IBKAWB Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Counterattack**

Re-translated by: Namizaki

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The internet, moving slower than a tortoise, finally delivered the NG footage to Chi Zhongqiao’s phone. He immediately bundled it up and sent it to Zhuang Fu.

[Endless Loop: What’s this?]

[Soaring to New Heights: NG footages.]

Zhuang Fu clicked to watch it once and immediately understood Chi Zhongqiao’s intention. He replied:

[Endless Loop: Okay, I get it. I’ll have someone upload this online.]

[Soaring to New Heights: The Director gave it to me. It’s raw footage from the camera, no post-processing or editing, but it’s too steady to pass off as candid street footage. Let’s attribute it to an internal crew member.]

[Endless Loop: Got it.]

[Soaring to New Heights: Then I’ll leave the rest to you, Brother Zhuang.]

[Endless Loop: It’s my responsibility. This whole mess escalated because I failed to do my job properly.]

Zhuang Fu genuinely felt guilty. His own artist had gotten into trouble, and as his Manager, he still hadn’t found a proper solution, instead relying on the artist to take action. No matter how he looked at it, it was clear he was utterly incompetent.

Chi Zhongqiao smiled and typed quickly.

[Soaring to New Heights: This happened so suddenly. No one saw it coming. I was stunned for ages when I checked the trending searches this morning.]

Zhuang Fu knew Chi Zhongqiao was just trying to comfort him. It was barely nine o’clock, and at most an hour and a half had passed since Chi Zhongqiao first saw the trending search. To find a suitable solution in such a short time showed Chi Zhongqiao’s clear thinking and how unaffected he was by the online uproar. Chi Zhongqiao’s claim of being “stunned for ages” was likely just a momentary daze from the initial shock.

As an artist, Chi Zhongqiao was handling this emergency with even more professionalism than Zhuang Fu, his own Manager.

Zhuang Fu felt utterly ashamed.

After offering a few more comforting words, Chi Zhongqiao put down his phone. He finally had time to watch the trailer he’d been putting off.

Noticing Lu Yuzhou watching him, Chi Zhongqiao smiled and offered him an earbud. “Want to watch?”

Lu Yuzhou nodded. He’d already seen it once, but he was happy to watch it again with Chi Zhongqiao.

Chi Zhongqiao played the trailer. “Grandpa said this is the first drama our company has invested in under its own name. It’s quite significant.”

Lu Yuzhou leaned closer. “Mm.”

*****

**Forum Post**

[OP: I just don’t get it. Why do all these newcomers these days take shortcuts and try to get ahead by any means necessary? Can’t they just focus on acting and work their way up properly? Resorting to smear campaigns and buying trending topics—have they really abandoned basic human decency just to get famous? Why would someone like that even be cast as the Young General? He doesn’t deserve the role at all. This is so frustrating! I was actually looking forward to watching this drama.]

[+1. I don’t understand these newcomers either. XXZ is one of the better actors among the younger generation, and he seems like a decent person. After finally landing a male lead role, he’s still being overshadowed by the male supporting role? How pitiful.]

[True! <Empress of the World> is supposedly XXZ’s first time playing the male lead. It’s really unfortunate that he’s facing this kind of situation. I’m still going to watch the drama though. XXZ has already had such bad luck; if the show doesn’t get good ratings, it’ll probably flop so hard it’ll sink to the Earth’s core.]

[Wait, you guys are already taking sides without any solid evidence? Getting so emotionally invested—aren’t you worried about getting egg on your face later?]

[Hah! How did CZQ, with no connections, land the second male lead role in his very first drama? I heard he didn’t even audition—he just walked straight onto the set. If that’s not pulling strings, what is?]

[Seconding OP. I’ve always liked XXZ. He’s not effeminate at all—he’s quite manly. As for this newcomer… is he going for the pretty-boy look?]

[LOL, I didn’t even realize what those abbreviations meant at first. I think newcomers should take things slow and steady, building their careers step by step. What’s the point of resorting to smear campaigns? Sure, CZQ is good-looking, but even a die-hard looks-obsessed fan wouldn’t stan a celebrity with such a rotten character, right? Just having a pretty face isn’t enough.]

[You underestimate simps, OP. All they care about is looks. They couldn’t care less about someone’s character—as long as they can drool over a pretty face, they’re happy.]

[OP, I suggest you check out the sixth trending search: “XXZ’s bullying of newcomers is a stone-cold fact—a real slap in the face!” Thirty-nine degrees Celsius heat and repeated NGs? Is that what they call “good acting”? And to those in the thread who keep saying “I heard, I heard,” do you have any actual evidence?]

[OP: ?? What’s going on? Is there really a plot twist? Holy crap, even this has a twist? I’m going to check it out.]

[Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! Forgive my lack of vocabulary—all I can say is “holy shit!”]

[Qiao Qiao, forgive me! I was wrong!]

[This drama! I’m definitely watching it! Today! I’ve become Beauty Qiao’s brainwashed fan! She’s too damn cool!]

[This acting is mind-blowing! I can feel the murderous aura through the screen! No wonder XXZ kept messing up his takes.]

[Holy shit? What’s going on? Is there really a plot twist? What’s trending? I uninstalled Weibo—can someone fill me in?]

[(Video Link) Take it, no need to thank me.]

Curious netizens, always eager for drama, clicked the link. The screen went black, and the page redirected.

The blogger who posted the video clarified at the beginning that they were an insider from the production team. Unable to stand the online slander against Chi Zhongqiao any longer, they decided to release these scrapped NG clips for everyone to see.

[Blogger: I’ll say it again—don’t try to find out who I am. I’m just a regular person who couldn’t take it anymore. Also, it was 39 degrees Celsius that day, and the second male lead’s costume weighed over 50 kilograms!]

When viewers clicked on the video, they found raw, unedited footage. Compared to the polished, edited scenes, these clips felt remarkably authentic.

In this raw footage, every subtle expression on the actors’ faces was captured with stark clarity.

The video opened with a blood-soaked general, clad in armor, forcing his way past the guards of the outer courtyard and storming into the main courtyard. Prince Yu, who had been discussing state affairs with his advisors, froze in surprise and rose to his feet.

“General, what is the meaning of this?”

Mu Yan clenched his left fist and gripped the hilt of his sword tightly with his right hand, his jaw clenched. “I heard Grand Scholar Wen has been imprisoned…”

Before Prince Yu could respond, one of the stunned advisors snapped out of his daze and retorted coldly, “General Mu Yan, who gave you the audacity to storm the Prince’s residence at night?!”

“This is the outer courtyard, not the Prince’s residence!” Mu Yan roared. “Duan Ran!”

The advisor’s legs trembled. “B-b-bold! How dare you address the Prince by his given name!”

Prince Yu waved his hand dismissively. “Withdraw for now!”

The advisor, his legs shaking violently, stammered, “Y-your subordinate will summon the household guards at once!” Ignoring Prince Yu’s attempts to stop him, he scrambled away on all fours.

“Clang!”

Finally losing control of his rage, Mu Yan drew his longsword. The chilling blade hovered less than three fingers’ width from Prince Yu’s throat, his eyes burning with an unnerving intensity. “Grand Scholar Wen was imprisoned last night. This morning…”

He took a step forward, and Prince Yu swayed slightly.

“Cut! Xu Xingzhou, are you a bobblehead? Stop wobbling!”

Just as viewers were completely immersed in the scene, holding their breath, a brusque voice suddenly interrupted the drama. As frustration began to rise among the audience, the voice continued shouting, “Don’t move when Mu Yan draw his sword! That’s a prop—it can’t kill anyone!”

The viewers were instantly pulled out of the scene, realizing the voice must belong to the Director.

Even after being snapped out of their immersion, the memory of the Young General’s sword pointed at Prince Yu sent shivers down their spines. The “clang” of the sword being drawn was bone-chilling, and the Young General’s aura was so overwhelming that they had completely forgotten it was just acting!

One commenter trembled as they wrote: [No wonder Xu Xingzhou kept messing up. If I were there, I’d be terrified too.]

Another immediately replied: [Stop joking. One or two retakes is understandable, but have you seen how many times XXZ made them redo it later? It was 39 degrees Celsius that day! By the end, CZQ looked like he’d been pulled out of a river. They said the props and costumes weighed dozens of kilograms! I’m genuinely disgusted by XXZ—his incompetence dragged down the good actors.]

The original commenter hadn’t even finished watching the video. After reading the replies, curiosity piqued, they reopened the video and were shocked to discover it was 20 minutes long, entirely consisting of repeated takes of the same scene.

At first, the netizens were drawn into the scene and didn’t notice anything amiss. But after a few repetitions, they gradually realized that Xu Xingzhou was being completely carried by Chi Zhongqiao in their scenes together. Chi Zhongqiao perfectly captured the Young General’s chilling aura and imposing presence, while Xu Xingzhou failed to portray the character’s calm and composed demeanor as written in the script.

Whenever the Young General drew his sword, Xu Xingzhou’s expression would either crumble, his movements would be off, or he would forget his lines!

Comments:

[Ka Ka Ka: This acting… is way below par. He’s being completely overshadowed.]

[Can’t Get a Draw, Won’t Change My Name!: Heh, it’s clearly his own poor acting that’s causing all the retakes, yet he’s trying to blame others during the drama’s promotion.]

[Wolf Is Coming: I even saw some people saying Chi Zhongqiao was stealing the spotlight. Ridiculous! That’s exactly how the scene should be played. Your Xingzhou-gege can’t keep up, so you blame the others for being too professional? Talk about “weakness is justice”!]

[Infinite Terror: Instant immersion, instant exit—truly 666! This acting is legendary.]

By the end of the video, even the Director couldn’t take it anymore. With a wave of his hand, he called for a break. The actor playing the Young General grabbed his small stool and scurried over to the wind machine(big fans to generate wind, used for filming, supported by wheels for easier navigation), squinting against the gale. His cheeks were flushed red, the make-up foundation unable to conceal the heat. The makeup artist tugged at him from the side. “Qiao Qiao, Qiao Qiao, stop standing there! Let me touch up your makeup, sweetie.”

Chi Zhongqiao tugged at his headgear, staring blankly for a moment before nodding silently.

“Oh my! Is he heatstroked?!”

Female netizens clutched their chests, typing furiously: [He was so fierce just now, but now he’s so adorable! What kind of divine being is both badass and cute?!]

Someone commented below: [As a novel fan, I approve of this Young Lord! Grand Scholar Wen saved the Young Lord! That’s why Young Lord is both resentful and heartbroken now. That furious yet restrained gaze, with tears welling up—it was absolutely perfect! It pierced my heart!*

**Posted Forum**

[I haven’t watched the video yet, but I just want to say, CZQ’s looks aren’t my type. I prefer men who are very dominant and charismatic, and he seems a bit too soft.]

[Honey, I suggest you watch the video before making such claims.]

[Brace yourself for a face-slap.]

[OP, are you still here? Did his acting prove you wrong?]

[XXZ’s smear campaign is top-tier! Turning the perpetrator into the victim—how does he pull it off? Regardless of what OP thinks, I’m going to apologize to CZQ. I was wrong to criticize him earlier.]

[OP: I’m the OP, I’m here, and I’ve finished watching it. Um… does Beauty Qiao have a fan group? (blushing)]

[To the commenter above: Have you really finished watching it? Soft? Go check out the National 5A-level Scenic Area.]

[I’m the one who just said I didn’t like that type of look, but… I’d also like to join the fan group.]

[Ah, the sweet taste of hypocrisy.]

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**Author’s Note:**

Scheming Qiao: I’m not wronged! I can beat him to a pulp!

Everyone: No, you’re clearly just a poor little thing!

Zaki~~ If you like my translations, care to treat me to a coffee and creampuffs.. thankies.