Chapter 521

In the black night, Beijing's November winds howled, trees swaying violently in the cold, leaves swirling wildly through the air—this was the rhythm of the temperature drop.

The weather was biting cold, like countless sharp knives scraping against the face.

Passersby could only wrap themselves up like rice dumplings to fend off the chill.

Inside a bedroom, however, it was warm as spring, the lights dim, glowing softly as if radiating a faint springlight.

Low moans echoed in the bedroom, like beautiful musical notes.

"Don't move yet," Liu Tianxian whispered in her sweet, sultry voice, her breath uneven, her eyes smoldering.

She placed her hands on Fang Hong's back, holding him tightly, feeling the heat radiating from him, as if steam rose from his skin.

This heat made her feel warm and comforted.

Fang Hong lay still, knowing that at this moment, what a woman needed most was tender affection.

The bedroom lights remained dim, quiet and fitting; their breathing grew calmer, the earlier passion fading slightly.

After who knew how long, Liu Tianxian's sweet voice said: "Get off."

"You use me and then throw me away, you heartless woman," Fang Hong said, sitting up beside her and pulling the blanket over them both.

The blanket was especially soft and smooth—high-end, bought by Liu Tianxian.

"If I were heartless, I'd already have a harem," Liu Tianxian said confidently, picking up some tissue from the bedside and handing it to him.

"Aren't you going to wipe me?" Fang Hong took it.

"I'm not wiping that stuff for you," Liu Tianxian said, her tone firm, almost defiant.

"We've been married this long—can't you even look?" Fang Hong said.

After so long together, Liu Tianxian had never dared to look or touch—always avoiding it, as if terrified.

"I just don't like it," Liu Tianxian said.

"You didn't mind enjoying it when you were getting off," Fang Hong tossed the tissue into the trash.

"When did I say I enjoyed it?" Liu Tianxian denied it.

"Really didn't enjoy it?" Fang Hong leaned closer, teasing.

"No."

The moment Liu Tianxian spoke, she wriggled wildly, laughing loudly: "Ahahaha!"

Fang Hong tickled her stomach, grinning: "Did you enjoy it?"

"Yes yes, hahaha!" Liu Tianxian laughed uncontrollably, her voice like tinkling bells.

"How much did you enjoy it?" Fang Hong asked.

"So much, so much! Okay okay, honey, stop! I give up!" Liu Tianxian begged.

Fang Hong finally stopped, propping his head on one hand: "I'm curious—what do girls feel like during it?"

"Why are you asking that?" Liu Tianxian smoothed the rumpled sheets, tidying them after her earlier movements.

"I'm just curious," Fang Hong said.

Liu Tianxian's eyes darted, then she laughed: "I won't tell you, hahaha."

In truth, it felt wonderful, deeply fulfilling.

"Have you ever wanted to scream out loud?" Fang Hong brushed a strand of hair from her face.

"Of course I have—you go too fast, and I want to scream," Liu Tianxian said.

"But your voice sounded pretty low," Fang Hong said.

"That just proves you're not fast enough," Liu Tianxian replied, her gaze playful.

"I'm not fast enough?" Fang Hong raised his voice and pounced on her again.

"Hahaha, I'm just stating facts!"

The next day, Liu Tianxian had her long hair pinned up, sitting cross-legged on the sofa, snacking while watching TV with Xu Liyun—life was peaceful.

Fang Hong, meanwhile, kept working, pushing forward.

This year's Golden Horse Awards opened on November 22, gathering stars from across the Chinese-speaking world, another dazzling constellation.

The Golden Horse Awards still carried great prestige, the most prestigious Chinese-language award, surpassing the Golden Rooster in fame and authority.

This year, Gong Huang would also attend—she was the undisputed favorite for Best Actress, without competition.

Before the ceremony even began, the media was already hyping Gong Huang's expected appearance and her likely win for Best Actress with Black Coal, Thin Ice.

Though Gong Huang had gained international fame and countless honors, she had never won a Golden Horse.

This time, she had come solely for the Golden Horse.

The media went wild, hyping her inevitable win, while the other nominees—Liu Tianxian, Yan Zi, Tang Wei, Chen Xiangqi—were dismissed as insignificant.

To the general public, none of these nominees could match even one of Gong Huang's fingers.

After all, Gong Huang was already a deity—though she hadn't won yet, public expectation had already crowned her, as if the award were hers by right.

No one believed she could lose to those others; her momentum was immense, as if she were finally fulfilling her Golden Horse dream.

Even Wangyi believed Gong Huang would win.

The Golden Horse Awards themselves welcomed this media frenzy—it brought immense influence.

This was the power of celebrity and authority.

On November 22, Liu Tianxian and Fang Hong traveled to Baodao; Liu Tianxian brought her makeup team, though not on the same flight.

Xie Miao was also attending—he was nominated for Best Actor for Xiu Chun Dao; whether he'd win was unknown, but he was going regardless.

After all, it was a symbol of honor.

Behind-the-scenes teams—costume designers, action choreographers, editors—also went.

Even external production teams from Black Coal, Thin Ice and After This We'll Never Meet participated; Yu Tu's entourage remained large, no longer just padding for the Macau Film Festival—this was a formidable force.

At the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, the Golden Horse red carpet glittered; stars were already vying for attention—Gui Lunmei, as always, showed no front, only her dazzling back.

Including Xu Weining and Zhang Rongrong, who also showed off their beautiful backs.

Tang Wei wore a blue long dress with a V-neck that plunged almost to her navel; Jiang Qinqin and Chen Chong also boldly displayed their ample headlights.

Chen Jiahua and Chen Yanxi went with high slits, showing off their chubby little short legs—who knows who they're for.

That's just how these red carpet events are: actresses with something up top wear V-necks, those with a nice view in back go backless, and in high heels they go for thigh-high slits.

Lace and see-through fabrics are also standard.

Luckily the weather isn't cold—Baodao's climate this season is still quite pleasant, nothing like the howling cold winds up north.

But the most domineering of all was still Gong Huang, that queenly aura, sexy and full of charm, confidence spilling off the screen—something the average actress can't pull off.

Later Liu Tianxian had a little of that vibe!

Worth mentioning, this edition of the Golden Horse Awards had three of Director Zhang's leading ladies; besides Gong Huang, Guoji Zhang and Zhang Huiwen both came.

Even more worth mentioning, all the male and female stars looked glamorous and polished—only Pu Shu dressed very plainly, looking unkempt and slovenly.

He seemed less like he was attending an event and more like he was just making a token appearance.

But that's normal too—someone who can say he goes on shows just to make money, how could you expect him to take it seriously?

He only has art in his heart; everyone has their own way of life, their own personality.

Liu Tianwang didn't come to this Golden Horse, but Guo Tianwang and Zhang Tianwang did.

Yan Zi, that old rival, didn't come either—don't know if she knew she wouldn't win, or if the Principal shut her down, but anyway it's been ages since I've run into her.

Of course you can see her in the financial news—probably busy playing the markets.

Camera flashes flickered nonstop on both sides of the red carpet, fans waving their light signs in hand; when Liu Tianxian and Fang Hong appeared, fans on both sides erupted into a constant "Ahhhh!" of noise.

Liu Tianxian had slightly curled hair draped over her shoulders, wearing a goose-yellow strapless long dress with a natural drape, giving off a gentle and romantic air, very approachable.

Her exposed skin was fair and luminous, though that goose-egg face seemed a touch rounder—she clearly hadn't been watching her figure lately, no dieting, living too well.

But she's already mastered the skill of gaining weight when she wants and losing it when she wants; next time we see her, she'll probably be thin again.

A figure like this in person is no problem at all—not only no problem, but just right; after all, men all like slightly chubby girls, with a bit of fleshiness.

But on camera it looks a bit off, a few pounds heavier.

In the middle of the red carpet, Liu Tianxian walked slowly with a gentle smile, poised and graceful, as cameras clicked nonstop, capturing every moment.

Then she hooked her arm through Fang Hong's, tilted her head slightly toward him, lips slightly pursed, the picture of a little woman.

Fang Hong, meanwhile, had both hands in his pockets, looking utterly composed.

Since it was live-streamed, the images quickly spread online and to all the major portal sites inland; a netizen called "Deaf and Blind" raged: "I hate that I can't take his place."

"Xixi is so beautiful, the Principal is so handsome!"

"The Principal is a total lowlife, a boor—give me back my wife."

"She's almost fattened into a chubby old lady."

"Upstairs, why don't you go die."

"."

Netizens' comments ran the gamut, all over the place.

After the red carpet walk, up ahead were the hosts—still the same male-female hosting duo from last year.

The host held out the microphone and asked: "Tianxian, this seems to be your fifth time at the Golden Horse, right?"

"Yes." Liu Tianxian and Fang Hong stood between the two hosts.

"Then do you think you can win an award this time?" the host asked.

"Depends on whether the judges give me one—if they do, I'll take it." Liu Tianxian smiled, looking frank and straightforward, not putting on any airs.

"Then good luck, hope you win." The host laughed.

"Thank you!" Liu Tianxian said.

The host turned to Fang Hong: "Principal, it seems you come to the Golden Horse with Liu Tianxian every year—anything you'd like to say?"

"Nothing in particular. No matter where she goes, I'll be by her side." Fang Hong said.

"Wow, what a simple promise, how romantic!" The female host's eyes sparkled with little stars.

The fans in the venue screamed excitedly, "Waaaah!"—who knows what they were shouting—holding up flashing signs with "Liu Yifei" on them, all looking thrilled.

Hard to tell if they were blessing them or furious.

A netizen online called "Deaf and Blind" saw this interview clip and raged helplessly, slamming his desk: "Principal, you yellow-toothed brat!"

This segment could be called a public confession, and it quickly shot to the top of the trending searches.

#Principal Says He'll Stay With Liu Tianxian Forever! #

Self-media outlets piled in too, pairing a photo of the two with a long, tragic love story they'd cooked up.

From '10 to '14, through all the ups and downs—listeners were heartbroken, hearers were moved.

Both of them have traffic; write about these two and people will read it, readers bring views, views bring money.

Video platforms, Bilibili and the like also had their commentary—anywhere there's profit in this world, people will spread it; self-media is on the rise.

Otherwise it wouldn't have spread so fast, hitting the trending searches right away.

On site, Liu Tianxian turned to look at Fang Hong, eyes full of tenderness, her face relaxing into a soft smile, deeply moved.

This was the first time this man had said anything confession-like in public—he never used to, always letting others guess.

But back then both of them felt the same way: why should our feelings be spoken about by others?

Now their thinking had shifted a little—let others say what they want, doesn't matter, don't care, as long as we're happy.

No matter what you do, people will gossip anyway—might as well be Tandang about it!

(End of chapter)