Chapter 276

The award ceremony officially began, with Hua Shao and Yi Yi taking the stage as hosts, delivering transitions, then announcing the first award of the day: Best Animated Film.

All guests were seated in their places, silently watching the stage, utterly quiet.

The venue lights were dim, with only the stage brightly lit.

Liu Tianxian sat sideways, slightly lowering her head to adjust the lotus-shaped brooch on Fang Hong's chest—it had slipped loose and looked untidy.

Fang Hong watched her focused little expression; under the dim light, she seemed gentle as water.

"There!" Liu Tianxian tapped it lightly.

"Still, yours looks better—those staff members' work looks awful, so careless." Fang Hong glanced down.

"Right! I'm skilled with my hands."

Liu Tianxian waved her slender fingers in front of him, clearly proud.

Sun Li beside them glanced at the two, then turned her gaze back to the stage.

She had already heard about it from her husband, and had no gossip.

This award ceremony felt formal, unlike the Golden Horse Awards—it lacked atmosphere and energy, instead offering a rigid, official presentation.

When announcing winners, they offered at most two compliments—like "top director," "renowned actor," etc.

After each announcement, the audience clapped solemnly, the mood serious, that's all.

This ceremony awarded prizes across TV, film, and short films together, because too many trivial awards weren't set up.

There were no awards for Best Score, Costume, Art Direction, or Cinematography.

The awards presented were few—only the well-known ones: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenwriter, Best Director.

Film awards were slightly more numerous; TV awards were even fewer—only five: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best TV Series, Best TV Variety Show, and that was it.

Clearly, this ceremony was immature—even less professional than the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Awards; the latter were more serious, hence the low attention.

In her past life, Liu Tianxian won this award and got zero buzz.

Grouping these categories together clearly aimed to pad the runtime—otherwise, with so few awards, the ceremony would end in minutes.

For the musical segment, the organizers invited several champions from The Voice of China to perform at the film festival.

Not even a decent celebrity or singer was present.

Now awarding TV categories, the Best TV Series went to Zhen Huan Zhuan; Sun Li and Zheng Xiaolong, the main creators, went onstage to accept.

After delivering their speech and stepping down, Sun Li hadn't even settled into her seat when she won Best Actress in a TV Series—she had to go back up again, rushing about.

Next, Best Actor went to Zhang Jiayi;

Best Director was surely Zheng Xiaolong's—since the main creators were present, not giving him a clean sweep would be unthinkable.

The applause from the audience was sparse.

Next came the film awards; the Contribution Award went to Ge Daye.

Thus, whoever was called went up to collect the award, and the audience clapped without laughter—it was utterly lifeless.

Even if someone whispered, they did so in the faintest tones, never disturbing others.

After the series of Best Supporting Actor and Actress film awards, a staff member rushed over and whispered something to Fang Hong.

"I have something to attend to—I'll be right back," Fang Hong whispered to Liu Tianxian beside him.

"Alright."

Liu Tianxian nodded, watched him rise, followed his gaze as he followed the staff member's direction toward backstage, then turned her eyes away.

The next award should be Best Actress in a Film.

Nominees: Ning Jing for Le Fan Tian, Da S for One Million Crocodile, Huang Shengyi for Overnight Fame, Zhou Xiuna for Cold Pupils, Liu Tianxian for Genius Gunner.

Only Liu Tianxian and Da S showed up; the others didn't attend, so by unspoken rules, the competition was between just these two.

Though it was a "water award," Liu Tianxian felt inexplicably nervous.

The ceremony continued on stage; host Yi Yi stepped forward: "The next award is a film award—the Best Actress in a Film."

"Let's see who will win this time. Please welcome our presenter—Chairman Fang Hong of Yutu Film Industry!" Hua Shao invited.

Hearing the presenter, Liu Tianxian looked startled—how did this man become a presenter? He didn't even tell her.

Amid applause, she saw Fang Hong walk onstage in a sharp suit, standing confidently before the podium—identical to a chairman's lectern.

Fang Hong looked out at the audience and raised an eyebrow at Liu Tianxian.

Liu Tianxian pressed her lips into a smile—oh, so mysterious—then she straightened her face, expression serious, eyes threatening: if I don't win, I'll kill you.

"This is my first time presenting an award on such a grand stage—I feel honored, and a little nervous. Seeing so many outstanding film and television professionals here, I'm deeply moved—you've upheld the entire Chinese film and television industry."

Fang Hong spoke at length, elevating the ceremony and everyone in attendance.

Yet the audience remained expressionless, as if listening to a foreign language.

He glanced at the crowd: "You seem unresponsive—did I talk too much?"

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

Instantly, applause broke out, accompanied by faint laughter.

Liu Tianxian wanted to cover her face—previous presenters just announced the winner; he came up and gave a whole speech.

"Not too much, not too much, Principal, you can keep going," Hua Shao laughed.

It helped stretch the time, avoiding the awkwardness of hosts talking endlessly while the audience sat silent.

"Let's just present the award—don't keep people waiting. They were so excited, and now my speech might've dampened their enthusiasm—how bad would that be?" Fang Hong remained humorous.

The audience laughed again—previously lifeless, the ceremony finally had some spark since the Principal came up.

But no one criticized him; even the leaders stayed silent—his status spoke for itself.

Da S also smiled; she hadn't expected anything, but now she was intrigued.

Liu Tianxian remained seated upright, composed.

"Best Actress in a Film—Liu Tianxian!" Fang Hong pointed down to the audience and announced directly. Gentle music began to play; Liu Tianxian was startled, then followed the usher's guidance toward the stage.

The applause on site was still sparse and uneven.

The audience below showed no shock or surprise, as if it were utterly ordinary, perfectly normal.

Even Da S merely slumped slightly—not particularly surprised.

Fang Hong watched Liu Tianxian step onto the stage; they faced each other, bowed slightly in politeness, and lightly shook hands.

Then Fang Hong took the crystal trophy from the tray held by the usher, presented it to Liu Tianxian with both hands, utterly courteous.

Liu Tianxian bowed again and received it with both hands.

Their eyes met; they both wanted to laugh but held it back—mainly because, after knowing each other so long, they had never been this polite and formal before.

It had always been Liu Tianxian who hit out when annoyed; Fang Hong who snapped back when irritated—this was the first time they'd done it this way.

Fang Hong gave her a silent fist pump of encouragement, then stepped offstage, leaving it to her.

Liu Tianxian took the microphone from the host: "Thank you, Director, for giving me such a great role; thank you to all the creators of this film; and thank you to all the audiences for your love of this movie. I will continue improving myself and bring you better performances. Thank you!"

After speaking, she raised the trophy slightly, then walked offstage.

She spoke very briefly—everyone who won here spoke briefly; Fang Hong was the exception.

"Congratulations, Liu Tianxian. I believe this award is the shared answer in many people's hearts. So if you're holding your phone, put it down first and give Liu Tianxian some enthusiastic applause." Hua Shao had excellent oratory skills.

"Clap clap clap!"

The applause rose again.

Liu Tianxian sat down in her seat to the rhythm of applause, looking at the man beside her.

She couldn't help but burst into a "pfft" laugh, quickly covering her mouth.

"Is it that funny?" Fang Hong asked, puzzled.

"It's hilarious—seeing you up there made me find it especially funny," Liu Tianxian giggled.

"Show some decorum—you're a winner now," Fang Hong patted her arm, signaling her to be composed.

Liu Tianxian couldn't help laughing again, glancing around and noticing everyone watching the stage with serious expressions—Zhang Huijun had just received the Outstanding Contribution Award.

She wondered what the point of setting such an award even was.

"Hey, did you know I'd win this award all along?" Liu Tianxian asked.

"Yes," Fang Hong said.

Actually, someone had called him over; the organizers told him to come up and present the award, and straightaway told him who won.

It was utterly unprofessional—so casual!

"You didn't tell me," Liu Tianxian complained.

"I wanted to give you a surprise. If I told you, it wouldn't be fun."

Fang Hong tilted his head and asked: "I haven't asked you yet—how does it feel to win?"

"It's great. Even better that you gave it to me—it makes me feel this award has meaning," Liu Tianxian held the trophy.

Though it was a minor award, it was her first Best Actress in film, and the first award Fang Hong had ever given her.

Fang Hong smiled and pinched her cheek.

They whispered quietly; the award ceremony on stage was nearing its end.

Best Director went to Ye Junhuai—someone unknown; Best Actor went to Yu Entai; Best Story Film went to "Crazy Mom"; Outstanding Contribution Award went to Lao Mouzi.

Lao Mouzi didn't show up; someone accepted it for him. These days, Lao Mouzi was overwhelmed by trouble from his good buddy—he had no time to attend any award ceremony.

He didn't even show his face, shut himself away after being criticized, his mindset in shambles.

The award ceremony ended without any drama; Liu Tianxian winning Best Actress in Macau naturally sparked news coverage.

What else to expect—she was popular, and controversial. Popular and controversial? The media naturally watched her every move—but Wangyi seemed unimpressed by this award.

Only her fans were enthusiastic; the haters continued relentlessly spreading rumors about Liu Tianxian's affair.

The more successful Liu Tianxian became, the more they wanted to destroy and cripple her.

"The Ex-Boyfriend" premiered on schedule; box office figures were out: first three days, like most films, thirty to fifty million—ordinary opening.

But as word of mouth spread, the fourth day's box office shot up to 90.51 million—barely missing one hundred million—this genuinely startled the industry.

The fifth day's box office was 85.36 million; in five days, it had just surpassed three hundred million—people still loved comedy films!

Xu Guangtou's film became the current box office king.

The media had a morbid curiosity to see Feng Kuzi's reaction—he posted: "The road is long; keep pushing forward."

After this Weibo post, it was reposted over 18,000 times and received nearly 12,000 comments.

"Feng Director is so sour! I'd like to ask, Feng Director, which of your films ever had such box office performance? Where did you even come from?"

"Just go back to making urban comedies—that's your strength!"

"."

Many Wangyi mocked Feng Kuzi mercilessly.

Yet Xu Guangtou remained humble—he reposted Feng Kuzi's Weibo comment: "Thank you, Director Xiao Gang, for your support and encouragement. In this field, I'm a beginner and need guidance from all the seniors. I also hope everyone won't judge my films solely by box office—let's all bring some positive energy to China's film market."

After this Weibo post, it was reposted over 20,000 times and received nearly 20,000 comments.

"Look at how comfortable Zheng Ge's words sound! I always feel Feng Kuzi's few words drip with sourness!"

"A gentleman of humility!"

"."

In stark contrast to Feng Kuzi's treatment, many Wangyi lavished praise on Xu Guangtou in the comments.

At this point, Xu Guangtou's reputation was still good; Feng Kuzi, by contrast, had been insulting everyone everywhere—his reputation was ruined.

(End of Chapter)