Chapter 496: Conflict at the Banquet: A Slap

The celebration banquet tonight is incredibly star-studded.

Big names like Cheng Long, Li Bingbing, Liu Tianwang, and Li An, as well as numerous guests from this year's Golden Horse Awards, are almost all in attendance.

However, Wei Jin also knows that it is not because he has such great face in Taiwan; most people have come with the intention of cozying up to him.

Outsiders might not be very clear about it, but in fact, Taiwan and Hong Kong capital control quite a lot of fashion resources.

Over these years, many capitalists from both places have approached Wei Jin, hinting or stating clearly that they could use various fashion resources to push actors from both places to the top or to collaborate on projects, but he has rejected them all.

For one, the situation on both sides is quite complicated, and there are simply too many people with crooked loyalties.

For another, many people want to find a meal in Mainland China, yet cannot even speak a clear sentence of Mandarin, making people lose interest in the performance every minute; they are truly not worth promoting.

However, when drifting in the world, some polite social talk is still necessary.

For instance, right now, a large number of Taiwan capitalists are surrounding him, offering congratulations, and once finished, they want to chat about so-called big projects; Wei Jin also smiles and plays along, after all, one does not hit a smiling face.

Jing Tian is also very busy tonight, with people constantly coming to offer congratulations; after all, she is a 24-year-old Golden Horse Best Actress.

It is a case of some being happy while others are sad.

Yang Mi looks at Jing Tian, who is surrounded by the crowd, and at Wei Jin, who seems to be standing under the spotlight, feeling that she is so out of place.

Guo Caijie, by her side, seems to see through her thoughts and speaks to comfort her: "Mimi, think on the bright side. The 49th Golden Horse is destined to be won by only a few people, and besides, a Taiwan actor hasn't won Best Actress for 7 consecutive years. Come to think of it, aren't we even more miserable?"

Guo Caijie was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress at this year's Golden Horse for *Amour*, which is why she is appearing at tonight's cocktail party.

However, although Guo Caijie means well, Yang Mi feels a bit weary now.

Recently, the *Tiny Times* crew has actually been using the two of them to stir up rumors, which is truly annoying; unfortunately, the contracts for the series have already been signed, so she cannot say much.

Yang Mi is just planning to find a place to have some peace and quiet, but she does not expect to bump into someone else's wine glass as she turns.

"Bang!"

"Ah!"

The wine glass shatters, and the cold red wine spills directly into her V-neck; Yang Mi cannot help but let out a scream, gently pulling at her gown in an attempt to shake off the excess liquid.

But this action makes that patch of white skin, already full and exposed, even more dazzling, especially when accompanied by the color of the red wine, making it even more alluring.

"What is wrong with you people? Do you not have eyes when you walk?"

Guo Caijie takes out a tissue to help wipe it off while scolding them; although Yang Mi treats her with indifference, she must hold onto the thigh of Shanhe Media.

"Sorry about that, we didn't mean it."

Hearing this, Yang Mi realizes that they are two people from Hong Kong, but as she looks up, she finds that the other person's eyes are almost popping out, and she hurriedly covers her chest.

"Ahem, sorry, is Miss Yang alright?"

Peng Haoxiang sees the person in front of him clearly and hurriedly apologizes, also taking the opportunity to pull at Du Gou, who is already a bit drunk, beside him.

However, perhaps because they came away empty-handed with two nominations tonight, Du Gou is in a bad mood and curls his lip, saying:

"Why apologize? It wasn't my fault."

"You!"

Guo Caijie is about to argue when she is interrupted by Yang Mi.

"Forget it, Caijie, let's go."

It was her own problem to begin with, so Yang Mi does not intend to continue the entanglement; nodding toward Peng Haoxiang, she pulls Guo Caijie away, but she does not expect that, having only walked two steps, a voice vaguely reaches her ears.

"That girl's breasts are so big and round; screwing her must be great."

"Shut up!"

Although Yang Mi has never mixed in the Hong Kong Circle, she knows this is not anything good, so she stops and turns around, looking at Du Gou with an unkind expression.

"What did you say? Do you have the guts to say it again?"

Peng Haoxiang forces a smile onto his face and hurriedly apologizes: "I'm sorry, Miss Yang, my friend is drunk and talking nonsense."

Perhaps seeing his close friend acting so subservient, or perhaps due to the alcohol going to his head, or perhaps because he has been suppressed for too long, Du Gou shakes off Peng Haoxiang and glares at Yang Mi.

"What? Mainland girl, can't you understand? I said your breasts are big, and fucking you must be..."

"Slap!"

A loud slap rings out in the banquet hall, attracting the attention of many people.

Du Gou feels the burning pain on his face and the gazes coming from all around, and he cannot help but let anger rise from his heart and malice grow from his guts.

"Stinking bitch!"

Du Gou reaches out and grabs Yang Mi's hair, but just as his other palm is raised, he feels a tremendous force on his wrist, rendering him completely unable to move.

He turns his head to look, and what comes into view is a handsome but extremely cold face, with killing intent revealed in the eyes.

A not-so-distant memory strikes, and Du Gou shivers all over.

The next moment, Du Gou feels a sharp pain in his lower abdomen, as if the rivers and seas were overturning; the hand grabbing Yang Mi's hair releases involuntarily, and his whole body kneels to the ground, breathing in large gulps.

"Pin him down."

As soon as the words fall, two bodyguards walk up, seize Du Gou's joints, and pin him to the ground, even though the latter no longer has any strength to resist.

On the other side, Wei Jin takes off his suit jacket, drapes it over Yang Mi, and smooths out her disheveled hair.

In fact, Wei Jin had noticed this side when the wine glass shattered; when he saw Yang Mi slap him, he walked over, but he did not expect Du Gou to actually dare to hit someone.

"Mimi, are you alright?"

Yang Mi's father is a police officer; she has been the big sister of the circle since she was a child and has led little brats in fights many times. To her, Du Gou grabbing her hair does not count as anything.

But seeing Wei Jin appear before her eyes like a god descending from heaven, and now speaking so gently and softly, with deep concern revealed in those profound eyes.

Yang Mi's heart cannot help but tremble, her eyes instantly misting over, and regardless of the public, she throws herself directly into the man's arms.

"Senior brother..."

Feeling the softness against his chest and the dampness on his shirt, Wei Jin ultimately does not push Yang Mi away, but instead pats her back and asks gently: "Mimi, what exactly happened?"

"Wei Sheng, he was just drunk, it's not..."

"Shut up, I didn't ask you."

After scolding Peng Haoxiang, who wanted to open his mouth to defend himself, Wei Jin turned his head to look at Guo Caijie.

"You speak."

Guo Caijie cast an incredibly envious glance at Yang Mi, then proceeded to recount the matter in detail.

After listening, Wei Jin's face was as cold as frost, and the rest of the people who had gathered around all furrowed their brows.

The filthy language and chatter of Du Gou were truly disgusting.

"Sister Mani, I need an explanation." Wei Jin's icy tone and indifferent gaze made Huo Wenxi's heart jump.

At this Golden Horse Awards, Emperor had two films nominated, and she was the leader of the delegation.

Yet Huo Wenxi never expected that she had just been chatting with Wei Jin about their next collaboration, and in the blink of an eye, an artist under her banner had clashed with someone from Shanhe Media, and was even in the wrong—what kind of mess was this? However, being an ace Agent from Hong Kong, Huo Wenxi quickly made a decision.

"Don't worry, President Wei, leave it to me to handle."

After speaking, Huo Wenxi first gave a few instructions to her Assistant, and then saw the latter take a few people and walk politely toward the reporters in the surrounding area, seemingly intending to erase the traces of the farce that had just occurred.

Afterward, Huo Wenxi stepped in her high heels to Du Gou's side and signaled for two bodyguards to pull him up.

Once Du Gou was kneeling on the ground, Huo Wenxi grabbed his hair from a commanding height and slapped him twice hard, angrily scolding: "Have you been drinking too much horse urine? Huh? Hurry up and apologize to Miss Yang!"

"Miss Yang, I'm sorry, I drank too much just now and offended you with my words, please forgive me."

Leaving Wei Jin's warm embrace and looking at Du Gou, who was covered in sweat and kneeling on the ground begging for mercy, Yang Mi sighed.

"Senior brother, let it go."

Wei Jin patted Yang Mi's arm, signaling her to leave it to him, then looked at Huo Wenxi, waiting for what would come next.

Huo Wenxi also knew that a mere two slaps and an apology would likely not satisfy Wei Jin, so she instructed the Emperor bodyguards in the distance:

"Take him away, let him sober up properly, he's a disgrace."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of several Hong Kong actors changed, and the remaining actors from Taiwan were all silent as cicadas.

Because they were very clear that the "sobering up" in Huo Wenxi's mouth was not meant in the simple literal sense; Du Gou was likely going to suffer.

As the chairman of the Golden Horse Pingshutuan, Liu Tianwang opened his mouth as if to say something, but looking at the situation on the scene, he ultimately did not speak.

After all, this counted as Emperor enforcing "family law," and as an outsider, it was not worth his while to intervene, not to mention that he was also extremely disgusted by Du Gou's behavior.

And as Du Gou was dragged away, a warm smile returned to Huo Wenxi's face as she apologized to the guests on all sides.

"President Wei, everyone, I'm sorry, I've let you all see a joke."

This small interlude did not affect the atmosphere of the cocktail party, and it was not until near dawn that this celebration banquet came to an end.

Yet upon returning to the hotel room, Jing Tian still wore an expression of disbelief.

"Brother, just now they..."

Jing Tian never expected that the so-called sobering up would actually be like this.

She heard from Bai Yu that when Du Gou left, he was being supported by others, and he was soaked from head to toe; it was clear he had truly "sobered up."

This method of "lynching" was something that, to Jing Tian—who was from Mainland China, had received a good education, and had never encountered any setbacks—simply refreshed her worldview.

"Tian Tian, although this isn't Hong Kong, the social climate on both sides is about the same; as long as you aren't a top-tier artist, you don't have much status."

Wei Jin didn't find it strange at all; the rumors from Hong Kong and Taiwan over these years were no joke.

Cheng Long, Liu Tianwang, and others had all been forced to film at gunpoint, and quite a few female stars had been dragged into filming restricted-level movies.

Back then, Chen Laoshi, who held a photography exhibition, barely managed to leave Hong Kong even with people trying to protect him.

In fact, with the changing times, this situation had already improved a lot; at the very least, on the surface, artists were still respected when out in public.

Regarding Huo Wenxi's handling of the matter today, Wei Jin was basically satisfied; after all, it was a cocktail party, and there was no need to go as far as killing someone.

It was just that Du Gou didn't know yet that he had already been placed on Wei Jin's blacklist; in the future, any film he participated in, whether under the Jiahe banner or Shanhe Cinema Line, would not be accepted for screening.

After all, for a cockroach like him, why wouldn't Wei Jin crush him if given the chance? As for Boss Yang's side, they had already communicated over the phone; it was just to save face for Emperor that it wouldn't be made public.

"Alright, Tian Tian, don't mention him anymore. Are you happy to have won Golden Horse Best Actress tonight?"

Wei Jin pulled the girl into his arms, his hands beginning to wander restlessly.

"Happy, happy enough to fly. Thank you, brother, mua, mua."

Feeling the girl's soft, fragrant lips, a smile curled at the corners of Wei Jin's mouth.

"Tian Tian, you have to join a new crew next, let brother dote on you properly tonight, okay?"

Although she was already a bit full from yesterday, thinking about the separation after returning to Beijing, a blush still rose on Jing Tian's face, and she nodded gently.

"Mm, brother, I'm all yours tonight."

Wei Jin swept the girl up into his arms and strode toward the bathroom. Just as Jing Tian and Wei Jin were entangled in passion, news from the Golden Horse Awards had already appeared one after another on major portal websites.

And by the time the sky was bright, the awards results of this year's Golden Horse had completely occupied the front-page headlines of film and entertainment news, and the heat was still rising.

The Mainland China film circle was incredibly excited because, at this Golden Horse, Mainland China films could be said to have achieved a complete victory.

"The 49th Golden Horse Awards, Mainland China films sweep more than half the awards; Bottom-Tier Girl, 7 nominations, 3 wins, including two major awards!"

"The Great Buddha is deeply loved by the Pingshutuan, winning the Golden Horse Best Picture!"

"Director Wei Jin wins the Golden Horse Best Director for the first time!"

"Jing Tian crowned Golden Horse Best Actress for Bottom-Tier Girl!"

"Central Academy of Drama veteran actor Xu Yajun shares the Golden Horse Best Supporting Actor with Hong Kong's Zheng Zhongji, sincerely thanking the crew members on site!"

"Taiwanese films suffer a crushing defeat, coming away with no major awards!"

Beijing Film Academy exercised its traditional skills, putting up banners early—two of them!

"Congratulations to our school's outstanding graduates, Director Department's Wei Jin and Acting Department's Jing Tian, for shining at the Golden Horse and winning multiple major awards including Best Director and Best Actress!"

"Congratulations to our school's Director Department outstanding graduate Ning Hao for his work The Great Buddha, winning the 49th Golden Horse Awards Best Picture!"

Central Academy of Drama was not to be outdone; although they couldn't compare in terms of awards, they still had to put up a banner.

"Congratulations to our school's Class of '80 Acting Department outstanding graduate Xu Yajun for winning the 49th Golden Horse Awards Best Supporting Actor!"

The internet was also incredibly lively, with everyone offering their own opinions.

Yazexuan: "Wei Jin is awesome! Four major awards, three of them related to him, he's killing it!"

Kemuer Beibi: "I just want to ask, what does the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival think about this?"

Yeluo Qiushui Guo: "Let the old men go play by themselves, let's see how many people will attend next year."

Duanqiao Jiuren Shang: "Jing Tian is amazing; I'm afraid she will have no rivals among actresses of her age from now on."

Fellow Daoist: "Let's just say, Director Wei hasn't attended the Golden Horse Awards in 6 years; I'm afraid he went this time specifically for Jing Tian. Has the position of the main wife been set?"

Pure Beauty Flying: "What nonsense are you talking about upstairs? Isn't my Da Meiyuan sweet enough?"

Strange Fragrance Lamp: "Don't get involved, I support Zeng Li; who can compete with a Cannes Best Actress!"

"."

However, whether it was the blessings from within the industry or the excitement online, Wei Jin had no heart to pay attention to them; he had already returned to Mainland China with the film crew. (End of this chapter)