Chapter 91: Awards Ceremony

The first awards presented were for Best Animated Film, Best Visual Effects, and Best Costume Design. After these three awards were given out, it was time for Best Supporting Actor.

A clip of Shen Xici’s performance as the young emperor in “Capital City Massacre” appeared on the big screen.

A handsome, almost demonic face, indifference and ruthlessness, paranoia and madness, all paradoxically fused into one person.

Dressed in a magnificent dragon robe, he walked slowly through the grand hall with a long sword. Under the magnificent palace lanterns, he hacked madly at the court officials, but his face remained utterly cold.

The emotions erupting from the character silently drew in the hearts and minds of everyone present.

“The winner of the 51st Qingwu Award for Best Supporting Actor is—Shen Xici! Congratulations!”

Shen Xici stood up and hugged Director Rao Qingping. He walked onto the awards stage and received the Golden Phoenix Feather trophy for Best Supporting Actor.

The live stream’s bullet comments immediately became dense.

“—It’s my Emperor, ahhh! The most heart-wrenching, shocking, and exciting character in ‘Capital City Massacre’! Your Majesty, kill me a thousand times!”

“—Has anyone noticed that Shen Xici won Best Supporting Actor, but everyone seems to have expected it and is waiting for what’s next? [doge]”

“—I dare not say, I dare not make a prediction, and I’m afraid of being scolded, but, go Shen Xici! I’m super optimistic about you!”

Returning to his seat, Lu Jiming stared at the trophy in Shen Xici’s hand, envious. “What do you think the gold content of this trophy is? It’s so shiny!”

Shen Xici had to shatter his illusion. “It’s a tin-antimony-copper alloy, plated with a very thin layer of 10K gold foil.”

Lu Jiming was instantly disappointed.

But his disappointment didn’t last long. The awards ceremony entered its middle segment, and the awards for Best Screenplay and Best Director were about to be announced. Lu Jiming quickly straightened his bow tie and started getting restless again. “Is my condition okay today? I listened to Sister Lanjing and got my eyebrows trimmed, and even put on a layer of foundation! The camera will be on me in a bit. The thought of my face appearing on the big screen makes me nervous!”

He gripped the armrests of his chair tightly, sitting ramrod straight, as stiff as a piece of wood. His back was so straight that his forehead was starting to sweat.

Shen Xici quickly praised him, “You look great, radiant. Your hairstyle is also very good.”

“That’s good, that’s good.” Lu Jiming muttered worriedly, “When I looked in the mirror before I left, I felt like I looked like a college student who just graduated.”

Shen Xici found it strange. “Aren’t you a college student who just graduated a few years ago?”

Lu Jiming was at a loss for words. “Although that’s true, I’m a director! My face is too young. It looks like I can’t control those old hands on set. No one will listen to me. And, with my looks, it’s easy for people to think I’m unreliable!”

Shen Xici knew he was nervous and patiently continued to talk to him. “Don’t worry, whether your face looks reliable or not isn’t important. As long as your box office looks reliable, that’s enough.”

Almost bursting out laughing, Lu Jiming’s eyes widened. “Shen Xici, where did you go for advanced studies? How can you just casually say such a profound truth!”

Shen Xici added, “And, when the new film starts shooting, after you pull a few all-nighters, you’ll immediately look world-weary. Your deterrent power will increase exponentially then.”

Lu Jiming took a few deep breaths. Just as he was about to speak again, he saw his face appear on the big screen. He quickly put on the smile he had practiced hundreds of times in front of the mirror, exceptionally standard. Only Shen Xici could see that Lu Jiming’s fingers gripping the armrests were trembling so hard that he thought if the result wasn’t announced soon, Lu Jiming would pass out.

“…Congratulations to the winner of the Best Screenplay award, Lu Jiming!”

Lu Jiming shot up from his seat with a “swoosh,” a beaming smile on his face. He whispered quickly to Shen Xici, “If I had known, I would have put on highlighter and nose shadow. I won, I won!”

He straightened his clothes, turned in a circle by his seat, but couldn’t find which way to go to the stage. Shen Xici laughed and gave him a little push, pointing him in the right direction before Lu Jiming, his steps floating, walked onto the stage.

Standing on stage, Lu Jiming looked at the smiling, unsmiling, and various expressions in the audience. He clenched his fingers, tightly gripping the heavy trophy.

Facing the microphone, it took Lu Jiming a long while to speak, his voice trembling slightly. “I’m very… nervous. No, I’m extremely nervous.”

A wave of laughter filled the venue.

He took two deep breaths before continuing in a trembling voice, “I started conceiving the script for ‘Floating Life’ when I was in college. On my dorm bed, by the library window, on the stone table at school, next to the steamers in the breakfast shop, on the bus—inspiration would suddenly strike. I used to carry a notebook or a few pieces of paper and a pen with me. Whenever I had an idea, I would quickly jot it down.”

The more Lu Jiming spoke, the smoother he became, his tone and expression gradually becoming natural.

“Later, I graduated and rented a place in an urban village. I worked during the day to earn rent and living expenses, and wrote the script at night. Those characters, one by one, they spoke and acted on the white paper in front of me. At that time, I felt like I had broken through the barriers of space and had a glimpse into the parallel world where they existed. I watched them in perilous situations, watched them laugh and curse, watched them die for their ideals, and watched them struggle to survive. And I was just a recorder. I used paper and pen to record all these stories of these people, and then tell them to you.”

He looked at the trophy in his hand, a slight nasal tone in his voice as he said sincerely, “Thank you to the committee for giving me this award. I have always firmly believed that if you never forget, there will be an echo. Thank you.”

Thunderous applause filled the venue. Lu Jiming took a bow and walked off the stage.

He had just sat down next to Shen Xici, his heart still pounding, his mind a blank. He even suspected he was so excited that he had tinnitus.

He noticed Shen Xici suddenly nudge his arm and point to the stage.

Looking in the direction Shen Xici was pointing, he met his own gaze on the big screen again.

“…The winner is, Lu Jiming!”

With just enough time to shove the trophy into Shen Xici’s hands, Lu Jiming hurried back onto the stage.

After hugging the award presenter, he once again stood behind the microphone and first instructed, “Shen Xici, hold my trophy for me for a few minutes. Don’t chip it!”

A shot of Shen Xici appeared on the big screen. He smiled and made a gesture, indicating it was no problem.

“—Who understands the value of this shot! When Shen Xici smiles, it’s so doting! I don’t know if the trophy was chipped, but I’ve been shipped!”

“—Director Lu must be thinking, if I had known I could win another award, I should have walked slower, or just not come down at all hahaha!”

“—Sloppy ‘er won Best Director, I’m so gratified! A diligent genius who never gave up no matter what deserves the honor he’s due! Luckily, that Wu Ya didn’t succeed!”

“—Director Lu, I will always support you! I can recite all your witty remarks, and I’ve tried all your money-saving strategies! Hurry up and release a new movie! I want to buy tickets to see the premiere!”

When the venue quieted down, Lu Jiming was much more composed than the first time he went on stage. He said into the microphone, “Because I was too poor, and also because no one was willing to act in it, this movie almost didn’t get a chance to start filming. Later, Shen Xici found me and said, ‘Let’s make this movie together.’ But he was only a tiny bit richer than me.”

As he spoke, he used his thumb and pinky to show the size of a fingernail, vividly illustrating that a tiny bit was really just a tiny bit.

“I have a bit of a procrastination problem. I was thinking, if not this year, then next year. If not next year, then the year after. You can’t rush making a movie. Actually, I knew it myself. It was too hard. It was really too hard to make this script into a movie. At that time, although I hadn’t given up, I didn’t have much courage left. Why was this movie made later? I remember when Shen Xici finished reading the script, he said, ‘Gu Changsheng is like a beautiful, exquisite palace lantern. Every side is different, and he has painted every side of himself exquisitely and beautifully. In the end, he lit the candle and burned himself to ashes.’ I thought, he understood this character so well. And he acted so well, and didn’t even want a salary. I was so afraid he would run away halfway and not act anymore. So Shen Xici ran forward, and I was forced to run forward with him. I never expected that just by being dragged along by him like this, breaking through many obstacles, I would end up standing here.”

The audience roared with laughter.

“The most common thing he said to me was, ‘Director Lu, have you edited the film today? Director Lu, get up and edit the film. Director Lu, go do the 007 (996 work culture) and edit the film!’ I always said he was defying the natural order, but without Shen Xici, without him defying the natural order, there would be no ‘Floating Life,’ and there would be no Lu Jiming today.”

Lu Jiming’s eyes were red. With a blink, tears streamed down his face. He choked out, “Director, cut the camera. My tears… I can’t hold them back!”

The whole audience burst into laughter.

This was followed by thunderous applause.

Lu Jiming walked down, wiping his tears.

The bullet comments were very cheerful.

“—Director Lu! I’m calling you out, the director didn’t cut the camera! The image of you crying with tears all over your face has been recorded!”

“—I have a feeling Director Lu’s crying face will become a meme…”

“—To the person above, Director Lu’s ‘just a tiny bit richer than me’ gesture has already become a meme. I can send it to you if you want!”

“—Director Lu! The director did it on purpose, and even did a big close-up! People’s hearts are sinister, Director Lu! Director Lu broken down.jpg.”

“—Understood. Although Shen Xici defies the natural order, Director Lu, you love it!”

Entering the grand finale awards stage, the viewership ratings and online audience numbers also climbed rapidly. The names of the nominated actresses continuously appeared in the bullet comments. An actress who had won a Grand Slam of international gold awards stood on stage as the presenter. Soon, clips of Wen Yage and the other nominated actresses’ films appeared simultaneously on the big screen.

Shen Xici looked at the big screen. The movie Wen Yage had collaborated on with Director Ding Wu had not yet been publicly released and had only been submitted to the Qingwu Awards committee. Shen Xici didn’t know what kind of role Wen Yage played in that movie.

But in the short clip of a few dozen seconds, Wen Yage completely subverted her previous image on the big screen. She wore shabby, bulky clothes, her hair was disheveled, and her skin was rough and sallow. Under the camera, her eyes were numb, like a dry well. Slowly, she began to breathe, her breathing becoming more and more obvious. Something surged from the dry land in her eyes. She raised the sickle in her hand and hacked forward—

The clip ended. Shen Xici only felt a heavy jolt in his heart.

The presenter opened the envelope in her hand. Shen Xici also grew nervous.

Until he saw on the big screen, Wen Yage, in a long black dress, stand up and walk onto the awards stage.

Wen Yage, standing in the spotlight, was breathtakingly beautiful. Her tone was relaxed, with a sense of calm that came from having weathered storms. She scanned the audience, raised her red lips, and successively thanked the committee, all the crew members, and Director Ding Wu for discovering a quality in her that she herself did not know she had.

On the big screen of the stage, the director cut the camera to Ding Wu. She was listening intently to Wen Yage’s speech. Her short black hair just reached below her ears, her face was very small, and there was a beauty mark at the corner of her eye. Sitting amidst the fragrant clothes and shimmering shadows, she was like a cold, sharp ice rock, her temperament having an elusive, detached feel.

“This movie was a new attempt for me. In the process of trying, I understood that a women’s film doesn’t necessarily have to emphasize the strength or beauty of the female protagonist, or follow the so-called ‘powerful female lead’ route. ‘She’ can be weak, can be ordinary, can be fragile, but, this must be ‘her’ story, ‘she’ must be the center of the narrative.”

Wen Yage said with a smile, every word firm and powerful, “Seeing ‘her,’ recording ‘her,’ paying attention to ‘her’—this is what I wanted to achieve by making this film.”

At this moment, Ding Wu on the big screen also revealed a smile.

It was as if they were resonating on the same frequency, understanding each other’s thoughts and pursued goals.

Just when everyone thought this acceptance speech was over, Wen Yage suddenly changed the topic. “For the entire second half of last year, I encountered a career bottleneck. When I was lost and confused, someone told me, ‘Even if under all the cameras, you are a rose, you don’t have to be a rose. You can also be a thorn.'”

She smiled. “Director, please give the camera to my life mentor, Shen Xici!”

Shen Xici: ???

This is so sudden?

Shen Xici kept his expression in check, maintaining the smile on his face, but he was so embarrassed that the smile was about to freeze. He silently counted in his head, 1, 2, 3, 4—ten seconds had passed, why hadn’t the camera cut away yet! Director, you have no heart, hurry up!

Every second felt like a year!

But looking across the rows of seats at Wen Yage standing on the stage, Shen Xici couldn’t help but smile sincerely.

The rose that had once struggled out of the mud at the bottom still hadn’t lost her thorns.

“—Sister Wen has really changed, anyone else feel the same! Before, it was a bewitching feeling, like a charming flower, swaying gracefully. Now, she’s really like she said, a thorn, piercing through the mud and swamp, piercing through lies, piercing through unfair gazes, constantly growing upwards, brave and resilient! I love this kind of Sister Wen so much!”

“—Shen Xici, how are you so good with words!!! This sentence really hits me!!”

“—Got a screenshot of the ‘rich family shrimp siblings’ looking at each other! You are both becoming better versions of yourselves!”

“—When is the movie coming out? The clip just now was so powerful, my wallet is itching! Too many of the so-called ‘powerful female leads’ nowadays are so superficial. They say it’s a female-centric theme, but in the end, it’s just a skin. I’m so looking forward to Sister Wen’s film!”

After Wen Yage walked off the stage, Lu Jiming poked Shen Xici. “Are you nervous? Are you worried?”

Shen Xici nodded. “Nervous.”

It was impossible not to be nervous. In his past life, the closest Shen Xici had ever come to a Best Actor award was at the Flanders Film Festival, where he had appeared on the pre-announced shortlist for Best Actor. But before he knew the result, he had died.

To fit the name “Qingwu Award” (Azure Phoenix Award), whenever the awards for Best Actress and Best Actor were presented, a light and shadow effect of a phoenix returning to its nest would appear on the circular screens throughout the venue.

At this moment, the circular screens went dark again.

Adrenaline uncontrollably began to secrete in large amounts. His heartbeat was like a drum. Shen Xici tried to think of something else to divert his attention, but he also felt that this feeling of infinite tension in the minute before the answer was revealed was also a rare experience.

Until the three words “Shen Xici” echoed through the venue.

Exploding simultaneously with the applause in the venue were the bullet comments on the live stream and comments on various platforms.

“—Congratulations, Shen Xici!!”

“—The twenty-two-year-old Qingwu Best Actor! Awesome!”

“—The mute boy, His Majesty, Gu Changsheng, in the future you will portray even more classic characters! The future is promising!”

“—Congratulations! Well-deserved!”

At this moment, all eyes were on him. Lu Jiming stood up and excitedly hugged Shen Xici.

As he walked onto the stage, the lights in the venue dimmed, and only the spotlight shone. As if sensing something, Shen Xici looked towards the side door of the venue, which no one was paying attention to, and saw two security guards standing in the dark. Someone in a dark suit walked in and sat down in the seat in the middle of the front row that had been empty all this time.

It was Sheng Shaoyan.

Shen Xici’s eyes inexplicably started to sting.

When he came back to his senses, he was already on stage, receiving the phoenix-feather-shaped trophy from the presenter.

Meeting Sheng Shaoyan’s gaze, who was sitting right in the center of the front row, Shen Xici was stunned for two seconds, then smiled. The smile in his eyes was like starlight moved by the wind, sparkling.

Ignoring the height of the stage, Sheng Shaoyan was sitting almost right in front of him.

Shen Xici spoke into the microphone, “Thank you to the committee for giving me this award. Thank you for the opportunity to meet Director Lu Jiming. Thank you to all the crew members for their dedicated efforts. Thank you to the character ‘Gu Changsheng’.”

Shen Xici, under the spotlight, was like he was illuminated by the bright moonlight.

At this moment, everyone’s gaze was drawn to him.

“I am very lucky. In my short life, I have met many people I want to thank. Thank you for teaching me to distinguish right from wrong, for teaching me what to let go of and what to hold tightly in my hands, for teaching me how to adapt to this world, for teaching me to walk towards a broader distant path, for teaching me to hold hope in my heart. In the past, I believed that every life would end in death, it was just a matter of sooner or later. Now, I hope that day can come a little later.”

He knew that from beginning to end, there was a gaze focused on him.

That was the person he loved.

Shen Xici placed a kiss on the silver ring on his left middle finger. “Thank you, for letting me know I am worthy, and for teaching me what love is.”