character's details. In that moment just now, he felt like he was seeing a living Prince Guangling standing in front of him, capturing the overwhelming aura and the charm of being so bad yet still irresistible. Luo Ding captured it all and displayed it. This was the most authentic Prince Guangling in his mind!

Thinking about his attitude towards Luo Ding just now, Huo Xie's old face turned red, and he hesitated to speak as he held onto the edge of the teacup.

Duan Xiubo was still a little dizzy from being stared at by Luo Ding just now. Now that he had recovered, his throat felt a little dry, and he coughed to break the silence, "Director Huo, I think Luo Ding is really suitable. It's also beneficial for the crew to finalize things as soon as possible during the filming period, and occasionally giving young people a chance is also good."

Huo Xie took advantage of the situation and pretended to be serious as he nodded, "You make sense."

The real-time refresh of the Weibo trending topics continued. People had not yet completely recovered from the controversy surrounding Pan Yiming's music video and the character controversy in "Tang Chuan," when the top three on the homepage changed, ushering in another highly controversial piece of information.

1. Duan Xiubo: "Luo Ding, it's been a pleasure working with you. Although you're young, your future is boundless. I hope everyone supports the newcomers and encourages them."

2. Film "Crouching Dragon" crew: "Due to actor Chen Xufeng's accidental injury during filming, the role of the third male lead in 'Crouching Dragon' has officially been replaced by actor Luo Ding. This announcement is made for the benefit of the later stage promotion. Please stay tuned."

3. Director Huo Xie: "Indeed, talents emerge in every generation, and the younger generation is formidable. Luo Ding, well done, keep it up."

Weibo exploded in an instant.

This month could truly be considered lively, with explosive news appearing almost every now and then. What level of film was "Crouching Dragon"? It was the quasi-champion of the New Year's box office, a blockbuster that even screened overseas! It was a top-quality production that could compete with Hollywood commercial blockbusters and was a rare gem in the domestic film industry, with only one or two such quality productions per year!

Changing actors was not positive news for any crew, but the "Crouching Dragon" crew, on the contrary, used three big V accounts to spread the word and even specially promoted the actor who replaced him. Who exactly was Luo Ding?!

Clicking on the link to Luo Ding's page, many people quickly discovered that this was the actor who had recently received a lot of criticism for taking on the role of Fu Zhu in "Tang Chuan"!

Damn, what kind of luck was this? First, he accepted a leading role in the TV industry's top production, and now, in less than a month, he was entering the film industry and collaborating with Duan Xiubo? How many actors who had struggled in the entertainment industry for decades dared to dream of such an opportunity? It was impossible without the unwritten rules! How could it be possible!!

For a while, Luo Ding's page became lively. Dozens of Weibo posts were dug up and circulated repeatedly, with every photo being scrutinized for details, and everyone striving to uncover his background.

"Oh my god, look at the sofa he's sitting on, it must be from a high-end brand!"

"I have the same shirt, I bought it on Taobao for only fifty-five yuan. Is he wearing the genuine one?"

"This guy must have a powerful background to come into the film industry like this!"

"How many water armies did he hire? Why are all the news about him?"

"Joke, do you think Duan Xiubo would hire a water army to promote himself? Would a big V with a blue check mark play as a water army with you?"

All sorts of comments emerged endlessly, and Luo Ding stood at the forefront of the storm, doubling his number of fans in just a few days, quickly surpassing the one million mark. Even his recent Weibo post, which had a plain and ordinary tone, quickly climbed to over thirty thousand reposts and comments, with everyone collectively leaving messages on his homepage: "If you want to dig, please dig deep."

The news from the "Crouching Dragon" crew sparked off the promotion of the "Tang Chuan" crew, and nearly half of the trending Weibo posts were dominated by Luo Ding, with major media outlets and magazines joining in.

At this fiery moment, the "Tang Chuan" crew finally released the official character portraits.

It's not clear who was the first to spill the beans, but a group of enthusiastic fans who were vigorously investigating Luo Ding's background rushed into the official blue V account of "Tang Chuan." The information about the character portraits had more than fifty thousand reposts and comments within four hours.

Then, for about half an hour, the discussions quieted down.

There were a total of ten character portraits: two each for the male and female leads, four for the grand scenes and other actors, leaving four portraits, all of which were related to Luo Ding.

The retouched pictures were even more perfect than the ones taken during the shoot. In the four photos, one depicted Fu Zhu standing on the city wall, standing against the wind with a desolate heart; another showed Fu Zhu standing on the main hall, gazing complexly at the dragon throne; the third showed Fu Zhu kneeling and slightly bending down, facing Li Shimin who was wearing armor; and the last one showed him holding a dagger, smiling calmly.

Each of the young man's images reached new heights of beauty. Through the static images on the screen, people felt as if they couldn't grasp him and he might float away at any moment.

But what always caught people's attention first was his eyes. Without needing too much expression, he could convey everything he wanted to with his eyes alone. Sorrowful, hateful, contradictory, resigned.

It made people feel desolate yet oppressive.

The official account's caption was cold and aloof: "All controversies will have a conclusion in the future."

After a brief half-hour, another round of domination began on the homepage.

Before the official release of the character portraits, the most fiercely blackening account, "Fu Zhu Support Club," posted the latest four character portraits, and then expressed their excitement with a large number of exclamation marks—

— "Mr. Fu Zhu aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! The screen is dirty, let me lick it!!!!"

This Weibo post quickly climbed to the top of the hourly list with over twenty thousand reposts.

Opening the comments, the replies below were simply righteous.

"Ah, husband, please don't look at me like this!!!"

"Ah, husband, lie down and I'll serve you!!!"

Ah, I can't survive, I can't survive!!" "Ah, I'm Li Shimin's hand, I'm Li Shimin's hand!!" While Fu Zhu's female fans were boiling with excitement, the male fans were becoming increasingly angry. "Do you have to be so superficial! I'm hopeless in this looks-oriented world!"