Chapter 197

At three in the morning, Zhou Huimin was awakened by a sharp phone ring.

She fumbled for the phone on the nightstand in a daze, squinting her eyes to look at the caller ID—it was Han Shanping.

"Hello? Uncle Han," her voice still carried sleepiness.

"A-Min! 'Drive My Car' has been shortlisted for the main competition category at the Oscars!" The voice on the other end of the phone was so excited it almost cracked.

Zhou Huimin instantly woke up and sat up abruptly from the bed: "Really?"

"Absolutely true! The official notification just arrived from the US!"

Hanging up the phone, Zhou Huimin sat on the edge of the bed, her heart beating hard. She turned to look at the empty pillow beside her—Xiang Fei was still pulling an all-nighter in the editing room and hadn't returned.

She picked up her phone, wanting to send him a message, but then put it down.

"He should already know..."

The next morning, Zhou Huimin looked at the newspaper.

"'Drive My Car' charges at the Oscars! Xiang Fei may become the one to complete the international Grand Slam!"

"Zhou Huimin's new film 'The Moment I Met You' box office failure, only 1 million in the first week!"

Two news items appeared side-by-side on the trending list, with pictures of Xiang Fei looking high-spirited while receiving awards at Cannes, Venice, and Berlin, and Zhou Huimin's lonely back facing an empty cinema.

Zhou Huimin's fingers paused on the screen for a few seconds, but she ultimately didn't click on it.

She put down the phone, walked into the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and splashed cold water on her face, trying to calm herself down.

At the dining table, Yangyang excitedly waved his spoon: "Mom! Is Dad's movie going to the Oscars?"

Zhou Huimin smiled reluctantly: "Yeah, it's just shortlisted, it's not certain it will win an award yet."

Yangyang tilted his head: "What about your movie?"

Zhou Huimin's hand paused, and she continued peeling the egg for her son: "Mom's movie... not that many people watched it."

Yangyang nodded as if he understood, lowered his head, and continued eating breakfast.

The nanny stood to the side wanting to say something but stopped, eventually just silently handing over a cup of hot milk.

At Feimin Entertainment, Cai Wen rushed into Xiang Fei's office: "President Xiang, more than a dozen media outlets are requesting exclusive interviews!"

Xiang Fei didn't even look up: "Reject them all."

"But..."

"I said reject them all!" Xiang Fei slammed the table, "Go contact the PR department now; I want all media outlets that called A-Min a 'box office poison' to publicly apologize!"

Cai Wen shrank his neck: "It's already been arranged, but..." he handed over the tablet, "Look at this."

On the screen was a candid video: Zhou Huimin was shopping alone in a supermarket and was surrounded by reporters.

"Miss Zhou, what are your thoughts on your husband being shortlisted for the Oscars?"

Zhou Huimin in the lens kept her head down the whole time, and finally only said "Please let me through" before hurrying away.

Xiang Fei clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.

In the study late at night, Zhou Huimin pushed the door open, holding two glasses of red wine.

"Still not asleep?" She placed one of them in front of Xiang Fei.

Xiang Fei closed his computer: "Thinking about the Oscars."

Zhou Huimin sat down opposite him: "Congratulations."

Xiang Fei looked at her: "A-Min..."

"I'm fine," Zhou Huimin took a sip of wine, "Really." She swirled her wine glass, "Actually, I've figured it out; the failure of 'The Moment I Met You' is a good thing, at least it made me see clearly that I'm not suitable to be a director."

Xiang Fei frowned: "Who said that? You just..."

"Just too anxious to prove myself," Zhou Huimin smiled bitterly, "Watching you win awards all the way, I wanted that kind of recognition too."

The study fell into silence, with only the ticking of the wall clock.

A month later, Zhou Huimin received a call from Chen Guoxing.

"Ms. Zhou Huimin, hello, I have a role that I think is particularly suitable for you."

Zhou Huimin held the phone and was silent for a few seconds: "What role?"

"'Roaring Across the Horizon'," Chen Guoxing smiled, "The role of a scientist's wife."

Zhou Huimin also smiled: "Sounds very interesting."

Hanging up the phone, she walked to the window, the sunlight spilling onto her face.

Perhaps, she never needed to prove anything.