Chapter 434: The Empress Consort Arrives, All You Taiwan Girls Scram!

As the awards ceremony approaches, the media here in Taiwan are all predicting the outcome of the various awards.

Wei Jin's *Bottom-Tier Girl* boasts 7 nominations, neck and neck with Lou Ye's *Mystery of the Floating City*.

Thus, these two films are also the hot favorites in the eyes of the media, and they are the two with the most intense competition.

As the female lead of *Bottom-Tier Girl* and a nominee for Jinma Zuijia Nüzhujiao, Jing Tian finally arrived in Taiwan one day before the awards ceremony.

"Brother, have you missed me?"

As soon as Jing Tian exited the airport, she saw Wei Jin there to pick her up in person. A flower-like smile bloomed on her exquisite face, and she instantly threw herself at him like a swallow returning to its nest, greedily breathing in his familiar scent.

"Of course, I think of you every day."

Reaching out to stroke the back of the girl's head, Wei Jin curled his lips into a smile.

"Alright, Tian Tian, the local paparazzi are a bit impolite; let's hurry back to the hotel."

While speaking, Wei Jin had already taken the girl's hand and they got into the car, the latter leaning her head against his shoulder as she did so.

"Mmm~~~"

Jing Tian was very much looking forward to what was about to happen.

Inside the hotel bathroom, Jing Tian soaked in the warm tub, her whole body radiating a lazy air, and a faint smile appeared on her face.

This man was truly too thoughtful.

Honestly, she had flown from London to Hong Kong and then to Taiwan—over a dozen hours of flight time, plus the time spent traveling to the hotel. Although she had rested in between, she was indeed mentally exhausted, and a hot bath was just too refreshing.

It was just that she had been in here dozing for quite a while, so why hadn't her brother come in yet? Thus, Jing Tian tilted her head and called out toward the living room:

"Brother, the water is so comfortable, come on in~~~"

"Mmm, coming."

While responding, Wei Jin walked into the bathroom. As he stepped into the tub, the water level rose instantly, splashing onto the floor.

Jing Tian adjusted her posture, leaning into the man's embrace, and asked curiously, "Brother, whose call was that just now?"

Wei Jin reached out to stroke her perfect breasts and said softly, "It was Sister Wen Li's."

"Hmm? Brother, were you chatting for so long for public relations?"

"You even know about public relations?"

Jing Tian rolled her eyes prettily: "Brother, I go online too, okay? The internet says even the Oscar needs public relations."

"You could say that."

Wei Jin dotingly pinched the beauty's pretty face and didn't say anything more.

Since he had come to this Jinma, Wei Jin hoped for a good result and had done quite a bit of work in advance.

This work couldn't be called taking the back door; on the contrary, it was precisely to ensure as much fairness as possible.

After all, he didn't have Taiwan residency, and *Bottom-Tier Girl* didn't have an overwhelming advantage, so some awards were not easy to win.

However, this involved a lot of human favors and interests, so there was no need to tell Jing Tian.

"Then Brother, can we win an award this time?"

"It shouldn't be a big problem."

When saying this, Wei Jin thought of Li An's attitude, then looked at the girl whose pretty face was slightly flushed from the misty heat.

"But if there is only one award, I hope it is Best Actress."

"Brother, thank you."

These sweet words moved Jing Tian deeply. She knew that this Jinma was attended for her sake, so she took the initiative to offer a sweet kiss.

Her soft red lips kissed all the way down from Wei Jin's lips, neck, chest, and abdominal muscles, finally wrapping him in deep warmth. The awards ceremony for this year's Jinma was in the evening, but as a female star, this was Jing Tian's first time attending the Jinma, and since she hadn't participated in activities the past few days and only the final red carpet moment remained, the brands were extremely enthusiastic.

At ten in the morning, two makeup artists came over to apply makeup for Jing Tian, and the gowns and jewelry set by the brands were all delivered.

Wei Jin had long been mentally prepared for a woman's makeup speed, so he took the opportunity to chat with other members of the crew.

Except for Jiang Shan, who was also a woman and busy with makeup, the others—Xu Yajun, Zhang Songwen, Bai Yu, and the rest—were already dressed and ready.

The three of them were all in black high-end custom suits; apart from Zhang Songwen, who looked a bit strange, Bai Yu and Xu Yajun looked quite spirited.

However, in front of Wei Jin, who wore a minimalist, black double-breasted vintage dark blue suit, none of them could compare.

It was evident that Zhang Songwen and Xu Yajun were a bit excited. Although they were both veteran actors with great acting skills, the number of times they had won awards was truly countable on one hand.

Bai Yu, on the other hand, was relatively stable in his emotions because he had participated in Venice and was not participating in the judging this time, so he had no anxiety about gains or losses.

After chatting for a while, Wei Jin also went to check on the other crews from Shanhe Media.

Arriving at the side of *Love is Not Blind*, he saw Bao Jingjing and Yang Mi applying makeup.

"Senior brother, you're here."

Looking at Wei Jin's reflection in the mirror, Yang Mi felt somewhat conflicted.

Bao Jingjing, who was to the side, also reacted and wanted to stand up, but was pressed down by the makeup artist; she could only look at the mirror and greet him, "Hello, President Wei."

"Mmm, don't move around, I just came over to see you all."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Wei Jin couldn't do anything with Yang Mi, so he looked at Bao Jingjing.

"Are you very nervous?"

This round-faced girl had joined the company's screenwriting department after this film, but she had always stayed in the screenwriting department, and Wei Jin rarely saw her.

"President Wei, I am a little nervous."

Bao Jingjing didn't shy away from it. The film *Love is Not Blind* was nominated for three major awards: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress, and Best Cinematography.

The screenwriting award she was involved in had to compete against a literary masterpiece like *White Deer Plain*; it would be a lie to say she wasn't nervous. "It's okay, relax your mindset. Whether you win an award or not, you're still working for me, and your salary won't go up anyway, haha."

"."

Although she felt the boss's teasing was a bit mean, Bao Jingjing really felt less nervous.

Yang Mi looked at the handsome face reflected in the mirror and gathered her courage to ask, "Senior brother, do you think I have a chance to win an award tonight?"

"I can't answer that question for you, but I know that your performance in this film is quite good. If you hold yourself to this standard in the future, you will eventually win a major award."

Wei Jin could not bring himself to comfort her insincerely; the public relations focus this time was definitely on Jing Tian.

Even if Jing Tian didn't win in the end, it was impossible for the Taiwan side to award it to Yang Mi; otherwise, they would truly be lacking in judgment.

However, Wei Jin didn't know if Yang Mi would be able to take these words to heart.

When Wei Jin returned to Jing Tian's dressing room again, he saw Ning Hao, who had changed into a new outfit, chatting with Zhang Songwen.

"Yo, Senior Brother, you've actually changed your eternal signature look? That's rare."

Wei Jin teased with a smile; and it had to be said, after changing into business casual wear, Ning Hao's appearance really did improve by a grade.

Upon hearing this, Ning Hao waved his hand, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Hey, it's all thanks to your Na Jie; she gave me strict instructions before I left to wear this, otherwise I wouldn't be able to answer to her when I get back. Without my gold chain, I feel all out of sorts." Wei Jin was caught between laughter and tears: "Senior Brother, you really haven't forgotten your original intention, hahaha."

Ning Hao was actually quite open-minded about this Golden Horse Awards, after all, he had already won a Berlin Silver Bear.

So, after chatting for a few moments, he steered the topic to the recent film market, his tone carrying a hint of emotion:

"Junior Brother, this *Life of Pi* is truly fierce."

Wei Jin nodded: "Mm, Li An is still very capable. Before the other films in the New Year Slot are released, *Life of Pi* should continue to surge all the way."

This film had already been released in the country for 3 days, and its daily box office had completed three consecutive leaps.

From 21 million on the first day, to 34.8 million on the second, and it directly doubled to 45 million on the third day.

In three days of release, the box office directly broke 100 million! More importantly, this was still a weekday box office; if the two days of the weekend were added in, the opening week box office might even directly break 200 million.

Without a doubt, this was another film that was a success in both reputation and box office, and the subsequent box office was completely worth looking forward to.

At five in the afternoon, Wei Jin received notice from the staff and set off from the hotel with *Bottom-Tier Girl*.

Today, Jing Tian wore a long black dress, with black gauze of the same color wrapped around her chest, setting off her fair skin to look even more translucent; paired with dangling ear chains and a platinum diamond-encrusted circular necklace, her whole look was simple yet noble.

When Wei Jin held her hand and walked out of the hotel, they heard bursts of shouting, followed by a large expanse of camera flashes lighting up.

"Director Wei, Tian Tian, wishing you success!"

Wei Jin looked in the direction of the sound; good heavens, it was actually a reporter from Sina.

"Thank you."

Six people, two cars; Wei Jin and Jing Tian sat in the back row, Bai Yu sat in the passenger seat, and the other three were in the other car.

The car started slowly, heading toward the Yilan Luodong Cultural Plaza for the awards ceremony.

Currently, the Golden Horse was still the film festival with the greatest influence among the three major Chinese film awards, so the scene today could be described as People Mountain People Sea, bustling and extraordinary.

From far away, Wei Jin heard the mountain-shaking and sea-roaring shouts; it was needless to ask that these were the fans who had come to show their support.

As the vehicle approached, Wei Jin heard a few familiar names, with Xie Feng prominently among them.

It had to be said that the Best Actor Xie had quite high popularity here in Taiwan; this time *The Viral Factor* was also nominated for Best Actor, and he was even in a competitive relationship with Zhang Songwen.

As the vehicle stopped, staff immediately came to open the doors; Wei Jin stepped out of the car first, then reached out his hand to Jing Tian.

As the two walked with fingers interlaced, Bai Yu and the others also arrived behind them.

The *Bottom-Tier Girl* crew, officially making their appearance!

Amidst the continuous camera flashes, Wei Jin and his group followed the ushers to the red carpet waiting area.

"Old Wei, Tian Tian, over here."

Hearing this voice, Wei Jin knew it was Huang Bai, but after his gaze landed on him, he couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

"Old Huang, what the hell is this look?"

The Huang Bai before him had white hair decorated with tin foil on his head and was wearing ultra-low-crotch pants; it was a complete "killing-horse-special" (non-mainstream) look, which was truly a bit of an eyesore.

"I can't help it, I didn't want to either, the organizers required it."

Huang Bai scratched his head; he was even wearing a large earring on his ear, and even Jing Tian was covering her mouth and suppressing a laugh on the side.

"President Wei, hello; Tian Tian, teachers, hello, I am tonight's host, Ceng Baoyi."

A short girl bowed slightly to Wei Jin to greet him.

"Hello."

Wei Jin nodded in response; this was the daughter of Hong Kong's Ceng Zhiwei, but he was not familiar with her.

"Old Huang, how is the preparation going? Are you nervous?"

"Hey, Old Wei, you're underestimating your buddy's ability, aren't you? I've got it totally under control!"

In such a large-scale film festival, it was unrealistic to say that not a single mistake would be made; it mainly relied on improvisational reactions, and Huang Bai considered this his strength, so he was very confident in his words.

"Alright, do a good job. This is the first time a Mainland China artist has hosted the Golden Horse; the higher-ups are taking it quite seriously. Maybe after you go back, you'll soar to new heights."

"Hehe, thanks for the boss's kind words, and I also wish you and Tian Tian win big awards tonight."

Jing Tian revealed a sweet smile on her face: "Thank you, Brother Bai."

As hosts, Huang Bai and Ceng Baoyi entered the venue ahead of time.

Wei Jin chatted with Qin Hao again; not mentioning his relationship with Ceng Li, the two had known each other for seven or eight years, and their relationship was still quite good.

Honestly, Qin Hao's acting skills were good, but it was a pity that his appearance was too limited; he had been drifting along neither hot nor cold all these years, only able to act in art films, which was a bit of a pity.

Even more regrettable than Qin Hao was Hao Lei, who was standing beside him; clearly her acting skills were great and her appearance wasn't bad, but she was ruined in her marriage and acting career by a single film, *Summer Palace*, which was too much of a pity.

As time passed, the lamps were lit, and night fell.

The appearance of the five-person Pingshutuan, including Liu Tianwang and Jiang Wenli, marked the official start of the red carpet.

Director Wang of *White Deer Plain* led Zhang Yuqi, who was wearing a deep-V evening gown, onto the red carpet first.

It had to be said that this woman's figure was truly explosive, and she was truly daring to wear it; she was already exposing more than half of her breasts.

The key was that she seemed to enjoy the gazes of others; she was indeed a strange woman.

Subsequently, the *Tai Chi 0* crew, with Yang Ying holding Feng Delun's arm, walked across the red carpet.

Lin Zhilin wore a pure white long dress, revealing her sexy back; Li Bingbing wore an emerald green slim-fit cheongsam.

Yang Mi's look today was also not bad; big waves paired with a black slim-fit V-neck long dress, her full breasts swaying on the red carpet, emitting a dazzling spring scenery.

Following closely, *Mystery of the Floating City*, *The Great Buddha*, *Life Without Principle*, and *Girlfriend Boyfriend*—as Hou Xiaoxian, Cheng Long, Zheng Zhongji, and others walked onto the red carpet one by one until only half the people remained in the waiting area, it was finally the turn of Wei Jin and his group.

"Let's go."

Wei Jin held Jing Tian's hand as they walked in front, Zhang Songwen and Xu Yajun surrounded Jiang Shan in the middle, and Bai Yu brought up the rear; the group walked onto the red carpet in a 2-3-1 formation.

"Walking toward us now is the most anticipated film crew of the night, with 7 nominations, a box office haul of 658 million in Mainland China, and having set a record for the highest Chinese film copyright price at 38.6 million USD, the crew of *Bottom-Tier Girl*! Welcome Director Wei Jin, Jing Tian, Zhang Songwen!"

Back then, *Lucy* had excellent box office results in Taiwan, so Jing Tian's popularity was not low.

Therefore, when the group stepped onto the red carpet, a mountain-shaking, sea-roaring wave of cheers surged instantly, and the camera flashes from the media on both sides almost never stopped.

After signing, the red carpet host stopped Wei Jin and his group as was customary.

"Director Wei, this is your second time attending the Golden Horse Awards; are you confident about winning an award?"

"I never lack confidence, but whether I can win depends on the judges; however, I hope for good things to come in pairs, haha."

"Then I wish Director Wei gets his wish tonight!"

"Thank you."

(End of this chapter)