Chapter 171: In My Eyes, She

At this moment, on the Golden Horse Awards Star Walk of Fame red carpet, various film crews and stars were vying for attention.

Shu Qi wore a deep-V suit, the V plunging nearly to her navel, radiating blatant sensuality; Hao Lei donned a green long dress with a deep V-neck, sloping downward on the side, radiating blatant sensuality; Xu Ruoxuan wore a black backless long dress, a vast expanse of pale skin exposed in a deep V that had already reached above her navel, utterly devoid of ladylike grace.

She even flung open her dress for the reporters, revealing her thick white legs, radiating blatant sensuality, utterly blatant.

The Golden Horse red carpet was too sensual—yet Huang Bo was the most sensual of all, his hairstyle looking as if blown by the wind, strutting up in a dress.

Tang Wei linked arms with Wang Yu, making a golden debut on the red carpet.

Fang Hong and his group waited in the reception room for a while, then also walked the red carpet.

They represented the "33 Days of Losing Love" crew, while the fans on both sides held up signs and posters for "The School of the Rising Sun."

One could imagine how massive the influence of this film was here.

"Aaaah!"

"Tianxian! Tianxian!"

"Click-click-click!"

Fans on both sides screamed, reporters frantically snapped photos.

Liu Tianxian linked arms with Fang Hong, appearing effortlessly graceful, pausing and posing repeatedly for the photographers.

Her face bore a professional smile.

On both sides, black-clad security personnel guided and guarded along the path.

"Thank you, Yifei, for coming here."

At the end of the red carpet, two hosts—a man and a woman—stepped aside, gesturing for Liu Tianxian and Fang Hong to stand in the center.

The male host was Lin Yuzhi; the female host was Yang Qianpei.

Wang Ran and Bao Jinjin waved at them, signaling them to proceed inside.

Liu Tianxian nodded, indicating they should go ahead.

This young couple wouldn't sit with them, nor would they be interviewed—they had no fame, they were ordinary people, that's how it was.

"Yifei, first of all, congratulations on your film 'The School of the Rising Sun' doing so well here," said the female host.

"Thank you!" Liu Tianxian replied politely.

The female host asked: "Isn't this your first time attending the Golden Horse Awards?"

"Yes, attending the Golden Horse means a great deal to me," Liu Tianxian said.

The female host asked: "Then why didn't you attend the Golden Horse Awards before?"

Fang Hong glanced at the woman—no wonder she was the top-tier green tea of this entertainment circle.

"I'm just not good enough—what can I do?"

Liu Tianxian's tone grew slightly stiff, clearly annoyed, but she'd encountered this too many times to be rattled.

"Sir, aren't you the male lead of '33 Days of Losing Love'?" the male host switched topics.

"Yes, and also the director," Fang Hong replied coolly.

"What do you think of Liu Tianxian's acting?" the male host asked.

"In my eyes, she's excellent," Fang Hong said.

"And Yifei, how do you rate the director?" the male host asked.

"In my eyes, he's excellent," Liu Tianxian said.

They exchanged a glance, silently understanding each other.

The hosts, realizing they'd get nothing more, let them go—after all, more people were still walking the red carpet.

The two entered the award ceremony hall with their companions.

Ahead of the hall stood the stage—it was small, even cramped, yet cleverly designed.

The hall was divided into two sections: one was the guest seating area, where stars, directors, and celebrities sat.

Behind a barrier was the audience seating area.

Stars entered from the side and could proceed directly to the guest seats, while the audience behind them continued to file in.

Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian's seats were arranged in the second row—still quite prestigious.

Bao Jinjin and her husband were seated way in the back!

"Principal!"

Just as the two were walking down the aisle toward their seats, Fang Hong heard someone call him.

Nearby, Qin Hailu, Peng Yuyan, Wang Qianyuan, Zhen Zidan, Shu Qi, and Tang Wei all turned their heads at the word "Principal," curious.

They'd only heard of "Principal" before—this was their first time seeing him. Tang Wei was the most curious, because Yu Tu had once handed her a script during her hardest time, but she'd declined due to image concerns and given it to Hao Lei instead—she never imagined Hao Lei had pulled through.

Fang Hong turned and saw Hao Lei standing up, extending her hand; they shook hands: "Hao Lei, you're dressed so lightly, I'm almost embarrassed to look at you."

Half of Hao Lei's breasts were exposed, pale and glaring—too much to bear.

"Hahaha!"

Hao Lei covered her mouth and laughed loudly, her tone wistful: "Can a mere common woman like me possibly catch the Principal's eye?"

This was both flattery and a subtle jab that Fang Hong had ignored her.

"Hey, don't say that—we're all the same," Fang Hong replied, his words sounding like a dirty joke.

Meaning: when the lights are off, all women are the same.

But Hao Lei could take a joke—she was an experienced woman—and laughed even louder, even showing her gums. Liu Tianxian smiled faintly too—stars may look glamorous on the outside, but behind closed doors, they tell plenty of dirty jokes.

This man was merely adapting to local customs—and this was nothing yet.

After exchanging pleasantries, Fang Hong glanced at the other artists, then sat down with Liu Tianxian.

Fang Hong sat by the aisle; Liu Tianxian sat inside, and beside her sat Chen Yanxi.

The two women merely nodded and smiled at each other—no words exchanged; they weren't familiar.

The award ceremony hasn't started yet, the cameras aren't on, and the ambient chatter is loud, making the scene unusually noisy.

"Here, have a candy." Liu Tianxian pulled out a small wrapped box.

Fang Hong extended his hand and scanned her from head to toe: "Where did you get it?"

"I bought it!" Liu Tianxian dropped a candy into his palm.

"I mean, where did you hide it?" Fang Hong noticed she was wearing a skirt with no pockets.

Liu Tianxian lifted her skirt and pointed to her hidden pocket.

No wonder she always kept her hand in her pocket on the red carpet—there really was one, but she couldn't find it right away.

Quite high-end, Fang Hong swallowed the candy.

Liu Tianxian put a candy in her own mouth too; these things really stave off hunger.

Award ceremonies last hours; female stars usually fast on event day to maintain their figures, so they suck on candy.

As the lights dimmed, the award ceremony began quickly; the large stage screen switched between clips from all the nominated films.

There were clips from "33 Days of Losing Love," "Let the Bullets Fly," and even "A Chinese Ghost Story."

"Your movie got nominated too," Fang Hong whispered.

"Yes, Best Special Effects."

Liu Tianxian said no more, clearly not wanting to talk about this film.

This movie was practically a trap!

But Fang Hong watched all the film clips switching on screen, and one thing puzzled him: Chen Zhixi's Golden Horse Awards record seemed blank.

She had never come to accept an award before.

Such a great director, revered in Neidi, even eligible for awards, yet completely absent from the Golden Horse Awards—how strange.

On stage, Ceng Aizi and his daughter Ceng Baoyi walked out to host the show.

Both wore outfits resembling Native American tribal garb, acting silly on stage.

Ceng Baoyi pointed to herself: "Do you know what I'm wearing underneath?"

"What?" Ceng Aizi played along.

"I'll take it off for you," Ceng Baoyi said, reaching for her clothes.

"Wait, wait—you can't take it off here!" Ceng Aizi stopped her.

"I'm not scared!" Ceng Baoyi yanked off her outer layer, revealing a school uniform.

That school uniform was the costume Liu Tianxian wore in "The Schoolgirl."

"Clap-clap-clap!"

Laughter and loud applause erupted in the audience.

"Genius goddess! Genius!" Ceng Aizi shouted dramatically.

"Principal, I totally support you!"

Ceng Baoyi thumped her chest like a man and pointed toward Fang Hong in the front row.

The stars and VIPs in the audience, including Liu Tianwang and the front-row elites, turned to look at the two.

Liu Tianxian was familiar to them, and they'd heard of her exploits; but this man called Principal was mysterious, as if he'd risen overnight.

Too fast—no warning, no time to react.

The camera swung toward Fang Hong's direction, catching Liu Tianxian too; she covered her mouth, smiling, clearly thrilled!

After all, it was her first time receiving recognition at a major award show for a film she starred in.

Even though she didn't win, the feeling was satisfying.

Fang Hong kept smiling but said nothing—he had no microphone to vent how hard filming that movie had been.

This show is taped!

"This year, many directors have earned hundreds of millions at the box office; in the past one or two months, 'The Schoolgirl' has been the most talked-about—it earned hundreds of millions in Neidi and caused a huge sensation in Hong Kong, Baodao, and Southeast Asia—truly amazing!"

"It crushed Hong Kong and Baodao films."

The father-daughter duo traded lines on stage.

The audience had to clap anyway; at such events, you at least had to pretend.

After the father-daughter duo finished their praise, the awards finally began—the first ones were Best Supporting Actor and Best Short Film Award.

Hao Lei and a man presented the awards.

Who won didn't matter—they were all local creators and actors.

Time's up—posting this chapter now; one more chapter to come.

(End of chapter)