Chapter 544: Love Stronger Than Gold

The atmosphere on site became lively after Cui Yongyuan's teasing and sarcasm.

The guest audience laughed continuously, treating it as a joke, neither sensing any hostility from the Principal toward him nor feeling it was an insult to the Principal.

Instead, they felt the Principal was clearer-minded than others at his level; previously seen as cunning, he now seemed more likable.

This was a shift in perception, imperceptible to the individual, a subconscious reevaluation.

Even the livestream viewers didn't criticize the Principal; they only posted "haha" as dynamic comments, finding it entertaining.

To expose one's dark side to the light—when that dark side is harmless—only elevates you, deepens understanding, and carries no element of devaluation.

There's a saying: Lay down the butcher's knife and you can become a Buddha on the spot; a prodigal's return is worth more than gold.

Going from good to evil is unforgivable; but going from evil to good is easily forgiven—that's social reality.

A good person doing a thousand good deeds is forgotten; a bad person doing one good deed is remembered.

"Xiao Fang has changed this time," Zhang Hongsen said quietly.

"Are you talking about character or persona?" Zhang Huijun didn't understand.

"Persona. Character still needs observation," Zhang Hongsen said.

"It's enough. He's already stronger than many people; few would dare let themselves be teased and mocked like this," Zhang Huijun smiled.

Zhang Hongsen nodded silently—it was true.

At this moment, Cui Yongyuan was still speaking on stage; though his speech was halting, it was logically clear.

"The Principal is the driving force behind this film festival, turning what was once an obscure little award into something known to all. Regardless of how it was done, we must acknowledge that what he has done is meaningful and excellent!"

Cui Yongyuan raised his thumb toward the audience.

Fang Hong, below the stage, clasped his hands together in thanks; praise from someone like this meant far more than the hollow, self-righteous cries of "No way!" from pseudo-literati.

At least he was genuinely not fake!

"Liu Tianxian is the Image Ambassador of this film festival. Just by appearance, she is beautiful, elegant, and artistic—a pleasure to behold, perfectly matching Macau, a city that is elegant yet never loses its taste."

Cui Yongyuan's tongue had turned sweet—he couldn't keep mocking forever.

Liu Tianxian stood up, placed a hand over her chest, and bowed slightly toward the stage in gratitude.

What seemed like teasing and sarcasm was actually an introduction of the two, along with a mention of their contributions and deeds.

Her fans clapped loudly; livestream viewers frantically flooded the chat with her name, drowning out all other words.

"I've only heard that Liu Tianxian and the Principal are a couple—I'm not sure if it's true. Liu Tianxian, hold hands with the Principal so everyone can see. I'm afraid I've misunderstood you," Cui Yongyuan looked toward the audience.

This was a correction for his earlier remark calling them "husband and wife"; he'd only heard rumors and didn't know if it was true.

Liu Tianxian tilted her head, smiled gently, and took Fang Hong's hand—casually, confidently.

"Ooooh!" The crowd erupted in hoots—it was clearly a public declaration of affection.

Among the guests, some laughed, some envied, some were jealous, some sneered—each reacted differently.

For instance, Da Mimi, watching the livestream, curled her lip in disdain.

Livestream viewers were even more varied, with the most common comment being: "Let go of that dog's paw!"

On the internet, a trending topic quickly appeared:

#LiuTianxianAndThePrincipalHoldHands! #

This trending topic brought endless traffic to the Macau Film Festival; many thought the two were staging it for publicity.

The livestream viewership quickly surpassed ten million—some came to watch Cui Yongyuan's rambling, finding it amusing; others came for the celebrities.

"I'm especially envious of this couple. How many girls wish they could have a boy like the Principal? How many boys wish they could have a girl like Liu Tianxian?"

"So the two of them together face enormous risk every day—what risk? The risk of their lover being taken away."

Cui Yongyuan's words drew roaring laughter from the crowd; listening to him was like watching a stand-up comedy routine.

But somehow, it also made perfect sense—no flaw.

Girls chase after Liu Tianxian in droves; the Principal faces countless temptations every day.

"But it doesn't matter—as long as their love is stronger than gold," Cui Yongyuan added.

Liu Tianxian smiled again, offering another bow of thanks.

Fang Hong tugged her gently, signaling her to sit down—no need to stand. Since they'd invited this man, they had to endure his sharp tongue.

Put it this way: if Cui Yongyuan wanted to tease someone, hardly anyone in China could out-tease him—he could effortlessly dominate people like Zhou Libo and Bai Yansong.

Probably only Zhao Dashu could match him.

He could mock someone to death—or praise someone to the heavens.

"In the entertainment industry, 'love stronger than gold' is the rarest thing, because people constantly see divorces and breakups—every such news spreads like wildfire."

"The Principal is very devoted—I mean, to film."

Cui Yongyuan's final sentence took a sharp turn; the audience hadn't reacted yet.

When they did, the hall erupted in "hahaha" laughter—it was too clever; everyone thought he was talking about romance.

Cui Yongyuan dared not claim Fang Hong was devoted in love—what if he got humiliated later?

"The Principal's devotion is shown in how he has cultivated a new generation of young, talented, energetic, and passionate filmmakers for China's film industry. I salute you."

As Cui Yongyuan spoke, thunderous applause broke out.

This was recognition of Fang Hong's contributions and achievements in film—no matter what he truly thought, his actions had genuinely advanced cinema.

The audience struggled to keep up with his rhythm—this back-and-forth had suddenly turned into a salute to the Principal.

"Let's get back on track. If we keep talking like this, we might actually run into trouble. Let's welcome this year's Jury President, Ms. Han Jia_nv."

After Cui Yongyuan announced her, Han Jia_nv rose from the guest seats, bowed to the audience, and applause followed.

Cui Yongyuan checked his script and continued: "Also serving as Artistic Judge is the renowned director Wen Muye—let's welcome him."

"Also serving as Artistic Judge is the renowned actor Liang Jiahui."

"Also serving as Artistic Judge is the renowned cinematographer Li Anran."

The artistic judges include the renowned editor Tu Yiran.

The artistic judges include the renowned actor Zhang Songwen.

Each time a name was announced, a guest rose from their seat and bowed or clasped their hands in salute to the audience.

Applause continued without pause throughout the venue.

Cui Yongyuan did not joke with just anyone; he knew his responsibilities.

"This judging panel is quite interesting—there are two behind-the-scenes heroes. Our culture has a trait: we look down on behind-the-scenes heroes. Only those who appear on stage and rise to fame are respected."

"When audiences watch a movie, they think it's all the actor's achievement. Now they know the director's contribution, but everything else—cinematography, editing—is ignored."

"I once did something foolish: I had someone translate all the behind-the-scenes credits of Hollywood films and compare them with China's. We're forty roles behind Hollywood."

"Now we can only hope for the younger generation of filmmakers. When you become famous and create your own mature works, when your credits roll, not a single role will be missing."

Cui Yongyuan felt he had said enough and added, "I have many heartfelt words to share with you, but fortunately, we still have time. Let's begin the award ceremony—give a warm round of applause to the winners."

"Clap clap clap!"

The venue erupted in enthusiastic applause. Amid the uplifting music, Cui Yongyuan stepped offstage, and Zhao Xiaodao and Zhu Yilong, dressed in formal attire, walked onto the stage together to present the first award of the night: Best Short Film Award.

"Good evening, everyone. My name is Zhao Xiaodao."

"Good evening, everyone. My name is Zhu Yilong."

After introducing themselves, the two glanced at each other on stage. Zhao Xiaodao smiled and said, "Everyone knows Zhu Yilong—I'm his fan."

"Zhao Xiaodao, I'm her fan," Zhu Yilong replied.

"Don't scare me," Zhao Xiaodao giggled, then added, "Actually, we've worked together before."

Their slightly awkward exchange made the audience laugh "hehe."

The live stream's audience count was still climbing steadily!

After their banter, Zhao Xiaodao and Zhu Yilong announced: "The winner of the 6th Macau Film Festival's Best Short Film Award is Midnight Taxi, by Xu Xieren."

At that moment, clips from this short film were playing on the big screen.

Amid applause and music, the audience saw a young man with glasses stand up excitedly, then leave his seat and sprint up the aisle to the stage.

He appeared to be alone—no companion with him.

After reaching the stage, he accepted the Golden Lotus Trophy from Zhao Xiaodao and Zhu Yilong; the trophy had been redesigned.

It depicted a curvaceous female body entwined with film reels, her hands raised high to hold a Golden Lotus—highly artistic.

Holding the Golden Lotus meant holding that body.

"Thank you to the judges, to the Macau Film Festival, to the Principal—without your recognition, I wouldn't be standing here."

Xu Xieren's face glowed with excitement—he was clearly overwhelmed by the tens of millions of viewers.

The audience erupted in "clap clap clap" applause.

Although they didn't know him, they still offered basic respect.

The director of Midnight Taxi, Xu Xieren, scored 9.20 out of 10; this was not a horror or suspense film, but one testing human nature.

This film also bears another title: Crime and Punishment!

Watching it leaves one feeling heavy and contemplative; its Douban rating is 9.6—extremely high.

Short films are often overlooked; no matter how well made, their audience is small, and so are the number of raters. This short film had been buried.

Some viewers were already searching for this short film—it's scarce, but available on Bilibili and Chang'e Video, and still very impressive.

This is the advantage of exposure: it lets more people know. In this era, even fine wine fears being hidden down a dark alley.

"When Cui Yongyuan was joking about us on stage, my heart was in my throat—I was terrified he'd say something bad," Liu Tianxian whispered.

"Did you know, just now, the director asked me through my earpiece whether to cut his live stream?" Fang Hong tapped his earpiece.

"Huh? Really?" Liu Tianxian was startled—cutting meant cutting the broadcast; viewers online wouldn't see it, but the live audience would.

Such cases usually occur during emergencies, or more often, when someone says something inappropriate.

Cui Yongyuan's live streams have frequently been cut—he says too much.

"True. I didn't respond—I just let him say whatever he wanted. If you're going to hold a ceremony like this and fear criticism, you shouldn't hold it at all," Fang Hong shrugged.

"Makes sense."

Liu Tianxian nodded and advised, "Next time, don't do anything bad—you don't want someone to catch you out. These people will say anything."

"Alright," Fang Hong agreed.

The two whispered quietly offstage; cameras caught them, and live stream viewers saw them too.

Someone screenshot it and spread it in fan circles.

Their relationship is now basically public; every day, self-media fabricate stories about them—even rumors of their breakup play out online daily.

If they don't speak, they're broken up; if they stand far apart, they're broken up; everything gets twisted into a breakup.

No other reason—it's trending, it draws viewers. There's simply a group of people who wait daily for them to break up.

"." After delivering his acceptance speech, Xu Xieren went backstage for interviews.

Next came Best Animated Film, presented by Nazha and Chen Xiao—both Yu Tu artists.

This award should go to Big Hero 6—no animated film has had its impact, whether in ratings or box office.

As the two joked on stage, a viewer typed in the live stream: "I hope it's Kuiwa!"

"Impossible. Big Hero 6 is guaranteed."

"Kuiwa, Kuiwa—I love this animated film!"

Animation has its own audience and circle, just like celebrity fans have theirs—they specifically watch animated films.

So they naturally hope their favorite works win.

"The winner of the 6th Macau Film Festival's Best Animated Film is..."

Chen Xiao opened the envelope; Nazha leaned over, glanced inside, and read: "Kuiwa 3: Rise of the God of War—congratulations!"

The film title surprised the guests present; they had assumed it would definitely be Big Hero 6, not an obscure film.

Then where is Big Hero 6?

Still, enthusiastic applause broke out in the venue, and some viewers in the live stream were fans of the Kuiba Trilogy.

In the live stream, comments flooded in: "Kuiba is forever the god!"

"The Macau Film Festival has awarded the most ideal animated film in my heart."

"Aaaah! Why not Big Hero 6?"

"By the way, did Big Hero 6 even enter the competition?"

"Big Hero 6 wasn't even nominated—how could it win?"

"."

Almost no one questioned whether it was unreasonable for Kuiba to win; everyone felt it was perfectly reasonable.

Because every installment of this animated film scored above eight, and the third one was the best, with an 8.6 rating—a rare critical acclaim, though it didn't sell well.

Perhaps the art style was too cartoonish, and the creative team had limited funding.

But why not Big Hero 6? That left people deeply puzzled—this is the drawback of not announcing the nominations.

"Xiao Fang, why not Big Hero 6?" Zhang Hongsen was also deeply confused.

Those nearby were listening to the two men's conversation, eager to hear what they were saying.

"Director Zhang, I think our film should avoid entering the competition altogether—even if we enter, we'd only win minor awards, to avoid gossip." Fang Hong said.

"If you say so, you won't be able to explain it to your people," Zhang Hongsen acknowledged.

If Yutu Film wins, everyone will say you're showing favoritism—no matter how great the film is, they'll still talk.

But if our own people don't win, no honor, it's hard not to feel a little uneasy—it's hard to balance.

"Let them suffer a little first," Fang Hong said.

"Hahaha." Others chuckled; the Principal had a good sense of the bigger picture.

(End of Chapter)